Training today was all about stealth. Being a ninja, that was pretty important. Perhaps one of the most important factors.

"Remember... to become a true ninja, you must become one with the shadows. Darkness gives the ninja power while light reveals the ninjas presence," Master Splinter kneeled on the ground, holding his walking stick horizontally in the air with a flickering candle balancing on it's side. "Now, can you extinguish this flame without revealing yourselves?" He flicked his walking stick, catching the candle in mid air before shutting his eyes.

As simple as the task was, Master Splinter was also a rat with very keen hearing and absolutely incredible senses for his surroundings. He was always able to tell when we were outside his room, eavesdropping or if we were simply up when it was late at night. So ultimately, the simple task became easier said than done. While Mikey, Donnie and Raph quickly hid in the shadows of the living room, Leo nudged me and glanced up at the ceiling. This was something we'd been planning since the last time we'd done this lesson. Nobody had been able to get the candle from Splinter so far but today, Leo and I were going to be the first.

I gave my brother a boost up to the ceiling. I wasn't entirely as strong as he was, but I was able to give him enough momentum to get him up. After he situated himself, he dropped a hand and pulled me up. Adjusting ourselves, Master Splinter was just below.

We got the front row view of Donnie diving for the candle, only to miscalculate and crash into the brick wall on the other side of Splinter.

Ouch.

"Too noisy Donatello," Splinter chuckled.

Mikey was next. He ended up in the same boat as Donnie.

"Too clumsy Michelangelo."

Raph's tactic was so incredibly stupid that I was a bit embarrassed to say I've trained with him for so long. To the normal human being, our stealth would be unnoticeable but when you've had years of training and experience in that particular field, there was a huge difference between silent and invisible. With sais in hand, Raph actually tried to catch Splinter from behind, and to no one's surprise, Splinter ducked to avoid the dive to the head. Raph landed on the ground with a heavy thud and a slight huff. He immediately got to his feet and tried counter-attacking. Splinter easily maneuvered from a low kick to the shoulder, using his walking stick to trip Raph and send him into the wall just as he had done with Mikey and Donnie. The three frustrated turtles groaned from the impact.

"Poor choice Raphael."

My blue banded brother gave me a small nod, an indication to drop down. I knew the plan. I knew exactly what we were doing. It was a very very simple concept that Master Splinter taught us a long long time ago. Distraction.

I purposely dropped to the ground as loudly as I possibly could. Splinter opened his eyes, a bit surprised with my blatant tactic. He frowned, disappointed, and widely seen his walking stick just as he'd done with the other three turtles. As I blocked his attack, Leo dropped from the ceiling beams and with his katana unsheathed. The blade cut the candle easily, like butter. In that half-second moment, Splinter turned to Leo and I took the opportunity to unhook one of my two escrima sticks from my belt. I caught, just barely, the burning flame on the side of my metal weapon.

I stepped back, along with Leo. Splinter smiled, impressively, in the darkness as I held the candle up to Leo. He blew it out with a pleased smirk. Our plan had worked perfectly.

A moment later, the lights turned on.

"Very good Jade and Leonardo," Master Splinter praised, giving us an approving nod, "Your teamwork was exceptional."

I felt Mikey wrap his arm around my neck and give me a rough noogie, "A 10 for major style."

"Teacher's pets," Raph muttered under his breath. His arms were crossed over plastron with his fists in balls and his jaw clenched in annoyance. He never did like failing a lesson to the eldest or youngest. Hell, he didn't like failing, period. None of us did but Raph was always such a hothead about it.

Leo snapped his head around, giving the red banded turtle a glare, "Ninja dropout," He retorted coldly.

Leo wasn't usually the greatest with comebacks but that was beautiful.

Donnie, Mikey and I put our hand up to our mouths at the same time, "OOOOO..." Snickering as the two eldest stood inches away from each other, moments away from breaking out into a giant death match.

"My sons!" Master Splinter put a paw to his forehead irritably, "My sons. My daughter. If you are to become true ninja, you must work harder. Your path in life will not be an easy one. The outside world will not be a friendly place for you. You four are different in ways the surface dwellers would never understand," He glanced over at me," "And you are wanted by many up top. To survive, you all must master these skills I teach you."

Words we'd, I've, been hearing for years now. It was one of the first things Splinter talked to me about the morning after he'd brought me into his home. A long discussion, just the two of us, about where I came from and the obvious portion of how I meant something to somebody based on the scars that were delicately crisscrossed along my arms, my stomach, my back, just about everywhere except for my face. They all stuck out, white as fish bones on the tan pigment of my flesh. Though, I was never comfortable telling him details. Not that I really remembered too much of those days. It was all blurry. Probably for the best anyway. When I'd declined to talk about it with him, he brought up the subject of his existence. How he and the turtles were who they were. He explained everything and most importantly, that he was training the turtles in the art of ninjutsu. Needless to say, I was offered the opportunity to join in his trainings.

