Return

The lair was in shambles. Weapons were strewn across the floor carelessly, the training matt in the dojo was torn, and the tapestries of ancient warriors that had adorned the walls lay crumpled on the ground. It was eerily quiet.

Suddenly a bright light illuminated the underground dojo. It grew in intensity, flashing wave upon wave of light to blind the walls in a sheet of white until it finally died down revealing a lone turtle standing in the center of the mess.

Mikey glanced around, blinking furiously from his blinding departure of the Dark Realm. Then he realized there was something in his hands. Looking down he found a strange egg shaped stone with various rune carvings. The strange symbols would glow green as his fingers brushed over them. A mysterious power radiated from it.

After giving a moment of fascination to the stone he remembered what he came for and frantically glanced around the dojo in hopes of spotting his brothers. Unfortunately all he saw was ruin. Cautiously he stepped around the discarded weapons, briefly wondering why the foot clan didn't come back for them. Then he saw the platform. It was cracked down the middle as though it were dealt a powerful blow. He kneeled down next to it in order to gain a better understanding of what may have happened. As he did so the turtle also became aware of another fact. His brothers were nowhere to be seen.

Satisfied with this observation he stood to examine the mess once again. If they weren't here then that meant they had escaped. Mikey couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. After all, Master Ryuu had informed him that even someone as powerful as himself couldn't control the exact moment he would arrive home. Just before being sent back Mikey recalled the feeling of dread that overcame him as various worst case scenarios popped in his head. What if he arrived too late? What if he arrived in time to witness them die right in front of him? What if he arrived just in time to receive a final blow to himself?

The turtle quickly smacked himself in the head to rid it of such thoughts. None of that had happened and he was glad. But now he was left to wonder just where his brothers were? What happened?

…

It was a long shot but he had to make sure. Sitting back in the shadow of a dumpster he watched the small squad of Foot Ninjas gather around to load some equipment onto a truck. If he timed it right he would easily sneak up on them.

One…

Two…

THREE!

Mikey took his chances and nimbly leapt from the shadows, landing gracefully in the back of the truck just as the doors were closed. He went undetected.

Sitting back and folding his arms the turtle grinned to himself. Shredder had no idea what to expect.

The van lurched forward and he could tell they were on their way. Apparently their hideout was quite a ways away since the ride took almost an hour. He did his best not to bash up against the nearby boxes that aligned the walls of the van as the surprisingly horrible driver swerved quite frequently. On a few sharp turns Mikey couldn't help but brace himself against the boxed up weapons for fear of them falling on him.

Without windows he couldn't tell just where he was or how to get back. He just knew when they had arrived. Relieved that the nightmare was over the turtle did a short thank you prayer before crouching down in the corner and waiting for the doors to open. It didn't take long and he found himself spying on a large troop of foot ninjas unloading the boxes. They began to dwindle and his little corner was becoming more and more visible. Eventually one of the Foot removed a box that was hiding his head. The two gaped at each other in surprise before Mikey swiftly knocked him unconscious.

A few more Foot ninja's noticed him and it became clear that now was the time to strike. Quickly the turtle made his move and leapt from the back of the truck, taking down any foot ninja's along the way. They were surprisingly easy to take down since last time, but he had learned quite a few new tricks since then as well.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Came a very familiar dark voice.

Mikey glance up from what he was doing to spot the Shredder standing atop a staircase which led to an indoor balcony. For once he took in his surroundings only to realize this hideout was very similar to a warehouse. Heck, it WAS a warehouse. Apparently this was where the Shredder had his inventory delivered. How lucky for him that Mikey was here to pay his respects?

In the blink of an eye the turtle was upon him. The armored warrior growled in apprehension before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Of course the Shredder would pull some sort of trick on him!

Mikey spun around frantically in an attempt to spot his target. Then he sensed something heading straight for him and did a quick back flip over the railing and back onto the ground below, placing him beside the staircase once more. Glancing up he spotted Karai, sword drawn and at the ready.

"What did you do to my brothers?" Mikey shouted defiantly.

The kunoichi just grinned. "What's that for? I thought we were getting along so well earlier."

Her mocking voice brought back the memory of their last encounter. Irritation flooded the turtle as he pulled out his kusarigama. "You tricked me!" He accused.

"Of course!" She replied as the other Foot Ninjas circled in on him. "You were so wrapped up in your thoughts that even I had a hard time believing you didn't notice me place that tracking device on you."

"What? Where?" For a moment the turtle spun around in an attempt to spot the device he assumed was on his back.

Karai's laughter made the turtle pause before realizing just how ridiculous he looked. "Well," She continued. "It definitely wouldn't be somewhere for you to find. Otherwise that nerd of a brother of yours would have spotted it first."

