Disclaimer: TMNT is not mine, it in fact belongs to Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.

Title: The rat and a street thug

Genre: Friendship

Summary: When Splinter is separated from his sons, he is injured in the alleys. The thug he saves decides to return favor…. This alliance is just as shaky, unstable and doomed as a condemned building. Can Splinter make it work just as long as he is being carted around? Can his sons find him?

Chapter one

Splinter was lying on his belly; he was, quite literally, a half-drowned drenched rat. When the wave had hit him, he had managed to stay calm and hold his breath, and the current carried him to a storm drain that emptied the water into some irrigation concrete city stream. He would have been dumped into the stream if he had not grabbed onto the partially broken cover-rail of the drain.

He was weak; the hand he had used to grab the railing was broken from the force of the rushing water, and his lungs were half-full of water, making breathing difficult. And he felt heavy due to the water soaked in his fur.

Splinter wanted to lay down and rest, but he pushed himself to stay awake and slowly pick himself up; he coughed up much water as he shakily rose onto his hind-paws.

His tired beady black eyes stared ahead; luckily, the stream of the concrete was low, he could wade through it. He was not sure what part of the city he was in, all he knew was that he must have been swept away to an unfamiliar part of it.

Coughing up more water, Master Splinter hobbled down the stream, sticking to the shadows where he was not seen.

Call it teenaged mellow-drama, but sometimes Thug felt as if the world really had something against her. If her current poverty, complete lonliness and low social standings weren't bad enough, she was currently at knife-point in a filthy, dark alley-way and her pride didn't allow her to scream for help. Damned pride.

"Fella's, fella's!" Thug awkwardly said and put her hands up to her former gang-mates "Can't we put all of this behind us and go on with our lives?"

"No ones leaves the Poiple Dragons!" Pike growled, pressing the blade against her throat "At least, not alive!"

"We'll teach you for trying to leave, Thug." Switch told her, punching his fist threateningly. Thug had to fight back a snort; Switch and Pike were both only twelve years old, contrasting to her being sixteen. But unfortunately, even at her best performance she could probably take only one of them down; taking on them both when they had weapons and she had squat? She might as well already order a coffin.

Thug let out a cry of pain when Pike punched her hard in the stomach; she crumpled down as Switch kicked her in the ribs; damn! If she lived, she was going to go another week limping.

Thug was so used to these mosh-pit gang beatings that she didn't bother fighting back, because A) There was no way to win, and B) Fighting back would only make it more horrible. Leaving only the option of taking it until they eventually got bored and left so she could limp back home and lick her wounds.

"St - Stop!" A weak, gruff voice shakily hollered; Thug sighed in relief when the assault of kicks stopped. Switch and Pike turned to the silhouette of what looked like a short, haggard man.

Switch and Pike laughted.

"What are you gon' do 'bout it?" Pike challenged and licked his blade threateningly; it only served to make him look like bad-anime fan. All he needed was exaggerated face veins.

Thug took this chance to weakly lift herself up barely and crawl away far enough so she could stand up and start slipping away.

But r some reason, she turned back around as she stood up and saw Switch and Pike were fighting the guy; her heart panged, they were beating up some three-foot-nothing hobo who wanted to save her, she had to do something.

"COPS!" She shouted; Pike and Switch had known her long enough to know her beef against the boys in blue, so upon hearing her cry of it, the two younger boys ran off.

Once they were gone, Thug approached the man, who was now lying on the ground. Poor hobo must have been injured before hand, his labored breathing was enough indication.

"Are you alright?" Thug asked in spite of herself and knelt next to the guy; she could barely see him in the darkness.

"G-Get…. Away." The old man told her in a creaky voice "You must not see me."

"But you helped me!" Thug argued and put a hand on his arm, her hand instantly shot away when she felt nothing but…. Fur?

The street lights flicked on and Thug fought back a scream when she saw him; soaked gray fur, muzzled face, freaking fuzzy ears, naked long tail. It was a rat!

Thug tried to run away from the freak, but her conscience nagged at her; he did help her, Switch and Pike beat him because he tried to help her….. She owed him, and she was inclined to help him to, no matter how much of a freak he was.

Right?