His body was aching so much, every time he tried to move pain would shoot down his spine. The cuts were treated but nothing was done to ease the pain in his body, his arm was throbbing so much, even after 2 full days it would bring him pain every time he would move it.
Tears were leaking down his face, his eyes red and puffy from everything. His throat was raw and hurting so much. He hadn't had any water for more than 2 weeks, 2 weeks he had been here already, and he wanted nothing more than to get out.
He wanted to go home again, hug his brothers and be safe. But importantly to get rid of the pain and humiliation. He was chained, muzzled and vivisected. Just a month ago he had still been home, celebrating their defeat on the Kraang, and it looked like it was already years away.
He could only remember the cold cell he was in the whole day, the chains wrapped around his limbs and the muzzle that was strapped on his face the first week already. His body was still with bruises from all the beating he had gotten.
He had begged them every day, pleading for them to let him go, and every time they would hurt him again, threatening him to shut up for once. And the second week they had muzzled him, permanently. Not matter how hard he'd struggled, he couldn't get the muzzle off his face.
He didn't understand why his brothers weren't coming, they were looking for him, he was sure they were. But they weren't here, not yet. Not even after several weeks, they left him in the lab on his own, they left him with the scientists.
No, they wouldn't, they loved him. They would never leave him, they'd come for him. But they didn't, not yet. They were looking for him. He was sure they were, they would never stop looking. They would be here any day, and they would rescue him, get him out and go home safely.
But they didn't, not even for a whole year, and every day he lost hope. Every day they would drag him away, cut him open again or study him. They would strap him down almost every day, and if they didn't they left him alone in the cold cell, writhing in pain and crying for his brothers to come.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and they never came, and he couldn't help but to think they'd forgotten all about him. They never looked for him, tried to contact him, they didn't find him, not in all these months, and he had just given up.
His eyes snapped open when the door was opened again, two man stepping inside. He whined behind his muzzle, crawling into the corner and pressing his shell against the wall in utter fear. They would do it again, they would drag him away and cut him open again.
The two men didn't say anything and just walked over to him, both grabbing an arm and hovering him up, detaching the chains with electric pads. He whimpered slightly as he was forcefully dragged along the white halls. He struggled softly but he was just done.
His body was empty, scars littering his body. The muzzle had been on for so long, he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten something, they would always feed him through the needles, and keep the muzzle on every day, and every night. He was just too tired to struggle.
Within seconds he was strapped onto the operation table and he could only whine in protest, struggling to get out, despite knowing the attempts were futile. He never got out, not anytime in the past few months, and he could only wait for the pain to end, screaming and pleading for them to stop.
He dropped his head to the side. He knew what was coming. He glanced down to his arm, and was surprised they hadn't removed the bandages already. They would always cut open his original wound again, and it hurt. They would never give him something against the pain, it would only mess up their results.
"Prepare the scalpels" A shudder went through his spine. He didn't like it, he didn't like his voice, never had. His eyes snapped open when he felt his legs being touched, soaking them in alcohol. They couldn't, they wouldn't, but his blood ran cold when he felt lines being drawn on his legs.
The straps around his ankles were tightened and extra ones were placed over his knees, keeping him in place. They were approaching him, coming at him but they never touched his arm again, and before he could process what was happening, his shell was slamming against the table with incredible force.
He screamed against the muzzle, thrashing and flailing his limbs as hard as he could, it burned, it burned so much. They were cutting into his legs, one at each leg, drawing the same line as his arms, long and slow, agonizing pain washing all over him.
He was getting used to the pain in his arm, it was still so extremely painful, but he managed to keep conscious, he was bearing the pain, but nothing could've prepared him for this pain, it worse, double the pain he had ever felt. They were poking his muscles, taking samples of his bones, touching his bleeding flesh.
A strong hand was placed on his plastron, pushing him down to prevent him from slamming his shell one more time. His eyes widened. He recognized the hand, the green skin, the three fingers. His head snapped up, pain washing away from his body, suddenly feeling numb.
He was staring into the sea blue eyes, the same that would always be filled with compassion, and concern, were now filled with nothing. They were emotionless, his older brother didn't even flinch, holding him down without mercy as his brothers continued to cut into his legs.
