Chapter Text
With a final gulp from Donnie, they march. And even though the turtles are shaking like a leaf, their collective courage makes them able to keep moving forward. The brother’s feet thump on the floor as they bravely thread towards the light.
Along the way, they notice things on the floor that feel.. familiar. An old ball the brothers used to play with, but got lost. Torn toys that Master Splinter threw away, like a wind-up toy that no longer has the key for it. Trinkets they blamed each other for losing- the list goes on and on.
It felt like a weird trip down memory lane for the four. Yet the fact that their current adventure is terrifying didn’t change. As the vivid colors of their destination cover their tiny bodies, they hide their eyes from the bright light.
They blink a few times to adjust their eyes. When they open them again, they find themselves in a closed-off metal box. Holes gnawed in the ceiling caused sunlight and air to get through. The room is cluttered with stolen objects. Though a closer look revealed not much of their own could be found. The stolen goods are mixed with empty cans and bottles.
As the eyes of the turtle tots detectives roll to the middle of the room, they find a round nest made with cotton filling from plushies, torn clothing, and other soft materials. The inside of the nest is covered by a white bed sheet.
‘’Well, this was a bust!’’ Leo looks up unsatisfied, bending himself backward to see the rays coming out of the ceiling.
‘’No, it’s not! He has to be here!’’ Mikey holds back his tears as he searches the room in a fit.
‘’Guys, maybe we should head back. I don’t think hanging around here is such a good idea.’’ Raph says worried, keeping a close eye on his brothers.
‘’Yeah, not to chicken out or anything but I want to go back to my skateboard.’’ Hands behind his head, Leo remains at Raph’s side while whistling a short tune.
Donnie, however, hasn’t moved nor spoken since they arrived. His gaze is somehow stuck to the nest in the center of the room. His thoughts filled with questions.
Who does this nest belong to?
Where did the shadow they saw earlier go?
And… if the creature isn’t here, where is it?
‘’Wait! Let me check a bit more before we go!’’ With little hope left, the small orange turtle charges towards the only place he hasn’t searched: The nest.
Donnie’s eyes widen as he sees the bedsheet slowly move up and back down.
‘’Mikey, wait!’’ He yells, making a dash for his little brother.
As he arrives at the nest, he is too late. Curiosity already took over, causing Mikey to lift the white sheet up to look under it, Mikey’s face then drains of color. Donnie immediately pulls him away from it.
‘’A-Are you okay, Mikey?!’’ Trembling, Donnie turns the box-shell towards him. Donnie’s eyes are darting around Mikey’s, searching his wide-eyed gaze.
Mikey gulps as he mumbles out in shock: ‘’E-Eyes. I saw..eyes.’’
‘’You.. what?’’ Glancing back at the blanket, Donnie feels his heart rate rising.
‘’Oh my gosh, are you two alright?!’’ Raph shouts in a panic as he and Leo run to their side. Raph bends down, observing the two.
Donnie nods. ‘’Yeah, we’re...okay.’’ Looking back at Mikey in concern, he pats the little turtle’s head.
‘’Uh, guys?’’ Leo urges their attention, pulling Raph’s arm.
‘’Not now, Leo! Can’t you see we got more important things to worry about?!’’ Raph then slaps Leo’s arm away with a huff.
‘’I think we need to worry about this more.’’ He adds in a nervous whisper.
The three turtles crane their necks upward to look at their shivering blue brother, his normally smug smile is replaced by pure fear. He points towards the nest with a quivering finger. The turtle’s pupils shrink as they look past Leo to see what he’s pointing at.
Eyes.
Even though the ray of light is in front of their point of view, the piercing blue gaze sends shivers down the turtle’s spines. It didn’t blink. It didn’t move. It only stares as it growls at them.
The four turtles are frozen in place. They didn’t know what to do. Maybe if they sat completely still, the creature would leave them alone?
Though this wishful thinking is short-lived as the creature stands up. Still covered in the blanket, the figure is even more terrifying than before.
The turtle's jolt. Not knowing how to respond, Raph is the first one to take action.
‘’Okay, that’s our cue to go!’’ Raph pushes the three back to the entrance in a hurry. Their little legs skit over the metal surface.
