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, Mikey was at the tender 'mercy' of the Kraang. Now he's been rescued but by the wrong family and must learn to fit in in a dimension not his own. All while searching for a way home for both himself and the missing member of his adopted family. 2K3/2k12 crossover.

A/N: So this chapter was originally almost 10k words. Then I decided to split it, partially because it was so long and partially because there was a time skip of a couple of days and it just didn't quite feel like it meshed in tone. As a result, the action is all in the next chapter (yes, there is some action coming soon XD) and this one is shorter than they have been lately but still around the size of what my average chapters were at the start of the story. Approx 3,400 words.

Ravenashess: I'm glad you're enjoying the way Mikey is slowly coming to terms with what he needs. I doubt he'll ever be comfortable being around the Kraang after everything but as long as he can continue to function and do what's needed, he'll be happy (so to speak).

AOtGO – Aftermath

Ch 23

Date: 3rd Oct

"Actually," Leonardo spoke up almost shyly. His eyes darted from Splinter to Raph to Donnie and back to Splinter again, keeping his focus on his father for moral support. "Starting now might help."

Now Raph scowled. "How?" he asked belligerently.

Leonardo took a deep breath. "You and Donnie haven't had any astral training yet and only minimal meditative training so if you learn and become stronger and then if we all work together, maybe we can reach our brother together."

Mikey sat back on his heels, crossing his arms across his plastron and trying to keep the pain from showing on his face. He'd had that training for years and he'd tried so often since he was captured but never made contact. Not properly, anyway. Of course, he now knew his family thought him dead so they weren't trying to reach him back and to add to that, he had no idea what time of day it was while he was in that prison so he couldn't have tried the correct time of day when they'd all be actively meditating.

"I... didn't tell you this and I'm sorry that I didn't but I wasn't really sure until I spoke with Master Splinter but..."

"Get to the damn point, Leo!" Raph spat, annoyed and sounding like he wanted to use stronger language and only holding back due to Splinter's presence in front of them.

Leo scowled back. "I spent several hours meditating during Mutation Day and at one point, I thought I felt Mikey."

"What?" Donnie cried.

"What the hell, Leo?" Raph spat accusingly, glaring at Leo.

"It wasn't like last time!" Leo protested indignantly. "It was faint, barely there and I thought... I thought maybe I was just feeling what I wanted to feel but the feeling persisted through the day and even through the next so that's why I decided to talk to Master Splinter about it. We spent a couple of hours talking and then meditating over it and..."

"I do not believe your brother was aware he was reaching out through the Astral Plain but instead trying to spend the day with us the only way he could," Splinter cut in.

"You really believe that, Leo? Master Splinter?" Donnie asked in a small voice, whipping his head from father to brother and back, laser-focused on their expressions and body language for any hint of a lie.

"We do," Splinter confirmed as Leonardo nodded.

"Did you... Leo, did you get any idea of how he is? Is he safe? Is he okay?"

Leo nodded again. "It was too faint to get any details and it felt like he's missing us badly but yes, he's safe." Which was a relief for the family as the last they'd been aware of, Mikey had been in bad trouble. "I think the reason it stayed with me so strongly is because I felt it a second time. As I was trying to sleep, I was thinking of him and that's when I felt him again. The first time, I had the impression he was sad and homesick but later, he felt happy, even content and that's what stuck with me and why I was so unsure until I consulted father."

Raph's scowl deepened. "Well, that's proof right there that you imagined all that shit, Leonardo!"

"Raphael, language! I will not warn you again."

Raph shot a quick, apologetic look at his father before turning his attention back on Leo, noting with satisfaction that Leonardo was struggling to keep the pissed-off expression off his face and failing. "There's no way Mikey would feel 'happy' and 'content' if he was upset at being away from us earlier! You're just making shi... stuff up to make yourself feel better!"

"I wouldn't make something like this up and then tell you!" Leonardo bit back hotly, "and the thought that I might have imagined it is why I spoke to Master Splinter first before telling you guys!"

