I am so so sorry for the delay on this I just started a new job last week so now I have two jobs and I'm a little sleepy . . Anyway love how many people are enjoying this story I'll be sure try and keep updating often. Enjoy :)

Donny stared at the image in front of him before taking yet another screen shot. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was to be able to be the first to study something of this magnitude.

'Donatello did you get what you needed?'

"Oh you bet I did. I can't believe I actually have an x-ray of a living, breathing mermaid," the purple banded turtle squealed like a crazed fan girl.

He looked over to the mermaid who was laying contently in a long deep tub filled with water. She had been allowing the tech savvy turtle to take internal scans of her body so he could study her species. Maya watched contently as Donny walked around the lab grabbing equipment looking like a kid at Christmas.

"So Maya lore says that mermaids sing, is that true?" Donny asked as he gathered his things.

'That is correct but it sounds very different then what you call singing. On land it would sound similar to a wordless melody but underwater it sounds more like whale singing,' Maya explained.

Donny nodded before he asked, "why is singing so important to you guys? From what I could find…and no offense of course…but it says you sing to lure sailors to their watery graves."

Maya silently chuckled to herself before she said 'Humans have a bad habit of making things about them. The 'singing' is actually our language that we share with other creatures such as whales, dolphins and sharks…however decades ago if sailors crossed into a pod's territory the merfolk would do what was necessary to protect it. The only time we've deliberately exposed ourselves to human sailors was to sing to them when their…what is word?'

Donny thought for a minute before he realized what word she was looking for and answered, "Boat."

'Oh Yes. Their boat got to close to rocks and things like that.'

"Fascinating…So you guys only kill in self defense?" Donny asked.

'Mostly yes but like in all species some people are just jerks' Maya explained.

Donny chuckled at the comment as his other three brothers walked in tired of waiting for them in the common area of the lair.

"How's it going in here?" Leo asked sitting down in a wheelie chair.

"Oh you know nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact that I get to study a freaking mermaid! This is awesome!...Did you guys know that a mermaid's position in the pod is defined by their coming of age hunt? Cause I know that now," Donny said excited.

"Oh ya and their hunting weapons are made out of the strongest parts of their first prey, usually like the bones and stuff like that," Mikey explained casually while his brothers stared at him dumbfounded.

When he saw the expressions on their faces the youngest turtle and huffed in annoyance before he replied, "friends with a mermaid bros I'm gonna pick up a few things."

The purple masked brother turned his attention back to Maya before he asked, "So, why are mermaids so scared of people if you guys are able to defend yourselves?"

Maya looked hesitant before she explained, 'humans were cruel to our kind…they hunted us for sport so that could consume our flesh and become immortal. The silly creatures had no idea that it was our blood that had healing qualities and you needed the mermaid's permission first. Without consent the blood becomes poison….it wasn't until they slaughtered thousands of us that they understood their sin. Desperate to protect what we had left of our kind we went into hiding following the migration patterns of whales, dolphins and sharks.'

The turtles looked horrified by the idea of someone hunting down Maya and her family only to kill and eat her. It definitely made sense now why she looked so scared the day she saved Michelangelo. It wasn't just about them knowing what she was but her very life, the secret of her people's existence were in danger. All of this, she jeopardized for the sake of one life that she valued more than any treasure the world could offer her.

"Alright, so I understand mermaids are territorial and are scared of humans. What I don't get is why live among the thing that terrifies you guys most…and how the heck to you grow legs?" Raph asked.

Maya smiled at the red masked turtle before she replied, 'the best way to hide is in plain sight. Besides humans are fascinating to study. Many pods reside on the land in quiet areas protecting each other for the sake of our species. Many take over whole apartment buildings only accepting certain tenants like ours. As for the transformation, it is illusion magic that mermaids have possessed since our creation.'

"That's so brilliant," Leo replied in amazement.

A thought came to the tech savvy turtle before he asked, "if your blood has healing properties…do you think it could create a retro mutagen?"

Maya seemed deep in thought for a moment before she replied, 'this one doesn't know for sure but there is no harm in trying.'

"Are you sure?" Donny replied.

'Yes. Besides having a vile of consenting blood could be a handy healing tool in a pinch' Maya explained.

Donny nodded before he quickly got to work gathering the equipment he needed to gather the blood. Michelangelo quickly walked over and sat beside his friend staring at his brother as he worked.