They hear the sheet behind them rustling. Raph increases his pace to bring his brothers to safety, fear leading him to push himself faster.
‘’Mraw!’’
Raph hits the ground with his heels, causing the four to come to an abrupt halt. The creature stands right in front of their path, blanketed in shadows. But most importantly, blocking their only exit.
Though, due to the sudden stop of Raph, Mikey gets bumped forward. He falls down flat on his plastron with a thud. With the smallest of the turtles now being nearest to the danger, the three brothers yell:
‘’Get away from there, Mikey!’’
Frightened , Mikey crawls towards his brothers. Them being his only sliver of hope. He reaches out to Donnie’s hand.
To the Soft-shell, a recent scene plays in his head as Mikey’s eyes burn into him. That moment when he was dangling off the edge in the pipes. When he didn’t know the depth nor if he would survive the fall.
‘’Donni-!’’ As a single tear falls from Mikey’s face, his voice is silenced.
Two slim brown paws from the dark press on Mikey, attempting to tug him to the shadows.
Donnie wishes from the bottom of his heart: ‘’Please, let me switch places.’’
He didn’t care if it was scary. He didn’t care about the danger to himself and his shell. Anything was better than seeing his little brother getting hurt.
Drawing made by the amazing SunnyNezuChan. KittyPancake on Tumblr!
‘’Mikey!’’
Without any train of thought, Raph roars, pulling his two brothers along to rescue Mikey from the creature’s grasp. They all take hold of their little brother, pulling with all their might.
‘’We got you, Watson!’’ Donnie’s voice wavers as he does his best to remain confident.
‘’Hang on, Mike!” Leo yelps, biting his lower lip.
‘’Grrah!’’ As a vein on Raph’s forehead pops into existence, they manage to free Mikey with their next pull. Due to the force, they all tumble backward, Mikey landing on Raph’s front shell.
‘’You okay, little bro?’’ Raph wraps his arms around the shaking turtle.
‘’Mhm..’’ It was all the box turtle could manage to reply with. Mikey looks back at the darkness, still progressing what just took place.
Though this time, it isn’t just darkness anymore. The elegant silhouette of a white cat with brown paws steps inside the light. It waves its brown tail to the side as it approaches. Its hair on the back stands up straight.
Raph tightens his embrace of Mikey as they all back up in fear. That, however, didn’t stop the cat from nearing the turtles.
Mikey glances into the azure blue eyes of the animal. The cat stares back, giving off an aura that the small turtle couldn’t describe.
‘’Guys.’’ The Box turtle’s surprisingly calm voice grabs the other brother’s attention.
Mikey pushes Raph off of him gently, rising to his feet. The small turtle looks down at Donnie, Leo, and Raph with a soft smile. It is one of the few times Mikey is taller than the others. Without hesitation in him, Mikey walks towards the creature.
‘’Mikey! What are you doing!? Come back here!’’ Raph’s voice goes hoarse with the sudden yell leaving his mouth.
‘’Mikey don’t!’’ Leo whimpers, his eyes darting back and forth between the box turtle and the creature.
‘’Mikey! Please, don’t go...’’ Donnie stretches his arm, his hand now being able to cover the slightly distant figure of his little brother.
‘’It’s okay! I think…’’ The brave turtle gulps before opening his arms towards the cat.
Terrified and frozen, they all watch Mikey getting closer and closer. Their hearts race as awful thoughts occupy their minds.
With the cat and their little brother now face to face, the enormous animal looks a lot smaller than before.
The creature pauses, tilting its head. It then launches its head into Mikey’s chest. It causes Mikey to jolt, taking one step back. The hairs of the cat slowly go back down.
Due to the shock, the other turtles are able to move. They rush to their little brother’s side, almost tripping over their feet.
‘’Mikey! Are you ok-’’
‘’Stop, stop! Haha, that tickles!’’ Raph gets interrupted by a giggle from his orange brother.
Mikey is being snuggled by the cat, it rubbing its small pink nose against his plastron. The box shell dares to pet the soft beast, causing it to spin softly before sitting down in front of him.
With the adorable scene taking place, the big brothers feel their breathing slowing down.
