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Chapter Text

It has been five whole months since the Super Shredder has been slain and peace has been restored to New York City and the Hamato Clan. But it came with a big loss, the death of the turtle's father, Splinter.

Having been killed by the Super Shredder during the ultimate battle, the turtles, mostly Leo, avenged their father by eliminating their one true enemy and won the war against the Foot Clan.

But life hasn't been the same since Splinter's death; things in the family had changed bit by bit. Without their father, the turtles must rely on themselves and each other now to live on without Splinter's guide and presence.

Leonardo, being the leader, was now in charge of teaching and training with his brothers.

Donatello spends more time in the lab, making sure the lair stays stable and with power running.

Raphael and Casey often got out to the surface, providing things for the lair at night while trying to remain in the shadows without getting caught.

As for Mikey...well...not much can be said, he was still depressed over the death of his father even though the brothers and friends were still saddened, Mikey felt the deepest sadness of them all, he misses his father so much that he wishes he was still here and things would be OK.

Since he feels like he doesn't have much of an important role in the clan, he wanted to try and make his brothers happy and relax by playing games or chatting or even watching a show or something but was often met with rejections or ignorance from his older brothers lately.

Even before he was pretty much the underdog but he still stands as part of the group, now it's like they don't want him around as much as they snap or yell at Mikey to leave them alone or as they say: "Not now" or "later" or in Raph's case to Mikey: "Get lost"

The young turtle feels incredibly lonely as of late and though he was always a compassionate and forgiving person since he hates holding grudges and being angry at his brothers for too long, the depression he's been feeling most of his life and cramping it down as not important to deal with at the moment, is starting to resurface and it's eating the poor soul alive.

One patrol at night went by and it was sadly a disaster with the turtles trying to stop Fishface and Rahzar from taking more of the mutagen away from the turtles and they would've almost success if Rahzar didn't throw one of the bombs he was holding straight at Donnie.

Scared for his brother's life, Mikey pushes Donnie out of the way but as a result, he accidentally shoved his brother off the roof and while he managed to stop himself from falling on the ground with his bo-staff, the impact on one of the fire escapes broke his arm.

Needless to say, the older brothers were furious at Mikey for recklessly breaking Donnie's arm, though it was an accident and an attempt to prevent Donnie from getting blasted.

At home, Raph and Leo helped Donnie cast his broken arm when Mikey timidly walked in the lab in concern for his middle brother, immediately all three brothers glared at him with furious eyes.

"I-Is Donnie gonna be OK?" Mikey sadly quizzed.

"Yeah, no thanks to you, idiot," Raphael spat.

"Thanks a lot, Mikey!" Donnie snapped. "Now I can't work on anything for a month"

"I'm so sorry! I was just trying to save you" Mikey cried.

"And yet you recklessly put Donnie in harm's way, Michelangelo! What were you thinking?!" Leo strictly scolded Mikey, going right up to him with his arms crossed.

"W-Well at least I prevented Donnie from getting blast in the face by Rahzar's bomb!" Mikey argued.

"I could've dodged that easily," Donnie argued back.

"I didn't ask for this to happen!" Mikey angrily cried out.

"Well it did and because of you, they got away with the mutagen, Mike!" Raphael ranted and smacked Mikey above the head.

"And you caused this on Donatello, you could've got him killed" Leonardo angrily pointed out.

"I...I'm sorry" Mikey apologised.

"Well sorry's not gonna fix it, ya screw up! That's all you've ever been lately, just a poor excuse for a ninja" Raphael shoved Mikey firmly.

"Raph, enough" Leo scolded Raph before he turns to Mikey: "You leave me no choice, Mikey; but you're grounded"

"Grounded?!" Mikey exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes! No pizza, no TV, no Crognard stuff, and no going out to the surface even for patrol for a week! In fact, I'll be giving you extra training as well" Leonardo laid down the law as he was the head of the house now.

"That's not fair," Mikey cried.

"I say it's the least you deserved" Donnie grumbled, rubbing his cast arm.

"Maybe that'll get your brain working to do things properly next time if you had a brain, of course" Raphael deviously smirked with his arms crossed.

"But I...Fine!" Mikey angrily snapped before he grumbled something out.

"What was that, Michelangelo?" Leonardo firmly questioned his young brother.

"I said I wish Splinter was here!" Mikey snapped at Leo.

"Well he's not and if he was, he'd be very ashamed of you right now!" Leo snapped back.

Mikey looks down before he whimpered: "Well if I'm that much of a problem to you guys then I'll just leave then if it makes you all happy"

"Good! Don't bother coming back! Like we even need you around anyway" Raphael spitefully scoffed.

"Raph!" Leo angrily snapped at the hot head.

Mikey just left quickly for his room, slams and locks the door behind him before he sits on the bed, shaking a bit from what just happened.

He looks at the photograph of the family together before Splinter's death as he just whimpers and tries not to cry before he just sniffs:

"So be it...If they don't want me...then screw them"

In the dead of the night, Mikey packs what little he has packed in a suitcase before he puts Ice Cream Kitty in her cold container and sadly sighs out: "C'mon Kitty, we're not needed here anymore. We got to make our own lives elsewhere now"

Mikey looks back at the lair one more time before he left it and vows never to return, knowing exactly where he wanted to go.

He searches high and low in the city for any vehicle that goes to the countryside and before he knows it, he overheard in a gas station of a farmer heading to where his destination is and snuck on board in the trailer connected to the van.

After a few hours of driving, Mikey saw a familiar path and jumped off the trailer before heading deep down on the dirt road and before he knew it, he was right back to the place where they first hid out during the Kraang invasion.

April's farmhouse!

He looks at the container with Ice Cream Kitty inside before he sadly said:

"Well Kitty, Here we are...our new home"

Chapter Text

Michelangelo opened the door to April's farmhouse after picking the lock and set his things aside and luckily for him, the power was still active in the house. He puts Ice Cream Kitty in the freezer in the kitchen and closes it to let her settle in while he unpacks his things upstairs in the bedroom.

Once settled, he rests on the bed and looks at the photograph of his family. Things were so simple and happy when Splinter was alive, it wasn't perfect but it was still a happy family.

Despite the ups and downs, Mikey felt like he belonged with the family but now, it seems without Splinter that he has no family to belong to he thought to himself.

He firmly puts the photo face down on the desk until he notices something out in his bedroom window; a tombstone by a tree nearby the barn. Splinter's grave.

Memories of the funeral came to him in a blink of an eye as he misses his papa so much that he would do anything to get him back like before but not this time. There is no turning back time or setting things right, Splinter is gone and Michelangelo feels so alone now even when he was with his brothers lately, he feels so lonely and depressed.

The young turtle goes outside and kneels before Splinter's grave:

"Hi papa...I'm so sorry I left the family but...how can I be happy and useful when all I ever do is fail everyone including you? I tried so hard, I really tried but I cannot hold on to be strong for everyone anymore. You always told me that I am stronger and great as a ninja and who I really am but...lately I don't believe anymore...I don't know if I believe in myself anymore if they don't believe in me"

The poor mutant soon sat on the swing chair and just looked at the sky, feeling incredibly lonely and miserable as he could ever feel lately in his life. He just hopes that his departure would make his brothers finally happy but that was not the case as he thinks it is.

During the morning back at the lair, Donatello was having his casual morning coffee but he was feeling rather distracted by something.

He looks out to see if anyone else was up before looking at his cast arm that was healing his broken bone. The smart turtle actually began to feel regret for getting hostile at Mikey last night when he thought about the situation that occurred; had not Mikey got Donnie away from the explosive that Rahzar threw at Donnie without his knowledge then things would've turned out far more worse than his broken arm.

He eventually accepted the fact that Mikey never meant to shove him off the roof; he was only trying to protect Donnie from being killed. Sure, broken bones are no fun but they can mostly heal quickly than healing damages from explosions.

Leonardo enters the kitchen and notices Donnie looking disturbed of something before he sits down next to him.

"How are you feeling?" Leonardo quizzed.

"Honestly...I feel terrible," Donnie sighs out.

"Your broken arm will heal in no time, don't you worry" Leonardo patted his bro's shell.

"It's not that; it's Mikey," Donnie pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

"Call me foolish all you want but...but I'm starting to feel terrible for how I behaved towards Mikey last night" Donnie replied.

Leo was about to speak when Donnie interrupted: "Hear me out; I know he pushed me off a roof by accident and got my arm broken but...I can't directly blame him for this, it's not like he truly meant it and besides, I can tell he really feels genuinely horrible for what happened to me. He was just trying to protect me from that explosive device that Rahzar almost got me with...I don't know...Do you think I was being too hard on Mikey?"

Leo sighs out: "Actually Donnie, I feel the same way too; I look back late last night on how I berated Mikey. Sure, he could've been more careful but his intentions were never malice or anything, he did saved your life and...I do think we were too hard on Mikey"

"Do you think Raph feels the same way?" Donnie quizzed.

"It'd be a miracle if he did" Leo rolled his eyes.

"I want to talk to Mikey, solve this properly without being too hard on him this time" Donnie suggested.

"I was thinking the same thing" Leo smiled at Donnie.

The two turtles left to Mikey's bedroom door as Donnie knocked on it: "Mikey? Are you in there? It's just Leo and I"

"I know you don't want to see us after last night but we just want to have a simple talk, you're not in trouble, we promise" Leo cooed to assure his baby brother.

"Mikey?" Donnie quizzed as he opened the door.

Sadly to their shock, they found the room half-empty and Mikey is nowhere to be found.

"Mikey?!" Leo exclaimed out, looking around the lair in fear for his baby brother.

"You don't think he's actually run off, do you?" Donnie asked, fearing the worst.

The two turtles rushed to the fridge then opened the freezer and saw that it was empty.

"Ice Cream Kitty is gone!" Leo gasped.

"Mikey...no!" Donnie whimpered.

"Wot on earth is the matter with ya lot?" Raphael yawned, oblivious to everything happening.

"Mikey's run away!" Donnie exclaimed.

Raphael's eyes blink wide open and glance to his brothers: "Wait, wot?!"

"He took Ice Cream Kitty with half of his things and left the lair!" Leo explained.

"But why?!" Raphael panicked.

The two other turtles firmly looked at Raph who just said: "Wot?"

"Well why do you THINK he ran off, Raph?" Donnie sarcastically groaned.

"What was it you said to him? Good! Don't bother coming back" Leo narrowed his eyes at his hot-headed brother.

"Hey, you're not innocent in this too, you're the one who said that sensei would be so ashamed of him" Raphael angrily argued, poking Leo's plastron.

"Well I thought this would make you happy, Raph" Leo sarcastically shrugged.

"I was being sarcastic, ya think Mikey's stupid enough to believe in--- Oh shell, wot am I talking about? This is Mikey we're discussing here" Raphael groaned.

"That's not a better way of putting it, Raph" Leo snapped.

"Children, enough! Look, he may still have his T-Phone so I'm gonna check if he does and where he's at now" Donnie responded to his brother before heading to his lab.

The smart turtle eventually tracks Mikey's T-Phone and sighs in relief at the location: "He's at April's farmhouse"

"Seriously?!" Raphael exclaimed in bewilderment. "How the shell did he get himself all the way there?!"

"It doesn't matter now; what matters is that we go out immediately and get Mikey home before anything bad happens to him" Leo put down the plan of action.

The three got prepared in the Shellraiser, drove off from the city and followed the signal of the T-Phone to get to April's Farmhouse, hoping that they could find Michelangelo there.

Chapter Text

Later that very afternoon, Mikey went to go for a nice quiet walk to get some fresh air and try to relax after everything that had happened. He soon stumbles upon a small hole where he can hear voices inside the small hole.

