A/N: Thank you DizzyDotz from the ESO guild Gummy Guars for being a sounding board and helping me out on something within this chapter.
Mikemasters Z KAI: Don't worry, I'm not going to stop posting a story I started but sometimes I do wonder if it's worth posting new things since it seems there's very little interest and has been for some time. I do post on AO3 as well so if I ever do stop bothering with FFNet, you can find me under the same name there. As for 'AOtGO', the only things that would stop me finishing the story would be if I lost access to the internet/computer or something bad happened. In other words, I definitely intend to finish. Some day XD
Oh, Mikey knows he is loved. He has never doubted that. What hurts him is the fact that he knows they aren't looking for him. That they gave up on him. Especially since he'd never give up on them.
Hopefully, this year, I will be able to get working on the 2k3 universe side of the story again. I do have some of it planned XD
I hope you had a wonderful new year! :-)
A Very AOtGO Christmas
ch 4
25th December
His eyes snapped open and his hand flew out, snatching at the damaged wooden handle of one of his original 'chucks and clutching it tightly. As he stared out the open door of his room at the dim light seeping in from outside, he breathed. Surprisingly, he hadn't woken from a bad dream for once but... there was an energy in the air. It was faint but so, so familiar and something about it reminded him of home and safety and weirdly, of good food.
Smiling faintly at the warm sensation it evoked, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Still clutching the old damaged weapon as if it were a worn but beloved teddy bear.
-:-
Mikey awoke, feeling warm and happy to the sounds of laughter and light bickering in the distance. He smiled sleepily and turned over onto his other side, simply revelling in an unusually pleasant awakening. It felt akin to those cold, winter mornings on the farm where he woke so slowly and comfortably that he could just lie in bed dozing happily for hours and it felt so good.
Suddenly, however, a faint scent of something burning wafted past his nostrils and he sat up in fright, head whipping automatically in the direction of the kitchen.
In an instant, Mikey threw back his covers, barely managing to catch the old nunchaku handle he'd wound up sleeping with again, reverently put it aside on the small shelf by his pillow and threw himself from the bunk. Then, he pelted frantically for the kitchen, skidding to a confused halt at the sight of Splinter ushering Donatello and Raphael aside and taking their place at the stove.
He stared at the surreal sight.
"Good morning, my grandson," Splinter greeted warmly, causing the other three turtles to spin to see him in the doorway.
"Merry Christmas, Mike!"
He blinked for a moment, not quite all there beyond the panic of 'something's burning' and 'who let the others cook again.' "Uh... Merry Christmas," he echoed dully. Then he blinked again as what had been said finally made sense and he straightened as a grin suddenly spread across his face. Dashing forward to the table, he cheerfully and loudly repeated, "Merry Christmas Leo! Merry Christmas Donnie! Merry Christmas, Raphie!" as he threw his arms around each, hugging and hanging off each in turn.
Leo and Donnie looked vaguely uncomfortable and Raph actively squirmed as he protested the 'Raphie' but no one actually pushed him away. Finally, he rounded the table and the bench, coming up to the stove. "Merry Christmas, Grandpa!" he cheered, likewise giving the tall mutant rat a warm but tight squeeze.
Splinter chuckled and gently extricated himself from the exuberant turtle to concentrate on his cooking. "You are in good spirits this morning, Michelangelo."
"It's Christmas!" Mikey exclaimed excitedly by way of explanation. He'd dreamt of his family, April and Casey included, at the farm and around an unlit but beautifully decorated tree in the living room, a fire crackling merrily away in the fireplace and mugs of Leo's special hot chocolate in hand. There'd been another with them too. A light-green, freckled turtle rugged up with a blanket wrapped about him and a ginger kitty – Klunk – purring happily in his lap. A part of him wanted to tell the others about his dream but he had no idea if they'd believe him (his own brothers had never believed in his dreams before, even when they came true in front of their eyes) or worse, if they might feel hurt that they hadn't shared it. He smiled happily. Most of his premonition dreams had been about bad or scary stuff but this one had been the opposite and a bigger part of him wanted to keep it close to his heart. "Only the Grinch would be miserable on Christmas!"
Splinter chuckled again. "Perhaps you should sit down," he suggested, motioning at the table.
Mikey looked back, then glanced anxiously at the stove and the pancake mix beside it. "Uh... who made that?" he asked uneasily, recalling the faint scent of burning food that had awoken him and Splinter purposefully pushing his sons aside to take over.
"Hmm, you know, that is a very good question," Splinter replied thoughtfully, eyeing off his sons.
