Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Even in the emptiest of places, even when there seems to be no trace of life there, something lurks alone in the dark. Something vital, something…anonymous.

*SNOOOORE*

Or…something fast asleep.

In the messy halls of the sewers, a mutant box turtle sleeps sound asleep in the strangest of positions known to man…or turtle… completely oblivious to the sounds of approaching footsteps echoing down the halls. 

“Mmmgh…huh..?” Okay, well…not completely oblivious. The small child rubbed his eyes awake and fixed his position, squinting his eyes and facing the shadow in front of his room.

“Donnie…? Whatcha doing up..?” He mumbled, blinking slowly and the shadow stopped suddenly.

A soft shell turtle with a purple hoodie over his body stumbled back and spun around towards the boy who called his name. “WH- Oh. Hey Mikey.” Donnie relaxed in his tense position and stepped forward out of the shadows. “You should be asleep.” “So should you!” Mikey interrupted Donnie’s scolding and hopped out of his bed. “I- I know-” Donnie stammered, looking to his side in a frantic matter. “Just get back to bed before Dad gets up..!” He whispered, hesitantly pushing Mikey back into his room. “But- You need to sleep too!” Mikey protested. “I won’t go to bed until you do!” 

“I-” Donnie paused and sighed in defeat. “I would. But…” Donnie hesitated in giving his real answer. “I have been... gettingnightmaressoIkindastruggle -” “NIGHTMARES?!” Mikey shouted but was shortly quieted by Donnie shushing him. “ Oh. Sorry..! ” Mikey apologized, covering his mouth. “ What kind of nightmares..? ” The softshell turned to his side, quite embarrassed to further discuss the situation. Mikey blinked, lowering his hands from his face. “Don’t wanna talk about it?” 

Donnie nodded, rubbing his arm uncomfortably. Mikey thought for a moment, then an idea popped into his mind as he ran to the corner of his room. Mikey pulled out a couple of blankets and pillows and laid them on the floor in the formation of a bed. “Mikey. What are you doing?” Donnie asked with a perplexed look in his eyes and he watched. “Helping you sleep! So, lay down.” Mikey formed his hands towards the bed he had made. “Nono, I don’t think you sho-” “ Lay down. ” Mikey’s once innocent voice tensed up in a strict tone. Donnie nodded quickly and rushed towards the bed. Once Donnie was in position, Mikey hopped back into his bed and covered up in his blankets as the two stared at the ceiling that was covered with glow-in-the-dark stars.

“One sheep…Two sheep…Three sheep…Four-”
“Mikey, what are you doing?” Donnie stopped him from counting, which caused Mikey to face his brother.

“Oh! I’m counting sheep!” Mikey answered, turning his head back to face the ceiling. “I saw some people do it on the TV” “Uh…Sheep?” Donnie asked, mumbling his own words trying to figure out whatever a sheep was. “Sheep are this really fluffy thingy’s! They look like cotton you see in our pillows.” Mikey beamed in his answer. “Oh.” Donnie looked to the side again, which caught Mikey’s attention. “...You wanna count with me? I’ve heard it helps you sleep!” The box turtle suggested with a smile. Donnie thought for a moment and then sighed. “Sure.” 

The two began counting “Sheep” again, starting from one and eventually falling asleep after fifteen. Once more, the empty and lifeless sewers were silenced in total slumber.

But…the silence wouldn’t last. For another fifteen years.

Chapter Text

Tired. I’m so tired.

Those words have been rushing through my head since the moment it started. Since…the incident. We won, but I don’t feel the relief of that win. We saved him. He says things will get back to normal. But, I’m afraid that it never will.

“Mikey?! Michelangelo!”

Upon regaining consciousness, Mikey looked up to see Donnie standing in front of him. "Yeah?" he asked gruffly, his hands still close to his body. "You spaced out again? Give me those bandages over there." He indicated the pile of bandages that was situated behind him. “AH!” Micheal yelped, spinning around to face the objective. “Gotcha, Dee!” He chirped, rushing over to the pile of bandages and snatching them. Swiftly, he placed the pile next to Donatello, who just gave the pile a side eye before taking a roll from the pile. “Thank you.” He exhaled, unrolling the bandages and lifting a certain someone’s hand up to replace the ruined bandages. The patient winced in pain the moment the bandages were removed from their arm as they started squirming around. This angered Donnie to the point where he shouted: “Nardo, for one second will you keep your stupid hand STILL?!”

