Author's Note: Hello there welcome back to another chapter of the story. This one is a bit longer than the last but we hope you all will like it. We worked hard on this one and we hope it delivers. After the comment Donatello made in the previous chapter I know you all think that something is going to go wrong. Well, we'll see about that. For now, Enjoy.

Chapter 2: Hunted

Master Splinter released an irritated groan as his furry hand reached up massaging his temple for what felt like the hundredth time, trying to release some of the stress surging through his head. Hoping that maybe this time the pain would subside just a little, but no amount of manipulation of the pressure points would sooth him. The rat master was currently sitting on the long worn out, couch in the TV area. The glow of the multiple screens radiating their light of whatever they were playing was being ignored. The rat's head wouldn't allow him to focus any attention on much else.

"What to do...What to do?" He whispered to himself while praying for some miracle would suddenly appear and grant him some relief, as he had no idea what could be causing such persisting pain. Maybe he was just getting old? Maybe living with 4 wild teenagers was finally getting the better of him...but he didn't think so. Either way the rat master was reaching his limit of endurance.

It had all started several days prior. Splinter woke up hearing a ringing in his ears...only the sound was in his head. This triggered off the mother of all headaches. The ringing sound wasn't here all the time, but when it was, it was the worst part of the condition. The pressure got so great with the noise, he almost felt sick... and in those moments he couldn't hear anything else. At first, he thought some meditation time would help...but it didn't, and it seemed to be getting worse, persisting as the days went. He hoped more sleeping would help, as relaxing his mind always did. Unfortunately, the next day he woke up worse than ever. Now getting desperate, Splinter went to seek help from his third eldest child, the family medic. Concerned, Donatello didn't waste a moment.

Right away he had his father in the scanner, checking his brain for the possibility of any shadows. Much to both their relief, it was clear. Next, he gave him a blood test checking for any abnormalities, again the test came back with nothing. Blood platelets were fine, all was good considering his age. Donnie even went on to check his ears and test his hearing, yet they were sharp as ever. Though this brought more relief, it also brought a lot more frustration. Nothing could explain as to what was causing the pain, as in the end all Donnie could do was to give him aspirin. Splinter had never taken human medication in his life, as pressure points and meditation, in extreme situations, herbal tea, had always worked... until now. Reluctantly he took the tiny pills. This only reduced the throbbing ache to just a regular ache! In the end only deep meditation to the spirit plane seemed to be the only thing to take the edge off. It was the small pleasures in life that he always appreciated the most, but the pain and that ringing was always here waiting for him upon returning to the real world, leaving him with just one question.

What the heck was wrong with him?

"Sensei?" A voice suddenly broke him from thought. His eyes opened to find his eldest standing beside him. "Are you ok?" Splinter didn't respond right away as he didn't want to worry his son, but then remembered his own frustration's when any of his boys were unwell. They always brushed it off, not wanting to worry him...which just made him worry even more. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths before nodding.

"Maybe a little less than ok," He admitted. There wasn't much point lying to Leonardo anyway, as he already knew.

"That headache still bothering you?" The leaf green turtle moved closer, concern swelling up in his shell. When pressure points massages and herbal tea and even meditation were not working against something as trivial as a headache, it was time to start worrying. The fact it was slowly crippling his father to such a degree, scared the young turtle. It was scaring all of them. Splinter, even though was advanced in years, had always still remain so strong, was now suddenly looking so, for lack of a better word, frail.

"Unfortunately, yes," The rat releasing another deep breath. "But I will be fine, it will just take time. Rest assure my son I have been through worse."

Leo smiled warmly knowing his father spoke true. After all the injuries sustained by Shredder and their other enemies had never fazed the old rat before. A persisting headache shouldn't be such a concern... and yet it was. Anything health related always worried the eldest, "Alright sensei, but please at least take some more of Donnie's meds if it gets any worse."

"Later. I may go for a lay down first and then I am sure I will feel better," Splinter tried to console him. It was just a headache after all. Wanting to push Leo's worries away in the meantime, he could force himself to ignore the pain for a bit longer and look at the TV. Remembering that he had been watching the news broadcast. He turned up the volume wanting to hear what the woman on the screen, who was looking somewhere between unnerved and disgusted, was saying.

"- been a few days and yet the number of influx infestation of rats are continuing to rise around the city. Many citizens have reported the infestations within their own homes, and local exterminators are working around the clock. But demand are not being met as the calls outweighing staff availability."

Splinter couldn't repress as shudder as the news woman spoke about exterminators. Remembering his life as a normal rat, no longer in the safe zone of been a pet, but before he was mutated. The fear of much larger beings out there cruel enough to be hunting him with traps and poisons that would cause such long, slow, and agonizing pain, by which point death was a welcome. But that was all just a memory now. Battling through his headache, he pushed himself to watch the screen, even if it was just for the sake of his son, who he notices was paying more attention to him than the news feed.

