Rating: T

Warnings: Overall story - Brief mentions of torture. Bit of language.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Summary: For months now, Mikey's been through hell with no one to count on but himself. He's finally been rescued but there are still two major problems; he's still desperately missing his family and he has no way home. No OCs. 2k3/2k12 crossover.

Comments, thoughts and concrit are always welcome.

Minnie1015: Yeah, 2k3 Mikey definitely has it worse. 2k12 Mikey and the 2k3 bros might have gotten off to a rocky start but things definitely improved and at least 2k12 Mikey didn't have to go through hell first.

the butterflies: You're welcome.

Selin32227, snowy123, T420000: Thank you :-)

Shelly Hamato: Yeah...

AOtGO – Aftermath

Ch 13

Date: 23rd Sept

Even by his standards, it was early when Splinter exited the dojo. His gaze promptly turned to the pit where the TV flickered in the dark room, the sound muted to a low volume and a lone, other-dimensional turtle lay in the beanbag, twisting and muttering to himself restlessly.

Splinter's ears flattened at the sight and his heart clenched painfully at the reminder his own son was missing and another in his place instead of at home where he belonged and so desperately needed to be.

Moving closer, Splinter could see the distressed expression filling Michelangelo's features, even as his breathing became faster, his movements jerkier and his fear scent rose.

Unable to stand seeing Michelangelo, any Michelangelo, in such a state, Splinter strode down into the pit. As he reached out to wake him up, Michelangelo gasped, shooting upright with a soft noise and sitting there panting haggardly.

"It is alright, Michelangelo," Splinter soothed in a gentle tone. "You are safe, here in our home."

At first, the young turtle, older than his own sons yet still too young to have gone through such trauma, didn't respond but then his eyes, full of pain and terror, flickered up to meet Splinter's momentarily.

"I'm okay!" Michelangelo gasped hoarsely, struggling to bring his breathing under control. "I'm okay!" he repeated in what Splinter was certain was a desperate attempt to convince them both.

His ears twitched involuntarily, displaying his unhappiness and he hesitated to reach out a hand, unsure if it would be welcomed or not.

"I'm okay!"

At least this time the gasped phrase didn't sound quite so ragged.

"You are safe," Splinter repeated firmly, finally reaching out while watching carefully for any signs of Michelangelo rejecting him. He didn't but neither did he move to welcome the gentle hand on his shoulder intended to give him an anchor to reality. Instead, Michelangelo closed his eyes, simply breathing in and out, in and out.

Finally, several minutes later and much calmer than when he woke, he opened his eyes again and looked up with a wan smile; a shadow of his true smile, of that, Splinter had no doubt. "Th-thanks, Grandpa-sensei. I'm okay now."

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Splinter offered, hoping he would yet sure he wouldn't.

"No," Michelangelo shook his head vigorously, adamantly, to Splinter's dismay.

Knowing he couldn't push the turtle, Splinter simply nodded and reminded him, "In that case, I will be here when you are ready."

"Thanks," Michelangelo replied distantly, his eyes drifting away to look around the room. Anywhere but at him, Splinter realised with a pang. He removed his hand.

"Perhaps you would join me in the kitchen?" he offered after a moment.

"Sure," Michelangelo responded easily. Too easily.

Splinter frowned slightly as Michelangelo promptly threw off his blanket and clambered to his feet. For a moment, he looked a little unsteady but it didn't take long to regain his balance. The two had just begun walking to the kitchen when Leonardo made an appearance.

"Father! Mike!" Leonardo started in surprise. "You're both up already?"

Splinter chuckled, "Indeed we are, my son. We were just on our way to make tea." He didn't miss the wary flicker of eyes towards him from Michelangelo. "Will you join us?"

"Of course, Father," Leonardo answered, sounding a little too keen as he picked up speed to join them. "Sit down, I'll take care of it," he offered as they entered the homely room.

"Don't make any for me, Leo, I'll just have water," Michelangelo said quietly as he headed straight for the fridge.

Leonardo turned to study him. "Are you sure? It's no more trouble to make for three than it is for two," he offered.

"Yeah, I'm sure, dude, I never really liked tea much anyway," Michelangelo chuckled hollowly. He opened the door and took out the pitcher, pouring into a glass he snatched from the drying rack before joining Splinter at the kitchen table. "I'm only here for the company."

