A/N: Sorry for the wait but I've been dumped with assessments and I've started writing another fanfic. Don't worry I'm not abandoning this one. I've decided to update the two fics alternatively. Anyway, this is a really long chapter, but it explains a LOT and will hopefully tie all the loose ends together (except Venus' past and few other minor things). It's pretty important and unfortunately if you don't get it then it will really effect the rest of the fic. If you get confused then reread chapter 9 to refresh your memory on the Book of Mutants. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this (and that you'll mentally kick yourself after finding out Saringai's past!)

Chapter 20: Saringai's Past

Shere Khan held his son's limp body in his arms, holding back the painful tears as he looked towards the rising sun. He tenderly caressed Sebastian's face before moving his hand along his body, taking everything in about him. His hand stopped on his son's fatal wound; three puncture holes where the middle one was the deepest. Immediately he knew what weapon was used to destroy Sebastian. There were only three known sai wielders in the land; Raifu, Raphael and himself, which left Shere Khan with two main suspects, though he figured it was probably the cheetah.

Immense feelings of regret entrapped his heart. Shere Khan did love his son, though now he wished he'd shown it better. He had a lot of expectations for Sebastian, hoping that one day he would take over Shere Khan's place, but obviously it was not meant to be. Shattered dreams filled his vision as he carefully placed Sebastian's dead body on the moist ground.

Vasha walked up and stood behind him. A cocky smile was planted on her face. Shere Khan noticed her expression and growled. "What are you smiling about?" he snapped.

"I think I've done quite well. I have managed to wipe out three of my major threats in less than two days," Vasha said evilly.

"What do you mean?" Shere Khan asked, his anguish coming out in his speech.

"You know I've won the bet," Vasha said, ignoring his question.

"No you didn't. You failed to kill Venus," Shere Khan insisted.

"Yes I did. Just not directly. It's ironic really. You spared her life by allowing me to reintroduce Prima Noctra, which only lead her to her death anyway. Don't you see Shere Khan? You're just my little puppet. You're plan to become friends with the locals failed, and I won the bet. But to my astonishment, not only did I get rid of Venus, but I also got destroyed Rachel and Sebastian." She stopped to survey Shere Khan's angry yet intrigued expression. She smiled cruelly before continuing on.

"I was surprised when Galileo told us about Raphael and Rachel's relationship, yet it worked perfectly into my plan. Yes, Rachel was a competent servant, but she was also a deceitful one and had her days numbered. She had to be disposed of because of two things; one, so that you could never win the bet, and two, she was caught helping the State Mutants while operating the stall. Galileo told me that one. But who better to murder Rachel than Sebastian; the one who's had a major crush on her for years? Not only did it cause Sebastian to feel disgusted by his own actions, but it also put him right into the firing line of Raphael. I think all of us can now see how angry Raphael can become," Vasha said evilly, proudly looking at the carcass in front of Shere Khan's body.

"Why?" Shere Khan asked, his body shaking almost uncontrollably with both fury and betrayal.

"The answer to that is simple. Without Sebastian, I'm now next in line for leadership. Also, I've ceased the threat of Kathryn falling in love with your son, so now she can move on from that loser. Rachel will no longer distract anyone and Venus and her little male friends will never defeat me, now that she's dead," Vasha explained.

Shere Khan gave a low growl, resisting the urge to snap her neck right then and there. "You'll never be the leader Vasha. I'll find somebody else to be my heir," he hissed.

"Tell that to the army. I will be leader, don't you worry. Especially with the reputation I've built up for myself. I always win Shere Khan. Always," she rubbed in with a big sneer on her face. A smile toyed on Shere Khan's face. Vasha's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you so happy about?" Vasha asked, disgusted by his reaction after all that she had said.

"You didn't win the bet," Shere Khan smiled.

"Yes I did. Venus died because of my actions," Vasha insisted.

