So my dear friend BrightLotusMoon had this really cool dream where her character Gaia and my Shadow meet, so I wrote this crossover fic for her based on that dream. :)

The first half of the fic takes place in between chapters five and eight of Akari. The second half takes place after the events of chapters 20-21, which hasn't been published yet. So SPOILERS ALERT!

NOTE: There might be grammar mistakes which I will fix later...

Shadow fiddled with a paintbrush as the principal walked into the classroom and stood in front of the chalkboard, facing the students.

"All right, students," Principal Eastman announced, "as you already know, Mr. Willow has retired, so your new art teacher will be Ms. Mako. Please be courteous and respectful toward her."

On cue, a woman who appeared to be in her late forties or early fifties stepped into the room and stood next to Eastman. Shadow thought that she looked very beautiful, which her shining waist-length black hair and amber colored eyes. Around her neck was a golden necklace with a cat-shaped pendant that had two diamond eyes. She wore three golden bracelets on each wrist and teardrop-shaped orange beryl earrings. There was also glitter on her ravishing red lips, and her fingernails were painted with red glitter polish.

"Hello, class," Ms. Mako greeted the class with a gentle smile. "I am Gaia Anastasia Mako." Some of the immature girls in the classroom giggled at the name. Ms. Mako wasn't the least bit offended, though, and she even chuckled, herself. "Yes, I know that my name is unique, but I'm proud of it."

"They're all yours to teach, Ms. Mako," Eastman shook her hand before exiting the classroom.

"Speaking of which," the new art teacher took a seat at her desk and folded her hands, "I'd like to know each of your names and a little bit about yourselves. Let's start with you." She pointed to the nearest student at the front dresk, which happened to be Shadow.

"Oh, um, well," Shadow stood up straight and cleared her throat, "my name is Shadow Jones. While I'm not particularly skilled in art, I'm a badass when it comes to martial arts." She heard a few students chuckle and scoff. Oh, how she wished she could tell them about her new ninja life.

Ms. Mako wasn't laughing, though. In fact, she seemed genuinely interested as she rubbed her chin. "You know martial arts? Well, that's just neat! What school do you attend for that?"

"Well, actually, uh, my teacher is a family friend," she said, which was the truth. "He has his own dojo." Oh, yeah, and he's the Ninja Turtle.

...

After the rest of the students introduced themselves, Ms. Mako told them a little bit about herself and her teaching beliefs.

"I don't believe that you should ever refrain yourselves from exploring your full potential," she said. "You should always express exactly what you're feeling through art, no matter what anyone else might think. That's what makes our country so great: the freedom to express yourself. If you want to draw a pretty butterfly, that's perfectly fine. If you want to paint a picture of a bloody, decapitated pig, that's fine, too."

All of the students, including Shadow, stared at her bug-eyed.

"That was just an example," Ms. Mako explained. "A classmate of mine did that years ago. But he painted such a gruesome image for a reason. To him, it was a representation of his own beliefs about tubal ligation, as the pig is a symbol of fertility in some cultures. Art is about more than drawing a mere stick figure or creating a masterpiece such as Michelangelo's David. It's about expression. There is a meaning behind every shape, line, and color. I have only two rules in this class: no nudity and no sexual images. Save that kind of stuff for college," she whispered the last sentence, making the students chuckle. "And now let's move on to your next assignment."

She placed a painting of a black dog in front of the board for the class to see. "Every color is associated with an emotion. The person who painted this had a fear of dogs, so she used black to color the dog with in this picture. While black is often associated with grief, it also represents fear. So here's the assignment: you will each be given a random color to use for your painting, and you have to decide the subject. You can either use a positive aspect of the color or a negative one. You have until tomorrow to decide what you will paint."

The art teacher passed out folded pieces of paper to everyone in the class, and when Shadow opened hers, the word that was written on it was "Orange".

...

After dinner, Shadow researched some information on the color orange on her computer, and she found that its positive traits include enthusiasm, cheerfulness, creativity, and fascination. She remembered the stories that her mother told her about Mikey, who had all of those traits and also wore an orange mask.

