I'M SO SORRY FOR MY ABSENCE! I really let life get in the way but believe me when I say that I never forgot about this story and the people anxiously waiting for the next chapter. If you're still here and plan to keep reading, I thank you so much for your patience! I promise to finish this story even if it kills me. I also apologize if it wasn't what you thought it would be or are disappointed with it. I went through some serious writer's block, and I'm trying to get my mojo back day by day. Thank you so much for your continued support, and I hope you enjoy this long-awaited chapter.

Mikey

With my knees pressed on the cold stone floor, I struggled to control my shaky breathing. I sat seiza and tried to imagine Master Splinter's presence next to me, but the fact that I was cold and alone in a creepy dungeon overwhelmed that warm feeling of my father. It was a long shot, but I had to reach out to him and warn him. I just hoped that even during a time like this, he was doing the same.

All of my senses were on overdrive. The silence rang in my ears, my fingers were numb from the cold, and the smell was enough to make me wretch; it was all so distracting. But I remembered what Master Splinter taught me: inhaling the distractions and exhaling them away until I felt nothing. The knowledge that my family was in danger crept into my mind, and I had to exhale that out too, or I would never focus.

Finally, the foggy astral realm greeted me when I opened my eyes. All those sensations melted away, and I felt nothing as I drifted through the fog.

"Master Splinter!" I yelled into whiteness. "Sensei!"

It felt like I had been wandering for hours, and I started growing increasingly disappointed until a separate voice called out into the open, a voice that stopped me cold.

"Mikey?"

I twirled around, seeing my oldest bro standing amid the fog, a look of shock and relief hanging over his features before he ran to me. A blue light outlined his body, making him look transparent, yet our bodies still collided in a crushing hug. I only wished I could really feel it, but seeing him was good enough.

"Bro! Am I happy to see you," I breathed, clutching his arms as if it changed the fact that I could feel nothing.

"I can't believe you're here. I was just meditating before we set off to get you. Are you hurt?" Leo asked, checking me over and forgetting that he couldn't even see any injuries in this realm.

"No, but you guys can't come! Shredder's expecting you," I warned.

Leo's eye ridges stitched together in concern. "We know that, Mike. Why wouldn't he be expecting us?"

"He's big mad that I won't use the Heiwa no Buki for him. If you dudes come here, he'll use me against you; I know he will. Please, don't come!" I shook his glowing body, panic in my eyes as I pleaded. "I can get myself out; just give me time."

"Mikey, calm down. You know your future is at stake if we don't do something soon," Leo countered. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "This is now or never, and we're prepared for anything. We're going to help you, okay?"

"Please, stay away, dude," I squeaked.

"Mikey," Leo said with a sense of urgency in his tone, his eyes tightening. I knew he'd be squeezing my shoulder if I could feel him. "Do you remember what Master Splinter told you when you discovered you were a junsuina mono?"

I thought back to Father's warm hug after I had freaked out at the news and his radiant, comforting smile while looking down at me. He said to have faith in my family, something I had lost and regained quickly in the past two days. Slowly, I nodded at my bro.

"I know we hid something major from you, and it may take forever to earn your forgiveness," his gaze momentarily fell to our feet, regret reflecting in his pupils, "but it doesn't change the fact that we're still a family and will always be there for one another. Despite Oroku Saki's plans for us, we're coming to get you." Leo gave me a warning glare at the look of protest on my face, and I hopelessly sighed.

"Please, just… don't die," I said.

A weak smile quirked on his face. "I don't plan on it."

A faint voice rang in the back of my mind as I smiled back. A familiar, gravelly voice that I knew only belonged to one mutant zombie wolf who hated my guts.

"And what are you doing?

Leo's expression shifted to fear at the sight of my eyes growing large.

"Leo," I said urgently, gripping my bro's arms.

"Mikey, what's going—"

"I forgive you, bro."

My words stopped him cold. I briefly saw the relief on his face just before the panic as he watched my body become increasingly transparent, soon to vanish before his eyes.