"I did," Donnie reluctantly admitted. "Raph and I wanted to give Mike a break this morning and to surprise everyone." Suddenly, he stiffened and met Mikey's piercing gaze. "April gave me the recipe. She said it was one you particularly liked."
Mikey continued staring at him for a moment, allowing Donnie to squirm a little longer; seriously, they knew better than to mess about in his kitchen and it was his. At least until he found a way home or the other Mikey was finally found and returned and if the latter happened before the former, well... they might need to work something out. Finally, he gave a nod, alleviating Donnie's misery because it was Christmas and he'd meant well. That and he at least had faith that Donnie could follow a recipe; Donnie's problem was that he simply had no interest in cooking. He turned to Raph wryly. "So I guess you're the one who burnt it then?" he asked, trying to school his features and not laugh. He'd seen them both being pushed away and there was no way they'd let the walking kitchen disaster Leonardo touch anything food-wise.
"Hey, I tried!" Raph retorted with a mighty scowl.
Unable to hide it any longer, a full grin broke out on his face and he darted forward to hug Raph again. "Thanks for trying, guys," he said, beaming over the struggling Raph's shoulder at Donnie.
Gasping, Raph finally managed to break free of Mikey's octopus hold and dislodge him. "Was meant to be a Christmas gift," he muttered, almost as red as his mask in embarrassment.
"Ooh, really?" Mikey cooed in interest. He looked around. "So where is it then?"
"In the trash," Leo stated dryly, looking towards the nearby bin. "It was inedible."
Mikey's face fell. "Aw, too bad. I woulda tried it anyway."
Raph's face brightened further as he snapped, "Weirdo!" and Mikey laughed; he'd eaten far worse than burnt pancakes before.
"You're such a tsundere, Raphie!"
And he was still laughing madly as Raph shot off his seat and after him, as he tore off out the kitchen for his life.
-:-
The day went by mostly peacefully after breakfast. Leo made hot chocolate and they all sat close together in the pit watching Christmas specials on TV. After the second movie finished, Mikey excused himself to the kitchen to get a start on the food that couldn't be prepared in advance. To his surprise, Raph followed, offering to help. Mikey set him to work setting up plates and bowls of snacks. Not too long later, Leo appeared, looking sheepish as he too, offered to help.
"I can at least cut up anything you need cut," he offered. "Or do dishes as you work."
Mikey beamed happily and set Leo up with chopping vegetables and salad stuff.
Before long, everything was in the oven that needed to be and a portable table in the family room laden with snacks and treats. To Mikey's surprise, there was no sign of Donnie or Splinter but Leo wasn't worried. He just made more hot chocolate and started up another movie as Mikey settled into the beanbag with Leahpar curled in his lap, purring loudly.
Some way into the movie, Splinter and Donnie came back from outside, chatting happily and looking cold, particularly in the case of Donatello.
Raph and Leo turned eagerly to them and Mikey canted his head, wondering where they'd been and why Donnie was so cold.
"Were you able to get much?" Leo asked hopefully.
Donnie grinned proudly through chattering teeth as Leo silently reached out for a nearby blanket and handed it up to him. "We were able to get twice as much as last year. Easily!" he crowed as he gratefully wrapped the warm blanket around himself.
Raph smirked savagely in delight, punching one fist into the palm of his other hand. "Then prepare to be slaughtered this year, Lame-o-nardo!"
"In your dreams, hothead!" Leo snorted derisively. "We all know you couldn't hit the side of a barn, you ninja dropout!"
"What are you guys planning?" Mikey asked in confusion, only to be ignored as the other two smack-talked over him.
"I got better than you, Daddy's boy," Raph retorted loudly, "and the better team! I've got Case and Mike this year!"
"Got Casey and Mike for what?" Mikey asked again, wondering what the shell was going on.
"Wait!" Donnie spluttered indignantly as he shivered, his eyes flickering nervously to Mikey. "You can't just claim Mike like that! He has too strong of an advantage!"
"It's alright, Don, we'll have April and Master Splinter on our team. They," and here Leo waved a dismissive hand in Raph and Mikey's direction, "won't stand a chance against our combined supremacy."
"A chance of what?" Mikey burst out impatiently.
Raph glanced at him irritably. "Snowball fight, of course." He turned back to Leo, glaring, "And so what? You're lumping us with Mr O'Neil and you're complaining about us having Mike?"
Mikey sat there flabbergasted.
