A/N: A reviewer asked me where Klunk fits in the age order of siblings. To clarify, the order is: Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, Klunk. I always pictured Klunk (if he were ever mutated) to be the youngest.

Disclaimer: see chapter one


Golden stared into green as turtle and cat faced off. Klunk grinned evilly as Raphael growled. Michelangelo and Donatello looked between their brothers; Donatello with a worried look, Michelangelo with a wide grin. Leonardo came out of his room, face hidden in a comic book. He lowered the comic just in time to see the stand off. Frowning in confusion, Leonardo went over to his brainy brother.

"What's going on?" he whispered.

Donatello pointed to the spot between Raphael and Klunk. The TV remote sat innocently in the middle of the brothers. Leonardo looked from the remote to the TV, which was playing a cartoon rerun.

"They've just been standing there," Donatello said quietly.

"Because Raph knows that if he moves, Klunk can swipe the remote in a second," Michelangelo replied, his voice also hushed.

Leonardo sighed in exasperation. "Oh, for the love of...this is stupid," he declared. "If you can't decide on what to watch, give the remote to someone else."

As he spoke, Leonardo walked up and went to reach for the remote. All he saw was a flash of orange and white, while getting a mouth full of cat hair as Klunk's tail smacked him in the face. Raphael growled again and ran after the feline. Klunk laughed and ran off. Donatello and Michelangelo tried to dodge their siblings, taking refuge behind the couch. Donatello grunted when Klunk used his shoulders to vault himself up on to the spiral ramp that hung over the Pit. Raphael stalked up, murder blazing in his green eyes.

"Here, kitty kitty," he seethed.

Klunk's ears fell back against his head and he hissed, barring his razor sharp teeth. Raphael grabbed a pillow and threw it at Klunk, however, the cat was able to scurry up the ramp and miss getting hit.

"Anyone ever tell you that you have terrible aim?" Klunk asked.

"I'll give you 'terrible aim'," Raphael snarled. He ran and sprang into the air, grabbing a hold of the edge of the ramp and pulling himself up. "Come here, you!" he yelled, pulling out his sais.

Klunk threw the remote away, vaguely noticing Michelangelo catching it. He raised his arms in a defensive position and blades shot out of his wrist guards.

"Guys, stop!" Leonardo shouted.

However, his plea fell on deaf ears. The lair rang with the clashing of metal. Klunk and Raphael pushed against each other, grunting from the effort. They pushed away, but Raphael charged shortly afterwards. He swung one of his sais at Klunk's head, which was parried by the cat with his own weapon. Klunk spun around, kicking at Raphael's chest. His foot connected and Raphael stumbled back.

"All of this for a remote?" Leonardo asked is disbelief.

"I think they've finally lost it," Donatello commented, watching the fight from a safe distance away.

Raphael charged again and brought his sais down. Klunk quickly countered, locking his own blades with Raphael's. The red masked turtle swung his weapons in an arch and kicked out. Klunk lost his balance and fell back. Raphael threw his weapons away and pinned Klunk down. The cat hissed and fought against his brother.

"You shouldn't do that, dude," Michelangelo called up.

Klunk's eyes went into golden slits and he swiped at Raphael's face. Everyone gasped and tensed when Raphael cried out, his hands grabbing his bleeding throat. Klunk shot up, eyes wide with horror.

"Raph!" he cried.

In a flurry of movement, Donatello and Leonardo had Raphael down on the floor and Donatello immediately began medical treatment. Leonardo hurried off to the lab to grab the first aid kit. Klunk landed on the floor, but didn't move to help. Just then, Splinter and Shard appeared from the dojo.

"What happened here?" Splinter asked.

Shard sniffed the air. "Yoshi, I smell blood," she said.

Splinter assessed the scene. Leonardo was returning with the first aid kit and Donatello was hunched over Raphael, his body blocking Splinter's view from his red masked son. The ninja master moved to see what was going on. His eyes widened when he saw the blood. He looked around at his sons.

"What happened?" he demanded. His eyes fell on Klunk who was holding his hand to his chest. "Cliff?"

Klunk flinched. Shard went over to her son and knelt down, stroking his head.

"Cliff, honey, what happened?" she asked gently.

Klunk slowly revealed his bloody hand; his claws coated in red. "I didn't mean to...honest," he said in a small voice. "He had me pinned...I panicked and..." He looked up at Splinter, his eyes shining with tears. "I didn't mean to hurt Raph, sensei. I truly didn't."

Splinter looked to Donatello. "How bad is it?" he asked.

"The gash isn't too deep," the scientist replied. "A few stitches and Raph should be back to good health in no time."

Klunk sniffled and tears began to fall. He took off for the turnstiles before anyone could stop him and disappeared into the sewers. He heard his family calling his name, but he kept running. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have hurt his brother like that? He was a monster; there was no other explanation. Klunk continued to run until he couldn't go any further. He collapsed and broke down into tears.

When there were no more tears left to shed, Klunk wiped his eyes and took a shaky breath. He looked down at his hand, his stomach lurching in revulsion. His ears perked up when he heard the sound of running water. He got to his feet and followed the sound until he came to a storm drain. It must have been raining topside because water was pouring in through the grate. Klunk lifted his hand and used the rain water to wash the blood off of his hand.

Klunk looked up the ladder at the manhole cover above him. He had always wanted to see what was on the surface; now seemed as good a time as any to find out. He began climbing the ladder, but stopped at the cover when he heard someone call his name. Michelangelo appeared out of the darkness. He was panting for breath and looked like his legs were about to give out.

"Dude," he gasped. "Where are you going?"

"Topside," Klunk replied.

"You can't," Michelangelo said.

"Mikey-" Klunk started.

"Not without me," Michelangelo cut in with a grin.

Klunk smiled back and nodded. "Okay," he laughed.

Michelangelo climbed up the ladder as his brother pushed the cover off. They crawled through the manhole and entered an alley. Their eyes went wide as they took in their surroundings. Giant crystalline structures stretched skyward, overtaking large high rise buildings. Some buildings had been reduced to rubble; skeletons of their former glory. In the sky floated huge mechanical airships that were no doubt of alien origin.

"Where are the people?" Klunk whispered, looking around at the empty street.

"I don't know," Michelangelo whispered back. "But, this place is a lot creepier than what I had imagined."

The brothers jumped when an airship flew overhead. They shrank into the shadows, keeping out of sight. A beam of purple light streamed down from the middle of the space craft. A minute later it passed over a second time.

"What's it doing?" Michelangelo asked.

"I think it's scanning for something," Klunk replied.

"But, what?" Michelangelo wanted to know. "There's nothing to scan for. Everything is dead."

The scanning beam passed over their hiding place and the ship suddenly lit up. An alarm rang out; echoing across the empty streets. Klunk turned to glare at his brother.

"You just had to ask," he growled.


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