Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT

A/N: Hello everybody! I'm excited, finally put in the sequel to Expecting (Expectations) and am looking forward to a response, no matter how tiny. With THIS story, I was struck like a battering ram for a completely new idea for the progression of the story. Although with Mikey it'll probably be a bit challenging, I'm looking forward to trying it out!

Chapter 3

Monsters

I stared at the message etched on my chuck with utter disbelief.

Give me what I want.

How was I supposed to know what it wanted! I was just a turtle! I had to resist the urge to both wring my hands and clutch my head screaming. Either choice would bring out a barrage of teasing from my bros. But I couldn't help but be terrified. Monsters were targeting me! This was like that super scary movie I watched the other day, only the hero died along with everyone else but the villian! I had nightmares for days!

But this was no movie. It was real. Really, truly real. It wasn't fair, why couldn't I live the average, mundane life of an average human? Was it ordained that because I'm a turtle that all this stuff has to happen?

I had to tell them. No, they wouldn't believe me...well they gotta! I hafta find a way to make them believe me! Maybe if I showed them my room, then they'd have no choice, right? Well of course! What else could happen!

As if to answer my thoughts, I heard something shift in the rubble. Startled, my heart thudding hard in my chest, I swung my head up. Nothing. Well, actually I suppose there could be lots of things. I couldn't really see the floor of my room, and the shredded, broken stuff had a pretty thick layer. There could be things scurrying under there like giant roaches, only I don't see them because of the broken stuff. They could be all over. I could even be surrounded!

Nervously I looked around and suddenly I could picture it perfectly in my mind; my floor under the rubble being host to thousands of monsters, scurrying around me out of sight because of my shredded belongings. Piled on themselves so thick that if the stuff wasn't there, I wouldn't be able to see the room because of the mass of bodies. They could have me surrounded right now, Heck, they could be mere inches from my toes! Clearly I could see them eyeing my green skin, licking thier toothy mouths as they opened their mouths to take a bite-

eep!

Alright, Mikey, you gotta stop this. Remember, you're a ninja! Ninjas don't get scared over silly stuff like vicious monsters. Why would they?

Duh...

rustle

Once again my head whipped around so quick that I'm surprised I didn't pop it off. Something moved. There, by the doorway. There was a good amount of cotton-looking stuffing, probably from my mattress. It tremored ever so slightly, but I saw it. A tiny wisp of smoke came out of the pile before it shifted slightly. Slowly a tiny dark shape emerged out of the innocent looking fluff. I couldn't see it clearly, but I knew it must be scary looking. (What else?) The head looked about the size of a small apple. It didn't rise up enough for me to see anything else. It stopped when about half it's head was exposed, and I could distinctly make out tiny, pointed ears; like that of an otter. The head was flattish. Other than that I could only see it's eyes. They glowed, even in a lighted room they glowed as though it were pitch black.

I think I'm going to wet myself.

The glowing eyes of the creature narrowed slightly at the sight of me. Then it instantly dissappeared. I stared at the area, unblinking. Did I just imagine that? I must've, right? 'Cause monsters aren't real. They can't be. I mean, sure, the ones in the underground city were, but that was only because of the Shredder doing stuff. And there were a few on the Triceraton homeworlds, but surely those are, um, native species there? I scanned through my mind but no matter what explanation that I could think of, they all seemed like monsters to me.

That doesn't answer the question if there's a tiny monster in my room or not. I MUST'VE imagined it. But if there isn't, then what tore up my room? Wait, how long was I gone? Five minutes? Ten? Try as I might, I can't see a single, tiny monster moving that fast and that silently. Maybe there's more...

The trash strewn on the floor started to quiver in several places. Then the spots where it was wiggling began to move. Like there was something under there making it wiggle and now they were moving towards me. Aw, shell!

I hopped to my feet as the hideous, slimy, evil, grotesque, scaly, evil, ugly little things burrowed towards me, hidden under the garbage. With a scream I leapt in the air, landing where the remains of my bed were. I couldn't get a solid footing amidst all the fluff and for a brief second I floundered in it, desperate to get a hold of something. My knuckle brushed against something cold and hard. Instantly it dissappeared. My heart leapt in my throat. I touched a monster!

