Trans-Dimensional Encounter (a Cold Fire Rising story)

I don't own TMNT (if I did Mikey and Leo would be mine forever) The CFR turtles belong to BrightLotusMoon who's been kind enough to let me use her idea for my version of the 2003 turtles meeting their younger 2012 counterparts. I hope you enjoy it. Also if you're not familiar with the Cold-Fire Rising story I suggest you read it first. Also forgive me if '03 Raph sounds off, it's tough to write a Brooklyn accent. And Mikey's cat Klunk is a female in my story.


It was dark. He had no idea where he was or where everyone else was. It looked like the sewers yet at the same time it wasn't, everything looked so different.

He was also running, as fast as he could down the tunnels. He didn't know where he was going or what he was running from but he just kept going.

Then he heard the sounds of a battle echoing in the tunnel, growing louder and louder the further he ran. When he finally reached the end of the tunnel he found himself standing in a wide-open chasm overlooking a giant hole that was covered in a thick white mist.

'What is this place? Where the shell am I?'

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Came a painful scream from below.

He sprinted towards the cliffs edge, his eyes landed on a pillar about twenty feet below and spotted what could only be described as a monstrous version of the Shredder standing over the fallen form a humanoid rat, Splinter. But it wasn't his beloved father and yet he knew he was Master Splinter.

The hulking monstrous mutant that loomed over him looked around 8 foot tall wearing a tattered purple cloak and black shorts with gnarly looking blades protruding from it's back, shoulders, arms, legs, hands and even it's feet. The Shredders helmet and face mask looked as though it had been fused onto the creature's face and skull.

"What the shell..."

Splinter then threw kunai towards the wall behind the monstrous Shredder. When the blade made contact there was a small explosion causing the pillar to crumble before it collapsed. The Shredder mutant turned to leap away from the crumbling pillar but was grabbed from behind by Splinter.

"SAKI! WE DIE TOGETHER!" He bellowed as he and the monstrous mutant Shredder disappeared into the mist surrounding the pillars.

"SENSEI!"

'''''

Mikey jolted upright in his bed gasping, his hand flew to his plastron over his heart, his face wet with sweat. His eyes quickly scanned around the room until he realized that he was still in his bedroom in the lair. Klunk, who'd been sleeping on his chest before being woken up by her turtle master's frightened mumbling, looked up at her caring owner worriedly.

He released the breath he'd been holding as he fell back onto his bed, limp with relief, "It was just a dream. Just a dream." He assured himself, taking long deep breaths to calm his agitated nerves.

He lifted a hand to his face, wiping the sweat off his skin. Throughout his life he'd had more than his share of nightmares and bad dreams. Dreams of the Boogeyman, monsters, things that go bump in the night… the usual stuff that gives kids nightmares. As he got older his dreams took a more serious turn. About battles fought but with twisted altered endings, the feeling of being inches away from death, watching his family and friends die before his eyes, or the return of their most hated and deadly enemies. But lately his dreams had taken a different turn, they featured battles that he didn't remember fighting, adventures that he couldn't recall ever having, and people (good and bad) that he didn't remember meeting.

He glanced over at his alarm clock on his bedside desk, it read two thirty-six in the morning, which meant that everyone was still asleep. He knew that there was no way that he was gonna fall back to sleep, not with the dream still fresh in his mind. He didn't think he could risk the chance of closing his eyes without seeing the piercing green eyes of the monster in his dream.

"Oh man." He mumbled, "Mmph, these nightmares are killing me. How's a turtle supposed to get his beauty sleep if I can't even get a good nights sleep?"

A small weight sat on his plastron followed by a soft 'mew'. Lifting his head off his pillow he found his beloved pet cat gazing at him, her big golden eyes staring into his clear blue eyes.

"Hey Klunk." He smiled, reaching up to gently scratch the little orange cat's head, "I'm sorry that I woke you up baby girl."

Klunk meowed softly again, purring at the loving affection that the sea green turtle was giving her while offering her own form of comfort to him, as though she were saying 'it's alright' to her master.

Mikey smiled gratefully at his sweet pet, her warm gentle nudges and soft purring always helped him feel better whenever he was feeling down. He didn't know why but he always found the sounds of a purring kitten/cat very comforting.

