And here's the new one, finally. Sorry for the delay everyone!
Things start getting dark and horrible from this point on - now that doesn't mean there won't be anything nice anymore, but, don't say I didn't want you ;)

Chapter 6

Leonardo was so in thought, he hardly heard the 'Dismissed!' from the Shredder's room and the footsteps which followed. Luckily, he was quick enough and jumped onto the wall, getting to higher ground, so he was just above the large entrance.

"Bah, next time I see that rat, things will be different," Chris had a frown as he walked out, the doors closing behind the two.

"Fool… Taking on Hamato alone is like asking the Master to kill you. No, we need to prepare, bring him to us to fight on our terms," Tiger said before stopping mid-movement. He glanced over his shoulder and sniffed the air.

"What is it?" Bradford was annoyed – or so he sounded – as he watched the mutant. Leo, from above, held his breath and sunk deeper into the shadows, praying he wasn't found.

"I thought I smelled… turtle," the trainer spoke quietly and looked at the other side.

"One of them must have passed over here. You worry too much. They live here remember?" the human sighed and shook his head, walking away from the hall.

"…" Tiger didn't seem convinced and looked around the hall again. Nothing. The smell was fresh so why… Maybe he was overthinking it. The recent failure and the Shredder's anger had put him slightly on edge.

When Fearless was sure the two superiors were gone, he let out a breath. His heartbeat was going off the charts and his body felt numb. Taking about a minute, Leo made sure he was alright before jumping down from his hiding spot, landing without a sound.

"Soooooooo…" Mikey dragged out the word, moving around his older brother as the brainy turtle worked with the glowing ooze.

"It's hard to understand, but… it's incredible…" Donnie spoke in awe and had his mouth open as he watched the mutagen under the microscope. "It's, literally, out of this world!" he called, pulling away, needing a few seconds.

"What do you mean by that?!" the youngest panicked a bit, eyes wide with fear.

"I mean that, it wasn't made on Earth. There are no elements in it indicating anything remotely similar to what we have here. It must have been brought here by-,"

"ALIENS! It's so on dude! They're gonna take over the world and eat our brains!"

"…Well, you're not really wrong – for a change…" the last part was said more quietly and it seemed the hyper ninja didn't hear it.

"But if they do come for us, I'm sure you're safe Mikey," he added with a grin and the younger one defiantly heard that.

"Hey! Not cool man!"

Whatever Don was going to say back, died, when the lab door was opened and a large, mutant tiger stood there. The duo opened their eyes wide and quickly scrambled in front of the trainer, looking at attention.

"Sensei!" they called, giving respectful bows. "What… are you doing here? We thought you were off on a mission?"

"I was, but I have returned now," Tiger spoke evenly, his voice still as powerful as the turtles remembered. And he hid his worry of the metal-clad ninja very well…

"Where are your brothers?"

"Raph's down at the dojo sparring with Xever and I think Leo was meditating in his room," the tallest reptilian explained, blinking once. "Is something the matter?"

"No, nothing, but we will be continuing your training shorty. Go to the dojo – I shall fetch Leonardo," with that, the older mutant turned and headed down the hall.

"…I got a bad feeling about this bro."

"You and me both Mikey…"

Leo ran quietly down the hall, trailing behind Tiger Claw. He hoped the trainer wouldn't go to their rooms just yet… He had no excuse if sensei asked why he wasn't, as usually, meditating and where he was.

Turning the corner, Fearless thought he was free, until he saw Tiger exit Donnie's lab. His stomach sank and he hid at the corner, eyes wide with fear. He knew the trainer was heading to his to his room – his younger brothers told Tiger where he was. Or, where he should have been.

"What now?" he asked himself, as he heard the call of his name. Without a thought, the turtle turned and rushed into a different hall – down towards the dojo. He almost knocked the door down, he opened it so fast. And he managed to startle the two warriors inside – if he wasn't so scared, Leo would have been proud.

"Leo? The shell are you doing here?" Raph asked, blinking in surprise.

"I need some help."

Tiger walked down the hall, his silent steps giving no indication he was coming. It was not unusual for Leo to meditate, yet something told the mutant feline that the leader was not there. Mainly, the smell of the hall – someone had recently passed…

"Leonardo?" Tiger Claw stopped by the said turtle's door. He waited. No response. Narrowing his eyes, the mutant opened the door and frowned – it was empty.

"Where are you, cub?" Tiger turned and walked down the hall again, seeing Mikey and Donnie standing outside the lab, ready to follow.

"Let's go," silently, the duo followed the trainer as they all made their way to the dojo. They arrived faster than expected and when Tiger opened the door, he saw the other two brothers, plus Xever already inside.

"Sensei!" the older two called, one acting surprise the other actually being surprised. Montes gave a nod in a greeting.

"Cubs," the older mutant said back as the younger two joined their brothers. Tiger's eyes were locked on Leo, who swallowed under the trainer's gaze.

