Author's Notes: Eep...I forgot about it again...stupid work overload! :( Ah well, I promise I will never let this go unfinished! :3 Enjoy!

Dreams are indicated by centralization and italics.

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. I own my plot, Violet, Ciara and Akamai.

Chapter 25: Here in My Heart

I stand in central park alone in the rain, looking up at the cloudy sky. I turn to find Mikey in the shadows of a tree.

"Mikey!" I beam happily, going to move forward to him.

He shakes his head, taking another step back.

I feel tears fill my eyes, running over to him desperately and taking his hands. "But…"

He looks away, snatching his hand back and quickly runs off. I watch him go.

I feel someone against me, hugged into me.

"Mikey?" I ask out into the darkness.

"Um…sorry…" Ciara mumbles.

I shake off the nightmares quickly, deciding to try get up. Ciara moves off me and allows me to stretch out a bit.

I glance at her, "What happened?"

She shakes her head. "They brought you here unconscious…" she gulps slightly. "Aa…are you…okay? You seemed…upset in your sleep…"

"I…" I stutter slightly, shaking my head quickly. "I'm fine"

She doesn't persist, clearly worried though.

"I'm sorry Ciara…I failed…"

"What?" she looks confused.

I dip my head so that I'm looking at the floor. "I tried to escape, but got caught just before I got to you"

She gulps slightly, "You…were coming for…me?"

"Of course, I'd never leave a friend"

She begins to cry, hugging into me again, "Oh Violet…I've never ever known such kindness…" she mumbles into me.

"It's nothing…honestly" I sigh, finding her neediness kind of comforting in a strange way.

I feel a sort of warm overcome me as I settle back down and relax a bit. I feel myself drifting back into a peaceful sleep, but this time it is natural and not forced.

I find myself standing in the main part of the lair, facing Mikey who seems so close, yet so far away from me.

"Violet?" Mikey seems surprised.

I look at him sadly. "Mikey…is it really you?"

"What do you mean Babe?" he tilts his head slightly.

"It is you…"

It's as if there is an impenetrable distance between us…

"Violet, I feel so lost without you" I see his eyes begin to become tearful, "But I fear…" he has trouble saying the next part, looking towards the floor suddenly.

"You'll never see me again?" I dip my head too. "I know the feeling"

He doesn't say anything.

"No…I don't want that Mikey" I begin to cry myself, "It can't happen!" I run forward towards him, stretching out my hand as I go towards him.

I stumble, nearly falling to my knees, only to find Mikey catch me.

"My beautiful flower" he helps me up, "Let's promise to never lose hope". He wipes the tears from my eyes then kisses me tenderly. "I will find you Violet, I won't let Bishop win!"

I hug into him closer, not wanting to wake up. "Mikey…I know you'll always be with me…I'll make sure I don't forget that"

He takes my hand, giving me a big grin, "Come on then"

"Huh?"

He starts running, pulling me along with him. As we pick up speed, he jumps up and suddenly takes flight, pulling me into the air with him.

I giggle as the scenery changes. "It's beautiful…"

I notice his form flickering slightly. He tries to keep smiling as he says, "It's alright. I think I'm just losing my focus"

He lets go so I'm flying by myself, "I don't want you to leave" I shake my head, trying to grab hold of him again.

"Don't worry, we'll never be apart Babe," he promises as he fades away.

I snap my eyes open as Ciara nudges me slightly.

"Violet…you're crying…"

I shakily wipe the tears from my eyes, feeling her stare upon me every moment.

"I can't do it!" I shake my head, burying my face in my knees.

"Huh?"

"I just can't stay strong without him!" I bawl, finding my sorrows overwhelming me.

Ciara shakily takes me into a hug, trying to calm me down. "You'll be okay…um…" she thinks quickly, "You said it yourself…your family won't leave you"

I nod slightly, "I just…need him," I whimper slightly. I glance up at my friend who is smiling for once.

"If you've taught me anything, it's to be strong and never give up" she says slowly, making eye contact.

I wipe my eyes again as I sit up. "You've changed…" I frown in thought, "Maybe you're ready now…"

"Ready?"

"To escape with me"

Akamai came in the next morning, taking me away to the interrogation room again. Bishop waited again, strapping me to the same chair and arranging the same tools before me on the table.

"Are we going to go through this every day?" I ask quickly.

Akamai begins removing the dressing around the wound Bishop caused a couple of days ago. It's pretty well healed, with only a slight scab left.

"Amazing…" she mutters. "Sir, it seems to have healed rapidly…just like…"

Bishop cuts her off. "That will do Akamai"

She nods and leaves quickly, obviously not wanting to get on his bad side.

"What have you been injecting me with? My wounds don't heal that fast!" I speak again, trying to get answers.

He doesn't look at me, "I'm the one who asks the questions here"

I notice him fiddling with the tools on the table, picking what to threaten me with. I begin to try freeing my hands, trying to wiggle them free of the harness.

"Perhaps your ready to tell me where you went?"

"Well…after you last saw me, my cell…" I tease.

He turns, a dark look spreading across his face. "You know exactly what I'm talking about…"

An alarm begins to go off, but he chooses to ignore it. Instead he grabs a syringe and comes over quickly.

"I can't lose you yet," he hisses as he injects me. "Sweet dreams…" he adds sadistically.

I dip my head, closing my eyes and waiting until I hear him run out. I quickly open my eyes, pulling as hard as I can against the wrist restraints. It finally gives, releasing my hands.

"Gotta hurry…serum…"

I rush over to the tools, getting increasingly tired with each step, and find another syringe left there. Ciara told me whenever Akamai sets up she keeps an antidote next to the serum in case she accidentally ends up getting injected or something.

With no other hope, I stab the needle into my arm, the contents disappearing inside me. Within moments I feel better.

I then hear someone coming, their footsteps quite loud as they are running. I turn as a noise comes from the door, and I try to prepare myself. But all I find is the door is broken down rapidly and someone latches onto me before I can react.

"Babe!"

I quickly hug him back. "Mikey!" I nuzzle into him, "I'm so glad you're here" I can feel tears forming in my eyes.

"I promised I'd find you" he soothes, "But we have to get out of here Babe before…" he's cut off by someone chuckling

"Touching, but now neither of you will be leaving" Bishop now stands in the doorway, blocking our only exit.

My eyes reconnect with Bishops, making me shudder slightly.

Mikey grins kind of sadistically. "Good…I was hoping to get you for doing all this," he almost hisses at the man, before grabbing his nunchacku from his belt.

"Mikey…please…" I gasp slightly, "Let's just go"

"NO! If we don't show him why not to mess with us, then he'll go after you again"

Bishop smirks, obviously ready for him either way. "Like I said, no one is leaving". He pushes some sort of button on the wall and another door comes falling down where Mikey had knocked the old one down. But this one is much stronger than the last one, so I know it will, at the very least, take longer to get past.

"I'm not leaving" Mikey growls at me, "When you get a chance, run as far away from this evil man as you can"

I shake my head, more tears beginning to form. "I would never leave you!"

"How touching" Bishop repeats as he removes his tie slowly, "But I'm afraid to tell you neither of you even have a choice in this"

"Shut up and fight me!" Mikey runs forward and tries to hit him with his nunchacku, only to find Bishop entangle one of them in his tie and yank it from his hands.

I look around desperately for a weapon, anything…

Mikey is pushed to the floor, Bishop wrapping the black tie round his neck as he attacks and begins choking Mikey.

"NO!" I jump at Bishop, using my weight to push at him. I struggle round his spare hand and bite the hand holding onto the other end of his tie. He lets go quickly and strikes me hard in the throat. I gasp for breath, temporarily unable to breathe, falling to my knees in the process.

"All of you are pests," he growls, approaching me after grabbing the saw from the table again. He restrains me to the ground as I only just begin to get air back into my lungs, holding the saw near my neck. "Surrender, or I'll take dear Violet's life" he threatens Mikey.

"You wouldn't" Mikey sneers, finally standing again after managing to retrieve his lost nunchacku.

He rams the saw back into my previously wounded shoulder, I scream out in agony, the pain escalating rapidly.

Even over my cries, I manage to hear his words. "You're right, I wouldn't kill her, but I'm not afraid to hurt her"

Hot tears run down my cheeks as I lay there, rolling onto the non-injured side slowly to watch them, still panting heavily. "Mikey…don't let anger take over…" I whimper quietly, trying to get up.

I make eye contact with Mikey momentarily before Bishop tries to attack him with the saw. They begin fighting, blocking each other's moves rapidly as they each try to out skill the other.

I drag myself onto my front and begin crawling towards the table; I need a weapon…

I make it to the table leg and use it to pull myself up slowly and, you can bet, painfully. I lean on the edge of the table, my legs threatening to give up because of the stress I'm going through. My eyes scan quickly round the tools of torture he has set here.

I hear a crash behind me and glance Bishop now wrestling with Mikey. I quickly grab a scalpel and move slowly towards them, having Bishop force Mikey into the wall.

I grin and bring up my hand, jamming the scalpel in the villain's back. Bishop falls to his knees, griping in pain.

"Well done Babe!" Mikey picks me up off my feet and rushes towards the door. He inspects it quickly, cursing "Where's Donny when you need him?"

My grin widens, "Who needs Donny when we can have Raph?" I point out a control panel to him.

Mikey grins too as he catches on and kicks the control panel. It sparks and the door lifts slowly. "We're out of here!" he declares as he rushes down the corridors, evading gunfire easily.

"Wait!" I cry, forcing myself down and out of his arms.

He pushes me out of the way of more fire, "What?"

"No…we can't leave yet"

He takes my hand, trying to lead me away, "Babe?"

"I said no!" I shake my head desperately, snatching my hand back.

He smiles bemusedly, "Why would you wanna stay here?"

I turn away, and with a single word, wobbly skulk off down the corridor, holding my once again injured shoulder. "Ciara"