I own nothing, but the mother character Mayu.

Splinter's POV

I had been tenser than a ninja master should be, even right in front of an enemy, since my family had left our home. I had been left alone by them before. Mayu takes our sons out for training of one kind or another quite often without me just never to the surface until now. Sometimes, I go out with them into the tunnels surrounding our home, but not as often as Muya takes them out by herself.

Despite starting out human, my face is harder to hide behind a mask. My longer nose makes the shape of my head obviously … inhuman … So, I am more a liability to our cover as mere humans, or even mere ninja or ninja wannabes, practicing skills of stealth, strategy, and athleticism in the sewers and abandoned train tunnels of New York City.

And sometimes, whether on business, or pleasure, or by accident, humans wander into the tunnels or sewers. In their stealth gear, my family members look more human than me. So, I am used to being left alone by them. Sometimes, it is even a relief, but not tonight

This evening, my sons went on a brand new adventure with their mother without me. They went to the surface, where not only sewer workers, teenagers trying to cause mischief, or homeless men and women seeking shelter, but "anyone" might see them: police, gangsters, scientists, my and Mayu's enemies ... All sorts of situations that might occur occurred to and stirred up fear within me.

So, I tried all the things that usually relax me: candles, tea, sitting beneath the tree in the dojo while clearing my mind … Nothing got rid of the stress buzzing through my mind and body. Then, the phone I'd been keeping with me beeped. It did not just make any beep, however. The signal it made was to alert me to an emergency requiring backup or at least to inform me of a situation it would be disrespectful to keep from me long as an interested person of authority in this family.

I got up and opened the phone. Its screen displayed a map. A blinking dot on it showed the location of the phone that had sent the alert when it was sent. Beneath the map was the name of the owner of the phone that had been so used. It was Mayu's.

I pulled up the hood of my kimono and pulled out and down the veil Mayu had advised me to add to it. The way it hung, outward, did the best job anything could of hiding my rodent nose from view. I had to go find my family.

I went to SP6, the nearest place to the location the alert had been sent from Donatello had made hidden and defensible and supplied so my family could hide in it for days. I find … some … of my family there. But also … "Who are these?"

Donatello clears his throat as he meets my gaze. His voice and form are tense. "Sensei, this is April O'Neil and Dr. O'Neil. April, Dr. O'Neil, this is our sensei …"

I raise an eyebrow behind my veil at the order in which Donatello chose to introduce these two humans to me putting the name of the younger, and child of the other, first. I am more satisfied he introduced them to me first as their father and a ninja master. I give a very slight bow toward the two humans and look around. Why had Donatello introduced them to me and not …? I stiffen. Then I look to Donatello again. "Where are Mayu and Leonardo?"

Raphael glares as he twirls his sai. My eyebrows rise at the action. It is his usual movement, when "he" is stressed, but not yet "exploding" as others in my family put it. "They're still on the surface beating up on Kraang robots. I wish I was with them."

My breath freezes within me. "The Kraang ...?"

Donatello rubs the back of his head. "Yeah … about that …"

The man before me, Dr. O'Neil breaks in. "That is our fault, sir. They're after my daughter."

I turn my gaze upon the two humans. Then I turn my back to all of them and step backward into our hiding place. I shut the door after me, and open my phone. I press the button to call Mayu's twin device. I should have a signal if Donatello's technology works in this "Safe Place 6." Mayu's phone buzzes on the other end for many, many seconds. All around me, the others tense.

Then I can feel my sons moving behind me. They are probably turning their gazes upon each other, making hand signals of orders and threats in a failed attempt to communicate without interrupting my thoughts by making noises. I do not show I notice. It is not important now. Mayu! Pick. Up. Your. Phone!

I could try calling Leonardo's next, but … The other phone is answered. My ears rise beneath my hood. Then a voice speaks on the other end. I haven't heard it in nearly a decade and a half. I have not missed it. It makes my heart fall within me now. "This is Kraang. Who is this?"

I jerk the phone away from me while saying "T-Phone!" My sons whip out their own devices and cover their voice receivers as I finish, "Self-destruct!"

I drop the device, step back, and then lean back holding my arms out to cover those behind me. Even as it falls, the device buzzes, flashes, and smokes. It lands on the floor still producing a wisp of acidic smelling gas. I turn to my sons and the humans behind them. "Hurry, we must leave!"

Donatello is staring at me wide-eyed. "Father …"

I pause when I see … apology in my smart son's eyes. I look over the others briefly. They also look, sorry. But the depth of fear and pain in Donatello's eyes is worse even than that in Michelangelo's who looks ready to weep in grief, and Raphael's who looks ready to tear something apart. Donatello looks like he blames himself.

I glance at the humans. They have more pain, but also some grief and self-blame in their faces. I'm not ready to put these pieces together yet. I have to get them away now!

"Come, all of you, they may trace the call to here or even follow us some other way! We must go now and hide ourselves elsewhere!" I open the door for them and stand aside.

