Splinter's Tale

Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonian.

Author's Note: A funny thing happened when I went to write this chapter I saw for the first time ever an error in the original number one comic. I have termed the error Splinter math. You see in the comic Splinter starts his tale twenty years ago in Japan, and then five years pass between Nagi's death and Yoshi's death by Shredder.

However Oroku Saki in the comic is supposed to be seven when he vows vengeance on his brother's grave and the Foot take hold of that anger and train him. When he is eighteen he moves to New York and a year after being in New York kills Yoshi. Now that is twelve years passing not five. The turtles are supposed to be thirteen when they hear this story.

Do the math and it doesn't add up to twenty years by the Saki bit. Don Splinter could use some help here.

Me I went with the five year passing and made Saki older then originally stated in the comic to deal with the error. I know I am trying to keep this to the original comic put I didn't know which one to go to on this.

Part Three – Land Of Opportunity.

My Master had to smuggle me onto the boat as rats even caged pet ones were not welcome on the ship. It was a long voyage and my Master grieved over all his anger had cost him, many times he would talk to me about the dilemma he was in.

He had killed a brother of his clan, which was by Clan law punishable by death. Yet his honour had also been compromised by not keeping Shen safe.

He deeply loved Shen and seeing the jealous Nagi beating the person he loved the most in all the world had been far too much for him to bear.

" I've always said that anger clouds the mind Hahen and now I know how true it is. Hai there is no turning back now. I must look ahead but it pains my heart and soul greatly to think of all I have lost."

I saw a tear fall from his eye and I nuzzled his face with my head offering him what little comfort I could.

We landed in a large City called New York. Shen and Yoshi found a cheap apartment to rent and with set up a home with used furnishings and the like with the last of the money they had Yoshi rented a small building to form a Martial Art School.

My cage was now kept in my Master's home to keep Shen company while Yoshi taught in his dojo.

Both of them also learned the English language though Yoshi picked it up far faster then Shen due to his ninja training. I myself listened to them for they would speak more in English then in Japanese so they would be familiar with it. With hearing the language so often I too began to pick it up and learn from it.

The first few years were very hard often my Master's just barely scraped by with just enough money to pay the bills with a little left over the expenses of opening and running the school, was of major importance though for it was hoped to earn more money in time. They just had to be patient for now.

As it was they had each other and made do.

By the middle of the second year Yoshi's school was becoming better known and more popular and things began to look up.

Yoshi was quite content he had a home, his school and his pupils but most of all he had Shen. The two of them truly felt the worst was over for the time being and that the future ahead looked very promising.

The land of opportunity had become all that they had hoped for.

Once in a while though Yoshi would become melancholy and reflect about his life back in Japan and all that had happened to force him to his new home and new life.

Losing all of his honour was a terrible thing for my Master to accept but Shen was very receptive to his moods and she would usually get Yoshi out of his self inflicted torment.

By late in the third year the school was doing well enough that Shen and Yoshi began to talk about having a family of their own something they had been putting off until they were on their feet and adjusted.

It was in their fifth year of living in America that tragedy struck. It was in the early fall and night closed in earlier then before. My Master was still at the school while Shen prepared dinner.

I was resting in my cage when I thought I saw something move from the window into our home. It was an intruder but he moved so quickly that I could not be sure if I had seen him at all or if I only thought I had. However my sharp nose told me someone else was in our home and I bolted up right squeaking in alarm.

Shen entered the living room with some carrot peelings " What is it Hahen did you perhaps get startled by some noise? It is all right here is a treat for you. When Yoshi comes home he will have a special surprise" She said smiling at me.

" Funny I will have a surprise for him too" a strange voice sounded.

 Shen spun around a look of terror coming to her face as she spotted the person who spoke. He was dressed all in armour of some kind that had sharp spikes all over.

" Who are you where did you come from?" Shen demanded trembling slightly in fear.

" Let me tell you. I was fourteen when I lost a brother who was very dear to me. His loss though gave me incentive to become stronger. I had always worked very hard giving the best I had and my brother had been my mentor in all things. He taught me so much.

I was devastated when he was murdered and I vowed on his grave that I would get revenge but I knew I would have to work very hard to insure that when the time came I would be ready to hand out justice as I saw fit.

I used my anger as my driving goal and my teachers saw how I was far more focused then ever before.

By the time I was eighteen I had accomplished so much that the teachers saw in me leadership potential and they sent me to head the Foot Clan here in New York City."

Shen paled at those words realizing that their past had caught up with them she went to make a break for it but the man grabbed her holding her close and pressing some of the wicked spikes from his armour on the back of his arm dangerously close to the soft tissue of her belly.

" Yes Tang Shen, You and your murderous dog of a husband are about to pay for what you did to Oroku Nagi but first you will hear the rest of my story and when you do die you will know that Yoshi will also be killed this night when he arrives home to find you."

Shen tensed and started to cry softly.

I could do nothing to help her or prevent what was to be though I tried in vain to gnaw my way out of the cage they refused to give.

" It took me merely on year to organize the Foot here into a force to be reckoned with and I got them involved in such things as drug smuggling, arms running and our personal favourite assassination. I got a cut from it all. I had everything I wanted.

Except for one thing something burned inside me. All of my success could not take the place of my brother.