"I said it before and I'll say it again. You failed to kill Venus," Shere Khan said with amusement. Vasha's response consisted of a confused facial expression. "She's not dead Vasha."

"Yes she is! She died from ingesting poison!" Vasha said mainly to reassure herself.

"I thought so too. But when I discovered that her body was missing, I remembered that she's a Shinobi, just like me. It was a spell Vasha. A very good one at that. So good that it managed to fool all of us. You didn't win the bet Vasha; Venus did. I guess Sebastian was right when he said that this was a bet that neither of us would win. Destiny has taken its course," Shere Khan explained. A smile spread across his once saddened face as he examined Vasha's sour expression of defeat.

*****

Venus sat on her bed, staring out at the balcony, completely absorbed in it's majestic view. When she looked away she noticed Shere Khan standing in front of her. Her heart began to race in panic as he immorally licked his lips. The tiger pounced on top of her. Venus couldn't move her limbs; she was paralyzed with fright. The scar of the whip began to burn into her back, as foreign hands explored her body. Pain in its many forms seared through as she felt him on the inside…

Venus' eyes snapped open in shock. She was disoriented for a few seconds before she finally relaxed. It had all been a dream. No, a nightmare. Still shaken, she looked at Leonardo who was only just rousing from his sleep. His arm was draped across her waist as though he didn't want to let her go. She felt calm in his subconscious hug and gave a sigh of contentment. A few seconds later, Leo's eyes opened and embraced the early morning sun that drifted through the leaves. He looked at Venus and smiled, before planting a tender kiss on her lips.

"Morning. Did you sleep well?" he inquired softly. Venus nodded, falsely assuring him. He smiled. "Breakfast will be soon. Do you want to get ready?" Leo asked gently. Venus smiled sweetly and nodded once again.

A few minutes later, Venus and Leo walked into the dining room and sat down at the table. Raphael acknowledged them quickly before pretending to look occupied with his meal, not making eye contact. Saringai greeted them both with a smile. "Have a good nights sleep?" he asked. The couple nodded in response. Donatello walked into the room, giving a big yawn as he did so.

"Good morning… Michelangelo?" Venus said as though she wasn't sure.

"Donatello," he said gruffly but with a small smile. Michelangelo entered soon after but only gave a nervous 'hi' when Venus greeted him. The cheetah then sat at the opposite end of the table.

Venus gave Leo a quizzical look. "He still believes in cooties," Leonardo whispered in her ear, causing both of them to giggle. Raphael glared with jealousy at this, but it went unnoticed.

"We're going to do a fair bit of sparring later on today. Would you like to join? Do you know how to fight?" Saringai asked Venus as he sat down to eat his morning meal.

"I don't really know. I've learnt a little bit off Shere Khan's guards, by watching them during their training. I would like to participate, if it's not too much of a problem," Venus said kindly.

"It's no problem at all. I'll be happy to teach you a few things. You're a part of our family now and it's only fair that you are taught the same things as the boys," said Saringai.

*****

Venus back-flipped away, avoiding Donatello's oncoming mid-waist round house kick. Saringai smiled at her surprising skill. The leopard placed the female with Don, thinking that the purple-wearing cheetah would go easy on her, when in fact Venus needed to go easier on Donatello. Saringai used this sparring session to assess Venus' skills as a fighter. She definitely had potential, though Don did seem to be holding back. Venus was remarkably flexible, especially in spine; almost as limber as Michelangelo who was the most agile and supple of the group. Her attacks weren't that powerful though, but Saringai figured he could fix that with time and practice.

After their bout had ended, Venus and Donny bowed to each other in respect, before sitting back down. Saringai gestured for Leonardo and Raphael to spar next. Leo and Raph faced each other before drawing out their weapons. They stood in a ready stance, waiting for Saringai's command. "Hajime" he called out, ordering the sparring to commence. Leo's katanas and Raph's sais clashed simultaneously. It had been a while since Leo had sparred with one of his brothers as he had missed most lessons because of his visits to Venus. But now that she was a part of their family, he no longer had to worry about sneaking away to see her, and could now finally focus on his studies.

