Chapter 16-Back With The Merchant

By the time Luis had vanished from sight, the rain began to fall slightly heavier than normal. However, The turtle brothers could no longer wait until it stopped since their mission to rescue Mikey had just become more complicated with the youngest being infected with a dangerous parasite.

"Ok, guys, let's get moving…" Leo said before he and his brothers left their shelter and started walking to find their way out of the area.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The sound of Leo's communicator was heard, so Leo immediately answered it.

"Leo, it's April. I've got some bad news; with the weather like this, the Turtle Chopper won't be able to make its approach. Can you guys stand by until it clears?" April announced.

"I wish we could, April, but it's now become too dangerous for us to wait. We're gonna keep moving and find a safe place, in the meantime…" Leo answered whilst shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. I wish me and Casey could do more to help…" April said guiltily.

"Don't worry about it, April; we'll find another way to get back home. Leo out..." Leo reassured before he ended the call.

"H-Hey, bros…? W-What's gonna happen to me?" Mikey asked nervously.

"Nothing, little brother, because we're going to find a way to stop this parasite from harming you…" Leo instantly answered in determination.

"How are you feeling now, Mikey? I know you've been coughing up blood earlier, but I just wanna know if you're experiencing any other ailments…" Donnie asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Don…just a bit tired, but I'm alright…" Mikey answered reassuringly, despite feeling anxious on the inside.

"I wish we could stop and rest for a few minutes, Mikey, but it's like Luis said; the clock is ticking, so every second counts for us to keep moving and find a cure…" Leo told him sadly.

"I know, Leo…" Mikey replied in a deflated tone.

"Yeah, ya should know! Ya got both yer self and us into dis mess, remember!?" Raph suddenly snapped angrily.

"Raph! What the shell!?" Leo scolded and was about to speak again when Mikey had beaten him to it with a face full of anger.

"For your information, Raph, I didn't ask you all to come over here and rescue me, so don't pin the blame on me, especially since it was you guys who made me leave and get kidnapped in the first place! So, back the shell off!" Mikey then stormed ahead and away from his brothers.

"Mikey!" Donnie cried out as he ran after Mikey to try and calm him down.

"Seriously, Raph! Now's not the time to be pointing fingers at Mikey for something that was beyond his control! Let it go, and focus on finding a way out of this mess with us! We'll talk more about this later once we're safe…" Leo told him sternly.

Raph wanted to protest and deny Leo's words, but he knew his older brother was right; he and his brothers were currently stuck in unknown territory, and the youngest Mikey was infected with a parasite which had been the same type used to control the island inhabitants. He now realised that lashing out at his youngest brother was not going to make things any easier for everyone.

"Fine…" Raph sighed.

"Good, now let's go catch up with Mikey and Donnie…" Leo replied before he and Raph carried on with their walk to find their younger brothers.

They kept on walking until they had spotted a familiar setting ahead of them. It wasn't until they got closer that they had recognised it as the Merchant's stall, but the man himself wasn't present at the moment.

Leo then spotted Mikey near a pile of wooden boxes all curled up against Donnie, who had an arm wrapped around him and whispering comforting words to him, and had his face hiding in his folded arms. Even from a far distance, he and Raph could hear Mikey sobbing in his tucked-up position.

"Mikey…" Leo said worriedly.

"Calm down, mate; he's safe and sound here…" The Merchant's voice was heard before the man himself appeared from around the corner of his shop.

"Oh, the Merchant!" Leo said in surprise.

"Hello again, strangers…! I was just checking my new stock when this poor kid suddenly came in crying his heart out, and then the one in purple there came in shortly after to help him out…" The Merchant explained after greeting the two older brothers.

"Had a little brotherly disagreement, did ya?" He then asked curiously.

"Somethin' like dat…" Raph answered distantly, now feeling guilty and ashamed.

"Sorry about all this, Merchant; our little brother got upset and took off…It wasn't his fault, though…" Donnie told the Merchant guiltily before he glared at Raph after saying his last sentence, causing the red-banded turtle to feel sheepish.

"It's alright, mate; a friend or brother of yours is also a friend of mine, so he's always welcome to take shelter here whenever he needs it…" The Merchant assured.

"Thank you…" Donnie replied in relief before he watched as Leo approached him and Mikey and knelt down to their level.

"Mikey…?" Leo called softly.

"…" Mikey didn't respond and just kept his face hidden in his folded arms, which slightly tightened even more.

"You're not in trouble, little brother; we just want to make sure you're ok…" Leo assured when he sensed the fear radiating off of his little brother's spirit.

After a moment went by, Mikey slowly lifted his head to reveal his sad face which had tears in his eyes, tear streaks down his cheeks, and snot running from his nose.

"…I-I'm sorry…I-I never asked for this…I-I didn't want any of this…!" The orange-banded turtle rasped in heartbreak.