I knew that Yoshi would not have the means to run very far in America and it was expected that he came here on a freighter for the Foot in Japan did learn that much. I figured Yoshi probably would stay close to such a big city where he could hide well. It was also an easy guess to check out all the martial art schools to see if Yoshi was at any of them.

Once Yoshi was found my Foot Soldiers tracked him to your apartment and kept watch learning your patters and reported back to me all they had learned.

So now this night, my brother's death will be avenged and there will be no escape for you or Yoshi and I Shredder will finally have the honour that was stolen when Nagi was murdered."

I watched in silent horror as the man killed Shen with the wicked blades on his armour.

Then he went and turned off all the power in the apartment to wait in silence for my Master to return.

Yoshi arrived and in the dim light cast from the hall he saw Shen's battered, bloodied limp form lying on the floor. He glanced quickly about then saw her killer.

" Who are you?" Yoshi demanded.

" Oroku Saki " the Shredder snapped out and struck out at my Master.

Yoshi ducked the slashing blades and struck back but the Shredder's armour protected him well from most hits. Still my Master fought trying to gain the upper hand and in the struggle my cage was knocked over and broke open during the battle I could only go to a corner of the room to hide for fear of being stepped on in the battle.

I hoped that my Master would prevail against this coward who killed Shen so easily. Alas it was not to be I saw my beloved Master also killed and in the pain of my loss and the smell of blood and my own fears at being suddenly alone in the world I managed to escape outside. I felt totally overwhelmed and in shock at how suddenly my world had been literally turned upside down.

I hid for days hardly moving just grieving for Shen and Yoshi. Finally hunger motivated me to search for food.

The streets and sewers of New York became my home the scraps I found in garbages provided my meals, I spent my time hiding in shadows trying to outsmart hungry cats and dogs that chased me. Some of those chases were truly life and death struggles, which made me long for the simple life I once had. I had never known such misery as I now suffered and I dearly missed Yoshi and his gentle ways.

Then one day while scavenging for food I heard a screech of tires and looked out to the nearby street.

A blind man had entered the street and a truck was coming but it was questionable whether the truck would be able to stop in time. At what I felt was the last moment before impact happen.

I saw another man leap out and push the blind man to safety proving himself to be a hero. The truck came to a sharp stop and it jostled loose a canister, which fell out of the back and hit the young hero on the head, instinctively the man raised his hand catching and batting the canister up in the air. The canister came down near the opposite side of the road striking a glass bowl that a young boy held in his hands.

The bowl it's contents and the canister all fell into an open manhole that city workers had been busy with earlier.

I decided to go and investigate and once in the sewers made my way to the other side of the road with ease and there I found four baby turtles playing in a glowing oozing liquid that was leaking from the canister.

There was something about that ooze that I felt was not good for the young turtles to be in so I gathered them up in an old coffee can and took them to my home where I tried to clean most of the goop off them.

I inevitably got some of the stuff on myself as I worked on the turtles through the long process of cleaning them up.

As I settled down to sleep I realized that for the first time since Yoshi's death, I felt like Iwas not hurting or as lonely as I had felt before. There was something about looking after these four turtles that helped ease my pain and longing.

I was startled when I woke the next morning to see the four small turtles had doubled in size literally over night.

I knew that strange glowing liquid had to be the cause of it. I was also to learn that while I did not get as much of the stuff on me it was still causing changes both in my growth and in my intellect.

I did not grow as quickly as my four charges did though perhaps because they did get most of the ooze on them or perhaps because I had finished most of my growing stage while they had just begun theirs. Maybe it was a bit of both.

I was grateful for my smaller size for it meant that I could still scavenge above ground looking like an overly large rat or a small dog if I was seen though I did my best not to be seen.

I knew instinctively that humans could not discover us. For humans would be quick to note that we were not average animals of our species and I knew our difference could cause curiosity or something much worse in humans.

Within a year the turtles had grown to their current size and then they began to do other things, which started to prove to me they had some form of intelligence. I myself had realized how abnormal I was from an ordinary rat.

I had often told the turtles my name was Splinter or would talk to them often saying my name. Just to see if they had the power of speech that I seemed to have gained. I had learned many words in both English and in Japanese over my five years of life that I had an understanding of both languages.

While I often spoke to them I had never really expected them to talk back it was more like the way Yoshi and Shen used to speak to me. So I was taken back when one day one of them actually said my name.

I blinked in shock " What did you say?"

" Plin-ter" the turtle repeated.

More words were to follow and they learned amazingly quick for they would pick up words the others said as well increasing their vocabulary in leaps and bounds.

They had always been determined to follow me wherever I went but now they also started to try walking upright as I was doing more often now. Until this point in time they had maintained crawling on the ground.

As they mastered the upright mobility they began to mimic my movements in everything I did. I felt like I had four constant shadows.

Still I recalled how I had learned ninjitsu in the first place and seeing as they were determined to follow everything I did I decided to make use of it and teach them what I could remember of my lessons.

I knew that they might not be overly efficient or master all the techniques I myself wasn't even sure how well they would pick it up from me but I figured if they only learned a little of ninjitsu it would help them in the years to come.

There was one more thing I needed to do and that was to give them all names something hadn't considered until now.

I would have to think on that for a while.

TBC