He was screaming as loud as he could. Screaming and begging for them to stop, to let him go, free him and let him get back to his brothers. His voice was raw from all the screaming, his lungs burning and telling him to stop, but he continued to scream, screams that were broken by the muzzle strapped to his face.

The chains were cutting into the back of his head, but nothing could prepare him for the pain that was yet to come. He was strapped down on the operation table. His legs tied down by thick leather straps and his arms next to his side, his underarm being presented.

A large line had been drawn with a marker on his left arm, and he knew what was coming. He was trashing as hard as he could but the straps were preventing any movement in his limps. The only thing he could do was smash his shell against the table, trying to get loose, but all his attempts were in vain.

Thick tears were rolling down his cheeks as they approached him. 2 men and 1 woman. They all wore lab coats and a cap in front of their mouths, and none seemed to pay attention to the cries, begging for them to stop, they were only focused on the fascinating creature in front of them.

He knew what was coming, but never could he have been prepared for the pain. Even when the tip touched his skin, pain shot through his body. His shell was slamming back and forth on the table, screaming into the muzzle, pain washing all over him.

An animal, that was all he was in their eyes. They never gave him a sedative to ease the pain, not even a local one, nothing to take the edge off. The scalpel easily sliced into his skin, cutting open his whole underarm, blood oozing down.

"Animal"

"Filth"

"Freak"

Tears continued to stream down his face, it hurt, it hurt so much but none of them cared. They carefully placed pins in between the cut, forcing the two sides apart and presenting the insides. He wanted to gag at the sight. He could see his own bone, the muscles and tissue protecting it.

Hands were nearing him, touching and feeling the exposed flesh. He arched his back on the table again, squeezing his eyes shut as he let out another icy scream. His muscles were burning, his whole body aching, and pain clouding his mind. The images of his brothers were the last thing he saw before he blacked out from the pain.

TMNT

A low groan escaped his lips. He could feel hands around him, helping him up but the only thing he could focus on was the burning pain in his throat. He opened his mouth slightly, sucking in as much oxygen as he could, immediately followed by a violent couch.

"Easy my son" Splinter's voice cut in. Raph's face was crunched up with pain and he winched slightly. He felt himself being lifted into a sitting position and a glass being pushed against his mouth. Raph groaned and fluttered his eyes open, looking around in confusion.

His father and Leo were next to him, supporting him and keeping him up while Casey and Donnie were carefully cleaning up the shattered glass in front of him, and April was holding a glass to his lips, urging him to drink. Raph took a deep breath and took the glass from April, slowly drinking it.

The cold water eased the burning sensation in his throat slightly but the pain never left him. Leo had tears in his eyes as he reached for the glass, putting it aside and handing Raph 2 ibuprofen, to ease the pain in his throat.

"What… happened?" Raph rasped as he swallowed the pills without any water. Leo and Splinter both took an arm and helped Raph with sitting on the couch. Raph winced slightly and leaned with his shell against the couch, looking around.

"Do you remember that Mikey… attacked you?" Leo carefully began. Confusion washed over Raph's face but then realization hit him. He did remember it. The terrified expression in Mikey's eyes, mixed with so much anger and confusion.

The expression he wore when he was strangling him, and the shaking form when his thumbs pressed against his throat. Raph winced again and slowly brought his fingers up to his throat, feeling the warm and slightly swollen area.

"He tried to strangle you, luckily we got him off but you already blacked out. Casey and April came in because they heard the noise and Mikey fled towards April's room afterwards" Leo explained. Raph gazed down, he couldn't believe Mikey would do such a thing.

He wasn't blaming Mikey, far from it but he just wanted to know why. Why he would attack him and trying to kill by strangling him. Raph brushed his fingers against his throat and winced again, Mikey's grip had been so fierce, he would've killed him if Leo and Don hadn't helped him.

"He isn't letting anyone in the room, we've tried but he starts to hiss every time we enter." Tears appeared in Leo's eyes again, still clearly remembering all the threats that came out of his little brother's mouth, daring them to take just one step further.

"How long… was I out after.. ya know..?" Raph asked, unable to find the right words. He still couldn't believe his baby brother would try to kill anyone. He never killed in his life before, never. And right now he was ready to kill his own brother.

"Around 10 minutes, you came by a few minutes after father arrived" Leo said, looking away slightly. Raph looked down again and nodded slightly. The eyes, the eyes that always held such joy and laughter, they had been filled with so much hatred and fear.

He could still remember how they narrowed every second a little bit more. Tears leaking down his cheeks as he stared right into his own eyes. Hatred, the eyes were filled with hatred and all joy had been washed away, crushed under his captivity.

