It's a booming crash that knocks Mikey from his consuming fears, and his head shoots up, expecting the see the warehouse roof finally giving out. The fire around them ripples and flickers but then resumes its threatening stance, and Mikey can only blink and breathe, thoroughly shocked that they're still alive.

The sound seems to knock him from his terrified stupor, and his senses come alive all at once. The heat is suffocating as the flames crackle around them, and he knows that it's going to reach them at any second, but he can't seem to keep his emotions in check, and he doesn't want to risk letting Donnie go again.

What if he comes back and he's stopped breathing?

Something faintly crashes near them, and Mikey grips his older brother tighter, realizing that they're dead for sure if he doesn't try. He can't give up; none of his brothers would give up in his place, no matter how unlikely the odds.

So get up and get moving, knucklehead!

He lays his older brother back on the ground, his hand idling on Donnie's arm for the longest minute of his life, and then he sees his plastron rise and fall. Mikey releases him and forces his gaze away, getting onto shaky legs and scanning the flames. 

They circle him like a smug predator, promising to reach him on their own time and devour him just a slow. Jaw set, Mikey ignores the dance of the celebrating shadows.

It's all in your head, Mikey.

Just focus on finding an exit. Any exit.

He creeps as close to them as he dares. The flaring heat taints his cold blood as narrowed eyes scan using the dangerous light the flames present. The smoke burns, and his tears become a mix of necessity and terror as he wipes them away desperately, attempting to see through the cloaked surroundings as an inkling of despair circles around his racing heart. 

Then he hears a new sound. Just barely audible over the popping ash and roaring flames, he hears his name.

If he wasn't already holding his breath, he would have started right then.

He doesn't dare give into new hope until he hears it again, with Donnie's name immediately following suit, and Mikey forsakes holding his breath to scream the names of his older brothers, his fear flooding out with his words. 

There's a crash, and a thud of wood, and then their names are more pronounced, and Mikey's heart soars because their brothers are getting closer.

"Mikey!" "Donnie!"

He thinks he sees a shadow and waves, abruptly recalling the brother on the floor. He scrambles to Donnie's side and leans over him, cupping the side of his face, not wanting to risk an action that could mess up his head more. "Donnie! Donnie, they're here, bro! D! Donnie! Hey, Leo's here!"

Donnie barely stirs, and then he's limp again, and Mikey hooks an arm around him, carefully sitting him upright. "They're here, Donnie! Stay with me, Leo's here!"

"Mikey?! Mikey!"

In a flurry of green motion, Leo's by his side, and he's desperately trying to hand their injured brother over, the tears that blur his vision slipping into his mask. "He has a concussion! He's bleeding! I don't- he said not to- trying to sleep and he can't sleep, he can't-"

"I know." Leo's calm and in control as he cuts him off, attention narrowed only on their incapacitated brother, carefully patting the side of his face. "Donnie? Donnie! It's Leo! Wake up! We're here! Come on, don't do this to me!"

Donnie stirs, and Mikey chokes down a sob as brown eyes flutter open. He doesn't appear all there, and he's clearly about to pass out at any minute, but he's awake. He's awake and their brothers are here.

"Eeo?" His voice is broken and faint, but their older brother relaxes as Donnie struggles to comprehend who he's seeing. "Hey. Hey, buddy. I'm here. I'm right here. Gonna get you out. Stay awake for me, okay?"

Donnie makes a weak noise that sounds like compliance, and Leo hollers Raph's full name. 

The following crash makes Mikey fear the warehouse had given into the fire, and Mikey turns as a cloud of ash and dust hit the air. Raph's suddenly right next to them, his determined glare burning just as bright and dangerous as the surrounding fire. 

Mikey wants to hug him, but Leo's shouting for Raph to take Donnie.

His older brother obeys, lifting his limp form off the floor without question, and Donnie whimpers when his left arm is jostled. 

Then Leo's taking Mikey's hand to pull him forward because Raph's already running out, and he's frozen to the spot.

They dash through the building and the thin path his brothers have made, and Mikey fights to hold his breath, ducking objects and dodging flames- he yelps as he steps into something warm and squishy, looking down to find the confusing but familiar view of sewage beneath his feet.

