A/N: Half of this chapter's been done for months now. I just never had time to finish it. Now with college and all, it's getting harder to actually post the chapters I write and this fic doesn't have a rough draft like the others. This is when things start happening. Yay for me for finally getting there! ^.^ I can't wait to go back to Mike's POV. I've been working on Raph's third person for so long now. *dies* Well enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own them. The only character that's my creation is Dr. Elias Svone and his minions. The story line's my original idea.
When I find out the next morning that the mutiny had already happened and Leo was gonna allow me to come with, I couldn't hold back the triumphant grin. I so won. I told you Leo couldn't keep up his act. I am the great Turtle Titan and Battle Nexus Champion. Brothers fall to my great power. Yanno… There should be a super power named after me. The Mikenator: Defender of turtle rights from elder brothers everywhere! …I'll work on the title later… Now I got some patrolling to do with my bros. I almost couldn't wait 'til we got topside and I grin as the wind tussles my mask tails.
"Keep with us, Mikey," I hear Leo say in annoyance mixed with worry. Only because I don't wanna be locked in the lair again do I draw back a little.
"Party-pooper," I mutter under my breath. Just because they are all a bunch of slow pokes, I have to slow down for them. I hate this wacko illness. It's totally bringing me down and making my bros even more annoyingly protective. It's cracking my grove. I'll show them… "Hey guys!" I call over my shoulder, "How 'bout a little race? Last one to April's is a rotten turtle egg!"
"Mikey!" I hear Leo yell after me.
"A little short-distance race isn't gonna kill me." I say, with a roll of my eyes. "Worrywart…"
"I think it's a good idea." Raph says, "I'm in."
"Thanks Raph." I say with a firm nod, "Donny?"
"Couldn't hurt…" He says almost hesitantly. My grin grows.
"Fine," Leo says with a huff.
"Yay!" I say, happily, "Ready-set-go!" Without even giving my bros time to register what I said, I take off. Distantly, I hear Raph growl as he runs after me – followed by the other two I'm sure, though much quieter. As my speed picks up to full throttle, I feel my adrenaline kick in and I can't help but make a shout of joy. I love this! With my mind fully on the run, I don't even notice my arm start burning again. On my next jump, my feet slip from under me and I collapse face-first. Only when I try to lift myself up do I start recognizing the signs. Why now? Why does this keep happening? I'll never be able to go topside again if this keeps up…
…Nightmare after nightmare. I'm so scared. They won't go away! I want Raphie! He always knows how to make the bad dreams go away! Why won't they go away?! I'm so tired, but I don't wanna go back to sleep. What if this time the dream monsters catch me? Donny says dreams can't hurt you, but what if he's wrong? Just 'cuz they never hurt him don't mean…
"How is the machine working?" It's that bad man from before! Has he come to finally kill me? I don't wanna die. I'm too young! I still haven't found out if the Justice Force survived that explosion!
"It is working all as planned, sir," A different voice says in response. "Everything's fully functional. This is a real breakthrough."
"Yes, comrade, the Nightmare Generator will make me a lot of money." The bad man says….
"Mikey! Mikey, wake up!"
I can barely wake up after that one. I hear myself groan as I try to lift myself up. I'm helped up and, by the dark green coloring, I guess it's Raph. When I manage to open my eyes, I notice Donny's also there though he's kinda backed away from me a little and lost in his own mind. I barely notice Raph shaking me. I'm still remembering that horror of my past. That name… I heard it before… 'The Nightmare Generator'…
"…Nightmare Generator…" I repeat to myself aloud. I think I'm starting to understand…
"Mikey, what's goin' on?" Raph asks me. I lift my head to look at him, still trying to remember. Where did I hear that before?
"Raph…" I begin to say before I'm cut off.
"Nightmare Generator?" Donny asks with a shiver.
"Yeah…" I say, looking at him, "Do you remember the significance of that?"
"We all do." I hear Leo say. I quickly turn around and find him standing some distance away watching me. "The Nightmare Generator. That was Svone's first invention before he created that future dream generator he put Donny, and eventually us as well, through six months ago."