One voice sounded like someone was panicking and another voice sounded like someone was trying to calm the other voice down;

"Hello?" Mikey called out.

"Who's that?" One of the voices called back. "Who's there?!"

Mikey looks down at the hole to see much to his surprise, two mutated large gophers that seem to look tribal or such that the smaller one looks like a child and the other looks to be an adult warrior.

"Hi, are you two OK?" Mikey quizzed, looking at the gophers in confusion.

The adult gopher pointed its spear right at Mikey from below the hole and grunted: "Who are you?"

"Hey, it's OK; I'm not going to hurt you" Mikey tried to calm the hostile warrior protecting the scared child behind him.

Mikey continues to assure the mutated creatures by introducing himself "My name is Michelangelo a.k.a Mikey, I know I seem a little bit scary to you but I'm not a bad guy, honest" 

"Just what on earth are you?" The adult gopher quizzed.

"I'm a mutant turtle, what are you?" Mikey answered.

"We're gophers but we're mutated as well" The adult gopher replied.

"What happened to you guys?" Mikey asked.

"I don't see how that is any of your business" The warrior snapped.

"OK, OK, no need to snap; I'm just trying to help you" Mikey gently responded.

"Hercules? Is he working with the Crimson Serpent?" The gopher child whimpered.

"The Crimson Serpent? What's that?" Mikey quizzed.

The gophers looked at one another before the gopher known as Hercules asked: "You don't know the Crimson Serpent?"

"No, I'm new here" Mikey shook his head.

He soon gets out one of his nun-chucks and lowers it to the hole: "Here, grab on and I'll pull you guys out of there"

"We can dig our way out, you know," Hercules pointed out.

"True but I'm seeing that this poor kid you're protecting has hurt his leg if I'm looking at this right" Mikey pointed out another fact.

Hercules looked at the bruised leg of the child gopher before him and said: "I see your point but why should we trust you?"

"I know we just met but I promise I'll help you get home if you want me to help you" Mikey vowed.

"C-Can we trust this creature?" The child whimpered to the warrior.

Hercules looks at Mikey for a moment before he sighs out: "Grab onto the stick-thing"

The warrior helps the child hold onto the nun-chuck before he grabs it himself and with that, Mikey lifts them out of the hole and puts them back on the grassy surface.

"There we go," Mikey smiled at the gophers.

"Thank you" Hercules softly thanked the turtle: "What did you say your name was?"

"Michelangelo but people call me Mikey for short" Mikey chuckled.

"The name is Hercules, I'm a warrior of my tribe" Hercules greeted.

"Cool name" Mikey nodded before he turned to the child gopher: "Is he gonna be alright?"

"He's only got a bruised leg but he'll be fine" Hercules replied.

"What happened?" Mikey asked.

"I was chasing butterflies and I didn't see the hole" The child gopher whimpered.

"I was training him the ways of our people but he sometimes gets distracted by some things" Hercules replied.

"I'm sorry, big brother" The child apologised.

"Big brother??" Mikey loudly quizzed.

"Aye; this child is my little brother; Apollo" Hercules nodded before he cuddles his kid brother: "It's OK, buddy; as long as you're OK then that's all matters to me"

Mikey smiles at how caring Hercules was to his kid brother...if only Mikey's brothers were the same, he thought to himself.

Suddenly they heard a deep hiss noise to which Mikey asked: "Do you hear that?"

Hercules's eyes widen in terror as he pulls his kid brother close to him and grunted quietly: "Be alert, it's here"

"Who?" Mikey quizzed.

"T-T-The Crimson S-Serpent" Apollo whimpered in fear.

Mikey looks around before he notices behind a giant crimson snake levelling its body up to his face, the size of the serpent was like a tall python but with blood-crimson colored scales with a ting of black underneath its body. Its eyes glow bright yellow and its fangs are like vampire fangs. Unlike other snakes, it doesn't just hisses but it lets out an eerie snarl.

"You two...run!" Mikey grunted and prepared his weapons to fight.

The Crimson Serpent soon lunges to attack but Mikey's reflexes made him faster to dodge the attack and fought the beast with his weapons.

"Good lord!" Hercules gasped in amazement on how Mikey fights the serpent.

"Go! Get out of here!" Mikey cried out at the gophers to flee.

Hercules picks up his kid brother and flees as Apollo cries out: "What about him, big brother?!"

"He's a strong fighter, he'll live" Hercules grunted while running.

The Crimson Serpent soon sees the gophers fleeing and see this as a chance for a tasty lunch, it charges right at them and whacks them on the ground with its tail, separating the two brothers.

"No!" Mikey gasped in alarm.

The Crimson Serpent eyes the whimpering limping child and hisses at him before it takes the opportunity to attack Apollo right there.

"APOLLO!!!" Hercules screamed in fear.

Mikey, in a flash, got in front of Apollo as a shield as the serpent sank its fangs right into Mikey's right arm, causing the poor turtle to scream in agony.

Meanwhile Leo, Donnie, and Raph finally arrived at the farmhouse with the Shellraiser parked near the barn as they called out for their baby brother when suddenly they heard his screams echoing in the woods.

"Was that-?!" Donnie gasped.

"Mikey!!" Raphael cried out in fear for his baby brother.

"C'mon!!" Leo yelled as the trio rushed to the source of the screams.

Mikey tries to get the serpent off from him but the giant reptile slithers its coils around the turtle to trap him before it lets go and opens its mouth ready to digest the turtle.

Hercules let out a bellowing yell and stabs the giant snake in its coils, causing it to hiss loudly and whack Hercules away with its tail.

"Big brother" Apollo whimpered, rushes to his side.

Suddenly without warning, Leonardo charges in with his katana: "GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!!!"

In a flash, Leo leaps up and cuts the head off of the Crimson Serpent which causes its body to limp down and release Mikey from its coils.

Mikey pants heavily, feeling hot and shaken from everything; Apollo and Hercules hid behind a tree while the rest of the gang rushes into the scene before them.

"Mikey!" Raphael cried out.

"Mike, are you OK?!" Donnie panicked then let out a sharp gasp when he saw the snake bite on his baby brother's right arm.

"I...I've been bitten" Mikey whimpered.

"You don't think he's poisoned, do you?" Raph panicked.

"I have some antidotes that can help; help me take him to the Shellraiser" Donnie replied.

Leo and Raph helped Mikey up as Leo soothed his baby brother: "You're gonna be alright, Mikey"

As they leave for the Shellraiser, Hercules and Apollo watch the turtles go before the child gopher asks: "What do we do now?"

"If that's his family then we have to warn them about the poison" Hercules responded.

Apollo nodded and held onto the strong mutated gopher's back and the two of them followed the turtles who were not too far away from them.

Unbeknownst to both of them, the eyes of the beheaded Crimson Serpent opened and soon began to grow what it looks to be a bigger and even stronger body before its head grows with it.

This Crimson Serpent was no ordinary mutated snake; for like the mythical creature, the Hydra, the Crimson Serpent has been resurrected.

Chapter Text

In the barn, Donnie tended to his little brother's infected arm after being bitten by the Crimson Serpent. The smart turtle injected a syringe of an antidote in Mikey's arm to help rid the snake's venom in Mikey.

"There we go, that should eliminate the poison" said Donnie.

"Thank you, D." Mikey softly thanked, rubbing the bandage arm gently.

Leo kneels before him, looking at Mikey in concern while Raph was watching at the back, mad that Mikey ran off and almost got killed, he tried to calm down but the amount of worry Raph felt is not helping. 

"Mikey, are you OK?" Leo gently asked his baby brother.

"I think so," Mikey nodded.

"Good" Raph grunted before he gave Mikey a smack upon the head.

"Raph!" Leo yelled at the hot head.

"No! Uh-uh!" Raph shook his head then turned to Mikey: "What the shell were ya thinking, Mikey?! Do ya have any idea how worried we were about ya?!"

"Raph, just back off, you're not helping" Donnie angrily replied at Raphael.

"But he does have a point, Mikey" Leo gently yet a bit firmly looks at Mikey: "How could you run off like that? We thought we would never see you again"

"What made you think I wanted to be found?" Mikey suddenly and coldly spat.

The brothers were a bit off-guard by Mikey's attitude to which Donnie replied: "Look I know we were hard on you last night but you didn't have to run away"

"Donnie's right! When we found you just now, we were so scared for you" Leonardo tried to assure him.

Mikey looks down from Leo and said: "I don't want to be found and I'm not coming back"

"What?" Leo and Donnie quizzed in concern.

"I said, I never want to come back to the lair! I don't want to go home with you guys, I'd rather be away from you all" Mikey ranted.

Raphael firmly grabbed Mikey to face him: "Listen here, Mike; ya can't just run away from your problems; that's not the way to do things"

"You know maybe you should listen to your advice every time YOU run off" Mikey scoffed.

Raphael just growled and pulled Mikey closer: "Why ya ungrateful brat! You should be lucky we found you, otherwise you would've been dead!"

"And since when have any of you actually had the guts to admit you care me?! HUH?!" Mikey snapped and shoved Raph away.

"What are you saying, Mikey?" Leo asked, looking scared for his baby brother.

"Do you guys even have a single clue on what I'm talking about?! I've been nothing but just a target or the butt of the jokes or the punching bag to you guys ever since we were little" Mikey cried out.

"That's not true!" Donnie denied.

"BULLCRAP! You don't think I remember the amount of times I was blamed for things I never did or even tried my hardest to make you guys happy?! That I don't contribute anything good or meaningful whatsoever to this team or even to this family?!" Mikey argued, shaking in his feet.

He got to his brother's face and rants at them angrily: "So tell me, guys! Tell me! What do you really want from me?! What can I even do to make you see that I can be a great valuable member of this team?! Just tell me why!! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME TO MAKE YOU GUYS WANT ME AROUND?!"

"Well maybe if you weren't such a daily idiotic screw up maybe we wouldn't be so irritated towards you all the time! See, this is why no one wants to be with you, Mike!! You're completely hopeless!!!" Raphael yelled, finally losing his patience toward Mikey.

All was silence as Mikey looked away before Leonardo angrily growled at Raph: "Are you seriously for real, Raph?!!"

"What?! We're all thinking about it" Raphael argued.

"Guys," Donnie started.

"Don't start, Donnie," Raphael snapped.

"Right, you know what-!" Donnie firmly started before eventually the trio got into an argument with each other about everything that is happening that is only making the whole situation worse.

Mikey knew this was bound to happen, after all his effort to hide away, he was found and was once again, scolded, yelled and even disrespected by mostly his brothers as he tries to block out the screaming and yelling from the trio as he never liked seeing anyone arguing and yelling at each other.

He shook like a tremor, his heart was pounding faster with his rapid breathing heavily from the pain and misery he was feeling that continues to grow as he tries to repress it as he had always done for years.

Mikey continues whimpering and shuddering, his depression grows worse and worse from all the intense shout-fest that was going on when suddenly and unexpectedly, the young turtle couldn't suppress it anymore as he screams at the top of his lungs:

"SHUUUUUUUUUT-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"

Everyone abruptly ceased all noise and movement at that anguish scream; they all slowly turn their heads to see Mikey, panting heavily, fuming with exploded anger as he angrily shrieks out:

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT THE SHELL UP!"

"M-Mikey?" Donnie softly stuttered.

"No! Just shut up! Why can't you all just stop?! I am sick of everyone screaming at me, blaming me for everything and putting me down like I'm nothing but a piece of garbage to you!!" Mikey shrieked out again.

"Mikey, calm down" Raphael firmly tried to calm down Mikey.

The hot head was suddenly met with a sharp slap to the face by Mikey who growled: "Don't you tell me to calm down, you hot-headed snarky hypocritical jerk!"

Raphael stared at his baby brother with the others in utter bewilderment; this was really not how Mikey normally acts as it starts to scare the group a tad.