Mikey took a deep breath and decided to comment to ward off the argument before it could become nasty. "Maybe... if he's still with another version of us, they noticed how he felt and cheered him up. My bros would've totally done that if he was with them." He turned his focus on Raph. "Shell, you did that for me. You know, the other day when you stayed with me. I mean, at first, you made me talk about... stuff but then you, well, you know..." His eyes shifted to the side, not wanting to go deeply into it as that night had taken a lot out of him but what had come after, the company and the games, had helped a lot and he'd felt so much better afterwards. At least, he had until the nightmares kicked in again. His fingers twitched and he felt the almost overwhelming desire to go get the blanket that had quickly become a comfort and clutch it around him. Back in the Kraang prison, he hadn't had such a thing and most of the time he'd felt cold as a result. Here though, he'd found the soft but heavy blanket from his bed grounded him, helping to remind him he was safe now. It was something he tried not to let the others see though, as he didn't want the younger turtles to think him a baby.

"Anyway dude, the point is, if he was feeling down earlier, they totally would've helped, right?"

Raph looked away and grumbled under his breath a moment.

"Right," Leo replied in relief.

"I'd like to think that whoever Mikey is with would do whatever they could to help him," Donnie agreed, sounding more optimistic than he looked. He took a deep breath and looked up at his father. "Alright, I still have my doubts about meditation but I'll try my best. Anything for Mikey."

"I do not wish to curb your newfound enthusiasm but I would caution you not to raise your hopes unrealistically. This will take time, effort and much practice to achieve the results desired and two of you are beginners," Splinter warned.

Mikey nodded miserably. And even then, being good at the astral arts was no guarantee as he knew full well.

"Despite all your arguments and infighting, the four of you have a strong bond. I know you will find a way to retrieve your brother and then you will find that meditation will only help you grow closer as brothers and as a team. Perhaps it will even help you to understand one another in ways you do not currently."

Leonardo nodded enthusiastically. He'd wanted his brothers to join him and their father for years but had given up trying to convince them long ago.

"Master Splinter, you mentioned you wanted to make a few changes to our routine?" Donnie ventured carefully. "What else did you have in mind?"

Splinter regarded Donatello, his hand reaching up to stroke his beard thoughtfully. "I did, Donatello," he confirmed gravely. Here, he turned his gaze on Michelangelo, who drew back slightly at the sudden scrutiny before straightening to attention once more and meeting the ninjutsu master's eyes. Splinter then allowed his gaze to rove over his sons'. "As we have a new student among us, we must adjust our training to incorporate his needs also. Therefore, once a week on Fridays, we will spend an hour cross-training. Using the spare weapons from the rack, you will pair off to work on practising and learning with a different weapon each week.

"As Michelangelo is not yet ready to use the bo, the pairs this week will be Raphael and Michelangelo and Leonardo and Donatello. For the first half hour, one of you will teach the other use of your weapon and during the second half, you will swap. The following week, Michelangelo will pair with Leonardo and Donatello with Raphael. The third week, Donatello and Michelangelo and Leonardo and Raphael."

Leo, Raph and Donnie looked at each other in a mixture of interest and wariness, remembering with a cringe the last time they'd had to use each other's weapons. This time, however, would be different.

"Though you will be working with each other, I will, of course, be supervising and will help any pair should it be needed. However, as you are all masters of your chosen weapons, I have every faith you will do fine without my interference."

"Can we also practise with other weapons too?" Raph asked, trying to hide his interest by pointedly not looking across the room at the weapons rack. There were plenty of other options to choose from and all had at minimum a passing familiarity with them but they rarely used them unless absolutely necessary.

"Not during training," Splinter replied, shaking his head. "At least, not in the near future. You may, of course, do so on your own time though. For now, I prefer you all become intimate with each other's weapons in case there is ever a need to use them in the field."

"Um, Master Splinter, this is great and all but currently there is only one set of nunchaku," Donnie pointed out carefully. "It'll take me time to make another set and I need Mike to test them out thoroughly before I make a new set for him."

"That's okay, we can use one each for now," Mikey piped up cheerfully with a snicker. "It'll probably be safer at first anyway."

Splinter nodded with a slightly amused expression. "Michelangelo is correct. The three of you have not had much experience with the nunchaku and it has been disastrous when you have tried in the past."

Donatello blushed fiercely at the reminder, while Raph and Leo worked to keep their expressions schooled. Raph's shifty eyes gave him away, however.

