Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.
Warnings: Overall little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.
Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.
Please Read & Review. ConCrit always welcomed.
A/N: Other than being inspired by other fic and being stuck with how to proceed at one point, I really have no excuse for the delay on this chapter. I'm very sorry for making you wait so long. On the other hand, for those of you that missed it, a couple of weeks ago I did write and post a one-shot side fic to this story – 'Tsumetai', which takes place about a week before the start of 'AOtGO'. 'Tsumetai' was written for the February TMNTContests theme 'Cold' on DA and is set in the 2k12 universe, the night that Michelangelo disappeared.
In other news, I won a kiriban from one of the fantastic artists on DA who drew a scene from the previous chapter of this story. The link, if you would like to see it, is on my profile :-)
And One to Grow On
Ch – 11
Ten thirty arrived and Michelangelo still had not emerged from his slumber so Leonardo went upstairs to fetch him. Upon opening the door and flicking on the main light, Leo caught sight of the sleeping other-dimensional turtle and orange and white cat curled snugly around each other. Despite Leo's practically inaudible steps into the room, Klunk's eyes opened and he lifted his head with a warning glare within his slitted eyes and a slight growl as if to threaten, "you take him away from me again, I will not only claw you to pieces but I will shed over everything you own and for the final insult, use your bed as my litter box."
Leo chuckled lightly, now he could see just why it was Mikey had always claimed to know exactly what Klunk was telling him. That cat really could be extremely expressive when the mood suited him. "Don't worry, Klunk, I'm not taking him away. It's just time to get up," he cajoled soothingly.
Klunk calmly lowered his warm, furred chin back onto the sleeping Michelangelo's plastron but kept wary eyes on Leonardo as the turtle moved closer to the bed.
"Time to get up, Michelangelo. If you want to eat before training, you have less than half an hour." Leo commanded loudly as he shook Michelangelo awake.
"But bro..." Mikey whined, mostly asleep still, "you haven't even slapped Crankshaw for taking the last two potatoes out for a space-walk yet."
Despite knowing Michelangelo was not exactly awake, Leo couldn't help but stare at the oblivious younger turtle, wondering just what the shell he was going on about. Leo shook his head hurriedly, dismissing it as unimportant. "Wake up!"
Michelangelo slowly sat up, blinking and yawning sleepily. Within moments, he latched like a limpet onto Leonardo with a sleepy hug. "Leo, I had the most awful nightmare..." he whined miserably, "everyone was gone and I was left all alone and then everyone was back but nothing was right and..."
Trying not to grimace, Leo firmly but gently peeled the younger turtle away from himself. "Obviously you are still dreaming, Michelangelo."
Pulling away suddenly awake, Michelangelo stared in shock at Leo before realisation dawned and colour rushed into his face. "Oh! I'm really sorry, Leo!"
"It is alright," Leo said stiffly. "You now have about twenty minutes before training commences." With that, Leo turned and left, tightly closing the bedroom door behind himself as he all but ran. He could already tell that this day would be a trying one.
- . - . -
Not long later, Michelangelo waltzed into the kitchen for breakfast, a furry shadow in tow that barely allowed him to move more than a few steps without rubbing desperately for attention. Michelangelo was chattering merrily to the cat and giggling at his attempts to trip him up.
"You no longer have time for a complete breakfast, just make yourself some toast or cereal." Leo advised sternly, still in that stiff, no nonsense voice he had used only minutes prior in the bedroom. "Klunk's biscuits are in the cupboard there. Just fill his bowl, he'll graze as he wants to."
Trying to ignore the tone, Mikey grinned. "Cool! You hear that, Klunkers? I get to feed you!" The purr in reply was massive.
Mikey filled the cat bowl around Klunk's butting in head, before tossing some bread in the banged up, old toaster, eyeing it suspiciously. "Hey, dudes? Why does it look like the toaster's about to fall apart? Is it even safe to use?"
Leo coughed.
A brief but grim smile flashed quickly across Donnie's face. "Let's just say that Leo needs to learn how to play nice with poor, innocent kitchen appliances."
Mikey turned his wide, blue gaze on the sword-wielding turtle but before he could say anything, Leo interrupted.
"You better hurry, training is in five." He then stood and hurriedly left before he could be questioned further.
As soon as Mikey finished gulping down his breakfast, he and Donnie left the kitchen together to join the rest of the household in the dojo. As they bowed in, a ginger fur-ball sauntered in behind like he owned the place and headed determinately for Michelangelo.
Splinter's whiskers twitched spasmodically as he turned an unimpressed stare to the much smaller feline. "Please remove that cat immediately."