"Alright." Leonardo frowned slightly as he turned back to the tea nook and for several minutes, the kitchen was filled with only the sound of him preparing tea.

Michelangelo sat on a stool, glass in hand and fidgeting while he stared around, not sure where to look or what to say.

It didn't take long for Leonardo to turn again, two mugs in hand, and walk over to the table. There, he stopped short, gazing at the empty space beside the table. "Where's the other stool?"

Splinter held out his hand for his cup and Leonardo passed it to him. "It is in Donatello's lab awaiting repairs. I discovered a crack in one of the legs last night."

Michelangelo shot Splinter a grateful look for not ratting him out and Splinter offered him a small, discrete smile in return.

"Oh, I see," Leonardo replied, taken aback. "I'll mention it to Donnie later today since we'll need it by the weekend."

"What happens on the weekend?" Mikey piped up curiously.

Leo took a cautious sip of his drink, then replied, "April and Casey usually stay over," he explained. "April has her own room from when she was forced to hide down here with us several months ago and Casey often sleeps on a roll-up mattress in Raph's room or in the pit if Raph is too restless or moody to put up with sharing his space." Putting down his mug, Leo walked to the cupboards and began pulling things out while Mikey watched in concern.

"Do you need help, bro?" Mikey asked anxiously as April's dire warning of Leo and cooking flashed through his mind. Not to mention the disaster of the burnt toast when Leo had turned the heat setting to maximum simply because the bread was frozen. He pushed back his stool and began to get up.

"No, sit back down, Mike. I may not be great in the kitchen but I have this," Leo insisted confidently. "April gave me a lesson last weekend so we could have a hot breakfast from time to time."

Mikey glanced worriedly at Splinter. He wasn't reassured by the vaguely concerned look on the rat's furred face. "You sure, dude?" he pressed carefully.

"Definitely," Leo promised with a nod. He poured oats from a bag into a large mug before tipping it into a saucepan and repeating twice before staring critically at the contents a few moments then adding another mugful and thinking about it some more. Mikey started to get up again but Leonardo just waved him back down and went to the sink with the now empty mug and the saucepan.

Mikey heard the tap running as Leo filled the mug, poured it into the saucepan and repeated, once, twice, thrice before then turning away again and placing the saucepan on the stove. He fumbled a bit before finally managing to light it.

"Uh... Leo?"

"I'm fine, Mike. I just need to... salt... where's the salt again," he muttered, wandering over to the tubs at the wall and lifting lids to peer inside.

Horrified, Mikey watched as Leo thrust in a hand, "Uh... that's sugar, dude, not salt and that'd be way too much if it was salt," Mikey tried to offer. Too late, unfortunately, as Leo far too quickly dumped the handful he held into the pot.

"No, that was definitely salt," Leo said confidently, giving the contents of the pan a single stir to mix. "The sugar's in the smaller tub next to the salt and it's one pinch of salt for every cup so a handful should be about right."

"One human-sized pinch," Mikey insisted queasily. "Your fingers and hand are huge compared to humans, dude." He sighed and glanced at the extremely stoic ninja master with an amused look. "Well, way too sweet is better than way too salty at least, right, Grandpa-sensei?"

"If you say so, Michelangelo," Splinter murmured, taking another careful sip of his morning tea to cover up his grimace.

Mikey could just tell Splinter was already planning his getaway. He was tempted to make one also but his morbid curiosity of wondering if the over-sweetened dish might overpower his wrecked taste buds tempted him more; he'd have given almost anything to be able to eat again and actually enjoy food. For that matter, he wondered if far too sweet didn't help, would far too spicy or even salty work instead? His gaze drifted across the room as he thought, landing on the flashing 'Diner Open' sign and he stared at it, mesmerised.

Suddenly, the solid sound of a filled bowl being plunked in front of him shook him from his reverie and he jumped to see Leo watching him, smiling in some weird combination of false confidence, hope and nervousness.

"How is it?" Leo asked, working to disguise his anxiety as he motioned to the bowl before him. "I know it burnt a little at the bottom but is it okay or do I have to try again?"

Mikey blinked, glancing around the table to see similarly filled mismatched bowls in front of Splinter and in front of Leo's, Donnie's and Raph's empty places. Leo and Splinter were both watching him, waiting and Mikey fought not to swallow in trepidation.

"Since when am I the royal taste-tester?" he joked, attempting to hide his desperation. There was no way he would be able to taste Leo's porridge so he'd have to lie whatever the outcome of his cooking and that could lead to disaster.