"What are you gonna do with that stuff?" Mikey asked his older brother.

"Just taking a bit of her blood. I promise I won't hurt her Mikey," Donny assured the orange masked turtle.

Donny had the needle ready a minute later and held it up as he looked over at Maya waiting for her permission to insert the needle into her arm. The silver haired girl nodded with a smile before she closed her eyes and began humming. The melody was hypnotic as it seemed to vibrate off of everything in the room instantly making the brothers feel really relaxed and calm.

"Aww ya I love this song!" Mikey said swaying back and forth.

"What is it?" Donny mumbled trying to concentrate on putting the needle in the girl's arm.

'This one is commanding the blood to your will Donatello' Maya explained in the purple masked turtle's mind as she continued to hum.

"My sons what is that sound?" Master Splinter asked walking into the lab with an awestruck expression on his face.

"Maya is singing to her blood," Mikey explained casually.

"Do I want to know why Maya is singing to her blood?" the sensei replied.

'Donatello needed the blood of a virgin to fuel his creature of the night' Maya said in a serious tone of voice along with a very serious expression.

The Hamato family stared at the young girl with a mixture of horror and shock until Mikey burst out laughing along with Maya.

"You totally stole that from one of the movies from the monster marathon we watched last week," the orange masked turtle chuckled.

Maya giggled before she replied, 'this one couldn't resist it was this one's favorite one.'

Leo couldn't help chuckling at his youngest brother and his tiny silver haired friend before he commented to Raph, "it's like they were made for each other."

The red masked turtle crossed his arms before he replied, "Yup. Like two nuts in a crazy house."

Master Splinter gave his second oldest a warning look before turning his attention to Donatello. He observed as his purple masked son carefully pulled the needle out of Maya's arms that was connected to a vial that held her blood.

"My son training will begin soon. Did you really need to do this now? Maya may not be at her best for her training," Master Splinter scolded gently.

'This one is fine, do not be troubled. Our species is used to battling with open wounds without medical attention. Trust this one when she says that it will take more than a little needle to keep this one down' Maya explained quickly not wanting to get Donatello in trouble.

Splinter stared at the girl with an intense expression before sighing in defeat and said, "very well…did you bring your weapons?"

Maya nodded enthusiastically and was about to jump out of the tub when Donny stopped her from her task.

"Hold your seahorses I still gotta clean that really quick," Donny told her before turning to his father.

"It will just take a second sensei I promise," he explained.

"Very well. Make haste training begins in exactly ten minutes," Splinter said before leaving the room.

As Maya picked out her Band-Aid and Donny cleaned her cut, the remaining brothers followed after their father to the dojo.

…

As the three remaining brothers sat in the dojo with their father Leo and Raph chuckled to themselves wondering what kind of cliché weapon Maya would have.

"My money is on a trident. Bet you anything it's a trident," Raph chuckled.

"Come one have you seen the size of Maya? It's probably some little spear or something like Donny's," Leo replied.

"It's neither or those things so knock it off," Mikey replied as he glared at his brothers.

"Oh come on Mikey we're just having a little fun," Raph replied.

"Raphael! You will not tease Maya in anyway. She is far from her family and has not trained since last she saw them. Be kind both of you," Splinter scolded his sons.

"Yes sensei," both boys replied sheepishly.

Just then Donny and Maya in her human form walked in chatting and giggling together as Maya carried a hockey bag with her. There was something clearly poking out of the bag and none of the brothers needed to be told that the bulge was Maya's weapons. They began to get excited as Maya placed the bag down beside her.

"Maya thank you for joining us," Master Splinter said to the girl.

"Please, show us your weapons," the rat added gesturing to the bag.

The tiny girl nodded before she opened her bag and reached inside with both hands. When she pulled them out again her hands were grasping two large sharp sticks that looked as though they made of bone. Each one was at least 4 feet long and maybe had a radius of only a couple of inches. Maya had a big smile on her face as she turned her attention to Leo and Raph as she held her weapons proudly.

"Actually they're narwhal tusks. They were this one's first kill," Maya explained confirming that she heard the brothers talking about her from the other room.

Master Splinter admired the weapons the girl possessed while Mikey gave his shocked brothers a smug look.

"She's gonna turn us into turtlekabobs with those things isn't she?" Raph asked Leo reluctantly.

"Probably," Leo replied.

"Child how on Earth did you manage to take down two narwhals?" Splinter asked in shock.

