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During a mission in the Hidden City, the turtles were fighting against a group of magic statues that were being drawn to a strange blue orb, it was shiny and seemed to contain some sort of glowing... magic... dust? It seemed important, and judging by the fact that the orb was encased in a glass ball, behind a giant force field and emiting a sinister aura, yep, that was definitely something that shouldn't be touched, specially by these guys.
They didn't know for sure what it was and there was no time to think about it much, they were all busy fighting those hollow stone monsters and keeping them away from the mystic snow globe, but at some point one of the statues snuck up on Michelangelo, throwing him across the room and through the force field with a single punch, Mikey didn't even noticed he passed through it at first, only when he spotted the orb floating over it's little pedestal up close, too close, closer than he when he saw it before, he looked back to see the other side of the force field, it was like a glass wall, he can see through it, though the sounds of arguing and fighting sounds a bit muffled.
That was so odd, wasn't this force field supposed to protect this orb thingy? How come it's totally intangible?? That doesn't matter right now, Mikey knew he had to get up and go back to his brothers, they needed his help, he could hear the faint sound of their voices calling out his name, but just as the was about to walk away, he froze, he suddenly felt a shiver down his shell before slowly turning back to the orb, expecting something scary or... menacing at least, but no, he just saw the orb, up there... shining... the feelings of dread suddenly wore off, being replaced by a comfortable and welcoming warmth, it was... calling him... it felt so inviting that he couldn't help but step closer.
Suddenly it was like his brothers might not need him as much anymore, their voices subsidied in his head as his view became narrow, suddenly, he was no longer in a magical cave full of treats and his pleading brothers searching for him in amidst of a battle, he was in space, of at least, somewhere that looked like space, the shiny blue dust surrounded him in a beautiful spectacle that cleared his mind of any thoughts that might have been going through his head at that moment, that view was indeed a feast for the eyes, but his were almost glue to the orb, that suddenly... didn't look all that dangerous, it was like.... an egg, almost... there was something inside... something stuck... and it needed out.
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L - "HOLY SHIT DID MIKEY JUST GO THROUGH THE FORCE FIELD?!?!"
D - "IT'S NOT EVEN SOLID?! WHAT KIND OF SECURITY SYSTEM IS THIS?!?!!"
R - "IS HE OKAY?!!?"
The brothers shouted at eachother as Mikey flew by and into the area of said force field, that now seemed like a joke at Donnie's eyes by how ineffective it proved itself to be, the other two, on the other hand, were more concerned about Mikey and his well being, that looked like a nasty punch he took, but as they kept arguing and trying to find time or even an opportunity to sneak away from the conflict to check on their youngest brother, Mikey suddenly rose to his feet again, taking a few steps towards them until he suddenly went completely still, he turned back for a moment before taking the first step towards it, much to the shock and confusion of his older brothers, who tried in vain to call out to him, but Mikey didn't seem to hear.
Donnie slipped his goggles on and saw magic strings reaching out to Michelangelo, some already wrapping themselves around his body, pulling him towards the orb, that through the lenses Donatello was seeing in, looked way more dangerous than they initially expected, it's not that Mikey was caught in his adhd and wasn't paying attention, he was HYPNOTIZED, Donnie informed the others about it but by the time they destroyed the last magic statue Michelangelo grabbed a hold of the orb, causing the very penetrable force field to suddenly glow stronger and become harder than any steel Donnie had available, and believe me, he tried all of them at the same time to pierce through that damn thing, sadly, nothing worked.
Raph, in a frenzy, reverted to more crude ways to solve this by banging on the transparent wall like a maniac while screaming Mikey's name at the top of his lungs, Leo thankfully tried being more tactical about it by cutting a portal trough with his katana, which also proved to be ineffective, causing his facade of confident leader to shatter in a second as he followed Raph's lead to try and break the force field by force, Donnie was stuck in a panic trying to figure out a solution, but his distressed was not helped when he caught a glimpse of Michelangelo trying to pry the glass case open, which for his credit was being way more successful than anything they have done so far to break the force field, too bad Donnie was now also freaking out because the magic strings were now wrapped tight all over Michelangelo's body and his usual orange spots were now shining an unusual cyan-ish glow.
