I've done so much thinking over this chapter. It's difficult not to make everything to heavy all at once and still live up to all of your expectations. I think I've got it now though so please like it!

Chapter 6: deception

It's been three days since I've cut Mikey and let him down. Not that I got much time dwelling on that fact. They did something. I don't know what but it must be bad. At first I thought it was the pain of his shoulder wound as it was a nasty one and I had to pour alcohol onto it, for god's sake. But the thing is, the stitches are doing fine and the wound is healing well. So after the second day I knew there was something different going on.

A yell. I scramble over to my baby brother's body and brace myself for another few hours of trying to calm him while he's trashing and screaming in pain. It happened only hours after I had taken care of the wound a couple of days ago and repeats itself constantly. Sometimes it seems there are mere minutes between the attacks and Mike would hardly have a breather to compose himself. Other times he has some hours of rest which he describes as feeling numb. The problem is that we never know when the next attack is coming up and that scares the both of us.

I sit next to Mikey and take him in my arms. The physical contact makes him relax slightly as he prepares himself for what's coming. I recognize all of the symptoms he's displaying. First he'll feel a burning pain which always makes him yelp because of the sudden intensity. That's how I know. After that he'll start sweating and his face will scrunch up. We don't know how long that'll last as its always different. But when the burning feeling disappears, the screams will tear my little bro apart. I hate it.

I wipe away on my brother's forehead and feel how he's burning up. Sweat drizzles down and I try to keep it from entering his eyes. His breathing is controlled and his posture somewhat relaxed. He tries to stay brave but I can see the fear gleaming in those blue orbs of his. They've always been as easy to read as an open book. Nothing, absolutely nothing, he can hide from us because of those eyes.

And then the first howl of pain echoes through the cell. I keep wincing after every sound he makes, knowing there's nothing I can do but to comfort him a little. More screams are forced from my little brother's throat and his complete body starts convulsing, trying to get rid of the immense pain burning its way through my baby brother. I hold him close and steady so he won't hurt himself. The first time this happened I tried to speak to Mikey but he never hears anything I say. After having done this so many times already, I know the best way to help him is to keep him from hurting more and wait till it passes. As for myself, I just try to block out any sound and any feeling that enters my mind. Not that it helps the stabbing pain inside my chest but at least it helps me maintaining a level head. That's something we both rely heavily upon.

After only God knows how long, Mikey's breaths become more regular and his screams come further apart. His skin is still pale but regains some colour and his arms and legs stop shaking. There's always this small smile directed my way, telling me he's feeling better and saying sorry. It hurts me when he does that because I don't deserve a smile or an apology. But don't tell Mike to stop. I wish he would hurt me more, that he would shout at me or kick me. He never does however. He suffers and therefore makes me suffer. And there's nothing I can do about it.

"I must say, this spectacle is even more enjoyable live then it is on my screens."

I growl lowly, an automatic response to the guy's voice. I heard him coming in some time ago but that doesn't really bother me anymore. I don't know who he is, but he's the type of guy who'll always get what he wants; one way or another. And if I cooperate, Mike will get less hurt. I owe him that much so remain passive.

"Come on, Red; now stop being such a grouchy turtle. There's no need to be angry with me. I've the solvation of your problem after all."

That got my attention so I turn around slowly to face him, keeping Mikey safely secured in my arms. He is awake but scared. Of course he is. Every time someone came down to this place, things never ended well for him. And never could I protect him from what he had to face.

"Nice to see your eyes for a change."

The grin on his face makes his teeth glint in the small light in the hall. I hate that overly-confident look of his and want to beat it out of him. I know I can't however. Mikey's here. This isn't a case of having nothing to lose. And the point is, I can't lose because when I do I'll shatter. There won't be a reset and there won't be another time of playing the game.

Something is thrown to the ground which lures me out of my train of thoughts. I sit Mikey up against the wall carefully but he whimpers slightly at not having me next to him. I ain't risking anything though. I slowly creep closer to the object on our cell-floor and see a filled up syringe. When I pick it up our captor starts talking again.

