A/N: Thank you for your reviews, follows, and favorites. The line in the last chapter was from the 2003 episode City At War Part 3, thank you for your guesses. I originally had plans to have everyone together in this chapter, but my plot bunny had other ideas, enjoy!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Chapter 21-Star Gazing

Leonardo sat up in his bed and groaned. He still had a few more hours before he had to get up, but the restless ninja turtle just couldn't sleep. His mind wouldn't stop. It kept running around in circles, replaying the events from the past few hours. As he untangled his legs, Leonardo let his fingers rub along the blue blanket April had given him. Compared to the dark grey, red, and black filled décor of his room, the blue color was a welcome change.

Leonardo quickly folded the new blue blanket and placed it on top of the old one that sat at the foot of his bed. Leonardo's fingers lingered on the blanket for a moment longer. Ok, so maybe the blue blanket wasn't quite as soft as his old one, however, it was the first gift that the ninja turtle could remember receiving that didn't come after a pain filled punishment. The red head had been friendly and warm around the 4 turtles. Her kindness quickly diffused any hesitation that Leonardo initially felt when she first entered the colored turtles' lair.

Once the bed had been re-made, Leonardo frowned. What was he supposed to do with himself now? If his mind wouldn't rest long enough for him to sleep, then there was no way that Leonardo would be able to quiet his thoughts enough to meditate. Unsure of what he was going to do, Leonardo stood in the hallway for a moment and stared at Raphael's door.

Silence.

Leonardo wasn't surprised that Raphael would be sleeping right now. After all, that's what he was supposed to be doing too. Unable to stand still Leonardo began to walk the halls of Foot Headquarters with no particular destination in mind.

As he moved Leonardo's mind continued to wander. He had to admit, it had been a fun evening. Even though the sound of laughter had reached him first, Leonardo had still been shocked at the sight that walked into the younger turtles' lair earlier that evening. Raphael had been laughing, out right laughing as he carried pizza boxes alongside Michelangelo, Casey Jones, and a red headed female, whose name was apparently April O'Neil.

After a quick round of introductions, Michelangelo quickly conned everyone into playing a board game. One game had turned into 2, then 3, and the time just seemed to fly by. Then there was the food. Leonardo's mouth watered at the memory. Pizza. Mozzarella sticks. Buffalo wings. Soda. Chips. Salsa. Even though there was probably nothing about Leo's dinner that had been even remotely healthy, or could be considered "real food," it had still been delicious! A far cry from the standard fare of rice, fish, and vegetables that Leo always seemed to have during his meals with Master Shredder. Sure, Leo enjoyed that food too, but getting to eat a cheat meal of salty treats and grease, well that had been simply awesome!

Another thing that had been awesome about his evening, was his brother Raphael. A soft smile graced Leo's face. His temperamental older brother seemed to have met his match in the equally temperamental human Casey Jones. The vigilante and Raph bantered easily back and forth, yet there was never a malicious tone to the verbal jabs. And when Raphael wasn't arguing with the human, his sights were set upon the youngest turtle Michelangelo. Sure, Raph swat Mikey's head fairly often, but there was never any intent to harm behind the hits. And there was no hiding Michelangelo's smiles from the attention.

Leonardo shook his head as he looked around. Foot Headquarters was supposed to be his home. At least that's what his mind was always telling him. The Foot was his home, the Shredder was his father, and the colorful turtles, their rat master, and the Utroms were the enemies.

Yet as he walked the halls, the black masked turtle couldn't help but think about his time in the turtles' lair. Surrounded by the purple and orange masked turtles, their father and sensei Master Splinter, and their human friends, eating junk food while playing a board game. That was the first time Leonardo had felt like he was truly at home. Almost as if it was a retaliation of the thought, Leonardo winced at the sudden sharp pain in his head. The question was, why was Leonardo's mind arguing with his heart?

"Hey Donnie," Michelangelo walked into Donatello's lab. The purple turtle looked up from his notes.

"What is it Mikey?"

Mikey turned the chair backwards and straddled it. The serious look on the orange turtle's face caused Donatello to shift in his seat so that he could give his brother his full attention.

"Mikey, are you alright?"

"Do you think they'll come back?" Mikey asked as he began to fidget, his apprehension rising to the surface.

