The next morning Leo and Mike went down early to get a workout in before breakfast. They'd warmed up and spent a few minutes on exercises, before Leo cast his younger brother a side-long glance. Mike had been awfully quiet last night, and still seemed somewhat subdued today. Leonardo dropped to the mat, and motioned for him to join him.

"You're different Mikey. What's going on?" He asked him.

He flopped down beside him with a bit of a sigh.

"I've just got a lot on my mind Leo. That thing with Marc last night really scared me."

"Uh huh...but that's not all that's bothering you, is it?"

He shook his head without saying anything else.

"C'mon Mike, just talk to me."

"This ain't easy for me Leo. I've been trying to act upbeat and all, I'm just thinking a little too much I guess."

"Is this about Sensei?"

His brother's glance told him he'd hit the nail on the head.

"I don't know what to say to him." Mike said slowly. "We're all walking around here like everything's normal, and it's not. Why do we even bother pretending that nothing's wrong?"

"I don't think we're trying to pretend bro." Leo said quietly. "I think it's just sort of a defense mechanism. Like, if we focus on it all the time, we're all gonna lose it, you understand?"

"Well I feel like I'm fakin' it, and I can't do it anymore Leo. I can't act like everything's just okay." He finished brokenly.

Leonardo looked down at the floor for a few seconds.

"Recently I read a saying somewhere, that I really hated. It went something like...'our loved ones never really leave us, they live on in the memories we shared and the differences they made', and a whole bunch of other junk like that. It made me really angry. We're losing our father, and I'm supposed to be comforted by memories? As if that would actually make up for him not being here.

But over the last week or so, I think I've started to understand what that really means."

Mike only looked at him, and waited for him to go on.

"Everyone we love has an effect on our lives Mike, they help shape us to become who we are. When you think about it, all of us carry around a huge part of Sensei with us all the time. His teachings, his encouragement, his pushing, his counsel...it's all in there. We may not get to have him physically with us much longer, but the impact he has had on us is permanent.

I know that doesn't make it any easier right now, and you don't have to pretend to be happy for our sake. Don't worry about the right or wrong thing to say to Sensei though. I've been struggling a bit with the same thing. Just don't avoid him, because you'll regret it later."

Mike's eyes welled with tears, and he practically threw himself at Leonardo, his older brother embracing him as he sobbed. Minutes passed before he looked up somewhat awkwardly, wiping his eyes fiercely.

"Are we gonna make it Leo?"

His brother nodded firmly. "It won't be easy," He acknowledged. "But if we work together...y'know there's nothing we can't face down."

"I used to think that."

"No, it's true Mikey. It might not feel like it right now, but you can't believe everything your feelings tell you."

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, letting out a long breath.

"Can we come back to this physical stuff later? I'm just not really into it right this second, and I've got extra mouths to feed."

"Sure Mike. You want some help?"

"I'll never turn it down. Let's go see who's awake."


Donatello had been up for a few minutes, and was back in Splinter's quarters messing with his machinery. After setting up a new filter for the machine, he came over to adjust one of his Master's pillows.

"Are you comfortable Sensei?"

"Yes my son. Thank you."

"I've got you set up to receive some more oxygen. Do you want tea now, or after?"

"I want you to sit with me for a few moments, and not worry about that machine."

He gave his Master a small smile, and obeyed.

"Do you know, I still remember the first time that I saw all of you." Splinter mused. "As shocked as I was by my own transformation, nothing could have prepared me for the rapid change that took place in all of you. The very thing that changed us all has turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me."

"You really never wanted to go back Sensei? You don't regret not getting to live in the real world?"

"What we have accomplished together living underneath this city has been living enough for me. There have been things that I missed about a human existence, but I have not truly regretted it one day for myself, no. You four are the reason for that. In my heart, the only reason that I ever desired to leave this place was so that you could know a life outside this sewer system.

As for me, I have been content to train you, to help mold all of you. It is a Master's responsibility to guide his pupils, until they have become true masters in themselves. Each of you has achieved so much...and I could not be prouder of you."

"I still remember one of the first things you ever taught us Sensei."

"Ah yes...and from the beginning, your own prowess was completely apparent."


It had occurred to Splinter that it could be easier to teach the four of them to read separately, but he'd decided to try it in a group setting first. He'd never taught anyone how to read before, so they would be partially learning together. The hardest part was getting the young turtles to focus for more than two minutes at a time, with the exception of his second youngest.

Donatello had never been satisfied with simply listening to his Sensei's readings in the past, and quite often stole away to try and figure out words and sounds on his own. Inevitably he would seek his Sensei out again to help him sound out syllables. It was his own keen interest that had pushed Splinter to try and teach them all how to read together now.

As Splinter copied down the alphabet and a couple of simple words on the dry erase board, he turned back around to see Leonardo and Raphael climbing over their chairs, and Michelangelo sprawled on the floor with one of his trucks. He cleared his throat decisively to get their attention, giving the three a disapproving look. They scrambled upright into their chairs, swinging legs that didn't quite reach the floor yet.

"Alright my sons. You have seen your letters before, but now it is time to learn about their different sounds, and how they can fit together."

They stared back at him as if trying to understand as he got started, but he still wasn't sure he knew how to explain everything properly. He had begun with sounding out the different vowel sounds, cursing the fact that english wasn't his first language. As he went onto to explain that the same vowels contained various sounds, he saw only blank looks from his sons. Well not all of them - Donatello's own expression was bright and eager.

A little frustrated with himself, Splinter called Donatello up to the board for a moment.

"I know that you understand these two words Donatello - can you sound them out for your brothers so that they can hear the difference in the vowel sound?"

"Uh huh. That one's cat, and that one...that one's ran."

"Do you hear the difference my sons?" Splinter asked the other three. "They both contain the same vowel - but when they fit into different words, they don't necessarily sound the same." Then he sighed inwardly as he gazed at the three of them, knowing that they had a hard time distinguishing the sounds through his own accent.

"It's really not as hard as ya think." Donnie spoke up. "See, if you can learn all the different sounds these couple of letters make, you can read words a whole lot faster. Almost every word uses 'em, so if you can get these down, you're like halfway there. Just focus on A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y."

"How come only sometimes?" Leonardo piped up.

"That comes later." Donatello said patiently, not even noticing his Sensei's stare.

Splinter had no idea how much the young turtle had actually been comprehending from what he'd taught him before. It seemed he had learned to focus on the speech patterns themselves, and wasn't thrown off by his accent.

"Okay Donatello, sound these vowels out slowly for your brothers." Splinter told him with a growing smile.

He'd just found his way in.