"With respect, Sensei, not counting that time last year which even you know was a mistake..."

"Donnie!" Leonardo reprimanded in a shocked tone.

Donnie whipped his head around to glare at his brother, his expression just shy of scathing, "What? It's true!" he snapped furiously. "That 'exercise' put our lives in unnecessary danger and you know it!"

"Master Splinter was trying to teach us an important lesson," Leo shot back.

Raph rolled his eyes. Typical Lame-o-nardo, always defending their father even when he was clearly at fault. He would've loved to speak up with his opinion too but Donnie was much better suited for this kind of argument.

"I admit it was bad timing but that..."

"It is alright, Leonardo, you do not need to defend my actions. I will admit I could have handled things better and this time, we will," Splinter interrupted, breaking up the argument. "You will practice at home until you are fully proficient before we try any exercises like that again. Now, as you were saying, Donatello?"

Donatello straightened, his expression clearing to a more neutral one as the annoyance slid away like water off a duck's back. "As I was saying, we were quite young the last time we really tried using each other's weapons. It might not be so... 'disastrous' this time."

Mikey couldn't help but snicker. Loudly. Donnie shot him a freshly annoyed look.

"What?"

"Nothing, bro," Mikey chuckled, thinking back to his Donnie's 'proficiency' with the nunchaku when they were fifteen. Even Raph hadn't been great. Leonardo though, as with all things ninjutsu, was at least this side of competent. They had all improved immensely over the last couple of years though. "Just don't worry, okay, Donnie? My bros never did well with my weapons, though they did great with others."

"Even though you cross-train all the time?"

"Dude! It's like once a week! Unless someone wants to do extra on their own."

Donnie eyed Mike suspiciously. "You said you're pretty bad with the bo though, right?"

Mikey laughed again. "Now you're twisting my words, bro. I said it doesn't suit me. I'm all about flexibility and agility. The bo totally cramps my style but I can use it just as well as Raphie."

"What about Leo?" Raph asked, twitching slightly at the implication.

"Dude! He's too good at everything! Especially since going away to train with the Ancient One for like six months," Mikey answered, waving his hands dismissively.

"Right!" Raph snorted derisively. "I still have a hard time thinking of any Leo better than any version of me."

Mikey's grin widened with delight. Oh was Raph in for a major shock.

"Alright, the four of you may continue this conversation later if you wish," Splinter cut in before Michelangelo could speak again and egg Raphael on further. Splinter turned his attention to Donatello. "You are correct, my son. You were very young the last time and things may be very different now. In fact, I hope they are and if not, then you will all have a lot of work ahead of you," he said. "Now, as for the third change to our normal routine, we will begin learning kata from Michelangelo's world. Michelangelo, I would have you lead us in this."

Donatello blinked in surprise as Raphael turned his bright green eyes on Mike, at once interested and wary and Leonardo could barely hide his delight at learning something new.

"Me?" Mikey squeaked in shock, his jaw hanging open as he stared at Splinter in mild panic.

"You are the one who knows them," Splinter confirmed in mild amusement.

"But! But! Grandpa-sensei, I can't teach!" Mikey protested fearfully. "The last time my bros and I tried to teach, it was a disaster! We swore never to teach anyone again!"

"When was this?"

"I dunno, years ago!" Mikey spluttered indignantly. "I think we were about seven or eight or something?"

"Then I am certain you have learnt a lot since," Splinter chuckled. "You will be fine and I will help you if need be. However, the fact remains that you are the only one who truly knows your kata. I have already taught my sons all the kata of the Hamato style so learning some new kata through you will do us all some good. As for you, you need to practise your own style as well as ours and this will enable you to do so," he explained.

Mikey nodded miserably.

"Besides, you were not alarmed by the idea of cross-training, where you all will be teaching each other the use of your weapons so what is the difference?"

Mikey was speechless a moment as he saw the point. "Put like that, nothing, I guess," he conceded reluctantly, scratching lightly at his face with one finger.

"Good," Splinter chuckled again. He turned back to take in all four turtles. "That is all I have in mind for now but if any of you have further concerns, you are welcome to come speak to me privately. Leonardo, bow out. You are all dismissed."

Once the four turtles had finished tidying up the dojo, which today included picking up a few fallen leaves from the tree, Donnie turned to Michelangelo.