Leo frowned in disappointment. "Well, I just thought since you're the expert..." he swallowed nervously, "but if you think I'm going to poison you..."

Mikey winced as he realised Leo took that joke literally and feeling bad for having made it after he tried so hard, he rushed to pick up his spoon. That's when he finally caught sight of the meal and froze, staring in horror at the lumpy, discoloured sludge before him. Though the colour wasn't right, the appearance was... Feeling sick, he closed his eyes, desperate not to see it.

Or smell it.

"Mike?"

"I..." Gulping down his fear, Mikey forced his eyes back open and dug the spoon into the 'food', lifting it to watch in stomach-churning disgust as the substance slid off in slimy, smelly chunks, dribbling back slowly into the bowl. He shuddered. He couldn't do it... he just couldn't...

"The one known as the Prisoner has refused to eat."

A sudden ominous feeling assaulted his senses and he lifted his terrified gaze to find he had an audience, their mouths filled with sharp-toothed malicious grins as they enjoyed every moment of his suffering and his stomach clenched in terror.

"Therefore, the ones known as the Kraang will force the one known as the Prisoner to eat."

A moment later, something landed on his shoulder and he freaked. In one smooth motion, he shot to his feet, kicking away the stool and thrusting the bowl of nutrients away as he whirled, one hand curling into a tight fist which he released with a vicious punch right at the monster's face!

"Get the hell away from me!" he shrieked in panic, panting with fear as his eyes searched desperately for escape. For a way past his captors blocking him and keeping him trapped away from his home and family.

His family! He needed to find a way out and back to them and he'd take every single one of them out on the way if he had to. His lips curled back as he snarled a wordless warning and ignoring the meaningless commands to calm down, he charged for the door, determined to take advantage of their foolishness of lowering their guard and leaving him with an exit. Hands grabbed at him and he lifted one of his own to fend them off when a strong tentacle wrapped around it. He flinched in terror and cried out, desperately trying to yank his arm free as mock-soothing tones filled his hearing.

But he didn't believe it, he couldn't. He couldn't understand their squeals anyway and he shook his head, trying ever more frantically to break free. Spinning hard, he lashed out with a devastating kick when something jabbed at his neck and he froze, no longer in control of his body before flopping bonelessly to the ground.

Laying there helplessly, he couldn't move no matter how hard he tried and the panic rose anew as alien faces floated above him, voices speaking urgently to each other, to him as they tried uselessly to calm him.

But he couldn't move!

His body wasn't his own.

Again!

"Help me," he whispered brokenly to a family who had long since abandoned him, believing him dead.

Suddenly, a sharp prick entered his arm, reminding him of the sharp, terrifying prongs digging into his forehead and despite his best efforts to fight against it, he felt himself grow overwhelmingly tired and everything went dark.

-:-

Mikey's eyes flew open as he shot upright and looked wildly about. To his relief, he found himself in his borrowed bed in the missing Michelangelo's bedroom. His stomach churned uneasily, a combination of hunger and the remains of a sedative someone had forced upon him. Breathing deeply in and out to centre himself, he blinked in confusion, his gaze drifting to the sore spot on his right arm but since he couldn't see anything in the near dark, he clambered unsteadily from the bed and to the door, fumbling for the light switch. That's when he saw the faint but reddish telltale evidence of a hypodermic and he frowned.

Who would do that and... why?

Mikey breathed in a ragged breath, casting his mind back but the last thing he remembered was Leo attempting to make breakfast and... him joking about being the 'royal taste-tester'. A joke obviously in bad taste given Leo's cooking skills but that didn't explain why someone sedated him and why he felt so emotionally washed out and - he canted his head slightly in concentration – afraid.

He'd lived in fear for so long now that he'd pretty much forgotten what it was like to not be afraid. Even over the last couple of days of being here with this other-dimensional version of his family where he was definitely safe, he'd still been constantly fearful. Just thankfully not quite as badly as when he was still their prisoner but this feeling... it was like he was back there, constantly on edge and constantly being forced to do whatever little he could to protect himself, even when it was impossible.

And yet, he was safe now. This bedroom was proof of that. So why was this feeling so intense now?

"Hah!"

Mikey snapped his head upright, torn from his musing by the sudden noise.

"Hah! Hah! Hah!" a trio of voices chorused distantly.