"Of course, Rats in the NY are nothing new. What is alarming people however is the multiple witness report suggesting that these seem to be a NEW breed. Much bigger and a different coloring to the regular black or brown. What is also unclear, if this breed is carrying any kind of bacteria or disease that we humans should be worried about because No one has managed to catch any of these rodents as yet. They also appear to be a lot smarter than the average one. We are still waiting on authorities to report on what could have caused this sudden increase in the population. But we may never know."

The woman put down her papers as she was now joined by her male co-worker at the desk. "Thanks Sophie. I must confess I found one of those nasty grey rats in my apartment last night. It terrified me! It had big red eyes and..." The man paused for a moment deciding if he should continue. "I swear it looked right at me! Checking me out... and I know this sound's strange but, I felt like...like it was 'looking' for something."

"Your right Mike, that does sound strange," She laughed him off. "It's too bad that Baxter Stockman's mouser program failed. We could certainly use some of them right now." The news ended leaving both father and son a little unnerved than before. What they found strange was the fact they lived down in the sewer, and yet they had not come across any of these new population of rats. Just the occasional brown one's as usual.

"What could rats be looking for besides food?" Leos face twisted in disbelief at the odd statement only to realize his father wasn't listening to him. He didn't at all look well.

Incoming footsteps were now approaching. "Wow this just got real! Sensei, are you expecting a family reunion or something?" Michelangelo jokingly appeared on the couch beside them.

"Mikey this isn't funny." Leo responded giving his baby brother a look.

"Yeah numbskull," Raph standing behind his orange banded brother. "Or did you forget about the episode in the abandon suburbs with all those rats last year?"

To his surprise Mikey gave him a dark look, "That was pretty hard to forget since 'I ' am the one that was turtle-napped and almost eaten alive by rats!" The youngest said in a quiet, un-Mikey like tone. Raph was a little taken aback by his brothers tone but decided this wasn't the time to open that can of worms. He never wanted to talk about it anyway. It's not like they had that rat humanoid man freak to worry about anymore.

Splinter sigh, trying to block out the boys bickering. His fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, he was losing the battle with the headache. No amount of deep breathing was helping as he could feel the pressure of the ringing slowly returning. It was nap time. At least he could get some temporary escape. All talking suddenly stopped as their father rose to his feet, hands clasping at his cane as he walked. "I am going for a lay down." He quickly left the TV area before his sons could respond.

"O-Ok sensei... rest well." Leo said not hiding his uneasiness. Maybe his father was just getting old, as he knew it would happen someday. In fact, he was dreading it. The possibility that one day father Splinter wouldn't be here anymore... As the... as the leader and next in line, he had to be ready for it... whether he wanted it or not. But he also knew his brothers would never be ready. Mortality was never an easy thing to accept after all.

Raph waited until the sliding doors had closed before smacking Mikey lightly at the back of his head. "Ow!" the youngest glared at him. "What was that for?"

"For annoying sensei enough to make him leave." Raph chastised him.

"It was a harmless joke – you know what Raph, am not doing this! Besides I doubt it's just me that is annoying him!" Mikey defending his joke. His best effort to kill his shell trembling fear of been surrounded by sinister flesh-eating rats again withunadulterated humor was his only way to handle things. Though he wasn't about to say anything to his brothers about it, ever since that day of playing "protect the bandanna," his father was about the only rat that didn't freak him out.

Leo crossed his arms. "Either way, I think it's best not to joke around sensei at the moment. I'm getting worried about these headaches," He stated.

"We are all worried Leo, but Donnie checked him out from his ears to his tail and he was fine. If Donnie can't figure out what's wrong with him then no one can" Raph taking his seat by the T\v.

"That's true, but just because he couldn't find anything, doesn't mean there isn't anything wrong. I mean clearly there is," Leo trying to drop hints that maybe it was time that Splinter had to start slowing down. But they didn't seem to be getting it. "The fact that none of Donnie's test showed anything just makes it an even bigger mystery... maybe..."

"Maybe what?" The red turtle looked around with a challenging tone.

Leo sigh. He didn't want to upset Mikey, or make Raph angry but like it or not, they would have to face the fact that Splinter wasn't as young as he used to be. They had to be prepared for this... But even he couldn't bring himself to face it right now. He sighs, doing a mental U-turn. "Maybe it's not medical. There could be many other possibilities that could be causing his pain?"

"Such as?" Again, Raph was just daring him to say something he wouldn't like to hear.