"Hey, Mike? How did the nunchaku feel? What's your initial impression?"

Leonardo and Raphael, too on their way out, stopped walking and looked back out of curiosity.

Mikey frowned and pulled one of the weapons from the holster on his belt to study it. A holster Donnie had given with the weapons. "They're different," Mikey admitted slowly. "Larger and heavier and the balance is kinda weird. Not in a bad way, though, just... different."

Donnie canted his head curiously as Mikey turned the weapon over carefully in his hands.

"Like... the balance works, I'm not complaining about that, it's just... different to what I expected, I guess. I can work with it though and I'll get used to it. It's just going to take a bit."

"If they don't suit you after a few days, as I said, we can always design a new set closer in style to your old ones. Though I will need your input on that if that is the case, as I would only have the handles to go by."

Mikey nodded before suddenly frowning as he caught sight of a mostly hidden, yet odd indentation in one of the handles. Being the curious ninja he was, his thumb slipped into it to feel it out.

Snap!

"Fuck!" Mikey yelped loudly, half-tossing the weapon as he pinwheeled back in fright, tripping over his own stumbling feet and landing hard on his butt. Snickers and out-of-control guffaws came from the other three turtles and he glared up at them in betrayal. "What the hell, dude?" he snapped.

Donnie, trying his hardest not to laugh too obviously and failing miserably, stepped over to pick up the fallen weapon and then held out a hand to the fallen turtle. Mikey pointedly ignored the proffered hand to instead bounce lightly to his feet, secretly pleased that after nearly two weeks of living here, he found them more easily than he had since before breaking his arm. Two weeks of decent food (even if it still tasted like crap) and room to move plus regular exercise made a huge difference already. Maybe no one else would've noticed but it was his body and boy did he feel the change. He then looked at the nunchaku as Donnie offered it back and his eyes widened again.

"That's the nunchaku I just had?"

"Ah, yes," Donnie answered sheepishly, swallowing down the remains of his mirth with effort.

"What'd you think it was, Nerd-a-tello's lame stick?" Raph snorted, still having trouble being understood past his laughter. Mikey shot Raph a dirty look before returning his gaze to the now kusarigama.

"It's convertible?" Mikey asked oddly as Leo said, "It's convertible."

Donatello nodded, "Yes. They both are."

"Well, why the shell didn't you tell me, dude?" Mikey asked indignantly as he took it back. "How do you change it back to normal?" As he spoke, he explored the bladed weapon with his fingers and quickly discovered the answer for himself, depressing the hidden indentation once more. To his surprise, the blade folded in instantly and the excess length of the chain retracted, much like the power lead on a vacuum cleaner.

"I, um... didn't mean to keep it from you, Mike," Donnie replied, his face now burning with embarrassment. "We're all just so used to Mikey's weapons being convertible that we don't think of it as unusual. Uh... just like my bo." He pulled his own weapon from the holster on the back of his carapace with a flourish, then, holding the end away from anyone else, pressed the hidden button and snap! Out popped the blade, turning the bo into an impromptu naginata.

Mikey's eyes widened yet again and he too pressed the button on his weapon, converting it to kusarigama once more. This time, he pressed against the blunt edge of the blade, testing its strength.

"The kusarigama is strong enough to use as a grappling hook in a pinch if need be and Mikey's done that often. It easily holds all our weight," Donnie offered helpfully.

"Cool," Mikey responded almost flatly as he concentrated on exploring the new weapon. The chain, he discovered, was approximately the length of two and a half stories of a normal apartment building and the links, small but strong. The blade was likewise strong and sharp and the fundo, he gave the chain a small length and spun it around, of perfect balance.

"I'm sorry, Mike, I should have realised and warned you. If you like, we can go start drawing up a design for a set of normal nunchaku now."

Mikey snapped his head up to look Donnie in the eye. "Are you kidding me, Don? No way in shell! This is way cool!"

"You want to use those?" Donnie ventured carefully.

"Shell yeah! This is like the best of both worlds! My two favourite weapons in one! I mean, it's still going to take some getting used to but I'll do it and hey! At least now the weight and balance make more sense." He grinned happily. "I definitely want a pair like this for myself!"

-:-

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