"Actually, Kirby and myself will be sitting out of it this year," Splinter cut in smoothly.
"But Master Splinter, you can't sit out!" Leo protested in dismay. "It's tradition!"
Mikey screwed up his face in confusion as a trio of voices protested loudly over the top of each other. He loved a good snowball fight but his other family didn't have the protective clothing to disguise themselves adequately topside and even if they did, Splinter had been quite clear that none were to go topside during the day and the evening would be far too cold for them.
"Guys, guys! Wait!" Mikey yelled to be heard. "Where're we gonna have this snowball fight and look, I know how good - not to mention cute - I am," he preened, "but how do I have an advantage?" he pressed when they fell silent enough to ask his questions.
"You aren't as badly affected by the cold as we are," Donnie admitted ruefully. "When I ran those tests on you a while back, they revealed that you don't have quite as much turtle DNA as we do."
Mikey was taken aback and he stared at Donnie. "Really?"
Donnie nodded. "Really. To tell the truth, though, it's kind of obvious looking at you."
Mikey frowned, looking himself up and down and over his shoulder at his larger, more rounded carapace, then looking Donnie up and down for good measure.
"Your feet are more human-like than ours, for example," Donnie replied carefully. "They may only have two toes compared to a human's five but in shape they are similar and unlike us, you can wear human shoes."
Mikey blinked at that. Large human shoes, yes, but he'd never considered that as a sign of less turtle DNA in him than his other-dimensional brothers.
"Also, you don't have bridges between your plastron and carapace the way we do, nor do you have the nictitating membranes and," Donnie paused a moment, "the pièce de résistance, unlike us, you've lost the ability to retreat into your shell."
Mikey immediately flushed at that. That was something a deep, instinctual part of him was extremely jealous about.
"While, like us, you are somewhere between cold and warm-blooded, you have more warm-blooded traits than us. Giving you more endurance to the cold than we have."
Mikey glanced over to see Raph scowling at that observation.
"So that explains why Mike was still raring to go the other night when the rest of us couldn't handle more than an hour topside," Leo mused thoughtfully.
Donnie nodded at Leo. "It also helps that he found boots to fit him," he said dryly.
Mikey coloured again at that; boots that he'd bought online with money he'd earnt from his commissions and that April had picked up and brought down for him. He felt really bad that the others had to suffer with cold feet when he didn't but it wasn't like he could just go buy some for them as well. At least, not on short notice and not without having to answer questions he really couldn't. Still, they improvised pretty well, loading up on extra wrappings the best they could but it wasn't the same as good, water-proof boots. Unable to help himself, he glanced over at the presents under the tree, half-wishing they could open them now. However, everyone had agreed to wait for April and Casey to come down, given that they were just as much part of the family as he was.
"Okay but where are we having this fight?" he asked. He turned to Splinter questioningly. "Are you letting us go topside after all?"
"Not a chance, my grandson," Splinter immediately chuckled. "No, there is a location nearby in the sewers where we set it up. Donatello and I collected snow and brought it there for you all to enjoy."
"It's that large room not far from here," Donnie explained eagerly. "We use a few discarded kiddie pools to collect and store the snow in, then haul it there so we can play with it. Master Splinter started doing that for us when we were six."
"Yes. After the four of you whined non-stop about not being able to see snow or play in it like you saw the children on television doing."
Leo, Donnie and Raph all flushed in embarrassment at being called out.
"I decided to use that location for the event since having snow within our home made it too cold for my sons. At least by keeping it elsewhere, they may have their fun without suffering too much or nearly falling into hibernation."
Mikey gazed at the others, wide-eyed with mild fear. "You guys hibernate? Or... used to?" he asked, trying not to cringe at the thought of them doing so when he wouldn't and then him being left all alone for the winter. It would be so horribly lonely.
Donnie shook his head. "We did a couple of times when we were younger and the lair was too cold but not anymore and not for years. Although, there was that one time when we were seven and Raph became sick."
"Don't tell people that!" Raph growled unhappily, embarrassed yet again. Mikey snickered at his reaction, relieved it was no longer an issue.
"Have you or any of your brothers ever hibernated?" Leo asked, looking at Mikey curiously.
"I don't think so," Mikey replied, shaking his head. At least, he didn't remember ever doing so.
"You're lucky then," Raph muttered petulantly, his arms crossed across his plastron.
Mikey nodded; it seemed so. It had never even crossed his mind before that hibernation was a possibility given that they were mutated turtles.
"Does your family have any traditions you like to do for Christmas, Mike?" Leo suddenly asked, changing the subject due to the slightly uncomfortable atmosphere.