The rest was history now. That was eleven years ago.

Just as Splinter finished his sentence, the ground shook. A vibration that made the entire room move. I heard breakables and china fall off shelves in Splinter's room and the light hanging from the ceiling began to swing. I pressed my palm against the wall beside me, which felt like a jackhammer. The whole room felt like a jackhammer, but the wall I pressed myself against was incredibly strong.

"What? What is that noise?" Splinter quickly got to his feet.

"Whoa… Earthquake!" Mikey croaked over the rumbling.

"In New York? Possible but not likely," Donnie answered thoughtfully.

I felt the wall behind my hand begin crumble suddenly and I was completely unprepared for what knocked me down. It was an anchor on my chest, pressing down my ribcage rather hurtfully. Some small metal… thing. A robot the size of a large bird. It even kind of looked like a bird. It stood on two legs and the body of chicken. The head was oversized, a large oval. It was a disproportionate figure. It opened it's shiny jaws and revealed to long rows of sharp teeth. I didn't have to time to do anything, not even breath let alone try to get get it off. Thankfully, a red sai was spiked into it's skull.

"Thanks," I said, heaving in relief as my brothers hand pulled me to my feet.

Raph nodded gruffly, "Ya ain't allowed to go down that easy, kiddo."

"What are those things?" Leo asked, taking a defensive stance.

"New York city cockroaches?" Mikey joked.

"I was gonna say chickens," I gave, earning a shrug.

Raph spun his sais in his hands. "Whateva they are, they picked the wrong party ta crash!"

The robots were easy enough to attack. No competitive combat was really necessary. Some could jump but it was the large number of them that was concerning. Our living room had an ocean of shiny, snapping heads. Living or broken, they were scattered throughout our home in a indescribable number. Where were they all coming from?

"Sensei?!" Leo called, raising an alarm for my brothers and I.

Father was cornered on the other side of the living room. Majority of the robots eyed him down with their red eyes.

In minutes, I was by his side being that I'd been closest to him. My brothers were still back a ways, now trying to keep the invaders off the wooden support pillars connected to the ceiling. The robots were just gnawing through them like they were nothing. It wasn't long before the ceiling began to crumble. Bit by bit and it wasn't until Donnie yelled, "Look out!" that I realized the entirety of the ceiling was coming down. Cement fell in large chunks. Dirt showered the air. Something connected with my head and a sharp pain followed. I felt a warm substance spill down the side of my face but it wasn't my priority. Dust swirled, choking my sense.

It seemed like forever, but the rumbling subsided. A few pebbles continued to break off from the ceiling but for the most part, the worst of it was over. The living room, wasn't a living room anymore. A pile of rock and cement covered up what used to be my home.

Where was Master Splinter? Where were my brothers?

I heard a dull groan somewhere behind me. It was Splinter. I scrambled to my feet and I ran over to find him beginning to sit up, rubbing his head. Thick blood matted the fur on his forearm but other than that, he seemed relatively alright. Perhaps a bit shaken up if anything. I was too.

"Sensei, are you alright?" I asked him worriedly, eyeing the nasty cut.

He rubbed his forehead, "Yes.. I am.. Fine," He looked up at me, seeing the gash and blood running down my face. He looked so worried that If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was going to be sick. "Jade, my daughter, are you okay?"

"I'm alright..." I was cut off by the familiar ringing of the Shell Cell. Splinter took it out of his robe and flipped the cover open.

"Hmm..." He mumbled as he began pushing buttons on it, "Which button do you press to answer this thing?"

I could hear Leo's voice through the phone, "Master Splinter? Are you alright? Is Jade okay?"

Master Splinter was still pushing buttons, "Hello? Stupid device."

I rolled my eyes, giggling at his confusion. Splinter wasn't much of a rat for anything technological, even if all his kids had shown him how to use it more than a couple times, "Sensei... you don't have to press any buttons. You've already answered the call."

"Uh... Right. Leonardo, whatever those mechanical menaces are, they have managed to eat through the support structure of our home. We must leave right away. Meet Jade and I at the old drainage junction."

"We'll meet you two there," Leo replied before ending the call.

I slowly got to my feet. The living room wasn't much of a living room anymore. Just a small wasteland of rubble and scattered robot parts. Luckily, the entrance to our home was still intact but I wondered how my brothers were going to get out and meet us at the drainage junction.

"How much do you want to bet they're going to go topside?" I asked Splinter.

"They have never been to the surface by themselves," He sighed, his ears flattening in worry.

"They're old enough to take care of themselves," I told him, trying to be in the least bit encouraging, "You said yourself that it was about time that they were given the chance to go topside anyway."

Splinter raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think they won't find trouble?" It wasn't really a question with the slight sarcasm that dripped in his voice.

I shrugged, still trying to play off a convincing expression. No, I didn't think they wouldn't find trouble because they always find trouble. Those four had a gift for getting into trouble even if they weren't looking for it. Trouble found them, "They'll be fine. Leo will make sure they aren't up there for longer than they need to. You made him our team leader for a reason."

