Hey guys! Thanks for waiting this long! Things came up with both family and classes, which I should be used to, so I had to deal with them before I had the time to actually sit down and write. This is a breath of relief for me so maybe it will be for most of you!
Special Thanks To: gima2618, Candymouse22, VoidOfEclipse, TheMaskedTimelord, Orange Dash, Sydney, Kudogiver, Guest #1, WOLFJADE28, K15a30zx, The Silvernote, Guest #2, and diamondDreamer1!
To Candymouse22: I also wish to give everyone a hug, so sure! They have been through a lot and are trying to deal with it their own ways...which so far seems to be ignoring the memories…And thank you so much about the meditation scene! I tried hard on it and hoped for the best, haha. I think you'll like this chapter, so happy reading! C:
To The Silvernote: Thanks so much for the compliments on the story! I imagine Micah/Mike being so cute like a Michelangelo turtle tot in my head, haha! Raph and Leo are already opening up more than their comfortable with so it shouldn't be long now! Happy reading!
To diamondDreamer1: So sorry it took me so long. I have a busy life outside of writing but I do my best! Hope this chapter will be worth the wait! I'm glad that you think the story is cute yet sad! That's what I was aiming for! Enjoy! C;
To Sydney: Haha, I'm happy that you said that though I hate that you cried "Actual" tears, haha. Well I'm honored that my story moved you to real tears and I'm glad you love my story! I hope that you enjoy this chapter, but not to the point of real tears haha!
Thanks again for waiting everyone and I hope the chapter is worth the wait! I can't wait to read your thoughts after this so enjoy! And Happy Reading! :3
o0o0o0o0o
Third Point of View:
"Looks like there's nothing out tonight either guys," Donatello simply stated as he peered over the rooftop at the streets. Leonardo, who had been standing beside him the whole time, tsked but remained edgy and tense.
"Dammit!" Raph growled as his hands curled into fists, "I really wanted ta get that Fong back for hittin' me in tha head last night!"
"You really shouldn't be out here in the first place," Donnie argued with narrowed eyes as he turned. Michelangelo had been standing the closest to Raphael and simply blinked at his brothers but remained silent and still, "You could have a lingering concussion or maybe a-"
"Can it, Don," Raph rolled his eyes, his voice down to an angry rumble as he waved dismissively, "I feel fine. It was just a little hit ta tha head. I'm not even feelin' any symptoms."
"You better not be," Donnie growled but then dropped the subject when Leo stood taller, obviously not in the mood for any fighting. Donnie stared at him but didn't comment on his attitude.
"Let's move to check our last stop," Leo suddenly ordered after a moment of silence. The tone in his voice warranted no resistance and Raph just rose an eyebrow at his moody older brother. Mikey moved his eyes away from Leo's when he turned to look at his younger brothers.
No one said anything as they feel in formation behind Leo and followed him across the rooftops. Raph studied Leo as he ran on Leo's left flank before suddenly his vison blurred for a second. It was there one second and gone the next but Raph still ground his teeth together, his jaw rigid. If Leo or Don saw him blanking out even in the slightest they'd be super pissed at him but Raph simply couldn't stay home while his brothers were out here. Plus he really did want revenge.
"Raph?" They had slowed down as they got closer to their last stop and Mikey wanted Raph's attention. The red banded turtle looked over at his baby brother grumpily but almost blinked when he saw the worried look on his face. Aw shell, did he see?
"What is it Mikey?" Raph muttered quietly, since Leo or Don hadn't turned around yet. Mikey's lips tightened and it was obvious he was fighting with what to say.
"Are you okay? You looked off a second ago…" He commented in a whisper and Raph's jaw tightened again as his hands curled into fists. There was an ache in his head that didn't seem to relate to his injury.
"I'm fine, Bonehead, worry about yerself," Raph gruffed and Mikey looked down before looking back up with an odd determination.
"But I'm just looking out for you, Raphie," He grinned, like he was trying to hold onto something. Raph rose a non-existent eyebrow at Mikey, "I got your back! Or...errr.. shell, haha!"
Raph rolled his eyes as his lips tried to twitch into a tolerant smile but before he could reply Leo turned around and Raph shied away from Mikey. Leo simply stared at the both of them and Mikey fidgeted nervously, trying to show that he was being serious.
