História Raph and Mikey Brotherly Fluff and Comfort Oneshots TMNT 201 - Chapter 25: Journey to the Center of Mikey's Mind (My Versio

So this one was requested by mandylaren23. Apparantly, this episode has been redone several times in fanfiction stories, and she wanted me to do my own version of it. I hope you all like it, because it's all based on my imagination.

    The turtles, April, and Casey were hanging out in the main part of Futagoid's spaceship. Leo and Donnie were locked in a heated videogame tournament with each other while Raph and Mikey were watching from the sidelines. At one point, Donnie's character bonked into a wall and fell off again (it'd happened several times at this point), making Mikey laugh so hard milk came squirting out of his nose and hit Raph. "Dude, gross!" Raph exclaimed, looking disgustedly at the now-gross milk.

    "Oh, did I get some of that on you?" Mikey giggled. "Sorry. It's the only thing that cools down a mouthful of spicy apple muffins."

    Happily, he took a spicey apple muffin and stuffed it into his mouth-- and his eyes widened as his face turned red; he somehow completely forgot that he put extra spice in that. "AUGH! HOT! HOT! HOT!" he yelled, waving a hand over his mouth. "NEED MILK! NEED MILK!"

    Grabbing the nearby carton, he proceeded to guzzle it down in an attempt to cool his mouth down. Raph rolled his eyes, amused at the sight. "Hey Leo," he said. "Maybe after we save Earth, maybe you can learn how to make noseshakes like Mikey. That'll impress your girlfriend."

    This time, Mikey laughed so hard, a milk-soaked chunk of muffin shot out of his nose (somehow) and bounced around, nearly hitting Leo and Donnie before hitting Casey in the head by accident. "Dude, weak!" he exclaimed.

    This time, it was Raph's turn to laugh. Mikey joined in as he apologized, the amusement of the situation getting to him. As the two chatted happily, April looked up from a comic she was reading to listen in, rolling her eyes and chuckling at the sight before her. Ever since what happened, Raph and Mikey had really gotten close to each other as brothers and best friends; it was obvious that "it" (you know what I'm talking about; no, not "it" as in that creepy clown dude) had affected the youngest the most out of all of them. So far, it looked like he was doing well. "Hey, check it out!" Mikey was saying in the meantime. "I ended up learning some new tricks in the holo-trainning room!"

    "Yeah, because they'll end up doing you well in battle in the near future," Raph commented, rubbing Mikey's head affectionately. "Although I highly doubt that one noseshake would be enough."

    Rolling his eyes, Mikey went to take another milk swig, only to find the carton empty. "Aw, but I'm out of milk," he groaned, shaking the now empty carton.

    Then Raph had an idea. "Hey Leo, how much water do you have left in your bottle?" he asked jokingly, causing another laugh to erupt from Mikey. Leo just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

    The laughing and talking went on for a while more until it was getting late. As everyone headed off to bed, Raph and Mikey stayed up to play some videogames. While playing, Raph couldn't help but take a few glances at Mikey, knowing that somehow, something about him was off. He shook off the feeling though, knowing that Money would just try to cover it up again; it hadn't been the first time it happened. About two hours later, Mikey yawned tiredly, feeling sleepiness catch up to him. Raph took notice of it. "Feeling sleepy there, are you, buddy?" he commented as he cleaned everything up.

    Mikey didn't say anything; all he could do was shake his head. Smiling, Raph went over and scooped him up, cradling him in his arms as he carried him to his room. Mikey immediately curled further into him, loving the feeling. Raph cooed softly as he took him to his room. There, he laid him down in bed and draped a blanket over him, tucking him in. "Goodnight, little brother," he whispered, cupping a hand to his face.

    After leaning forward to nuzzle his head with his own, he left, promising that whatever was happening to him, he'll find out one way or another.
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    The next day, Raph was startled awake by someone banging on his door. Opening it, he saw that it was Leo, looking frantic. Before he could ask what was wrong, all Leo said was, "It's Mikey." before he raced off. Now feeling worried, Raph raced after him.

    When he entered, there was Mikey, unmoving on the floor and soaking wet from Casey throwing a bucket of water at him. The others were gathered around him, concerned while Futagoid was scanning him for any problems. "What happened?" Raph asked, kneeling down next to Mikey and taking his hand.

    A gasp from Futagoid answered his question. "I may have found what is wrong with him," he said. "Somehow, neutrinos have entered his mind. It seems like their purpous is to try and destroy Michelangelo's inner self."

    Everyone gasped. "How'd they get in him?" Raph spluttered out.

