Hey, everyone! So this is just a one-shot, inspired by...well, I'll tell you later. I haven't forgotten my other story, just working out some kinks in the chapter I'm working on, but in the meantime thought this would be a good thing to help distract me so I can refocus...if that makes sense to you. Eh, doesn't have to, but I'm trying to be nice and let you know. Haha.

Anyway, the other story isn't forgotten, this is something I wrote for fun.

Please enjoy!

A turtle has to face his worst fear to save his brother. Can he do it?

"R-Raph…"

"H-hang on, Mike. I know. I know. I-it's gonna be okay." His voice is trembling in fear.

"You gotta get it, Raphie. It's going to kill me!" I'm scared too.

"I won't let it kill ya, bro." A sudden strength in determination, sinks again in fear and uncertainty. "I-I just don't know w-what to do."

"I d-don't know either. B-but I can't move, because if I do—"

"I-I know. Try ta keep calm, Mikey. I-If ya don't spook it, it shouldn't hurt ya. That's what Don always says."

"But he doesn't say what to do when one of them is actually on you!" I tried to keep calm, really I did, but we were flirting with death here. I don't even know how it got on me!

"It's okay," Raph speaks softly, trying to calm me. "Just wait there, hold still. It could move off ya if ya calm down enough."

"R-Raphie…" Tears are falling. I know it seems ridiculous to be this scared of such a small thing, but these guys are dangerous. We've always teased Raph on his fear of them, but we all knew the dangers. And one of the worst was on my arm, periodically making it's way closer to my face.

"Easy, Mikey. Easy. I know it's scary. But I'm not gonna let it hurt ya. We just can't spook it inta action either." He was watching it carefully. I knew it wasn't fair to him. He has to face his worst fear in order to help me. But Leo and Donnie are still at the Lair, and there's no one else. I can't move, or it could attack. He can't get too close, or the same thing. Any action either of us takes could kill me.

"Raph, I'm shaking so bad. My legs are wobbly. I-I think I need to sit down."

"Okay…okay. That's not a bad idea, Mike. But ya gotta move slowly and carefully. There's a ridge right next ta ya, right at the wall. Turn so yer back is at the wall and slowly sit down, okay?" I nod carefully and follow his directions. Suddenly, it moves, turning to face me directly, and I freeze. I'm in the chair position against the wall, legs screaming in pain, but I'm frozen in fear. All I can see is its eyes. Its creepy, angry eyes that seem to grow out of it's small head. I hold my breath, waiting for it to attack.

"Keep calm, Mikey," Raph sounds strained. He saw it move too. "It was jus' startled a bit from the movement. Try goin' a little slower."

"W-what if it attacks?" I whisper, too afraid to even whimper.

"If ya think it's gonna attack, stop movin', just like ya did. I'm thinkin' if yer sittin', it'll relax a bit more 'cuz you'll be relaxed more, and maybe even get offa ya on its own." I sink slower, watching the danger. Eventually, I feel the cold stone against my legs and shift so I am sitting a little more comfortably.

"Ani, I want it off," I cry. It's still watching me, and I can't look away. It looks angry, like it would bite me just to make me suffer. It hasn't moved since before, but I feel tension around me like a thick fog, and I knew it could feel it too. It was waiting. Waiting for the best moment to strike.

"I know, otouto."

"Please. It's n-not gonna leave. I-it's waiting to attack." I sense Raph looking around, desperate to help me. Suddenly, he moves away so I can't see him from the corner of my eye anymore.

"Ani? Ani, where did you go?" I sob, trying to keep my arm still. It's still looking at me! Then, Raph is back, slowly moving closer to my slightly shaking form, murmuring softly in an attempt to sooth me.

"Still here, otouto. I didn't leave ya, I promise. I just had an idea, but ya gotta keep calm fer me, okay?" His voice is much softer now than it ever was. I know he's doing his best and it makes me feel calmer. No matter what, my brothers never fail me. They always protect me.

"Okay, Mike. I'm gonna try my idea now, okay? I got this paper, an' I'm gonna try ta slide it under it so it can't bite ya. So I need ya ta keep real still fer me, okay?"

"O-okay, ani." His voice was shaking. He's afraid. I manage to tear my eyes from the intense gaze on my arm and pinned my brother with my own. "I trust you, ani. It's gonna be okay." He looks surprised but manages to nod and give me an uncertain but determined smile.

Slowly, he inches the slightly-yellowed paper towards the back of the menace. I knew it was a risk. He knew it was a risk. It could take the sudden movement behind it as a reason to bite or move closer to my face. But more likely, it could see it as a new threat and turn to face it. When the paper barely touched it's backside, it jerked around to face it's new threat. Finally free from its gaze, I felt relief that I could no longer see its eyes but was still frozen in fear.

Raph had paused when it moved, but slowly inched the paper closer again, trying to force the thin shield between it and my skin. It twitched but did not otherwise move. He pushed forward a little farther, pushing slightly harder. A couple legs were on the paper. He hesitated, unsure if pushing more would push it away or make it go on completely. Or maybe this was enough for what he needed? No. It's mandibles were still able to bite me. We all knew how fast they could be, especially this one.

