Chapter 2: Meeting Splinter

A/N: So here's the second chapter as promised. As I've said, it might be slow going as I have other stories I'm going to be working on, but I'll do my best to get updates out when I get inspiration. Thanks to those who have read, reviewed, followed, and have added this story to their favorites list. It means a lot to me that you're enjoying this story, so thanks.

Disclaimer: Family Guy and all related characters belong to Seth MacFarlane and Fox. TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and nothing more.

Chris was mad that he was grounded, but he knew he had brought it on himself. Still, he couldn't miss out on meeting Leo for his training sessions. After all, if he wanted to be a ninja, he had to train, right? He waited for school to be over so he could sneak away. It probably wouldn't be hard to do anyway since he did it last time with no problem.

Unfortunately, when the bell rang and Chris closed his locker, he turned and came face-to-face with Meg.

"Okay, Chris, it's time to go home," Meg said.

"Why are you walking with me?" Chris asked her. "You never walk home with me."

"Because Mom asked me to," she answered. "You're grounded, and she wanted me to make sure that you came home on time."

"Meg, I appreciate this, but you really don't have to do this for me," Chris said, trying to charm his sister.

"I know, but I have to because Mom said so," she said. "Now let's go."

"Um, you go ahead. I have to go to the bathroom and then I'll catch up."

"I'll come with you," offered Meg.

"You can't go to the bathroom with me!" protested Chris.

"I'll wait outside until you're done, and then we can walk home together."

Chris sighed. This definitely wasn't going to work. How was he going to distract his sister so he could sneak off?

"I know you don't like this arrangement, Chris, but it's for your own good," Meg lectured. "You can't just go sneaking off like that."

"You have no idea what I'm sneaking off for anyway," Chris retorted.

"I heard you in the living room, Chris," she said. "You go to the sewers to play with your imaginary friends."

"The Ninja Turtles aren't imaginary, Meg," Chris told her. "They're real."

"Hey, I'm not one to judge," she said. "I mean, it was bound to happen once you got rid of that imaginary Evil Monkey."

"That monkey was real, Meg! He terrorized me."

"Well, he's gone now, so now you have some new friends to play with. But maybe you should invite them over to our house. You can't go sneaking around all of the time."

"Maybe you're right," Chris said. Then he gasped and looked away. "Oh my God! Connie D'Amico's streaking across the lawn!"

"Where?" Meg asked as she looked around frantically.

With his sister distracted, Chris made his escape as quickly as he could. He knew it wouldn't take long for Meg to realize she'd been tricked, and when she did, it wasn't going to be pleasant for him. But desperate times called for desperate measures as far as Chris was concerned. He hurried and spotted the same manhole cover he'd entered before. He lifted it up and climbed down the ladder. He just hoped Leo would meet him there like he had promised.

Minutes passed, and Chris was beginning to despair that Leo wouldn't be meeting him when he heard footsteps. He got up and waited, figuring he could hide if it was an enemy of some sort.

"Hi, Chris, I'm glad you could make it," Leo said with a smile.

"Hi, Leo," Chris said. "I told you I'd be here. I had to make sure my sister didn't follow me here."

"Why would she do that?" Leo asked.

"Because I'm grounded and supposed to be home," Chris replied.

"Oh, that's not good," Leo said.

"Please don't send me home!" begged Chris.

"I won't because I promised I'd train you. But first you have to come home with me. Master Splinter wants to meet you."

"Why does he want to meet me?"

"Splinter has trust issues when it comes to humans," Leo answered. "He just wants to know who you are since I promised to train you."

"Oh, okay. I actually want to meet him. Is he as cool as he is on TV?"

"Well, you'll have to see that for yourself," Leo replied. "Come on."

Chris followed Leo to the portal and jumped in after him. The portal was so cool and before Chris knew it, he was in the New York sewers.

"This is cool!" Chris exclaimed. "Can we go to Murakami's for some pizza gyoza?"

"Not today, but maybe some other time," Leo answered. "Right now, I need to take you to the Lair."