"I'm tired of everyone giving me crap for things I never meant or even do to you guys! Why is it every time when things go wrong, you three always yell at me and act like it's my fault?!"

"Mikey-" Leo started.

"Awwww no one listens to me because I'm perfect as a leader; Awww, I can't do good like Leo so now I'm a big meanie jerk to those I hate! Awww, April doesn't love me because I'm a clingy nerd! Boo, hoo, hoo!" Mikey angrily mocked the brothers

"Hey!" Donnie angrily snapped. "That was WAY uncalled for, Mikey!"

"Shove off Donnie; I don't care if it's uncalled for because you know it's true!" Mikey snapped back at Donnie:

"I've put up with you guys doubting me and treating me like I'm a lost cause for too long that I've had it! I ran away because I thought it would make you guys happy and I just wanted to do things right but nothing seems to make you happy no matter how hard I try! Is my misery just a game to you three?!"

"No, it's not like that! We just...well...I...um...Well-!" Leo stuttered as he was lost of words on how to calm Mikey down.

"Well, what?!" Mikey snapped. "Is my temper scaring you just as you all get angry at me?!"

"Sorry, It's just you were always just nice and mellow to us; we never took you to be this angry, that's all" Leo pointed out.

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT ME!!!" Mikey angrily and loudly exclaimed.

Tears begin to fall from his eyes as he starts angrily crying out all the suppressed anger and woe that he held back for so long as he weeps in front of his shocked brothers:

"I...I'm so sorry I'm not the greatest little brother in the whole world but you have to know that I tried?! OK?! I tried so f***ing hard for you all and it hasn't been ever enough and it will never be enough for you!!!"

"Little bro..." Leo gasped.

"Do you think I want to be this way?! Do you think I want to screw up every time and make you guys mad?! NO!! All I ever wanted was to make you guys happy and be your brother but it's clear now that you guys never want me!! You should've just left me alone!! Why couldn't you just leave me alone?! If you didn't want me around, you could've just admitted it and told me that you don't want me as a brother" Mikey wept.

The trio looked on in bewilderment at the mess that Mikey has become and it's making their skins cold and their minds shocked that this is how Mikey really feels?

How could they not see this?! How blind were they to not notice this?! It was making them sick to their stomachs to know that each of them made Mikey this way.

Suddenly they noticed blood coming out of Mikey's nose before Raphael gasped: "Mikey-!"

"No! I don't want anything to do with you guys anymore! I hate you all!!!" Mikey screamed. "I wish we were never brothers at all!!!"

Suddenly the young turtle was about to run out of the barn when he suddenly felt lightheaded and hot to the skin as he trembles and sways a little; just then he falls to his knees and pukes out a bit of blood and bile much to his older brothers' horror.

"MIKEY!" They all cried out, running up to him in a panic.

Raphael held him close as Mikey shivers and whimpers in pain: "S-Something's...wrong...I feel...so sick"

"I thought you gave him the antidote!" Raphael exclaimed at Donnie.

"I did! That should've erased the venom!" Donnie cried.

"That snake's venom is no ordinary venom"

The trio soon saw Hercules and Apollo by the door of the barn before Leo asked:

"Who are you?!"

Hercules stepped closer to the turtles:

"I'm Hercules and I'm the guy who knows what's wrong with your brother so if you want to help him then you listen to me carefully for we don't have much time"

Chapter Text

The turtles stared at Hercules in bewilderment as Leo gasped: "Wha...What was that you said?"

Hercules groaned in annoyance: "The name's Hercules and I'm a mutated gopher as you can see and I know exactly why your little brother is like this"

But before any of the other turtles can speak, Apollo interrupts them: "Please, my big brother knows how to help your brother and we don't have much time, he's been poisoned by very strong venom that no ordinary antidote can cure"

The turtles looked at one another before they looked down at their sick baby brother and eventually nodded as Leo then said: "What must we do?"

"Hold on," Hercules replied.

The mutated gopher got out what appears to be seashell in the shape of a horn before he blew into the shell and it made a loud noise like a musical note.

"Wot's he doing?" Raphael quizzed as Hercules blows loud noise into the seashell horn a few more times.

"He's summoning the tribe, we need all the help we can get" Apollo responded.

After a short while, the turtles began to feel the ground move a bit before out of the flash like a grenade explosion, a few more mutated gophers popped out from the earth below and stood out to greet the warrior with the turtles.

An elder mutated gopher approached the strong warrior and spoke to him: "Hercules, what is the meaning of this summon?"

"What on earth are those creatures?" One of the gophers asked, staring in bewilderment at the turtles like the others.

"Don't fret, my friends, they are allies and I've summoned you guys here because they need our help" Hercules explained.

"This one has been bitten by the Crimson Serpent '' Apollo replied and then he pointed to Michelangelo.

The Elder looked at the turtles and said: "May I see him?"

Raphael gently lays his sick brother to the Elder as he removes the bandages and shows that the bitten wound looks more infected and putrid.

"This is just as I feared...the Crimson Serpent's venom has already taken its toll" The Elder gasped.

Mikey suddenly coughed out blood and whimpered in agony as Donnie gently held him and whispered soothing words to calm him down despite the fact that Donatello was so afraid for his baby brother.

"B-But I gave him an antidote injection that should've eliminated the venom" The smart turtle stuttered in fear.

"My dear boy, the Crimson Serpent's venom is not any ordinary snake venom; the Crimson Serpent is a mutated snake whose venom is twice as strong and twice as dangerous as any other snake venom in the world" The Elder sadly explained.

"How do you know all of this?" Leonardo asked.

"There's no time to explain! Time is of the essence; how long has he been bitten?" The Elder demanded.

"For nearly an hour" Hercules replied and cuddled Apollo close. "He got bitten while protecting my little brother from almost getting killed by the Crimson Serpent"

The turtles looked at Mikey, surprised to learn how he got bitten by saving the child gopher from being killed.

"Oh Mikey..." Raphael gasped, feeling incredibly guilty that he was too hard on Mikey again.

"I...I couldn't let the kid get hurt...I just...couldn't...I'm...I'm so sorry...I messed up again...I..." Mikey weakly whimpered before he suddenly went out cold in Donnie's arms.

"Mikey?! MIKEY!!" Donnie fearfully cried in near tears.

"Is he going to survive this?! Please tell me there's a way to cure him!!" Leonardo demanded the Elder.

"There is a way to cure the venom; I can create a potion that will heal your little brother but we must make haste for if we don't cure him in the next five hours then...well..." The Elder sadly replied.

"No! No he can't die! Not like this!" Donatello cried, cradling Mikey close.

"Well, wot are ya waiting for?! Start making that potion already!" Raphael exclaimed.

"It's not that simple! We need an ingredient that is not with us" The Elder explained.

"What do we need?" Leonardo asked, trying to take control of the situation.

"My people can collect the rest of the items that are needed for the antidote but in order for the venom to be destroyed in your little brother's system, I need a certain flower and believe me, it is as rare as you can imagine...We call it the Sapphire Flower" The Elder responded.

"What's the Sapphire Flower?" Donnie quizzed.

"When we were mutated by this mysterious otherworldly creation two years ago, a couple of flowers that were exposed to this glowing liquid that was inside it, mutated into sapphire flowers and thus from what we learn, it has the power to remove any lethal toxins from the body and thus we grew them to help out the tribe" Hercules responded.

"Unfortunately we were ambushed one time by the Crimson Serpent who also got mutated with us and since then, it has made its home near the flower bed" Apollo added, staying by Hercules's side.

"Well you guys can be at peace now because I slain the Crimson Serpent; I beheaded it when I saved Mikey from it" Leonardo pointed out.

"Did you destroy the head?!" The Elder suddenly demanded.

"What?" Leo asked.

"Did you DESTROY the head?!" The Elder repeated.

"Sir, what is the problem?" Hercules asked.

"Oh my boy, this is bad" The Elder shook his head.

"What's the matter?" Hercules demanded.

"I was going to mention this to you sooner than later, Hercules; but the Crimson Serpent cannot be killed that easily! For some strange reason, the mutation in the Crimson Serpent can allow it to resurrect itself for if you cut its head off, the mutation allows the serpent to grow another body and not just that but it grows twice as large as it was" The Elder replied before he looks at the scar in his arm:

"I should know...because I thought I slain it once before I saw it resurrect before my eyes"

"This is bad" Hercules gasped.

"So let me get this straight, you gophers and this snake were mutated by the mutagen along with some flowers, made war with each other and this thing cannot die unless you destroy the brain...Anything else I'm missing?" Raphael stated the obvious.

"No, that's about it," Apollo nodded.

"So we have five hours to find this Sapphire Flower or Mikey..." Leo sadly looks at his dying baby brother before he turns to the gophers:

"Where is this field of Sapphire Flowers?"

"I can show you where it is but we must make haste; otherwise we may be too late" Hercules replied.

"Then here's the plan: Raph, you and I will go with Hercules to find this flower; Donnie, you stay with Mikey since you're the medical one in the team and plus with your broken arm and all that, no offence" Leo responded.

"None taken," Donnie nodded. "And of course, I will make sure Mikey stays alive, I promise that with my life"

Leo and Raph stroked Mikey's head as Raph sadly whispered: "Be strong, little bro...and....I'm so very sorry"

"You ready, Raph?" Leo asked Raph who sadly looked at his baby brother, scared for his life before Leo spoke out again: "Raph!"

"I-I'm ready, fearless" Raph nodded.

"We'll stay with your brothers and help delay the poison from killing Mikey as much as we can" The Elder pointed out.

"Thank you" Leo thanked.

"Be careful out there, guys" Donnie spoke to his older brothers.

"We will," Raph nodded.

"Be careful big brother" Apollo whimpers and hugs his big brother.

"I will be alright, Apollo, I'll come back safe and sound." Hercules comforts his baby brother, holding him close.

The Elder then commands the other mutated gophers to start collecting the stuff for the potion to heal Mikey while Donnie drags his baby brother inside the house as gently as he could.

Leo and Raph follow Hercules into the woods as the race against time to save Michelangelo from a painful death begins.

Chapter Text

Leonardo and Raphael followed Hercules as they race through the woods, searching for the mysterious mutated flower field known as the Sapphire Flowers.

They also have to be on the lookout for the Crimson Serpent since much to their shock, it was pointed out since Leo didn't destroy the brain when he beheaded the monster, the mutated snake's mutation allows the head to grow out a new body and grow twice as big as the last body.

"So um, Hercules; how long has this Crimson Serpent been around?" Leo asked while following him.

"For about two years ever since we were mutated" Hercules replied, continuing to lead the way.

"And now it resided near the flower bed ya mentioned; this just keeps getting worse by the minute" Raphael grunted.

"Have faith, my friends; if we can get a Sapphire Flower without alerting the Crimson Serpent, we'll rid the venom out of your brother in no time" Hercules replied.

Raphael hoped that they will save Mikey in time, he really wanted to make up for the bad things he did to Mikey lately especially considering how his poor baby brother snapped back there.

"Leo...?" Raph started while following Hercules.

"Raph?" said Leo.

"Are we horrible brothers?" Raphael questioned, looking sadden at Leo.

"With Mikey...as much as it pains to say it but...yeah..." Leo sadly agreed.

"The way he yelled at us...is this really how he felt all those years?! How can we not see it?! Mikey's like an open book, ya can read him easily" Raphael vented.

"We underestimate him...a lot; he looked so broken, so sad and...this is our fault" Leonardo sadly nodded.

"Why do you hate your little brother?" Hercules suddenly asks as he continues walking for a time being.

"W-W-We don't hate him, we just..." Raphael protested.