My eyes suddenly fluttered open in time to greet a skeletal paw cuff me across the face, sending my once relaxed body crashing to the cold ground. Getting my bearings, I looked up to see Rahzar smiling evilly.

"I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?" he asked.

I wanted to scowl but caught myself, grinning back. "Nah, dude. Just getting some beauty rest. You should try it—"

Another strike forced a grunt out of me, and I steeled myself for a rough jerk as I saw his other paw reach for me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the cell and down the hall.

"Hey! Watch the water balloon throwing arm!" I uselessly kicked my feet as my butt dragged on the ground, craning my neck to see the direction we were headed. "Where are you taking me, Dog Breath?"

No response from the mutant as his big feet tramped through the stone floors. He was eerily quiet, stirring a nervous feeling in my stomach. I began to panic once the silence continued up the stairs and down another creepy hallway.

"I'm serious, dude! Where are we going?" After more silence from the mutant, I subconsciously screamed something out into the echoey halls, something that unearthed itself from my inner scared child.

"Leo!"

Leo

"Mikey!"

I gasped as if resurfacing from water, my eyes snapping open when fear jerked me out of my trance. I couldn't believe he was right there in front of me, more than I was surprised he had concentrated enough to reach me. If only I could have snatched him from the astral realm and brought him home. The thought made my heart heavy.

"Leonardo?"

My gaze turned to Master Splinter, who appeared distressed at my scream as he peered from behind the shoji doors of the dojo.

"I saw him, Sensei. I talked to him," I said, my voice shaken.

He slid the shoji shut and hastily approached me, sitting before me with concern twinkling in his dark eyes. "What did he say, my son?"

"He said he's okay, said the Shredder was waiting for us," I reported. "I think someone broke his trance."

"I sense he has little time. We must hurry. Tell your brothers to finish their preparations."

Father had already stood and rushed to his room before I could utter an "Hai, Sensei." I moved from my seiza position and hurried to the lab to find my present and future brothers sharing a conversation and packing their stuff. At the sight of my stiff form sliding open the metal door, they stopped what they were doing, gawking at me as if anticipating something awful to spill from my mouth.

"It's go-time, Ninjas. Mikey needs us now," I said.

"Is everything okay?" Big Leo asked, already knowing the answer by looking at his counterpart's worried expression.

"I somehow reached him while meditating, then someone pulled him out. Sensei's worried he doesn't have much time."

At the end of my sentence, my brothers picked up the pace. Raph finished sharpening a sai and stored it in its compartment.

"No one's gonna be happier than me when we kick the Shredder's metal butt and get Mikey back," he said, cracking his knuckles with a scowl.

"'Cept me," his counterpart said as he adjusted his finger wrappings.

Donnie slung his bag of gadgets over his shoulder. "We'll all be relieved when this is over."

"Yeah, and the success rate is higher than last time with the six of us and Sensei," Big Donnie agreed after twirling his bo and strapping it to his side.

Big Raph knocked his brother's shell. "Who cares about statistics? Let's just kick his ass already."

Big Leo approached his brothers, placing a hand on Big Raph's shoulders and making him turn to see his serious expression. "Remember that fighting and winning is not the goal tonight. Getting Mikey out of there alive is the priority."

"Says you, Mister Revenge," Big Raph argued as he shrugged off his big brother.

Big Leo's eyes softened briefly, and he shook his head. "Even fearless leaders have a moment of weakness, Raphael."

Big Raph opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it and nodded slightly. I blinked at their exchange, thinking I would have snapped at my Raph if he had said that to me. That was one of the differences between us and our older selves. Five years was a lot of time to grow up, especially when you share a traumatic experience. It gave me hope that Raph and I would settle our differences in time, and I would no longer be stepping on eggshells around him as a leader.

"Are you ready, my sons?" Master Splinter asked from behind.