The patient made a weak chuckle, “Maybe you should be more gentle. I’m not wanna of your little machines, Tello.” The turtle snickered, only to grunt in pain as Donatello tighten the bandages in annoyance. “How are you feeling, Leo?” Mikey leaned over his brother with a worried gaze. “Eh, I’m fine!” Leo smirked. “He said with a broken arm.” Donnie began narrating Leo’s words with a sharpened glare. “Tch. Whatever you say, Dee. Ow.” Leo grunted after trying to wrap his arms around the back of his neck. Donnie pulled Leo’s arm back into place with an agitated gaze. “Leo. If you move your arm one more time, I swear I’m going to CUT IT OFF.” He snapped, continuing to wrap the bandage around his brother’s arm. “Alright! Jeez.” Leo exhaled, giving Donnie the time to wrap his arm. “Thank you!” Donnie sighed. Mikey laughed a bit, before looking back at the ground. The younger turtle looked at his older brother's injuries with a sense of unease. I could’ve…I- Mikey quickly shook away the memory of that time. No! Not now! He told himself, taking a deep breath and stepping forward. “Can I do anything else?” he asked Donnie. His older brother lifted his goggles that covered his eyes and faced Mikey. “Hm.” Donnie thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I can’t think of anything else you could do.” He answered. “How ‘bout Raph?!” Leo leaned forward off his bed, pointing towards the exit of his room. “Go check on Raph Angelo-” Leo was cut off by Donnie pushing him back into a laying position. “STAY DOWN.” Donnie once again snapped at Leo, taking a deep breath in. “If you haven’t noticed, Nardo. I’ve already handled him.” “You mean ‘We’ve’?” Mikey proposed, keeping his hands close to him. “Yeah. Right. You helped too. But that’s not the point!” Donnie responded. “Well, then go check on him!” Leo suggested, pointing towards Raph’s room while still in a laying position. “Leo. Raph needs to rest, WE ALL NEED TO-” “Too late, he already left.” Leo interrupted Donnie by pointing out that Mikey had left. “Oh, are you kidding me?!”

Mikey, who had already left Leo’s room, wandered around the halls of his home, silently pondering to himself. One year ago. He thought to himself. One year ago, we thought that everything was solved. That we were finally safe! Mikey stopped dead in his tracks, staring at his shaky hands. But, we thought too soon. WAY too soon! He clutched his hands and pulled them closer to his body. Now Leo’s bedridden, Raph’s blind in one eye, and Donnie hasn’t been able to sleep! I am the only stable one here so why can’t I-?!