Again, Leo bit his tongue. They weren't ready for this conversation yet, "I don't know, but like you said, if Donnie couldn't find anything, and his meditation and herbal medicine isn't working, there is something else going on." Leo looked back at the TV thinking how could he shift the subject quickly? The news report was still on. "Speaking of rats, I'm not liking the idea of a new breed invading the sewers either."

"Ya can say that again," Raph happy to follow on the new subject. Yes, there was something wrong with Splinter, but they would find a way to fix it like they always did. No other terms were acceptable. Splinter would be fine. He had years left in him, "Though I haven't noticed any of these bigger rats in the sewers... In fact, now you mention it, I haven't seen any at all. Even the regular brown ones have been quiet lately."

"I noticed that too," Mikey chimed in from his spot on the couch. "I have one that has a nest in the top corner wall in my bedroom. I watch him crossing the drainpipe every morning. His name is Bob!" Mikey smiled jokingly. "But I haven't seen him for a month."

Now the brother's thought about it, seeing brown or black rats crawling around their home was so normal, it was odd for them to just disappear from the lair and the sewers. But honestly, they hadn't thought it to be something that could be a big deal.

"Bob? Seriously?" Raph couldn't help but chuckle before looking back at the blue banded brother. "By the way, where's the brainiac tonight?"

"Don texted earlier; said he's going to take a while at April's fixing something."

"Well, I'll ask him about some new options to help Splinter when he gets back?" Raph suddenly got up to leave. "I'm thinking maybe he can surgically remove Mikey's tongue!"

"Hey!" Mikey pouted as the red clad brother made a quick escape to the next floor with his smirk. He turned to face his only remaining sibling watching the follow up news story. "Can anyone take a joke around here?" Leo shook his head in a solid 'no' while repressing his own chuckle. "Hey Leo?" Mikey's voice suddenly very small. "Master Splinter is going to be ok, isn't he?"

The smirk melted away into a sad sigh. Splinter probably was going to be fine. He was just over worrying... and still his gut was whispering to him "What if he isn't?" He had to find a way to explain to his youngest at least, that everyone gets old one day. They had to accept it. They had to be ready for it... as hard and horrible as it would be, Splinter wasn't going to be here forever... but the leader then made the mistake of looking at the orange banded turtle in the eyes only to be greeted with big sad puppy eyes that only Michelangelo could do so well. Damn it!

"Don't worry Mikey. I am sure he will be. Master Splinter always bounces back, he won't be beaten by a little headache," He patted his brother on the shoulder reassuringly.

Mikey beaming smile grew back with renewed optimism. No tongue removal surgery required. Leo just couldn't help but be more positive around his little brother, as he was just a little bright light of sunshine. Maybe there was nothing to worry about? Maybe Master Splinter's headache would be just like this new rat infestation. It would pass. The leader picked up the remote ready to flick through the channels, not giving it another thought.

Everything was quiet at the New York junkyard. Even though massive, at night it was a creepy place. No prying eyes because no one with an ounce of sanity would be here at this time of night, due to the limited visibility, it would be hard to navigate, as one risked bumping into anything could turn into a landslide. Yet one occupant was here carefully circling the large piles of garbage. The eeriness of the area to him was a friend as was the darkness, hiding him from at least one other he was hoping to find.

If he wanted the game to continue, he must be swift and silent. Scurrying between the large piles of junk in his night vision goggles so he could see in the dark. He was looking for someone very special. He only knew of four of them. The only ones worthy of his game. Like him they could conceal themselves in the darkness, however tonight they wouldn't know that they were been hunted. He had the element of surprise. He had been searching for them for some time now. His eye's scouting the city, looking in every window, every shadow above and below ground with no results... But they had been seen very briefly through here.

Now one had been spotted earlier tonight, he wasn't going to leave until he found at least one of them. But it wasn't proving to be as easy as he thought it would be. Underground was too vast...an endless maze. They had to be up here somewhere, as he made his way to a higher point on top of one of the junk piles, hoping to get a birds eye view of the area. Being careful navigating and not knocking over any of the loose objects, he now sat perfectly still, scanning the entire area for his prey.

He could have been sat there for hours just waiting. Any movement from anywhere in this whole place would alert him. Even with his eyes closed, he could see great distances, all and everything at once. That was his talent, and his curse. One glance was all he needed. He closed his eyes waiting for one of his "eyes" to see what he was seeking...He didn't need to wait long. An image of a shell suddenly flickered into his mind. It was being careful not to make too much noise, as anyone closer to it couldn't have heard it, but he could hear 'it' even from this distance. He didn't know which one it was... The only obvious difference between them was the color of their face masks. He couldn't quite make it out in the darkness. No matter. Any would do, as a dark smirk passed over his face as he instantly looked up in the direction of the target. One WAS here and it was here alone.