There was only one place then. Quickly Mikey reached behind his neck just under his shell and felt a bump. No one would have spotted the device there. Frustrated, the turtle ripped it off, barely wincing as it was separated from his flesh and threw it to the ground like a used band aid. He promptly stomped on it and glared at the girl. "You'll pay for this!"

"What's this? You sound a lot like your brothers. And here I was thinking you were the stupid one." She raised her blade and swiped it down to the side, a gesture that signaled for the Foot to attack.

Just as easily as before the turtle leapt into the air to dodge their initial attacks before successfully taking quite a large number of them down with his kusarigama. He began to question why they were being taken down so easily before he realized it was because of their sheer numbers. There were so many of them that they were unable to properly organize themselves.

"You morons!" Karai shouted. "Fall back! Don't crowd yourselves, you're letting him win!"

Clearly he wasn't the only one to notice this and grinned openly before diving into another thick group of ninjas as they tried to retreat. Using his kusarigama chain he entwined the group and tugged, sending them all to topple over.

A sound behind him caused the turtle to flip out of the way just in time to dodge Karai's sword.

"What's the matter karai? Your daddy too scared to fight me himself?" Mikey mocked before putting his weapons away and charging her.

Karai didn't even have time to react before the green blur collided with her, sending them both halfway across the warehouse. The unfortunate Foot ninja's that happened to be in their path were promptly knocked over and ignored. Mikey continued his momentum until she was successfully slammed against the wall at the far end. With a loud grunt the girl fell limply to the floor. Satisfied, he turned and charged the remaining enemies.

Apparently their original plan to swarm him didn't go over so well and they knew it so now they were attacking in waves. However this resulted in a fly swatting effect as Mikey easily knocked down each wave with a swing of his legs. They would trip, roll, and get stepped on by the next wave. Their numbers were beginning to dwindle until finally they decided to retreat. By this time Karai had regained consciousness and was watching them from her spot on the floor. As they dispersed she took her chance and tried to catch the turtle off guard. Sneaking up from behind she carefully picked up her dropped weapon and aimed for his head. Then, silently, she whipped around intent on decapitating her target only for him to turn and grab her blade with his bare hand.

Much like Leo, Karai stood in shock at the bold counter. His hands began to bleed again as she tried to remove it from his grasp. "What…What are you doing?!" She cried, too shocked to think of anything better to say. Never had she encountered such a reckless opponent before, nor did she expect it from the orange turtle.

Mikey just smiled before yanking her sword from her grasp. He had counted on the element of surprise and purposely chose not to use his kusarigama. She took a few steps back in awe before turning to dart away. Immediately he took chase, only for her to suddenly pivot on her heel and punch him in the gut.

He was completely caught off guard, expecting the kunoichi to continue running instead. When she pulled back she seemed rather surprised herself, but not at having landed a hit. Instead she was confused at a strange egg shaped stone she held in her hand. Apparently when she aimed to punch him in the gut she also tried to disarm him only to find the stone Mikey had placed along with his nun-chucks. The runes were glowing eerily bright as she held it until a crack formed on its surface. Suddenly a wild wind whipped up around them. The warehouse became a massive blur as the mysterious tornado displayed its fury before dying down within a second.

Confused, both Mikey and Karai glanced around to find the Shredder, Fish Face, Dog Pound and a group of Foot ninja casually standing about. Off in a corner was Baxter Stockman, busily working away at a computer. "It just disappeared!" The man spoke in an alarmed voice.

"What do you mean it disappeared?" An ornery Shredder growled. "It's a tracking device. Karai had placed it herself. Don't tell me your little machine has failed!"

"No, it's just….Maybe they found it?" Baxter stopped what he was doing and cowered.

"Karai!" shouted the Shredder.

Karai was far too confused to properly answer until her father turned and spotted the two, as did quite a few foot ninjas.

"Father…" Karai barely spoke above a whisper as realization crossed her mind. Looking down at the stone in her hand she glanced at the turtle questioningly before facing her father.

"What is that filthy turtle doing here?!" Shredder roared. "Kill him!"

Instead of acting upon his order Karai attempted to leap away, only for the turtle to follow. Once she realized this she sped up her pace and headed for another throng of Foot Ninja's, hoping to throw him off her trail. Mikey didn't have a problem dodging them. He had a few questions that apparently Karai had figured out herself. So he ignored the Shredder for now and followed her further up. Eventually she broke through a window to land in the road outside, barely getting missed by a car.

Mikey followed suite and they disappeared into a nearby alleyway. The turtle came to a dead end before glancing up and catching sight of his target. With a few swift leaps he made it to the roof and followed her.