The mermaid looked bashful all of a sudden before she explained, "this one strayed from the pod to explore some coral…by the time this one realized how far ahead the pod was the first narwhal was already coming in for the kill. This one cried out but the pod was already out of sight so this one swam for her life. It was then the second narwhal came and tried to attack this one by trying to stab this one's tail fin. They circled around trapping this one in between them toying until they decided to kill their prey at last. Finally they attacked, they tried to stab this one with their tusks at the same time but this one twisted her body so that instead of stabbing their prey they stabbed each other through their eyes and out through their skulls. The pod found this one stuck between the two beasts and had to pry them apart to release this one. Everyone feasted hearty that night and this one's family was proud…my brothers were so proud that they made my weapons for me out of the tusks and trained me to use them."

Once again the mutant family noticed the sad smile on the girl's face when she spoke of her brothers, as if there was some tragic secret she wasn't telling them.

"Very clever way to deceive your enemy," Splinter said.

Maya blushed at the compliment before she replied, "not really. The narwhals managed to still stab this one as this one was turning sideways."

She lifted her shirt enough so that sharp angry scars could be seen going across her belly and back where the beasts had managed to graze her skin.

"How did I not notice those while I was examining you?" Donny asked in shock inspecting the scars for himself.

"You were very excited about being able to study this one. This one imagines that had something to do with it," Maya replied with a chuckle.

Neither Maya nor Donny noticed Master Splinter silently approach them until he was gently resting a paw on one of the angry scars that marred the girl's flesh. It bothered the father of four to see the closed wounds. It was not unusual for his sons to have scars from battles and sparring but the idea of something maliciously hunting down one of his children while they had strayed from his side made his blood boil.

"You protected yourself well. Be proud of these scars for they tell a story of survival," Splinter said to the girl gently.

Maya smiled shyly at the former human and nodded before he rose back to his full height and rested both paws on his walking stick.

"Come. I think I speak for all of my family when I say I'd love to see a demonstration of your skill," Splinter said returning to his seat as Maya went to the middle of the dojo holding her weapons.

Once he was seated Splinter looked at Maya and bowed his head slightly before he said, "you may begin when ready."

The silver haired teen nodded as she stood tall with her weapons to her side when she saw the training dummies fall from the ceiling to surround her. Taking a deep breath she began spinning the tusks, gracefully she held one of her weapons above her head and the other at her hip before she twirled her body around the inside of the circle. As she continued to move she began elegantly swing the tusks up and down as well as side to side before she suddenly stopped holding the tusks in front of her chest making the shape of an x with them. All was silent for a few moments before the dummies dropped and Maya disappeared into a cloud of sand. Mikey quickly got to his feet without his father's permission and ran to his friend when he heard her coughing fit.

"Maya you ok?" Mikey asked once the dust cloud finally dissipated.

"This one is fine…was not expecting the sand," the girl said bashfully making Mikey chuckle as he ruffled her hair.

Splinter rose to his feet and approached the pair before inspecting what was left of the training dummies and chuckled at what he found. In those few quick movements that he had seen the child preform she had decapitated all the dummies as well as removed their arms and legs. He then noticed the chests were ripped open in a T shape.

Splinter held up the remains of one of the dummies before looking over at his oldest three sons in amusement as they knelt before him and asked, "Which of you will be her first victim?"

The boys gulped before they cautiously turned around to look at the girl who although covered head to toe in sand, had a big smile on her face as she waved at them cheerfully with one of her weapons.

"I vote Donny…she's least likely to kill him," Raph said quickly.

"Raph!" the tech savvy turtle replied angrily.

"Actually my son I have to agree that would be a most interesting pairing," Splinter replied.

Donny huffed before he mumbled, "Why does Mikey always have to pick scary friends?"

Splinter gave his purple masked son an encouraging nod before turning to his remaining sons and said, "Michelangelo, Raphael…you will both work together against Leonardo."

The orange masked turtle excitedly jogged over to his hot head brother before fist bumping the red masked turtle.

"Ready to beat the green off Fearless Mikey?" Raph joked.

"Shell ya!" the youngest replied.

"Green and blue don't suit you bro. Black and blue sound more up your alley," Raph taunted his older brother with a smirk.

"Black and blue…or white and gold," Mikey replied in a suspenseful voice.