"Beyond the normal stuff?" Mikey asked, blinking dubiously. "Not really. Just a big Christmas dinner or lunch with a bunch of our friends if we don't go up to the farm. Pretty much what we're doing later today, just with more people."
"More people? How many friends do you have?" Raph asked, eyes boggling in shock.
"Oh, a whole bunch," Mikey beamed happily. "April and Casey, obviously. Angel, Leatherhead, the Professor and a whole bunch of his buds from the junkyard. Nobody, Silver Sentry and Raptor from the Justice Force. Usagi and Gen, Professor Honeycutt, though technically he's a fugitoid so he doesn't eat but he still comes to hang," he explained cheerfully, ignoring the confused expressions at 'fugitoid'. "Casey's ma, The Daimyo, Sander, Sydney. They're all trusted friends and most of them either know where we live or at least how to contact us but a few of them are blindfolded before coming around."
"Holy chalupa! How the heck did you meet so many humans?" Donnie asked, his eyes wide at the sheer amount of people Mike had just mentioned. Mike had told them about some of those people before but not all of them.
"Not all of them are human but they're all people we've met topside or in space or other dimensions. Some of them became friends with us after we helped them. Some helped us and a few are just people we met and became friendly with when they didn't scream blue murder at the sight of us and run away."
"Why, how, would you take such a risk?" Leo choked, aghast at the idea.
Mikey looked at Leo oddly. "It just happened? Look, we didn't make a choice of, 'Oh that human looks friendly, let's introduce ourselves' or anything stupid like that. We just ran into each other by accident and struck up conversations. It was fine," he shrugged.
"It sounds like you take far too many risks to me," Leo admonished, stealing a glance Splinter's way. Mikey's face hardened a little.
"Maybe but when someone doesn't scream murder, attack you or run away in terror and actually says hello, it's only polite to say hi back, dude."
"I guess," Leo conceded unhappily. "But still, please don't take that kind of risk here, Mike. It's bad enough that you did with Woody."
"You make it sound like it's all my doing," Mikey accused, actually hurt by the insinuation. He'd thought things were getting better but it seemed like they still didn't think too much of him.
"Wasn't it?"
"No," Mikey retorted, fixing Leo with 'A look', "and believe it or not but I'm not even the worst one for striking up random conversations with anyone who'll listen." No, he was probably the second worst and then not by much but he wasn't owning up to that or Leo and maybe the others would just keep judging him. At least he knew Splinter trusted him.
"Who is then?"
'Don,' Mikey immediately thought. 'Raph can be pretty bad too, actually, what with wandering into sweet, little old lady's houses for tea and exposing himself to little kids.' Not that Mikey blamed him or anything. In the first case, he'd had to hide and had been invited in by someone who judged him by his nature and not appearance and in the second, Tyler had needed the help badly and Raph wasn't one to abandon someone who needed him, even when he had his own problems. "Does it really matter? We've all done it depending on the circumstances and usually been together at the time," he explained with a shrug. Then he sighed. "Look, I'll promise not to do it deliberately, okay?" Not that he had back home but that was totally beside the point, right?
"Okay, I'll take that," Leo reluctantly agreed.
"Thanks, bro," Mikey replied dryly.
"So who are all those people and how did you meet them?" Donnie asked curiously.
Mikey tossed him a smile and happily began telling them about the good friends his family had made over the years that he hadn't already told them about.
-:-
"Merry Christmas!" Casey Jones and April and Kirby O'Neil called as they entered the lair a scant couple of hours later. The two teenagers vaulted the turnstiles excitedly while April's father walked through far more sedately. Mikey turned eagerly to greet the arriving trio, calling back in unison with his other-dimensional family.
"Merry Christmas!"
"Aw man, is it a relief to be here!" Casey groaned dramatically as he and April made for the pit. Casey grabbed a handful of snacks from the table to stuff his mouth with on the way as April stopped by everyone in turn, giving out free hugs. Casey all but collapsed on the bench by Raph with another loud groan.
"That bad, huh, dude?" Mikey asked with a barely swallowed laugh of amusement at the raven-haired teen's apparent distress.
"If you ever met my bratty cousin Sid, you'd understand," Casey retorted darkly. "All I can say is I'm glad I only have to see him a couple times a year."
Raph snickered. "Can't be as bad as Mikey."
"Which one?" Casey shot back acerbically. "The guy's a menace and he kept targeting my sister. I think Dad was glad to have the excuse of me coming here to leave early. He's the..."