Donnie turned around as well and looked over the rooftop edge before looking back at Leo, "Nothing here either…."
"Well we can wait a little longer and see if anyone shows up," Leo nodded towards Donnie and shot Mikey one last look. This didn't escape Donnie's notice and he rose an eye-ridge at his oldest brother.
It became awkwardly quiet and Mikey desperately wanted to say something but he was really scared of Leo yelling at him. He seemed to be in a really bad "Raphie-like" mood since last night's patrol. Donnie noticed Mikey's face and crept a little closer to his brother, "Mikey? You doin' okay?"
Mikey blinked in surprise at his immediate older brother and then grinned as best he could, "Right as rain, bro! Just looking for enemies!"
Donnie smiled a little after hesitating. He could feel Leo peering at them from the corner of his eye and Don was starting to get agitated at his older brother. And Raph just looked super confused when he wasn't concentrating. It was like Don stepped into an alternate universe and his skin crawled with the feeling something bad was gonna happen.
After a few minutes of watching Leo sighed, feeling oddly empty at nothing having happened on patrol. He wasn't sure what he was looking for but this anger in him was not going away like he'd hoped, "Guys, let's go…doesn't seem there's anything going on here-"
Leo stopped immediately when he felt the air shift and he had his katanas out before anyone could blink. His brothers followed suit almost at the same time, racing closer to each other in a familiar formation.
"On the contrary, something is definitely going to happen here," Tigerclaw's voice carried out to him and Leo snarled, looking for a trace of the assassin, "And by the time were done here you're going to wish you never made an enemy of the Shredder."
Raphael and Leonardo growled in response to the threat. But for whatever reason, a pulse of despair hit their bodies as well.
Raph gasped as he suddenly blinked awake. He stared at his ceiling and then blinked rapidly, cursing himself when he felt tears escape his eyes. He sat up shakily and wiped his eyes before slamming his fist down on the blankets.
"But I'm just looking out for you, Raphie."
"Stupid bonehead," Raph muttered miserably as he stared dully at his lap for a few minutes, waiting for the sudden misery to die down. Within a couple minutes he slowly stood and checked the time. Was it really only 5:34 a.m? "Well I can't go back ta sleep anyways…."
With that thought in mind the red banded turtle heaved a sigh and left his room, trying to be quiet so he didn't wake his other brothers from their sleep. His eyes lingered on Leo's door, wondering if the older turtle was feeling better. Raph tsked quietly and walked into the kitchen before grabbing a water bottle and heading into the lair.
He stopped when he saw Don's lab door open and he could tell from where he was standing that Donnie fell asleep at his desk again. Raph rolled his eyes and scoffed before heading for the TV. Again he stopped but in shock as he seen that….child…asleep on the bench.
"Are ya freakin' kiddin' me?" Raph muttered angrily. He just wanted to watch a little TV instead of going back to a nightmare….was that so hard of a thing to want? What was this kid doing here anyway?!
Raph glared at the kid and moved his hand to shake him awake so he could tell him to go to Donnie's room or something but he paused when the kid turned his head. Raph's breath hitched when he saw the teary baby blue eyes looking up at him in slight surprise. The kid's eyes were puffy and red, with darkening circles under them. Had he slept at all this night so far?
"R-Raph?" Mike gasped lightly in surprise, suddenly feeling shameful that he was caught crying. He wondered why Donnie's really big brother was suddenly in front of him and not sleeping. Oh no, was Raph mad at him for sleeping on the couch?!
Raph jolted a bit in surprise when the youngster shot forward fast, sitting up like he had just committed a great insult to someone. The red banded turtle blinked and stood tall, trying to ignore the wide, and wet, innocent eyes peering up at him, "What are ya doin' sleepin' here, Kid?"
Micah gulped a little at the question and touched his fingers together anxiously, "Well, I'm not used to sleeping in a room that can be locked…."
"Is that so…?" Raph asked, his heart twinging a little as he remembered Splinter's words from last night. He was determined not to give in and get hurt so he quickly covered the sympathetic look and glared at the kid, "Well why don't ya just leave the door open, Kid?"