His older brother's grip tightens, and Leo finishes dragging him out, the city greeting them with a gentle breeze and granting him the best taste of city air that he's ever known.

He sucks in desperate gulps as Leo releases him to dash to Raph's side, glancing at the open sewage cannon and then back to the warehouse.

The force of the collision had knocked the metal doors inward, shoving some of the debris back to allow entrance. The heat turned the ball back into the goop from the sewers, and the flames seem to be trapped behind it, unable to give chase to their escaping prey. His eyes trail over the flames eating away at the walls and roof, trying to comprehend the fact that he was out of the building and free from their bite.

"Mikey!"

Mikey jumps as he snaps to reality, sirens in the distance as Leo hurriedly gestures for him to enter the ShellRaiser.

There is no hesitation as he obeys, and his eldest brother pulls the door shut, the clang blocking the building from view and muffling the sirens as Raph hits the gas. Donnie's curled against the wall, tears wetting his face as he clutches his skull, and Mikey rushes to his side to offer whatever comfort he can.

Leo starts to say something, but the tone is an urgent shout, and Mikey interrupts with a soft hiss for him to "Shut up!" because can't he see that Donnie's in pain?

Leo clamps his mouth shut in surprise, and Mikey wraps an arm around their trembling ball of a brother- if Mikey's talking was too loud, then this must have been torture- pulling him into a hug that he immediately leans into, tears slowing as Mikey quietly assures him that everything's going to be okay now.

Their brothers were there, and they'd found them, so why wouldn't it be?

He suddenly feels guilty for snapping at Leo and glances at their older brother as he kneels beside them, recognizing that he's switched from in-control leader to infinitely worried momma bear. His voice is soft when he speaks again, asking what happened and the extent of the damage on their brainy brother's head, and Donnie weakly pushes away from Mikey, facing Leo as though only now comprehending his existence.

Leo pauses expectantly, no doubt waiting for an answer, but their genius of a brother just lurches against him, one arm wrapping around Leo's shell as he buries his head in his neck with nothing more than an agonized whimper of his name.

There's a second of pure shock and confusion that causes the eldest to freeze, and Mikey can't help the small grin as he waits for him to return the hug. He does, slowly and awkwardly, and then turns his attention to Mikey because it's more than obvious that Donnie's not quite there. 

Mikey does his best to recount everything, avoiding his gaze as he reaches the explanation of his disobedience, but there's a tinge of pride when his calm voice doesn't break, emotions too jumbled in his gut to process past the repeating realization that they could have died.

He's only interrupted when Leo reminds Donnie not to fall asleep, but Mikey's not sure if he has to worry about that. Donnie would stay awake for weeks without coffee or naps if their eldest brother asked him to, but he's never sure that this is something Leo knows, so he doesn't comment on it.

Donnie is barely holding onto consciousness, and no amount of coaxing can get him to release Leo when they reach home.

Leo looks like he can't decide if he should be annoyed or comforted by this stubborn recognition, and he turns to Mikey. "I'm going to take him to the lab. I need you to get Splinter. He knows a thing or two more than me about head injuries."

Mikey nods and jumps to his feet, dashing out of the ShellRaiser and shoving through turnstiles like he has an entire Foot legion on his shell, and finds their father in meditation. While he's normally loathe to interrupt for fear of punishment, he doesn't hesitate to scream his father's name as he enters.

"Michelangelo." Splinter calmly opens his eyes like he's been waiting for that exact interruption all evening and gives Mikey a stern look, only for his expression to melt into worry. "What is it? What has happened?"

Mikey feels weirdly out of breath and fights to get the words out. "Mission! Kraang bomb! Warehouse blew up! Huge fire! Donnie's head's bleeding and he needs help!"

Their father is suddenly on his feet and next to Mikey, a supportive hand on his shoulder. "And yourself? Leonardo? Raphael? Are you all alright?"

"We're okay!" He reassures desperately. "Leo's with Donnie in the lab. He asked me to get you!"

"Thank you, my son."