‘’Ahw! What a cute lil’ fella!’’ Raph can’t help but feel jealous of Mikey petting the soft fur of the kitty. He walks forward, extending his green hand toward the ear of the animal.
‘’HISSS!’’ The cat’s hairs go right back up as it focuses on the snapping turtle. Quick, Raph redraws his arm, his pupils narrowing like the cat.
‘’Shh, shh!’’ Mikey plants his hand on the cheek of the kitty. It turns, still half scared. ‘’It’s okay! It’s just Raphie! He won’t hurt ya! None of us will!’’ The reassuring voice of the small turtle calms down the fluffy animal once more. It lays down, awaiting the pet of Raph with its eyes closed and ears tucked to the side.
With a final gulp, Raph attempts to put his hand on the head of the kitty with two nervous brothers behind him.
Flop
The hand lands on the soft white fur. He can’t help but smile and feel at peace with the cat when they finally make contact. Raph gives it a gentle pet as the creature spins back at him.
‘’Me next, me next!’’ Leo gasps, jumping up and down in place. Ready to join his brothers, he leaps into a dash, but seeing Donnie from the corner of his eye causes him to pause. ‘’What’s up, D? Don’t you wanna pet it?’’ He points, raising an eyebrow at his purple brother, who’s squinting up to the ceiling.
‘’This isn’t good, we should go,’’ Donnie states, bringing Leo’s attention to the light fading away from the room.
‘’Why? It’s just getting a bit cloudy! It’s not like it’s night.’’ Leo shrugs, now also looking through one of the holes.
‘’That’s not just cloudy-’’
A loud rumble, followed by a loud bang that crashes down from the heavens. The lightning illuminates them briefly before leaving them in the dusk. The clouds roar as they bring down heavy rain, which drips down the gnawed holes and onto the metal surface.
‘’EEP!’’ Mikey clings to his big brother Raph, who holds him tight in response.
The brothers know how scared their little brother is of the thunder. However, they did not expect the cat to react similarly. The cat takes off in a frenzy, zigzagging from left to right before crawling under the sheets.
The sheet shakes heavily as the turtles approach it while tiptoeing. After a deep breath, Mikey brings down his hand onto the sheet.
‘’I-It’s okay! I-It’s just thunder!’’ The small turtle uttered, trying to put the cat at ease.
KA-BOOM
Yet another thunderstrike cracks through the sky, causing Mikey to retreat back to his brothers, shaking like a leaf.
‘’You okay, bro?’’ Raph pats the turtle’s head, snuggling his face against him.
‘’Y-Yeah..’’ Mikey stutters, not removing his gaze from the sheet.
‘’Urgh, you know why it’s so scared?’’ Leo rolls his eyes, taking hold of the sheet while his brothers shake their heads. ‘’Because it’s hiding all the time! It needs to face its fears!’’
‘’No, Leo, don’t!’’ Donnie takes hold of Leo, pulling him back. But he kept the sheet in his hands, removing it from the nest.
‘’What the-’’
With those last words of Leo, the crew falls silent. The sheet falls to the floor as the rain and rumbles continue to break the silence.
For there is not one creature lying underneath the sheet-like they thought, but two.
A terrified raccoon is rolled up beside the wary cat, it being too afraid to face whoever just took away his safety. It doesn’t look up, it only shivers from being exposed. The cat takes it upon itself to protect his friend at any cost. It stands in front of the raccoon with its hairs raised, growling at the turtles in a low hiss.
‘’Uh, Mikey? Can you do your animal magic real quick?’’ Leo sweats, jabbing the arm of his little brother who’s still curled up against a frozen Raph’s chest. Mikey shakes his head, a single tear sliding down his cheek. He doesn’t even want to open his eyes.
‘’Oh boy… ehm, nice kitty?’’ Raph stammers, his voice squeaking as he forces a nervous grin. ‘’Donnie? Any bright ideas?’’
Donnie’s pupils shake as he stares at the cat. His mouth gaping slightly.
‘’D?’’ Leo pokes his brother’s shoulder. ‘’Anything smart we can do?’’
The soft-shell recalls the moment Mikey managed to soothe the beast. How easy he made it look and how terrifying it is to be in that same position now. Normally, he can talk his way out of things, but not this time. The animal wouldn’t even head his words let alone understand them.