There was no need for Donatello to ask who the "they" was in Mikey's question. When Leonardo and Raphael had started their good-bye's, Mikey's mood dropped as fast as an anvil tossed from the top of a building. Donnie had wanted to ask earlier, but he knew that it was best to let Mikey come to him. And Mikey being Mikey, it didn't take long for the anxious turtle to seek comfort and advice from his brother.

"I mean, do you think they had a good time too? Do you think they'll want to come back again?" Hope settled on Mikey's face. "Do you think tonight helped? Do you think they remembered anything?"

Donatello breathed in deeply, then let it out slowly. He'd been wondering the same thing. Would spending the evening with a typical game night with their closest friends, do anything to break through the Foot Mystic's hold on Leo and Raph?

"I don't know Mikey." Donnie shook his head. How does someone go about breaking a magical spell? Sure, Master Splinter had been able to help Donnie and Mikey break free through meditation. And yes, the two Foot turtles had begun to relax earlier that evening. But there was no way that Leo and Raph were ready to sit down and do a meditation session with Master Splinter, at least not yet. And there was nothing to say that meditation would even work this time around. Especially if the Foot Mystic's hold on the two elder turtles has grown stronger, now that Master Splinter, Mikey, and himself were free. For all of his intelligence, Donatello was clueless how to save his two older brothers.

"I don't know." Donatello repeated himself.

Dissatisfied with the answer Michelangelo pressed. "There's got to be something that we can do!"

Anger, frustration, and fear flashed behind orange covered eyes. It was a rare sight for the usually happy-go-lucky turtle.

"Mikey?"

"We've got to do something Donnie. The way that Leo and Raph are treated." Mikey's tone turned to one of disgust. "Shredder beats them for their disobedience. And then he bribes them with gifts."

Donatello's eyes widened beneath his mask. Leonardo had said that Raph and his bruises were from training. And while that may be true, it didn't explain why Raphael had shown up earlier with fresh bruising and Michelangelo didn't have a scratch on him. But now? The bruises on Raphael. The black sais. Now it all made sense.

"And there's something else that happened." Mikey said.

Donatello felt his stomach squirm in discomfort. What else could there possibly be?

"Karai." Mikey began.

"Karai?" Donatello couldn't help but repeat, the mention of the kunoichi coming as a surprise.

"She told me that we had to act before the end of the week if we want them back."

Puzzled, Donatello asked. "Why?"

Mikey shook his head. "She didn't say."

"Did she tell you what we can do?"

Another head shake. "No."

Well now they had a time limit. Donatello frowned. But they still didn't know what they had to do.

Donnie hated to ask but he couldn't take any chances. "Is there anything else?"

"Umm. Not really." Mikey tilted his head. "Let's see. We were called to the Shredder's throne room. He admired his gift." Mikey made air quotes with his fingers at the reminder of Raphael's new black sais. "Baxter Stockman interrupted to report about a couple of shipments arriving at the docks. Then we were dismissed with the night off. Ran into April and Casey on our way here. You know the rest."

Donatello leaned back in his chair. "Shipments of what?"

"A bunch of liquids. Liquid nitrogen? Or maybe it was liquid tetriscide?" Mikey frowned. "Or maybe it was liquid nitrazine?"

"Mikey, was it liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen? And nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine?" Donatello asked.

"Yeah," Mikey grinned. "That sounds about right."

Donatello stood and began to rush around the lab, quickly gathering up his papers as he moved.

"Donnie?" Mikey asked. "What is it?"

"Those chemicals you mentioned Mikey." Donatello continued to gather his things. "They are used for rocket fuel."

Mikey shook his head, confused. "Rocket fuel? Why would Shredder need rocket fuel?"

"A starship."

Mr. Mortu's voice carried dread in its tone. "Ch'rell must've finally been able to build his own starship. This is troubling news."

Donatello and Michelangelo's arrival had been met with mixed results. At first, the Utroms' were delighted to discover that the genius turtle had managed to identify the problem with the malfunctioning exosuit. But that relief was quickly replaced with dismay at the announcement that Ch'rell had managed to build a way to leave the planet.

Mr. Mortu gestured to the head Utrom scientist in the room. "Dr. Harrow, how long will it take for Donatello's changes to be implemented?"

