To Be a Hero

Chapter 5

By: Soniclover28

It was dark. Yeah. That'd describe it best. It was so dark he couldn't see his hand two inches from his face.

Or… did he have a hand?

He couldn't remember.

He knew he had weapons—he could hear them rattle every time he moved.

Could he move?

…

Yeah.

He could feel his muscles tensing and relaxing as he moved.

So where was he?

"Michelangelo…"

He jumped—it was cool to move. He wanted to respond to the voice. Could he?

"Wh-what?"

Yes. He could.

Wow.

The strange voice called out again, this time fainter. This time further.

"Where are you?" He asked.

The voice laughed. It was a mean laugh.

"I'm right over here!"

He whirled around—thought he saw movement before losing track of the voice.

It laughed again but from the opposite way he was facing. He turned again.

Then the movement flickered in his vision and he lost the figure again.

"Where are you?" He asked again.

The voice muttered something. It wasn't from any single direction—it was just there.

"What…?

"Run…"

His heart started to beat faster.

"Run."

The voice picked a direction—over him.

"Run!" The voice shrieked, and he turned tail and started doing as he was told.

He ran and ran and ran. Ran so fast he thought he might be flying.

The voice's voice started to echo with that one word.

Run.

He ran faster.

Run.

He tripped—his heart almost stopped. His face hit the ground hard—so this was pain.

He got up—but didn't run. It wasn't dark anymore—well, not as dark. It was nighttime in a lush forest.

But the voice still rang.

Run!

The ground shook—cracked and split underneath him.

He leaped and took off running. He ran past trees and shrubs and flowers. He ran past rocks and mountains and lakes. He ran past fields and houses and people.

And yet the voice still boomed.

Run!

He ran past skyscrapers and cars and mutants. He ran past sewer pipes and drains and subway stations.

But the voice wasn't finished.

RUN!

He was scared. He was panicking. He kept running.

He ran past ice-cream cats and mutant rats and teenage turtles. He ran past…

He stopped running.

He ran past family.

But the voice…

The voice kept screaming—screeching for him to keep moving.

But he stopped. He wasn't even tired. But he didn't turn around.

The voice was so loud that he had to cover his ears.

But he could still hear the voice.

"RUN! RUN! RUN!"

But he still didn't take a step forward. Suddenly he could feel something near him. Over him.

"RUUUUUN!"

The ground started shaking again. It cracked and split around him. The edge of the cliff he stood on started to grow slick with rain.

But he recognized this cliff.

Why?

He hadn't even recognized himself however-long ago.

Lightening flashed and thunder boomed and shook the ground.

His heart started to hammer in his chest.

His form started to tremble.

What was this…?

Fear.

Yeah, that's what it was.

His heart jumped in his throat. Something pushed him. That something that had been behind him.

He screamed. He felt his feet forced off of the cliff. He started plummeting downwards.

But the voice still shrieked.

"RUN! RUUUUUUN! RUUUUN!"

He kept falling, falling, falling. He saw the ground underneath him. He saw the ground rushing towards him from below.

But what something had pushed him? And why?

He flipped his body over to see the something. It had jumped after him.

It had been pushed over the edge, too.

It had a black mask and demented eyes. It had green skin and a freckled face. And it was screeching.

It was the voice.

He stared in disbelief.

It was the something.

He screamed in denial and terror.

It was fear.

He smashed into the ground.

It was him.

A blood-curdling scream ripped Raphael from unconsciousness. He jolted awake, his adrenaline kicking in so fast he got dizzy when he sat up.

"What the—" Another scream tore through the air.

"Wh- Mikey?!" Raph whipped his head around to see Donnie and Leo already by their little brother's side. The red-clad turtle quickly joined them, and he watched as Mikey withered and turned on the ground.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" Leo asked, and reached out to touch him.

"No!"

Leo paused in his movements.

It was Kēshī.

"This is the first of many trials to come. He must do this on his own," the teenager said, and squatted down beside the turtles. The brothers almost objected, but couldn't think of a retort, so they settled on the ground as well in silent worry.

