"Get up." The Kraang orders, its soul is cold-hearted as ever. It looms over the powerless turtle, glazing over his own struggles.
The turtle was on the cold ground, bruised with shades of black and purple with a heavy amount of red on it. His head tilts ever so slightly to see his sai, unfortunately slightly out of reach and hovering over it was another Kraang.
The turtle's guts churns as whatever is left in there is about to be puke out. He could still feel the impact of their cold fist striking at his stomach. Even if he's on the ground he could still barely hold himself up. His shoulders are unbelievably dislocated, you could see the bones sticking slightly. His left arm is painted in many shades of purple hues while the other is shattered glass.
His left eye is battered and swollen, and his jaw feels out of place after he takes a blow to the face. His right calf has a huge gash open from the top to bottom, bleeding profusely onto the ground, the other had many small cuts but thankfully much more manageable.
His plastron could've seen better days though. A straight cut from one end to another, crimson seeping through out of the huge crack. It feels brittle, one more swing from them and it might break.
He could probably die right now, if they would let him.
He hears the gun charging up, he doesn't need to look up to see it point at him. "Get up." The Kraang threatens again.
A tired sigh left the breath of his lips, he couldn't care less. He knows that even if they blast the hell out of his flesh and bones, piercing through his blood vessels and heart, somehow with the magic of high quality technology, they could put him back together like a puzzle piece. He sees no point in trying no more.
"Does the turtle have anything to say, T-0028?" It questions, Something about his name always sends chills through his spine. It feels like forcing a shock collar on a dog.
He lifts his head just enough to catch the blinding light searing from the weapon aimed straight at him. His eyes narrow, pupils ablaze with a fearsome fire, as if he's daring it to strike. He opens his lips as the words left his breath "…No—"
A laser bullet scorched lightly against the skin of his left arm, burning through a thin layer of flesh. He let out a gut-wrenching scream, tearing through his throat apart, as if his very soul was being teared with every breath he forced from his lungs.
"Wrong answer."
His glare moves up once again, sharp enough to kill a human— It's quite unfortunate that it wasn't. A deep snarl rumbles in his throat, rage boiling in every inch of him, desperate to rise and rip them apart, to shred them with his bare hands until nothing else remains. However, now both his arms lay useless. How pathetic.
"…Fine.." He grumbles, "I…I am sorry that I-..I punched the floor…" damn it does his voice have to crack? It just makes him look even more pathetic.
A dreadful pause hangs over the room, the silence weighing against the turtle's shoulders. The stillness was crushing him, more than it should've been.
"Very well." The Kraang said, finally breaking the silence, "We shall fix your wounds now, T-0028."
One of the Kraangs placed the cyber handcuffs around the turtle's wrist as they dragged him out of the room. His legs fail to walk properly, as it is battered and broken, but his owners don't have a care for him.
They haul his body out, ignoring the agonizing screams of his crippled form, battered by brutal bruises and the gaping gash on his right leg, leaving a thick trail of blood behind. He's barely holding on, his chest heaving as he fights to keep up, every step is a battle, but even breathing feels like a knife to the chest. His plastrons threaten to snap under the strain, as if one more desperate, deep and long breath will be enough to tear it apart.
After a mission to get to the surgery room, he lays on the cool table once again. It's so jarring that he sees this room more than his own cell.
"Turtle." The Kraang called, T-0028 moves his gaze to meet its eyes, "The Kraang will still be testing the turtle as scheduled. After this, the Kraang will be testing the turtle."
His eyes widen, a wave of anxiety crashing hard into his gut. He wants to run, to escape. No no this is not fair… THIS IS NOT FAIR! He thrashes left to right but the strong robot arms pushes him down, enabling him from escaping
GET AWAY! PLEASE! Tears blur his vision as his pupils tremble in panic. But it's too late. The cold metal cuffs snap around his limbs with a sharp click, pinning him to the surgical table, leaving him trapped and helpless.
"Hey Spike…" A young orange masked turtle called, "I got something to ask." He looks over at the pet turtle continuously munching on the fresh lettuce on the kitchen table, ruminating over the events that are about to come.
"Isn't it crazy that like-… I'm 15 years old?" He questions, "Like I know I am 15 years old but at the same time I don't feel 15 years old, you get what I'm saying?" His only response was a loud crunch from the turtle's mouth, "Hm, yeah I'm sure you get me."
Despite the lingering silence hanging in the room, Mikey's head sure is loud. Sure he's fifteen and he's not a child anymore, which he still finds it so bizarre to think about, but there's more to it than just simply growing older. It wasn't just about growing up, but he was growing up without a certain brother. They were growing up without a him.
"You know, I can't believe it's been five years since…." His voice dies out as he remembers his brother, "Since… Raph has disappeared…"
Why is he still missing? It's been five years, shouldn't he be coming back right now?
"My brothers thinks he's dead…" His eyes visible droops, "but… I don't." He had a huge argument with the whole family about this a year ago. He doesn't really remember how it started but till this day, he clung to the grudge against his brothers, unable to shake the bitterness that brewed within him.