Dr. Harrow stared at the malfunctioning exosuit on the table. "If everyone works around the clock, the suit will be ready by the end of the week. But there will be no time for a test run."

At Mr. Mortu's nod, the room became a flurry of activity. Donatello and the Utrom scientist quickly moved from the group to begin their work.

Leonardo stared at the door in front of him. The black clad turtle glanced down at the to-go cup in his hand. The empty to-go cup that he had procured from the water cooler down the hall. Leonardo looked up at the door again. Just beyond these doors was a room that Leonardo had been explicitly forbidden to enter.

Leonardo held his hand up to the door for a moment. He took a deep breath then pushed the swinging door and walked forward. He reached for the light switch and blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. Leonardo knew that he shouldn't be here, but there was only one way to get a good cup of tea inside Foot Headquarters at this time of night. He would have to prepare the cup of tea by himself, and the fresh tea leaves were stored in the kitchen of Foot Headquarters.

Leonardo moved slowly, careful not to touch anything as he made his way over to the tea station. The black clad turtle began by pulling out the necessary supplies. Tea leaves, tea strainer, tea pot, timer, and a tea scoop were all placed next to the to-go cup. Leonardo opened the tin of tea leaves and breathed deeply, then smiled. He couldn't wait to drink his cup of tea. Hopefully it would help to settle his mind so that he could get a few more hours of sleep.

Moving quietly in the room, Leonardo filled the tea pot with water, then turned the flame on the stove to high. As he waited for the water to boil Leonardo reached for the tin of tea leaves and carefully measured the leaves using the tea scoop. Leonardo placed the tea strainer inside the to-go cup, added the tea leaves, then began pushing the buttons on the timer.

"Leonardo?"

"Gah!" The sudden call of his name caused the turtle in question to yelp in surprise. Turning around on his heels, Leonardo's arm smacked against the to-go cup, as he felt his heart sink to his feet. Before Leonardo could speak, Oroku Saki's eyes grew wide and he shoved Leonardo out of the way.

"Move!"

Oroku Saki grabbed a towel, wet it with water, and then began patting out the burning tea leaves on the counter top. When Leonardo turned around his elbow had knocked over the to-go mug, which then smacked into the tea tin and caused the tea leaves to scatter across the countertop. Tea leaves fell into the flames on the stove and began to burn. The dried leaves acting as kindling, and the flame quickly traveled back towards the tin, the leaves lighting up easily.

Once the flames were out Oroku Saki glared at the disobedient turtle. "You do not belong in here. Out." Oroku Saki pointed towards the door. "Now."

Afraid to speak, Leonardo nodded once then flew out of the room. Why the shell was he always causing trouble every time he stepped inside a kitchen? All he did was boil some water for his tea!

Oroku Saki surveyed the mess. Clearly Leonardo was just trying to make a cup of tea.

Ch'rell smiled inside his exosuit. Well, he could work with that.

"Michelangelo."

Michelangelo shifted in his chair as he put the game Feral Rites on pause and removed the virtual reality headset from his head.

"Hi Mr. Mortu."

The Utrom tilted his head, curious about the device in the orange turtle's hands. Michelangelo handed over the device.

"Do you want to play a round?"

Mr. Mortu chuckled. "No thank you Michelangelo." The Utrom did not remove his gaze from the headset, having watched Michelangelo interacting with the game as he walked into the room. "I am curious though, why does your Oculus Rift look different?"

Surprised at the Utrom's knowledge of gaming and software products Mikey happily began to show off the results of Donatello's hard work.

"Oh you see, that's because Donnie modified this one using Utrom technology. He thinks it was a prototype model because it was missing headphones. Donnie added his own, and made a few other upgrades." Mikey beamed with pride at his brother's talents, and handed over the headset to the Utrom.

"Here, try it for yourself."

As the screen changed views Mikey continued. "Donnie said this baby can sync remotely with any network, libraries, banks, even government agencies."

"Brilliant." Removing the device the Utrom returned the headset to its owner. "Thank you Michelangelo"

A thought began to form in Mr. Mortu's head. "If you'll excuse me."