Michelangelo succeeded in cracking the glass case, the force field mirrored the damage by having a giant crack appear, which prompted Leo and Raph to start trying to break into the force field through the crack, and it took Donnie less than a second to rationalize that if the force field mirrors the damage done to the glass case then the glass cage would mirror the damage done to_
"Oh SHIT! WAIT, GUYS! STOP!!"
Donatello yelled out...
A bit too late.
Raph had already forced that crack wide open with massive hologram hands he made with his nynpo, Donnie even tried making a run for Mikey, maybe he could stop this, maybe he could fix it, MAYBE HE COULD GET THAT GOD FORSAKEN BALL OUT OF HIS HAND, Mikey for a second turned back, facing his brothers in what seemed like a moment of lucidity and in a blink of an eye an explosion of light followed by a gust of wind threw all of the guys far back, give way for a dark cloud to emerge from seemingly nowhere and quickly start to rise and spread like a plague, that can't be... wait...
"WAIT, WHERE'S MIKEY?!?"
One of the turtles called out, Donnie heard it, he was dizzy from being literally launched across a cave like a fucking jet and from the how bright the light burst into his eyes when he tried reaching Mikey, his head was aching, his brain was spinning his vision was spotty and blurry, he didn't even know which one of his brothers yelled, no one cares about that, 'where is my brother?!' was all he managed to think about as he rubbed his eyes and crawled back up, oh what a mistake that was...
While Leo and Raph were helping eachother up, trying to understand what had happened, Donnie was granted the sight of the room they were in covered in ash, with all that remained being a weirdly shaped pile of... oh gosh.... as Donnie's senses finally came to him, he saw weird structure more clearly, more over the formation of the structure that... seemed to frame the back of Michelangelo's shell... the shape... the curved angle, if you looked hard enough you could even see the faded pattern of Mikey's shell marks, the two orange marks he had in his shell was usually a mood lifting sight, but seeing it imprinted on a pile of ash after an explosion like that, it made Donnie's gut shrivel and turn as he came to the only logical conclusion one could come to with this scenario... Mikey was gone.
Donatello's legs went weak as he fell to his knees with a sinking feeling growing in his stomach and swallowing his heart, Raph and Leo finally caught on to the situation, and seeing Donnie on the floor, Leo approached to try and check on his twin, watching Donnie's bewildered expression as he reached out a finger towers the pile of ash, Leo stared expectantly for a moment, almost as if Donnie's touch was going to solve anything, Leo had hope, he and Donnie held onto the hope for that moment to break through this tragedy and return it all to normal, but of course, the touch solved nothing, all it did was to cause the pile of ash to do what ash does and crumble away into a pile of nothing, which was the straw that broke the camel's back and caused both twins to tear up and break, finally matching their eldest brother who was in shambles since the moment he saw Mikey was nowhere to be found.
While Leo curled up and had a panic attack right there and then, Donnie simply cried, not scrunching up his face or anything, he just... cried, the tears ran down his face but there was no reaction, and while his mind somehow managed be both blank and crowded at the same time, Raph desperately tried comforting Leo through his own misery, even going as far as to offer a hand towards Donnie, which the genius so gracefully didn't even noticed, his brain had shut down almost completely, only leaving room for his tunnel vision as he looked down at his hand, almost covered by the ash of his baby brother, no matter if he rubbed, scrubbed or even shook his hand, it just wouldn't come off, then a thunder roar broke him out of the trance, he looked up at the sky to see the now blue tinted clouds festering the hell they were about to face, now he felt something, his emotions did another turn from sadness to numbness to wrath, a boiling rage, seething hatred, an anger so damn strong it felt like he would burn the entire fucking planet to destroy this hell sent storm and wipe that bitch out of existence.