The walk was a bit confusing, but Leo assured Chris that he'd get used to it. Once they entered the Lair, Chris gasped. It was just like the one he saw on TV!

"Oh my God, this is awesome!" He started running around the room. "Here's the TV! And here's the Space Heroes pinball machine. Can I play a game of that?"

"Later," answered Leo. "Let's go meet Master Splinter first." He led Chris to the dojo which was just as awesome as it was on TV. Chris started to go inside, but Leo stopped him.

"Wait a second, Chris. You have to bow in respect to the dojo."

"Why?" Chris asked.

"Because it's tradition, and all students must do it."

"Okay," Chris said. "I guess I can do that." He started bowing like you would after performing a play.

"No, not like that," Leo corrected him. "Watch me." He bowed in the traditional Japanese way. "Now you try."

Chris copied Leo, but tripped over his feet and almost landed on the floor until Leo caught him.

"That was pretty good, but try not to trip over your feet. You don't even have to move your feet to bow. Just stay still."

Chris nodded and did it again. "I did it!" he yelled.

"Yes, you did. Good job. Now I'll take you to meet Master Splinter."

Chris followed Leo to the end of the dojo to a set of rice paper doors. Leo knocked on the doors and heard Splinter say, "Enter." He opened the doors and went inside.

"Ah, Leonardo, I see you have come back," said Splinter. "Did you bring your friend?"

"Hai, Sensei," answered Leo. He stepped aside to introduce Chris, but Chris wasn't beside him. Leo turned and saw that Chris was still in the doorway and hadn't stepped inside. "Chris, come on in. Don't be shy."

"Yes, come in, young man," urged Splinter.

Chris did as Splinter asked and shyly walked up until he was next to Leo.

"Master Splinter, this is Chris Griffin," Leo introduced him. "Chris, this is Master Splinter, but you already know who he is."

"Nice to meet you," Chris said. "You're just as big as you are on TV."

Splinter chuckled. "Well, I am glad to hear that," he said. "I had heard the camera adds ten pounds to one's weight."

"If that's true, then I must be four hundred pounds," Chris joked.

"So, I hear you want to be a ninja," Splinter said.

"Yeah, I need to learn to fight those bullies at school," Chris answered. "I was hoping Leo could teach me."

"I think Leonardo would be a fine teacher for you," Splinter said. "However, I must warn you that this training will not be easy. It will drain you physically, mentally, and spiritually. Are you prepared to deal with that?"

"I think so," Chris replied.

"Good. You may start today."

"Sure, we can do that," Leo said. "But it can't be for long because Chris has to go home."

"That is fine," Splinter said. "I will leave you to your training."

"So, if I train, will I be able to beat up those bullies?"

"Violence is never the answer, Chris," Splinter lectured. "It is important to be able to defend yourself, but you must never go seeking a fight on your own. You should only use the moves if you are attacked first. That is what I have taught my sons to do."

"I'll try, but it's hard when they start poking fun at me about my weight."

"You have to try your best to control your temper," Leo lectured. "We'll work on that later. Right now, let's go and practice some basic moves first."

"It was nice meeting you, Master Splinter," Chris said. He bowed to the rat just as Leo had taught him.

"It was nice meeting you as well, Chris," Splinter replied. "Good luck."

Chris followed Leo out of Splinter's chambers and to the middle of the dojo floor. Then his eyes lit up. "Oh, I forgot. Japanese people take their shoes off when they enter a room." He took off his shoes so he was just standing in his socks.

"Gah!" Leo gasped as a foul stench emanated from Chris's feet. "Uh, maybe you better put your shoes back on."

"But that's disrespectful!" Chris protested.

"As your sensei, I order you to put your shoes back on," Leo ordered.

"Yes, Sensei," Chris said and put his shoes back on his feet.

"Much better. Now, I'm going to show you how to throw a basic punch first." Leo began in the correct stance and threw a punch with his right hand. "See? Now you try."

Chris copied Leo but threw the punch with his left hand.

"No, Chris, use your right hand," Leo said.