"We know that, Mikey…But don't worry about what Raph said; you didn't get yourself kidnapped deliberately, and nobody knew that you would end up in a place like this…" Leo assured, placing a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.

"That's right! Raph's just angry because it's his way of showing that he's worried about you…Right, Raph?" Donnie told his little brother before he looked over at Raph with a firm expression.

Raph shifted uncomfortably before he looked at his brothers, who were all looking at him and waiting for him to give them a truthful answer. Knowing that there was no choice but to answer them, he took a deep breath and walked a few steps forward before he finally spoke.

"Yeah…Dat's right…"

Mikey looked at Raph for a moment before lowering his head back down again, not sure of what he should say in response to that. Seeing this, Raph walked a bit closer and knelt down to the same level as the others before he spoke.

"Look, Mike, ya know me by now; my anger's always got me in trouble before, but what bothers me da most is dat it causes me ta lash out at others without thinkin' twice, especially towards you…"

"I-Is it cos you hate me all the time…?" Mikey questioned sadly.

"Wha-? No, I don't hate ya, bro…! Sure, ya get on my nerves a lot, but dat doesn't mean I hate ya…! I think I get angry with ya durin' missions cos I worry about ya gettin' hurt…" Raph answered reassuringly.

"Y-You don't need to, Raph…y-you know that I can fight and take care of myself…" Mikey told him whilst shaking his head.

"Hey, I'm one of yer older brothers; it's our job ta worry and look out fer ya…" Raph replied firmly but softly, poking him lightly on his forehead.

"Raph's right…! We might be a bit hard on you at times, Mikey, but that's only because we want to make sure that you're safe and unharmed…That's what big brothers do…!" Leo agreed softly.

"Yeah! Just because you got kidnapped after being knocked out, doesn't mean that we don't see you as a strong and capable ninja, bro…! You're scared and upset right now because you've been taken to unknown territory without your own free will, and you've also been infected with a parasite by someone powerful…" Donnie added sincerely.

Mikey released a shaky sigh. He couldn't help but feel ashamed and embarrassed for letting this happen to himself, as well as making his older brothers come all this way to rescue him. He felt a finger under his chin before feeling his head being slowly lifted up, that his eyes would meet the soft caring eyes of his oldest brother.

"Hey…We're all under a lot of stress right now, but remember when I say this, little brother; none of this is your fault, and we're all getting out of this place together…" Leo assured him.

Mikey was astonished at his older brothers' words. He had feared that they would gang up on him and tell him how much of a disaster-bringer he was to them, but that didn't happen. Instead, he was given reassurance and comfort by his older brothers, who all suddenly engulfed him in a big brotherly hug which the orange-banded turtle greatly accepted as his eyes began to fill with tears of relief and fall down his face.

"By the way, you lot, I've got some new items in stock…! Feel free to take a look; there might even be something for your youngest brother too!" The Merchant announced, interrupting the turtle brothers' conversation.

"Ya had ta ruin da moment, Merchant…" Raph sighed with a glaring smirk as he and his brothers released each other from the hug.

"Hey, I still need to make a living, you know…!" The Merchant told him firmly.

"Ok, so what have you got this time?" Leo asked curiously.

"If you come over and take a look, then you'll find out…!" The Merchant answered as he waved them over.

After helping Mikey stand back up, the turtle brothers walked over to the Merchant's stall to take a look at his new wares.

At the corner of his eye, Leo had spotted a machinegun that looked similar to his own, but it was slightly different in terms of model design.

"This is a TMP machinegun; compared to your own machinegun, this one has a higher firing rate…It comes with a free pack of bullets, too…" The Merchant told him as he presented the weapon to the blue-banded turtle.

"I'll take it…You can have my old one; it's starting to show signs of excessive use, anyway…" Leo accepted before he handed over his old machinegun to sell it, and then he took the new TMP machinegun and paid for it before placing it on his belt, and then he took the free bullets and put them away in his belt pocket.

"A fair deal well struck…" The Merchant said whilst rubbing his hands together before he noticed Raph eyeing a shotgun-like weapon on the display.

"That shotgun is called a Riot Gun; it's semi-automatic, and it can shoot down your enemies from a further distance than a regular shotgun like yours…It also has a free pack of bullets after you buy it, if you're interested…" He told the red-banded turtle as he took down the said weapon and presented it to him.

"Now, dis is more like it…!" Raph said gleefully as he held and looked at the Riot Gun before he paid for it, and then he placed his old shotgun on the counter to sell it before grabbing the free back of bullets and storing them away.

"Heh, heh, heh! Thank you…" The Merchant replied in a pleased tone.

"Is that a crossbow behind you?" Donnie asked when he spotted the said weapon on the wall behind the Merchant.