    "I don't know," Leo said. "But we have to save his inner self before it's too late."

    "And who knows?" Donnie added. "Maybe we can find out what's going on with him."

    Everyone agreed.
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    Soon, with April's help thanks to her powers, the three turtles were soon transported into Mikey's mind. As they were looking around, Raph was still bugged with something. "Hey Don," he asked, "about what you said earlier: how'd you figure that out?"

    "You're not the only one who knows that something's wrong with Mikey," Donnie simply replied as he continued forward.

    Raph nodded in understanding as the three continued on. After a while, Raph suddenly felt something grab hold of his leg, making him stumble a bit. Surprised, he looked down to see who did it, only to find a small turtle clinging onto his leg, sounding like he was crying. The older turtle's eyes widened as he recognized him. "Mikey?" he asked. "Is that you?"

    The turtle looked up, nodding. Sympathy and sorrow paining his heart, Raph bent down and picked him up, holding him close. "Aw, buddy," he cooed. "What are you doing here?"

    "Those neutrinos," Little Mikey said. He looked and sounded like a small child. "They're after me and changing my memories and probably erasing who I am. As if that weren't enough, you guys are with them."

    He shuddered with fear. "I'm so scared," he said. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do."

    The turtles were shocked. "We were with them?" Donnie asked.

    Little Mikey nodded, burying his face into Raph's neck. On instinct, Raph pulled him in closer. "Then how could you tell that the real us aren't evil like those copies?" Leo asked.

    Little Mikey shuddered. "Because your guy's copies had evil, red eyes and fought more aggressively like the Foot," he replied.

    Tears threatened to leave Raph's eyes as he heard this. Same with Leo and Donnie. "Don't worry little brother," the hothead said. "We'll make sure that it doesn't happen. I promise."

    "Can you show us where they are?" Leo asked.

    Nodding, Little Mikey directed them to a small room. Looking in, their eyes widened. Neutrions were at their little brother's memories, taking them and either changing or preparing to erase them. With them were three copies of the older turtles. Already coming up with a plan, Leo turned to Little Mikey. "Think you have something in here that'll help us out?" he asked.

    Little Mikey shrugged. "Maybe," he said. "Why?"

    "Because if we're gonna defeat them, we're gonna need your help," Leo explained. "We'll hold them off as best we can. In the meantime, you go find that something that'll help us get rid of those guys, okay? Can you trust us?"

    Mikey nodded before heading off. At Leo's signal, the other three burst into the room and a fight initiated between them. The copies were indeed tougher than the originals, along with the neutrions, but the brothers fought on regardless, determined to help Mikey before it was too late.
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    While the fight was going on, Little Mikey was in a different room, looking for something to help him and his brothers out in the fight. He knew that by strength status, ther originals didn't stand a chance against the copies, but he was determined all the same. While looking through the selves, he actually pushed a chest off one shelf, causing a loud THUD! that caught his attention. Upon arriving to it, he opened it to find four gems gleaming inside. The first one was blue, the second one was red, the third one was purple, and the fourth one was orange. The blue gem had what looked like a river pictured on it. The red gem had a flame of fire pictured on it. The purple gem had a chunk of earth pictured on it. And the orange gem had a gust of air pictured on it.

    Knowing that somehow they'd help, he grabbed the chest and raced towards the fight. And he didn't have time to lose. Shouts of pain reached his ears, sending him into a panic. Racing to the room, he arrived in time to see his brothers defeated. Leo was frozen in a block of ice. Raph was pretty much burned to ashes. And Donnie had been turned to a stone statue. Despite his grief, Little Mikey went and placed the gems into his brothers' chests; blue for Leo, red for Raph, and purple for Donnie. He kept the orange gem in his hand, just in case.

    And it was a good thing that he found those gems to, because one by one, his brothers were not only coming back alive, but they were also glowing the colors of their masks. Leo broke free from the ice and swung his water katanas at the enemy, turning some of them into solid ice. Raph reformed from the ashes and burned several more with his fire-covered sais, even shooting fire at them. Donnie broke free from his stone statue prison and threw what looked like chunks of earth with his bo staff, taking out even more.

    Then, they rose up into the air, making a sort of power chain. Red, blue, and purple blasts hit the enemy, but it wasn't enough. The enemy's own power chain was very slowly gaining the upper hand. And the brothers knew this. "Mikey!" Leo called. "We need you! You can do this!"

    "Are you kidding me?" Little Mikey exclaimed. "I can't do this! I'm useless! A burden! A waste of space! If they're here, I just can't!"