"Black sheep of the family?" Mikey interjected, teasing sympathetically. "Yeah, I've met Cousin Sid in my world. It wasn't the most fun ever."
Casey tossed Mikey a weird look. "Yeah, you said me and Red are like older in your world so how old's Cousin Sid there?"
Mikey shrugged. "Mid-twenties or so? Dunno, I never asked but either way, he's old enough to know better than to get into gambling debts with the mob," he replied, pulling a face at the memory. That had been a particularly fun day.
"Ugh!" Casey moaned. "Guess I've got that to look forward to..."
"Maybe, maybe not," Leo reassured with a smile. "We're talking about two different dimensions..."
"Very different dimensions," Mikey cut in with a quick grin. Leo nodded and continued.
"Who knows, maybe here he'll change as he grows up. I mean, look at how different Mike is from Mikey. It's possible at least."
Donnie and Raph snorted in amusement and April worked to hide a smile.
"Your brother and my grandson may appear to be quite different on the surface but you know very well that at their cores, they are very similar," Splinter chided gently. "Any differences as Sid grows are more likely to be due to circumstances surrounding him than any deliberate effort on his part."
"Great..." Casey muttered despondently. He looked up at Mikey tiredly. "So how bad of a bad guy is he over there?"
Mikey canted his head thoughtfully. "Not so much of a bad guy as someone who doesn't think things through and is looking to make a quick buck. He's not evil or bad or anything so don't worry too much, okay?" Mikey reassured with a shrug. "Like Leo said, two very different dimensions. If he can eventually pull himself together in one world, he should be able to in another. Especially if you help him somehow."
Casey nodded gratefully, though he still looked doubtful.
Kirby dropped a bag of gifts by the tree and came towards the pit. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he offered, looking between Mikey and Splinter.
Mikey shook his head as Splinter chuckled.
"I believe my grandson has everything well in hand, Kirby." He turned to the turtle in question. "How long until the food is ready, Michelangelo?"
Mikey pulled out his T-phone, glancing at the time. "A bit over two hours, Grandpa," he said cheerfully as he bound to his feet. "I'll just go check on things and turn what needs turning, then presents?" he asked hopefully.
The other five teenagers exchanged excited looks and Splinter chuckled.
"Yes, Michelangelo, then presents. Donatello, perhaps you could provide some appropriate music, my son?"
Donnie grinned broadly as he pulled out his own T-phone to remotely activate the sound and light system. A moment later, the soft strains of Christmas music echoed through the lair, the main lights dimmed and party lights turned on, the ambience perfect to see by yet provide mood.
Mikey sighed in happiness as he jaunted merrily to the kitchen. The only way things could be better was if his family and the lost Michelangelo were here too. He only hoped they'd been able to move on from their pain at his loss enough to get some enjoyment and joy from the day and if his dream from last night was anything to go by, they had.
Several minutes later, he returned to the living room to find everyone crowded around the tree, waiting on him and he grinned as Splinter and Kirby began handing out gifts from the massive pile.
Leo had made candles for everyone. Each one was unique, tailored for the receiver in question in their signature colours and scented to suit with kanji beautifully carved down one side. Mikey closed his eyes as he breathed the scent in appreciatively, once again grateful his sense of smell and taste had eventually returned. Once he'd had his fill of the delicious scent, he studied the kanji curiously but while his spoken Japanese was coming along well, his kanji was almost non-existent. He grinned hopefully up at Leo. "This is beautiful, bro but uh... what does it say?" He pointed at the kanji.
Leo smiled at him in amusement but there was affection in his eyes too. "Kyōdai," he said simply.
Brother.
Warmth swelled in his heart at the reminder of his acceptance into this family and he shot across the floor to squeeze Leonardo tight in a hug.
Laughing, Leo put up with it for a bit before finally extricating himself, feigning pretence that he couldn't breathe.
"I am never burning it, bro!" Mikey promised solemnly as he made his way back to his seat between Donnie and Raph.
"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a candle?" Leo challenged through the wide smile on his face.
"Nuh," Mikey shook his head happily. "They hold the scent for years so I can still enjoy it as is."
From Raphael, there were matching hand-knitted gloves and scarves for everyone. He blushed happily as both Mikey and April practically squealed in delight to see their signature weapons knitted into the patterns.
"Wow, Raph!" April cooed in awe, "You've gotten so much better in the last year! Where'd you learn to do this?" she asked, fingering the indented pattern of a tessen in one glove.