"I suppose so," Splinter mumbled, not sounding entirely convinced. I understood his worry but I knew I had a point too. The overprotectiveness of my father had to slide a little for the time being. They were old enough to do this. In my opinion, it was a little overdue.

We walked down the sewer in silence until we reached the drainage junction. We were met with silence. They definitely went topside. It didn't take very long at all to get from our old home to the drainage junction. In fact, they should have been here before Splinter and I.

"Ah, the old drainage junction," Master Splinter said out loud, looking around, "Now where are my sons?"

I shot my father a sideways glance, "Can't you guess?"

Just as he casted an annoyed, warning look, the ground began to shake again.

"Not again!" My voice shouted over the noise.

The middle of the floor began to crack and break apart. A small army of the familiar robots came crawling out from the ground like roaches. Not quite as many as before, thankfully. They were easy enough to defeat. Splinter and I left them broken and shattered as quickly as they showed up. I was just kind of weirded out by how they were always attracted to Splinter. He was a magnet or something to them.

Unfortunately, there was no celebration for our small victory. The floor crumbled and our feet went out from under us. We landed in the next tunnel system below. The impact of the hard cement floor on my body hit me like a truck. I groaned and lightly poked my forehead where some fresh blood started trickling down my face. I wiped some of it off as I slowly got to my feet. My head felt a little woozy.

"Jade. Are you alright?"

I nodded slowly, "Ya ya. I'm good. Just a little fresh blood that's all," I kept putting my hand up to my forehead and looking at the blood that stained my hands, "Donnie will have to take a look at it, though."

"Come look at this." Splinters simple command surprised me momentarily. I hadn't even noticed the large hole in the wall a couple yards away. An opening to a surprisingly large area. Right at the entrance was a staircase leading down to a lower level. There were doors leading off to smaller rooms and a balcony on the upper level.

"What is this place?"

"I am not sure but it looks to be abandoned," Splinter sniffed the air, "Nobody has been here for a very long time."

I turned to him suddenly, "Do you think…?"

"This place has much potential," He smiled lightly, "I will meet your brothers at the junction, you may stay here, if you'd like?"

I nodded and watched him leave before setting my hand on the railing and slowly made my way down the cement steps. At the base of the stairs, I stared at the large empty space that had a fine layer of dust and rubble. I could almost imagine a TV set up with one of Mikey's video games set up on the far side of the room and having the youngest brothers eyes glued to the screen. This place was perfect. The size was more than enough for my family. So much better than the home before, no matter how heartbreaking it was to think that it was gone.

Maybe some things happen for a reason? I guess we just had to spare a little blood for it.

After minutes of letting my eyes wander around the room, I heard Michelangelo's voice from outside the entrance. He was complaining and assuming just as he usually does.

"No offense Master Splinter but this place doesn't seem so great."

I rolled my eyes. Typical Michelangelo.

Splinters gravelly voice attempted to sound encouraging, "Look with your heart Michelangelo and not your eyes."

"Uhhm… Okay?"

There was a short pause. Then a loud smack.

"Ow!"

I giggled, visualizing Mikey rubbing the back of his head and glaring at one of three brothers that had hit him. I leaned against the railing at the bottom of the steps as they entered through the hole of a doorway with a few gasps of awe escaping from their mouths until they found me at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked, meeting me with a worried expression.

I totally forgot about the blood on my face.

"Nothing dear Donatello can't fix up," I grinned reassuringly.

Lucky for me, Donnie had his duffel bag with him. His Mary Poppins handbag as we called it, "What else am I here for?"

I chuckled and let him get to work on cleaning me up while everyone else explored the new place, mainly on Michelangelo who was running upstairs and claiming every single room.

"Uh Mikey… That last room at the end of the hall, I already claimed it," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well okay," He looked crestfallen, but only for a split second, "Since you're my favorite sister, I'll let you have that one. But the rest are mine!"

Donnie shook his head with a slight roll of his eyes, "She's your only sister Mikey."

He slid down the railing of the stairs and landed in front of us, grinning from ear to ear, "Which makes her my favorite!"

I chuckled as Donnie finished up bandaging my head, "Thanks Don," I smiled gratefully.

"Of course Jade," He put his spare supplies in his bag, "Just let me know if you feel light headed or woozy again in the next few hours. You could have a concussion."

"Will do."

Satisfied, Donnie turned for his first real good look at the new space, "I could really tune this place up."

I walked over to the middle of the room where Leo and Master Splinter stood, studying the layout.

"You see my children. Change is good."

Leo beamed, "We couldn't agree more Master Splinter," He replied.

"Good," Master Splinter smirked and snapped his fingers, "Now let's see you all clean up for a change. This chamber is filthy."

His voice was cut off by the sounds of whines and moans, "Aw man."