"Hai Sensei!" Mikey responded, quickly bowing and picking up Klunk. "Sorry Klunk but you've gotta stay out of here. I'll play with you again later." He dropped the cat gently outside of the dojo doorway and returned to line up, however Klunk followed him back in insistently. Splinter's ears flattened in displeasure.
Mikey hunkered down, scratching Klunk affectionately behind the ears. "It's too dangerous for you to be in here, little dude. You gotta wait outside." Once more, he picked the small cat up, dropping him outside the room again but Klunk wouldn't have a bar of it.
"Leonardo." Splinter prompted.
"Yes Sensei." Leo bowed, moving immediately to pick up the cat. Klunk hissed fiercely in warning. His fur stuck out on end, making himself look twice his normal size to ward off the incoming threat. Leo stopped, eyeing the feline carefully. The last thing he wanted was to hurt his brother's cat, but he didn't want to be scratched by the angry pet either.
Mikey noticed Leonardo's hesitation and quickly picked up Klunk yet again, soothing the agitated animal as he did. He looked questioningly at Leo. "What now? There's no door to close, dude."
"Follow me. We'll put him in the garage for now." Leo replied decisively, already leading the way.
A few minutes later, both turtles were back in the dojo, cat-less and the morning training session began.
- . - . -
When the lesson was over a little over three hours later, Splinter was extremely displeased. It wasn't so much the fact that Michelangelo was behind compared to his sons, that was understandably due mostly to a combination of his younger age and his comparative lack of experience. It was more thanks to the fact that it was obvious his sons and Michelangelo didn't know how to work together. There was simply too much difference between their styles. Michelangelo wasn't up to par with their skills and the other three just didn't quite know how to handle him, let alone work with him and one of them wasn't even attempting to try.
They certainly weren't used to teaming with someone who would randomly switch between nunchaku and kusarigama and back on a regular basis, even though his sons were trained in both weapons and many others besides. Another problem, Splinter discovered early on, was that Michelangelo had very little training in the use of most other weapons, especially the ones that Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael used.
As the four turtles stood lined up and waiting, Splinter gazed thoughtfully at them. Several minutes later, he turned to Donatello. "Please be sure to record my stories, my son. For now, I wish to meditate on the problems at hand." He then looked over each student, nodding in turn. "Dismissed."
Splinter turned and headed for his meditation room.
- . - . -
"So, we can let Klunk in now, right?" Michelangelo asked eagerly, practically bouncing on the spot.
Leo sighed, "Yes."
Donnie stared at both in trepidation, "Where did you put the agent of chaos anyway?" he inquired, not really sure he wanted to know the answer.
"In the garage," Leo admitted cautiously. "It seemed the safest place."
Donnie stopped dead in his tracks, fixing Leonardo with a displeased stare. "You shut Klunk in my garage? Are you insane?"
Leo simply looked at his purple masked brother.
"Right... At least you had enough sense not to put him in my lab."
"Or in anyone's bedroom."
"If he has destroyed, damaged or messed up anything in that room, you two will be the ones cleaning it up!" Donatello promised.
Michelangelo looked from one other-dimensional turtle to the other in confusion. "How much trouble can one little kitty get into anyway?"
"Considering Klunk was Mikey's cat? You'd be surprised." Donnie sighed glumly. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn his brother had trained that cat to cause as much mischief as possible. "Not to mention the fact that since meeting you, Klunk is acting far more like himself than he has been in months but... possessive. I dread to think of the consequences."
Mikey grinned sheepishly. If his counterpart had gotten into even half the trouble he did on a regular basis...
The three turtles opened the door to the garage, half expecting to see a ginger, whirling dervish wreaking havoc but there was no sign of the feline, other than the debris left behind. To Donatello's dismay, there were nuts, bolts, screws and other assorted small parts tipped from containers all over the floor and benches, not to mention shredded paper and cardboard everywhere.
"I suggest you two get cleaning." Donnie said tightly as he uneasily walked towards the paper scraps. Bending down, his eyes narrowed in irritation. Donnie picked up the pieces within his immediate reach and stood, deliberately keeping his shell to Leo and Michelangelo. His voice was emotionless, cold. "These... were plans for upgrades to the van." With that, Donatello turned and walked very calmly, too calmly, out of the garage and into the main part of the lair.
Leo winced. "That could have gone better."
Michelangelo peered worriedly around the room, "Where's Klunk?"
"Probably out. There's a small gap in this room to the outside that he often takes advantage of. He'll be fine, don't worry." Leo replied, looking all around at the mess; everywhere but at Michelangelo himself. "Come on, the sooner we start, the sooner we will finish."
The two alternate dimensional brothers began tidying the room and the silence lasted all of five minutes. "Donnie was so strangely calm." Mikey observed, unable to stand the quiet any longer. "My Donnie would have so been nerd raging over this." Mikey grinned at the memory of his brother agitated with voice raised, deliberately covering up the homesickness that washed over him at the thought.