I turned to find his tanto sheathed at his side and a bag full of tricks hanging at his hip. It'd been so long since I'd seen him so prepared for battle, reminding me how critical this situation was. I began to worry about not only the possibility of losing Mikey but anyone else trying to get him back. We could die tonight, any of us could, and it was a hard pill to swallow as I eyed each of my family members.

"We're ready, Sensei," Big Leo and I reported in unison.

The former human's eyes fell on us, and I saw a determined scowl tightening underneath his whiskers. "Then let us go save your brother. Leonardo, do you have a plan?"

"Don't ask me, Sensei." I looked at Raphael and shared a sly grin. "This time, we're doing it Raph's way."

Raph stretched his arms behind his head as he took the lead. "Allow me to go gather our friend."

A hand caught my shell as we marched out of the lab, and Big Leo slowed me down. We lagged behind the group, his serious stare causing me to frown.

"Leo, I have the same bad feeling I had five years ago," he confessed, his voice as shaken and serious as the night he told me of Mikey's fate.

I shook my head at him and forced a comforting grin. "Your Donnie said the odds are better this time."

My older counterpart went slack as he looked at the ground, soon to tighten his eyes and look back at me, and I saw the same determination that I saw in Sensei. His grip that remained on my shell suddenly tightened. "Remember when I said that no matter the cost, I wouldn't let Shredder get the same opportunity to kill Mikey again?"

"Yeah?" I answered hesitantly, wincing at the growing anger spreading across his face.

"If I try to pull something stupid tonight, don't stop me," he said.

I only had two seconds to process what he had said before one of the Raphs called for us in the distance, telling us to "hurry the hell up." Big Leo called back to him, and he was rushing ahead of me before I could say anything back. Then that old feeling of dread I had weeks ago bubbled up in my stomach, and I knew that no matter how hard I tried to think otherwise, tonight would change us all. I prayed it was for the better.

Mikey

My freckled cheek smacked the ground of Shredder's lair after a jarring kick to my head, courtesy of Rahzar. Suppressing a pained whimper, my eyelids cracked open through the swelling to stare at him. He smirked under his boney snout, delivering another swift kick to my plastron that sent me rolling over on my shell.

"This has been a long time coming, Michelangelo," Rahzar growled. His massive paw clasped around my body before he heaved me across the lair. "My mutation, the loss of my dignity as a ninja and repute, it's all your fault. I'm going to enjoy breaking your spirit," he paused, marching over to me with his freaky glowing eyes, "and your body."

My fingers twitched under the chains that bound my wrists, too tired to struggle any longer. "Dude, were you not already doing that?"

"That was only a warm-up. The fun's just starting." Rahzar lifted me again, baring his jagged teeth with a snarl.

"Guess your fun isn't the same as mine," I noted raspily.

He pulled me close, my blurred vision seeming to only pick up his eyes' yellow orbs, boring into me like a dog hunting a squirrel. "Not unless you count inflicting brutal torture on your enemies."

"Not really," I squeaked.

Rahzar reacquainted my body with the floor with a hard slam, placing a foot atop my shell. "More fun for me then."

The next moments were scattered in my recollection, like a spilled box of puzzle pieces, but I did not want to place this puzzle together. There was a lot of pain; that's all I could remember. When my consciousness returned to me, I was greeted by more pain. I would think about how my family would want me to stay strong before blacking out again. The passage of time was a mystery as I endured every scratch, punch, and kick.

"That's enough, Bradford," The Shredder's voice ordered.

I had no clue when he entered the room, but I had never felt so grateful for his presence in my life. My eyes cracked open in time to watch Rahzar wither.

"But, Master—"

"Silence!"

The zombie dog whimpered, recoiling backward meekly as the Shredder stomped past him. I opened my eyes (when did I close them?) to see his metal boots planted before my face. It took all of me to raise my head and look at him through an unfocused glare, my neck craning painfully under the weight of my swelled head. He squinted down at me, and I saw the Weapon of Peace strapped securely to his back.