"Let me talk to him" Raph suddenly said. He slowly helped himself up, swaying slightly on his feet. Leo wanted to open his mouth to protest but Raph shook his head. "He hurt me Leo, he wasn't trying to kill ma.. well he was but he was scared" Raph explained, rubbing the back of his neck slightly.

"Look Leo, he was terrified when I approached him, he only tried to defend himself. You should've seen his eyes" Raph continued as he looked over to Leo. Raph sighed slightly. "I doesn't matter what you say Leo, I'm gonna talk to him" Raph said and was ready to walk away.

"Wait Raph!" Leo called after him. Raph stopped for a second, looking back to his older brother, expecting a lecture or anything. "Good luck" There was a faint smile on his face, and Raph returned it, nodding slightly before walking over to Mikey's room.

TMNT

Slowly Raph opened the door to April's room. The room was completely dark, all the light had been turned off. Raph opened the door a bit more, allowed light to shine into the room. Carefully he looked into the room, trying to find his baby brother.

"Mikey, ya there?" Raph whispered, taking a cautious step inside. He found his baby brother huddled in the corner, on top of April bed. His knees were drawn up to his chest and he was hugging them tightly. His eyes were wide with fear and he was looking directly towards Raph.

"Hey Mikey" Raph said in a low tone, taking another step inside the room. Mikey tensed visibly but never threatened his brother to go away, which was a good sign. Raph slowly walked over Mikey, stopping at the end of April's bed and waiting patiently.

None of them said anything, both looking at each other for a few moments. Slowly Mikey turned his head away from Raph, facing the wall next to him and lowering his head in shame, tears appearing in his eyes and slowly streaming down.

"Don't be ashamed Mikey, I'm okay" Raph whispered, seeing the guilty look on his little brother's face. Slowly he climbed on top of the bed, scooting over to his younger brother. He stopped when his shoulder quickly brushed against Mikey shoulder but when Mikey didn't pull away he carefully wrapped his arms around his younger brother.

Mikey made no move to snuggle close to Raph, but he didn't pull away either, allowing his older brother to hug him. Raph didn't dare to move, he wanted to press his little brother closer, comfort him in any way possible but he knew that wouldn't be good, and it would only frighten Mikey more.

"Don't be sorry Mikey.. I should be fer scaring ya" Raph said, carefully wiping away the tears on Mikey's face, but new ones quickly replaced them. "Listen Mikey.. I don't know.. uhm.. if ya ever want to talk about what happened…" Raph cautiously brought up after a few silent minutes, not sure how to tell his baby brother.

"I know ya have been through a lot, and no one is expecting ya to forget it… but ya gotta know that we're her for ya bro, you can always talk" Raph could feel Mikey starting to tremble in his hold upon mentioning his captivity, imagines filling his mind again.

Raph felt a twinge of guilt and carefully reached for Mikey's hands, taking them in between his in an attempt to comfort him but Mikey immediately tensed up again, slapping Raph's hands away and pressing his shell tightly against the wall.

Raph's eyes widened when he saw Mikey's frightened reaction. He looked absolutely terrified, his teeth showing, and completely ready to use them if Raph would do anything else. His whole body trembling with fear and his shell painfully pressed against the wall.

"Mikey… I'm sorry. I should've known… don't be scared little bro" Raph tried, attempting to reach for him again but stopped when a terrified hiss escaped Mikey's lips, his teeth bared. His eyes were now filled with absolute terror, but also guilt and doubt, whether to attack him or not.

And Raph immediately knew he had blown his change with Mikey. He slowly moved backwards a little, creating distance between him and Mikey. The youngest turtle kept watching him, ready to attack him if necessary, but Raph kept his movements slow.

"I'm sorry bro.. I'll leave now, but I'll bring ya some water and food soon okay?" Raph said. Mikey's eyes lit up a bit when Raph mentioned the food but that immediately disappeared afterwards. Leaving the same eyes, filled with doubt, fear and uncertainty.

He had always been the stubborn one, but right now Raph knew he should be leaving. If he ever wanted Mikey to trust him fully again, he shouldn't press him. And Mikey's eyes were clearly asking him, begging him to leave. He was scared and confused, and Raph fully understood. He had been there for a whole year, at the mercy of those ruthless scientists.

Slowly Raph slipped of the bed, walking over to the door again. He walked outside and grabbed the door, slowly closing it while looking at his little brother, who was now rocking back and forth slightly, crying his heart out in utter silence.