"Ah, yes! I just received this not long ago…A fine weapon that has a high shooting power, so you don't have to worry about accuracy…" The Merchant answered as he took down the crossbow and presented it to Donnie, who instantly became fascinated by it.

"Ok, I'll buy it and give it a try…" Donnie accepted the weapon, paid for it, and placed it on his back.

"Great! Here's some free arrow bolts to help you get started…!" The Merchant replied, handing Donnie a pack of arrow bolts.

"Ok! Your turn, Mikey…!" Leo chimed, moving aside slightly to allow Mikey to view the weaponry in the shop.

Mikey moved forward and looked around at the various weapons in the Merchant's shop, but then he slowly started to feel nervous and stepped back a bit.

"What's up, bro?" Raph asked in concerned.

"Struggling to find something ya like, mate?" The Merchant then added to Raph's question.

"Erm…D-Do you have any other weapons than just guns? I-It's not that I don't want one, it's just that…I, well…" Mikey asked the Merchant, but then he started to started to feel anxious as he tried to explain his reason for the question.

"You're worried that you might lose control of yourself because of the plaga and use the gun against us if you had one, is that right?" Donnie guessed softly.

"Mm…" Mikey hummed his answer shyly with a nod, confirming Donnie's suspicions.

"You've got a good point there, you two…" Leo said in realisation before he turned to the Merchant and spoke.

"Hey, Merchant, do you have something that Mikey could use easily without hurting any of us by accident?"

"No worries, mate, I've got just the thing…!" The Merchant assured before he grabbed a box from underneath the counter and placed it in front of the turtle brothers.

Inside the box was a range of different types of grenades; they were cylinder-shaped and in different colours. The Merchant grabbed and took out six blue-coloured grenades from the collection and showed them to Mikey.

"These are flash grenades, and they're real handy during an ambush fight; not only will they blind your enemies temporarily, but they'll also give ya some time to escape whenever you're in a pinch…They're quite easy to use as well…" The Merchant explained.

"What do you think, Mikey? Wanna try them?" Leo asked encouragingly.

"…Yeah…These are perfect…!" Mikey answered in a happier tone as he picked one of the flash grenades up and took a closer look at it.

"How much are they?" He then questioned curiously.

"This first set of six is yours for free, mate; consider it a first-time buyer's gift…!" The Merchant told him.

"Wow…Thank you! But surely, I can't leave without giving you something in return for helping us…" Mikey replied gratefully before he searched his belt pouches until he took something out of one of them.

"Will this do?" He then asked when he showed the Merchant a pink-coloured pear cut gemstone.

"Ah! Where did you get that, stranger…?" The Merchant questioned with a surprised gasp.

"I found it on the floor while I was a captive a lil' while ago; one of my captors dropped it before he left me alone…" Mikey explained as he put the gem on the stall counter.

"Do you know what it is, Merchant?" Leo asked curiously.

"I do, indeed! This is a Spinel; a little gemstone that's quite rare around these parts…You're lucky to have found one, my friend…" The Merchant explained as he took the gem in his hand and raised it up to eye level to have a closer look at it.

"Whoa, really!?" Mikey questioned in shock.

"Yes, and since you've given me this little treasure, I'll be happy to give you something else for free…" The Merchant answered before he went to grab something from the back of the stall.

"This set of explosive bolts will help you eliminate an enemy or two within seconds from a far distance…Use them wisely…" He told them.

"Thank you very much, Merchant!" Donnie said gratefully.

"Yes, thank you…That'll be everything, for now…" Leo added before he and his brothers left the shop.

"You're welcome, strangers…! Come back anytime!" The Merchant replied whilst waving his goodbyes to the turtle brothers as they walked away.

Once the turtle brothers were far away from the Merchant's shop, Donnie turned to Mikey and spoke in a surprised tone.

"I can't believe you've found that Spinel gemstone, Mikey…!"

"Yeah! Why didn't ya tell us about it sooner, bro!?" Raph questioned, finally letting out the shock from his body.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I completely forgot all about it with all this bad stuff going on…!" Mikey explained shakily as he did his best to defend himself.

"Hey, we're not mad at you, Mikey…! We're just surprised that you've found something useful…!" Leo assured.

"Yeah, little brother! If not for that Spinel, I wouldn't have gotten these amazing new bolts for my new crossbow…! Thank you!" Donnie agreed before giving Mikey a sideways hug.

"Ha, ha…You're welcome, dude…" Mikey replied bashfully.

"Hey! Maybe if we find more of these gemstones, we could get more free stuff from da Merchant…!" Raph suddenly suggested.

"I was just thinking the same thing, Raph…Let's keep an eye out for these Spinel gemstones whilst we find a cure and a way out of here…" Leo agreed before he and his brothers continued on with their travels into the unknown, with their new weapons in hand.