She knew what the subject of her painting would be.

The next day, the students sat in front of easels as they drew and painted in their white boards. Since Shadow couldn't use a picture of Mikey as a reference, due to the fear of exposing her connection to the Turtles, she drew what she could from memory. It wasn't exactly perfect, and she felt that she put way too many freckles on his face, but it was the best she could do. Then she painted the image with every shade of orange. She figured that once she was done, she could give it to her Sensei as a way of saying thanks for taking her in as his student.

She could hear Ms. Mako approach each easel and compliment the students on their work. "Very good, Cindy...Excellebt use of green, Simon...Oh, that's just lovely, Kara."

The art teacher then walked over to Shadow's easel and looked over her shoulder. "And how are we doing, Miss...?" Her voice trailed off and Shadow looked up to see Ms. Mako staring wide-eyed her work in progress. She seemed stunned for some reason, and Shadow wondered if it was because she was so impressed with her painting.

Then Ms. Mako opened her lips to speak in a whisper.

"Mikey...?"

Shadow thought that she was hearing things. Did her teacher seriously say the name of the Turtle in the picture? "Um, what was that, Ms. Mako?"

The teacher snapped back to reality and looked down at Shadow. "Huh? Oh, I mean...wonderful work, Miss Jones. Keep it up." She gave her a gentle smile and lightly patted her on the shoulder and moved on to the other students , but she still seemed pretty shaken up.

Shadow began to wonder if Ms. Mako truly was an old friend of the late Turtle.

...

"Okay, class," Ms. Mako told the students as exited the room, "tomorrow we'll finish up on the paintings and Thursday you'll give your presentations on what the pictures mean to you." But just when Shadow was about to walk past her desk, the older woman stopped her. "Miss Jones? I'd like to speak with you for a moment, if you don't mind."

Immediately, Shadow started to sweat from her forehead. Oh, sh**, I screwed up again, haven't I? She could be a spy for the Foot, and I was painting a picture of one of the Turtles in her class. I'm so dead. She nervously approached the teacher's desk. "Um, y-yes, ma'am?"

Ms. Mako sensed the Shadow's anxiety and reached over to touch her hand, which was resting on the desk. Almost instantly, Shadow began to relax in her mind and the tension faded away, which was so weird. "It's okay, honey," Ms. Mako softly told her. "You're not in any trouble. I just want to talk to you about your painting."

Still feeling oddly calm, Shadow simply nodded in response.

With her hand still over Shadow's, Ms. Mako closed her eyes, as if she were meditating, and for some strange reason, Shadow felt like her mind was being opened like a book and someone was flipping through the pages that contained her memories and thoughts. It was a strange feeling, yet she wasn't afraid.

Just who...or what...was this woman?

Ms. Mako slowly opened her eyes and smiled warmly at Shadow, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "So that's how you found out about him."

Shadow's eyes widened. Holy cow...she really was reading my mind. "Well, uh, if-if you don't mind me asking, what do you know about him? Were you two friends?"

The art teacher shook her head. "No, in fact, I've never met him or the others Turtles."

"Huh?" Shadow scratched her head in confusion. "Then how do you-?"

"Call me crazy," Ms. Mako chuckled, "but I know them through my dreams."

"Your...dreams?"

"Dreams about an alternate timeline, another world in which I'm still a young woman and my closest friends are the Turtles. And yes, I know your Mom, too. She's also a good friend of mine, in that reality, anyway."

"So you never actually met her or the Turtles before...yet you know so much about them through your dreams?"

"That's right."

Shadow let out a sigh of disbelief and shook her head. "Man, this is trippy."

Ms. Mako laughed. "Yeah, it is pretty weird, but I'm actually used to it. And judging from your memories, you're used to strange stuff like this, too."

Shadow scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no kiddin'. So since you know the truth about me...what now?"