After a while of lying in his bed trying to make sense of his dream, Mikey pushed the covers off and got up. He walked out of his room and made his way to the kitchen with Klunk following close behind him. His mind was so preoccupied with the images of his recent nightmare that he didn't notice that someone else was awake in the kitchen as well.

"Mikey?"

"Leo? What're you doing awake?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I came down to get a drink of water." He explained, "Why are you awake?"

"Same as you dude." Mikey replied.

The two just stood there in silence, neither one knowing what to say.

Leo knew right away that something was bothering his youngest brother. He'd seen that distressed look on his brother's face many times from when they were tots and while they were growing up. It told him that his little brother had just woken up from a nightmare and he had a feeling that this one was a bad one, a really bad one.

He approached his brother, placing a gentle hand on Mikey's shoulder, "Did you have another nightmare Mikey?" He asked worriedly.

Mikey wanted to say 'no' and say that he was fine, but he knew better then to lie to Leo. For one he couldn't tell a lie to save his life and second, much like Master Splinter, his big brother could tell when someone was lying and when something's wrong. It was one of the reasons why he was called 'Splinter Jr.', well... mostly by Raph.

"Yeah." He said quietly.

"Same as the ones before?"

"Well um… yes and no."

Without another word Leo led him over to the kitchen table and sat him down in one of the chairs. He went over to the fridge and pulled out a bottled water, Mikey had asked him if he could also get a saucer of milk for Klunk. He smiled and complied with his baby brother's request.

Mikey accepted the small shallow dish of milk then gave it to his furry daughter on the ground. Normally he'd let Klunk eat with him at the table but only when it's just him and his beloved pet, but since Leo was here he didn't want his brother to make a big fuss about it. He took the water bottle from his brother and took a long drink from the bottle. Once his thirst was quenched the nunchuck master let out a satisfied sigh.

"Thanks bro, I needed that."

Leo smiled, "No problem little brother." His smile was soon replaced with concern, "Ya know, you've been having a lot of nightmares lately Mikey. It's really starting to worry me."

Mikey lowered his eyes away from his brother's, "Yeah I know."

It was true, ever since they met their goofy, and annoying, trans-dimensional counterparts then later faced the Utrom Shredder in a final epic battle, he'd been having nightmares more often than usual.

The dreams were effecting him so much that his family noticed a change in his behavior right away and grew concerned. It was only when confronted by his whole family that he finally told them about the nightmares that he'd been having. Everyone tried to reassure the orange clad ninja, in their own way, that they were just dreams and nothing more.

Master Splinter had suggested meditation sessions with him after practice, much to his displeasure, and talking to him or his brothers about his dreams. Which did help some but the dreams still came.

"What was your nightmare about this time Mikey?"

Mikey didn't say anything at first but eventually he began to tell his eldest brother everything about his recent nightmare. It was until he reached the last part of his dream that he paused. Mentioning the Shredder always made them on edge, especially Leo, but he knew that the blue clad turtle would just continue to hound him till he got everything from him. So he told Leo about the Shredder in his dream and the battle between him with Splinter before he woke up.

Leo's eyes widened in shock and horror. The thought of their beloved master/father facing the Shredder alone was a terrifying thought. But the Shredder was gone, his own weapon had completely vaporized him, they'd all seen it happen while they'd been in the Prime dimension. And the way Mikey described the Shredder in his dream sounded nothing like any of the Shredders that they've defeated in the past, not even his mutant clones fit the description.

The leaf green ninja scooted closer to his brother and put his arm around the younger turtle's shoulder, "Mikey listen to me, it was just a dream. That's all it was, just a really bad dream." Leo soothed, "The Shredder's gone for good this time, he'll never be able to hurt anyone ever again." He assured, trying to ease his baby brother's fears, as well as some of his own.

Even Klunk offered her own style of comfort to her weary master.

"But he's come back before, more than once." Mikey argued, "Every time we think that the Shredder's gone for good he comes back stronger than before with a thirst for vengeance." He shuddered thinking back to all the times the Shredder came back, the resurrection of the Demon-Shredder had been the creepiest by far, "Who's to say that he won't show up again."