Raph and Leo didn't even time to settle down before Donnie pulled out his tech bō and just fucking dashed towards the clouds like a lunatic, Donnie was seeing red like never before, he wanted no less than the feeling of murdering this bastard storm and it's entire bloodline, but the rampage was cut short when Donnie was struck by lightning, passed out and nearly fell to his death, which Leo was quick to save him from with a portal, and while he and Raph tried to agree on a plan, Donnie absentmindedly called Draxum, he was the only one who knew anything about mystic shit like that, Donnie's brainnwere so fried that he even forgot the fact he and his brothers weren't very fond o him to begin with, but maybe that was because his mind was still circling Mikey, Mikey liked Draxum, he loved and trusted the goat man like a father, and deep down, even Donnie knew Drax returned the feeling, so surely he'd help them after learning what happened to Michelangelo.
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In the end, they defeated the storm, with the help of Draxum, April and Casey Jr, who Draxum called for good measure, but also because of something else.
Everyone's minds were reeling, grieving the loss of Michelangelo, April was trying to be strong, stepping up to comfort everyone like Mikey would, being the family therapist Mikey always was to them during their lowest lows, but not even she was able to do it for long before cracking, breaking down sobbing on Casey's arms, Casey mind was busy with flashbacks of his own Michelangelo, his wise master who he looked up to for so long before he sacrificed himself just for him to save the world, Raph was now crying his hearts out, clinging to Leo's side like a scared baby, that was his worst fear coming true, losing his brothers, and not only a brother, but Mikey of all people, the youngest and sweetest of them all, Mikey was his rock, everyone's rock, Raph always saw him as the beacon of hope and comfort he could always go to when he needed a reminder that everything was okay and that he'd never be alone, how ironic was it that the one who always told him that they'd never leave was just the one who died first? Lro was... weak... to say the least, already exhausted from all the crying and fighting, the fact he was walking was already consuming his energy to the point where he was feeling like he'd collapse right there and then, and for once, the face guy that always had something to say was as silent as a stone, not daring to utter a word even though he'd kill to be carried in Raph's arms and be able to just scream and sob into his chest, but he felt like that would be selfish, Raph was almost leaning on him for comfort he's too fragile to comfort him right now, so he says nothing, Donnie was... quiet, way more than usual, he's been distant during this walk they're having, figuratively and literally, he's leading the way, keeping a couple of feet of distance from his family as he walks slowly with heavy steps.
Donnie was now holding the same glass orb that took his beloved brother from him, oh how he wanted to just crush that thing right there in his hand, as if that was going to fix anything, the once blue orb was now glowing a yellowish orange light, exactly the same as Mikey's nimpo, Donnie assumed it was just the orb reflecting it's last victim, it was taunting him, the glow was an attempt at mocking him and his family about how that damn ball blew up the only person in this world that kept them all grounded, but just as Donatello was probably about to do something he'd regret, they arrived to Draxum's house, right... they needed to get rid of it somehow and Draxum had for some reason demanded that they brought it to him in his new makeshift lab, what a disappointment.
"THERE YOU ARE! Give me that thing! How can you hold him so carelessly in a situation like this?!"
The goat man scolded Donnie as he yanked the orb out of his hand and rushed to what looked like a cauldron full of... water? It was probably some sort of potion, Draxum carefully dropped the orb inside, watching as it's glass-like layer dissolved and turned the liquid inside into the same shiny orange matter Donnie was so despising.
A - "What are you doing with it?..."
L - "Does dad know yet?"
April and Leo asked, April seemed worried, concerned about what could happen if that orb exploded again, who else would be taken away from her? Leo probably just didn't want to be the one to break this to his father, and with him being the leader he'd probably be the one Splinter would question (or even blame) about what happened.
BD - "Of course I did... wait, isn't obvious?! I'm trying to save Michelangelo before his consciousness wilts away on that thing!"