"Well," Ms. Mako stood up and walked around the desk, placing a hand on Shadow's shoulder, "how about instead of being just your teacher, I become your friend, as well? After all, you'll need to talk to someone you can trust about your secret ninja life and adventures with the Turtles."

Shadow considered this, but something still bugged her. "How do I know you're not with...you know...them?"

Ms. Mako looked directly into Shadow eyes, "Shadow, I am not with the Foot Clan. You have nothing to worry about. Okay?"

The teen searched for any insincerity in those auburn eyes, but she could only find honesty. Finally, she smiled at the teacher and said, "Okay, I trust you."

The next day, during lunch, Ms. Mako invited Shadow to eat with her in the classroom, where it was just the two of them, and they had the privacy of discussing their secret and alternate lives. They sat directly across from each other at one of the desks and ate their lunches.

Shadow took a bite out of her ham sandwich and looked up at her teacher. "So you and Mikey are dating in your dreams?"

"You could say that," Ms. Mako said as she ate another spoonful of her chicken soup. "We really don't consider each other boyfriend and girlfriend. See, if you have a boyfriend, then you're obligated to a commitment to him and him alone."

"But what's wrong with the 'one girl, one guy' belief?" Shadow asked.

"Nothing," Ms. Mako said. "But Mikey and I chose a more...open sex life."

"So you mean, he shares you with other guys?" Shadow was taken back by this revelation. "And he doesn't mind at all? No offense, Ms. Mako, but that's...I mean, I don't want to offend you or anything but I think it's...well...oh, geez, forget what I said. I'm sorry."

Ms. Mako only chuckled and smiled warmly at her. "No, no, it's fine. Really. It's okay if you think it's weird. That's your personal belief, and I totally respect that. But it's completely normal to me. And no, Mikey doesn't mind at all. In fact, he was thrilled when Donnie decided to join in on our polyamorous relationship."

Shadow paused right before she took another bite of her sandwich. "You're in a relationship with Donnie, too? But I thought he liked Mom."

"Yes, April was his first crush," Ms. Mako sighed happily as she thought about the genius Turtle. "But he told me that I am his first love, which is really touching."

Now Shadow was even more curious about Ms. Mako's alternate world. "You said Mikey has telekinetic powers like you. Did he ever defeat the Shredder?"

Ms. Mako nodded. "He did, but he ended up in a coma that lasted for six months."

Shadow looked down at the table sadly and fiddled with one of her carrot sticks. "Yeah, well, at least that Mikey woke up. His death really left a huge hole in everyone's hearts. I never got to meet him, since he died years before I was born, but I heard stories about him from my parents. He sounded like a really cool guy."

The older woman somberly nodded. "I know they're only dreams, but what I feel for Mikey is real, and it breaks my heart to learn that the real one died. Perhaps if he had lived, we would've found each other."

Shadow looked up and smiled. "You know, I have a feeling that you two would've made a great couple."

Ms. Mako chuckled. "Yes, we would've."

"So I know you can read minds and...and influence my emotions and all that," Shadow picked up her fork and held it out in front of her. "Can you bend spoons, too? Like in your dream world?"

Ms. Mako raised an eyebrow and smirked. She concentrated on the spoon and it instantly bended in Shadow's hand.

"Oh, that's so cool!" The teen laughed in amazement as she looked at the now bent spoon. "Wish I could do that! You're so lucky to have such amazing abilites."

Ms. Mako shrugged. "Having telekinetic powers has its ups and downs. Let's just leave it at that."

Shadow suddenly remembered the painting she did of Mikey. "So how am I gonna explain my picture to the class Thursday without exposing my connection to the Turtles?" she asked.

"Just think of any explanation," Ms. Mako winked at her. "I'll give you an 'A' anyhow."

A wide, grateful smile formed on Shadow's lips. This lady had to be the best teacher she ever had. "You know, Ms. Mako, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

The teacher shook her head. "Please, call me Gaia."

Couple Of Weeks Later...

After her daily after-training-shower, as she dried her hair with a towel, Shadow approached Raph in the dojo.