"He can't." Leo said firmly, then his tone softened, "Donnie said that the laser that he created with his own advanced Utrom technology in the Technodrome was designed to breakdown and destroy the molecular structure of anything it touched, both organic and nonorganic matter, within seconds. So when the laser struck the Shredder dead center, it literally destroyed everything that was the Shredder. Leaving nothing but a bad memory." He smiled at the small joke while also feeling proud of himself for remembering what Donnie had told him.

Mikey couldn't help but smile at his Leo's small jester of humor and he started to feel better by his assurance.

"So... he can never come back?"

"That's right."

"He's really gone this time."

Leo nodded, "The Shredder's gone Mikey. He's dead and gone forever."

Only the soft sounds of Klunk's soft purring could be heard in the quiet kitchen. Finally Mikey smiled gratefully at his big brother and hugged him.

"Thanks Leo."

"Anytime Mikey." Leo smiled as he hugged his brother back, then he reached up and gave his baby brother an affectionate rub on the head. Something he hadn't done since they were tots. He wondered why he stopped doing it? He glanced up at the clock, it read three twenty. He turned back to his brother when he heard a tired yawn escape from his lips which triggered a yawn to come from him, "I think we both should head back to bed and try to get some sleep before practice. We don't wanna be too tired for practice later on."

Mikey snickered, "You mean like that time we first met Nobody and stayed out all night to help him take down that Ruffington guy while fighting Touch and Go?"

Leo chuckled, "Yeah and while we were doing that, Raph and Don stayed up all night playing video games. Never realizing that they stayed up all night like we did, until Master Splinter woke up and made us resume practice." Both turtles shared a good laugh. Leo felt relieved, it was good to see his baby brother acting like himself again, "C'mon Mikey, let's go back to bed."

Mikey nodded, throwing his empty water bottle into the trash while putting the empty saucer dish in the sink, then he and Leo headed back to their own rooms for some much needed sleep.

Leo lingered behind a bit to make sure that Mikey actually went back to his bed. When he heard the familiar sounds of sleep coming from the sea green turtle's room a small smile came to his lips.

"Sleep well little brother."

"Mew."

Leo looked down, finding Klunk looking up at him. The small ginger cat brushed her head and body against his leg. Leo knelt down and gently stroked the cat's head, earning him a loud purr from the small feline.

"You're worried about him too aren't you Klunk?" He asked the small cat, "Yeah, we all are. I wish that there was more that I could do but I don't know what else to do. Best thing we can do is be there when he needs us and help him in anyway that we can." He said.

Leo didn't really know why he was talking to Klunk when he knew that she couldn't talk, yet he found it... strangely comforting talking to someone. Even if that someone happened to be a pet cat. And it helped ease the tension that he was feeling.

Klunk gave the worried forest green turtle one last gentle nudge before entering her master's room.

Leo watched as the little cat leapt up onto his brother's bed then curled up against Mikey's body with a smile. Sometimes he wondered if Mikey's cat was more than just an ordinary street cat. She seemed to understand everything he said and, like him and his brothers, she was very protective of Mikey. But he'd worry about that later, right now... he needed some sleep.

He yawned as he headed towards his own room, once his head made contact with his pillow he was off to dreamland.

,,,,,,

"Michelangelo I would like to speak with you for a minute." Splinter said then turned to the others, "The rest of you prepare for training."

Leo, Raph, and Donnie looked at each other then made their way to the dojo leaving Master Splinter and Mikey alone in the kitchen.

"My son for today I want you to focus on meditation to clear your mind until I believe that you can join us for physical training."

"But sensei I'm fine. Really I'm fine." Mikey said, putting on his best smile, hoping that his father would believe him.

But the old ninja master wasn't convinced.

"My son you are not 'fine'." Splinter said firmly, "These nightmares that you've been having have been causing you great distress that is affecting not only your mind, but both your body and spirit." He told his son.

Leonardo had told him of Mikey's latest nightmare when he'd talked to him the other day about Mikey's dreams and needless to say it bothered the old ninja master greatly and his concern for his youngest son grew stronger.

"I want you to focus on clearing your mind and reconnecting with your spirit, only then can you bring a sense of peace to your mind and body. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sensei."

Mikey felt disappointed and a tiny bit frustrated, he was really hoping to release some pent up energy with some sparring, also he was getting sick of meditation. He needed to let off some tension with some physical exercises but he knew that he couldn't argue with his father when he made his mind up about something.