Suddenly everyone is either either freaking out or at the verge of celebration as the last statement lingers in their heads.
R - "W-wilts away?"
D - "Wait, but how is that possible?! He blew up right in front of us, we SAW it!!"
L - "Is it a mystic thing?! Are you a necromancer?!?!"
A - "You can bring him back?!"
C - "Why didn't you tell us before?!"
Draxum sighed in annoyance while trying to prepare the extraction.
BD - "Oh, quiet down all of you, first things first, he isn't dead! He's trapped. This orb is a convenient prison for powerful entities, one can't be freed from it without interference, it's an ancient method of imprisoning outlaw witches in a way that they could not escape, their physical bodies are absorbed by the orb and abstracted, slowly becoming a mass of raw power with no sentience whatsoever, that's why I expected you to be quicker in the delivery!"
L - "Well WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY SO?!"
BD-"BECAUSE WE HAD NO TIME AND I THOUGHT YOU BE TOO CARELESS WITH IT IF YOU KNEW RIGHT AWAY!!"
L - "THEN WHY NOT COME AND GRAB IT YOURSELF?!:
BD - "I'M A WANTED CRIMINAL IN THE HIDDEN CITY! IF I WAS ARRESTED YOU FOOLS WOULDN'T HAVE DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT AND WE'D LOSE MICHELANGELO!"
A - "CAN YA'LL STOP SCREAMING?!"
L - "HE STARTED IT!"
BD - "BLASPHEMY!!"
A - "WHATEVER! *sigh* Draxum, is there any way we can help?"
BD - "Hmph, there is, that's why I called you and the other one, it would be nice if the rat was here too but he might take his time."
L - "Do you want me to portal to him? If we need him here then I can_"
BD - "Settle down, it's not necessary, in fact I'd advise against you wasting your powers like that, I need help from your energy so I'll be able to pull Michelangelo out."
L - "Ok... phew... ok... should we start?"
BD - "The sooner the better, and you!"
Draxum pointed to Casey.
BD - "There's a bathroom down the hall, fill the tub with cold water."
C - "You... want me to prepara you a bath?"
L - "Hey, now, why can't he stay and help?!"
BD - "He's a human with no magic, wouldn't be much help, and we'll need the cold tub for Michelangelo as soon as possible so it's better to get it done now than later.
C - "O-ok, I'll get to it! Good luck."
As soon as Casey left, Draxum gathered the turtles and April around the cauldron, and as he prepares himsepf to start, Donnie looks deep into the big pot getting increasingly closer to it, if Mikey was really there... could he see him? Can MIKEY see them?? In a febble attempt at a joke, Leo smacked the back of Donnie's head, accidentally shoving his face into the liquid, Donnie was startled for a moment but suddenly felt a sweet relief when he sensed Mikey, his face was burning up but he didn't seem to notice as he spotted what looked like the silhouette of Michelangelo, a bright, golden frame that captured the exact form of Mikey's body, Donnie felt like his negativity suddenly shed away as he got at least one irrefutable proof that Mikey was okay, he was there, it felt reassuring, almost as if his face wasn't literally getting injured from the direct contact with Mikey's raw nynpo, almost as if his body wasn't going limp before his family unceremoniously yanked him out of there, afraid that he, the great Donatello, was somehow dying, but he WAS surprised to see quite a couple of golden cracks on his face, earily similar to the ones Mikey had in his arms when he saved Leo from the Kraang, though they were really small and seemingly less dangerous, excluding the tingling numbness and burning sensation he felt on his face, as concerning as it was, it also gave him a bit of of a toned down idea of what Mikey might have felt in his arms after the invasion, gosh he really can't stop thinking of Mikey, can he?
Once the others slapped some sense into him, the ritual was finally able to begin, Draxum took a deep breath to calm his nerves, then he slowly lowered his arms into the cauldron, sinking his hands deeper and deeper until he felt Mikey's fragmented body, gently grabbing a hold of him before pulling him up just as slowly, the others already seemed impatient for Mikey's rescue once they caught a glimpse of Michelangelo being pulled out.