The orange clad turtle nodded as Mr. Mortu rose quickly and began to walk out of the room. Having lived with Donatello all of his life, Michelangelo was used to the odd behavior of geniuses when they had a sudden idea.

With a shrug Mikey returned to his video game.

Leonardo stood in the hallway and tried not to panic. Why was he so stupid? Why did he go into the kitchen? He'd been forbidden from entering the kitchen after last time. It wasn't Leonardo's fault that the kitchen seemed to hate him.

The door opened and Leonardo closed his eyes. He tensed, waiting for the blow that he was sure was coming for his disobedience.

The Foot leader stood in front of the turtle, letting the silence speak for him. After a minute he spoke.

"My son, take this."

Following the command Leonardo opened his eyes and took the offered to-go cup.

"Thank you father."

Leonardo almost jerked in surprise as he watched the Foot Leader take a sip of tea from his own to-go cup. The black clad ninja didn't realize that Master Shredder had been holding a cup of his own. Actually, Leonardo didn't think Master Shredder ever drank his tea any other way than out of a tea cup. Trusting the turtle to follow, Oroku Saki turned his back to his son and spoke over his shoulder as he began to walk down the hallway.

"Come, walk with me."

Leonardo quickly fell into step beside the Foot Leader as he carried his cup of tea. The tea was smooth, hot, and helped to settle the young teen's nerves. It was exactly what he needed.

They entered Master Shredder's office. The room was large, filled with dark, richly colored furniture. A floor to ceiling pane of windows ran the length of the room behind the desk. Covering the floor was a thick carpet with red and black designs. Against a far wall were bookcases stacked with books and various objects that looked old and priceless. The chairs in the room were leather, with curled arm rests. A few bamboo plants were placed throughout the space. Everything in the room oozed wealth and power.

Oroku Saki placed the to-go cup on his desk and beckoned his son to stand beside him, facing the windows and the sleeping city below. Under the cover of night the city looked calm and peaceful. It was a clear night, giving the few brightest stars in the sky the chance to shine, despite the pollution of the city street lights.

Leonardo had never been called to Master Shredder's office before. The young teen took a moment to admire the view.

"It's beautiful." The words left Leonardo's mouth before he could stop it.

Oroku Saki smiled, because the softly spoken words were true. Overlooking New York City under the cover of night, it really was one of the most beautiful cities on Earth.

"Tell me my son," Oroku Saki asked, "have you ever wanted to travel among the stars?"

Feeling warm and relaxed from the tea, Leonardo looked up at the night sky. As both a ninja and a mutant, Leonardo's assignments were always performed under the cover of night and the protection of the shadows. The night sky was a constant companion to the ninja turtle. But being among the stars themselves? Leonardo took in a deep breath before answering honestly.

"I don't know." Shrugging Leonardo continued. "I mean, it's not something that I've ever thought was possible, so I've never really thought about it before." Leonardo was curious where the question had come from, but he was already in enough trouble for entering the kitchen, the last thing he needed was to make things worse by questioning his master.

Oroku Saki looked at the mutant turtle for a moment. From his hardened shell and thick skin, to his skill and dedication to the art of ninjitsu, Leonardo was exquisite.

"You are a born warrior my son. But living on this planet, the locals will never understand you. They will never accept you or your brother, simply because you are different. Humans are too narrow minded to understand anything that is unlike themselves," Oroku Saki paused for a moment, letting the words sink in before he continued, "but a father wants to see their children grow and prosper. It is a parent's duty to provide the opportunities for their children to do so. That is why Friday we will be leaving this backwater planet."

"Leaving?" Leonardo whipped his head around, his eyes wide at the revelation. "What? But wait, what about the Utroms?"

"The Utroms will have no choice but to pursue us when we leave the planet. The starship will draw them out and when they enter the skies, the weapons on board will destroy them."

Oroku Saki held out his hand and Leonardo placed the empty to-go cup into it.

Leonardo felt his stomach drop at his master's next words.

"You were told not to enter the kitchens." After placing the cup on to the desk, the Utrom backhanded the turtle, hard.

"Do not make disobedience a habit that I will have to break, my son."

"Yes, Father." Sensing the dismissal in his father's tone, Leonardo hastily gave the traditional bow then exited the room.

A/N: Poor Leo, he really should just learn to stay away from kitchens.