The elderly ninja master could easily sense Mikey's disappointed frustration in his voice as well as a change in his aura. It immediately reminded him of the one on one private lessons he'd had with Raphael about controlling his anger, and the incident with Leonardo before he went to train with the Ancient One in Japan.

He placed a gentle hand on his sons arm, "My son, please do not feel discouraged. I am only concerned about you, as are your brothers."

"I understand that Sensei but..." He looked away from his father with a frown.

"But what my son?"

"I mean I understand that the meditations are to help clear my mind and find balance and all that but no matter how many times I meditate I keep having nightmares and they're getting worse."

A ceramic mug on the table that Donnie had been using for his morning coffee started to rattle a bit.

"My son..."

"I've done everything that you, Donnie and April have told me to do! I've done extra meditation, I've talked to you and my bros about my dreams, I've done stress-relieving Tai-Chi exercises, I've drank soothing teas, hell I even tried origami and knitting just to see if that would work but the nightmares still come! I haven't had a decent nights sleep since these nightmares started. It's to the point where I don't even want to go to sleep! It's driving me crazy! I'm tired! I'm cranky! I've got a lot of pent up frustration that I need to vent but I can't cause I'm stuck doing stupid meditation and it's pissing me off!" Mikey snapped.

A loud 'crack' came from the table behind the Ninja master and the frustrated turtle.

"I just... I... " Mikey took a few breaths to calm himself down before turning to his father after realizing what he'd just said and done, his face became horrified and regretful. "I'm sorry Sensei, I didn't mean to get upset and snap at you. It's just... I..."

Splinter silenced his son by placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You have nothing to apologize for Michelangelo, I understand." He said gently, "I myself have had horrible nightmares and found that not even my usual meditation alone could ease the fears that they brought with them. I once told Miss O'Neal that even meditation has it's limits," He said with a smile which in turn made the sea green turtle smile as well, "Then I remembered something the Ancient One once told my Master Yoshi. He said 'Posses the right thinking, only then can one receive the gifts of strength, knowledge, and peace' Those words have helped me overcome the fears and push the nightmares away." Splinter gently lifted Mikey's chin which made the orange clad turtle meet his gaze, "I do not know why you're having such nightmares my son but know that you are not alone and that I and your brothers are here for you." He gently wiped his youngest son's tears away.

Mikey sniffed, "I just want the nightmares to stop sensei."

"I know you do my son. If I could I would take your nightmares away, but even that is something I cannot do." He said, "I know it's difficult but please be patient, know that we are here for you and that we will help you in every way we can."

After a pause of silence Mikey gave his father an understanding smile and nodded, "Thanks Papa."

Splinter smiled fondly at his youngest son, then wrapped his arms around him in a warm comforting hug. It always warmed his heart whenever his sons called him 'father' or 'dad', or in Mikey's case 'Papa'.

Both father and son stayed in the kitchen for a bit longer before Splinter turned towards the entrance, "Come let us make our way to the dojo. Which is where you three should be." He called out.

Mikey looked towards the doorway and found his three older brothers outside the kitchen, all looking embarrassed for getting caught by their father.

"How long have you dudes been there?"

"The whole time." Donnie answered.

Before Mikey could say anything more Splinter announced that it was time for training, though Leo, Raph, and Donnie were given 20 flips for not doing as they were told.

Practice began with some basic warm up kata exercises, which Splinter allowed Mikey to participate in as long as he didn't overexert himself. When warm ups were over Splinter instructed Leo, Raph, and Donnie to engage in a two on one sparring match while Mikey continued with meditation.

While the family continued with training, the ceramic mug on the kitchen table had a long hairline crack that ran from the rim to the base.

,,,,,,,

Later that day Leo, Raph, and Donnie were gathered around Donnie's desk in his lab.

"Guy's I'm worried about Mikey."

"So are we Leo."

"I can't believe he's still hav'in nightmares. I thought that the meditation sessions with Masta Splinter and him talking to us bout his dreams were supposed to make him have less nightmares, not more." Raph grumbled.

"Meditation doesn't make the nightmares go away Raph, they're to help you clear your mind and help you understand what it is that's making you have nightmares. Among other things as well."

"I know that Leo. I don't need a lecture on meditation."