Raph shrugged nonchalantly. "Just picked it up online and adjusted the pattern to my own purpose," he mumbled in embarrassment before shooting Casey a glare, warning the chortling teen to shut the hell up and stop judging without words.
Leo and Donnie immediately wrapped the scarves around their necks and Mikey pulled on a glove to try it on, revelling in the softness and warmth of the wool. It was almost a perfect fit; something that amazed him given he didn't remember Raph ever actively measuring his hands.
"Thanks, Raphie!" he grinned, leaning over as if to hug the hotheaded turtle and laughing when he backed off to protect himself.
"Yeah, you're welcome," Raph grunted the moment Mikey backed off.
"I didn't even know you knitted, Raph. My Raphie does too but he doesn't have anywhere near your skill, bro!"
Despite himself, a pleased expression filled Raph's face.
Next to be handed out were the gifts from Casey. For Raph, he gave a personally signed wrestling poster he'd waited hours in line to get. For Leo, it was a model kit of the ship from Space Heroes. Donnie received a large container of assorted parts, chips and wires. Casey didn't know if they were of any use, he said, but Donnie was excited, particularly over one small item he spotted in the box. Splinter was given a container of tea and he breathed in the scent appreciatively before thanking the human boy with a warm smile. Kirby received a box of gourmet biscuits from another country, a brand April had told Casey her father particularly liked. For April was two tickets to see a show she'd been wanting to see and Mikey grinned knowingly, figuring Casey hoped she'd ask him to go with her and Mikey was given another sketchbook, something he was really happy about as one of the others only had a couple of empty pages left in it.
The gift from Kirby and April was for everyone. A brand new, recently released gaming system and four games, each of which was picked to suit one or more person's tastes. April also gave the turtles and Casey something smaller each, graphic novels for Leo and Mikey, sports magazines for Raph and Casey and a novel for Donnie. For Splinter, he was given two large, beautifully framed photos. The first was of his family, including April, taken before their Michelangelo disappeared and the second of his family as it was now with Mike, April and Casey included; a photo that Kirby had taken a few weeks prior, the last time he'd managed to come down to visit.
Mikey gave his other-dimensional brothers shoes, warm and waterproof with good tread and fleece lining. Knowing they didn't have any thanks to the inhuman shapes of their feet, he'd worked hard to make them, silently sending thanks to his father for making them learn how to make such things growing up. He'd had some help from Kirby to get what he needed and from April for measurements, he'd also managed to brave Donnie's lab alone one night to make use of his 3D printer for the soles. He hadn't realised before today just how badly the cold affected his other-dimensional brothers but seeing them without adequate winter footwear made him glad he'd made them.
The brothers looked pleased with their gifts but also full of trepidation given that they'd never worn anything but thicker wrapping before. Donnie was the first to try his on and he walked around in delight, realising how warm they were and how much they'd help in the winter.
"And you made these?"
Mikey nodded, suddenly shy. "My father taught us when we were around ten."
"Why when you and your brothers can just wear human shoes?" Leo asked, his brow wrinkled slightly in confusion as he gazed at Mikey's feet.
Mikey cast him a sidelong look. "Finding winter shoes in the right size and in good enough condition to use isn't easy. Honestly, though," he laughed only slightly self-consciously, "I like making costumes and clothes, it's fun. There isn't a lot of reason for me to make them though but I got good at it so my bros always asked me to help them with their costumes for Halloween and especially their shoes."
"It is a very thoughtful gift, my grandson. Perhaps someday you can teach us how to make them for ourselves."
Mikey nodded vigorously. "Sure! I can do that!"
The gift-giving continued. Mikey gave Splinter a mug with 'World's Greatest Grandpa' on it, a puzzle book to Kirby to help him relax and for April, a framed sketch of herself. Mikey caught Donnie gazing between the image and April in awe. Casey was thrilled to get a set of cans of spray paint.
Next up was Splinter. The gifts he gave were practical. New gear; masks, belts and pads for the turtles in the styles they preferred. April and Casey, too, received protective padding for their elbows and knees, though theirs were closer in style to what Michelangelo wore; all the easier to hide under clothing where applicable to avoid unwelcome questioning from people like Casey's father and sister or their teachers and classmates.
Last but not least were the gifts from Donnie. Donatello had used his 3D printer to make a figure of Leo dressed in the 'Space Heroes' captain uniform, the detail of which was exquisite. For Raph, he'd given two books. One on general motorcycle maintenance and another that he'd written himself of specific care for the bike he'd built. He was more than happy to continue maintaining it himself but Raph had been showing interest of late in learning for himself. Still, Donnie made sure to let Raph know he was more than willing to help whenever.