"I….I…well…." Mike didn't know how to answer and more tears welled in his eyes. He didn't want to let the big turtle know it was because he was scared. He was scared of random shadows that could silhouette the doorway and grab him. He was scared without Donnie there.
Raph huffed a little at the lack of response, "Ya shouldn't be out here this late, Kid. Just go ta sleep in Donnie's room already." Mike flinched at those words and his fingers curled around each other desperately. Raph was mad at him….oh no….
When Mike said nothing again Raph glared down at him, "Why are ya sleepin' out here for real?" A silent moment passed and the kid's shoulders fell far.
"I had a nightmare," Mike whispered and Raph froze, "I….I had a nightmare….didn't wanna bother Donnie anymore." Raph's eyes widened and he felt another pang that he tried to cover.
"What was tha nightmare?" Raph inquired after a moment of composing himself.
"Mom's death…." Mike finally looked up, more tears streaming down his already pinkish face, "It was all my fault…if I could have done something…if I wasn't so small….if I had just listened to her…"
Raph's eyes widened more and he stared at the kid as his heart skipped a few beats erratically. The kid's dream seemed similar to his own in some ways…. "So the Purple Dragons killed your Mom?"
Mike flinched and looked up at Raphael with wide eyes. He gulped and nodded slowly, looking back down as he squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to fend off the tears, "The bad men…the Dragon men…Donnie says that he thinks my Mom took something important from them, though he doesn't know why. When the bad men killed my Mom they didn't know about me at first…"
Raph stayed silent but decided to sit beside the boy, feeling a bit interested in his story if not because of the Purple Dragons, "So what….the Purple Dragons just came inside your home and killed your Mom?"
He shook his head and looked at Raph again, "We…we were homeless when she died. But we had this really good spot under the bridge that we stayed at for a long time. It helped against the weather. Sometimes when I woke up Mom wouldn't be there, but she'd have a note telling me to stay there and she'd always had food waiting for me too."
"So ya didn't know where she was goin' when she did that?" Raph asked as he rose an eye ridge. Mike shook his head, feeling surprised that Raph was actually talking to him this much, "Why would she go after the Purple Dragons in the first place? What could she have taken that meant so much ta them?"
"I…I wish I knew," Mike's shoulders slumped and Raph stared silently, "Though this one time I remember she told me she had something that could put some bad men away. I didn't understand and still don't."
Raph felt frustrated as well, "Well Donnie will figure out. He figures out everythin'."
The red banded turtle was very surprised when Mike perked at the mention of Donnie, his eyes coming to life in a happy way, "Yeah Donnie knows pretty much everything! And he doesn't get mad at me when I ask questions."
"I don't think he'd ever get mad at someone askin' questions," Raph's mouth twitched into a smirk at the thought of his only younger brother.
"Yeah, Donnie is too nice to get mad about that!" Mike agreed, nodding his head happily as Raph turned to stare at him with intense green eyes. When Mike noticed he blinked at Raph, "What's wrong?"
"I'm just gonna ask ya bluntly," Raph warned and Mike tensed, wondering if Raph was mad at him for talking about Donnie. He and Leo seemed very protective of him, "When we get these people for ya….what are ya gonna do?"
Mike blinked, feeling a bit lost but was suddenly reminded of his conversation with Leo last night. He almost face palmed but refrained because he didn't want to look stupid in front of Raph or make him mad again. Of course Raph would be worried like Leo was!
"I wanted to stay with Donnie after the bad men go away," Mike answered honestly as he hoped to pull off an easy smile, his legs swinging back and forth, "I don't want to leave…but if Donnie says me leaving is good then I'll do whatever Donnie wants!"
Raph stared at the kid before feeling more of that odd weight lifting off his heart. So the kid wanted to stay with Donnie after all? "How do ya know ya won't want ta go topside and live with humans again? I don't think ya'd be comfortable with us mutants."
"Mutants?" Mike questioned as he looked innocently up at Raph, "You mean being turtles…? Cause I think that's pretty awesome…I don't care that you're turtles! It's great!"
Thrown off guard by the answer Raph blinked rapidly before opening his mouth, "But still…ya must have thought about leavin'…."
"I haven't," Mike answered, looking confused, "I like it down here….things are awesome and you guys are so cool! I love Donnie because he reminds me of my Mom and he's super nice and smart! If it's okay I don't want to leave him…."