"C'mon guys don't start bickering now." Donnie spoke.

"We're not bickering." The two older turtles quipped.

"If you say so." Donnie says humorously, but soon the small smile on the genius turtles face went as quickly as it came. He was worried about his only little brother, they all were, what happened this morning in the kitchen was just... unreal. Mikey had never acted like that before, not once. Not even when they we tots and growing up, "Still... I can't believe that he dreamt of... Master Splinter... fighting the Shredder... alone."

"And why can't you believe it Donnie?" Asked Leo, "We've all had nightmares of the Shredder from time to time. Even Master Splinter."

"Yeah but the Shredder's gone for good this time. That slime ball was vaporized by his own weapon in the Prime world. We all saw it with our own eyes."

"We know that Raph and Mikey knows it too, but with everything that we've been through the last few years and almost getting erased from existence, it's hard not to be skeptical of anything." Leo replied.

"He's got a point Raph." Donnie agreed.

Raph grunted, "So what do we do? Obviously the meditation ain't work'n. Mikey's little temper tantrum this morning shows that it ain't."

"We will continue to help Michelangelo."

Leo, Raph, and Donnie turned to find the master/father standing by the labs entrance.

"Sensei... how much of that did you hear?"

"I heard everything. I maybe getting on in age but my hearing is still accurate." He said with a grin, making the three older turtles look away in embarrassment.

"Sensei where's Mikey?"

"He is taking a shower." Soon the grin vanished from his face, "My sons I also share your concerns for Michelangelo, for I too have noticed a change in his aura and behavior as well."

It's true while Mikey still acted like his usual happy joking self there wasn't as much enthusiasm as there usually had been. He spent more time in the dojo meditating with either Leo or Splinter or talking about his dreams. They also noticed that he hardly played video games, skateboarded, or even played pranks on any them (mainly Raph). He was also quiet, which was completely unlike him at all, and he looked exhausted.

Even his appetite changed. The other night they had ordered take out from their favorite Chinese restaurant which served real authentic Chinese food and all through the meal they noticed that instead of scarfing down his food like he was known to do, Mikey would just nibble or push the food around on his plate.

When Donnie asked what was wrong the sea green turtle just smiled while assuring him that nothing was wrong and that he just wasn't feeling hungry, which made everyone at the table pause in shock. Raph then told the young turtle to stop 'kidd'n around', that he was 'always' hungry because he had a bottomless pit for a stomach. But the orange masked turtle just said that he wasn't kidding and that he really wasn't hungry. This had sparked major concern in everyone at the table, Donnie went into doctor mode checking his forehead, asking him 'standard health' questions, even checking his pulse on his wrist. Leo went into Mother-hen mode and Raph went into concerned Big-Brother mode. Finally Mikey told them that he wasn't sick, didn't hit his head, and wasn't upset over anything, he just didn't have an appetite and that's it. Then he pushed his plate away, got up and left the kitchen, leaving his family completely dumbfounded.

That's when they all knew that something was definitely wrong. It wasn't like Mikey to not finish a meal, hell it wasn't like him to say that he wasn't hungry. It just wasn't... normal.

"Donnie, have you found anything that could explain what's causing Mikey to have these nightmares?" Asked Leo.

"Actually I have." Donnie opened the top right drawer of his desk and pulled out some papers, "These are some documents that April gave me after Leatherhead started living with us after we escaped from Bishop when we first met him, after that night when he... hurt Mikey." He said quietly, though they all knew that Leatherhead didn't mean to hurt Mikey, it was still a horrible experience for all of them. Donnie cleared his throat, "It explains a condition known as 'Nightmare Disorder' or 'Dream Anxiety Disorder', the name pretty much speaks for itself."

"What does Leatherhead nearly clobber'n Mikey have to do with this?" Ralph asked, earning a disapproving glare from his brothers and Splinter.

"Nightmare Disorder is a sleeping disorder that's caused by great stress or a traumatic experience." Donnie explained looking at the printed documents, "It also says 'During a nightmare, the sleeper may scream and yell out things. The victim is often awakened by these threatening, frightening dreams and can often vividly remember their experience. Upon awakening, the sleeper is unusually alert and oriented within their surroundings, but may have an increased heart rate and symptoms of anxiety, like sweating. They may have trouble falling back to sleep for fear they will experience another nightmare.' Other symptoms include an inability to perform or complete everyday tasks, loss of appetite, and exhaustion from lack of sleep." He looked up at his family.