His sore eyes widened in realisation. Training! They were training without him again!

Forgetting about his troubles for the nonce, Mikey whirled his head around, searching for his borrowed gear. Spotting it on the small dresser, he rushed to put it on and join his other-dimensional family for daily training.

It was but a couple of minutes later when he hastily entered the dojo, barely remembering to bow his respect at the edge of the rugs with an apology on his lips for being so late.

Splinter shook his head once, "It is alright, Michelangelo. We are halfway through this lesson so you can join April for training this afternoon instead."

"Yes, Sensei," Mikey acknowledged glumly, slumping in place. While he was relieved he wasn't in trouble for being late, he felt terrible because it felt like Splinter was saying he wasn't up to the standard expected of him and... maybe he wasn't... He'd won the Battle Nexus, even the rematch (which he very nearly lost it all in) and yet... this was another ninja master suggesting he wasn't up to expectations. Feeling intense shame, he looked down at the rug beneath his feet miserably.

"In the meanwhile, I would prefer you to sit to the side and work on your rehabilitation exercises. When we begin sparring, whoever is currently sitting out shall come work with you."

Mikey nodded numbly and turned to walk to the corner to work without getting in anyone's way when a voice caught his attention.

"Mike," Leo called quietly, causing him to stop and look back, only for his stomach to clench in shock and sympathy at what greeted him. All three turtles watched him cautiously, though Raph looked slightly twitchy as if ready to fly into battle at the first sign of trouble. That wasn't what shocked him though – that would be normal for his Raph and he had no doubt that went double for this one. What actually shocked him was the evidence of a painful-looking shiner poking out from beneath Leo's mask under his right eye. The skin was dark and bloated with a purplish-green hue that didn't match the normal tone of his skin. As his eyes were drawn to it, Mikey felt sick and though he had no idea why, guilty.

"Are you alright now?" Leo asked, smiling in what was obviously meant to be a comforting way. It only made Mikey feel worse. As though he didn't deserve such kindness. "What happened earlier?"

"Um..." Mikey finally answered as he found his voice. He cast his mind back, struggling again to recall what happened between him making that awful joke and waking up in his borrowed bedroom. "I... I'm not sure."

"You freaked out and punched Leo!" Raph bit, sounding somewhere between accusing and impressed.

Mikey immediately started fidgeting as his anxiety rose. Surely he couldn't have and yet... his eyes drifted uncertainly back to Leo's black eye.

"Never seen anyone catch him off guard like that before."

Shooting Raph a dirty look, Donnie cut in, annoyed, "What Raph means to say is that when we entered the kitchen this morning you were upset by something and when Leo tried to ask what was wrong, you um... panicked." He glanced at Leo as if for confirmation and Leo nodded. "We tried to calm you down but it didn't work and Master Splinter was forced to incapacitate you with pressure points. When you then continued to panic further, I was forced to sedate you. Sorry about that."

'So that's what happened?' Mikey cringed. His eyes wandered back to Leo apologetically and he received a small smile in return. "I.. wondered how I... I-I'm so sorry, Leo, I... didn't mean to..."

"It's okay, Mike, it doesn't even hurt that badly," Leo replied calmly as he reached up to gingerly touch the swollen flesh. Despite how hard he tried, he couldn't quite hide his wince of pain. "I'm more worried about you."

"Me? Why?" Mikey muttered unhappily, looking back down at the worn multi-coloured rug beneath his feet. "I'm fine. I'm not the one with a black eye."

"Because something obviously upset you and I'd like to know what," Leo answered patiently.

"We all would," Donnie added quietly, his eyes fixed on Mikey and causing him to draw back.

"Well, I-I don't remember what happened..." Mikey admitted nervously. "One minute I was at the table and the next," he shrugged, "waking up in bed." His gaze drifted back up to Leo's eye and he swallowed. "Are... are you okay though? I mean, really?"

"I'm okay, I promise," Leo reassured. "I used an icepack for almost an hour after it happened until we began training."

"And you'll be using one again during breaks and after training," Donnie cut in snippishly with a warning look at Leo that just dared him to consider treatment over.

"Hai, hai, Don," Leo replied wryly, earning an immediate disapproving look from his master. "Anyway, lesson learned. Next time, I'll give you space if you begin panicking again."

"Okay," Mikey replied contritely.

