Disclaimer: They're not mine, never have been, never will be... sigh...

Quick note- (This means Japanese is being spoken.)

And on we go!

It was almost dawn when Donatello returned to the lair. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it with a sigh, rubbing his eyes with exhaustion.

"You look troubled, my son."

Don jumped as Splinter's voice rang out in the silence. The humanoid rat was sitting in an armchair with a steaming cup of tea clutched in his claws. He was frowning.

"Master Splinter, w-what are you doing up?"

"Years of rising with the sun has left me with a habit that is hard to break." He took a sip of the hot beverage, whiskers twitching, before he continued. "Tell me, my son- why did you stay out all night? You missed your patrol, and your brothers could not reach you on your… Shell Cell."

Splinter was not fond of the mobile phones so aptly nicknamed by Michaelangelo. In the five minute span in which he had owned one, he had called a dance club, a piercing and tattoo parlor, and three porn lines in quick succession, all while trying to dial the local pizza parlor for dinner. He had not touched any of the phones since.

"Surely your experiments did not take all night?"

Don hung up his coat and hat. "I'm sorry sensei- I had to turn it off because it disrupted the equipment that we were using." He set the packet of papers he had under his arm on the back of the couch. " The experiments took longer then I had originally thought. I didn't mean to stay out all night, I just got carried away."

Splinter nodded. It was not unlike his second youngest son to get carried away in his work. Donatello continued. "You see, when I took everyone's blood samples last week, I had this hypothesis that the mutation process affected the viscosity of our blood and therefore… " He moved toward the kitchen, continuing to explain his experiment absentmindedly as he walked.

Splinter loved his sons, but sometimes they were too much for even him to deal with. When Donatello got into his 'scientific lecture mode,' there was no stopping him. Usually about this point Splinter tuned out of the conversation. Donatello means well, but I have never come to a more complete understanding of what he is trying to explain after he explains it. It was a cruel truth.

Splinter continued 'pretend listening' as Donatello fiddled around in the kitchen, pouring his own cup of tea. Splinter's eyelids were drooping when suddenly he processed what Don had been saying, and he sat bolt upright.

"What did you just say?"

Donatello walked to the couch adjacent to his sensei's chair and looked at him solemnly. "Yeah, I know, it was a blow to me too. I had always thought that since we all look so alike that we must be genetically related."

"No, no, no, not that. (What did you say about the mutagen!) " Splinter's eyes were opened wide, and he had slipped back into his native tongue in his haste.

Don's was taken aback by Splinter's sudden interest in the mutagen. Splinter was not and never had been a science fan, beyond those skills he needed and used in ninjisu. He merely accepted the fact that the glowing green ooze had made him into a fuzzy rat-man and did not question the logic or science behind it. "The mutagen?"

"Hai!" Splinter was sitting with rapt attention, tail twitching in impatience for Donatello's answer.

"There's no trace of it in our bodies. Well, you do, but the rest of us don't. I have to run more tests to be sure of it, but it's like none of the four of us were exposed to the mutagen at all."

Splinter dropped his teacup, and it smashed in a spectacular spray at his feet.

"Master Splinter! Are you okay?" Donny was on his feet in mere seconds, but his teacher was already picking the pieces of the delicate teacup off of the floor.

"Yes. I am fine. It… slipped." Splinter hid his face from Don's enquiring gaze, focusing on the task at hand and hiding the emotions he was sure were flying across his face at the speed of light.

I had always known they would discover the truth… but now? So soon? What am I to tell them? Lord Buddha, give me guidance…

"Master Splinter? Don? What's going on?" Leonardo had entered the living room, katanas unsheathed and ready for battle. "I heard a crash."

"It was nothing, my son. I dropped a teacup." He gracefully rose from his crouch with the shattered teacup pieces in his hands and took a step toward the kitchen.

"Master Splinter…" Donatello caught one of Splinter's arms. "What do you know about the mutagen that we don't?"

Splinter met his son's eyes with a steely gaze. "That is none of your concern at the moment. It is time for practice. I will awaken Michaelangelo and Raphael. Please warm up until they join you in the dojo. I will be there momentarily." Don searched the aged rat's eyes a moment more, then moved past him into the dojo without a word. Leonardo still stood at the ready, katanas half raised. He raised an eye ridge at Splinter, who motioned at him to follow his brother.

Splinter walked to the kitchen and dumped the pottery shards into the trash, waiting until he heard Leonardo enter the dojo as well. Then he put his hands on either side of the sink, bowed his head, and let out a world-weary sigh.

How am I to tell them what I have tried to forget for so many years?

Methinks Master Splinter has a secret…

I took a little poetic license and made Splinter a Buddhist. I hope that doesn't offend anyone! I know very little about the Buddhist culture, so forgive me if I make some sort of huge glaring error. I plan not to make any, but I like to cover all my bases.

Hmm, I'm starting to see the reason people like to end their chapters in cliffhangers. It's such an easy way to end a chapter! Sigh I've been on the receiving end of a cliffhanger one too many times… It's a vicious cycle.

I jumped around with the POV's a little bit in this chapter- hopefully it didn't disrupt the story too much!

I had a bit of trouble formatting this chapter... anyone have any tips?

And don't forget to leave a review before you go! Thanks!

Shout-outs!

The-REAL-Cheese-Monkey: Thanks so much for reviewing my stories! I nearly fell off my computer chair when I saw how many reviews I had! feels loved

Melodist: I don't blame you for the short review, I've been at that 'face plant' stage far too often to be pointing fingers: ) Thanks for reading!

Reinbeauchaser: I fixed the error in the first chapter- thanks for pointing it out to me!

Pacphys: I liked your review- it was haphazard and all over the place, just like my thought processes! (lol!) And I think you're going to have to be in suspense about 'what they really are' for a little while longer. It didn't quite fit in this chapter. And get ready for more suspense next chapter! (I think.)

Misterfooch: Yeah, Don's a family guy in this story! I'm not quite sure where you got the 'rejected and distant from his family' bit though- I don't think Dishes showed him that way, any road. Is there a specific fic you had in mind?