L - "Can't you do it any faster?"
BD - "I can, but one wrong move will be enough to break his already fragilized body with high chances of death, so do you prefer a full living brother or a bunch of his dead pieces?"
L - ".... fair..."
With a sigh of annoyance, Draxum went back to the careful process of retrieving his precious son, the tension grew with each pull, the family grew even worrier when seeing the state of Mikey's body, gone was the richness of textures or the lively colors of his skin and shell, his whole body looked like it was made of the same glass-like material, quite like their nympo holograms, even eminating a soft but strong glow, Draxum kept his movements precise and steady despite his nervousness, and when he finally pulled Mikey out, the first thing he did was to pull him into a tight hug and let out a pained breath of relief, finally being able to safely touch his precious boy in such a stressful time, he was so worried but so glad that he made it, so glad he didn't fail Michelangelo, that breath alone felt like all the panic and anxiety he had bottled up was suddenly catching up to him, and just like that, it was over, the others started rushing to check in on Michelangelo, but the yokai held his son tight in a protective manner, holding him like a statue of wet sand that would break down if not held together with the most utter care, in that moment, Mikey was basically in a life or death situation, there was no time to comfort these grown ass bums, his precious son needs urgent attention and Draxum is not about to just sit around and wait for them to get over their crying fits.
Just as the others were about to practically tackle Draxum and Mikey out of relief, April grabbed a hold on Mikey's wrist, pulling away immediately by how hot his skin was, it felt like touching lava, Raph and Donnie were about to question the state of their brother was in before Draxum just dashed out of the room like a flash, leaving the others in shock and concerned, Donnie and Leo were the firsts to make a run for them, the others follow soon after, Draxum burst into the bathroom, encountering Casey sitting by the almost full cold tub, the human man didn't even had time to get a word in before Draxum brushes him aside and carefully lowers Michelangelo into the tub, a loud sizzle echoed through the walls as a giant cloud of steam poured out of the tub as April and the other turtles made their way in, tumbling over eachother on the door like the desperate goofs they are before taking their seats around the tub, they watched in awe as they approached the bathtub, they watched the body of light dim away, revealing Mikey's regular self, his gorgeous dark green skin was finally visible again, same for his orange spots, his shell and it's markings, his curly black hair and the beautiful features of his face, all coming back to bless them with such an amazing sight, Casey was still catching up on what was going on, but as he realized how steaming hot Mikey's body probably was, he looked down at Draxum's arms to see them full of burns and a couple of blisters, even his clothes were a bit burnt.
C - "Hey, Drax, are you okay? Your arms are busted..."
BD - "I'll be fine, I'll use some magic and ointment later, Michelangelo needs more attention right now."
Casey just swallowed his concerns and turned his focus back to Michelangelo, he brushed the tip of his fingers on the water, feeling how the once cold water was now turning luke warm.
C - "The water is heating up, should I turn the cold water back on?"
BD - "No need, the cold temperature already did it's job to stabilize his body, and I would hate giving Michelangelo hypothermia after such a terrible event, but do let me know if the water gets too hot."
C - "Roger that."
L - "So... the cold water hardens his body? Like... how the cold of the freezer turns water into ice?
D - "Yes, apparently so, Nardo.... it's a chemical reaction."
BD - "Indeed, you'd be surprised by how your human definition of 'chemistry' is actually close to the functions of magic and alchemy."
D - "Wait, what!"