"Really? Because I don't mean to pry but after hearing your argument and your little brother's venting, hard not to hear it with Apollo and I nearby, it sounds like you don't care a lot about Mikey" Hercules replied, looking stoic at the turtles.

"It's not like that; we just want Mikey to know that life as a ninja is not all fun and games plus he doesn't take training and patrols out there seriously; he's still young and treats life like a video game" Leonardo explained.

"Even so is that the reason you guys should treat him like a lost cause from what I heard" Hercules points out.

"Listen, ya don't know us that well; ya don't know about how we are as our family" Raphael firmly protested.

"Maybe not but I could tell that you three have a lot to make up for your little brother once we find the cure for him" Hercules shrugged and continued leading the two turtles.

"He has a point, we messed up big time" Leo agreed.

"Right...we got to fix this, we can't lose Mikey too" Raphael nodded.

The mutated gopher continues leading the turtles to the location of the Sapphire Flowers before they stop near some bushes.

"What now?" Leo asked.

Hercules hushes them before whispering: "Beyond these bushes ahead is the flower field but we best be careful since the Crimson Serpent could be nearby. So if you see it then do whatever it takes to grab the flower and run, don't let it bite you"

The duo nodded as they carefully peek out from the bushes until Hercules let out a sharp gasp and rushed to the field.

"No! NO!"

Leo and Raph followed after and saw that the flower field was destroyed, petals of blue flowers were torn everywhere as Hercules cried out in despair:

"No! The Sapphire Flowers! They're all destroyed!"

"What?! Wot do ya mean they're destroyed?!" Raphael exclaimed.

"The Crimson Serpent...it destroyed the flower field and now..." Hercules shuddered.

"W-Well surely we can use the petals scattered around, right?" Leo tried to be hopeful.

"No, we need the whole flower or the cure will never work and now that the field's destroyed, it'll take days for new flowers to grow and..." Hercules depressingly responded.

The horror of reality washes over the group. Without the Sapphire Flower, Mikey will die in a few hours from the mutated venom and there is nothing more they can do to stop this.

"S-So...So that's it huh? We lost?! IS THAT IT?!" Raphael miserably raged.

The group sadly went quiet as they had no idea what to do now. Michelangelo is going to die and there's nothing they can do to prevent this. Raphael angrily storms to one of the trees and starts bashing it hard, letting out his anguish that he's about to lose his baby brother.

"No! NO! NO!!! It can't end like this!! It just can't!! There has to be another way!! There has to be!!!" Raphael bellowed out, refusing to give up.

Leonardo stops Raph: "Raph...please..."

"Don't you start, this is your fault to begin with" Raphael yelled.

"And how the shell is it my fault?!" Leonardo snapped.

"If you had been a better leader to Mikey instead of holding him back then he would've been stronger to stop whatever hurt him!!" Raphael lashed out.

"Oh that's rich coming from a guy who beats up Mikey whenever he comes within two inches near you! You can blame me all you want but you know something, Raph? You hate Mikey so much that you rather wish he was not your brother at all and how many times have I heard that coming out of your mouth!" Leo lashed back at the hot head.

"That's not true!" Raphael angrily denied.

"BULL!! That is complete bull, right there! You never appreciated Mikey, you just hit him, call him names, treat him like crap and all you ever do is put him down to the ground! I wouldn't be surprised that he ran away because of you; So don't give that crap that you care for him now that he's dying when all you ever wished that he was never part of your life to begin with" Leo yelled and shoves Raph against the tree.

"You son of a-!" Raphael growls and tackles Leo to which the two begin fighting each other.

"You know I'm right, Raph!" Leo snapped while fighting Raph.

"Screw you, fearless! It's all clear that Mikey was never your favourite brother" Raphael angrily yelled, struggling to fight his older brother.

Suddenly the two turtles were hit in the face by kicks from Hercules, knocking them down to the ground. Just as they were about to get back up, Hercules leap onto them, standing each foot paw on their plastrons, pointing his spear near their faces:

"STOP IT!!! RIGHT NOW!!!"

The two turtles lay there in bewilderment that a strong mutated gopher overpowers them as Hercules growled:

"Look, I don't have the fullest idea about how your family functions together but it's clear that you guys have problems especially with Mikey"

"Your little brother is dying and here you two are, fighting and blaming over each other...The way I see it, it's both your fault this has happened to your baby brother, he may have been bitten by the Crimson Serpent but to the reason why he was ran off here in the first place, the blame is clearly direct to you two and even that Don brother of yours, whatever his name is"

"Donatello" Leo gulped.

"Did I ask?!" Hercules exclaimed at Leo before he looks at them with disgust:

"Look at you two, you are clearly bad as brothers to each other and if you continue to act like enemies then your family will be destroyed before you know it"

"And what do you know about brotherhood?" Raphael demanded.

"In case your impatient mind has forgotten, I have a little brother who is like Mikey himself, Apollo and your brother saved my little brother from certain death which I am forever thankful for and I wish I could do everything in my power to return the favour" Hercules grunted, looking down.

"Apollo, is he OK?" Leo asked.

"He is now, thanks to Mikey..." Hercules turns to the two turtles: "He may be a bit devious with me but he's my only baby brother and never once have I lay a hand on him for a very long time since we were kids or even spoke to him like he was a trash or wish he was never related to me"

Hercules thought about the worst case scenario back there if Mikey wasn't there to save Apollo from the Crimson Serpent:

"He is my whole world and why I stay strong and fight all this time. He's my light and my happiness...I love my baby brother with all my heart and if anything happen to him then hell has no fury like a big brother's scorned"

Hercules then looks at the duo in tears: "If Mikey was my little brother like Apollo, I would sacrifice my life to make sure he lives healthy and happy because being a big brother is not a duty, it's a blessing because they are the reason you are not alone and that you are loved and cherished"

Raphael looks at Leo and after a while, he sadly shuddered out: "I'm...I'm so sorry, Leo"

"Yeah...I'm so sorry too, Raph" Leo sadly nodded.

The two brothers hugged one another closely as Raphael begins to break down in Leo's arms: "I don't want Mikey to die, I don't want to lose him like we did Splinter"

"Raph" Leo sniffed in near tears.

"He can't die, Leo! He just can't! He's still too young, he still has a whole life ahead of him! And now he's going to die and it's all my fault" Raphael wailed out in anguish tears.

"We're all to blame, Raph...we didn't--!" Leo shuddered when suddenly he notices something:

"Wait! Look! Up there!"

The trio turns to see the rocky wall that the vines had within the flower field and to their surprise, on the side of the wall on top, was a Sapphire Flower, bloomed and blossomed.

"Is that...?!" Raphael gasped.

"A Sapphire Flower!!" Hercules happily cried and went to pick it off from the wall.

"We got one!" Leonardo happily gasped.

"We're not too late after all!" Hercules gleefully cheered.

"Ya mean Mikey still has a chance to live?!" Raphael cried out in hope.

"Yes but we must hurry before--!!" Hercules started.

Suddenly out of the blue, the trio heard hissing behind them as they turned to see the Crimson Serpent gazing down dangerously at them as he was bigger than an basilisk now, much to the heroes' horror.

"Is that-?!" Raphael gasped.

"The Crimson Serpent!" Hercules growled at it.

Leonardo got out his katanas and angrily declared:

"No monstrous serpent is going to stop us from saving our little brother!!"

Chapter Text

Meanwhile back at the farmhouse, Donatello was tending to his sick little brother in the bedroom. The smart turtle keeps a close eye on everything that might cause any change in Michelangelo's dangerous sickness.

He places a wet cloth over Mikey's head to try and cool the high fever that the poor young turtle was feeling within the mutated poison.

"Hang in there, little buddy; Leo and Raph will be back real soon" Donnie cooed out softly, holding Mikey's hand.

He then looked out the window and thought to himself: "Please come back with the flower soon, guys, please!"

"How is he doing?"

Donnie turns to see Apollo peeking by the door: "H-He's doing fine at the moment"

"Can I see him?" Apollo asked.

Donnie nodded as the child gopher hops onto the bedside table and looks at the unconscious dying turtle before him:

"This is my entire fault"

"No it isn't, kid" Donnie shook his head.

"Yes it is! If I haven't tripped over and just kept running instead of cowering in fear from the serpent, Mikey would be OK" Apollo whimpered out in complete guilt.

"Hey" Donatello said, going around the bed and putting a comforting hand on the gopher's back: "You're not to blame for this; Mikey saved your life because..."

Donnie looks down and remembers all the times Mikey has been selfless with others; a pure teenager with a heart of gold. Immature but still selfless and mostly a gentle soul to those he meets.

"Mikey's mostly empathetic; he mostly puts others first before himself and he would do anything to make you happy and OK" Donnie explained, looking back at how much impact Mikey has put upon the smart turtle and the rest of the family.

"That's kind of like me" Apollo replied as Donnie looks down before the child gopher explained:

"My big brother, Hercules, ever since our parents died, he has been there for me every single step of my life and protects me from any danger. I want to help him too by protecting him and making him happy and enjoy things instead of worrying and thinking life is an endless battle...I'd do anything for my big brother, sir"

The way Apollo describes his brotherly love and how fond he was of his big brother made Donnie look back at Mikey. It's like Apollo and Mikey were kindred spirits as they both share the empathetic life they do with each other's families.

"Sir?" Apollo quizzed.

"You can call me, Donnie" Donnie let out a small smile to the child gopher.

"Donnie? Do you hate your little brother?" Apollo timidly questioned.

The question gave Donnie chills up his spine before the child added: "I-I couldn't help but overhear you guys arguing in there and then with Mikey screaming at you guys about how much you hurt him and how much you don't care. It scared me"

Donnie looks at his cast arm and then to Mikey as he sadly closes his eyes and sighs: "I will admit, I haven't been the best brother to Mikey lately...but I could never hate him, he's my best friend, my only little brother and besides...he and I are the B-Team, we're a team together"

"What's a B-Team?" Apollo quizzed.

"I-It's a long story" Donnie cleared his throat.

"I'm all ears, we're waiting for the others to come with the Sapphire Flower hopefully" Apollo sat down on the bedside table.

Donnie kneels beside the bed, looking at Mikey and remembers the first time Mikey and Donnie became the B-Team together...

TEN YEARS AGO

The turtles were seven years old and were exploring the sewers, much to Splinter forbidding them not to go out on their own but it was night time and the father was asleep to which the boys sneaked out for a late night exploring.

"Guys, we shouldn't be doing this," Young Leo groaned.

"Well then go back and hide under ya bed" Young Raph scoffed.

Mikey was cuddled close to Donnie as the baby brother was a little scared of the dark and some of the noises echoing in the sewers made the little one shiver a bit.

"It's OK, Mikey; nothing bad is going to happen" Donnie gently calms his brother down.

"Relax Mikey, we're tough together" Leo winked.

" Yeah, and we'll just use you as bait for the hungry monsters if we bump into them!" Raph deviously jokes.

"Nooooo!!" Mikey tries to run back home but Donnie holds him close to stop him.

"Cut it out, Raph!" Donnie snapped at his big bullying brother.

"No one is using anyone as bait," Leo reprimanded the red-mask turtle.

"OK Splinter JR" Raphael grumbled and shoves Leo back while walking around.

"I'd rather be Splinter JR than a ninja drop-out" Leo scoffed.

Raph glared back and growled: "Ya take that back"

"Nope" Leo shook his head.

"Take that back!" Raph snapped and shoves Leo.

"Make me, hot-head" Leo snapped back and shoves Raph back.

As the two rivalry brothers bickering and childishly shove one another, Donnie just sighs out: "Oh good, they're at it again...Some A-Team they are"

"Should we go back now?" Mikey asked.

"Well we can't leave those two behind" Donnie points out. "We can't be the B-Team without the A-Team around"

"Teacher's pet" Raph spat.