At a loss, Donnie simply copies what he saw Mikey do before. Opening his chest and spreading out his arms. Though what Donnie pictures in his head looks way different than what he’s doing right now.
Mikey appeared calm and sympathetic.
He’s more of a newborn deer trying to face a predator.
With his lower lip curling inward and his eyes shutting, he slowly steps towards the cat in the hope he can pull off some “animal magic”.
He feels the breathing of the cat blowing down his face as he nears. The growling only becomes louder and louder. It only deafened when a lightning bolt flashes by.
“I-I come in peace!” Donnie squeals, sinking into his shell.
Still cautious, the cat sniffs the turtle up close. The Soft-shell and his brothers are stiff due to fear. They know that just one wrong move could end things really badly.
As much as Raph wants to hand Mikey to Leo and switch places with Donnie, he knows that this would only increase the danger. He could only have faith and bite down on his fist.
“I’ll save you, D!” The irrational thinker Leo tries to intervene, setting a firm step of courage towards his purple brother, but Raph blocks his way. “Wha- Raph?!” Offended Leo looks his big brother in the eyes.
“No. It’s too dangerous.” When those words leave Raph’s clenched teeth, Leo’s confidence reverts to worry. They don’t like to say it but, Donnie’s on his own right now. It’s frustrating, but they can only watch.
The cat's sniffing comes to a sudden stop.
Donnie has to admit, it was better when it was still occupied by smelling him instead of silence. His brothers are dead quiet too, until-
‘’DONNIE! WATCH OUT!’’ Raph, Leo, and Mikey gasp before warning their purple brother with a yell.
The Soft-shell backs away on instinct as his eyes jar open.
The paw of the cat swings in his direction, but it takes Donnie too long to progress, he can’t dodge it. The paw wraps around the turtle’s shell, pulling him in. Feeling the nails dig slightly in his soft shell, Donnie is unable to retort. He can only stare back at his brothers, pleading for help with just his eyes.
‘’Donnie! Don’t worry, we’re coming, buddy!’’ Raph shrieks as he jets to his brother while holding Mikey close, Leo being not too far behind.
The cat pushes the turtle into its chest, rolling on its back. Its tail lashing against the floor next to them. It causes Donnie’s shouts to be muffled, as he struggles to get air.
‘’Let him go!’’ Leo kicks the side of the kitty, only to get tripped over by the wagging tail.
‘’Alright, that’s enough!’’ Raph snarls, putting his little brother down gently before cracking his neck and knuckles. Anger is visible in his eyes as he approaches it.
‘’Wait, Raph! Don’t hurt it!’’ Mikey yells, his legs moving like jelly as he tries to keep up with his big brother. ‘’It’s-’’
‘’No Mikey. It went too far! I don’t want anyone else to get hurt!’’ Raph reels back his fist, ready to give the cat a piece of his mind.
‘’Nooo!’’ Mikey pulls Raph’s other arm in the hope to stop him, but it has little to no effect. No matter how much the small turtle tries. The last thing Raph sees is a single tear slipping from Mikey’s pleading eyes.
The Snapping turtle’s fist reaches the fur of the animal when a flash of light splits the clouds. Mikey and Leo look through their fingers, too afraid to look, but also not willing to close their eyes. However, Raph’s hand changes from a fist into a single finger, poking the creature. Raph pouts his lips.
‘’Kitty? Hey, Kitty cat? Can you let our friend go, pretty please?’’ Raph’s voice pitches a new high as he tries to convince the cat.
The attention of the cat switches to the red turtle, its curious gaze meets with Raph’s narrowed pupils as its grip on the soft-shell loosens.
‘’That’s it! Please let our buddy go, kay?’’ Leo adds, hurrying to his feet after the fall. He presses his palms together.
‘’You will get a petty pet if you do!’’ Mikey presses his hand down on the fur next to Raph. Even though the small turtle’s palm is still sweaty, he forces a smile on his face.
One of the brown ears of the cat flaps, it spins as it flops back upright, releasing the now coughing turtle onto the solid ground.