Unfortunately for Leonardo, the missed lessons had taken their toll, as Raphael easily gained control of the battle. Leo's lack of practice wasn't the only thing that affected the match. Raphael's fighting style had also changed. A low, throaty growl was emitted from his clenched teeth as he continued to wear Leo down. He was unstoppable; allowing the unknown built up anger inside of him to take over completely. Raph's attacks were blinded, furiously aiming for Leonardo who was trying his best to block them. It wasn't long before Raph's fury got the better of him, as Leo could only afford to block.

Leo noticed Raph's new style and began to panic, as he didn't know how far Raphael would go. He had never seen Raph fight like this, and honestly thought that hotheaded cheetah would kill him right then and there. Saringai also picked up the odd fighting style, and wondered what the change could have been caused by. Raph pushed Leo into ground, glaring wrathfully at his little brother. "Raph!" Leo yelled out in protest, worried about his well being. Raphael didn't stop.

In a scarred defence, Leo performed the unpredictable. A strong torrent of water shot out of Leo's open mouth. The stream pushed Raphael back and into the trunk of the tree, snapping Raph out of his angry state. The others looked in shock as they watched the now drenched cheetah standing in disbelief. Leo's eyes opened wide with alarm after he realised what he had just done. He couldn't believe it. None of them did. All of them looked at Leo with their mouths agape.

"Tell me that didn't just happen," Leo murmured with a terrified tone, more to convince himself than anyone else. It was Donatello who figured it out first.

"It jumped…" he muttered to himself, still thinking it through.

"What?" Michael asked, wondering what his twin was thinking; though he was pretty sure what he meant. Saringai had heard many rumours that identical twins have telepathic powers with each other. The leopard had started to train the two in this ability only three weeks ago and the results were only just now beginning to show.

"It's the barrier. Information from the Pokemon dimension's barrier must have jumped and downloaded onto you, Leo. It's the only explanation!" Donatello explained excitedly.

"That could explain what happened last night," Leo said thoughtfully. After no one asked anything, he continued. "Last night around one o'clock, I was at the pond. I was just thinking about how cool the water looked in the moonlight, when I felt really strange. My whole body glowed white; I didn't know what happened. After that I got so freaked that I went back to bed. When I got up this morning I hoped that it was just a dream…" Leo said, still scarred about what he did. Saringai's paw rested on his shoulder for comfort.

"That's why we haven't gained powers until know. It's not a physical thing; it's a psychological one. In order to gain powers, we must think of the certain element. Also, if it was one o'clock at night as Leo said, then we can also gain powers at one in the afternoon, as there are two weak points!" Donatello explained hurriedly, his mind traveling a mile a minute. "Leo can I have a blood sample?" he asked. Leo nodded slowly. Don then thought for a while. "I'll also need someone's for comparison. Raph can I-"

"-No you can't," Raph said angrily. "Use your own blood!" he bellowed.

Don shrugged. "Oh, and Venus, can I have a blood sample from you too? I want to see how much of a difference there is between our DNA," Donatello asked. "I can test it out and compare it on my new program I added to my laptop. It will only take two days," Donatello added. Venus nodded warily in agreement, before they all headed back to the main tree.

*****

Two days later…

Leo walked into his room and found Venus sitting on his bed. "Hey," he said softly with a smile. She smiled back and welcomed his kiss. They looked into each other's eyes before Leo looked away.

"What's wrong?" Venus asked with concern. Leo looked at her.

"I was… I don't know. Do you… feel weird about me having this power?" Leo said referring to his newfound water ability. Over the past two days Leo had tried to control his power. He managed to do so, though it was still quite limited and fairly weak; but he still felt like a freak for having it, as he was different from his brothers.