Raph swallowed and curled his hands into fists, "I see….but if ya ever change yer mind and hurt Donnie, I'll beat ya until yer black and blue, understand?"
Mike's eyes got really wide as a flash of fear entered and then exited his eyes, surprising Raph. Then Mike surprised him even more by smiling and saluting him, "Yes, I understand! Sure thing, boss!"
A startled laugh left Raph's mouth at the kid's antics and he shook his head. This is not what he expected from the kid, "Hey Raph?"
"Yeah?" Raph answered turning towards the child again, regaining himself. Mike was looking at him with a small smile.
"Is…is it fun to fight? I've always been curious…." He tapped his fingers nervously again and Raph was surprised by the question before he smirked.
"Fighting is absolutely the best," He replied without a shadow of regret when Mike's eyes brightened, "Especially when you have a good reason to fight."
"Good reason to fight….?" Mike repeated out loud, looking thoughtful before he beamed, "Oh! You mean like fighting to help someone?"
Raph nodded and crossed his arms, getting more comfortable. Mike tried to copy his demeanor and Raph's mouth twitched into a side smirk before Mike stopped moving and looked hesitantly at Raph again, "Hey Raph?"
"What now, tyke?"
"Wait, what's a tyke?
"A little kid like you," Raph smirked and Mike pouted at him, but inwardly felt happy to see anything close to a smile on Raph's face. It was almost throwing him off. But his smirk disappeared after a moment and Mike frowned.
"Um, can I learn how to fight too?" Mike asked hesitantly, his shoulders tensing and almost raising as if he was about to be hit. Raph stared at him.
"Why do ya wanna fight?" He asked immediately, curious about what was going on in the kid's head.
"I wanna be able to help Donnie!" Mike replied without missing a beat and Raph paused, his eyes widening before he let out a loud laugh, "What's so funny?"
"Well first off, you're too small to be tryin' ta fight for Donnie," Raph grinned and Mike pouted even more, "Better luck next time, Tyke."
"Then until I can learn to fight will you help Donnie for me?" Mike suddenly questioned, tilting his head at Raph very seriously. Raph's grin vanished and he stared at Mike for a moment. The tyke was very serious when it came to Donnie, despite his earlier thoughts. But, unintentionally, he could still do his brother harm.
"That's somethin' ya never even have ta ask me ta do, Tyke. I'll always help Donnie and Leo," Raph replied and Mike's eyes went wide with something similar to admiration and Raph scowled, turning away and trying not to blush because he hadn't felt that way in….in a really really long time.
"Okay, good, you and Leo really care about Donnie too," Mike cheered as he slowly laid back down and cuddled with his pillow, "I feel better now! Thanks Raph."
Raph simply blinked at Mike, "But I didn't do anythin'." He continued to be confused when Mike only smiled even more at him before closing his eyes.
"Can you stay with me until I fall asleep, Raph?" Mike hesitantly questioned, opening only one eye to see the hothead's reaction. Raph may have been talking to him now…but that doesn't mean that he liked Mike.
"No," Raph responded with a monotone voice and Mike wilted until he noticed Raph grabbed the remote, "However, I am stayin' here ta watch TV."
Mike somehow felt that was Raph's way of saying yes without actually saying yes. A beam broke out on the orphan child's face and his heart beat excitedly. He was getting Raph and Leo to talk to him more! Yay!
Raph rolled his eyes at the look on Mike's face but inwardly he smiled. It felt good to be able to make someone happy again. He's tried to make Donnie and Leo happy…but he only knows how to make them upset. This was a different feeling then how he's felt in years. Raph looked over to see Mike's eyes closed even though the TV wasn't loud or overly bright he could still seem to sleep through it. How tired was that kid anyways? Despite his best efforts Raph felt a tinsy bit of worry for the little tyke.
The red banded turtle looked over his shoulder and spotted the blanket that usually stayed folded at the back for anyone to use. He grabbed it and lazily threw it over Mike, who didn't even move or flinch. Raph rolled his eyes and leaned back more comfortably, feeling better himself from the horrible memories in the form of that nightmare.
o0o0o0o0o
"Um…Raph?"