The shocked soft-shell didn’t get a moment to breathe, since he’s immediately embraced by his three worried brothers.
‘’Oh my gosh, Don! Are you okay?!’’ In a panic, Raph checks his little bro from head to toe. Mostly pausing his eyes on Donie’s mildly damaged shell.
‘’Y-Yeah.. It’s just some scratches, I’ll be fine..’’ Don wheezes out, having some problem speaking at first, but his soft voice grows stronger as he continues. This calms down his panicking brothers slightly, the tension slowly relaxing around them.
With the peaceful cat now being at the mercy of Mikey's petting as a reward, to the turtles’ surprise, the raccoon starts to move. With mouths slightly gaping, they lean over the nest, eyes glued to the hairy dark brown raccoon. The cat gently pokes it, causing the raccoon to uncurl slowly. Still jarred by the lightning, it jolts every few seconds.
The turtles hold their breath, waiting for the cute raccoon with patience. It stretches, peeking its shaking head up. Two small beady eyes stare at them, darting from one turtle to another. It seems like he didn’t expect four intruders.
‘’Ahw! Look at its cute little eyes!’’ Mikey gushes, lifting his cheeks with his palms. His eyes almost emit sparkles.
With Raph, Leo, and Mikey hopping in place around the raccoon to take a better look, Donnie is caught squinting at the hands of the quivering raccoon. Mikey is the first one to notice.
‘’What’s wrong, D?’’ Mikey asks, jumping in front of Donnie’s vision.
‘’Donnie?” Mikey waves his hand in front of his brother, but he just looks past it. “Shersock?”
“It’s Sherlock..” With that mumbled answer, the soft-shell beelines for the raccoon, squatting down to take a closer look.
“What is it, D?” Intrigued, Mikey joins his favorite detective.
“It’s holding something.” Donnie points at some brown fur coming from underneath the raccoon.
As the raccoon warms up to Leo and Raph, it stands up, releasing what it is holding into the nest.
Mikey releases the highest squeal imaginable as he grabs what it left within a split second.
“MR. CUDDLES!” Mikey shouts with immeasurable joy. He twirls in place, holding the soft paws of his slightly dirty friend.
With a soft smile, his brothers watch the reunion. It warms their hearts that Mr. Cuddles is finally found.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sherlock!” Mikey snuggles up to Donnie, his fluffy friend now in between them.
“It’s-“ It then dawned on Donnie that Mikey actually said it right. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Watson.” He gives his small partner a pat on the head.
However, the thunderstorm has no sympathy for the heartfelt moment and releases a deafening bang from the dark clouds.
Mikey tightens his hug on his purple brother, squeezing Mr. Cuddles with his other hand.
They see the raccoon skitter towards the cat, curling back up into a small shivering ball. The cat soothes it by stroking its upright fur. The cat then focuses on the Box turtle, causing Donnie to hold him closer.
“Why is it looking at me?” The little Waty turns to the cat, staring back into its deep azure eyes.
Though, as he steps away from his purple brother, facing the creature, it clicked.
“Oh, I get it!” Without further ado, the turtle trots towards the nest.
“Get what?” Leo ponders, sharing a look with his two equally confused brothers.
They all join Mikey’s side with peaked curiosity, but also slight worry.
Mikey holds out his cuddly friend with both hands, shaking his teddy gently to grab the raccoon's attention.
“Here! Take it!” Mikey smiles brightly as the raccoon dares to open one eye to see.
It then swipes away the teddy bear, embracing it tight. Its breathing calms down as it loses tension in its body.
The cat sighs, and just for a moment, it seems to grin at the small detective.
“That was very sweet of you, Watson.” Donnie proudly rubs the shell of his little orange brother.
“Wait, did he just give away the reason why we’ve been running around all day?!” Leo huffs, but soon melts as he sees the raccoon and cat purr.
“Are you sure though? Won’t you miss it?’’ Raph looks at his orange brother struck with worry. ‘’And what about the lightning?’’ He adds, pointing up to the sky.
With eyes fixated on the two creatures, happily sleeping together, Mikey releases a small giggle.
‘’It’s okay. Of course, I will miss him, but..’’ He then twirls to his brothers with a broad smile. ‘’They only got Mr. Cuddles to keep them safe from the lightning.’’ The Box-shell opens his arms wide. ‘’And I got three big bros to keep me safe!’’