"It takes a lot to get Don mad," Leo admitted, "but when he does, even Raph knows when to back off."
"Oh... so different..." Michelangelo murmured quietly. He went back to quietly picking up screws between his toes, lifting and tossing them nonchalantly into nearby containers with an effortless, unerring accuracy. Leo watched for a moment, marvelling at the extra dexterity the other-dimensional Michelangelo seemed to have with those strangely shaped feet; something he knew that Don would have been fascinated by.
"Hey, Leo? I'm not complaining, just wondering, why do you guys start training so late in the morning? I mean, I'm definitely happy about that, since we were out so late last night but it seems weird." Michelangelo stopped and stared at Leo, waiting for an answer.
Leo paused and regarded Michelangelo seriously. "Since we are only able to go topside when it's dark, there is no point in keeping the same hours as most in the human world do. We used to start our day much earlier but after we began going topside regularly for patrols and so on, it was only natural to change our hours," he explained. "Besides, not only is it to our benefit but it also suits Master Splinter more. Since he's a rat, it's normal for him to keep more nocturnal hours."
Michelangelo wrinkled his beak in consternation. "Okay, I get that once he mutated he would have gotten some rat's instincts but my Master Splinter never seemed to be that effected by it. Unless we have had to stay out really late 'cause of the Kraang or something, he still expects us up by seven, except on Sundays."
Multiple questions raced through Leonardo's mind, even as Michelangelo returned to picking up spilled parts with his feet, so fast and with such a rhythm that it almost seemed as though the younger mutant was dancing.
"What do you mean by that, Michelangelo?" Leo asked carefully. The smaller turtle turned to regard Leonardo curiously and Leo frowned, uncomfortable by the scrutiny from the person who reminded him so sorely of his own lost brother. "Master Splinter was born with a rat's instincts. It's in his very natu..."
"Lunch is ready." Raph suddenly interrupted tersely, appearing in the doorway and tossing a quick glare in Michelangelo's direction before facing Leo. "Better come soon. Not much worse than soggy noodles."
Michelangelo grinned broadly with a twinkle in his eye, "Thanks Raph! I really hope you cook better than my Raph though. His cooking is awful!" He laughed, already moving towards the door.
Raph's expression hardened but he turned and left without another word.
- . - . -
"Hey Raph?" Mikey called out when Raphael stood to leave after finishing his meal. Raph paused but didn't look back. "Those noodles were actually pretty good. Thanks!"
The silence dragged out for a few seconds before Raph grunted in acknowledgement and left.
Mikey fought his inclination to sigh despondently and returned to the remaining few bites of food, making sure his normally present smile was firmly fixed in place. Raph was difficult in any world, Mikey figured and it would take a while to get through to him. Though his brothers never really realised, he was the most persistent of them, just... in different ways to them. He'd definitely worm his way in sooner or later.
"How did you both go with the clean-up in the garage?" Donnie began conversationally now that the quick tempered turtle was gone.
"We were nearly done by the time Raph said lunch was ready." Leo assured his brother. "Another ten minutes or so and it will be finished."
"After we're done..." Mikey began hesitantly, "mind if I go sewer skating? I know where this place is now so I won't get lost and I could call if I did anyway."
Mikey squirmed slightly under Leo's contemplative examination.
"Strange as I know it sounds, I really could use a bit of time to myself and skating's the best way for me."
"Alright. Just make sure your Shell... uh phone has enough charge and be careful. It's still daylight on the surface so keep to the sewers and watch out for workers." Leo eventually replied.
Mikey laughed, "Dude! I've lived down here nearly sixteen years too, remember? Besides, I was alone and looking after myself just fine for over a week before you guys found me." He paused then added, "I know I have a short attention span but I'll be fine, I promise."
Leo smiled gently. "I know and I'm sorry, I can't help but worry. It's my job as leader and you are so much younger than the rest of us," he explained. "Besides... you don't know the dangers of this world, Michelangelo."
Mikey lowered his eyes to the table, feeling chastised by the reminder.
"I'll finish off in the garage. We were nearly done anyway." Leo offered.
A natural smile quickly flowed into his features as Mikey lifted his gaze back up to meet Leo's. "Thanks other-dimensional bro!"
Mikey jumped excitedly out of his seat, hurriedly dumped his bowl and fork into the sink and ran to the room he was using. He grabbed his skateboard before racing back out to the main exit of the lair. Abruptly, he stopped dead and stared at the door for a few seconds before turning and trotting sheepishly back into the kitchen where Leo and Donnie still sat, silently finishing off their lunch.
"Uh... heh! Can someone help me with the door?"