"I do hope that is not the only lesson learnt from this, Leonardo," Splinter spoke up firmly. He looked at each turtle in turn, including Mikey, before settling his gaze back on Leonardo. "You are all ninja. You must remain aware and prepared for attack at all times, even from those closest to you," he warned.

Leo shot to attention. "Hai, Sensei!"

Splinter smiled, a dark twinkle of amusement within his eyes. "Remember this lesson well. You will all be tested when you least expect it."

"Hai, Sensei!" Leo, Raph and Donnie chorused, all suddenly alert and clearly uncomfortable.

"Return your focus to training, my sons. Michelangelo, to your exercises."

-:-

For a time, he worked at simple stretching exercises, alternating occasionally with rotating his arm and wrist, while watching the class jealously. All he wanted was normal. Sitting out while everyone else trained was as far from normal as he could get and he hated it. He felt as though he stuck out like a sore thumb and the others obviously thought so too, based on the looks they snuck him when they thought Splinter was focused on someone else. That or thanks to the black eye he'd given Leo, they thought him a threat and were understandably keeping an eye on him.

Finally, as Mikey sat, planting his feet flat on the ground in front and shifting his hands behind him to lift his torso from the ground, Splinter started the others on a repetitive set of punches in horse-riding stance and strode towards him, only stopping briefly to kick one of Raphael's feet out, forcing him wider and lower. He stopped in front of Mikey in such a way that he could study the lost turtle and keep an eye on his pupils at the same time.

"Are you alright now, Michelangelo?" he asked gently.

Startled by the question, Mikey let his butt fall back to the ground and stared up at the ninja master with haunted eyes. He nodded wordlessly, not quite trusting himself to speak.

Splinter canted his head slightly as he regarded Michelangelo. "You are not in trouble if that is what you fear. Nor am I disappointed in you in any way. As I said when you entered the dojo, we are already halfway through this lesson. Joining in at such a late stage would be disruptive as you had not even had a chance to warm up."

Mikey nodded again, feeling a little better by the reassurance and yet...

Splinter stood silently a moment, focusing momentarily on his training sons, He called out for them to pick up the speed a notch, then turned his attention back to Michelangelo. "After thinking things through, however, I feel it may be better for you to train with April for a couple of weeks."

And there it was... Mikey hung his head miserably. "I'm sorry, Sensei," he whispered.

"Whatever for?" Splinter asked in genuine surprise.

Mikey swallowed uncomfortably. "For not being good enough," he admitted, trying not to choke on the sudden thickness in his throat. "For not knowing your katas and..." his eyes drifted guiltily back to Leonardo.

"Stop, Michelangelo," Splinter commanded gently. He lowered himself to sit in seiza beside the other-dimensional turtle. "You are from another dimension and have another teacher with a very different background. I do not expect you to know our ways, especially after only one lesson." He smiled warmly, hoping the young turtle would take reassurance from his words and the fact that he genuinely meant them. "In fact, at some point in the future, I would very much like it if you were to demonstrate what you know that we might learn from you in turn. It would do us all well to expand on our knowledge."

Mikey's eyes widened as he watched the ninja master.

"Besides, from what you demonstrated to Leonardo a couple of days back, your style is not too dissimilar to our own. As for your ridiculous notion of not being good enough, that is not my reason for wishing for you to train with April. This day, it is simply because you missed so much of today's lesson but I would have brought this up with you later today anyway. Just one moment." Splinter paused and turned his full attention to the other three turtles again, his lips pursed in slight annoyance. Raphael and Donatello had slowed and were sneaking peeks back. Leonardo too, though not as obviously. "Next set! Hajime!"

The other three jumped as if caught out and rushed into the next set as commanded, making Mikey smile slightly. A basic combination of kicks and punches while moving forward before spinning on the spot and progressing in the opposite direction. Simple, basic moves to keep them busy while reinforcing the basics and allowing Splinter to focus elsewhere. In this case, on Michelangelo.

"Training with April for a time will be of benefit to you both. For you, it will give you the chance to rebuild your strength and stamina at a pace better suited for getting back into things, so to speak. You cannot, as yet, keep up with my sons and trying to do so after such a long period without regular training will only do you more harm than good. You need to build up to it in a way that is not so intense or taxing."