Michelangelo raises his chin and nods. His filling eyes crinkle up as he steps out of the safe-place. Raphael stomps by like a thundercloud going about its way of hammering down rain and spreading lightning beneath it. Donatello, however, casts a look toward the human girl whose side he's stayed beside until now before walking by me like a puppet as if he moves with his thoughts far away.

I will have to make sure my smart son is always nearby, so he won't make a wrong turn or even take a wrong step in this state. The human father takes the hand of his human daughter and leads her out after my sons. I step out, close the door, and take the position of rear guard as we walk away. I now see Raphael has taken the lead.

I only wait a few tunnels worth of travel, however, till we enter one particularly wide one, to slip by all the others. I grab ahold of Donatello's hand as I pass him and pull him along behind me as I catch up to and pass Raphael to take the lead. None of my sons even complain at these actions.

Only when I take a certain turn, does Raphael speak. "Sensei, this isn't the way to the lair."

"I am not taking you there. We are going to SP12."

Donatello finally looks up at me. "Why?"

"Because I want us somewhere more defensible than SP6 or the lair. Once I have you there, I am going to look for your mother and missing brother."

No one says another word, not even Michelangelo, until we come to the end of a tunnel and to the top of a ladder that descends down an air shaft the tunnel has ended in. I go down first, knowing if the ladder will bear my weight, it will bear the weights of my sons and even these humans. The latter stand open-mouthed and staring down. This, "April" twists her hands while watching me descend. "SP12 is 'down there?'"

Donatello who has been casting glances at her for most of our journey whispers. "It's okay, April. You just have to hold on and take it one step at a time."

Her father speaks next, "I'll go first." It seems we share something in common as fathers.

Michelangelo speaks next above me. I hear a catch in his voice that speaks of unshed tears to me. "It's really easy, Bro. Watch." I feel him get onto the ladder with me. It holds. At least, my confidence in the equipment is bolstered.

After Michelangelo and I step off the ladder into another tunnel opening into the shaft, the human father begins to climb down. He shakes so badly, the ladder does too. I get down on all fours trying to ground myself before holding out one paw into the shaft to catch him if he falls. Michelangelo gets out his kasuri-gama likely thinking along the same lines. I hope he doesn't actually attempt to save this human with it, because if he does take on the man's full weight, I'll have to tackle him to add my own to this end of the chain. Dr. O'Neil, however, only requires my assistance to get off the ladder and into the tunnel with Michelangelo and me. Michelangelo's "help" scares the man and I more than anything else on this trip.

Donatello goes next coaching the girl who comes down right after him. He helps her off the ladder and into the tunnel too. I can almost feel the steam coming off Raphael, when he passes me after coming down last. I wonder why he did so.

At the end of this tunnel is a door into another longer, but narrower space than SP6, SP12. It has a crawl-space escape route to much wider tunnels that eventually connect to the abandoned train tunnel with the abandoned train station along it that is our home. My sons know this. I hope the humans do not.

Once inside, I turn to them all. "Now, 'you,' my sons, know what to do. I expect you to tell our guests only what is necessary while I go find your mother and brother."

Suddenly, the red-headed girl looks up. "Please, tell us what's going on. Why do they want me? I didn't mean to … make you lose …" She lays her head in her hands, and her father puts his arm around her shoulders and lets her lean into him.

He looks up at me now with apology in his face. "We've had a hard day. I hope you find your wife and son."

An awkwardness settles over my remaining sons with me as they look around at each other and then at me. I decide not to correct the man. Instead, I address my present family members. "Make sure our guests' needs are met and you are otherwise good hosts. But do not tell them more than they need to know." I give Michelangelo a long look.

Pale-blue eyes stare back at me before Michelangelo raises his arms and voice. "What?"

I continue without answering him. "Try not to talk too much or blame each other. If I know your mother, she could not stand to see a child kidnapped." My shoulders sink. "And if I know Leonardo, he wanted to protect her."

I think I see the human girl's mouth purse. I think little of it though. I have finally gotten what remains of my family to a place they can escape from if they must, but where they can also hold off even a large force by making them come to them single file or dig through a great deal of hard earth to get to them. Now, I have to go find my missing son and Mayu.

. . .

I climb out of a manhole my sons told me none of them used. Then I attempt to learn where this battle they had spoken to me of before I left them took place while avoiding anyplace I think might be in view of cameras. My eyes widen. There, in the road and on the sidewalk are indentations and scorch marks.

I find some cameras that look out onto the area, destroy them, and go down to examine the area closer, sniffing. I smell burnt asphalt, burnt concrete, the scent of Kraang I recall from days in my past vividly, and those of Mayu and Leo ... including ... I sniff again to be sure, very small hints of their blood. Oh my son! Oh mother of my sons ... What has happened to you?

What do you think?

God Bless

ScribeofHeroes