    "Oh, come on! You're not any of those things, bro!" Donnie protested. "You're better than you think you are! Do you think we ever wanted you to be a quitter?"

    "M-Maybe?" Little Mikey answered hesitantly.

    Raph's eyes widened. So that's what's been bothering him the whole time! he thought.

    Turning to Little Mikey, he saw the fear in his eyes. "Bro, I don't know where or how you got those thoughts of yours," he said gently, "but Leo and Donnie are right about two things-- those thoughts are wrong and you can do this. You're the heart of this family. The light that brings happiness to our lives. Without you, our lives would be the complete opposite."

    Seeing Little Mikey not saying anything yet, Raph continued: "Additionally, befriending you was one of the best choices of my life. There's probably no one else in the world that would calm my anger down the way you do. But if those guys beat us, it's gonna be over for all four of us. Is that really what you want?"

    Little Mikey was speechless. "Gh-Ghee, bro. I-I don't know what to say..."

    Raph smiled a little. "You can do this, buddy," he said. "You need to learn to quit being the loser your demons need. And be our hero."

    Nothing was said as sky-blue gazed up at midnight-blue, chocolate-brown, and emerald-green. Realizing they were right, Little Mikey's face grew determined as courage surged within him. Taking the orange gem, he forced it into his chest. All at once, orange glowed around him as he also rose into the air alongside his brothers, adding his ability to the power chain. Noticing this, the copies and the neutrions still tried to eliminate them, only for orange air to wrap around their power beam and destroy it with a powerful gust of wind. The copies of his brothers were speechless. "How's that possible?" one of them demanded. "We've already told you: you have no power!"

    "That's when you're wrong!" Little Mikey replied. "I may not be strong enough on my own! But with my real brothers with me? You all don't stand a chance!"

    Angered, the enemy launched another power beam at them, only for the brothers to block it with their own. This time, with Little Mikey's assistance, their power beam quickly gained the upper hand, destroying the evil copies and the neutrions once and for all. The four gently floated to the ground, victorious as the gems floated back to the chest. "Yeah!" Leo cheered. "We did it!"

    The other three were happy to, exchanging high-fives with each other. "Aw yeah!" Little Mikey cheered. "We! Are! Awesome!"

    Checking the memories, luckily none of them had been erased. If they came across any evil-altered memories, the brothers changed them back to what they were. In short time, everything was back to normal. "Thanks guys," Little Mikey said, full of gratitude. "Wish there was a way I can repay you back for what you did for me."

    "You're welcome, bro," Leo replied, fondly rubbing his head while hugging him.

    "If you ever need help, you can always talk to us," said Donnie, hugging him also. "Just don't hide anything from us, okay?"

    Little Mikey nodded as he raced over to Raph and jumped into his arms, snuggling close. "Thank you, Raphie," he said.

    Raph smiled and planted a kiss onto his forehead. "Anytime, little brother," he said as he put him down. "If your ever struggling with something like this again, just talk to us, alright? We'll always be with you."

    Little Mikey nodded in understanding, waving goodbye as his brothers faded away to the waking world. Well, Leo and Donnie did, anyway. Raph stayed; he felt like Little Mikey wanted to ask him something. "Got something on your chest?" he asked.

    Little Mikey nodded. "I do," he said. "What if we're no longer together one day? What'll happen then? Who will I talk to on days when I'm not strong enough or brave enough? Who will I ask for advice when I have no one else to turn to?" A few tears welled up in his eyes.

    Oh Mikey, Raph thought, sympathy piercing his heart as he went over and knelt down in front of him to be at his eye level. "I want you to listen to me very carefully, little brother," he said, placing his hands on his shoulders. "If ever there comes a day when we're no longer together, there's something you must remember."

    Little Mikey sniffled a bit. "And what might that be, Raphie?" he asked.

    Raph smiled. "You're braver than you believe. And stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think," he said.

    That caused Little Mikey to smile briefly. "That's easy," he said. "I'm, uh, braver than a bee. And, uh, longer than a tree. And, uh, taller than a goose? Or was it a moose?"

    Raph couldn't help but laugh as he scooped Little Mikey into his arms. "No, you silly little turtle," he said affectionately as he tickled his stomach briefly, causing a laugh to come out of the youngest. "You're braver than you believe. And stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think." He playfully booped Little Mikey's beak as he said the last part, making him giggle.

    And for the first time, Little Mikey smiled a full smile. Raph smiled back. "But the most important thing is this," he said, handing him a piece of paper as he started to fade back into the waking world, "even if we're apart, I'll always be with you. I'll always be with you. Always be with you."