"Leatherhead was suffering from horrible nightmares caused from his captivity with Bishop." Leo concluded, Donnie nodded.

"Mikey's always had nightmares eva since we was kids." Raph pointed out, "Usually about monsters under the bed or see'n ghost in tha middle of tha night." He would know about Mikey's dreams from when they were tots because every time the youngest turtle had a bad dream, he'd always come straight to him for comfort and reassurance and even after all these years it still hasn't changed.

"That maybe so but Michelangelo has always been the most sensitive of all of you when it comes to nightmares." Splinter pointed out, "Clearly the events of our final battle with the Shredder has greatly disturbed him."

"So what do we do?"

"We will continue to help Michelangelo the best that we can." Splinter said, "It may also be wise to ask for Miss O'Neal's assistants. Perhaps she can help Michelangelo in some way."

The three turtles nodded at that plan, not really knowing what else to say or do. Donnie reached for his shell-cell to call April while the others left the lab. Leo and Raph entered the living room where they spotted Mikey on the couch playing a racing game with beloved cat Klunk in his lap.

Raph turned to Leo and gestured him to follow him over to the couch, "Hey Mikey, ya feel'n betta now that you're all nice and clean, cause ya sure smell betta."

Mikey snorted softly and grinned, "Hey at least I don't smell like sweat and diesel."

"Hey." Raph chuckled lightly, gently hitting Mikey's shoulder while Leo held back a snicker. It was good to hear their baby brother making jokes again. They watched as he played and won the race, then Raph asked, "Hey Mikey, ya mind if I play next game with chu?"

Mikey turned to his red banded brother, "Really?" Raph nodded then he smiled, "No I don't mind bro." He turned to Leo, "You wanna join us Leo?"

"Sure why not."

Raph went over to the TV to grab the extra controllers. It wasn't long before Donnie came into the living room as everyone was choosing their characters and joined them in a four way race. Soon the lair was filled with laughter and cheer as the four brothers played their game. Sounds that had been missed for a while.

Master Splinter watched his sons from his room with a warm smile. Hopefully this will help his youngest son overcome the distress caused by these dreams he'd been having. Not wanting to disturb his sons from their game he shut the door to his room and began his meditation.

,,,,,,

A week had passed and things seemed to have settled down in the turtles lair, but not completely.

Mikey sat on the couch in the living room with his sketch book in his hands working on a new drawing. Klunk sat on one of the armrests of the couch watching her master work on his sketch. He set his sketch pad down on the table, reached for his mini pencil sharpener to sharpen his pencil then went back to the sketch that he was working on. After about twenty minutes he finished his new sketch. Not one of his best work but then again it wasn't supposed to be pretty, it was a drawing of his most recent nightmare.

Last time he'd talked to April she'd told him that some people who suffer from nightmares often draw pictures of their dreams to help ease their anxiety and stress of the dreams. Hoping that it would help, she gave him a new sketch book marked 'Dream book' and a new set of drawing pencils.

He was surprised to find that it actually did help a lot, even though the dreams still came.

While he'd been working on his sketch the rest of his family were doing their own thing. Splinter and Leo were in the dojo practicing or meditating like they always do, Raph was working on his bike in the garage, and Donnie was in his lab working on a project. All in all the lair was quiet, a little too quiet.

Needing a distraction from the uncomfortable silence in the room he set his sketch book on the coffee table and flipped the TV on. After a few minutes of channel searching he settled on the Food Network channel, where his favorite show 'Cutthroat Kitchen' was now playing. He loved watching competitive cooking shows.

While his eyes were glued to the TV screen, his mind began to drift. Mainly about these dreams that he'd been having and why was he the only one having them. He didn't know and neither did his family.

About halfway through the episode his eyes started to droop as sleep began to claim him. He tried to stay awake but in the end exhaustion had won and he fell asleep on the couch.

,,,,,,

Inside his lab Donatello sat at his desk working on his latest project. Flashes of light illuminated his work space every now and then, when he finished he fanned the little wisps of smoke away from his face before grabbing another tool to finish his task.