"I did use my right hand," Chris protested.

"No, you used your left hand," Leo answered. "Watch me again." He demonstrated the move again and waited for Chris to copy him.

"Oh, I see," Chris said and did the move with the correct hand this time.

"Very good. Now let's try it with the left hand this time."

They went through the punching motion a few times until Chris mastered it.

"You're getting the hang of it."

"Can I try it on you now?"

"No, you'll try it on the practice dummy first." He led Chris over to the practice dummy who looked a lot like Shredder.

"Oh, goody! I've always wanted to beat Shredder up!"

"Now, try the punches just as I showed you," Leo instructed.

Chris did as Leo asked and had a lot of fun. "This is for attacking Leo!" he yelled as he punched the dummy with his right fist. "And this is for killing Splinter!" He punched with his left fist.

"Nice job, Chris," Leo praised him. "You're doing well."

"Am I a ninja now?" Chris asked eagerly.

Leo laughed at his enthusiasm. "No, not yet. It's going to take you some time to become a full ninja. Even I'm not there yet. Okay, now that you've mastered the punching, let's move on to kicking. Watch me." He kicked with his right leg and then with his left leg. "See? Now, try it with your right foot."

Chris copied Leo but used his left foot instead.

"No, I said the right foot," Leo corrected him. "You did it with the left foot."

"Oh, sorry," Chris said and corrected himself. "Sometimes I get stuff mixed up."

"That's okay. You're still learning. Now, let's keep practicing." Leo started calling out which foot he wanted Chris to kick with, and Chris followed his orders perfectly. He practiced his kicks on the practice dummy and really began to get the hang of it.

"You still have a problem with using the wrong foot," Leo said.

"Oh, I know how I can fix that," Chris said. "There's this song we sang once that might help. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot."

"Good job. Yeah, I think that will help. Sing that in your mind so you don't forget."

"Can we do more now?"

"I think that's enough for today," Leo replied. "You have to go home so your parents don't get worried."

Chris's face fell. "Aww, do I have to?" he whined.

"Yes, you do," Leo told him. "We'll work more on this tomorrow."

"Okay," said Chris. He followed Leo out of the dojo and out of the Lair. Chris waved goodbye to the other Turtles and followed his sensei back to the portal. "I wish I didn't have to go."

"I know, but you do. Your family needs you, Chris, so go back home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow Leo," Chris said. He jumped through the portal and landed in the sewers back home. It really wasn't fair, but there was nothing he could do about it. He climbed out of the sewers and got chastised for climbing in them again, but he ignored the rant. He made his way back home and was greeted by a very irate Lois.

"Young man, where have you been?" she demanded.

"I was training to be a ninja with Leo," Chris answered.

Lois sighed. "Not this again," she groaned. "Chris, you have to understand the difference between fantasy and reality."

"But the Ninja Turtles are real, Mom!" Chris protested.

"No, they're not," she insisted. "Now I've had enough of you disobeying me. You better go to your room and don't come out until I tell you to."

Chris went to his room, rage building up inside of him. He was sick of people acting like he was insane. He was sick of his mother telling him what to do. He heard a knock at his door and opened it to find Meg outside with bruises on her face.

"I hope you had fun with your imaginary friends, Chris," she said.

"Meg, what happened to you?" he asked.

"Mom beat me up after I came home without you," she answered. "So I just hope that you had fun with your imaginary friends because I'm never talking to you again, you bastard!" She punched him in the face and ran away.

Chris rubbed his cheek where Meg had punched him. That was it! He wasn't going to take their abuse anymore! He grabbed a duffel bag and began packing it with everything he ever owned. Once it was full, he snuck out of the window and made his way back to the manhole cover. He pulled it off and jumped inside. He found the portal and jumped inside it. If his family wasn't going to be on his side, then he was going to live with the Ninja Turtles!

A/N: And another chapter is finished. Well, now Chris is going to live with the Turtles, but will the Turtles welcome him as one of the family? Stay tuned to find out, and in the meantime, feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.