"Oh, right. I remember now," I say as I slowly stand on my own feet. "Svone…"
"Why?" Donny asks a little shakily. I look up at him and notice he's fidgeting a little. I guess he isn't over Svone's torture yet. I don't blame him. I slept for a week after that and those dreams I saw? They made my nightmares look like fairytales! Of course, Donny's experience was longer than mine so I had to have been worse.
"Well…" I glance at Raph at this, "I had another dream. And…and Svone was in it…talking about the Nightmare Generator…that he was testing on me."
"But they're just dreams," Leo says, rationally.
"No…they're not…" Donny says. "I should have seen this coming. I just…I can't believe it…" I look at Donny in confusion that I'm sure is shared by everyone else.
"What do you mean?" Leo asks.
"Mikey, how old were you in that dream? Would you say about…eleven or twelve?" Donny asks me. I just stare at him for bit before I can answer.
"Eleven I think," I say, "Why, do you know something about this?"
"I saw it in a dream," He explains, "While Svone was giving me those future dreams… I didn't think it was real… I hoped it wasn't real."
"You…saw it in a dream?" I repeat. I was hoping he could confirm that my dream actually happened. Not that I want it to have happened but…I can't help but believe it did happen.
"Wait, eleven?" Leo asks, suddenly. "That's…five years ago… That's how old that newspaper article was. Remember? When we were heading to where Svone was holding Don?"
"Tha one that was talkin' 'bout the Nightmare Generator earning Svone an award?" Raph asks, "O' course I remember. Whatcha getting' at, Leo?"
"It said it was tested on animals with near-human intelligence." Leo says, "At first I thought it could mean monkeys, yanno?"
'Seeing as how you are a humanoid. Your brainwaves are so similar to that of a human.'
"You mean you think it was tested on me." I say as I remember what Svone had said in that one dream. "He did say something to that affect in my dreams. He treated me like I was an animal… Like the monkeys… Do you really think that actually happened?"
"I still think we woulda remembered sum'thin' like that if it happened." Raph says.
"Yeah, it wasn't that long ago," Leo says, "It's not like we have any proof anyway."
"I do know one thing." Donny says with his arms crossed over his plastron. "Adrenaline."
"What about it?" Leo asks.
"That's what's causing Mikey's attacks," Donny explains, "Adrenaline."
"What makes ya say that?" Raph asks.
"I've been thinking. Every time Mikey's fallen ill it was after something that would get his adrenaline up: running, fighting both physically and verbally…"
"…And sparring… You're right…" Raph says. "That does make sense…"
"What? Does that mean I can't do anything anymore?" I ask, hoping to be brought back into the conversation. I mean, come on, everyone hates being talked about like they're not there right? "That's not fair!"
"I have to do some tests to make sure, but I believe my findings will only prove my hypothesis correct." Donny says.
"Then that settles it." Leo says. "Mikey is banned from anything that will over-excite him."
"You can't do that!" I protest, "Are you guys even listening to me?! This isn't fair!" Well guessing from them turning around and heading back to the lair proves they are not listening…terrific… I really hate being ignored…
They left me again and there was nothing I could do to get them to take me with them this time. My life's ruined! I'm doomed to live a life of boredom and it's all because of this stupid stuff that was put inside of me. I don't even know if anyone can get rid of it. I'm going to be trapped here in boredom for the rest of my life! I almost slam the ball I was playing with into the ground, not caring if it came back or not when it bounced off the wall. I really am mad at my situation. It's just not fair!
As my heart beats harder with my irritation, I feel my arm start burning. I lay back in my bed and welcome the unconsciousness that follows. This time, though, it's more painful and I think I may have screamed out as my mind was forced to remember again…
…I'm so tired. Fear is the only thing keeping me awake but I don't know how long it'll last. I don't wanna dream anymore. I just want my family to come for me. I wanna go home.