Raph jolted awake from the hushed question and the rough shaking of his shoulder. He blinked a few times before his vision focused and he turned his head to glare at whoever dared wake him up. He was shocked to see Donnie standing there, looking confused and uncertain yet there was a soft underlying look there that he hadn't seen in quite a while. His glare fell and he rubbed one eye, "What time is it Donnie?"
"Almost time for practice. Leo's already awake and he told me to wake you up," Donnie explained with a small smile, "Did you not sleep good last night?"
Raph rolled his eyes, his tough guy demeanor returning, "I slept alright, Don. Why didn't Leo just wake me up himself?"
"It might have been the surprise of seeing you," Donnie replied sarcastically with a hint of humor. Raph rose an eye ridge at Donnie's behavior until he felt breathing on his shoulder. He turned his head really fast and his eyes widened when he saw that, probably sometime during the night, Mike had turned so that he was sleeping sitting up, his head pillowed on Raph's shoulder, "I had no idea he moved out here to sleep."
There was a type of guilt outlying his voice and Raph scowled, "Not yer fault if he decides ta sleep somewhere else. That's his fault." Raph stood slowly and let Mike fall over which warranted a glare from his genius brother that he ignored.
"So, did you two talk or something?" Donnie asked calmly, hoping that his hotheaded brother didn't say anything unwanted to the smaller child. Raph gave Donnie a look as he stretched his arms over his head.
"Yeah we talked and no, I'm not tellin' ya what we talked about. Tha tyke will probably tell ya himself," Raph explained and Donnie blinked at the sudden change from "kid" to "tyke", "Let's go before Fearless blows a gasket."
Donnie blinked at his brother before looking at Mike, who had a seemingly peaceful look on his face. Resigning the thought that his brother probably didn't do anything bad, Donnie smiled and followed his brother, happy to see him relinquishing some of that constant irritation about Mike. As they walked in they saw Splinter already waiting on them so they quickly got in formation. Raph immediately noticed that Leo looked better than he did last night and felt really soothed by the fact.
The stretches and katas were simple enough because it was basically muscle memory for the turtles. And soon they were sparring. Leo and Donnie had already sparred with Leo as the winner so Leo was up against Raph. As soon as they started sparring Leo narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at his brother, "So, you actually talked with Mike last night?"
Raph grunted at the fist that connected to his arm as he blocked. He pushed his brother back before retorting, "So, yer callin' him Mike now?"
Leo froze only a millisecond but that was all Raph needed to dodge and sweep his feet, causing the leader to fall to the ground. Leo ground his teeth together as he struggled to push his brother off of him, "I can call him anything I want….what does it matter?"
"It just matters," Raph replied, smirking a little bit when Leo looked frustrated, "And yes, I actually talked with tha Tyke last night. That's all."
"Sure, so the cuddling this morning was just nothing?" Leo scoffed and Raph glared pushing against Leo with extra strength. Leo growled however soon Raph was able to subdue his arms. In a matter of minutes, because Leo was being stubborn, Leo yielded to Raph.
"Very good, however I seen a lot of distractions between you two," Splinter hummed thoughtfully as Raph and Leo got up respectfully. Donnie was staring at them with an almost blank look on his face, "Mind telling me what is going on?"
Leo and Raph looked between each other before Leo turned, "Nothing's going on, Sensei."
"I see," Splinter frowned, knowing he was being lied to but deciding not to say anything, "Then you are dismissed for today. Do not let anything cloud your minds when you are in battle. That is how mistakes are made. I'm sure you four know this very well."
He didn't miss the way all his sons' shoulders tensed and he didn't mean to be harsh, however he knew exactly what all three of them were thinking of. Splinter sighed and his sons bowed respectfully before quietly going their own ways. Splinter looked over at his mantle and quietly walked towards it, picking up the orange cloth that resided there. He sighed and his ears fell flat against his head, "Your brothers need a lot of guidance, Michelangelo. Please help guide them to a much brighter path than they are on now. I miss you my son."
o0o0o0o0o
"So you're done with the nin-get-su?" Mike asked with wide eyes as he watched Donnie walk toward him. He felt a bit worried when he noticed Leo and Raph vanish behind Donnie. However, Donnie smiled at Mike's error in grammar.
"Ninjitsu, you mean, and yes we are done with practice for the day," Donnie explained as he took a seat beside Mike, who had been watching TV, "So do you like the shows on TV?"