"Had enough, turtle?" he asked, the last word uttered with venom.

I swallowed my reply, along with the blood filling in my mouth. The Shredder sneered as my head grew too heavy, and I was forced to lower it back to the ground, my cheek squishing against the floor with a weak whine.

"Glad to see that annoying mouth of yours has been silenced," he said.

A quiet chuckle escaped me, sending a painful shock down my body. "Nah, dude. Just saving my sick burns for when my bros get here."

Shredder growled, curling a hand around my throat and suspending me above ground. "You still think you're leaving here alive. Pathetic."

Distantly, a thud shook the building, and commotion followed directly after—the sound of the Footbots beeping in distress and metal clashing. Shredder craned his neck to the doors, then eyed the zombie wolf, who gave him the same confused look. The fingers at my throat grew tight at what sounded like a distant roar, like a battle cry. I gasped, but not because my airway was closing. The roar was familiar to me.

Leatherhead!

Lowering me to the ground, Shredder shouted an order to Rahzar, but he didn't finish before the sound of shattering glass interrupted him. The windows boarding the right side of the lair exploded, followed by clouds of purple smoke I recognized going off all over the place.

This caught the armored ninja off guard. His eyes darted to each puff of smoke that suddenly erupted, rage teeming in his gaze. Beyond his head, I spotted a shadow emerge from another blast of purple, my bro Leo coming into view and rushing in hot with a katana, his eyes white. He swiped at Shredder's bare arm, ducking and picking me up as fast as a lightning strike. We zoomed away before Shredder could comprehend what had hit him, howling with pain.

"Dude!" I cheered.

"Hey, otōto," Leo muttered under his panting.

All around, I started to hear my family's different shouts and battle cries.

Raph and Donnie jumped from the purple clouds and went for Rahzar, their weapons striking him furiously with the element of surprise. Master Splinter took Shredder head-on. Brother to brother, they performed their deadly dance with their blades.

They were here fighting…for me.

Leo put me down and sliced his katana through the chains at my wrists, clasping a hand on my shoulder once freed. "Come on, we're getting you out."

I looked back to the Heiwa no Buki, still attached to the Shredder, as he attempted to stab my father. I felt my gaze glued to it with Zilch's words echoing in my mind: "Now tell me, Michelangelo. Are you fated by death or destined?"

"Mikey!" Leo pressed, pulling me along as I remained stationary.

I finally turned to him, feeling like I was in slow motion as I had decided. "This is my future we're saving, right?"

Leo stuttered, fumbling for an answer as he nervously looked toward the unguarded exit. I wasn't patiently waiting for the reply.

"Then it's my responsibility to fight."

"…Mikey." Leo tried to speak, but he seemed too dumbfounded. He gawked at my swollen face and bruised body, concern in his eyes. "We can't—I can't lose you."

I knew where he was coming from. This is the moment we've been trying to avoid this whole time. Nothing has worked to change my past so far; it all must have seemed hopeless to him. But I had a different feeling in my gut… it could have come from the multiple kicks Rahzar so eagerly gave me. Second to that, I had a strong sense of determination. I refused to ignore it and run away like they had made me do so many times. Nah, dude. This time we're doing it my way.

"All we need to do is get the Weapon of Peace from Shred Head," I urged. "I've had faith in you, bro. Do you have faith in me?"

Leo only stared at me, worry still twinkling in his eyes.

"I can do this, ani."

Leo stared for a long time before his features lifted. He gave me a small smile as he reached behind him, pulling out my spare nunchucks. "Then you're going to need these."

Tears rushed to my eyes. I resisted the impulse to hug him right there. Instead, I nodded appreciatively, taking my weapons with a sappy smile.

"Let's rewrite history," Leo said in his dorky hero voice, freeing both katanas from their sheaths.

I twirled my nunchaku, reliving the feeling of the breeze fanning on my face as I mocked my bro's confident smile. "Awh yeah, boy!"

THANKS AGAIN FOR READING, AND HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!