I hear something and I open my eyes to see one of the humans fly past me. I look around, wildly, trying to figure out how he can fly like that. He didn't look like he was having fun and the sound he made when he crashed sounded painful. Then I see daddy. Is he coming to save me? Daddy!
"Back away from my son." Daddy says as he holds his walking staff like a weapon. He looks like he can fight off all the villains in my favorite comic book at the same time easily.
"So the rat's come out of his hole," The scary man says.
"How do you know of our existence?" Daddy asks.
"A certain toy store clerk had the footage I needed. It wasn't hard if you listened to the rumors."
Daddy! I try to squirm free but I can't. I can't even remove the icky cloth in my mouth. Help me, daddy!
"Heed my advice. If you do not free my son or back away from him this instant, I will have to make you."
"I am not finished with my tests yet, rat." Scary man says.
"You have been warned." Daddy says before he disappears from my sight. I quickly look around for him, but I just can't see him. I hear a weird noise like when my leg broke after I crashed my skateboard Donny made me, except this noise sounds squishy too. Then there's this other noise like a swish or something. I try to turn my head to face it but the table thing I'm on is blocking my view.
"Michelangelo," I hear Daddy say before he's in my line of sight and frees me from the table. "Are you alright, my son?" He pulls down the cloth so it's hanging around my neck now and I can speak.
"Daddy!" I say as I hug him tight, "I was so scared! Where's scary man? Is he gone? Can I go home now? Where's my bwothers? Are they okay? Is Leo still mad that I ran off and hurt myself? Is it all over?" I say all this in my usual rush before taking a deep breath.
"We can go home." He says, and I can hear his smile in his voice. "It's over."
"YAY!" I say as I hug him tighter. Daddy picks me up on his back and takes me away from the scary place.
"Your brothers wanted to come with me, but I advised them against it. They will be in the sewers waiting for us against my wishes." I snuggle my head against the back of daddy's neck and fall asleep…
"…Michelangelo!"
I moan, grasping my head as I see a strange white light flash beneath my eyelids. My head's killing me. I can't seem to think straight or even try to figure out who's shaking me.
"Michelangelo, wake up!"
I open my eyes to slits, trying to orient myself with my surroundings. My migraine is making it hard to see but I think I'm in my room and…is that Master Splinter?
"My son, are you alright?"
I guess it is… "My head… It hurts…" I whimper, my eyes unconsciously closing.
"Tell me what has caused you this pain."
"I don't know. Feels like my brain is overloading." I try to open my eyes again only to see a blurry outline of my sensei leaning over me. I feel him brush his hand over my forehead.
"The pain should pass soon. Just hold on until then."
I nod, squeezing my eyes shut and rolling over to fold in on myself as much as I could. Slowly, the pain does decrease in it's intensity. I let my body relax as I calm down. "Sensei?" I ask, when I can, "Do you remember a time when I was captured by Svone?"
"Yes," He says, sighing, "I remember, though not as well as you do now. I've been on a personal journey to search for all of my memories at that time, but they are all shrouded in mystery."
"Why didn't my brothers remember?" I ask. I'm shocked to hear he knew of this. Now I know these dreams were memories.
"Because of what happened after I rescued you from that place. Do you remember a white light?"
"Yeah, what does it mean?"
"It signifies the time when we all forgot what had occurred. Your brothers only remember your accident on your ''board' and not what happened after Leonardo found the remains of the crash and you missing."
"Leo went to find me?" At this, I sit up on my bed.
"Against my wishes, yes he did. He had left Raphael in charge and Donatello had informed me of Leonardo and your absence. I do remember my disappointment and worry when I found out I had two eleven-year-old sons out on their own." He almost smiled at that before he continued, "I believe Svone may have tried to erase our memories of this event and since the four of you were young at the time, the missing memory left no traces. For me, I knew something was missing and have been searching for it. Until now, I had no clue to what I was looking for, but you have given me what I needed."
"Why am I remembering now?"
"My suspicions are it was not the Foot that injected you with the serum that awakened these memories but Svone's men undercover. It seems he escaped the explosion and is now searching for a replacement to test his experiments."