Karai glanced behind herself and paused once she realized the turtle wasn't there anymore. Sighing, she felt like slapping herself. Her father would be furious that she had run instead of attacked him. But he didn't know what that turtle was capable of now…

A smoke bomb blinded her vision suddenly. Coughing, she stepped back and fell from the ledge. A short shriek escaped her before she was caught. As the cloud cleared she realized she was hanging upside down by her foot, which was in the bloody grasp of Michelangelo.

"Now, before I pull you up you're going to tell me just what happened." He declared, seemingly unaffected by the injury on his hand.

"What?" She argued. "It was your rock that did it!"

"I know, but what did it do?" He countered. "One minute everyone was gone, the next everyone was going about their business like I never showed up. Explanations, now!" He shook her about by her foot.

"Okay!" She cried. "Stop that!"

Mikey complied, wincing ever so slightly from the pain in his hand.

"Look over there." She pointed to a neon sign across from the alley she was being hung in. It displayed the date and a countdown mechanism for a dance event that it would apparently be hosting.

"So?" Mikey asked.

"So, it would seem that stone of yours reset the time in the warehouse to just before we got the location of your lair." She explained. "But the time is the same out here. I realized that when I recognized the positions everyone was in just before my father launched the attack."

"Is that possible?" Mikey wondered aloud. It seemed a bit impossible to make a particular location go back in time while the rest of the world stayed the same. But then that would mean that the Shredder no longer knew where their secret lair was, nor did he recall having already attacked them.

"Apparently. Where did you get that?" The girl asked before growling. "Gah! Nevermind! Just pull me up! I'm getting dizzy!"

Instead Mikey just shook her about even rougher than before. "No! You know where our lair is!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do! You remember everything!"

"Probably because I was holding that rock thing! Look, I wasn't with the squad that attacked your lair! Dog Pound was sent instead!" She practically shouted.

Mikey stopped long enough to consider whether she was telling the truth. After a brief minute he decided to pull her up, much to her surprise.

Once standing she eyed the turtle suspiciously. "You believe me?"

"No, but what choice do I have?" He shrugged.

"You could have just dropped me." She replied flatly.

Mikey giggled a little, confusing Karai even more. "What's so funny?"

"You." He simply replied as he turned his back on her. "Don't you remember? Neither me or my brothers would be willing to do such a thing."

"Well, sure but aren't you worried about them? I mean, what if I'm lying and tell my father?" She asked, genuinely curious.

Mikey smiled back at her fondly. "I refuse to become a monster no matter what the reason. From now on I'm happy being me, even if no one is happy with the way I am. And so should you."

Karai's accusing gaze seemed to soften just a bit. "And where did that come from?"

The turtle looked up at the sky above, devoid of stars thanks to the city lights. "Well, recently someone kind of convinced me that the way I was wasn't good enough, so I tried to change to their liking. But in the end I became something worse. I didn't like it. That's when I realized I never had a reason to be ashamed of myself in the first place. I was happy the way I was before, without molding to someone else's expectations. No, I'm not smart like Donnie, strong like Raph, or anywhere near as brave as Leo, but I'm me. And there's no one else I'd rather be." By the time he finished the turtle had a soft smile forming on his lips.

Karai pondered over his words before huffing in surrender. "That's nice and all, but unlike you I don't have a 'before' to go back to."

Mikey realized her situation then. Karai had spent her life obeying the Shredder, her father. She had to do everything to mold herself to meet his expectations. Unlike him she really didn't have any idea how to be herself.

"Baby steps." He murmured.

"What?"

"Baby steps." The turtle repeated. "In other words you can't just do things straight from the 'get go'. To start things off, how about you just do things that make you happy, and not what makes your father happy."

"You know I can't do that."

"Then do both." Mikey replied immediately.

Karai looked away in thought. "Do things that make me and my father happy…."

As she stood there the turtle began walking away, only for something to come flying at his head. It was a small matter to catch the little projectile. Observing what he expected to be a kunai or ninja star he found instead the strange rock. He looked inquisitively at her before she smiled just as a swarm of foot ninja's began to appear only a few roofs away, led by none other than Dog Pound.

"You should get going." Karai brushed passed him.

"You're helping me?"

"No. I'm disarmed and unable to compete against you for now. But next time don't expect the same thing." She warned.

Mikey grinned to himself before dropping a smoke bomb and disappearing, thankful for the mysterious stone Master Ryuu had given him.

A/N: Gah! So close to being done! I think one or two more chapters away. Mikey learned a lesson and received a mysterious stone from Master Ryuu. Huzzah!