"Do you feel weird about me being able to perform Shinobi spells?" Venus asked rhetorically. Leo looked away again. "Leo, in my eyes, you're still the same person that I fell in love with. It doesn't bother me too much. We've already been through a lot and I know that we can get through this together," Venus said compassionately. Leonardo smiled at her, thankful for her reassurance. He then looked to the ground and blushed.

"I'm sorry," Leo said.

"Sorry for what?"

"I've been too wrapped up in my own problems that I've neglected you. How are you going?" he asked. Her smile faded. "Venus?"

"I… I don't know, Leo. I mean, if it wasn't for you and Saringai, I wouldn't really feel welcome here. Raphael's been acting strangely ever since I got here, Michael avoids me and Don… I don't know. I'm sure it will change though. They just have to get used to me," Venus reassured herself. Leonardo knew what she was talking about, especially with Raphael. He didn't know what had gotten into his long-time roommate. Leo took Venus into his arms, giving her a hug.

"Don't worry too much about them. After we defeat Shere Khan, we'll move to Kenya," Leo said while smiling.

"Kenya?" Venus questioned, a small smile returning to her face.

"Yep, Kenya. Just us two. And when we're there, we'll live in a cave and have five litters of cubs," Leo continued. Venus couldn't help but laugh.

"Five litters?" Venus questioned, concerned yet grinning at the same time. She knew he was only kidding around. He grinned back, glad to see her happy once again.

"Yep. Eight cubs in each litter!"

"Which will make forty!" she squealed, playing along. Leo just held her closer to him.

"Yep. And we'll also keep a pet dog. A Border collie."

"A dog?"

"Uh-huh! And we'll call him Raphael," Leo joked.

"Don't tell Raph this, but I always thought that Raphael was a good name for a dog," Venus said thoughtfully.

"Me too!" Leonardo grinned.

"I love you," Venus said softly, wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him. Donatello cleared his throat in order to get the attention of the two lovebirds. Curiously, Leo and Venus looked at him and wondered how long he had been there. In his hand was a piece of paper. Don looked down at it sadly.

"What's up?" Leo asked, feeling unsure.

"I got the results from the blood test. I have just compared them. I checked and double checked, but I still found the same thing," Don said solemnly. This had to be the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life. He really didn't want to do this, but he had to.

"What about it?" Venus asked slowly.

Don cleared his throat again and looked down at his paper. "You're brother and sister."

*****

"So I guess this is it," Leo admitted, his words barely audible. Venus didn't reply and simply watched the sinking sun behind the mountains. After hearing the news, the two of them went outside to discuss the future of their relationship. They both knew it was over. They had overcome so many obstacles to obtain what they had, but the genetic problem was not a hurdle that they could pass.

The two cheetahs sat side by side. It was extremely painful to do this; to throw away everything that they had fought so hard for. Venus struggled to hold in her tears. They both needed to be strong. Both were silent for a while. "You know, I'll will never be able to look at you as a sister. I'll always love you, and I'll always be here for you," Leo admitted, ashamed of his feelings. He knew the love in his heart would never fade, would never wash away from his soul. The same was for Venus.

"I know you will Leo," Venus said softly. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the lips one last time before parting their separate ways. Venus slowly trudged back to the tree, hoping to fit in with her newly discovered brothers. Leonardo remained outside, devastated.

He had risked his whole world in order to be with Venus, and now he had lost everything. Leo had two loves in his life, Venus and ninjitsu. Leonardo had sacrificed his training for Venus, but now that she could never be his, he realised that it was too late to return back to ninjitsu. He was no longer the best fighter in the clan; Michael was, with Raphael close behind. No matter how hard he would train, those crucial weeks that he missed he cost him the lead as he would never catch up to the others. He had truly lost everything. The only hope he had now was through mastering his watery power.

Leonardo stood there and watched the final segment of the sun disappear from sight. He didn't know what to do. Usually with times like this, he would talk to Venus, but he couldn't this time. Raph had also changed. He touched his scarred face, the cut he endured when he fought for Venus. Leo knew that she would always be a part of his life and that he'd never be able to escape the reality of it all. He was already lost without her.