He gave Casey and Kirby T-phones to match April's, though Kirby's did not look quite so much like a turtle shell so it would blend in more in general human society. Still, the device was far superior to any available to the public topside and worked both with the network Donnie built or could be used on any topside network. Splinter received a digital photo frame he'd built, complete with their family crest and preloaded with numerous family photos.
April received a pair of voice-activated AR glasses. At the surreptitious press of a button, their appearance could switch between sunglasses or normal glasses and they could connect to her T-phone. As he explained, they could be used to see into the distance or in night vision mode and they had advanced scanning capabilities and he promised to take her aside later to show her all the features.
As for Mikey, he stared down at his gift in shock before raising his eyes to meet Donnie's pleased gaze. "Dude! You built me a laptop?" he asked excitedly.
Donnie nodded shyly. "It's designed with your gaming and art programs in mind. I-it's not quite as powerful as mine because I couldn't get all the parts I needed in time but as I do, I'll upgrade it for you. I've preloaded the programs I know you use but I'll leave it to you to personalise it. If you need any help, just ask."
Mikey beamed broadly at Donnie as he oh-so-carefully placed his new toy aside, then flew across the space, barely avoiding knocking the tree over, to engulf Donnie in a massive hug. Stiffening in surprise, Donnie blinked in shock, though he radiated pleasure at the reaction.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I've never had a laptop before but I've totally missed having a computer of my own!" Mikey gushed enthusiastically. "Thank you, Donnie! You're the best!"
"You're welcome, Mike," Donnie replied happily, finally wrapping his arm around the other-dimensional turtle and returning the embrace. "Now maybe you'll stop stealing mine all the time," he joked.
Mikey laughed and turned his head to look at his shiny new laptop. "Yeah, dude, for sure! Though, I'll have to steal it one more time to get my files off."
"Already done last night. After you returned mine," Donnie teased.
"Oops!" Mikey grinned, removing himself from Donnie. He didn't regret it though, even though Donnie had needed it and he was ten minutes late returning it due to the rendering taking longer than he'd thought it would.
There was still a pile of gifts under the tree, ones for the missing brother and the plan was that once the decorations came down in twelve days, they'd be moved into his bedroom for the day he was finally found and returned home. If he wasn't found before then.
Though he ached to take the time to have a good look at his new computer now that presents were done, Mikey ran into the kitchen to put the vegetables on for roasting. When he came back out, the other three turtles and two human teenagers had rugged up with their new scarves, gloves and shoes, along with their warm jackets and were waiting on him.
"Come on!" Raph bit impatiently as he threw Mikey his woollies.
With a bright grin, Mikey wrapped his scarf around his neck and raced to his room for his shoes, pants and jacket. Moments later, he returned, hopping as he struggled to get into the second pants leg. Everyone watched him in amusement, Casey outright laughing and Kirby and Splinter exchanging looks and shaking their heads.
"You know, Michelangelo, it'd be easier to get them on if you stopped and took your time," Kirby offered in a teasing tone.
"Where's the fun in that, dude?" Mikey scoffed. He did, however, stop to take his time to put his shoes on.
"Dunno why you're bothering with all that when we're not going topside," Raph jeered.
"We're still going out to play in the snow," Mikey shot back indignantly. "You might be content to be cold even though you feel it worse but I'm not!" A memory of playing topside when he was nine with his brothers and Sensei came to mind. It'd been the dead of night and no one around and they'd been using a toboggan Donnie had found at the dump and fixed up. He and Raph had ridden together, arguing all the way down about which way to steer when they'd lost control and ended up shooting out onto a pond. The thin ice had cracked beneath their weight and they'd fallen in. Luckily for them, the water wasn't deep but they'd suffered for it, becoming very sick afterwards. Since then, though Mikey still loved playing in the snow, he rugged up well, going so far as to make himself and his brothers waterproof clothing whenever he could get the materials.
"Other than the occasional trips to the junkyard with Master Splinter, we never went topside before our fifteenth Mutation Day so feeling the cold when it was snowy never affected us before," Leo shrugged with a wry smile. "And we never had to wear clothes either, at least not once Donnie fixed up the heating in this place."
"I bet!" Mikey grinned. "It can get really cold in the sewers but it's heaps better than up there."
Leo nodded solemnly and half turned towards the turnstiles. "How long before we need to be back?"
