SG TT: I am so very sorry for the wait!

Disclaimer: I don't own the turtles. If i did you should all be scared.

Chapter 4

Reopening the Wounds

Leonardo was leaning on the side of the doorframe infront of me. "Where are you going at this time of night, Mikey?" Leo asked so cooly it sent a chill down my spine. "Out," I retorted, "Now move." My blue masked brother straightened himself in the doorway. "I know about your little group," he said blatantly, "What is it that you can do with them that you can't do with us?"

"I can do some good for the city," I snorted bitterly. "We do good for the city too Mike," came Leo's heated response. "That's just it! When I'm with you guys I'm always the one who's hurt, who gets the worst job!" I shouted back, "At least with my group I know I'm not the one getting hurt!"

I pushed past him filled with anger and frustration. Abby came back into the room as I left. "What's going on?" she asked Leo, "Where's Mikey going?" "Just a family discussion," Leo said inconspicuously angry with me, "And Mikey's not going anywhere tonight." I took this conversation as more of a distraction to the warning it actually was and walked a bit farther.

The next thing I knew I was on my knees and clutching the right side of my head. My mask lay just to my left. I was in the shadow of not one, but two of my brothers. The one who faced my direction was my attacker, Leo, and the one with his shell to me was my rescuer, Raph. I saw that Abby had left and both Don and Vonica were standing open mouthed at the scene before them.

Suddenly, I gained my hearing back. I heard all the horrible words that Leo and I were yelling at one another. Words we shouldn't have even known the meanings to let alone be shouting at each other. Every slanderous thing I heard my eldest brother say hurt me virtually as much as his katanas did. I was surprised Sensei didn't hear us.

Finally I'd had enough. I rose to my feet and, unsteadily, made my way out of the lair into the sewers. I knew that what I was doing was stupid, I knew that I was bleeding but I was scared. Scared for my safety, for my life, because the world I knew had come to it's bitter end.

The next few minutes were shrouded in darkness. I knew that I had surfaced somewhere near April's place but after that I don't know. I woke up in April's livingroom on the couch. I quickly felt the right side of my head and to my great pleasure I found that my friend had stitched it.

Unfortunately, I could here her on the phone, with Don, in her kitchen. "Ok Donnie," I heard April say, "Yeah, he's right here on my couch. You say Raph's out looking for him? And Raph left his shell cell? Ok. You and Leo are coming to get him? Ok, I'll go tell him." I was too groggy to move very fast but I sat straight up as I heard April come in.

"Mikey?" she said sweetly, "Are you alright?" I looked at her like I was a child who just lost his mother in the local mall and a stranger had asked that same question. "April," I said with a quivering voice, "Please tell me you weren't just talking to Donatello."

April stared blankly at me. "What's wrong Mikey? Did something happen, in the lair?" she asked. I could tell she knew I was feeling lost and scared to no end. I couldn't just drag her into a family matter. Could I?

I shuddered, turned my head away from my red-haired friend and glared at the wall. This was an unusually cold gesture for me to give to anyone. "Mikey?" April enquired puting her hand on my right shoulder, "Did you and Raph get into a fight? Is that why you had that big cut on your head?" "No," I replied simply, "The cut isn't Raph's work. It's Leo's."

April removed her, very comforting, hand from my shoulder and turned my face towards her. She looked deep into my eyes and could tell I wasn't lying. "If you want to leave do so," she told me, "I'll tell Donnie and Leo that you left while I was talking to Don." "Thanks April," I said to her as she helped me up.

I walked to the window opened it and stuck my head out. "Here," my red-haired friend said handing me a first aid kit, "You'll need this to help prevent an infection." "You really are an angel, you know that?" I smiled, taking the kit, "I'm sorry April... I can't come over to see you anymore..." "I understand Mikey," she sighed sullenly.

We hugged each other good bye and shed some tears of sorrow and regret. "You'd better leave before your brothers come," April said. "Ok," I replied, "Don't think of this as good-bye. Think of it as see you later." I heard her giggle as I slipped out of the window and walked off into the cold winter night.

My only thoughts were of my beloved younger cousin Tobrina. How she would react, waking-up tomorrow to find that I, the only father she'd ever known, had left. I knew this would be the worst hardship the two of us had ever experienced so far. Tears ran down my cheeks and stung every stitch they hit. I pressed on into the night, to my girlfriend's house.

"Where? Where am I?" I asked myself. I looked around trying to find reason, then I felt it. The knife in my hand, the blood trickling down my head and neck and the same fear that I felt all those months ago. I had reopened the scar left by my brother's swords and I was no longer in an apartment. I was in an alley.