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    By the time Raph finally got back to the waking world, the others were waiting for him. While waiting for Mikey to wake up, the three brothers passed the time by explaining what had happened in Mikey's mind, not leaving out a single detail. Well, Leo and Donnie did most of the telling. Raph mostly just kept an eye on Mikey, who was lying in the medical bed; all four of them had been moved to the medbay just in case something bad happened. April, Casey, and Futagoid were relieved to hear that the neutrinos had been stopped and would never bother Mikey again. As to how those neutrinos got into Mikey's mind in the first place, Futagoid had run a scan through the ship, and after some investigating, had found a neutrino in one of the muffins Mikey had earlier; which meant that somehow, somebody figured out a way to smuggle those things onto the ship without any of them knowing of it. Raph wanted to pound whoever did it to the ground upon hearing of it, but Leo said that it wouldn't do any good for the time being. At that point, something, or rather someone, stirred. Raph looked down in time to see that it was Mikey, baby-blue eyes finally opening. "Hey, lil' bro," he said, sitting him up and hugging him.

    Mikey didn't say anything at first. He just signed with content as he felt those dark, protective, emerald arms wrap around him. He felt so secure and safe, especially after what happened in his mind. "I guess you all know what happened and who I really am, huh?" he said, looking down in embarrassment.

    The brothers nodded, not needing to say anything. "I just wish we'd found out sooner," Raph admitted. "We always wondered what was going on with you, to be honest."

    "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Leo asked, placing a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

    Mikey sighed. "I just didn't want to bother you all with my problems," he said. "We're already dealing with enough stress from our home getting destroyed and whatnot. Not like I wanted to burden you guys anymore than you already are."

    Raph was about to say something when he felt his shoulder getting wet. Was Mikey crying? Confused, Raph pulled back a bit to see that, sure enough, Mikey was indeed crying. "But why those thoughts, though?" he asked, cupping his face in his hands.

    "I don't know!" Mikey sobbed. "Maybe those neutrinos put them there! Maybe it was those evil copies of you bros! I don't know! All I know is that it's what my little self said! And I don't know how those thoughts even got there in the first place!"

    At that point, he was scratching his head hard as if to try and get those thoughts out manually. Raph gently grabbed Mikey's wrists, moving his hands away from his head before climbing into bed with him. Sensing that they needed some time alone, the two humans and the droid left, leaving the four brothers on their own in the medbay. "We'll help you, bro," Raph said. "You want to know why? It's because of what's in here." He pointed to his belt pocket as he said this.

    Confused, Mikey reached in and pulled out a piece of paper-the same one that his inner self had been given. On it was written this: You're braver than you believe. And stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think.

    His eyes widened as he remembered. Tears came flowing out even faster. "Really?" he whimpered.

    Raph smiled and nodded as he pulled Mikey into his lap, embracing him again. "Really," he confirmed, smiling.

    That was all it took for Mikey to cry again, tears flowing fast down his face as he curled himself closer to that source of comfort. Raph took his time and rocked Mikey back and forth, rubbing his shell. Leo rubbed Mikey's head fondly and embraced him from the right while Donnie did the same on the left. "Sorry for all the times we've underestimated you, little bro," said Leo softly after a while.

    "And for all the times we've yelled at you," Donnie added. "We just didn't want you getting hurt. But I think we've taken it the wrong way."

    Mikey didn't say anything in reply. He just looked at them all with a watery smile, indicating that he'd forgiven them despite the circumstances before burying his face in Raph's neck. Raph smiled and squeezed him even closer to him, tucking his head under his chin. "Love you guys," Mikey whispered as he felt himself growing tired from everything that had happened. He yawned cutely as he closed his eyes and snuggled into Raph, a fond smile on his face as he finally fell asleep.

    Leo and Donnie smiled back. "Love you to, Mikey," Leo said as he left thre medbay with Donnie following behind him, knowing that Raph would get the rest taken care of on his own.

    Raph smiled back as well as he planted a kiss atop his little brother's head and leaned backward so they were laying down, Mikey still wrapped up in his arms. "Love you to, baby bro. Don't you ever let those negative thoughts get to you. Because at the end of the day, you're better than you think you are."

    Nuzzling Mikey one more time, Raph closed his eyes and followed his little brother to Dreamland.

    Phew. This one took a long while. This might be one of the longest I've ever typed, with over 3,000 words no less. Well, anyway, this one was for mandylaren23. Hope you liked it. P.S.-sorry it took so long.