It was about this time that Raph noticed that the bangle on Mikey's wrist had started radiating a pure, baby-blue color. Mikey's body was shaking and curling in on itself. He was moaning in his sleep, clawing at the ground as if he were trying to hold onto something.

"What's wrong with him, Kēshī?" Leonardo demanded.

"It's his opposite. He's trying to get into his mind again. Do not worry, turtle mans, the Great Spirits won't let harm come to him if they do not will it," The teen replied, his eyes shining in reassurance.

The brothers shared a glance at this, tempted to reach out to their sibling but scared to make things worse.

The gem on Mikey's wrist gave a bright flash, and the freckled turtle's movements stopped—didn't gradually settle, but froze in place. The turtle gave one last shudder before his eyes were finally revealed—bloodshot and wide despite just being asleep. He slowly sat up, leaning the back of his shell against the boulder he'd originally been up against.

"Mikey, are you okay?" Donnie asked.

"Hush," Kēshī hissed, "He is not conscious yet."

"What do you me-"

Mikey cut him off by planting his hands over his face and giving a terrified scream. In one movement, his body lurched forward, and he caught himself before settling on his hands and knees.

"Now. He is fine," Kēshī said quietly.

A flurry of emotions was buzzing around the three older brother's minds. Confusion on what was happening, anger because it was happening and sadness because they couldn't do anything to help.

Well, maybe they could now.

"M-mikey…?" Leo breathed, almost afraid to call out his little brother's name.

Shaking, panting, and clawing at the ground with his hands, Mikey lifted his eyes to his older brother.

"Leo…" He breathed in relief.

Kēshī suddenly nodded, as if confirming something to himself, and got to his feet.

"Take however long you need to collect yourself, Little One, but we must make it to the first village before sunset to search for Leonardo's opposite," He said, and walked a few steps away from the brothers.

"I-I'm fine. Promise. Just… need a second…" Mikey said, all the while gradually getting control over his breathing. Raph suddenly was by his side, draping an arm over Mikey's shoulders and pulling him close.

"What happened, Mikey?" Donnie asked, shifting from squatting to sitting and scooting closer to his youngest brother.

"Nothing. Just a nightmare. Where's my little orb?" The orange-banded turtle asked, glancing different ways in search of said item.

After a few seconds of searching Leonardo found it and gave it back to Mikey. The turtle put the orb in his satchel and, much to his brothers' confusion, stood up and started stretching.

"Dudes, what's with the weird looks?" He asked, stopping mid-arm-stretch.

"Well, excuse us for being worried," Donnie snapped, and stood as well. "You had another episode, Mikey. Like… Like when you had a panic attack back at Hahen's."

Mikey paused for a moment, as if contemplating the statement. He gazed out over the silhouette of mountains where the sun was just starting to rise. His back to his brothers, he crossed his arms and leaned against the waist-high rock next to him.

"Nah… 'M not hurt or nothin'. Just… freaked out, s'all," Mikey finally said. He glanced down to the bangle on his wrist fondly. "I think it had something to do with this little guy."

"You think correctly," Kēshī was suddenly in the conversation again, supporting himself on his black, jewel-encrusted staff. "The Great Spirits are protecting you from what you've dreamt about. Tell me, Little One, can you remember your dream?"

"…No," Mikey sounded surprised as he said it. "But… but I do remember being scared… Like… pee my shell scared."

Kēshī smiled. "The Great Spirits must treasure you for them to give you such a blessing."

Mikey didn't know how to respond. Donnie, however, did.

"Question, Cas—Kēshī," Donnie said, "Why is Mikey's opposite doing all this and ours aren't?"

The purple-clad turtle crossed his arms. "I mean, it feels like Mikey's the lone target here."

"Yeah," Raph agreed and crossed his arms as well. "Why haven't we woke up screamin' from a nightmare?"

Here, Kēshī scowled. "Do you wish to be plagued with such horrors? Do you wish to be loomed over by something much scarier than death itself?"

"If it means taking some of that from Mikey, then yes," Leo stepped in, his chest struck out bravely. The brothers hadn't realized it, but they'd formed a type of wall between their baby brother and Kēshī, as if shielding him from something.