"Sour grump!" Leo spat back.

"Bossy boot"

"Immature crybaby!"

"Up yours!!" Raph finally snapped and shoves Leo so hard that he accidentally pushes Leo over the edge of a pipe.

Leo, in a panic, grabs Raph's arm but accidentally pulls him down too as they land on a tiny pipe below.

"Guys!" Mikey and Donnie cried out in horror.

They peek down to see their older brothers hanging onto a pipe where below them is rushing water.

"Leo! Raph!" Mikey cried out.

"Hang on guys!" Donnie also cried out.

"Hurry! I don't think I can hold on that long!" Raphael panicked.

"Get Splinter!" Leo exclaimed.

"Are ya nuts?! By the time Splinter arrives, we'll be dead...if not, maybe grounded" Raphael replied.

"Better to be grounded than dead" Leo argued.

"Stop arguing and just hold on! Let me think!" Donnie exclaimed.

As Donnie thought long and hard, Mikey looked around and saw what appeared to be a bundle of used ropes that were chunk or left behind in the sewers. Suddenly an idea came to his mind before he looks at Donnie and said:

"Donnie, how fast are you making ropes?"

"I can do it in a quick moment, why?" Donnie quizzed.

Mikey grabs the discarded ropes: "Turn these to a long rope then tie it around my shell"

"You're seriously going down there?!" Donnie panicked.

"Well I'm smaller and lighter than you guys and you're stronger than me; If I can get Leo and Raph down there, you pull me back up" Mikey replied.

Donnie quickly thought of it since time was of the essence in this situation before he said: "Alright let's do this"

"B-Team?" Mikey got out his fist.

"B-Team!" Donnie agrees and fist bumps Mikey.

With quick speed and determination, Donnie tied each discarded rope into a longer one before wrapping half of it around Mikey.

"Are you sure this'll work?" Donnie asked.

"Don't know but we never know until we try it" Mikey anxiously exhaled.

"Be careful Mikey" Donnie gulped.

Mikey soon leaps off the edge and was lower to his bros: "One of you, grab onto me"

"Mikey?!" Raph and Leo exclaimed in bewilderment.

"Just hurry and grab onto me" Mikey cried.

"Raph, you first!" Leo spoke.

"Heck no! I ain't leaving you behind" Raph denied.

"Raph! I am not ordering you to do this; I am begging you to do this as your older brother! You guys are my responsibility and I will not let any of you get hurt, now grab onto Mikey" Leo replied.

Raph looks at Leo anxiously before he carefully wraps his arms and legs around Mikey before Donnie uses all of his strength to pull them to safety.

"Gees, Raph; you're really heavy" Donnie groaned.

"Shuddup" Raphael groaned as well.

"Hang on Leo!" Mikey calls down and leaps off again to get to Leo.

As Raph and Donnie hold onto the rope, Leo wraps his arms and legs around Mikey and was pulled up to the surface but just as Leo got back to the others, the rope holding Mikey snapped and the poor young turtle falls down, screaming and the last thing he can hear before plummeting into the deep waters was his brothers screaming his name.

Mikey tried to swim up but the current was so strong that it kept pulling him down and making him run out of air to breath, the last thing Mikey saw before he lost consciousness was a large figure diving in after him.

When the young turtle opens his eyes, he can see that he was in the dojo, wrapped in a giant blanket and looks over to see Splinter, wet and scolding the other brothers about their reckless behaviour and disobeying him.

"P-Papa" Mikey coughed out.

"Mikey!" The three brothers rushed to his side as well as Splinter.

"Michelangelo, are you alright?"

"W-What happened? I was under water and then I went out cold" Mikey shuddered, feeling the cold still.

"Master Splinter found us and then he dove in to save you; he pulled you out of the water in time" Donnie explained.

"What were you boys thinking? I told you not to go out at night for a reason" Splinter scolded his sons before turning to Leo and Raph: "And you two, bickering like immature schoolboys back there is what almost got you two killed and your little brother almost drowned"

"We're so sorry, sensei" Leonardo deeply apologised.

"Yeah, we won't fight like that again" Raphael sincerely apologised.

Splinter exhales and calms down a bit: "Let that be a lesson to you boys and no more going out late at night, understand?"

"Yes sensei," The boys nodded.

"And just to make sure you learn your mistakes, I'm grounding you boys for a week" Splinter puts his foot down.

"Awww pops" Raphael whined.

" Yamate!  No argument, unless you want it for two weeks" Splinter warned.

The boys went quiet and nodded before Splinter turns to Michelangelo and said: "I will say however, Michelangelo, I am very proud of both you and Donatello"

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked.

"You and Donatello worked very well as a team to save your brothers" Splinter smiled at the youngest.

"Donnie did most of the work, I just helped him" Mikey sheepishly rubbed his head.

"No Mikey, we worked together and besides, it was your idea" Donnie smiled and stroked his little brother's head.

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Mikey chuckled.

Donnie got out his fist and said: "B-Team forever?"

"B-Team forever, bro" Mikey gleefully replied and fist bumps Donnie.

Splinter chuckles as Donnie and Mikey cuddle one another while Leo and Raph smiled at them. Even though they end up being in trouble for their disobedience, the fact that Mikey and Donnie are a great team proves that even the B-Team can do great things.

Apollo looks at Donnie with awe that the two brothers were usually a great team together: "Wow, you guys are like super heroes"

"In a way" Donnie awkwardly blushed.

He then frowns sadly at Mikey and sighs: "Mikey was my team mate and is the only baby brother I got...and...and I failed him"

Donnie buries his head on Mikey's plastron as he begins to silently cry, feeling misery and upset that he messed up with his relationship with his baby brother and feeling hopeless that he can't do more to help Mikey now.

"Please hold on Mikey, you gotta hold on,...I love you so much, bro...and I'm so sorry for hurting you...I'm so sorry"

Chapter Text

Back at the forest, Leo, Raph, and Hercules face off the large Crimson Serpent, hoping to get away with the Sapphire Flower and save Michelangelo in time before the deadly venom consumes him to his death.

"It's payback time!" Raphael growled, getting his Sais out.

"We don't have much time left, if we waste it fighting this monster then your brother is going to die" Hercules warned the duo.

"He's right, Raph; we have to get away from him for now" Leonardo agreed.

"Well wot do you suggest we do? That freak is a giant force of monstrosity" Raphael growled at the hissing monster before them.

Hercules then hands Raph the sapphire flower and said: "Hold onto it, get to your brother no matter what"

"What do you plan to do?" Leo asked.

"That thing killed my parents and most of my tribe...It's time for justice to be fulfilled!" Hercules prepares to face the serpent.

"Are you crazy?! It'll kill you" Leonardo protested.

"Do you want your brother to live?" Hercules firmly asked.

"I-!" Leo said before Hercules angrily repeated: "Do YOU want your brother to live?!"

Leonardo nodded to which Hercules added: "Then run! I'll keep him distracted"

Hercules soon charges at the monstrous snake with his spear and the two mutated creatures begin to fight.

"Whoa!" Raphael gasped in shock.

"Raph! C'mon!" Leo replied as the two fled like Hercules wanted them to.

As they run through the woods, Raphael grunted: "We could've used a smoke bomb to distract it, y'know!"

Leonardo stopped before he said: "That's what I was trying to tell him"

"So we head back to save Hercules then?" Raph suggested.

Leonardo goes to Raph closely and said: "You head back to the farmhouse and give this to the Elder, I'll head back and get Hercules out of there"

"But Leo, what if-!" Raphael started.

"Raph!" Leo snapped before he put his hands on his brother's shoulder: "Mikey is depending on us and if we waste more time then it will be too late, so please! Head back to the farmhouse for Mikey!"

Raphael knew Leo was right about that as he nodded before he hugs his older brother who after a surprise moment returns it.

"Ya better come back with that gopher and don't ya dare get bitten now, ya hear me?" Raphael grunted, trying not to get too emotional.

"I promise" Leo smiled before he rushed back to help Hercules.

Raphael starts to head back to the farmhouse while Leo returns to Hercules who was struggling to fight the Crimson Serpent.

"Hercules!" Leo exclaimed.

"Leo? What are you doing?! You're supposed to be-!" Hercules angrily cried out.

"Raph is taking the flower back but I'm not leaving you behind" Leonardo firmly explained before he sees the serpent lunging right at them.

The ninja turtle suddenly throws a smoke bomb on the ground, engulfing them in black smoke to fool the Crimson Serpent.

When the smoke cleared, the heroes were gone, much to the monster's confusion as it slithers around the area looking for them but Leo and Hercules successfully escape its path and are safe once more.

"Why did you come back for me, Leo?" Hercules asked. "I could've slain the Crimson Serpent right there! You should've kept running"

"Because if I didn't then how will I explain to Apollo about what happened to his older brother if he got killed?" Leo replied.

Hercules's eyes widened as he suddenly thought to himself, Apollo, his own baby brother. He was too focus on trying to slain the beast by himself that for a moment, he forgot about the consequences of what could happen if he died right there"

"Apollo...I could never forgive myself if I left him all alone in this world...I'm so sorry" Hercules sincerely apologised.

"It's OK, I get it; this monster has been terrorizing your people and your home for so long that you just want to bring peace to your family and tribe, I get it" Leonardo pat the strong mutated gopher's back.

"I have to admit, you are a wise strong turtle," Hercules complemented.

"Well, not too wise" Leo bashfully rubbed the back of his head.

"Come; we must head back and hopefully we don't run into that serpent again or it'll follow us to where the farmhouse is" said Hercules to which the two warriors rushed out of the woods and headed back to the farmhouse.

Back at the farmhouse, Apollo was watching from the upstairs window in the bedroom with Donnie who was keeping a close eye on Mikey's condition when suddenly he noticed Raphael running back with the Sapphire Flower in his hands.

"Donnie! One of your brothers is back and he's got the Sapphire Flower!!" Apollo happily cheered.

Donnie rushes to the window and sees Raphael: "Raph!"

Soon they see Raphael leaping onto the roof and entering through the window as he pants out: "Is...Is Mikey still alive?!"

"Still breathing but he's getting sicker by the hour" Donnie replied and hugs Raphael.

"D-Donnie" Raphael blushed.

"Thank goodness you're here" Donnie sighs out in relief.

"W-Wait, where's your other brother and my brother?" Apollo asked, looking outside the window.

"They...They are-!" Raphael continues to keep his breath.

"Right here"

They turn over to see Leo and Apollo by the door with the Elder as Apollo runs to his big brother and hugs him: "Big brother"

"I miss you, little brother" Hercules happily chuckled and hugged back.

"Are you OK?" Apollo asked in deep concern.

"I'm alright, Apollo" Hercules comforted his baby brother.

"How are you doing, Leo?" Raphael asked.

"I'm alright, we managed to got away," Leonardo replied.

"What happened out there?" The Elder asked the others.

Hercules explained about the flower bed being destroyed by the Crimson Serpent, all but the one flower they have with them now; they also explained how they ran into the serpent and managed to escape from the beast.

"Thank goodness you three managed to get away" The Elder nodded.

"It won't stop till we're all dead" Apollo whimpered to which Hercules soothed the little gopher to comfort him.

"We'll worry about the Crimson Serpent later but for now, hand me the Sapphire Flower" The Elder said to Raphael.

As Raph hands the Elder the flower, the old gopher then said: "It'll be a little while but the antidote will be done then, I promise"

With that, he left the room to create the antidote for Mikey who began whimpering more in his sleep and was wheezing for breath.

"M-Mikey!" Raphael shuddered out in fear.

"Hang on a little more, little brother; the antidote is almost done" Leonardo gently cooed and stroked his brother's head.

"Please let this work" Donnie anxiously thought to himself.