Both of the older turtles looked at each other in confusion before shaking their heads and giving their youngest a ridiculous look.

"Let's just start the match shell for brains," the red masked turtle said in annoyance.

…

Splinter watched both pairs for a while throughout the training session. At first he closely watched his oldest son take on his two younger brothers. Raphael and Michelangelo were a good team together covering each other's back as well as attacking in sync with one another. It was no wonder that Leonardo had a difficult time taking the pair on but in the end he was able to demonstrate his strength as their team leader.

The former human turned his eyes over to Donatello and Maya who seemed to be doing well sparing however Splinter noticed something odd. The tiny silver haired girl seemed to refuse to attack her opponent at all. When Donatello attacked, Maya would simply block or dodge the assaults trying to disarm her opponent rather than take him down. Finally Donatello knocked Maya to the ground and rested the end of his boa to her chest.

"Yame!" Splinter shouted making everyone stop what they were doing instantly before kneeling on the ground while their sensei paced behind them.

"You did well all of you but there is still room for improvement. Leonardo although the victory was yours in the end was out of sheer luck. You already know your opponents weaknesses in battle so I expected this to be a shorter battle, we will work on fighting multiple opponents later on," Splinter said standing behind his son.

"Yes sensei," Leo automatically responded already thinking of how to improve himself through training on his own.

"Raphael, Michelangelo although you two are naturally in sync with one another you must practice the art of speaking silently. I will create exercises for you both to work on together to master this skill" the sensei said walking behind his sons.

"Great idea Sensei. Teach Mikey to be just as obnoxious silently as he is verbally," Raph mumbled sarcastically earning himself a snap from his father's tail to the back of his head.

"Donatello you need to practice you speed, it took you too long to take down an opponent that was not attacking you. As with your brothers there will be private training with me to work on it," Splinter explained.

"S-sorry sensei," Donny said bashfully. The turtle had always felt a bit self-conscious about being the slowest of his brothers physically.

Splinter nodded as he walked around so that he was facing Maya before he said, "last but not least my newest pupil. When I assign you an opponent I expect you to treat that opponent as if he were an enemy of your pod."

"Sorry Master Splinter. This one tried to picture the enemy but all this one could see was Donatello and couldn't hurt this one's friend," Maya whispered looking to the ground.

Master Splinter gave the girl a strange look before he asked, "Do your people do not train against one another?"

Maya shook her head and answered, "One shall never raise their weapon to a member of their pod in any circumstance other than exile. We demonstrate the movements on prey already killed."

"I see," Splinter replied.

"However we will instinctively attack if we feel a member of our pod is endangered in any way," Maya added innocently.

The wheels did indeed begin to turn in Splinter's head as an idea formed in his mind and he turned to Maya and Donatello.

"We shall focus on it…"

Splinter was cut off by the sound of giggling echoing throughout the layer. Six heads turned to see ten month old Caspian crawling over to them with a big smile on his face as he babbled away happily.

"Forgive the disruption the boy is sneaky," Isla said following after the infant.

"It is a most welcome disruption," Splinter said picking up the baby before turning to the teenagers still kneeling on the ground.

"I cannot thank you enough for allowing this," Isla said gratefully to the former human.

Splinter bowed his head before he replied, "the honor is mine is to be able to witness this child's first swim."

A sucking sound caught the attention of both sensei and mother before they looked down to see that the baby Splinter held in his arms was currently sucking on his beard.

A smile spread on the former human's face before he said, "it appears I have another Leonardo on my hands."

"Sensei please tell me I did not suck on your beard," Leo said horrified with embarrassment.

"I'm afraid it's true," Splinter replied making his sons all burst out laughing at the image of their leader sucking on a beard.

"In fact all of you had some fascination with a part of my body. Leonardo was my beard, Raphael enjoyed biting my nose which felt extra strange when he had no teeth, Donatello pulled my whiskers, and Michelangelo I think was the most tolerable," Splinter explained.

"What did he do?" Maya asked in amusement as she watched all four turtles blush and stare at the floor in shame and embarrassment.

"He was obsessed with my tail and how he could play with it. He would often sit on a pillow and I would pull him around the lair wherever I went," the rat chuckled gently tugging his beard back from the infant.

"How cute," Isla at the thought of the turtles as babies.

Splinter gave the woman an annoyed look and said, "It's less cute when Michelangelo asks for a 'Splinter ride' every year for his mutation day present."