Mikey blinks, and their father is gone, disappearing into thin air without the need for shadows and smoke bombs, and he can only stand there and breathe, unsure what to do with himself now that there's nothing that he can do anymore. 

He looks up at the tree and then over to the dojo entrance when he hears his name, practically melting with relief as he recognizes the worry that drenches the gruff tone.

Raph enters the room with purpose, and hardened emerald gaze falls on him and his trembling state. It hits Mikey that he can't take having him right there and not squeezing the life out of him anymore.

So he charges forward to chuck himself into a hug, and his older brother doesn't fight it, pulling him close as Mikey's stubborn tears return, reminding him of just how wonderful it was to have a big brother who would run into a raging fire to find him and offer such amazing hugs without a second thought.

"Donnie's hurt." He barely manages to choke out. "He's hurt so bad and I couldn't- you weren't- and the fire- searched and searched- but- so scared- thought we were goners-"

"You're okay now, Mike. You're both okay. Leo and Sensei'll take care of Donnie. Everything's gonna be fine."

Mikey can still hear the anger in his voice, but it's buried in a wonderful mixture of gentle and protective fury, like he's instructing the entire universe on how everything's supposed to turn out, no excuses, and somehow it's like the weight of the world that's been pressing down on his shoulders is gone.

Mikey opens his mouth to respond, but he bursts into a fit of coughs instead, and he feels his older brother release him as his panic rises. A tight grip on his arm keeps him upright, and Raph's saying something, but he's too busy trying to get air in to focus on his words.

When the fit dies, he wants to fall to the ground and curl up, but the grip's still got his arm, and now he's being pulled. He wipes the tears from his eyes with shaky hands as he's sat down on the couch in the main room. 

"Must've inhailed smoke." Raph growls as he stares him down for a minute. He abruptly stands before Mikey can speak and gives a firm command to stay put. Mikey nods and watches as he goes, peeking over his shoulder at the lab and the shut door. 

He's momentarily caught in the indecision of wanting and not wanting to know what was going on inside.

He can hear Raph grumbling under his breath when he returns, and his older brother sits next to him, thrusting a cup into his hands. "-shell-headed Kraang and their idiotic bombs and their stupid- can you drink?"

Mikey will never cease to wonder how Raph can make his general concern sound like a direct threat to his wellbeing. Mikey just nods and takes it, downing the water because it's never tasted so good in his life- and Raph rips the cup from his hand. 

He's gone and back in the time it takes Mikey to realize that he shouldn't have drank the water so fast, shoving the full cup back in his hands before staring at him as though trying to x-ray all potential injuries with his eyes.

It's silly that he even tries because they both know that only Sensei, Leo, and sometimes Donnie have that power, and he offers the scrutiny a smile. Fake. Weak.

"Thanks." His voice is croaky, and the sound makes his older brother narrow his eyes. "Drink."

Mikey obeys, and he takes slow, steady gulps this time, relishing the cool water against his ash-covered throat. He feels better, but his hands are still shaky, and he grabs Raph's arm when his older brother steals the cup and goes to get up again. Raph looks like he's about to argue, but Mikey shoots him a desperate look, and he obediently sits down again.

Mikey scoots closer to lean against his older brother, and Raph stiffens the way that he always does when Mikey wants affection, and he isn't sure how to give it to him. Mikey huffs fondly as he straightens and takes the empty cup from his hand, trading its spot on the floor for the remote. 

He walks back over and collapses on the couch again, snuggling back against his older brother and turning on the unfinished episode of Crognard that he's only seen about five times before this.

There's a fog along his brain, and it makes the episode hard to watch, but he already knows what happens, so he just lets the scenes flit by. He dwells in the shouts and battle cries and squeaky voices of an alive and safe background, allowing them to muffle the chaos and fear that is his every thought. 

Raph's arm eventually wraps around him to pull him close, and Mikey swears the fog deepens. 

There's definitely some merit to his comfort blanket analogy; he absently notes as his brain numbs with his body and his eyes fall shut. He allows his consciousness to slip out from under him and finally stops thinking for a bit. 

The dark is welcoming, and he dives in.