- . - . -
A number of hours later, Leo finished his extra personal training session and listened intently to the sounds of the lair. He was certain Michelangelo had not yet returned and it was getting late. Concern filling him, he headed for Donnie's lab, spotting Raph sprawled in front of the television monolith, watching something rowdy as he passed.
"Raph," Leo ventured cautiously, "do you know if Michelangelo returned yet?"
"Wouldn't know and don't care," came the curt reply.
Leo frowned before leaving again, not liking his brother's attitude. It was pointless to say anything however and at least Raph wasn't actively trying to start fights about the whole situation today.
Knocking gently on the door to Donnie's work space, Leo let himself in, not entirely surprised that his genius brother didn't seem to hear. For a moment, Leo quietly despaired. They were ninja and as such, they were trained to be fully aware of their surroundings at all times but Donnie only seemed to get worse, rather than better, when he immersed himself into a project. Leonardo so badly wanted to comment about it but he was afraid it could cause Donnie heartache or to breakdown if he brought up the subject.
If he voiced his concerns, Donatello would be sure to flash back to that night again.
"Don," Leo called softly, trying to make sure to tread more heavily than usual. It wasn't an easy feat for the stealthily trained ninja whose instinct was to be completely silent as he moved. He reached Donnie's side and still no reaction. Leo glanced at the open computer screen in front of his brother. He couldn't even pretend to understand anything on it. None of it even looked like it was in English.
"Those are the readings I took last night." Donnie suddenly spoke up softly. "Most were so weak that I am having trouble making anything out of them." He sighed, barely moving but keeping his gaze firmly locked on the brightly lit monitor directly in front of him.
"Something about them seems very familiar but... The readings are so degraded and faint that I am at a loss as to how or even where I have seen them." Donatello finally moved a hand slowly away from his keyboard, reaching up to rub at his throbbing temple.
"Have you been staring at this screen non-stop since lunch?" Leonardo asked, worried about how Donnie appeared.
A slight smile crossed his brother's face, "Pretty much but you didn't hear that from me."
Leo sighed and placed his hands on the back of Donatello's wheeled office chair, pulling the entire seat backwards and spinning it around away from the computer to face him. Donnie looked up in surprise as Leonardo settled his calming hands on his shoulders.
"You don't have to work so hard, Don." Leo assured. "Even Michelangelo said not to try too hard since he will get home, regardless of how long it takes."
Donatello grimaced. "We know that and he knows that but what about his family? They must be sick with worry, Leo. At least..." he swallowed painfully, "... at least we know what happ... happened to our brother. They don't even have that! To them, he's just gone."
"And if they are anything like us, they won't give up until they find out what happened." Leo insisted firmly, holding Donnie's gaze. "Yes, getting him home sooner rather than later is important but not at the cost of your health. Don't forget that, Don."
"I'll try, Leo." Donnie nodded. "Was... there something you needed?"
Leo nodded and straightened up, releasing his hands from his brother's shoulders. "Yes. I'm certain Michelangelo has not returned yet and it's been over four hours since he left. I know you added his She... phone to the network."
"T-phone."
"Are you able to track it like you can ours?"
"Of course, Leo. Nothing simpler" Already turning back to his computer, Donnie paused and looked back up at Leo. "Did you try ringing him?"
"Actually, yes. There was no answer and to be honest, I'm worried that calling repeatedly might cause problems if he is in trouble or trying to stay hidden." Leo rubbed his left forearm as he spoke.
Donnie nodded, deftly clicking on his mouse to lower the current window and open his tracking map instead. After about a minute, Donatello had tracked the signal and its GPS history. He frowned. "He's still in the sewers Leo or at least his T-phone is but... the signal hasn't moved an inch for nearly two hours."
Leo's heart clenched tightly. "How long would it take to get to his location?"
"If we took the sewer sliders as far as we can, not even thirty minutes." Donnie calculated swiftly as he studied the map.
"I'll get Raph. You prep the sliders and we'll meet you there."
As Donnie gathered his duffel, Leo ran back to the monolith only to find the televisions off and Raph nowhere in sight. He frowned and went to check Raph's bedroom and the weights room before running to the garage only to find the Shell-cycle was gone. Leonardo groaned in dismay. It was useless to keep searching and he knew that Raph was unlikely to hear his Shell-cell while riding. Quickly, he exited the lair, meeting with Donnie by one of the nearby flowing streams of 'water'.
"Raph?" Donnie questioned, not seeing his hot-headed brother.
"Gone." Leo answered grimly. "We're on our own."
"It may be nothing, Leo."
"I know but he hasn't moved in two hours. I don't know about you Don but I really do not want to take that chance.
"Michelangelo is a born trouble magnet."
- . - . -
to be continued