Half an hour later, the Elder returns with a bowl that had glowing blue liquid in it as he presents the antidote to Donatello:

"Get your little brother to drink this and the serpent's poison will be eliminated from his body completely"

Leo and Raph gently got Mikey to sit up on the bed as the sick turtle opens his eyes and looks around slowly at his brothers

"G-Guys..." He whimpered quietly.

"Sshh...Don't speak, just listen, little bro" Raphael cooed.

"Mikey, I have here the antidote that will get rid of the poison" Donnie replied, leaning near Mikey with the bowl of the antidote liquid.

"Now Donnie's gonna get you to drink it out of the bowl but you gotta drink it slowly, OK?" Leonardo softly instructed.

Mikey just slowly nodded before Donnie put the bowl near Mikey's lips and said: "Alright Mikey, open your mouth; ready?"

As soon as Mikey opens his mouth, Donnie slowly tilts the bowl, letting the antidote go into Mikey's mouth as the young turtle slowly drinks it as his brothers instructed.

"Almost done," said Donnie.

"You're doing so well, Mikey" Leonardo warmly phrased his baby brother.

Soon Mikey drank the entire antidote, swallowing every last drop before he coughs heavily and shivers in his brother's arms.

"Attaboy Mikey, attaboy" Raphael chuckled, pressing his forehead against Mikey's for comfort.

Leo turns to the Elder and asks: "How long before the antidote takes its effect?"

"For Mikey since you turtles are larger than us, it'll be roughly half an hour but rest assured; your little brother is cured from the Crimson Serpent's venom as it starts its work right away" The Elder replied with a warm smile.

"His fever's going down already" Donnie gasped, checking his temperature then checked his heartbeats: "His heartbeats are slowly returning to normal rhythm. It's working!"

Mikey was soon out again but was rather sleeping soundly to which the antidote continues to rid the serpent's poison as time goes on.

Michelangelo was saved and cured.

Chapter Text

Hours have passed and after calling April and Casey over this very afternoon when they found out they were gone from the lair, the turtles sat beside Mikey who was completely cured from the mutated venom but still suffers a bit of the effects of the antidote that he sometimes throws up which is one of the ways that the antidote flushes the venom out from the stomach system.

"Easy there, Mikey, just take it slow with movement" Donnie cooed, helping Mikey back to bed after another vomit session in the bathroom.

"S...Sorry" Mikey softly pants before drinking a glass of water held by Leo.

"It's alright" Donnie comforted his only little brother.

"How are you feeling?" Leonardo gently asked.

"N-Not as bad now" Mikey quietly replied, still feeling tired from everything.

"You're going to be alright now, Mikey," Raphael assured the young turtle.

"I-Is Ice Cream Kitty OK?" Mikey asked.

"She's fine, we checked up on her," Leonardo assured him.

"Thank you" Mikey thanked Leo, holding his hand.

"Go back to sleep, Mikey, the more you rest now, the more you feel better from this" said Donnie.

"OK" Mikey yawned and eventually went back to sleep, letting the antidote completely cure him.

"This is one crazy day" Raphael sighs out in exhaustion.

"Understatement of the year" Donnie agreed.

Leo kneels beside the bed and gently strokes Mikey's head: "Oh little brother...what have we done to you?"

"We definitely messed up with him...we messed up real badly this time" Donnie sadly nodded.

"The way he screamed at us back there in the barn after we found him...he looked so broken, so hurt...so lost...How can we not see this?! We hurt our baby brother, the one we all vowed to protect him no matter what and yet...yet he was right, we hurt him a lot more than any bad guys did" Raphael shamefully confessed.

"We were so busy with our problems that we just ignored and wrote Mikey off like he was just not worth the time...that's not how we should've done and yet...we did" Leonardo agreed with guilt eating away his heart and soul.

"And the fact he almost died today...it just made me so scared that I could've been the baby brother and just the idea of living a life without Mikey...makes me scared out of my mind to be honest" Donnie replied.

"Ever since Splinter died, we've been nothing but in strangers in our home" Leo spoke before he looks at his brothers and took charge like the leader and elder brother who loves his family:

"But that ends now! We are all that we got left! We almost lost Mikey because of our actions and this right here has to be a wake-up call for all of us! We can't lose anyone else in this family, we must work together, all four of us if we're going to survive and live together without sensei"

"You're right! We may have broken our vow to protect Mikey but that doesn't mean we can't do better now and rekindle our brotherhood together" Raphael nodded.

"Yeah! We won't make the same mistake again and for this point on, no more constant fighting, no more doubting and no more ignoring each other especially Mikey" Donnie agreed.

Leo places a hand on the sleeping Mikey's hand: "Brothers?"

"No turtle gets left behind" Raphael winked and put a hand on his hands.

"Brothers forever" Donnie agreed and joined in the hands in.

The trio smiled that they know they will do everything in their power to fix what is broken especially with Michelangelo and speaking of which, they suddenly noticed Mikey whimpering and tossing in his sleep.

"N-No...No please..." Mikey whimpered in his sleep.

"Mikey?" Donnie spoke in concern.

"No! I-I'm sorry...please don't go!" Mikey cried, tossing and turning in the bed.

"He must be having a nightmare" Leo gasped.

Raphael immediately took action and sat beside his brother, wrapping his arms around Mikey to lift him into his torso and trying to calm him. It wasn't long before they heard Mikey sobbing in his sleep:

"Don't leave me guys...please...don't leave me..."

"Is he...Is he having a nightmare of us abandoning him?" Donnie gasped.

"I don't wanna be alone....I don't...I'll do anything...don't leave me..." Mikey cried out from the nightmare he was having which confirms Donnie's question.

"Oh Mikey" Leo spoke out in sheer sadness that his little brother was having a nightmare of them abandoning Mikey.

Raphael tried to wake Mikey but all he did was make Mikey wail out in his nightmarish sleep before he cuddles him close and tries to speak to him, hoping that his voice can be heard to Mikey.

"Mikey, listen to me; we would never ever abandon ya"

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry" Mikey wailed out, eyes still closed.

"You have nothing to be sorry for; you did nothing wrong" Raphael cooed.

"Useless...always useless...I...I mess up...I'm... a useless screw up" Mikey whimpered.

His body shook as his nightmare was getting worse; the brother gasped at that the fact that Mikey thought of himself useless to which Raphael tightens his embraces on his baby brother and growled:

"You are not useless nor are you a screw up, don't ever say that about yourself...If anyone's messed up is me...I should've been a better brother to you but I'm here now, OK? And I'll never leave you alone to suffer or die out there, ya understand me?"

"R-Raph...?" Mikey shudders in his sleep.

"That's right, little bro; I'm here and I'm not leaving you. You have to believe me, Mikey, I will always be here for you and...and I love you man, I know I never told you that often but...I love you" Raphael grunted, nearly on the verge of tears.

Mikey's breathing eventually went down to normal and his body stopped shaking as Leo happily gasped: "I think you calm him down, Raph"

But Raph didn't listen; all he did was cuddling and cradling Mikey close as he suddenly began to cry heavily, much to his brothers' surprise and concern.

"When I first saw that the flower bed was destroyed...I thought that was it, there was no hope to save you and I thought I failed you...I failed you to save you...we almost lost you and it scared me so much that I could've lost you today, Mikey..." Raphael sobbed:

"And the worst part of it...none of this would've happened if I wasn't too hard on you...I was never the best brother with you...I gave you so much s*** that ya didn't even deserve most of it...yeah, you may have prank me or teased me mostly but I always took things too far with you and that's not how I should've been with you, I finally pull my head of my shell to finally see the crap I've done to you...and I'm sorry Mikey, I'm so very sorry! If I could turn back time and do things better, I would but I can't"

"All I can hope to do now is make up for all the times I hurt you and be the big brother I promised myself to be for you...because you're an awesome guy, you know that? You'll always be an awesome guy to me and...and no matter what happens, what may happen next in the future if we ever set things right..."

"You are my baby brother and I love you, so very much"

Raphael snuggled his baby brother close and let out the emotion that he felt back for so long since this whole disaster began. Donnie and Leo watched in deep pity for Raphael as Leo kneels beside Raph and rubs his shell for comfort while Donnie stroked Mikey's head gently.

The turtles knew that their family almost completely perished together, mostly because of their actions and seeing how much damage that has left in the process made them realise that they need to work together to make sure they stay strong and alive as a family.

The worst may not be over but the brothers are more than willing to face the next challenge to rekindle their brotherhood head on.

Chapter Text

Two days later after April and Casey arrive and meet the mutated gophers who kept watch at the farmhouse, in case the Crimson Serpent appears, the turtles explain everything that went on much to their guilt on how they were with their baby brothers.

"Poor Mikey" April sadly said.

"We messed up, we know," Donnie nodded.

"Dude, I'd be thankful if my bro saved me from an explosion" Casey points out.

"I know! I see that now and it wasn't his entire fault, it was an accident and I wasn't paying close attention to my surroundings" Donnie admitted.

"You guys should be lucky that at least Mikey is still alive" April nods.

"We know and we have a long way to go to fix this mess we started" Leo agreed.

"But I'm just happy you guys finally are solving this out healthily" April smiled at her friends.

"I know," Leo smiled back.

Casey soon looks at Raphael before he goes up to him and says: "Are you OK buddy?"

"Not really, Casey; I feel like crap...I mean, I'm not exactly made of stone nor am I good of a talker about feelings and yet, I feel like I failed my baby brother because of how I was with him. To be honest, Casey, I'm scared" Raphael admitted, looking Casey sadden in the eyes.

"What are you scared of, bro?" Casey asked in concern, putting a comfort hand on his best friend's shell.

"What if Mikey doesn't forgive me? What if I truly failed to make up for the times I hurt him? What if I hurt him again? I don't want to lose him like we did with pops...He often told me I was his hero and yet...I feel like an enemy to him" Raphael questioned in fear.

"I'm not exactly the best person with the answers but if it was my brother, I do the very best to just be there for Mikey, listen to him and just help and encourage him to be himself but that's just how I feel, y'know" Casey shrugged.

"Well I say that's a good answer" Raphael shrugged back.

"Bro, if you care for Mikey and want to make up for the past then I'd say he's lucky to have you as his hero" Casey winked at Raph.

The red masked turtle smiled and bro-fist Casey: "Thanks buddy"

"Anytime" Casey chuckled.

Just then they saw the Elder going downstairs with Hercules and Apollo as the gang approached the gopher trio.

"Well? How is he?" Leo asked the Elder.

"He is completely healthy again, the venom has been eliminated completely" The Elder happily announced.

"Yes!" Donnie cheered in relief.

"Can we see him?" Raphael asked.

"Of course you can, he's been asking for you three" The Elder nodded.

"Good luck you guys" April wished the turtles well.

"You can do this," Casey encouraged them.

The ninja trio went upstairs and gently knocked on Mikey's door to which he allowed them entry. As they opened the door, they saw Mikey sitting up on the bed wide awake and looking healthier and better than he was.

"Hey dudes" Mikey softly greeted.

"Mikey" Donnie happily spoke out and cuddled his baby brother.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" Leo asked.

"Much better than yesterday," Mikey replied.

"We're so glad that you're alright" Raphael smiled at Mikey.

Mikey just look down sadly before the trio sat beside Mikey on the bed before Leo said: "Mikey, we need to talk, all of us"

"I know," Mikey nodded. "And I just want to say that I'm so sorry"

"You're sorry? For what?" Donnie quizzed.

"For not being a good little brother, for running away, for screwing up, everything that made you dudes mad and stuff" Mikey whimpered.

Leo puts an arm around Mikey and pulls him closer to the older brother: "You have nothing to be sorry for, Mikey; if anything, we're the ones who need to apologise to you"

"Why?" Mikey asked.