He wanted to cry out again, asking why they were doing it but he could only stare at his brothers. Their hands holding the scalpels, his legs cut open and bloody. Blood all over their hands, his blood. And they looked at him, there was no regret in their expressions, they enjoyed hurting him.
TMNT
Soft snores were coming from his older brother, but somehow he couldn't find any reason to sleep. He wasn't tired, but he had nothing else to do so he just lay there. A blanket was placed on both him and Leo, keeping them warm while they slept.
It had already been a full day since they had brought Mikey back home. They managed to give Mikey food, but none of them had been able to touch him, or even near him again. Only opening the door of Mikey's room to give him some food and water, occasionally asking if he needed anything else, but every time Mikey shook his head.
Leo was now sound asleep, his mouth partly open and soft snores coming from his mouth. April was in her aunt's bedroom, sleeping in her aunt's bed since Mikey was still occupying her bedroom, refusing to get out of the room, and too scared to do so.
They had found him in the evening, under the blankets and fast asleep, thrashing slightly against his blankets, whimpering in his sleep but never awakening. And they had decided to let him, he needed his rest, he needed to accept what had happened to him.
Donnie and Casey were in the same room as April, both occupying the two spare mattresses and Splinter in the spare room Casey and Donnie had used the night before. And with nowhere else to go, Leo and Raph decided to sleep on the couch. Leo had been out within a few minutes, having barely slept in the last day, but Raph had taken a nap so he wasn't tired himself.
All he could think about was the scarred body of his youngest brother. The animalistic hisses he would less out, threatening them, making sure they would keep away. He was just so afraid, and he refused to talk about what happened, he refused to talk at all.
And it broke Raph's heart. Mikey had always been the one to talk, in fact he could never be quiet, but right now he was just deadly silent, the only sounds being his muffled cries and the hissing. No word came from him, and he had no idea why he wouldn't talk.
Raph froze when suddenly a loud whimper came from April's room, and Raph immediately knew it was Mikey. Without waking Leo up he scrambled upwards a bit, until he was sitting his shell against the couch. He closed his eyes for a bit, trying to make out the noises.
Mikey was clearly whimpering and thrashing around, probably a nightmare. Raph was about to stand up, check if he was okay when an icy scream tore from Mikey's throat, filling the whole apartment. Raph could feel his whole body draining from blood, leaving him cold on the couch.
The scream was filled with so much hurt and fear. Raph shot up seconds after, completely ignoring the fact that Leo was waking up and dashed towards Mikey's room, restraining himself enough and slowly opening the door, not freaking Mikey out.
And what he saw absolutely broke his heart. Mikey was upright, sitting in his bed with the blankets still half on top of him. Sweat was trickling down his head and his eyes were wide with panic. Tears slowly appearing in the blue orbs.
"Mikey?" Raph's voice was so quiet but Mikey's head immediately shot up, tensing all over again. "Oh baby bro" He whispered. He wanted to hug him, run over to him and squeeze him, never letting him go but he knew he couldn't do that.
Slowly he took a few steps inside of the room. Being careful not to startle Mikey as he slowly made his way over to his baby brother. Mikey was watching every moment. His eyes still wide and tears pouring down his face, staining his cheeks.
"Don't cry Mikey" Raph cracked, slowly climbing on top of the bed and taking Mikey's hands. Massaging them and squeezing slightly. Mikey gazed down, refusing to look Raph in the eyes again, only watching how his hands were in between Raph's, his older brother easing them slightly, like he would always do.
"Was it a nightmare?" Raph whispered, glancing at the door as he noticed Leo and Donnie standing there, April, Casey and even Splinter behind them but none of them were even attempting to enter the room, all understanding it would only freak Mikey out.
Raph gave a short nod, saying it was okay before the door slowly closed, leaving Mikey and Raph alone in the room. The full moon the only thing illuminating the room, but it was enough to see Mikey's distressed face. Raph sighed and squeezed into Mikey's hands once more.
Slowly Mikey nodded, confirming it was a nightmare indeed. Again Raph sighed and gazed down for a moment. It was something they all knew was going to happen. They saw the scars all over his body, things happened to him and it was inevitable that he would have nightmares about it, bad ones.