"An hour and a half," Mikey immediately answered, looking at the time. "That's if Grandpa-Sensei or Kirby can check the oven in about an hour?" he asked, shooting the pair a hopeful look.
Splinter nodded. "Of course, my grandson."
"Thanks!" Mikey called cheerfully, racing after the others as they left the lair.
-:-
It didn't take long to reach their destination as it was only down the passage and around the corner. A large, open space that had once been part of the underground station the Hamatos now occupied. Much like the lair, it was mostly cut off from the main tunnels when it had been abandoned and Donnie had long since hacked into city records to erase any electronic evidence – he couldn't do much about any paper-based trails, however, and left that up to fate to ensure it remained forgotten about. When the turtles had been younger, they'd used the space as a safe play area extension of their home, using skateboards, a makeshift basketball hoop Splinter long ago set up, along with a swing and a chalk-drawn Four Square space. Now, Mikey could see several piles of snow dotted around the room, dragged in using old plastic sandpits and kiddie pools which were now stacked to the side of the room. He'd been in the space many times before and been told of its history but other than in the fairly early days of him being in this world, he hadn't spent much time there. There were also several barricades around the room which he hadn't noticed before and only realised when searching his memory that they were normally kept along a side wall. He took a few steps further in and half-turned his head, calling out to Raph.
"And you, Casey and I are on the same team, right?" he asked in a light, innocent voice.
"Right," Raph replied slightly impatiently.
Mikey watched from the corner of his eye as the teens split into two groups and spread out across the room, his heartbeat picking up speed in excitement and it was all he could do not to allow his impish smirk give him away. Before Leo, Donnie and April could reach their side of the room, Mikey dashed forward the final few steps and scooped up some snow, shaping it with expert speed and letting fly at the two turtles
Splat! Splat!
Two simultaneous voices exploded from the pair and before anyone could react to the preemptive strike, Mikey scooped up another two handfuls and let fly at Raphael and Casey who were laughing too hard to dodge or even notice the projectiles.
Splat! Splat!
Mikey laughed loudly with glee, already scooping up more and dashing to dive behind a barricade for cover. As he ran, he caught April's eye and mouthed, "Team up?"
April nodded with a bright grin.
"You little shit!" Raph roared once he found his feet.
"He's bigger than you, dude," Casey pointed out with a mad grin.
"Big shit, then! We're supposed to be on the same team!"
Mikey cackled madly in joy. "Too bad no one asked me if I wanted that team up," he called as he let fly with another snowball at Raph. Like the last, it caught the green-eyed turtle unprepared.
Raphael growled darkly, fists clenched and sides heaving, "I fucking trusted you!"
And launched himself across the room, barrelling straight for Mikey.
"Aw, don't worry, you're not the first turtle to make that mistake, Raphie" Mikey mocked with an obnoxious laugh, dodging and letting fly with another snowball at the hothead and for good measure, the other at Donnie.
Donnie managed to dodge the snowball easily but the one a giggling April threw his way caught him smack dab in the back of his head.
Turning to see who threw it, Donnie asked in dismay, "Et tu, April?"
With a shrug, she grinned and tossed another, this time at Casey. "Sorry, Donnie but I got a better offer."
For a moment, Leo stood there, stunned at the turn of events and then he grinned. Using all his ninja skills, he disappeared from sight and began building an arsenal behind the furthest barricade where he wouldn't be noticed until he was ready.
Raphael, meanwhile, didn't even try to dodge as Mikey threw ball after ball at him, bounding around and dodging, laughing and mocking all the while as Raph grew more and more infuriated. Finally, in a repeat of two nights ago, Raphael launched himself at Michelangelo in a vicious tackle and this time, Mikey rolled with it. Literally.
Using the extra curve of his carapace, Mikey rolled back, using the force to throw Raph across the room and into a mound of snow where he lay, stunned. Everyone stopped their game and stared at Mike in amazement.
"That was so metal, dude!" Casey gaped in disbelief. "How the hell'd you manage to do that? To Raph?"
Mikey cast him a grin and opened his mouth to answer when splat! Instead, he choked and started spitting out snow.
"Ugh, Jones! Have you seen the shape of Mike's carapace?" Donnie groaned, rolling his eyes. "He..."
Splat!
Suddenly, a rain of snowballs began flying across the room and following the direction from whence it came, Mikey caught a flash of leaf green and blue and his grin broadened in delight.
"Oh, it's totally on, dude!"
-:-
Comments, thoughts and concrit are always welcome.
* 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.