"Because we're the ones that messed up, horribly; we're the ones that hurt you and made you run away because we screwed up" Leo sadly replied.

"But you didn't screw up, I did; I was always the one who got into trouble, I'm always the one who got you guys mad and never wanted me around because all I've ever been was just a useless poor excuse for a ninja" Mikey miserably whimpered.

"No! That's not true, Mikey! I never should've called you that! It's not true and never was true, you understand me, buddy?" Raphael grunted, feeling guilty as he rubbed Mikey's legs for comfort.

"But I was the reason that Donnie's arm-!" Mikey started.

"It was an accident and besides you saved my life! If you didn't, I would've been blasted away by that bomb Rahzar threw at me and get badly injured or worse, killed" Donnie explained.

"I should've never ran away then none of this happened" Mikey sadly sighs out.

"But that was mostly our fault you ran away, not yours; we messed up big time with you, Mikey all because we were not good brothers with you" Leo sadly confessed.

"What?! You're not bad brothers! You guys are awesome, it's me that's the problem" Mikey protested.

"You're not a problem and we never should've made you feel like one; that's not what "awesome" brothers should've done to their other brothers, especially you" Donnie pointed out, rubbing Mikey's shell.

"We...we were too hard on you all the time and we made you felt questioned your self-esteem, made you feel like you were worthless...you are anything but useless and we never should've ever made you felt like that whatsoever, at all" Leo explained, feeling extremely bad for his treatment towards his baby brother.

Mikey looks around the sad faces of his brothers as he cannot help but try not to cry as he sniffed:

"I just...I just want to make you happy and make you want me to be part of the team...even ever since that night at the Kraang ship when we tried to save April's dad"

The turtles immediately knew what he was talking as their hearts stung with guilt on their actions that night...

"Why do I always get stuck with Mikey?" Donnie complained

"Hey!" Mikey whined.

"I don't want him. And I'm in charge!" Leo firmly put his foot down.

"Well, then make Raph take Mikey," Donnie argued.

"Over my dead body!" Raphael grunted.

"You know, I'm starting to get the feeling nobody wants to be with me" Mikey whimpered.

"And this is why no one wants to be with you!" Raph snapped.

The trio hung their heads in shame before Donnie spoke: "We never should've done that, we were under pressure that night but--!"

"But that is no excuse! We never should have said what we said that night; we're all a team and Splinter was right to scold us for what we did when he said that to discard one of our own was nothing but disrespectful" Leo explained looking firmly at Raph and Donnie before he looks at Mikey with guilt:

"One of us should've been with you that night, Mikey and we're very sorry for tossing you aside that night"

"B-But it wasn't just that...it was everything I did for you guys that you never cared to thank or appreciate me for since you're my family and of course I would give my life to protect you from the evil villains because I love you" Mikey whimpered before he adds:

"But it seems no matter what I do for you guys...The way I saved you three from those killing wasps, the Squirrelanoids, the time I tried to warn you about that alien that pretended to be April's mom but is trying to kill us all..."

"Mikey" Raphael started.

"And what about that time I helped you escape from Dimension X! I was doing what you want me to do and yet you three were jealous and insecure that I did what you guys do... and most of all, creating the Retro-Mutagen with you, Donnie...It's like none of that matters to you and...to you guys, I was just being someone else in an alternate universe to you guys...do you know how it hurts that I risked my life for you three and none of you guys even cared about my attempts to help you or be there for you" Mikey cried.

The three brothers looked at Mikey quietly with such depressing guilt washing over them that despite their teamwork and brotherly love for one another, all three of them were still neglectful to their baby brother.

"I would say that you could've told us sooner but I'm guessing that you did try and we still didn't listen" Leo shamefully said.

"You are right about that...yes..." Mikey sadly nodded:

"I just gave up on trying to make you guys happy and proud because what's the point? No one listens, no one cares, even with training I try to do better but if I win then you guys would get insecure about your skills and everything...all I'm ever good for was cooking and even then you guys don't like most of it"

This sounds new to the trio before Leo asked: "Wait, were you holding back this entire time in training and such? Because you're worried about us?"

"You're no fun getting sad and insecure about your training and such and plus it's just the way we are as brothers, you guys older and stronger, me being younger and weaker; and to overpower you dudes just makes you guys feel like the balance is wrong, you know what I mean?" Mikey explained.

"You hold back because you were afraid of us getting jealous and mad at you for getting stronger than us?!" Donnie gasped in disbelief.

"What do you guys think?!" Mikey miserably scoffed.

The brothers cannot help but admit that this was sort of true, despite wanting Mikey to be stronger and take patrol more seriously; they cannot help but feel jealous or insecure about themselves whenever their younger brother excels over them. Perhaps it's a big brother thing to be jealous of a younger sibling's over achievements from their achievements; but to make Mikey feel like he has to lower his expectations and skills because of jealousy and insecurities just makes the brothers feel completely immature and selfish.

"You guys don't reckon I can do anything right so why bother training if none of you are going to take me seriously or consider me as part of the team" Mikey sadly replied.

"Oh god...what have we done?" Raphael sharply gasped in complete guilt.

Leo embraces Mikey close and nuzzles him: "Mikey, we're so sorry...so very sorry...We should never have done all of those terrible things to you, we never should made you feel like you must hold back to make us happy...to do that is just making us look so selfish"

"But we promise we're going to set things right for you, all of us! We're not going to let you feel worthless or hurt you like that ever again, we promise" Donnie pleaded as he held Mikey's hands.

"It's too late...I don't want to go back...I don't belong with you guys, I don't belong anywhere...You should've just let the poison kill me and then I'd be out of your way forever" Mikey deeply sobbed.

Raphael angrily growls with tears and cups Mikey's face: "No! Don't ya ever say that again!! Ya hear me?! We don't want to lose ya, Mikey!! You're important to us and sure, we may have f***ed up with you a lot but we see the error of our behaviour towards you and that's going to change right now! All three of us! We're going to help you properly, Mikey!! OK?! We're going to make sure that you are loved, you are needed and that you are always going to be part of this family!"

"That's right, Mikey! We're all that we got left and if we lose you now then this family is done for! You're the glue that holds us together!" Donnie cried.

"You're the heart of the Hamato Clan and you are the reason we live as a family together; you taught us that life is more about being ninjas with honour! You helped us in the darkest times and I know we screwed up but we're not going to leave you behind anymore, you got that? We're all here for you now, Mikey and we'll always be here together" Leo sobbed as well.

The brothers cuddled Mikey close to which Leo added: "I love you Michelangelo, we all love you so very much and we vowed to make sure that you are protected, happy and wanted"

"Please believe us, Mikey, you're not and never will be alone; I will always be by your side whenever you need me, OK?" Donnie sniffed with a smile.

"Always remember that you're truly an awesome guy, OK? You don't have to forgive us now or not because we don't deserve to be forgiven for what we did but from now on, we're not gonna treat you like crap nor are we going to let you feel worthless or miserable ever again" Raphael promised.

The three turtles hold Mikey's hands together and snuggle by his side as they show the young sad turtle all the brotherly love they have for him to which he starts crying out loud, unsure if he should believe them or not.

The older brothers cooed out words to ease their baby brother and then Leo soon rests his head against Mikey's forehead and sweetly sang:

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."

Donnie rests his head against Mikey's shoulder and sang:

"You make me happy, when skies are grey..."

Raph lays his head on Mikey's plastron and joins in:

"You'll never know bro, how much we love you..."

Mikey looks up at the three brothers as they smile warmly and finished with:

"So please don't take my sunshine away"

The three older brothers then lay beside the weeping little brother and rested by his side, showing Mikey how much they care and love him and vowed to never again make me feel worthless or feel like he's alone in this world.

It'll be a long and tough road for Michelangelo to believe in his brothers again but they will not give up on their baby brother.

Not now and not ever.

Chapter Text

The next day Mikey was out of bed helping the gang clean up the farm house while the mutated gophers stuck around to help out and keep an eye out for the Crimson Serpent who surprisingly hasn't been sighted for a while but they still remain cautious for the beast.

Later on, Mikey and Apollo went outside to play since the child gopher got bored; Mikey came up with an idea to role-play an adventure where they were warriors from a fantasy world and the farmhouse was like a make believe world for them.

Apollo got the hang of what the game was and had fun with Mikey pretending to be a fantasy fighter on a great adventure.

The gang including Hercules watched as the two boys played outside, much to their delight seeing both of them having fun and being happy.

"It's been a while since Apollo had fun without stressing much about everything" Hercules chuckled.

"That's Mikey for you, he always knows how to have fun" Leonardo agreed, smiling at the scenario.

Hercules looks out at the woods and then said: "It still scares me that the Crimson Serpent is out there still"

"Well you saved our brother's life back there, the least we can do is help you slain that beast for good" Leonardo offered.

"I thank you for the offer but it won't be easy," Hercules replied.

"Buddy, we handled much worse monsters than that freakish snake; we can beat him together" Raphael winked.

"Then let's head inside and come up with a plan" Hercules nodded.

"Hey guys, we're just heading inside; don't wander off too far" Leo called out to Mikey and Apollo.

"We won't," Mikey called back.

"If you see the serpent coming, call for us right away" Hercules warned the two boys.

"We will, big brother" Apollo nodded.

As the team heads inside, Apollo and Mikey continue playing as they approach the barn.

"A-ha! A cave! Maybe there's some treasure inside" Mikey playfully giggled, going with the role playing game.

"One way to find out," Apollo nodded.

They open the barn and explore it a bit, pretending that it is a cave. As the two explore, Apollo stops and hears something to which he called out: "Mikey, stop"

"What's wrong?" Mikey chuckled.

Apollo hushes Mikey which causes the turtle to get concerned and goes to him, whispering: "What's the matter?"

Suddenly they heard a familiar hissing noise which froze them in terror before they look up to see the Crimson Serpent on top of the wooden beams of the barn house, staring down menacingly at the two.

"No" Mikey gasped in horror.

"M-Mikey" Apollo whimpered.

Mikey immediately got Apollo to go behind him to protect the child gopher as the Crimson Serpent dangerously slithers down from the beams and gazes near the heroes, snarling at them ferociously.

"W-What do we do?" Apollo panicked.

"Don't panic...on the count of three, run for the door and get the others" Mikey whispered.

"What about you?" Apollo asked in deep concern.

"I'll distract him," Mikey replied.

"But what if you get bitten again?! We nearly lost you once to that monster!" Apollo whimpered.

Suddenly the Serpent lunges at Mikey who dodges the attack and moves around to distract the serpent. Apollo made a run for the door like Mikey told him but the Crimson Serpent saw Apollo and immediately wrapped its coils around the gopher, causing him to scream.

Back at the house, the gang and the gophers soon hear Apollo's screams to which they fear the worst.

"Mikey!" The brothers cried out.

"Apollo!" Hercules exclaimed in fear.

As they run to the barn house, Mikey jumps on top of the serpent's large head and wrestle with it: "Get off him, you freak!"

"Mikey!!"

The gang arrived at the barn house and much to their horror; the Crimson Serpent let out a roar at the heroes before Mikey cried out: "A little help here!"

"Apollo!" Hercules cried out.

"Hercules!" Apollo screamed.

"Hang on guys!" Leo exclaimed and lunged at the serpent with his katanas, stabbing one of them into the coils of the serpent.

The Crimson Serpent hissed out loudly and with its tail hit Leo who collided with the others, knocking them down.

"Sorry" Leo apologised to them.

Suddenly the monster starts to slither away as fast as lightning out of the barn house and into the woods with Mikey holding onto its head and Apollo still wrapped in its grasp like a rope.

"Apollo!" Hercules screamed in dismay.

"We must go after them! It's heading back to its hideout!" The Elder replied as he and the other gophers went underground to chase the serpent.