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After quite a while, Mikey felt his consciousness slipping back to him, he felt his body relaxed, perhaps a bit too much, it kinda felt like his joints and muscles atrophied, he moves his body a bit when he suddenly felt and heard some commotion going on around him, footsteps, shuffling and stuff, then there's hands on him, who's hands are these? He doesn't like strangers' hands on him, but two of them actually grabbed his shoulders, pulled him out of the warm water he now realizes he was in, and started shaking him while screaming nonsense, suddenly a bunch of voices were now screaming over one another in a mind crushing cacophony that felt like a train wreck happening in his brain and inside his skull, his eyes weakly fluttered awake as he spotted the colors of his brothers masks flashed through his vision, red, then purple, then blue.
Then there was just purple, purple... and a lot of touching too, specially in his face... wait, does purple like touching like that? Wasn't that... the blue..... Leo... Leo likes this touch, tapping... *Leo* likes tapping... face tapping... Leo *loves* tapping... but then why is.... Donald... wait... this isn't tapping... more like grabbing.. why is Donatello grabbing him like that? He's so tired and hurting... then a voice started coming through, a single voice this time, speaking slowly in a low and caring voice.
"Mikey....? You're with us?"
Donnie.
That's Donnie's voice, loud and clear.
Thank God it's Donnie.
M - "Don... ie...."
Donnie could barely contain his excitement when Mikey actually responded to his call, a meek attempt at communicating with his little brother who had just twitched his eyes and turned his face, Donnie pulled Mikey into a hug, burying Mikey's head into his shoulder and squeezing out the little air Mikey had in his lungs before Leo pried them apart for a thorough check up on a half awake Mikey, who was already coming to his senses, managing to sit up with the help of his brothers and speak to them properly, Draxum eventually comes around to see his son, shedding more tears than the guys expected upon seeing his son alive and well, he clings to Michelangelo for a long while until he decides to get off the bathtub and take a walk, which was a bit difficult since his legs were a bit weak and shaky.
BD - "I think it's better if you just rest for now."
R - "Dude, seriously?! Mikey is wasing away on this tub for almost a day now, he has to move a little!"
BD - *groans* "Fine. So allow me to help you, Mikey, you seem a little weak still."
R - "Heyheyhey! Why are you the one who's gonna help him?!"
BD - "Because you're awfully slow to offer any help."
R - "You've been hoarding him all day long, let me pick him up!"
M - "Guys...?
BD - "No, I am in charge of his healing, you are just here to assist."
R - "WE ALREADY DID, NOW GIVE ME MY BABY BROTHER!!"
BD - "Lower your voice when speaking to me, young man!"
M - "Guys."
R - "I always carry Mikey with no problem! I'm gonna help!"
BD - "You are absolutely not fit to_"
M - "GUYS!!"
BD & R - "!!...."
M - "If you really have to fight over something so dumb, play rock, paper, scissors or something, just don't be so loud..."
R - "Oh, ok... sorry, big man."
BD - "Urgh, fine, I relinquish this duty to you, Raphael, just carry him with caution, ok?"
R - "On it, boss man."
With that, Raph lifts Mikey up into his arms and kisses the side of his forehead, glad to see him doing alright, and takes him to the kitchen, they were back in the Lair, and everyone was there, Splinter jumped out of nowhere and hugged his youngest son for dear life because OMG CAN YOU BOYS NOT ALMOST DIE EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS?!?! April was there too, she embraced Mikey right after Splinter let go, with tears in her eyes and a heart swelling with emotions, and so was Casey, though he was more like sobbing and his hug seemed way more desperate than the others', Mikey took note of that and hugged Casey back, providing comfort through touch and words of consolation, which kind of bothered Casey because who was supposed to be comforted and given this much love and attention? A cry baby that can't get over a past that doesn't exist anymore or someone who nearly fucking died?! Even if Mikey doesn't have full memories of what happened, just a strange acknowledgement of feeling he can't quite describe, he still understood everything after Donnie and Draxum explained him what happened, it was scary, for everyone, not just himself, Mikey did his best to apologize and comfort his family about what had gone down, but the others didn't forget to protect and reassure Mikey that everything was alright and it all was gonna be fine, after all, this accident is a trauma he, more than anyone, should be affected by.
The end.