The sweet words of his smallest brother pull their heartstrings. Having trouble keeping their tears in, they hurry to embrace their favorite orange brother.
It was then the four turtles heard a terrifying noise! It was so scary that they all cried! The room shook fiercely as they all held their breath! A big shadow approached.. step.. step.. STOMP. And-!
‘’That’s NOT how it went, Leo!’’ Mikey sits beside his smirking big brother, blowing up his cheeks as he holds up a self-made drawing of Splinter embracing four happy turtle toddlers.
‘’Pfft, I know! I’m just spicing up the story a bit! It was getting too sappy for my tastes.’’ Leo rolls his eyes as he closes a diary. ‘’The end!’’
‘’That was so beautiful!’’ April sits on the chair in front of Mikey and Leo, clapping her hands while sniffing.
‘’Thank you! I take pride in my storytelling! Hey, bro. Hand me a slice, will ya?’’ Leo nudges Mikey towards the box with pizza.
“Sure thing!” Mikey lowers his hand, lifting up a slice for his brother. “Oh!”
A familiar creature skitters on the couch next to him, dragging a slice out of the box. Mikey puts away his drawings.
“Hey, Waty! Here to grab a slice, huh?’’ Mikey asks, helping the raccoon off the couch with a pizza slice in its mouth. He carefully places him on the floor. ‘’There you go, bud! Enjoy!’’
With a gleeful chitter and a tail wag, it makes its way to the exit of the room.
‘’Wait, is that the raccoon from the story?’’ April questions, watching it go out of sight.
‘’Sure is! They visit from time to time!’’ Mikey smiles bright, rocking himself back and forth.
‘’Ahw! That’s adorable!’’ April’s eyes sparkle.
‘’Hey, guys? Sher left a dead mouse in Raph’s closet again and I’m not removing it this ti-’’ Donnie enters the room, his eyes falling on the book Leo’s holding in his hands. His mouth falls open in disgust as he hurries to swipe it from him. ‘’What are you doing with that?! That’s my journal!’’ The soft-shell gets so vexed that spittle hits against Leo's face.
‘’Calm down, bro! I just thought it would be fun to read a story to April!’’ He grins, wiping the drops of Donnie’s spit off his face before eying April.
‘’You… READ IT TO HER?!’’ He aggressively reels his arm back, ready to vent out his anger at the Slider, but instead, takes a deep breath. ‘’No, no, it’s fine! I’ll just bury this memory in the void of my mind.’’
‘’Then why are you still blushing, bro?’’ Leo sneers, poking Donnie’s arm.
‘’Leon, I swear to Einstein, you’re this close to getting hurt badly.’’ The Soft-shell presses his index and thumb together.
‘’But they’re touching?’’ Leo shrugs nervously, leaning into the couch.
‘’ Exactly ,’’ Donnie whispers back.
As Leo gulps, Raph tiptoes into the room. His fear sweat already fills the room.
‘’Guys? Can you take care of that mouse?’’ He taps his fingers together with pouty lips. Not willing to disturb them, but also feeling the need to do so.
‘’I gotcha bro!’’ Leo swiftly zooms out of the room, pushing Raph with him.
With an audible sigh, the Soft-shell let himself down on the couch. Staring grumpy at the journal in hand.
‘’You know, I think we were a pretty good team back then!’’ Mikey leans in front of Donnie’s vision with a grin.
‘’Heh, I guess so.’’ Donnie’s face mellows. Mikey somehow always manages to turn frowns upside down. Maybe because there is no hidden intention behind it.
‘’You guys cracked that case wide open! And Mikey was so adorable at the end there!’’ April cuddles the slightly embarrassed orange turtle.
‘’They just needed it more than I did.’’ Mikey brings out a soft smile, casting his eyes on Donnie’s journal.
‘’You all should tell me more stories of when you were young and cute!’’ April rubs her face against Mikey’s.
‘’Maybe next time, April.’’ The Soft-shell stares longingly at a picture of them with Waty the raccoon and Sher the cat that Splinter took. ‘’Maybe next time.’’