"So he's after me?"
"I believe so." At that moment, we hear a crash in the main part of the lair. "Stay here, my son," Splinter says before going to check it out. I get up from my bed and slowly walk to my door as the noises continue. I can hear voices, but they aren't too clear. As I get closer, I hear my name. Only when I'm at the door do I realize its significance: Svone's men have come for me.
"So we're we headin', bro?" Raph asked as he turned towards Leo. He was starting to feel bad about leaving Mikey behind like that, but he knew they had to. It was for his own safety.
"Towards April's. I want to stop by her place for a little bit." Leo said as he turned back towards his brother before returning his gaze before him.
"Gotcha." He said in reply before glancing at Donny who was lagging behind. "What's up, Don?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothing." Don said, vaguely. "I'm just…thinking… I have a bad feeling. What if Svone comes back?" The last was quiet and Raph almost didn't hear it.
"He's dead, Donny," Raph said.
"But…what if he does? What if he…gets his hands on Mikey…?"
"Where's all this coming from?"
"I'm just…worried…"
"You have a right to be." A dreadfully familiar voice said from behind them. All three brothers turned around, Leo running back over to the other two.
"Svone." Donny ground out as he narrowed his eyes and pulled out his bo.
"Hello again, Donatello. I see you've gotten your strength back." Dr. Elias Svone said with a smirk. He was wearing his trademark white lab coat over a black suit. He was standing at the other end of the roof almost lazily.
"No thanks to you, jerk!" Donny growled. His brothers each put a hand on his shoulders to, hopefully, calm him. Neither of them has ever seen Don this angry before.
"Anger does not suit you-" Svone began.
"What do you want, Svone." Leo said with narrowed eyes, his free hand on the hilt of his katana.
"I just wanted to see how my old test subject was doi-" At Svone's line, Donny wrenched himself away form his brothers and leapt at him. He swung his bo staff as hard as he could but Svone managed to catch it. He then grinned a second before kicking Don in the gut, wrenching the staff out of Don's hands in the process, and knocked him off his already unbalanced feet with another swift kick before stabbing the bo staff down at his chest just above the ridge of his plastron. Donny coughed as he tried to breath against the stinging pain of his collarbone.
"Now," Svone said as he held the staff above Donny's neck with a foot on his plastron to hold him down. "Does anyone else want to attack me? With a single blow, I can break his windpipe."
"Well then talk." Leo growled, his katanas now out and in each hand. Raph had his sais in hand as well. "What did you really want?"
"Only what I will be getting soon. Donatello knows, don't you?" He says the last while applying a light pressure on the bo staff against Donny's neck.
"Get off me." Was Don's only grunted response.
"The present is starting to catch up to the future, Donatello. There's nothing you can do to change that."
"Get off!" Don said as he struggled beneath Svone. "I won't let you win!"
"It's too late." Svone said as he pressed harder, causing Don to stop trying to get away and concentrate more on trying to breathe.
"Let him go!" Leo yelled as he watched this, looking slightly out of place as he tried to figure out what to do so his brother will not be killed.
Svone did not relieve the pressure but kept it light enough to only cause discomfort. "Oh I plan to later if things go as planned." He said with a glance at Leo. At that point, two figures wearing white garbs appeared on either side of him. "Status?"
"Contained." One of them gives the simple answer. Svone smiles at this. He tossed the bo staff away and lifted Donny by his neck, Don's hands automatically gripping his.
"I suggest the three of you head home now. Someone may need your help." Svone said before tossing Donny roughly towards his brothers. Raph and Leo quickly helped Donny to his feet before looking back at where Svone used to be.
"Where'd he go?" Raph asked with a growl.
"It doesn't matter," Leo said as he clicked his cell on. "I have a bad feeling." He waited with the cell to his ear, but didn't get an answer before he finally hung up. "Mike's not answering his cell. Come on. We're going back to the lair."
A/N: Please leave a review for those of you who missed this fic. I wanna see if I really should take the time to write it with all I have to do...:D