I was shaking with anger and fear, mostly fear. "I can't let my brothers find me," I told myself. I struggled to my feet and started down the alley. I wouldn't get far without help and I knew that Don could track me if I used my shell cell.

I stumbled my way to the end of the alleyway and to my great relief I found I was in a part of town I knew well. From where I stood I could see a payphone on the corner of the street. I smiled and, foolishly, ran toward it and straight into one of my brothers.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" I heard him sneer. I recognized his voice instantly and feared it. I didn't even need to look up to realize that I had just made contact with the brother I ran into the night I had run away from home. "Out of my way!" I demanded forcefully.

I felt my hotheaded brother jerk back as I heard his heart skip a beat or two. I looked up to see him searching me over to make sure that I really was his youngest brother Michelangelo. I concurred that he didn't expect my voice to be as low as it was.

I glared into his eyes growled and pushed past my, stunned, second oldest brother. My senses were so dulled by fear and anger, I never saw, nor heard, that I was being followed. Not just by Raph, but by somebody else. I felt Raph grab my wrist and pull me back to his side. "Hey! What's the big idea?!" I shouted. Raph grunted and pointed to the area I just stood and the smoking crater that now occupied that spot.

"Uh... thanks," I muttered. "What are you doing Mikey?" Raph asked down to me. "I was going to call a cab from that payphone," I snapped. Geez, I was being harsher than usual but could you honestly blame me? Raph looked at me angry, and concerned. I noticed that the majority of his attention was focused on the right side of my head.

"Reopen it?" he asked simply. "What's it to you?!" I shouted back. This was definitely not the best time to discuss my wounds and the siblings that gave them to me. "You're my baby brother!" retorted Raph. "I'm not a baby!" I roared back. I started to walk away only to learn Raph still held my wrist. "Let go of me!" I demanded.

"I will if you answer a few questions," Raph said, surprisingly calmly. "Fine," I sighed stopping my struggling and turning to face my brother. "Good," he said, "First off, where are you going?" "Obviously not back to my place," I snapped, "Since you three probably ransacked it. And him and Don are most likely staking it out!" "Secondly, why don't you wanna try and work things out with Leo?" Raph continued. "How dare you speak his name in my presence!" I hissed, giving my, usually, hotheaded brother a swift punch in the jaw. "Ouch... shoulda seen that one coming. Ok, I'll leave you know who out of this,"mumbled Raph rubbing his jaw, "Last question, promise. Do remember when you reopened your scar? Or did you have another blackout?"

I froze as soon as the last two words hit me. I didn't remember reopening my scar. I had blacked it, and many other events, out but I couldn't tell Raph. He'd never let me forget it. I decided the old standby was my only option. I'd just laugh the question off.

"Raph," I addressed him with a slight chuckle, "You never were good with math. That's two questions." Raph didn't seem the least bit amused by my choice of action. "Mikey," he said in a warning tone. "Raph," I mimicked trying to be my old cute self, but failing miserably. "I mean it," my brother growled.

"I haven't had those damned blackouts in ten years!" I roared violently shaking my wrist free of his grip. He looked at me in shock. No wait, it wasn't shock. It was fear. The same fear he had shown me all those years ago. When I'd had my first blackout. Raph still feared my, non-existent for the longest time, blackouts.

"Mikey?" I heard Raph question, "You ok?" Oh how I wanted to yell at him. To tear him down. To destroy him and send him crying back to that vile blue clad monster that once was my brother. But I couldn't bring myself to do that. I needed his help, to get me somewhere where Vonica could get to me. Perhaps if I weren't bleeding I could've done so.

"Raph," I finally sighed, "I need to get somewhere." "Where?" Raph asked, voice laced in fear and concern. "I- I can't tell you," I managed to stammer, "Somewhere where Vonica can get me." "Yeah, she moved out too, didn't she?" Raph asked, more to himself than to me. I sighed. This conversation was slowing me down.

I shook my head slightly and began to walk in the direction I had been before Raph dropped in. I noticed that my left shoulder was slightly sticky. I didn't really care. I looked forward and saw I was more than half way to the payphone from where I was only a moment ago.

I looked back to Raph, who was watching me. I sighed and continued to the end of the street. I blinked a couple of times before looking infront of me. I was at the phone. I picked it up and began to dial. I heard an answer, it was Toby. I managed to mumble some simple directions to her. And that was when, the world around me began to fade to black.

SG TT: I hope you enjoyed chapter 4.

Please R &R. and No flames.