"It's all good little bro, you're safe now. I won't let anything happen to ya" Raph said, tipping Mikey's chin up slightly. Mikey whimpered and struggled weakly to get out of Raph's grip and the red banded turtle immediately released him with a pained face.
Even that little movement, that little touch freaked him out already, and it hurt Raph to see him struggling against his own brother. He gave Mikey's hands a last comforting squeeze before very carefully pushing Mikey back on his shell, which he luckily allowed, and pulled the blanket up to his chin.
"I know you're terrified, and we don't expect you to tell anything Mikey, ya just gotta know we're here for ya" Raph said but sighed afterwards as Mikey turned his head away, biting his lip slightly and trembling in fear. "Sleep tight Mikey" Raph eventually said, standing up and walking towards the door.
It was obvious his little brother didn't want him here, he was just too afraid to have him around, and he fully understood that, He needed to accept everything that had happened to him. Everything he had gone through, without them being at his side.
Things happened to him in that lab. And they weren't there when it happened, they left him for over a year. He had been hurt by everyone he had seen in the last year, of course he wouldn't trust them. He wanted to reach for the door, open it and leave Mikey alone when a small voice stopped him.
"Raphie…?" Mikey's voice was raspy, raw and clearly unused, and so low Raph almost couldn't hear it, but it was there. He really spoke to him. His voice filled with uncertainty and fear. Raph immediately whipped his head around, looking into Mikey's eyes.
Mikey was still lying on his shell but was looking over to him, his arms trembling and watching him with his wide baby blue eyes. Tears were slowly starting to stream down. He didn't say anything else, but Raph knew that hopeless expression.
"You want me to… stay?" Raph whispered. He couldn't believe it, after a full year he was hearing his baby brother again. The same voice he remembered, extremely raw and clearly unused, but it was definitely his voice. His baby brother's voice.
Months he had missed that voice. The cheery and high pitched voice of his baby brother, always laughing and speaking excitedly, and right now it was raw and painful but Raph couldn't care less, he was feeling happy again, truly happy. Nights he had wished for this.
Wishing to hear that voice one more time. Anything would be good. A tiny word, a giggle, a complain, but they never granted him that wish, until now. He had always hated the nickname Mikey had given him. When they were younger he would love it.
It would make him feel special. The others always called him Raph, or Raphael but only Mikey was allowed to call him Raphie, but later on he grew to hate it, it was too childish, it didn't sound as tough as he wanted to be, and now he wanted Mikey to say it again.
A slow nod came from Mikey, tears still leaking down his face. He was beaming at him, his baby blue eyes filled with tears but hope and desperation, mixed with intense fear. Fear that he was trying to push down, but Raph could see it.
Raph slowly turned around fully, actually debating whether to go to Mikey or not but then a small smile crept on his face and he walked over to Mikey's bed, slowly climbing on top, his arm quickly brushing against Mikey, causing him to tense up.
Fear ripped through his body as he felt the faint touch but he forced himself to relax. Raph would never hurt him, he was his brother. And Raph wasn't about to let him go. The red banded turtle lay down next to Mikey's body and watching him closely.
Emotions were written over Mikey's face, doubt and uncertainty. He wanted to snuggle close to his brother, he really did but something was preventing him. Fear, memories, the nightmares. It would all start with them trapping him, restraining him and eventually cutting him open, breaking his bones, experimenting on him.
Mikey's body startle to tremble again and Raph carefully wrapped his left arm around Mikey's body, drawing him closer slightly. Mikey wanted to kick, scream, run, anything to get away from the suffocating feeling, he was forced closer against his brother, but with such kindness.
Something he had rarely seen with his older brother. Something he had missed for a whole year, someone to make him feel safe, care for him, let him free and let him do what he wanted, no chains and no muzzle. Raph's body was warm, and Mikey slowly moved a bit closer.
And for the first time in a whole year, he felt truly safe again. Raph would never hurt him, or let anyone hurt him. He never stopped crying as he curled up against Raph like he would always do when they were younger, burrowing his face in Raph's hold.
Raph carefully drew the blanket over both of them, tugging Mikey in again with his free arm. Mikey blinked a few times but relaxed when he noticed the warmth of the blanket surrounding him and closed his eyes again, nuzzling his beak against Raph's plastron and falling asleep.