"MIKEY, JUST ACCEPT IT!" Leo shouts, his voice cracking under the weight of his emotions. Tears stream down his face as he continues, "RAPH IS DEAD, AND H-HE'S…" He chokes on his words, the pain evident in his eyes. "HE'S NEVER COMING BACK, DAMN IT!"
"SHUT UP, LEO!" Mikey screams, his voice a raw blend of desperation and grief. How could Leo even think that?
The purple turtle's fingers fidgets restlessly, frustration and guilt churning in his chest. "MIKEY! Just—just think about this logically—"
"NO DONNIE I WON'T!" He barks back, Donatello has been searching for Raph for years, but yet he stops. Why did he stop?
"Donnie, you used to try. You tried to look for him, you tried to find clues! WHAT HAPPENED?!" A tear slips through the purple-masked turtle's eyes as his gaze moves away from his younger brother. His chest tightens with a heavy weight of regret, realizing he has given his family nothing but false hope.
"Well… Sometimes you can't fix everything Mikey…" He sighs solemnly.
"BUT WE HAVE TO!" Mikey yells, "WE HAVE TO FIX THIS!"He has to. He tries so hard to think positively, to believe in him— in Raph. How could they just give up?
"MIKEY! WE CAN'T!" Leo's his fist grips into a ball, shaking vigorously be his side, "WE JUST CAN'T!—"
"HOW COULD YOU JUST GIVE UP?! HOW COULD YOU?! HE'S OUT THERE LEO!"
"NO HE'S NOT! GROW UP MIKEY! HE'S NEVER COMING BACK!"
Leo's voice still runs over his mind once in a while, his words haunting him like a ghost. It scares him more than anything. But if no one believes in Raph, then who will?
"I know he's out there… I just know it.."he mumbles, tears threatening to fall. He wipes them off before they can.
He needs to believe in him. Even if all things seem impossible, there should be a slim chance, right?
"Anyway…" his lips turn up to a bittersweet smile, "We're going on a mission now Spike, and it's about to be awesome!" He sings, lifting up his mood slightly.
"Don't you worry, alright? We'll be sure to come back!" He rubs the back of Spike's shell with his finger, gently caressing him comfortingly.
"MIKEY!" his older brother in blue yelled from the couch, "Get over here for a sec! We're talking about the plan!"
"Huh?" Mikey blinked, completely lost. "What plan?"
Leo groans dramatically, "The plan to break into the Kraang's base—you know, the whole reason we're doing this?"
A lightbulb practically flickered over Mikey's head. "Ohhh, right! The plan!" He turned to the small turtle beside him. "So Spike, we're going on a mission to stop alien robots pretty much. Cool, isn't it? We're also saving Donnie's girlfriend—"
"First of all, she is NOT my girlfriend!" Donnie's voice shot across the room.
Mikey scoffs"Oh, sure, Don. Says the guy who fell in love at first sight!" He didn't even need to look to feel the eye-roll from Donnie. "Anyway, Spike, gotta go talk strategy—wish me luck!" With a goofy grin, he pointed at his brothers like a game show host before wobbling his way over to join them.
Time felt like it stretched longer and longer, with every second felt like a whole hour had passed. No amount of endurance or adaptation can move past the aching knot in his stomach. The leftover residue of their markings has imprinted a repulsive sensation on his skin. If he could, he would skin himself alive to get rid of this horrific stain.
The disgusting feeling lingers in his chest as they cuff his arms together once again. He's waiting for them to finish cleaning up so they can drag him away to his cell. He knows he could run at this point, they're busy and no one is paying any attention towards him, but he is always left tired after these sessions. Maybe not tired but more like empty.
He's always hated that experiment, that room. Every room would cause him some sort of suffering but that one felt like it took the last piece that he had. Or simply a reminder that he's already been owned by someone, by them. Any sort of control that he had in his body vanished whenever he went in that one.
"T-0028." One of the Kraangs called, "what is known as the turtle will be going back to the cell now." The purple brain-like alien grips onto his cuffs as they pull him out the door, directing him back to his cell. He follows along like a deadman, walking with no thoughts nor soul.
Maybe he should've tried to escape, it wasn't like they treat him better when he's all nice and puppy-like. Well, he has tried multiple times, each time failing. But maybe if he did, someday he could escape, right?
Well, he would think that if there was any hope left. He's tried to escape countless times, yet none of them came close to going out the door to the free world.
Hopeless….It's all hope—
"—I'VE BEEN SAYING IT FOR HOURS!" A mysterious voice yells out of nowhere. His feet stop in place when he notices the three robots around him stand still, pondering about the voice. "Kraang, what was that noise?"It sounded far away, it was more of an echo across the far right. But who would it be?
"What is known as the noise is unknown to the Kraang." One of them replies.
The three robots shrug and decide to continue on to his cell. But T-0028 can't help but wonder, who?
It doesn't sound like a Kraang, actually it doesn't sound like anything that he has heard of. Did they capture someone else? They shouldn't be yelling if they were captured, that's bad.