*****

Saringai looked at Leonardo from his bedroom's tree branches. He felt sorry for his student, but he knew that it had to be done. Leonardo needed to concentrate on his studies, especially with the threat of Shere Khan. He knew Leonardo and Venus were not brother and sister, and that Donatello had simply read the comparison wrong. But Don was correct in saying that they were related. Leonardo and Venus were cousins, not siblings.

He seriously wondered if being related would effect their offspring at all. The major problem facing wild cheetahs today is the lack of variety in the gene pool. In fact, some biologists believe that all cheetahs could be considered identical because of the large similarity in DNA. It's become a serious issue with the survival of the species, as breeding programs can't overcome this problem. Genetically, it didn't really matter if they were related or not, as their DNA would already be really similar.

But it was a moral issue. Brothers and sisters dating was just wrong. But at least with being cousins it was more accepted, but still greatly frowned upon. Saringai knew that with human societies, it wasn't readily accepted, if at all, but in the mutant kingdom where only twenty percent of creatures being female, being cousins wasn't necessarily a big issue. He knew before the blood test that Leo and Venus were cousins. Saringai predicted this, as he was Venus' father.

Sarinagi reminisced back to his early years. Back then he went by another name; Donatello. Raifu, his brother, had also been called another name back then; Raphael. Raphael and Donatello lived with three other non-related leopards at the time, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Venus. The leopard clan was the State Mutants of Lesotho, but it was not meant to be.

Shere Khan had three older brothers. They were quite peaceful at first, but after a surprise change of events, the tiger brothers turned against the citizens of Ikhaya Labantu. The eldest was the leader and a tyrant. For the first time, the locals turned to the leopards for help. The two clans fought long and hard, and managed to destroy the other mutant tigers that had come from Asia to help Shere Khan and his brothers. The tiger clan wasn't growing. Thankfully, Michelangelo and Venus had five leopard cubs, four boys and one girl, who were to be the next generation of State Mutants. The State Mutant's of Lesotho's future was secure.

That was until the leopard clan's first home was found. Venus had been left at home to mind the cubs when the tiger brothers came. They hung the children and Venus before setting fire to the tree in which they had originally lived. Michelangelo was devastated when he found them. He set off on his own to avenge their death's, against Leonardo, their leader's orders. Michelangelo was captured by the tiger clan and was made into a slave. He was forced to battle other captured citizens for the tigers' entertainment. After succeeding in defeating all of his opponents, Shere Khan's eldest brother decided to fight to the death with him. They both ended in killing each other.

It was about that time when the South African State Mutants visited and delivered the responsibility of the 'Book of Mutants'. With both Michelangelo, Venus and the future of the clan destroyed, the leopards desperately needed to either destroy the tiger clan, or make sure that the future State Mutants of Lesotho did. There was only two ways the next generation of State Mutants could be born. One way was through having children, like Michelangelo had, but this didn't always work. The other way was through destiny where when three or more State Mutants die, then the next generation will be born as a replacement. For this to work, one more leopard had to die. So having children was the only option.

Shere Khan's second eldest brother organised an alliance with a group of mutant lions. They did this through an arranged marriage with the third eldest brother and the youngest lioness, Bethany, of the Kenyan lion clan. Fortunately, a month later, the second eldest brother developed cancer, forcing him to educate his younger brother in controlling the locals. The third eldest brother though was weak and unconfident. So Prima Noctra was introduced to help him out.

At this time, Leonardo had found the love of his life; a female mutant leopard that lived locally. They were secretly married but they were soon found out. After refusing to allow one member of the tiger clan to bed his wife, the female leopard was murdered, leaving Leonardo alone and furious. The leopard clan called upon the locals to help them revolt against the tigers and lions. This battle went for many months, but they wouldn't have gotten far if it wasn't for the help of Bethany; the youngest lioness and the new wife of the third eldest tiger brother. Bethany had an affair with Leonardo, which later resulted in the birth of Zareb.