"C'mon!" Raphael exclaimed as the gang charged after the serpent.

Mikey holds onto the serpent as the monster returns to its cave and tosses Apollo down before shaking Mikey off. The turtle rushes to protect Apollo before Mikey notices the katana stuck onto the serpent.

As soon as the snake strikes, Mikey quickly picks up Apollo and runs to the entrance.

"Apollo, run!" Mikey grunted.

"No! I'm not leaving you, Mikey" Apollo protested.

"I'll be alright, go find your brother" Mikey assured.

Soon Mikey charges at the serpent, dodging each attack and attempts to grab the katana but the Crimson Serpent is quicker as it immediately wraps its coils around Mikey, trapping him.

"Not again!" Mikey cried out.

"No!" Apollo whimpered.

Not wanting to stand there or run off, Apollo sees the katana and bravely runs to grab it off the serpent's body, much to Michelangelo's protest.

"Apollo! Don't do it!" Mikey exclaimed.

The child gopher jumps on one of the coils and pulls the katana out, causing the serpent to turn its head to Apollo and growls at the child gopher.

"Get off my friend!" Apollo bravely snapped at the serpent and stabbed the serpent's coils again.

In fury, the serpent retaliates by violently hitting Apollo with its tail, sending the poor gopher to hit the rocky wall and land roughly on the ground with rocky debris hitting his legs.

"Apollo!!!" Mikey screamed at the sound of the poor child screaming in agony from the debris slamming onto the legs, breaking the bone in one of the legs.

Released from its coils, Mikey sees the katana and picks it up as he sees the Crimson Serpent near the whimpering trapped child and was about to get killed when the ninja turtle stabs another part of the body, causing the serpent to yowl in pain and glares dangerously at Michelangelo who glared right back and growled out:

"Get away from him, you bitch!"

The serpent roars at Mikey who stood there with Leo's katana, ready to fight the beast head on.

"One word, buddy: Booyakasha!"

The two began to fight as Mikey dodges and uses the sword to attack the beast while remembering Splinter's advises when it comes to battles:

"Seek victory, not fairness"

The turtle jumps over one of the coils and slashes it:

"The first rule of being a ninja is, 'Do no harm.' Unless you mean to do harm. Then do lots of harm"

Dodging each strike, the turtle continues his fight head on bravely:

"The ultimate mastering comes not from the body, but from the mind"

Mikey swipes the katana at the jaw of the beast to prevent being bitten by the snake:

"Have patience...Fighting is not like a video game...Be focus like the forest...Unbalance your opponent...Be true to yourself and most of all...fear nothing"

The turtle got corner to a wall and it looks as if the serpent has managed to gain near victory before Mikey closes his eyes and focuses for a second when all of a sudden he felt a spiritual feeling for a familiar hand was felt his shoulder before hearing a familiar voice:

"My son...you can do this"

Michelangelo smiles with his eyes closed: "I know, papa"

Just then the gang arrived at the entrance and saw Michelangelo trapped with the Crimson Serpent lunging at him.

"MIKEY!!!!"

Just then, in a moment of a flash, Mikey jumps high in the air, dodging the strike and aims the katana right at the top of the centre of the serpent's head.

"BOOYAKASHA!!!" Mikey bellowed and with one lunge, he stabs the Crimson Serpent directly in the centre of the brain, causing the monster to shriek out in fatal agony.

The Crimson Serpent sways back and forth for a moment before it comes falling down on the ground, lifeless as stone.

The Crimson Serpent is dead, slain for good.

Chapter Text

Pulling the katana out of the dead serpent and panting heavily from a rough battle, Michelangelo was soon approached by his gleeful brothers and friends.

"Mikey! You did it!" Leo cheered and cuddled his brother.

"You slain the beast," Donnie happily said, rubbing Mikey's shell.

"That's my boy, Mikey!" Raphael cheered as well, rubbing Mikey's head.

Mikey soon sees Apollo and sharply gasped out his name before rushing to the child gopher, picking him gently up as Hercules goes to him:

"My little brother! What happened to you?!"

"He...He saved my life from almost getting killed from the Crimson Serpent but the serpent hit him with its tail and caused some debris to fall and hit his leg" Mikey sadly explained.

"Apollo" Hercules gasped in sadness for his baby brother.

"It hurts" Apollo sobbed, feeling pain on the broken leg.

"The left leg appears to be broken" Donnie examines the leg before looking at Hercules: "Don't fret, I can help tend to Apollo"

"You will?" Hercules quizzed, feeling hopeful.

"You guys saved Mikey's life, it's the least I can do for you" Donnie winked.

"C'mon buddy, let's go" Mikey smiled at Apollo and the gang soon left the cave.

The Elder then stops them by clearing his throat: "Before you leave, I suggest we burn the serpent's body so it may never be used for anything evil again"

"I got some gasoline in the van, go ahead and use it" Casey points out.

April looks at the teenager dumbfounded and said: "Sometimes I worry about you, Casey"

"I'm a rebel who's always prepared, what do you expect, Red" Casey scoffed.

Soon enough they borrowed the canister of gasoline, poured it all over the serpent's body and with one match from Casey, he lifted the body aflame, letting the Crimson Serpent to become nothing but ashes.

Back at the farmhouse, Donnie fixed Apollo's leg with a cast around him for the bone to repair itself and heal.

"There we go, a month of this and your leg will be good as new, just stay out of doing anything wild and reckless" said Donnie.

"Thanks Donnie," Apollo thanked.

Hercules rubs Apollo's head: "I'm very proud of you, little one"

"Really?" Apollo asked with hopeful eyes.

"Yes; you bravely fought the serpent and aiding Mikey by helping him destroy the beast. I will admit that I was very worried but you fought so bravely that I'm very proud of you and so would our parents" Hercules proudly states, nuzzling his baby brother.

"Big brother, when I grow up, I wanna be a strong warrior like you" Apollo happily said.

"I'd say you're a strong warrior already"" Hercules chuckles and hugs Apollo.

"Thanks big brother" Apollo gleefully giggled.

Mikey watches happily from the other side before Leo approached him: "I'm really proud of you, Mikey"

"Really?" Mikey quizzed.

"Yeah, you defeated the Crimson Serpent in your own amazing way; you truly are an awesome ninja" Raphael commented, feeling very proud of his baby brother.

"Thanks guys" Mikey happily thanked.

"The evil is gone from our tribe and we have you to thank, Michelangelo; we will honour your heroism for many years to come" The Elder truly thanked the young turtle.

"Aww that's alright" Mikey bashfully rubbed the back of his head.

"Careful now, don't want all that pride to give you a big head" Raphael playfully teased.

"Raph!" Mikey laughed and shoved Raph a bit.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding" Raphael laughed as well, wrapping his arms around his baby brother.

Michelangelo soon sees Splinter's grave to which the four turtles decided to pay a visit to respect their beloved father. Mikey lays some flowers on the ground near the tombstone:

"We miss you, dad, so very much"

"Yeah and...we're sorry for what we failed to do, especially to Mikey" Leonardo apologised.

"I'm sure he would forgive you guys" Mikey replied, lifting their hopes.

Donnie kneels besides Mikey and said: "Mikey, I never got to tell you but I'm sorry for getting mad at you that night"

"But I broke your arm by accident, if anything I should be the one apologising" Mikey pointed out.

"You did apologise and like I said before, it was just an accident" Donnie explained.

"I just wish I was more careful," Mikey sighs out.

"It was a risk you took and while my arm is still broken, it'll repair and I'll be OK, thanks to you" Donnie chuckled.

"Do you think...do you think Splinter would be so proud of me like he is with you three?" Mikey asked, looking a bit unsure.

"I'd say he'd be very proud of you, Michelangelo; he loves you just like he does with us," Leonardo replied.

"But you said he'd be ashamed of me" Mikey sadly said to the eldest brother.

"No Mikey, I was wrong to say that and if anything he'd be ashamed of me for treating you too hard like I did that night" Leonardo sadly replied.

"We love you Mikey and we're so sorry that we were not good brothers to you but we promise that we're gonna do better for you and that's a promise" Raphael vowed as the trio cuddled Mikey close.

"And I promise I'll do better for you guys as well. I need to be more focused and better at patrol and such" Mikey vowed as well.

"You're an awesome guy, Mikey," Raphael happily replied.

"And you will always be our Otōto, never forget that" Leo winked.

"Our little sunshine" Donnie chuckled and nuzzled his little brother.

"You guys are the best big bros ever" Mikey gleefully replied and cuddled his brothers altogether.

The four brothers embraced one another and for a moment, Mikey felt the spiritual presence of Splinter rubbing his head and can hear his voice saying:

"I am so proud of you, my son, all of you"

Mikey smiles and closes his eyes before hearing Splinter one last time:

"I'll always be by you and your brothers' side, Michelangelo...I love you all"

"I love you too, papa," Mikey whispered.

'Did you say something, Mikey?" Leo asked.

Mikey opens his eyes and said: "Oh, nothing"

"Well, are we ready to go home?" Leonardo asked his brothers.

"Yeah, let's go home," Mikey happily nodded.

"Let's order a pizza when we get back," Raphael replied.

"I can't have pizza" Mikey shook his head.

"Why not?" Donnie asked.

"I'm grounded, remember?" Mikey pointed out that Leo grounded him that night.

Leonardo just chuckled and puts an arm around Mikey: "No you're not; I was too hard on you that night to do that, so I'm not grounding you, buddy"

"Thanks Leo" Mikey smiled at Leo.

"But don't ever run away like that again, you got that?" Leo gently warned his baby brother.

"I won't do it again, I promise" Mikey nodded to which Leo happily rubs the young turtle's head.

When the gang packed everything up, they approached the mutated gophers for the last time.

"Do you have to go?" Apollo sadly asked Mikey.

"I have to go home; Apollo, just like you do with Hercules," Mikey nodded.

"I'm sorry, it's just I'll miss you" Apollo whimpered.

Mikey gently hugs the child gopher in his arms: "And I'll miss you too, Apollo, both you and Hercules but hey, don't be sad; we'll come back and see each other again someday"

"You promise?" Apollo sniffed.

"I promise" Mikey nodded as he bro-fist Apollo before putting him down carefully near Hercules.

"Thank you for everything, Michelangelo; we'll never forget all that you and your family have done for us" Hercules thanked.

"No worries and thank you for saving my life; if not for you guys, I'd be dead by the mutated venom" Mikey thanked the gophers.

"Till we meet again" Hercules shakes Mikey's hand.

"Till we meet again" Mikey winked and shook back.

The gang bid the mutated gophers farewell as they hop back on the Shellraiser and drive off home.

Michelangelo watches as he waves goodbye to his new friends though feeling sad that he has to go and leave them.

"Don't worry Mikey, we'll see them again someday" Raphael assured Mikey.

"I know," Mikey nodded and rested besides Raph.

"It's good to have you back" Donnie smiled at his little brother.

"It's good to be back with you guys too" Mikey replied as he smiled down at Ice Cream Kitty who was in her container, sleeping.

"Just remember; you are never alone and we'll always be here for each other, especially you" Leonardo reminded Mikey.

"I know that now and thank you" Mikey happily thanked his brothers.

"We love ya, kiddo" Raphael softly rested his head against Mikey's head.

"And I love you dudes too" Mikey yawned and eventually naps by Raph's side.

The three turtles smiled happily at their sleeping baby brother and were very grateful to have him back in their lives after nearly losing him to his depression and to the mutated venom.

They know they cannot afford to lose Michelangelo again for he played a very important part in not just the team but in their family.

Leonardo was the body and head of the team.

Donatello was the brains of the team.

Raphael was the strong muscle of the team

And as for Michelangelo...he is and forever will be, the Heart of the Hamato Clan.

THE END