"This is the antidote to what I poisoned your brother with three days ago. I'm sure you've noticed something odd, now didn't you?"

I don't say anything and let my glare speak for me. The bastard poisoned him. Sure I knew something was going on, but poison? How did he administer it? I ate and drank everything Mikey did just to make sure everything was safe. So just how did he do it?

Well, no time to think about that. Mikey needs the antidote and I'm out of luck. Maybe this is the same trick as with the water bottle but I can't risk injecting myself first. And my brother is suffering so badly already, that I can hardly make it worse. Right?

But before I take the syringe and walk up to the slumped figure against the wall, the rules of the game change again.

"Before I forget. The antidote works the best when the subject has low brain activity."

I want to put up a fight for calling my brother a 'subject' but hold myself back. I know he wants me pissed off. I don't get what he's playing around with but some of his intentions are clear to me. And one of them is ticking me of and having Mikey suffer for my loss of self-control. And that ain't happening again.

"What do ya mean, asshole?" I growl lowly, not taking another glance at the man.

"I mean that only if your brother is asleep, the antidote in the syringe will work. Too bad I don't have anything to knock him out with so you'll have to do it."

He winks at me before walking off. I hardly notice it though as my mind is running. The words he speaks before disappearing completely have my attention though.

"The blade you cut your brother with was coated in the poison. Thought you'd want to know that."

With a maniacal cackle he leaves us alone, slamming the door at the end of the hallway. I know he's still watching us though. He mentioned he'd seen it every time Mikey had an attack. There must be cameras or something like that.

After what he's told me, I actually just want to sit down and cry. Nothing I do is good enough. I keep hurting my brother in every possible way and there's nothing to do against it. But Mike hasn't blamed me yet. He's the one important right now. When he's safe, I'll pay for everything I've done to him.

I turn around, fingering the syringe in my hand, while walking over to my brother. Often he smiles at me. Even here he still manages to keep the mood light and to not show any other emotion then how he trusts me and has faith. But this time he looks rather serious. The determination in his eyes actually makes me flinch slightly.

"Do it, Raph. Just a blow to the head. I know you can do that."

I shake my head before his words actually register. I'm not hurting him anymore, no way. I promised him, I promised myself that we would get out of here without a scratch and I already broke that one. The scratch was even made by my own hand. I'm not doing such a thing again. There must be another way.

Suddenly a smile breaks on my face. Mike looks at me as if I finally lost it but also with a touch of fear. He really wants me to knock him out and use that syringe on him. He's scared for the next attack. Also he's afraid that I'll go insane before him and he'll be alone. Well, no way. Because I'm not going to hurt my younger brother. Because for once in my life, I use my brain before brawn.

I slide in front of Mikey and softly trail my fingers over his neck and shoulders. I see the soft glint in his eye when he notices what I intend to do. The smile on his face evens mine and he gives me a quick thumbs up.

"But don't hit my head to hard again, Raphie-boy," he says in the cheeriest voice I've heard in over a week. "The first time you did this you gave me a bruise the size of an orange."

I snicker and mutter 'baby' under my breath. I let my hand slide down till I grab my youngest brother's wrist in a firm grip. I feel the energy flow beneath my thumb and cut it off. I jab him shortly in the crook of his elbow and quickly tap his temple with my flat palm. I'm on time to catch my brother when he collapses. While emptying the syringe into my brother's bloodstream, I thank Master Splinter for teaching us pressure points. He didn't teach me too many of them, especially not the deadly ones, as I was too impatient. I also thought that during a fight they were rather useless as no opponent would allow you to come this close. And if they were stupid enough to do that, why not knock them around with a fist and a kick. When we get home though, and I say when and not if like Mikey told me to do, I'll learn every single pressure point known to mankind.

"Not what I wanted, reptile," an eerie voice fills the cell. "He'll pay for that."

And that's it! The pressure point described is real and effective. A friend of mine showed me as she's a martial artist and owns her own dojo. Too bad I don't see her that often but I remembered the pressure point. Anyways I hope you all liked it and see ya soon! In the meanwhile, enjoy this wonderful cliffy :p