Although he and Donnie had finally made amends, her Sensei was still pretty shaken up by the Mutagen Man incident and spent even more time in front of Mikey's shrine, talking to the spirit of his little brother. It helped a lot, but he still worried about Timothy every day.

Shadow cleared her throat to get Raph's attention, which worked as the Turtle whipped his head around. "Um, Uncle Raph? I don't mean to bother you during your mediation, but...I've been meaning to talk to you something for the last few weeks. But things just kept coming up, you know, with Slash and Alopex...and...Timothy," she mumbled the last part sadly.

Raph turned around and smiled gently at her. "Sure, kid, I understand. So what is it you want to talk about?"

The teen awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. "Welllll, it's concerning my art teacher."

The Turtle raised an invisible eyebrow at her. "Huh...?"

"...and as you can see, that's why they call the technique, 'happy accident painting'," Gaia showed the an example of a happy accident painting that she did during her high school years. "The whole point of the exercise is to help you to realize that mistakes can be used to create something beautiful, and sometimes you just need to go with the flow. So tomorrow, we will experiment with this exercise and see how the results turn out."

All of the students left the classroom except Shadow, who usually stayed behind for a bit to talk to her friend/teacher. Gaia looked up from her notebook and smiled warmly at the teen. "So how's Raph doing?"

"Well, he's still pretty upset over Timothy," Shadow sighed as she rubbed her arm. "I just feel so bad for him. He really wanted to help the poor guy but...I guess failing to save Timothy reminded him of his failure to save Mikey, and it's really bumming him out, you know?"

Gaia nodded, fiddling with the cat pendant that hung from her necklace. "He's been through a lot. But if the real Raph is anything like the one from my dreams, he'll get through this and remain strong. He was always the strong one, and Mikey practically worshipped him and thought of him as a role model."

"Speaking of," Shadow glanced at the doorway, making sure that no one was listening in on their conversation before continuing, "Gaia, would you like to meet with Mikey?"

Gaia looked at her art student in surprise. "Meet...with Mikey? But I thought he was-"

"I mean, with Mikey's spirit," Shadow explained. "Raph talks to him all the time. They have like this special bond that allows to them to communicate beyond the grave. I already told Raph all about you."

"You...you did? How did he take it?"

"Well, at first, he was kinda suspicious of you. He even assumed that you were some kind of morphing Kraang-monster that he encountered years ago."

Gaia couldn't help but chuckle. "He did, huh?"

Shadow giggled, too. "Yeah, but then I told him about how you knew that his favorite band is the Foo Fighters, and that his favorite pastime is knitting. You should've seen the look on his face. His eye was so big and his jaw dropped so low that he looked like a fish!"

Now they were both laughing to the point that they were slapping their knees and tears were forming in their eyes. After finally calming down, Shadow dried her eyes and cleared her throat. "Anyway, he gave me his permission to bring you to the lair. He'll even help you connect with Mikey's spirit. I figured that you'd want to talk to him, even if it was only for a brief moment."

The older woman nodded, smiling as she slowly closed her eyes. "Yes, that would be enough for me." She opened her eyes, which were glistening from the unshed tears. "Shadow, I can't thank you enough for this."

"Hey, it's no biggie," Shadow said. "What are friends for?"

When Shadow said her art teacher was beautiful, Raph didn't expect her to be amazingly beautiful. Her shining black hair, bright auburn eyes, and glittering red lips. He never thought a human could ever look this gorgeous.

He stared at her with his mouth agape as she walked into the living room. The moment she saw him, her face lit up and she smiled, showing her pearly white teeth. But then that smile dropped when she noticed the missing eye, and there was even a bit of sadness in her own eyes.

She slowly approached him and reached up to touch his face. At first, Raph flinched away, since this was a complete stranger and he never met her before in his life. But at the same time, she looked so familiar, as thought they have met before. It was a very strange feeling. But Raph somehow knew that he could trust her and relaxed, allowing her to touch him.

Gaia's fingers gently traced over the scar that ran down the left side of his face. Raph couldn't help but get shiver at her touch, but he still didn't pull away, and he closed his eye as she continued to caress him.