That made sense, Mikey realised in surprise. In the past, whenever he or his brothers had been injured, they eased their way back into training and back then, he hadn't minded. In fact, he'd taken joy in milking it for all he was worth but circumstances were different now. Now his injuries were not just physical, actually, they mostly weren't other than the previously broken arm, but mental too and as a result of wanting normality again, for the first time ever, he truly understood the frustration Leo felt when too injured to train properly. Even when it wasn't a good thing to do so. His eyes narrowed as he thought about it, remembering how Leo pushed and pushed and only prolonged his injury because of such behaviour and everyone else's frustrations at seeing him hurt himself so. Mikey looked back up at Splinter and nodded to show his understanding. At least he wasn't being banned altogether, just being asked to take it slowly and that was fair.

Pleased, Splinter smiled warmly. "As I said, this will also benefit April. As you know, she is fairly new to ninjutsu and a training partner will do wonders for her progress as she has come along enough to start sparring in small sessions. Currently, April only joins my sons for Saturday practice and they are far ahead of her."

"Because they've been training all their lives," Mikey observed quietly.

"Indeed," Splinter acknowledged. "Since you are experienced and I want you to take it slowly for the time being – I do not want you going full out for the next couple of weeks at least – this makes you an ideal training partner. It will also give you a chance to learn our ways as April too is learning them." Splinter turned slightly and called out again, "Set three! Hajime!" The other turtles hurriedly switched to another set of basic moves and Splinter returned his attention to Michelangelo. "Now, the question is, is this plan alright with you? I truly feel you would benefit more from this path but the choice is yours. If you are against training with April for a time, then tomorrow, you may rejoin my sons but you will still be taking it easy, sitting out during sparring and anything else too physically taxing until such time as Donatello and myself deem you ready to step things up."

"Aren't you worried that I'll flip out over something stupid again and... and hurt April?" Mikey asked quietly, struggling to keep his gaze on the other-dimensional ninja master.

"I am not for I do not believe you would hurt her and even if you did lose control momentarily, I am confident in my ability to incapacitate you," Splinter replied with a small smile. "On the contrary, I believe you will be trying exceptionally hard not to accidentally hurt her."

Mikey nodded; he definitely would. "I..." he hesitated again as he seriously thought about what he wanted and what he needed. That Splinter was giving him the choice helped. A lot. He wanted to be with his brothers but that was currently impossible and even if he did have a way home to be with them, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up right now. His gaze flickered to the other-dimensional version of his brothers longingly. So familiar yet so different it hurt. Training with them was the next best thing but it too, wouldn't be normality. There was no such thing anymore. Not for him... He took a deep breath. Realistically, there was no telling how long he'd be trapped here. If he was miraculously lucky, it'd be a matter of days or perhaps weeks but he didn't have that kind of luck and since his family thought him dead, it would more likely be months or years or maybe forever but he didn't want to think that way so, for now, he had to make a new normal and that meant working his way up to it. "Honestly, Sensei, while I'd prefer to train with Leo, Donnie and Raph, I think... I'll build back up by training with April and who knows, it could be fun, right?"

Splinter chuckled, a relieved expression on his furred face. "If you are having fun, then I think I may be doing something wrong."

Mikey grinned up at the taller mutant. "Nothing wrong with having fun while working, Grandpa Sensei," he drawled.

"I suppose not," Splinter acquiesced reluctantly, "as long as you are actually working rather than skiving off. Speaking of," he turned and called across the room, "Ten-minute break!"

Leo, Donnie and Raph automatically finished their set and peeled off, rushing for the toilet or kitchen as the need might be.

-:-

A/N: I had thoughts of rewriting the scene in which Mikey freaks out to show the other side of it and meant to do it a week ago but though I started it, it slipped my mind and I never finished. I never intended to put it in this story but publish it separately under 'Tales from AOtGO' as an alternate scene. Is that something any of you would be interested in or are you fine with things as they are, just hearing what happened after the fact?

Next week, provided I finish typing it up in time (kinda caught up in other things right now), will be a chibi turtle one-shot for Halloween. Their first Halloween. Therefore, the next chapters of my other stories will be a week later than they otherwise would have been. The next chapter of this story should be in approximately a month, given 'Sekai no Owari' and 'How Much is that Turtle in the Window' are due for updates beforehand.

I know I keep saying it and have lost a lot of readers because of it but sorry for the long wait between chapters. I have been working on this story again and have handwritten at least to chapter 15 so far so hopefully it won't be as long between upcoming chapters but I do need to try to balance updates with my other stories as well.

Don't forget to let me know what you think!

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.