"You are all foolish," Kēshī said, glaring. "Little One, if you are well, we must continue our journey."

"Yeah, I'm good. So I'm guessing we're taking our breakfast to-go?" He asked, reaching into his satchel and pulling out the velvety sack from the night before.

"Yes," Kēshī nodded, and turned on his heel and started marching off. Only when he was twenty feet away did the turtles realize he was meaning for them to follow.

In fourteen hours the turtles and their guide had crossed a stream, encountered a strange animal that resembled a goat, and came across their first village in a valley hidden in the mountains.

The sun was just about to set, and a chilly air had started to fall upon the land. The village was bustling despite the time of day, and the turtles couldn't help but feel wary. As they came to the main gates of the town, Leonardo grabbed Kēshī's attention.

"Y'know, we're grateful for the guide and everything, but, uh, do you, maybe, have a plan for getting through there without being seen?" Leo questioned.

"Yeah," Raph piped, "We're not exactly welcome to populated areas."

"Back on your world, perhaps," Kēshī smirked. The teen cleared the gates with the turtles in tow, and gave a nod to the first passerby he saw.

A cat. An anthropomorphic cat. A mutant.

The cat nodded and continued on her path through the village.

"Wait, you mean there are other mutants here?" Donnie asked.

At this, Kēshī stopped and turned to look at the four brothers. "Was Hahen not an example of other beings such as yourself dwelling here?"

"Well, yes, but we just assumed—"

"Your assuming will get you no-where. I am your guide—I will warn you should you be in risk of danger," Kēshī told them, shaking his head like he was lecturing a child. "Come, let us find someplace to rest. And should anyone gawk at you or question your presence, we are simply treasure hunters traveling to the Plains of Heiwa."

"Where's that?" Leo asked, adjusting his satchel strap.

Kēshī turned to look at them again, his deep brown eyes warm with the light from the yellow lanterns draped throughout the streets. "It is where we'll hopefully meet your counterpart."

"Oh," the blue-banded turtles replied. "I have a question, then. What happens when we meet this guy?"

Kēshī seemed to ponder this a moment before answering, "I don't know. We shall see when we get there, I suppose."

Leo gave the teenager a deadpan, which made Raph snicker, and the group of boys continued on through the village.

They passed small shops and carts and houses all squished together down the roads. The vendors advertised their products vigorously—some were practically dancing for attention. The group was offered many samples and many 'You look like you need-'s as they made their way down the center of the town.

The boys saw many mutant-looking creatures, as well: wolves, lizards, butterflies, elephants, polar bears, and so much more.

"It's like an anthropomorphic paradise," Donnie said in awe as he took in the citizens. They'd even spotted some humans along the way, and when Mikey waved at them they'd either smile or wave back politely.

"This is awesome." Mikey hadn't stopped grinning since they'd seen that cat at the entrance to the city.

Eventually, Kēshī lead them to what looked to be a hotel of sorts, and they got checked in and showed to their rooms quickly. Mikey was partnered with Donnie while his other brothers resided with the Casey look-alike.

Mikey got the bed that was positioned where he could gaze out and see the lanterns strung throughout the village. It was a pretty sight, especially since the sky was lit with stars.

Mikey and Donnie shared a quick goodnight before actually trying to sleep, and when Donnie rolled over facing the wall, Mikey pulled up his wrist to inspect his bangle.

The baby blue gem on the golden designs looked a bit odd since he was wearing ninja clothing, but the bracelet was elegant, nonetheless. Mikey liked it, and not just because it was pretty.

Apparently, it was keeping him from being afraid—from being hurt. The freckled turtle was grateful; if he'd been terrified that morning of a nightmare he couldn't even remember, he was scared to find out what would happen should he actually remember them.

Mikey shivered, and suddenly didn't want to sleep.

Eventually he did, though, totally unaware of what horrors the next day would bring.

Me: Hey, guys; sorry for the long...long wait ^^; my interwebs are down and currently they don't look like they'll get better anytime soon. I'll be updating when I can, but patience is key, this time. :/

Srry for the short chapter, too, haha. Just wanted to let you guys know i'm here.

Peace!