Shadow watched them from the other side of the room. The way they interacted with each other, as it was if they were close friends, lovers even, so trusting and affectionate.

Gaia eventually pulled her hand away and smiled warmly at the Turtle. "Hello, Raph. I'm Gaia."

Raph smiled back and nodded. "I know. It's nice to finally meet you, but we've already met before, haven't we?"

She only nodded and held his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

...

"So this is where I usually talk to him," Raph guided her to the dojo, although she already knew the way due to her dreams. They approached a shrine that rested on a high shelf, which was composed of the porcelain bowl that contained Mikey's old mask, Splinter's neatly folded kimono, and several pictures of the rat and Turtle. "Sometimes even Master Splinter comes to visit me, too."

Gaia looked up at the bowl and noticed that mask was tattered and even blood-stained. She painfully closed her eyes and clutched the cat pendant. "Did..." she whispered shakily, "did he suffer?"

Raph let out a heavy sigh. "I wish I could say no, but...the Shredder was always sadistic and merciless. He made sure that we suffered along with Mikey in his final moments. And for a long time I blamed myself for what happened to him. It was like I was living in complete darkness for thirty years."

"But then Mikey brought you out of it with that special light of his," Gaia said. "Am I right?"

He looked over at her and smiled. "You're exactly right. You really do know Mikey well." He turned to fully face her and took both of her hands. "Judging by what Shadow told me, you already know how to meditate."

"Yes," Gaia nodded.

"Good, then this should be easy for you. See, Mikey's not confined to this room. He's everywhere because he's one with Nature. You just have to look for him through a different set of eyes. You know, by using the sixth sense."

"I understand," Gaia closed her eyes and followed his instructions. She could just see his bright blue eyes that shined with wonder, his cute little freckles, and his ever-bright smile that would lift the spirits of everyone around him. She completely cleared her mind and awakened her sixth sense.

"Who's your lady friend, bro?"

Upon hearing that sweet, familiar voice, she opened her eyes and turned to her left. Sure enough, Michelangelo, who still looked like a teenager, was standing in front of the shrine, smiling brightly. She let go of Raph's hands and took slow steps toward the younger Turtle. He looked exactly as she had dreamed of him. Same eyes, same freckles, same smile. It was both surreal and wonderful.

"Mikey," she whispered in awe, reaching a hand toward him. She wanted to touch him for the first time, to see if he felt like the Mikey from her dreams.

Mikey was confused but allowed the woman to place her hand on his plastron. "Um, do I know you, dudette? Uh, I-I mean, Ma'am?"

She looked up at him with tear-rimmed eyes and spoke softly with a smile, "No, but I know you, Mikey. At least, I know you in another dimension."

Now Mikey was even more confused and he titled his head, which made him look like a cute curious kitten from Gaia's perspective. "Okaaaaay...?" He then turned to his older brother. "Raph?"

Raph chuckled. "I know it sounds confusing, Mikey. Heck, even I can't understand it. But in a way, she's an old friend. This is Gaia."

Rather than ponder over what his brother meant, Mikey shrugged and wrapped his arms around Gaia's waist, giving her a warm, friendly hug. "Good to see you again, Gaia! Or uh, it's a pleasure meeting you. Whatever works for ya."

Raph smirked and shook his head. That's Mikey for you, he thought.

Gaia laughed tearfully and knelt down to return the hug, burying her face in his shoulder and breathing in his scent. He even smelled the same from her dreams: like bubblegum and pepperoni. She lovingly brushed her fingers over the carapace of his shell. Although he wasn't the same Mikey she knew and fell in love with in her dreams, just holding him in her arms made her heart swell with joy. She wanted this moment to last forever.

But eventually, and reluctantly, she pulled away and cupped his freckled cheek with her hand. Just looking into his beautiful eyes made her fall in love with him all over again. "Mikey, I'd like to kiss you. If you don't mind."

Mikey gasped and stepped away form her, taken back by her request. "Ki-Kiss me?"