Donnie sighed as he craned his neck to the left then to the right making it pop loudly, "Okay, one last wire and that should do it." Donnie said, soldering iron tool in hand. He touched the end pieces then connected the last wire into place. He pushed up his magnifying goggles to examine his work, "There, finished." He said proudly.

It always filled the genius turtle with pride and a great sense of accomplishment whenever he finished a project, big or small. He waited a few minutes before putting the covering back in place over the now cooled wires and smiled at a job well done.

He'd been working on this project in secret for quite a while now, making sure that no one saw what he was working on until it was done and ready. Thankfully he was able to finish it even with the chaos that's been going on lately.

Donnie reached for his new coffee mug, the one that he'd used for years had somehow broke, only to find it near empty and that his beverage was cold, "Time for a warm up."

He covered his newly finished project with an old rag towel before walking out of his lab to the kitchen. On his way he spotted his only little brother sleeping on the couch in front of the television. He smiled fondly at how peaceful Mikey looked as he slept and his smile grew wider when he saw Klunk asleep in his lap. It was a really cute sight.

'At least he's resting now. That's a good sign.'

Not wanting to disturb his baby brother from his nap he continued his way to the kitchen.

,,,,,,

He didn't know what was going on. One minute he was lying on the couch in the living room watching his favorite show 'Cutthroat Kitchen' with Klunk right beside him, now he was outside. He looked around his surroundings, it was night, dark storm clouds blanketed the entire sky, thunder rumbling throughout the city, rain was pouring from above, but what was he doing out in a rain storm?

Could he have fallen asleep on the couch and now he was dreaming again?

His eyes turned to a tall tower on the building he was standing on, it had 'Channel 6' in big bold letters on it.

'Oh c'mon, seriously?!'

Then his eyes caught sight of a figure being held in mid air beside the tower. Even from where he stood he could see the familiar bo staff strapped to the back of a large turtle shell and a young teenaged girl dressed in black with loose shoulder-length red hair.

'Donnie!?'

He didn't have time to worry about that as he heard voices, one male and one female, speaking but they weren't voices that he recognized. He heard April's name being said but the young girl looked nothing like the April that he knew. She looked younger and she was surrounded by a misty blue aura that felt... wrong, wrong and corrupted, and it came from... her necklace.

Then 'April' held her hand out in front of her towards Donnie, her eyes narrowed coldly. She then closed her hand into a fist. A light surrounded the genius turtles body then in a blink of an eye there was a loud 'Pwoosh' and a burst of shimmering light, but there was no sign of Donatello. His brother had been vaporized right before his very eyes.

'DOOOOONNIEEEEEEE!'

"Mikey! Wake up! Wake up Mikey!"

,,,,,,

Leo entered the living room to check on his youngest brother, he found him sleeping on the couch. He smiled at the sight of his little brother slumbering peacefully on the couch, his little cat Klunk curled up in his lap asleep as well. But his smile soon vanished immediately when Mikey showed signs that he was having a nightmare again. When Mikey began yelling in his sleep the forest green turtle quickly rushed to his baby brother's side.

"Mikey! Mikey, wake up!" He yelled over Mikey's screaming while shaking his shoulders to wake him up, but the young turtle didn't open his eyes, "Wake up! Wake up Mikey!"

"Donnie!" Mikey screamed jolting up on the couch which startled Klunk and almost threw the eldest turtle off his feet. Mikey nearly jumped out of his shell when he felt gentle hands grasp his arm and shoulder, "Ahhh!"

"Easy Mikey, It's just me." Leo soothed.

"Leo..."

"Yeah, it's me. You were having another nightmare."

Mikey let out a slow sigh while taking a few deep breaths but that didn't help calm his frantic nerves. That dream... scratch that, that nightmare... had been one of the worst nightmares he'd ever had so far. Reaching behind him, he grabbed a pillow and clutched it to his chest while rocking himself slightly. Much like how a frightened child would hug a stuffed toy for comfort.

Leo's 'big-brother' instincts kicked in as he gently pulled Mikey into a comforting embrace while cooing gently to him. Mikey's head rested on Leo's plastron, just over his heart. The sound of his big brother's strong heartbeat helped calm and soothe his agitated nerves.