"I was told you were meditating Leonardo. Where have you been?" the oldest turtle was at a loss for words. He had never lied to his superiors and was bad at it altogether. Luckily, he has a younger brother to cover his sorry shell.

"He's been with me and Xever here. I thought it was too easy takin' on one, so I asked Leo if he wanted to tag with him," Raphael smirked and looked at the Brazilian, who blinked once, before sighing.

"I thought you said you weren't going to mention that…" it was no surprise that Xever joined in on the lie, even if he didn't really know what it was about.

"Hey man, nothing to be embarrassed 'bout," Raph lightly punched he human in the arm and gave a nod – 'I owe ya one' was what it meant and the human nodded back.

"I see…" Tiger Claw moved his narrowed eyes on the hot-heads, but they were not as easily intimidated. "Xever, if you don't mind, I'd like to train these cubs. Unless you want to join in…"

"No, sorry friend. Nothing it worth Tiger's training," Montes put his hands in the air and shook his head, giving a final look at his friend.

"Sure thing man," as the human passed, he caught Leo's look and saw him grateful, and he couldn't help the small smile.

"Enjoy yourselves, you wackos," with a wave of his hand, the dark-skinned man was out of the dojo and closed the door behind him.

The four brothers stood, two against two, their weapons drawn. As usual when they do tag team sparring, Leo was tagged with Donnie, while Raph and Mikey were a team. Tiger Claw saw it fit to make the odds as even as they can be, yet almost always, the younger duo got taken out first.

"The goal is to disarm the enemy and knock them to the ground," the feline spoke, hands behind his back as he stood not far from where the action would take place. The turtles each took a silent breath and gripped their weapons tighter.

"Begi-!" just as Tiger spoke, the dojo doors opened and the five mutants froze for a second or two at the metal-clad Master standing there.

"Master Shredder!" all else forgotten, the five quickly got on their knees, bowing their heads low. Ever Tiger seemed surprised that the man was here.

"Given your last performance and the case of your mission, I have grown an interest in seeing you train," Saki's voice was cold and carried power, making the brothers swallow.

"Master, I thought the hardening of their training would come… later," the oldest mutant stood up and whispered to the Shredder, while the kids stayed down.

"I have decided to start now. Will that be a problem?" the man's cold, yet annoyed eyes send shivers up the trainer's spine and he quickly did a bow.

"Of course not, Master. It would be an honor for you to study their training," the feline quickly turned to the reptilians, who all nodded with more fear than respect.

"Good," without a word, Oroku turned around and headed out the door. He went up some stairs outside the dojo to arrive at his balcony, where he had a chair, or more like a throne, and sat down, leaning his head on one hand.

The brothers got to their feet and looked at each other, fear in their eyes. Mikey kept glancing around, worried, until he felt an arm on his shoulder. Looking to the left, he saw Raph giving a semi-assuring smile. 'It'll be okay.'

"Begin!"

Raph and Mikey charged in first, seemingly heading towards Leo. The leader prepared himself and was ready to block, when the attacking duo changed direction and rushed Donnie. Taken by a bit of surprise, the brainy turtle hardly had time to block with his staff. Michelangelo's nunchucks swirled around the wood and the younger turtle pulled back, driving the weapon from his brother's hands. Raphael was already in the air, wanting to deliver a finishing kick, when a pair of katans got in the way. For a second, the hot-head seemed to stay on the blades, before pushing off and landing a few steps away. Not missing a beat, Leo charged at the second oldest turtle and engaged in battle, leaving a disarmed Donatello to deal with the youngest one.

Tiger Claw gave a small nod in approval at Leo's save, but one look at the Shredder and the feline frowned. The Master didn't seem impressed – if anything, he looked annoyed. The human, still leaning his head on one hand, was also tapping his finger on the throne arm. That was never a good sign…

Don jumped back to avoid the nunchuck aimed at his plastron and dropped to the ground to avoid the other one. Using his arms, the taller turtle blocked a kick and pushed it back, making his younger brother stumble for a moment. But that was enough for the brainy brother to roll over, past Mikey, and get a hold of his staff. Armed again, he stood straight, the bo pointed at his brother who gave a grin back.

Leo noted that Raph seemed off his game today – then again, he was sparring with Xever not too long ago. But still. The hot-head seemed too wild, too out of control – more than usual. The attacks were ferocious, but uncoordinated, so they were easy to block. After three more blocks, Leonardo delivered a kick to his brother's side, but the sai user caught his leg with his arms. Realizing his mistake, the leader tried to break free, but couldn't, and Raph spun around, dragging his brother along, before releasing him and letting the oldest reptilian fly towards the nearest wall.

"Well done," Tiger said to himself, allowing a small moment of pride. That was a move only Raphael had managed to master, as it took a lot of strength. And this time, even the Shredder was impressed, for a moment, as he stopped tapping his finger.

mesacat13 is still the person behind the idea sooooo Lover her yeah? Good! And a quick update - I probably won't be posting at all on friedays because they are hella long. Yeah.