Finally my feet found purchase in the soft slippery debris and I stood up just in time to see a dark shape by the light switch and to hear the familiar click as it was pulled. Immediately I was immersed in blackness as the bulb died.

The very instant that the darkness stretched across the room, a chattering sound, like the rustling of leaves filled the room. I realized that it was chattering. The chattering of monsters! It was like thousands of hushed, urgent whispers that echoed off the walls. Just like in my dream. Snickering could be heard, along with telltale hisses. Tiny, high pitched, scratchy voices drifted into the air.

Michelangelo...

Mikey...

Give me what I want...

You will never escape...

MICHELANGELOOO!

At that moment I threw all honor and glory out the window as I screamed at the top of my lungs. I hardly had my mouth open a second. With a sound like the scrunching of tin foil, the sounds got louder from all sides until suddenly I had a prickly feeling all over my body. The instant that I realized that the prickly feeling was thousands of tiny claws from countless monsters, I nearly lost it. They were covering me!

Without realizing it I clenched my teeth together as I frantically grabbed at the figures covering my body and tossed them away, all the while dancing around the room. My heel caught on a broken piece of something and I fell backwards flat on my shell. Whatever the things were, they covered my body with a renewed frenzy that was quickly overtaking me. I couldn't get them off fast enough! Still I fought, pummeling at them with my fists, arms, elbows, and knees. I snapped my teeth, tasted something bitter that wasn't mine and nearly vomited. Despite my efforts, I was being overpowered.

I let out a yell as I gave it my all and then some, but now my arms were weighted down. They slowly touched the trash strewn floor. The same oppressing weight were quickly slowing my frantic kicking until I could hardly move my legs. My chest heaved as I panted with the strength of my efforts. I opened my mouth to scream once more, but as soon as I opened it something soft was jammed inside. Maybe peices of my mattress and blanket, I don't know. I tried to spit it out but something, or someone, was holding it firmly in place.

One of the worst parts about it was that I could feel them. Their weight in numbers, or perhaps just great strength, was keeping me from putting up a fight. I could feel their tiny litle claws, the pads of thier toes, the stroke of hairless tails as they whipped across my skin. They were cold, yet at the same time they smelled like burning flesh. They chattered as they held down my head and I could hear the smack of their lips. It's like knowing you're covered in roaches and not being able to do a thing about it.

My last hope rested on my brothers. Surely they heard me yell. Even me, being a prankster, wouldn't pull something like this. Or at least I hope that I wouldn't. Either way, they have to come up here to get me to practice. They won't fail to do that, right?

They might get attacked by the monsters as well, but then maybe I will have a chance to be free then. Then we can fight the monsters together! We always did fight well as a team, Leo thinking of a plan, Don helping us with a gadget, and Raph just plowing through them!

As though they could hear my thoughts I heard a rough pounding on the door. All the monsters froze and went completely silent at the sound of it. I strained my eyes into the blackness as though trying to motion to him that way.

There was a pause, then the turtle pounded on the door even harder. "Geesh, Mikey! What's with you today! Ya gotta get to practice!"

I recognized Raph's voice in an instant. I chomped on the fluff stuffed in my mouth to no avail. C'mon, Raph! Open the door!

He waited a second, waiting for my reply before knocking on the door a little softer. "Hey, uh, Mikey? You all right in there? That scream was just part of that stupid crap you did at breakfast, right?"

Hah! Score one for Mikey! Now what would the monsters do if I can't answer him? Raph'll have no choice but to come in here, he'll see me being pinned down by a mass of monsters and he'll help me. In the end the monsters lose! I couldn't think of a happier ending!

I could feel the monsters around me wriggle just a bit, as though indecisive. What happened next comletely blew my mind.

I heard a voice clear it's throat next to me. "Uh, Raph? Sorry about earlier, I'm just not feeling too well today. Let Master Splinter know that I'll be sitting this one out for me, okay?"

It sounded exactly, 100, entirely like my own, personal voice.

A/N: For some reason this chapter was a bit hard to write. It's shorter than I wanted it to be as well. And something about the writing seems a bit off...I don't know. Maybe I'm just too tired to read it accurately. Either way, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. You know that I love'em!

Toodles!