"If you don't want to, I understand," Gaia smiled warmly at him.

The young Turtle thought about it for a moment before looking over at Raph, silently asking whether he should go along with it. Raph responded with a nod. Mikey looked back up at Gaia and shrugged. "Well, okay, but...no offense...you're so darn old." He stood on his toes so that he could reach the taller woman and puckered his lips.

Gaia smiled lovingly at him and leaned down to touch his lips with hers. Mikey couldn't help but smile to himself. Her lips were so soft and she was so gentle. Even if she was forty-something years old, she was the best (and only kisser) he ever had.

They pulled away and Mikey licked his lips, a dreamy look on his face. "You taste like strawberries, just like Ice Cream Kitty." Both Raph and Gaia laughed at his remark. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go brag to Master Splinter about my first kiss." He looked at Raph and waved goodbye to him. "See you later, bro." He then turned back to Gaia and did a courtesy bow. "Miss Gaia. Hope to see you again sometime." And then he faded away back to the spiritual room, leaving the two alone in the dojo.

Gaia stared at the spot where Mikey stood just moments ago, and touched her lips, brushing a thumb over them. "He even kisses the same as the other Mikey," she whispered. She closed her eyes and sighed shakily, and the tears were finally spilling down her cheeks. Seeing her shed tears made Raph's heart shatter and he immediately ran to a nearby tissue box that rested on a drawer. He handed her a tissue, which she gratefully accepted, drying her eyes.

"You okay?" Raph softly asked her.

Gaia smiled tearfully at him. "I will be now. Thank you, Raph." She walked over to the shrine and took off her necklace. Putting the cat pendant to her lips, she gave it a quick kiss before placing it in the porcelain bowl.

Raph smiled at this. "Thank you. I'm sure Mikey will love it. He always did like cats."

Gaia giggled. "Well, then, maybe I should bring my cat Celeste with me every time I come to visit."

...

They stepped out the dojo together and to their surprise, they saw Donatello was handing Karai a bag of groceries in the kitchen.

"Donnie? What are you doing?" Raph asked him.

Donnie, whose robotic arm was still missing and his cybernetic eyes more realistic-looking, smiled at him, showing the same gap in his teeth that Gaia always loved about him. "Well, Karai said that she was going grocery shopping and so I offered her some help."

"He even paid for all of it," Karai chuckled as she set the bag down on the table with the rest, "even though I begged him not to."

The one-eyed Turtle placed a hand on the cyborg Turtle's shoulder. "I appreciate the help, Donnie, but you don't need to do that. Besides, you've got your job to-"

"You guys are more important to me than my job," Donnie interrupted. "Morph Enterprises can wait." He looked over Raph's shoulder and noticed Gaia. "Oh, and who's this?"

"This is Miss Gaia," Raph said as he gestured at her. "She's an old friend."

Gaia smiled warmly at him as Donnie approached her, offering his only hand to her. Even though his eyes had changed, the same gentle voice was there. And he was still incredibly handsome.

"Hello, Ma'am," Donnie greeted her as they shook hands. "I'm Donatello, but you can me 'Donnie'." His smile faltered a bit as he studied her face. "Forgive me, but...have we met before?"

"Perhaps," Gaia chuckled, showing her pearly whites once again.

Donnie couldn't help but stare at them, as well as the rest of her beautiful facial features. He began to feel something that he hadn't felt in years since he first met April, and a blush appeared on his cheeks as he smiled shly at her.

Raph instantly noticed this. "Oh, boy," he muttered, though he was smiling.

Karai stood next to him and followed his gaze. "What?"

"I know that look," Raph said. "Something tells me that I just met my future sister-in-law."

Hope you like it, BrightLotusMoon! I really tried explaining the whole meditation thing...plus, if Gaia seems out of character, I apologize.

ALSO, a surprise reference to another one of my dear friends on FanFiction and Tumblr! (You know who I'm referring to, Sis! ;) )

Also, some movie references were made in this fic! Can you guess what they are?