Well he couldn't ponder on who this mysterious being is because suddenly bright purple blinks in and out of the ceilings and the loud siren wails out as a signal of danger.
What's happening?
He noticed a group of Kraangs marching in the opposite direction, their movements oddly military-like.
"Kraang, what is happening?" asked the one gripping his cuffs tightly.
"Kraang, there's an intruder," came the reply, a hint of urgency creeping into its monotone voice. An intruder?
"Where?"
"To the right. Kraang must secure T-0028 quickly."
"Understood, Kraang."
Without another word, the Kraangs continued their rigid march toward the source of the disturbance, while T-0028 was dragged along, powerless, toward his cell. The air felt thicker now, a slight tension lurking behind him as he's now aware of an unknown threat. An intruder?
His thoughts raced wildly, colliding in a frantic rush. Who could it be? Why would they come here? How did they even get in?
But then, a single thought cut through the chaos: someone had made it inside. Someone had breached the impenetrable walls. There's a way…. There's a way out. This could be it. His chance. Maybe…
"T-0028." The sharp call of his name jolted him. He flinched, suddenly aware of the cold grip of reality. "Why has the turtle stopped?" He hadn't even realized he had frozen in place, his mind caught between panic and hope.
His breath hitched. Muscles coiled, ready for anything. Maybe… Could this really be his moment? His escape? Or the end? The air felt stifling now, heavy with uncertainty. He could feel the weight of every second ticking by, knowing that one wrong move could seal his fate. His pulse quickened as the realization settled in—this was it.
Fueled by a sudden surge of adrenaline, his body exploded into action, moving on nothing but pure animalistic instinct. He slammed the Kraang to his right with brutal force, smashing it against the wall. Kraang's metal frame crumpled under the pressure, crushed into nothing but twisted scrap.
Before the other two could even reach for their guns, he swung his cuffed arms with brutal precision, smashing into one of their heads. The force was enough to sever it clean off, sending the metallic skull clattering to the floor. The body crumbled, clashing against the floor loudly before revealing the pink alien that had been controlling it, now vulnerable and exposed.
The last one had its weapon drawn and was ready to fire when a swift leg lashed out, striking it square in the chest. It stumbled backward, losing its footing and teetering on the brink of collapse. Before it could regain its balance, a second kick connected with its head, shattering the metal frame into a pile of unusable scrap.
T-0028 takes in a breath, looking over the grotesque pink aliens that had imprisoned him for his whole life. Now they laid on his feet, powerless.
He shot a sharp glare that sent a cold chill down their spines. With a piercing screeching of terror, they scrambled to escape, their six thin tentacles flailing in a frantic rush.
He stared in disbelief, absorbing the reality of what had just happened. He did it. He actually did it. Without wasting another moment, T-0028 seizes the opportunity and bolts.
He didn't know where he was headed, but the sounds of chaos seemed to be drawing closer. The rhythmic endless sounds of bullets flying across the room, sounds of metals bashing, sounds of grunts and yelling. He can hear it.
The exit must be near. He didn't even take a glance at who was fighting the Kraangs, all he wanted was to leave. His heart races like a fast pounding drum in his chest, drowning out all sound around him. He has one goal and one goal only.
"Kraang. T-0028, have esc—" The Kraang's words were abruptly silenced by a sudden, violent slam against the wall, rendering it completely immobilized. Without a moment's hesitation, T-0028 pushes himself forward, sprinting down the hall.
"Kraang? Kraang, what is—" Before the question could finish, T-0028 collided brutally with another Kraang, the impact pulling its robotic limbs apart. He could hear the crackle and pop of electric sparks erupting from its damaged circuits as it lays limp on the floor. The stakes were higher now, and he refused to slow down.
He continues to run, eyeing from top to bottom with any form of escape. Where is it? Where is it?! The fuel was starting to wear down, no he can't give up now! It must be here!
He was beginning to lose his grip; he might not be in the right area. Anxiety crawled up his shoulders once more, gnawing at him. What if they caught him again? The punishment could be far worse than before—more torturous, more excruciating. No, he couldn't let that happen! Not when he was so close. And then, in that moment of desperation, he saw it.
A medium size exit at the ceiling, big enough for him to slip out. He jitters as a newfound spark ignites in his chest. He might actually escape.
No… Mikey's eyes must be deceiving him. Is... Is this real?... It couldn't have been him.
They were infiltrating the Kraang's base when they finally located the girl with orange hair and her father locked in a cell. Suddenly, a swarm of menacing alien robots surged toward them.
It all happened so fast. Just moments before, he had been bashing the robot Kraangs with his nunchucks when he heard a voice call out, "Kraang? Kraang, what is—" followed by a deafening crash in front of him. It was utterly obliterated by the force of the impact. But nothing could have prepared him for the shock of seeing a familiar face amid the chaos.
He was green, but a familiar swampy, dark green. He had a split second to see his eyes, it was as neon green as he remembered. He had a shell and he saw his plastron; it has that crack that has been imprinted on him since day one.
It… It must be…
"R—…. Raph?.."