"It's alright Mikey. I've gotcha little brother. Whatever you saw, whatever happened in your dream didn't happen. It wasn't real, okay? It wasn't real." Leo soothed while gently rubbing his brother's shell.

"It... wasn't real..." Mikey repeated softly.

"That's right. It wasn't real."

Mikey took a couple breaths, quietly chanting what his big brother was telling him while calming down a little.

"What's wrong? We heard screaming."

Both Leo and Mikey looked up and saw that the rest of their family were in the living room with them looking very concerned, however Mikey's eyes were locked onto his purple masked brother.

"Donnie!" He shot out of Leo's arms and barreled into a dumbfounded Donnie's arms, "You're alright! And you're alive!"

The genius turtle, and everyone else, could only blink, "Uhh... yeah I'm alive Mikey." He said as he rubbed his baby brother's shell.

Master Splinter turned to his eldest son, "What happened Leonardo?"

"I don't know, I went to check on him and found him sleeping on the couch with the tv on, then he started muttering in his sleep. I realized that he was having another nightmare and then he woke up screaming Donnie's name. I think it's safe to assume that he had a nightmare about Donnie."

"That would explain why tha knucklehead's clutch'n ta Donnie like a life line." Raph pointed out.

Splinter nodded before stepping towards his younger sons, his focus was on his youngest, he gently laid a paw on his sea green sons shell, "Michelangelo? My son, look at me." He said gently.

Mikey lifted his head from Donnie's shoulder but just enough for the rat master to see his eyes, which were wet with tears. A sight the old rat never wanted to see on any of his children.

"My son, is what Leonardo said true?"

Mikey sniffed and nodded.

"Mikey," Donnie spoke gently, "Whatever you saw in your dream it wasn't real. Whatever you saw happen to me didn't happen because look," He gently pushed his little brother back a bit so that he could look at him, "I'm okay. I'm here, safe and sound. You're safe. We're all safe." He assured.

Mikey took in everything that was his genius brother. His reassuring smile, his warm brown eyes gazing into his clear blue ones, his strong gentle hands rubbing soothing circles on his shell. He finally smiled.

"You're okay."

Donnie nodded and hugged his only little brother.

It took a while before the family was able to fully calm down the youngest turtle from the horrible vision he just had. With reassurance from his family that the vision wasn't real, a little calming breathing technique, and some calming tea that Splinter made him drink, they were able to calm Mikey down enough to where he wasn't completely latched onto Donnie like a second growth. Though the sea green turtle refused to let the genius turtle out of his sight even for a second.

"My son, can you tell us what happened in your dream that made you so upset?"

Mikey glanced down at the half-empty cup of tea in his hands not wanting to answer his father's question. Not if it meant reliving that horrible image again.

"C'mon Mikey," Leo encouraged, "Don't keep whatever's scaring you bottled up inside. It'll only hurt you more. Remember what happened with me?"

Mikey couldn't help but cringe. Yeah he remembered, they all did, and they never want to relive that ever again. But Leo was right, he couldn't keep it in any longer. He hesitantly began to explain the details of his recent dream. Needless to say when he finished Donnie, Raph, Leo, and Splinter were horrified by what they'd just heard.

"Mikey it was just a dream. You know that April would never do that." Donnie assured.

"Thas right." Raph nodded, "I mean April may be scary when she's mad, hell most women are, but she'd neva do a thing like that."

Mikey turned to his red clad brother, "Oh yeah? What about when Casey gave her that cursed engagement ring and she turned into an evil she-demon?"

Splinter was taken aback by that, he turned to Leo and Donnie with a look that said 'Would anyone care to explain?'

"That's different ya Knucklehead."

"How the shell is that different from what happened in my dream?! Besides it being a necklace that April was wearing and not a ring?"

"Because April didn't vaporize Donnie, or anybody for that matter!" Raph yelled.

"Raphael, that's enough!" Splinter interjected before putting an arm around Mikey, "My son, listen to me. These visions that you are seeing are not real. They are merely false images designed to confuse and frighten you. You know that April would never hurt you or your brothers or any of the people she loves."

Mikey groaned, "I know that sensei but I can't help it." He rubbed one hand over his tired face, "I know that they're just dreams and that they're not real but at the same time they are real, they feel real. I don't know how I know that or why I'm having these dreams but I am. And I really wish that I wasn't."


TBC…