Yet Leonardo never witnessed the birth of his son as he was deceived by a member of Bethany's family, caught and beheaded. Prima Noctra was then abandoned. A week later, Shere Khan's second eldest brother died after battling with cancer for months. Shere Khan's remaining brother was made the leader, but Raphael assassinated him in revenge for Leonardo. After this, the leopard's second home was raided and the 'Book of Mutants' went into the hands of the enemy, Shere Khan, the new leader and the last of the tiger brothers.

Donatello and Raphael were on the run. With Shere Khan's army on the rise, the State Mutants desperately needed replacements. They changed their names to Saringai and Raifu, to buy them some time. It could take a year for destiny to take effect, and Saringai and Raifu didn't have that long. As if by luck, Keira and Zaila came into the picture. They were mutant cheetahs but they certainly didn't look like it. They were different. The two female cheetahs didn't speak English or look unordinary, but they were mutants in the fact that they were extremely intelligent and were very accepting of the two weirdly dressed leopards. Raifu and Keira had four boys while Saringai and Zaila had a daughter.

Saringai was slightly worried to find that their offspring didn't take on any physical characteristics of a leopard and looked liked ordinary cheetahs. But at least their outward appearance disguised them from Shere Khan's army. Alas, Shere Khan did find out eventually, and sent troops out to kill any mutant offspring from any feline other than a lion or a tiger. They killed Zaila, but Saringai managed to transport his daughter, Venus, to Keira to be raised with the boys. But soon Keira was killed too, and the male cubs were taken back to Shere Khan's fortress while Venus was raised with Zareb.

Saringai thought about his students. The mutation they inherited seemed to be diluted or such, making them evolve extremely slowly. The only sign that they were mutants in the first place was Leonardo's eyes. But whatever chemicals they came into contact with when they had the incident with the truck, seemed to dramatically speed their mutation up, causing them to develop into the mutants they were today. Saringai observed that even though they looked like cheetahs on the outside, they still held some leopard abilities such as climbing, roaring and night vision.

After thinking his past over, Saringai sighed. He wished he could reveal to them the whole truth, but he knew he couldn't. It would be too awkward and it would wreck the Master and student relationship. So many questions would be raised, especially that of Leo and Venus' relationship to each other. Though he'd love to see the two together, he needed the two cheetahs to focus on defeating Shere Khan. Saringai thought that he could always tell them afterwards. Though he was unsure whether or not to tell them now, but he needed to talk to Raifu first. He looked at his depressed student outside and sighed. 'Soon, Leonardo. Soon.'

A/N: Well Saringai is Venus' father and his real name is Donatello. I swear I didn't just make this up in the shower last night. There are a number of clues throughout this story suggesting all of this.

First of all there's the prologue which should make complete sense now, then in chapter one Keira says that her cub Raphael is named after his father (Raifu, who used to be called Raphael, is the father of the boys). In chapter 2, Sebastian wonders how the cubs can run so fast at an early age (they were already mutants). In 6, Saringai is seen using a bo. In 7, Saringai is the one who starts getting Donatello into electronics. In 8, the cheetahs' weird abilities (roaring, climbing and night vision) are discussed and compared directly to Saringai. In 9, Don asks Saringai if he used to be a State Mutant in which Saringai lies. In 12 Saringai says that he was in love with Zaila and has a daughter, then the story cuts straight to Venus. In 15 with the character synopsis I did, I did not actually say that Venus' mother was Keira. Also Zaila's species is not known. In 18, Raifu explains to Saringai why he couldn't train the boys as he would become too attached (he's their father after all). Also it mentions that Zareb knows that Leo and Venus shouldn't be married for reasons they hadn't been told about. And as an extra, a baby cheetah is called a kitten, not a cub. Baby leopards are called cubs though.