"Yup and I'm happy they still have Crognard!" Mike beamed and didn't notice the twitch to Donnie's lips, "So how many more papers do you have to tra…trainslate?"
"Translate," Donnie laughed a little and then rubbed his hands together, "Well I have gotten a lot done and think I know what's going on, but I don't wanna make any accusations without all the facts. I'm almost done decoding them all. I should be done today….you understand?"
Mike's eyes sparkled when they looked at Donnie and Donnie's heart swelled, "Yes, I think so….but Donnie?"
"Yes, Mike?"
"What's ack-sensations?"
Donnie couldn't help it, he let out the biggest and loudest laugh, one that hurt his chest a little and made Mike jump. He really needed to work with Mike on his grammar and schooling. Maybe he could help get Mike on a healthier learning curve soon enough….if he wanted…
"A….Accusations are when you believe, think, or say someone has done something whether it's good or bad….something like that," Donnie explained best he could and Mike's eyes widened as he "ohhh'ed". Donnie smiled warmly and rubbed Mike's hair as the boy giggled at the action, "And hey, before I go into my lab…I have something for you."
"Really?! Like a present?" Mike gushed happily and Donnie laughed, nodding his head as he reached into his pouch and pulled out the stuffed animal. Mike froze at the sight of the orange cat doll and his eyes widened. Donnie frowned, eyeing Mike to make sure that this was a good reaction and not a bad one. His heart hammered in his chest at the thought of upsetting Mike, "That…that is….mine…."
Donnie nodded slowly and kept still as Mike reached out, grabbing the doll from him and holding it in his shaky hands, "I found it when we went to your old home. It seemed like it was condemned and no family had been there since you left it."
Tears filled Mike's eyes and he hugged the doll close, "T…Thank you so much, Donnie! Thanks so much!" Donnie let out a big sigh of relief, his body sagging with the effort. Mike giggled at him and wiped his eyes, "This was a birthday present from my mommy when I turned 3….she picked it because we couldn't have cats….but I really wanted a cat…."
"I knew it must have meant a lot to you….." Donnie swallowed, smiling at the look on Mike's face. Mike nodded and shuffled closer to Donnie until their legs touched, "Did you ever name it?"
"No….but he reminds me of my cat from the junkyard…so maybe I should call him Klunk?" Mike smiled uncertainly at Donnie, who smiled and wrapped an arm around Mike's shoulders in a sort of hug.
"Sounds perfect to me, Mike, anything you want," He replied and Mike grinned happily, pushing his head against Donnie's chest and hugging him back. Donnie smiled again and hugged him just as hard as he was being hugged before they parted, "I'm very glad you like it. Anyways, I'm sorry but I'll be busy in my lab again…but you can play in here as long as you watch out for the water near the tire swing, okay?"
"That's okay Donnie! And sure!" Mike beamed and Donnie smiled, rubbing his head once more before standing and leaving Micah to his TV time. Mike watched Donnie leave before turning back to his doll, "I can't believe Donnie found you, Klunk! I miss you a lot!"
Mike continued to hold his doll while watching TV, trying his best not to get too bored. He didn't want to bother Donnie and he couldn't do much else. Well he might play on the tire swing, but he was afraid of Leo or Raph walking in and getting mad at him for it. Mike sighed from where he was laying on the bench before he saw a shadow race across the TV screen. His eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat.
He got up slowly and noticed the tail ends of something blue before it was gone. Mike blinked before realizing it must have been Leo. But where was he going? Why was he leaving so fast? Was something wrong with him? He didn't look so good when they all came out from their nin….nin getsu practice…Mike looked between the exit of their lair to Donnie's lab and made a decision.
Getting up, Mike hurriedly went after Leo just in case something was wrong with him. He didn't want Donnie to worry about Leo so Mike would just take a peek and make sure Leo wasn't sick or hurt then he'd come back. They wouldn't even miss him. Mike paused when he saw the sewers and he held his breath a little as he followed the path and looked into the right tunnel. He hardly saw the shadow and hurried to catch up to Leo.