We had first noticed it on my shell and when we tried to brush/smack it off it had run to my side and up my arm. Then I saw it for real, not just Raph's girly scream, and I froze. Despite growing up in the sewers, we knew the dangers on land. We had to, because of the dangers we chose to face, we had to know all kinds of threats. This one was a threat in numerous ways. Recognizable by the red hourglass on its back, I knew we were in dangerous waters. We were lucky it hadn't already bitten me.

"It's okay, bro," I whisper, watching sweat tack down the side of his head. I was calmer now than I had been since we first found the black widow. But I knew he was still panicking. He was literally facing his worst fear while trying to save me.

"It's okay. I trust you. You're my strong, brave big brother. My ani. You can do this." He looks at me gratefully and makes his decision. He pushes the paper once more, angling down, forcing the spider onto the paper. When it was on it fully, it started to run towards Raph, eager to face this new threat. Raph froze as he glanced into its eyes. He was afraid. I could see his mind go blank in shock. But I was already moving.

Grabbing his wrist with one hand and the corner of the paper with the other, I ripped our saving grace away from my brother and let go. I had pulled my brother away from the paper as I did so, and we looked around carefully. Spiders were dexterous creatures. We both knew it could be on one of us again. I could feel Raph trembling behind me. In truth, I was trembling as well. But we both breathed a collective sigh of relief as we noticed eight legs crawl from under the paper a few feet away from us and run with surprising speed to the wall this all began at.

"So," I breathe after a couple moments. "Are you ready to go home, Ani?" I felt him shudder. Neither of us could look away from where we had last seen the bright red disappear.

"Never been so ready fer it in my life," he eventually gasped out. His voice was heavy, exhausted. I understood. I was tired myself. We slowly walked out of the tunnel, heading for home.

"Hey Mikey?" he asked about a half hour later. We still had about ten minutes before we hit the Lair.

"Yeah, bro?" He took a deep breath, as if bracing himself.

"Thank you."

"…huh? What for?"

"What ya said back there, when I was panickin' with tha paper an' ya noticed an' ya said what ya said." He stopped and looked me straight in the eyes. He was scared, of course, but he was also incredibly relieved and looked at me with a level of pride and respect I wasn't used to receiving.

"When ya said ya trusted me. That I'd be okay, that you'd be okay because ya trusted I could do it. That…that really meant a lot to me, otouto. Thank you." I felt a grateful and gentle smile lift my features, much softer than the ones I usually put on.

"No, ani. Thank you for saving my life. You might not feel like it, but you were really collected back there. I would have lost it and probably been bitten if it weren't for you. And you know we were too far away for me to have received help before it killed me. You kept me sane because you kept calm."

"I didn't feel calm," he admitted. "I felt like I was gonna have a heart attack. Every time I looked at it I wanted ta run away. And then it looked at me an' I wanted to die. I felt my breath stop and my whole boy froze."

"I know." I put my hand on his shoulder, letting my strength and confidence flow into him. "I know, ani. But you worked through it. You fought your fear. For me. To save my life. And that—and you gotta listen here because this is important—that speaks volumes about the courage and strength you hold inside you."

"Really?" His eyes still held that fear, but I could see it falling away to the hope growing within. We all knew he hated his fear of things that were often smaller than his pinky. But today he really proved to me he could fight through it. We had all known, but he continues to show us how much he can with every instance we come across them. Whether mutated or naturally deadly.

"Really. If you're fear for them is worse than how I felt earlier, and we both know it is, you have the most courage and bravery out of all of us." I wink at him. "Sometimes, it's good to have a little fear."

"It don't feel good," he grumbled as we continued on our way.

"No," I laugh. "Of course it doesn't. But it gives us something to overcome. It isn't always a good thing to be fearless." At that, he started to slow down again, and I paused to see what was wrong.

"Not good ta be Fearless, huh?" I grinned as I sensed what route his mind was taking and waited. "Hey, Mikey…"

"Yeah?"

"How could we turn this on Leo?" I cackled as he finally said what I knew he was thinking.

"Well, I've got a few ideas," I chortle. "One of which requires paper maché." Smirks adorned their faces as they considered the possibilities.

What did you think? Please give me some feedback. Anything you would change? Anything you would add? Likes/Dislikes. The norm.

So, this story was inspired by my own personal fear. Normally, I'm pretty okay with spiders. Freeze a little, avoid them, but it doesn't disrupt too much. Well, one day, I was in the bathroom, and this spider just appeared out of nowhere. I was fine at first, but when I moved to get out, it just turned and looked at me. Like right at me. I was stuck. I could barely breathe. I don't even remember why or how it left me alone, but all I could see was it's eyes. They creeped me out. And after I calmed down, I turned to my favorite characters to find some comfort, and thought led to thought, and thus this story was born. Ta-da! I can always count on the turtles to calm my fears. This time, it was Mikey with words of wisdom (probably because of my focus on my other story), but all four of them help.

Anyway, there's that ramble. I hope you liked the story!

Thank you for reading!