"Mikey?" A deep voice called out to Mikey, causing him to turn quickly. However, his anxiety decreased when he recognized the brother who had called him. "Oh, uh- hey Raphael!" He waved at Raphael with a fake smile. However, Raphael wasn't buying it. "Don't 'hey Raphael!' me." Raph glared at his brother with a clear expression of disbelief. "Eh??" He lowered his hands while still holding a false smile on his face. "C'mon, Mikey." With that said, Raph crossed his arms and stared down at Michelangelo skeptically. Eventually--although reluctantly--Mikey let down his guard and sighed in resignation: "...You got me."
Raph sighed as he gave his brother a gentle smile. "Come on, big guy. C’mere." He moved to the side so Mikey could sit next to him and talk. For a brief moment, Mikey hesitated before turning his attention back down the hall. However, when he turned his attention back to Raphael, his expression quickly changed to one of sadness in his eyes, and he rushed over into Raph's arms. Raph was startled by Mikey’s sudden movements, but when he heard his brother’s soft cries from behind him, he wrapped his arms around Mikey’s shell and held onto him tightly. “It’s okay, you’re fine,” Raph reassured his weeping little brother who had his arms around his neck. “I’MSORRYTHATTHISHAPPENEDTOYOUYOUDIDN’TDESERVETOGOTHROUGHTHISLEODIDN’TDESERVETOGOTHROUGHTHISANDDONNIE-” Mikey wailed, tears covering his eyes. Raphael wanted to cry too, but nothing came out. So, he only held his little brother tighter. “Shh. You’re okay, this isn’t your fault, Mikey.” Raph whimpered silently, trying to keep himself together. Mikey and his brother Raph were holding each other tightly after a long discussion. Once the tears had stopped flowing, Mikey reluctantly released his grip on Raph's neck. "Thanks for talking to me." He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, then got off the bed and made an exit. But Raph didn't let him go that easily. "Mikey, I don't want you ever to say that again," he said in a harsh voice. His words caused Mikey to stop in mid-step and stare at him incredulously. I know he's right, but...Casey told us that this was going to happen. Casey knew this would happen- Mikey glared down at his shaking hands in frustration, clenching his fists tightly. I should have been more focused on my role as a "mystic warrior," and not worried about him! I-- Raph took a deep breath before continuing. "Nobody's to blame for this, Mikey. You got that?" He locked eyes with his friend, who nodded silently in response. Raphael continued on without further prompting: "It wasn't your fault--not even if you are the one responsible." Raphael was looking very serious as he stared at Mikey. He appeared to be about to say something but then hesitated. Mikey started becoming uneasy; his hands were starting to shake and he muttered a few words under his breath. "Yeah... yeah, that sounds about right." He mumbled to himself, unsure of his answer. “Michelangelo.” Raph glared at Mikey in a stern manner, which caught him off guard. “YES, RAPH. YOU ARE RIGHT!” He shouted out loud, his eyes closed shut in fear. Raphael paused for a short moment before chuckling to himself. “That’s what I thought!” He wrapped Mikey around his arm and began rubbing the top of his head with his fist. “Ow! Hey!” Mikey laughed. “Cut it out, bro!” Mikey attempted to push Raph off of him. “Hey. Are you seriously rejecting love from your older brother?!” Raphael pulled his little brother closer to him with a smirk on his face. “No, I’m not! Just let go-!” Mikey blurted out as he started to laugh.

“UH, GUYS?!” A voice of distress echoed through the hall, cutting off the banter between the two brothers as they both spun around toward the direction of the sound. “CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HURRY OVER HERE?! WE HAVE A SITUATION!” The voice called again, only louder this time. “That was Leo!” Raph said, turning towards Mikey. “Hold on, Leo! We’re coming!” Mikey called back, rushing over back to Leo’s room while Raph followed behind him. When Mikey and Raph entered Leo’s room, Leo was found staring wide-eyed at the floor where Donnie was next to the desk. Unconscious.

The moment the brothers entered that room, everything froze. Not a sound was made. All focus was on Donnie’s unconscious body on the floor. “What are you guys just standing there for?!” Leo shouted, trying his best to move. “DO SOMETHING!” Upon Leo’s call for help. Raph and Mikey snapped into action. Raph rushed over to Donnie’s unconscious body and lifted him upward into his arm as if he was weightless. “Donnie?! Donatello!? Are you okay?!” Raph shouted, trying his hardest to wake his brother. “Leo! What happened?!” Mikey shouted and spun around towards Leo. “I- I DON’T KNOW! He just-” Leo attempted to stand off his bed, only to scream in pain and fall back into his bed. “--He just- I don’t know. He was working and then he fell…” Leo’s words trailed off in his attempt to explain, but he wasn't sure himself what had caused Donnie to fall unconscious. "He's burning up." Raph was worried as he conveyed his concerns to Mikey. "DONNIE'S ON FIRE!?" Mikey shouted frantically. Raphael quickly clarified that Donnie wasn't on fire, but rather had a high body temperature. "Mikey," Raphael explained patiently in a stern tone, "I'm talking about his body temperature." Raph then corrected himself for Mikey's sake who still seemed confused. "'OH!’" Michael gasped suddenly, understanding what was happening. “Wait...since when was Donnie sick?" Leo looked up at Raph and Mikey with confusion written all over his face. Raph and Mikey exchanged glances before the younger brother shrugged helplessly; both of them have no idea how they were supposed to know since this information hadn't been shared previously among them. “How do you expect us to know?” Mikey said, staring back at Leo with crossed arms.