He followed that shadow and soon saw traces of blue. Wow, Leo was really fast and he couldn't even hear him running either! He was really good at the ninja stuff! Mike was determined to make sure Leo was okay and pressed on as fast as he could, making sure to not lose sight of blue or Leo's shadow. He huffed with effort and nearly tripped a few times as he followed.
It seemed like forever passed before he saw more solid glimpses of shadows. He grinned as he ran but then nearly outright squeaked when he saw the shadow stop. He froze and slowly crept towards the edge to look around the left corner before hiding again when he saw flashes of green. He tried to calm down and then suck in a breath before looking around the edge again.
Leo was standing there…..just standing there….was something wrong after all? Mike looked around and noticed that Leo was standing in the middle of a sorta big but clean looking room of some sorts. There were openings or…were they empty pipes? But there were a lot of flowers and….holy cats was that grass? Actual grass in the sewers? Mike squinted his eyes and noticed sand around Leo….that was sand right? Or maybe just plain dirt….how did they manage that?
Mike's eyes widened when Leo stepped around and began lighting candles. That's when he noticed it. The clean-cut stone near the middle of the room with writing on it. Mike felt his heart stop; he'd seen one of those before but he couldn't believe he was seeing one here. Leo was at a grave? How can that even be possible and who could be in the ground there?
"Hey Mikey," Leo suddenly greeted and Mike flinched before realizing that Leo wasn't talking to him but to the stone, "I'm sorry it's been awhile since I came here but things kinda got crazy at the lair….." Mike heard the hitch in his voice and frowned, "I guess I came here because I keep on remembering and I've tried to hard not to let myself get distracted….yet that's exactly what keeps happening. They guys would look at me crazy….well not Donnie but Raph would look at me crazy if he ever found out I talk to a stone. But I'd like to think I'm talking to you in some sort of way…."
Mike licked his lips and looked behind him. He should leave but he was too curious. Who was Leo talking about? Who was Mikey? Mike's eyes widened yet again and his heart dropped to his stomach when Leo began talking about him, "There's a new child we're trying to help. His name's Micah and he's in trouble with the Purple Dragons for whatever reason…Donnie has latched onto this child like he's the answer to all our prayers….I'm not so sure he knows what he's doing. Mike….the child, he's so much like you it hurts. And it's as if it's not enough that he acts like you but he looks like you too….well sorta…if we were human that is. He's got your eyes and freckles like yours. It's too ridiculous!"
Mike stared at Leo in disbelief. He's like this Mikey guy? It hurts Leo? Mike nearly gasped and had to cover his mouth with his hand when he realized what Leo's words meant. Maybe….is that why everyone looks at Mike like they were sad? Or they were hurt? Was that why Donnie looked sad a lot or fidgeted around him or things he said? It was because they were thinking of this Mikey guy? Because he was reminding them of this guy?
"Anyways, I'll do some meditating like I usually do when I come here. I just needed to vent," Leo laughed sarcastically, "Even if we can't talk like we used to, even if I might be crazy for talking to a stone…..I'm glad I can at least come here and feel bits of your spirit when I meditate. You calm me baby brother and I miss you a lot. So does Donnie, Sensei, and Raph….but I'm looking out for everyone so continue to rest in peace, Mikey."
Mike backed away, his eyes really wide and his heat pounding really fast in his chest. His breathing came out in pants and he was distantly surprised he didn't trip backwards. "Baby brother"? This Mikey was Leo's….was Donnie's…brother? He was their brother? They had a dead brother?! Suddenly everything made sense and Mike's heart was pounding in a really painful way. It hurt to breathe.
Mike turned and ran as fast as he could. He wasn't sure if he was going the right way but he wanted to go to Donnie right away and apologize for being a burden. For being a reminder of something really painful…
All this time…all this wishing and wanting to help Donnie and the others…..and he was actually just hurting them?
o0o0o0o0o
Uh oh….Micah's found out about Mikey being their dead brother and, of course, he's not taking it well at all. Leo's having a really hard time right now too and he didn't even realize Mike followed him. Now Mike's missing and how will Donnie take this? Or how will Leo take this? Everything shall be explained next chapter! And you got more into the story of Mikey's death and even more details will be revealed really soon!
Can't wait to read your reviews to see what you thought! I'll have more time now that I'm getting into the groove of things again; and thanks for understanding! Stay awesome and safe everybody! C: