I don't own TMNT or UY.

sorry for the delay. I've had a rough few days and a long, sleepless week. I'm trying to get back in the groove again. I hope you guys will be patient with me.

Xxxxx

I felt the metal heat up as the gun bucked in my hand. I heard the deafening crack and saw the muzzle flash.

The man who'd tried to break Raph's neck lurched backwards, his hands releasing Raph as he fell to the floor. Small, crimson flecks of liquid had sprayed across my brother's cheek as he remained where he sat, staring at me with wide, horrified eyes.

I lowered my arm, letting the gun drop from my grip to the floor.

Raph was staring at me in mortified silence. He gave his head a very slight shake. His eyes fluttered and he shook it again, a little harder.

"M.. .Mikey what.. what've you done? What've you done?!" He said, his voice going from shaky to loud in a few brief seconds.

I felt my mouth pull and my expression pain. I couldn't say anything, my tongue was caught in my throat. My feet carried me forward as I found myself walking towards him. I half reached out to, subconsciously, help him to his feet but stopped. He shook his head again, putting his hands to the floor and pushing himself up.

"My God Mikey... Why...Why?!" He suddenly snapped at me, his expression switching from stunned horror to anger.

"Why the hell did you do that?! WHY?!"

I stammered, shaking my head and opening my mouth, but the words wouldn't come.

"What the HELL is wrong wit you?! Is THIS what we do?!" He reached out and grabbed me roughly by the shoulders.

"HUH?! We go around blowin' people's heads off?! Is That what we've been taught ta do?!" His eyes narrowed sharply as he gave me a single, hard shake.

I shook my head violently, finally finding my voice. "No!"

"Then WHY?!" He stopped for a few seconds and his expression changed again, melting from fury to something that looked almost like pain. "Michelangelo why?!"

My vision suddenly blurred as I shook my head again, my voice cracking. "I don't know! He was hurting you! I didn't want him to hurt you!"

"So HIT him! THROW somethin' at him!" He took a few short, sharp breaths, shaking his head again. "You don't... you don't SHOOT him."

My shoulders shook as I was unable to stop a sob from escaping me. "He was hurting you!" I insisted. "He... he was gonna hurt you!"

"Yeah but you..." I felt Raph's hands shake as they gripped me. "Mikey... ."

His voice petered out as he stared at me. I could see his eyes gloss over with extra moisture. He couldn't find anything else to say to me.

I shook my head again, shutting my eyes tightly. I was having trouble speaking through my sobs.

"I ... I didn't.... want him to hurt you..."

For a few moments there was nothing. Just the sound of my crying and Raph's hard breathing as he stared at me, not letting me go.

Finally, I heard him take a deeper, shaking breath.

"We gotta go." He said. His voice sounded broken. "The other's will've raised the alarm."

I shook my head, trying to stop my tears to talk. "We... We gotta bandage him first..."

"What??" Raph snapped.

I raised my hands to try and wipe my eyes clear so I could see him. He was staring at me, looking lost in confusion.

"The... the guard." I pointed the the large man I had shot. "He.. He'll. ..he'll bleed to death if... if we don't bandage him...."

Raph blinked at me before he spun around sharply to look at him. He then turned his face back to me, wide-eyed.

"Wha...what?? I thought..." He turned back to look at the guard.

He stayed motionless for a few moments before he let me go and moved over to him quickly, kneeling down and inspecting him.

I pulled down my mask, trying desperately to clear my vision.

"You hit him in the shoulder." I heard Raph say with a flat voice.

I took a quaking breath and nodded, tying my mask back around my face. "Yeah..."

Raph turned to look at me. "You... You meant to hit him in the shoulder??"

I swallowed and nodded again, calming myself down. "Yeah..."

Raph stared at me for a few moments. I couldn't figure out his expression properly. It looked somewhere between relief, fear and deep concern.

After a few moments he turned back to the man, gripping his shirt and hurriedly tore off a long strip before going about making a crude bandage for the wound.

Once he was done he straightened, walking towards me briskly and taking hold of me by the arm. He turned and marched me from the room.

"Come on. We're going."

---

Raph poked his head out of the doorway before he exited, walking me physically out the room and down the hallway. He wasn't letting go of my arm, gripping it tightly and digging his fingers into it. I winced.

"Raph... you're hurting me." I whimpered.

He said nothing but I felt him ease his grip. He still didn't let go though and continued to lead me down the passage, his other hand gripping one of his sai tightly. He was looking around, his eyes flashing as he watched out for any-one who might suddenly appear around a corner and get the jump on us. The scientist guys who'd run from the room were without a doubt letting every-one in the base know we were here. I didn't see them run out the room until it was too late, although I'm not sure what I coulda done to stop them. Guards were gonna start storming down these hallways any second now to try and find us.

Raph was marching more than he was walking. I had to take double steps to stop myself from tripping over. He still wasn't letting me go. Normally I'd pull myself free but for some reason I felt almost numb. I just couldn't work up the nerve to pull my arm away from him. He was walking like he knew exactly where he was going, looking at each door we passed before turning to the front again.

"R..Raphael what're we..?" I started.

"Shut up." He snapped, not slowing.

I bit my tongue and continued to stumble after him. He was furious with me, you didn't need a degree to see that. What's worse is that I couldn't think of any argument I could use to defend my actions. I knew what I did was wrong. Heck I knew it was wrong even as I did it. But at that moment it hadn't mattered. Raph was in trouble and I didn't want him to get hurt. That's all that was important.

Raph suddenly came to a sharp stop and I nearly fell over. The only reason I didn't was 'cause he was still holding on to me. I turned to look at him and saw him press the side of his head against the door with a soft frown for a few moments.

I wanted to ask him what he was doing, but I was afraid to. I've never been afraid of Raph. Never. Oh sure when he got pissed at me I'd shriek and run screaming like a little girl, and I stayed away from him when he was in a bad mood; but I've never been afraid of him. I had no reason to be. Right now it wasn't him I was scared of. I just didn't know what he was gonna do, and I didn't wanna say anything to make him even madder than he was.

He pulled away from the door again and put his sai in his belt before he grabbed the doorknob and pushed it open. He pushed me forward, shoving me inside before he followed after me, closing the door behind us.

I took a few stumbling steps to stop myself from falling before I regained my balance. I looked around the room he'd brought me to. It was small and only dimly lit by one desk lamp and some or other bluer light in the far corner. It kinda looked like a fancy office of some kind, except there were no papers or anything, only computer stuff and wires and shelves with more computer stuff and wires. It kinda made me think of a car garage in miniature. Except with computers. I dunno, I wasn't trying to analyse it. I was more worried why Raph brought me here.

I turned to look at him. He was making sure the door was shut tight before he took hold of one of two chairs in the room and wedged it under the door-handle to stop any-one from coming inside. My throat felt dry and scratchy, but I wasn't sure if it was 'cause I'd been crying or if it was 'cause I was nervous of what was going on. I didn't like this at all.

"Raph." I said hesitantly. "What're we doing?"

He gave the chair a hard push, making sure it was properly wedged before he stood up straight again.

"We're talkin'" He said.

I felt my stomach turn a little bit. "Now?? Here??"

"Right now. Right here." he said, turning to face me and crossing is arms, frowning at me hard.

I gaped at him in disbelief. "Raph we don't have time for this! We got a mission to do! We need to stop Bishop from using his portal... thingy! That's what Leo said!"

He bared his teeth ever so slightly. "Yeah well Leo ain't here, and Leo didn't see what I just saw."

He shook his head slightly. "Thank God." He added.

I felt my brow twitch as my heart sped up. "Raph, we can't do this right now!"

"We gotta do this right now!" He snapped, suddenly raising his voice. "Look I wanna know what the hell is goin' on with ya! And yeah, I know you don' wanna talk about it for whatever reason and I know you're gonna bitch and moan and tell me to leave you the hell alone but I don't friggen' care! You're gonna tell me what's goin' on and you're gonna give me the whole story because I can't stand around watchin' you do this anymore!"

I flinched at the sudden loud words, but quickly hid it behind a frown, tensing my shoulders and trying my hardest to make myself look threatening, knowing Raph has never seen me as a threatening figure. Especially since he was bigger than I was.

"Look I just lost it for a second ok?!" I yelled back. "Shell, I was trying to protect you! Doesn't that mean something?! Why you gotta twist it into something it's not?!"

"Because I ain't!" He yelled. "I ain't twistin' it into anythin'! And this is more than you just 'screwin' up'! This is more than just tryin' ta have my back!! This is more of the same bullshit you've been pentin' up for days now!! You know it's true! And if you don't know then my God you're further gone than I thought!!" He uncrossed his arms and ran his hands back over the top of his head, hard. "Ya can't do this Mikey!! I'm not gonna let you do this!"

I felt a static charge run across my shoulder blades as I started getting angry. "What the hell business is it of yours what I do?! Why d'you wanna know so bad?! It's got nothing to do with you!! You insist on forcing your way into my personal business when I've told you to leave it alone and drop it!! How many times do I gotta tell ya I don't wanna talk about it?! Why do you care anyway?! Why?!"

"Because you're my brother and I love you!!" Raph screamed.

Whatever words I had gotten ready to yell as a retort broke in my throat and I swallowed them back, suddenly unable to say anything.

He glared at me furiously, his hands clenched into fists and his shoulders raised aggressively as he grit his teeth at me.

"I ain't watchin' you do this any more!! I ain't watchin' you turnin' into somethin' you're not!! I can't do that!!" The anger in his face flickered, faltering slightly. "I can't!"

I opened my mouth, so desperate to say something in retaliation, to just yell and scream at him so we'd get so pissed off with each other that we wouldn't wanna say one more word to one another. But nothing came. It was like my voice had been knocked right outta my throat.

Raph gave his head a hard shake. "What happened Mikey? What did this creep do to ya?! What the hell did he say that was so damn important that you'd turn around and decide you were gonna throw away everythin' we've been taught?!" He shook his head again, turning his eyes to look at me again. "Ya can't do that Mikey! You'll lose yourself!"

The anger was quickly draining out of him. He was staring at me pleadingly now, deep concern in his eyes. He was trying so hard to stay assertive, but his tone of voice had changed too much. He was practically begging me.

"Ya gotta tell me Mikey. I don't want.. ..this." He swallowed. "Please."

My throat tightened all over again as my vision swam. I wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him the very night I came home from the park. But how could I? Nothing he could say would be able to make anything better. There's nothing he could come up with that would change what that guy had said. If anything, all it would do was screw him up as well. It would just make him feel as messed up as I did. It would make anyone of my family feel messed up and confused. I didn't wanna do that to them. I didn't want them to hear what this Tibalt guy said. It wasn't worth knowing. There was no point in hurting them. I didn't wanna hurt them.

Raph had gone silent, staring holes into me as he waited for me to say something. He wasn't angry any more. He wasn't threatening me into talking or parading his usual macho attitude. He didn't look scared either. I was freaking the hell out of him and I knew it but... he didn't look scared.

Of course he didn't.

Raph's not scared of anything.

I drew in a breath, but my chest wouldn't fill properly.

"I don't..." I managed to stammer out before I choked. I swallowed and tried again. "I don't.. ..know what.. ...what to say...."

Raph said nothing, staying motionless as he stared at me.

I bit my lip, lowering my eyes to the floor. "I don't... ...I mean... ..I don't know where to start and..."

"Start with why ya got into a fight with the guy in the first place." He said.

Heh. A gentle-toned Raph. Now I knew I was in trouble.

I nodded, closing my eyes as I tried to put the events in order in my head. "I was following him ta see where he was going. I was doing good to, until we got to the park. I was still following him and hid, but he musta seen me 'cause he turned around and was all 'Why are you following me?'. So I didn't see any point in hiding so I just stood up to face him. Then he was all like 'What's wrong? Can't ya talk?'. And I was like 'Yeah I can.' Then he was like 'Oh, that's kinda weird'. And came at me. I mean he's such a skinny dork I thought I could scare him off so I tried swinging my 'chucks at him. But he didn't seem scared at all."

I swallowed, opening my eyes although I didn't have the guts to look at Raph. "So then I was like 'Aw shell! This guy's gonna try fight me!'. But there was nothing else I could do. So I attacked him. I didn't know he was gonna be as fast as he was. He was real fast. Like really real fast. But it was... I dunno. It was weird. He moved like he was cheating or something. I dunno how to explain it." I shook my head, trying not to get off topic. If I was gonna spill my guts I gotta do it all at once or I'm never gonna get this out.

"So anyway. Turns out skinny dorks like him actually know how to kick some serious shell. He was really wiping the floor with me. I couldn't even hit him! He was just so fast and moved like.. really weird. And he hit hard. I was..." I hesitated. "I got kinda scared. But there was no way to get outta it. So I kept trying to get in some hits of my own but It didn't work. At some point he knocked me down and was ontop of me with his hands like this;" I put my hands around my throat to demonstrate. "That's when I stated freaking out real bad." I felt my face twitch. "I wished you were there."

There was a pause, and for a while I wasn't sure if I should keep going or not. I didn't think Raph would let me stop there but... I really didn't wanna talk about the next part.

"Then what happened?" I heard him say gently. There was a slight tension in his voice, like he was afraid for me or something.

I took a deep breath, gearing myself up.

"I tried to get him off me, and finally got in a hit. I got up and I was gonna run away. I was gonna forget him and just try and run away. I didn't think I could but I wanted to try. He musta noticed 'cause he said 'so you're gonna turn tail and run? Typical.'

I know I shoulda ignored him, but the words just came out and I was like 'whaddya mean 'typical'?'

He got up again and said 'I just didn't expect much more from you.'

I was annoyed and, well, I didn't want to prove him right so I stayed."

"Bad move." Raph interrupted.

I nodded. "I know. So anyway, I didn't want him to think I was chicken so I was all 'I'm not going anywhere!'

then he said; 'Why not? No-one would blame you.'

and I said 'I'm not a coward!'

then he said. 'Of course not. You're not able to be a coward.'.

So then I was like 'huh?' cause that didn't make any sense am I right?

That's when he came at me and we started to fight again, but he was still talking which I thought was kinda dumb at first.

He said; 'You can't be a coward if all you got are instincts. Cowardice would mean you've got morals. And that's just silly.'

I was talking back cause I was starting to think this guy might just be nuts, but I wasn't sure. I wanted to find out if he actually had a point to yakking like this or if he was just crazy. So I said; 'What are ya talking about? Morals aren't silly!'

then he was like; 'No of course not. That's not what I said. I said the notion that you have morals is silly.'

and I was like 'Why? 'cause I'm a teenager?'" I shrugged lightly but my heart wasn't in it. "I dunno. Seemed like the right response. But he laughed and was like; 'No. It's because you're an animal.'."

I paused and swallowed, recalling the memory. It hurt. "So I was all confused, but his talking was starting to bug me, so I ignored him and focused on hitting him instead. But he didn't shut up.

He kept talking, saying; 'You've never thought of that have you? But it's the truth turtle ninja. This whole 'code of honour' thing and 'ethics' and 'morals' you've based your life on is just a giant joke.'

I couldn't help it so I yelled 'No it isn't!'. I should probably just have kept quiet huh?

Anyway, he laughed at me which made me kinda mad. Then he said; 'Oh but it is. Look at yourself turtle boy. What are you exactly? A ninja? Don't make me laugh. You're nothing but an animal wearing a costume. Like those ladies who dress up their cats.'"

I flinched, feeling my expression harden. "That really made me angry. I made sure to hit him extra hard for that but he... he wouldn't shut up!

He kept going and said; 'What kind of morals and ethics are animals suppose to have? They don't concern themselves with things like that. Why do you insist on making your life harder when there's no point? What are you trying to prove?'

So I was really getting pissed off and was all like; 'Shut up! You don't know anything!' But he wouldn't! He said; 'You said you're not a coward. But that's the same as saying you're not a goldfish! Of course you're not! You don't have the ability to be a coward! You're just an oversized, tragically polluted animal!'"

My voice was starting to rise but I couldn't stop it. I shut my eyes tightly. "I told him to shut up! I told him to shut up but he wouldn't! It wasn't true anyway! He was just trying to unnerve me so he could win the fight! It wasn't true! I knew that! But he wouldn't shut up! He kept going saying; 'You're just like a seal who got caught in an oil slick! You got yourself pumped full of crap but you're still what you are! A seal covered in oil is still a seal! It doesn't suddenly become a person! The only difference is you've been twisted into something resembling a person but you're still just a stupid little reptile born in an aquarium and fed fish flakes for the first half of your life! Oh sure you may think a little faster and you've figured out how to use tools more complicated than a rock but all that that means is that you're a smart animal! An animal with brains! That's all you are!'"

I shook my head hard, as if trying to block out the man's words coming out of my own mouth. "I told him to shut up! Just Shut up!! I just wanted him to shut up!! I hit him! I hit him as hard as I could! I just wanted him to stop! He was lying!! It was all just bullcrap he was spewing out to piss me off!! He needed to stop talking! So I hit him! I kept hitting him until I.. ..I realised he was on the ground and I was pinning him down! He wasn't even fighting back he... He wasn't even fighting back. I stopped I... I couldn't believe I flipped out like that." I swallowed but the tightness in my throat didn't go away. "And he... he smiled at me. And he was all... he was all 'Why are you stopping? You're mad aren't you?' And I almost hit him again but something... something stopped me. And he was like; 'No-one would blame you. You can't blame an animal for killing a person. They don't call that 'homicide', they call that 'an attack'. Cause animals.. ...animals can't... can't commit murder.'"

I realised I was shaking. I felt cold all of a sudden. I wrapped my arms around myself tightly, trying to stop it but it wouldn't go away. It was getting hard to talk. "I.. ..I ran away.. ...I got scared and I.. ..I ran away... ..." I felt something run down my face. "And then Leo yelled at me.... because I... .." My shoulders gave a spasm "Because I... ...I went out and followed that guy just to make myself feel better without.. ..without thinking... just acting on in.. ..instinct and I.. .." I gave a sob. "And I.. ...I..."

I heard Raph shift his weight before his footsteps came closer. I lifted my head to try and look at him but it was no use. My vision was too water-logged and it was too dark in the room. All I could do was make out his silhouette as he came closer. I didn't move, keeping my arms wrapped around myself as tightly as I could. I wish I would stop shaking. I wish I would stop crying. It hurt, and I felt sick.

Raph stood himself right in front of me and I felt his hands place themselves on my shoulders. They firmed their grip before easing up again gently.

"Why d'ya listen to him bonehead?" Raph's voice came from somewhere in front of me.

I tried to answer but I couldn't form a sentence, merely choking out another sob as I shook my head weakly.

"Why didn't ya tell some-one 'bout this if it was buggin' ya so bad?" He asked.

I shook my head again, a little harder this time. "C...Cause what'd be the point?? It's... it's not like it's.. ..it's not true! A.. And... and what could any of y.. you say?! There's.. ..there's nothing to say there's just.. .." I shut my eyes again tightly. "There's just nothing to say...."

Raph was quiet. I was trying desperately to stop my snivelling, but it was hard. I was still shaking. It felt like even the air in my lungs were shaking. I felt cold.

Raph wasn't saying anything. Of course he wasn't saying anything! There's nothing to say! I didn't wanna tell any-one about this for just this reason! There's nothing any-one could say about this! I dunno if what the guy had said was true or not but it wasn't exactly a lie either! I'd been running it through my head for such a long time now. Over and over again, trying to forget it, trying to push it aside, trying to tell myself it wasn't worth thinking about. It was just a jackass who liked messing with people! Getting upset about it is just what he wanted me to do! I was busy playing his game! But at the same time how couldn't I? If I just ignored what he said and pretended it was all a giant lie I'd just prove how stupid I really was! I'd been trying to hard to figure it out. I tried so hard to figure it out. But I couldn't. I just couldn't do it.

"D'you wanna go home?" Raph's voice suddenly broke through my thoughts.

I raised my head and looked him in the eyes again, blinking partly in confusion and partly to try and clear away my tears.

I swallowed, trying to find my voice again. "wha... what?"

"Do you, want to, go home?" he repeated, speaking a little more clearly.

I couldn't help but give an empty laugh at this, but stopped when his face came into focus. He was staring at me with hard eyes. I stared back in disbelief. He was serious.

I frowned. "What?"

He kept his eyes on mine, his hands still resting on my shoulders. "I'll take ya home Mikey. Say the word and I'll take ya back right now."

My eyes widened and I gave a tight shake of my head. My tongue felt like it tied itself in a knot before I spoke. "N.. no! No I can't!"

"Sure ya can." He said, his expression softening a little. "Not like the two of us have done much good so far anyway right?" He tightened his hands just a little. "I'll take ya home Mikey. You know I will."

I shook my head again, a little more meaningfully. "No. No I can't I..." I took a deep breath. "I won't."

"Ya sure?" He asked.

I frowned a little harder at him. "Of course I'm sure! Raph we can't leave now! Leo and Don and Usagi are counting on us! Jotaro is counting on us! We can't just leave!"

He blinked at me. "Why not?"

"Because it's not right!" I said, my voice getting louder again. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Raph wants me to just walk out on our family?! What the shell was that all about?!

He frowned lightly. "But this is killin' ya. Ya gotta look after yourself."

"I will not Leave the others behind because I've got problems Raphael! What the heck are you thinking?! I can't believe you'd even say such a thing! You want us to just abandon them for my selfish reasons?! That's horrible!! I won't do it!! I won't!! It's not RIGHT!"

I went silent, suddenly aware of how hard I was breathing as I glared at my brother. He stared back at me, not saying anything for a few moments.

"That's how ya feel huh?" He said calmly.

"Yes!" I said exasperatedly.

I felt light pressure on my shoulders as he squeezed them again. "If that's how ya feel... then what are ya worried about?"

"What?!" I snapped, I was angry and didn't feel like being confused right now.

"Ya said it's not right. Ya said that, despite it bein' better for you, ya'd rather keep runnin' around this fun house 'cause the others need ya." He shook his head and I saw him give a sideways smile. "So what the hell does this mother fucker know? He can't even get that about ya right. And I mean.. it ain't rocket science right? We look out for each other 'cause it's the right thing ta do," He shook his head. "not 'cause we hafta."

I blinked at him, feeling my anger quickly drain away, although I had a feeling it might have been aided by how emotionally tired I was getting.

He gave a sigh, looked to the side for a few moments, then turned back to me. "Look I.. I ain't good with this talkin' thing. And I don' have any answers for ya. But just trust me ok? This asshole has no idea what the hell he's talkin' about. Heck if I were with ya that night I probably woulda laughed at him." He gave a light shrug. "I don' ...have any words of wisdom or any Master Splinter insights or any Leonardo pep-talks. I just got me. And even if everythin' that guy said is true who cares? It don't matter. Ya still wanna help Usagi and his kid right? That's what matters."

I nodded dumbly, lowering my gaze a little. "I still don't know... how to feel about what he said... I don't know what to do..."

Raph shrugged slightly. "I can't help ya bro. But I do know ya can't go around lashin' out at people. I mean I know they're tryin' ta kill us but ya can't lower yourself to their level. I know it's hard some times but ya gotta keep your head on straight anyway. I mean you know me. I don't exactly buy into the whole 'honour' thing much. The whole Bushido business never really got me that excited like Leo."

"Yeah but..." I bit my lip for a moment. "...But you never slip up. You still do what's right. Even when you get angry you still try and do what's right."

He made a noise that sounded almost amused. "That's 'cause I follow my gut. Not the textbook. And even without the textbook my gut still tells me it ain't right ta just go ape-shit and kill people. Ain't that proof enough?"

I thought for a moment, trying to translate what Raph was trying to get at. I could kinda understand what he was trying to say, but somehow, I didn't feel completely convinced. It wasn't that I didn't believe him, but there was still a small amount of doubt in my stomach. More than anything I guess it was self-doubt. I never considered any of my brothers as anything less than the people they are. Raph didn't need to do anything to convince me he was more than a $15 little animal destined for a little boy's aquarium somewhere. But then... He's Raph. He's brave and caring and tough and never compromises. I'm just me. I couldn't compare myself to him or Donny and least of all Leo. I didn't even bother thinking about Master Splinter.

I sunk and shook my head slowly. "I don't know Raphie."

He gave a long sigh, letting go of one of my shoulders and moving to stand beside me. "I know. But I ain't the person to try and talk to. I ain't that good at this stuff. Save the big questions for when we get home ok? Splinter will know what ta say. Till then, just trust me on this; that creep didn't know what he was talkin' about. You're more than all that."

I still wasn't sure, but at the very least I did trust Raph. He's said, at least twice now, that he's not very good at trying to say what he thinks but the truth is, he's better at it than he realises. I just couldn't get all this to stick in my brain right this very second. I needed to think it over. I needed to sit down and try sort this all out in my head.

I felt him let go of me before moving his hand, wrapping and arm around my shoulders and tugging me against him a little.

"Geez. You're really twitchin'. You gonna be ok?" He said, looking me overly worriedly.

I nodded, taking another deep breath to try and calm myself down. I could slowly feel life flood back into my arms and chest. It felt like I'd pulled out a thorn that had become infected. It hurt, a lot. But it was out now. As painful as it was at least it was out.

I felt Raph give me another squeeze. "Calm down ok? You'll be alright."

I nodded shakily. "Y.. ..yeah."

I saw him nod back. "You'll be ok."

"Yeah." I said again. "I'll be ok."

Xxxxx

Been a while since we had a Mikey POV enh?

I hope no-one's disappointed by this chapter and the 'reveal' as it were. And I hope no-ones too OOC here, I don't think they're that bad but you never know ^^;