Suddenly Michelangelo popped his head up with puppy dog eyes and said in a childish voice, "Splinter ride?"

"No," Splinter replied bluntly.

"Tease," Mikey scoffed as he crossed his arms grumpily.

…

Donny was especially excited to be able to witness a baby mermaid take its first swim. He been working on a water proof video recorder just for the occasion. He started filming just as Isla and Caspian were walking over to the pool that was in the lair. Mikey and Maya had already dived into the water and were waiting for the big moment to begin. Leo and Raph were standing with Master Splinter at the edge of the pool so they could get a good look at the main event. They watched as the young mother walked over to the water with her baby before stopping at the edge of the water and smiling down at her baby placing a gentle kiss on his head.

Before any of them could react Isla tossed the baby into the air before Caspian fell into the water below squealing in delight. Just before any of the turtles could start panicking the baby rose to the surface no longer as a human but as an adorable little mermaid with huge silver eyes. Maya began humming and Caspian quickly turned to see his aunt and smiled happily as he bobbed in the water.

"Come on buddy. Come to Mikey," the orange masked turtle encouraged but the baby wouldn't budge only tilting his head in confusion.

Another splash rippled through the water and from under the water Isla appeared in her mermaid form swimming towards the baby. Soon Isla had her baby in her arms once more and grasped the child's arms to guide Caspian onto her back and wrapped the tiny arms around her neck. Isla dived under the water once more with the baby followed by Maya.

"Donny pass me your camera," Mikey said.

The tech savvy turtle nodded before tossing his camera to his younger brother. The orange masked turtle then disappeared underneath the water. The rest of the Hamato family stood by anxiously when the youngest turtle popped back up to the surface.

"Guys you gotta see this," Mikey said before diving back under not waiting for his brothers.

The three older turtles looked at each other reluctantly before diving in after Michelangelo. When they found them the three brothers stopped and watched in amazement at what they were seeing. Caspian hovered as he watched his mother and aunt swimming around him before looking down at his own tail and swishing it back and forth. Both mermaids hummed at the baby encouraging him to swim as they circled him protectively. Caspian then looked over to Mikey who was motioning for the baby to swim towards him with one arm as he held the camera with the other.

The baby smiled at the turtle before he leaned forward and allowed the water to carry his body and slowly swishing his tail fins up and down. Then his tail began moving, then his lower body followed by his upper body until finally the little boy was using his arms to control his movements until finally he had swam over to Mikey who quickly pulled him into a tight hug.

Maya and Isla sang in delight of the baby hitting his milestone as they swam towards him and Michelangelo. Leo, Raph and Donny swam over caught up in the excitement of watching the incredible moment they had forgotten they were underwater and cheered for the baby. They all took turns twirling the baby and hugging each other before all four turtles realized they needed air. Maya took the camera from Mikey before he swam up with his brothers so she could keep filming for Donny.

When the brothers reached the surface they were all gasping for air as they held onto the ledge and laughing in excitement.

"I take it that the lesson is going well," Splinter said.

"It was incredible sensei!" Leo shouted in amazement.

"Ya at first the kid was just watchin' 'em and then out of nowhere he's swimming over to Mikey like a champ!" Raph recalled just as excited.

"Mikey filmed the whole thing. I cannot wait to see it from his point of view," Donny exclaimed.

Splinter chuckled at his sons and their excitement for the young child's accomplishment. Now his sons knew the pride he felt whenever he was blessed to witness one of their accomplishments.

"Well what are you waiting for go on? I wish to see this as well," the sensei said happily.

All four brothers quickly realized they had left the camera under the water and quickly dived back down to where the mermaid family was. When they returned they were in awe to see the baby swimming alongside his mother having no trouble keeping up with her.

'He is strong like his parents' Maya said as she watched the mother and baby swim through the deep pool.

It was Leo who looked away to see Maya looking as if this moment was bittersweet for her. He watched as Mikey looked over at his friend before he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his side as if he was comforting her about something.

'This has something to do with her brothers. Where are they?' the turtle thought to himself almost angrily when the very thought of leaving his brothers behind made his heart want to break.

The oldest brother raised an eyebrow at the pair deciding he was determined to find out more about what had happened to Maya's family and why they were so far away from her when she, Isla and Caspian clearly needed them.

Okie dokie all done for now. You guys know what to do so review please and tell me what you think. Till then take care and stay safe :)