“This isn’t the time for sibling banter!” Raph shouted, his voice silencing the two brothers. “Mikey, come with me to the med bay. We will be treating Donnie there.” Mikey nodded in agreement as the two began to leave. “Hey! What about me?!” Leo called the two back from his bed. “I can do something to help right?” Mikey and Raph paused for a moment, thinking silently to themselves. “Oh! You can try to call April over!” Mikey suggested, rushing over to the desk and grabbing Donnie’s phone which he left on, and handing it over to Leo. “We could use a few extra hands, know?” Leo stared at Donnie’s phone that was placed in his hand in silent thought. “You got it!” Leo sighed, finger-gunning his brother with his free hand as he began dialing April’s phone number.

“APRIL O’NEIL!~” A voice echoed through the sewers as a girl came sliding into the medbay with several bags of medications wrapped around her shoulders. “We came in as soon as possible, is Donatello okay?” A boy peeked in from the entrance with another plastic bag of meds in his hand. “Casey? Why are you here?” Raph asked, noticing the boy’s existence. “Oh, I brought him with me!” April answered, placing the bags on a nearby desk with a smile. “Well, he insisted he should come the moment he overheard what happened.” She gave Casey a side eye before turning her focus back to Donnie. “Did you already check his temperature?” Casey asked, grabbing a wet rag from the counter. “Yes, we did,” Raphael explained while Casey rushed over with the wet rag and placed it on top of Donnie’s forehead. “It was beyond high!” Mikey added, “From what Leo said, he probably passed out from the fever.” “Fever? Wait, don’t tell me, Donnie-” “No, it’s not rat flu. Thank god.” Mikey quickly interrupted April, which caused her to sigh in reinforcement. “It’s just a fever, I’m pretty sure.” “Even so, Why didn’t Donnie say anything about being sick?” Raph pondered. “Actually, why didn’t you say anything, Mikey? You were with him most of the time!” He turned towards Mikey. “I- I didn’t know!” He shouted. “Donnie’s the type of person- well, mutant- to hide stuff from us!” “Mikey’s right,” Casey added. “Leo didn’t know he was sick either.” Raph paused and thought for a moment, before taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He agreed. “But, who’s gonna treat him?” April asked, messing with the meds she bought in one of the bags. “I don’t have any knowledge of how your mutant bodies work.” “-And you guys don’t wanna get sick either.” Raph added while Mikey nods in agreement. “Yeah, that too.” She responded, reading the contents placed on the bottle she held in her hand. “How about Splinter?” Casey suggested, catching everyone’s attention. “Dad? No, not him.” Raph responded, declining Casey’s suggestion. “Why not?” He raised a brow, a bit confused. “Donnie’s not the only one who is sick right now.” He explained in a low voice, staring down the hall. Casey looked surprised and then sad at the same time. “Oh.” He muttered, staring at the ground in deep thought. There was a long silence as everyone in the room stared at one another. Mikey's mind raced as he tried to think of a solution, but all his ideas seemed impossible. He glanced over at Raph, then back to Donnie, and then back down to his hands again. Suddenly an idea came into his head and without hesitation, he stepped forward."I can do this!" Mikey proclaimed confidently. "I've been with Donnie the longest so I know-" "You? Are you sure?" April asked skeptically. "Yes! I'm positive I can do this!" Mikey shouted back defiantly. “I don’t know, Mikey. This seems a lot of work.” Raphael muttered with concern in his eyes. “Raph.” Mikey approached his older brother. “You all helped me. It’s about time I start helping too!” Mikey shouted a determined look filled his gaze. “He seems certain,” April mentioned, staring at Raph. His older brother thought for a second, before letting a breath out in defeat. “All right. If you say so, big guy.” Raph smiled slightly. “But, if you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask!”
“You can count on me! Besides…”

“…What’s the worst that can happen?”