Giddy with anticipation, he slowly moved in its direction. This would be a great game, but only after a great deal of satisfaction would he take that shell as his trophy.

Donatello was kneeling before a pile of junk rummaging through it without worry. The pile was smaller and wouldn't fall as easily. His bag was lying on the ground beside him, already half full of junk, or as the genius liked to call them, treasures, as he was having a blast!

"Oh, is this what I think it is?!" The purple clad turtle practically gleaming with joy examining the rectangular box. His smile widened upon seeing it was also in good condition. "A radar detector. Amazing! I'll get some great parts from this!" he said quickly placing the item into the bag. This had been such a good idea, he thought to himself. The latest haul of junk was providing a great find for the turtle. He was going to be in trouble but at least they would be well supplied. He could keep his family safe with new weapons and devices and entertainment for months. He couldn't wait to get home and work on harvesting all this. He smiled again hauling the broken microwave aside, reaching for more goodies that could be hiding underneath. What would he find next -

*Clang!*

Instantly Donatello froze. All thoughts of joy brought to a crashing halt before swiftly turning, eyes scanning the area. Everything was still, but the turtle remained vigilant. Was it just his imagination or was he been watched? He jumped suddenly as a tiny shadow ran across him, going to hide behind another pile. Donnie sigh in relief seeing another large grey rat vanishing from sight. "Getting paranoid... This is what happens when you don't get enough sleep," He chastised himself.

He resumed his task of rummaging through the junk. His earlier delight returning as to what else he could find.

*Cling* *Clang* *Crash!*

This time Donnie was up on his feet, "Who's there!?" whipping out his bo staff in a defensive position. That wasn't a rat, and it wasn't his imagination. Another noise and now his eyes were following a can rolling away. His hands clenched onto his bo staff, his ninja senses on alert. Someone else was here, but the question was, who? The first that came to mind was the Shredder's ninjas?

He quickly retreated into the shadows. It couldn't be the professor or any of his homeless friends. They had all decided to stay on that island that the Garbage-man had built. Meaning unless there was an occasional worker, this whole place was meant to be empty. His fight or flight response was fighting his sense of curiosity. Ready for anything, he slowly walked away from his current pile, checking the area. Eyes locked where the can had fallen from. Now another sound reached his ears. 'Breathing.' Deep heavy breathing. That was not a rat, no matter how big they were.

Keeping low while pressing his shell against the pile, he rounded the corner. Listening out for any other sounds that could indicate he was being surrounded by ninjas. Light footsteps from all sides, but there were none. Stealing himself, ready to strike... Someone was there, just at the other side of the pile. He was sure of it, his senses telling him there was just one. Ready or not, he took a few deep breaths before launching himself out into the open, ready to charge.

"Huh?" To his surprise there was no one there, except some junk that had been turned over in an unexpected landslide. The breathing had stopped too...was he just chasing ghosts? No! This was real, he thought. Someone was toying with him, "Time to get home." Yes, home sounded good right now. The night taking a serious shove into dangerously creepy, as he went to retrieve his bag while still watching his shell. The sooner he was underground the better. He could lose anyone who was following him down there. This was why Leo or Raph would never let him go out by himself, this was why he would be in trouble. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Suddenly stopping dead, he realized his bag was gone! Had he made a mistake? No, he had left it by the microwave. His breathing quickened and his body tensed clutching to his weapon, someone WAS toying with him. "Who's there!?" He wasn't just being watched, he was been stalked. Again, he looked around, listening for any direction danger could be coming from, all he could hear was his heart. Finally, his fight or flight response won out, forget the bag, just go! Donnie took off into a sprint down the path that had brought him here.

*Creeeeeeeeeek!*

Don suddenly jumped aside, narrowly avoiding a massive object tipping over and rolling down from the highest point of the pile. It looked like a refrigerator. "Whoa!" Donnie stared in disbelief. Had it not been for his fast reflexes, it would have hit him a fatal blow. The realization hit him even harder. His stalker was above him, on top of the junk piles. Shell! He took off again, only to just miss been hit by a broken washing machine from another pile, the dive this time tripping him over to avoid been crushed.

Who the shell was strong enough to throw large kitchen appliances at him!?

That is something a turtle might want a heads up on! He said to himself. Clearly his stalker was trying to kill him! Panic increased he got to his feet; he just needed a second to reach for his shell cell when - another creaking sound! Reacting he jumped back just in time to avoid a bunch of jagged metal from hitting him. Instead, they crashed into the dirt, embedding the ground where he had been heading. That's one escape route shot down in flames, 'Keep moving Donatello, keep going!' He told himself.

Not giving the stalker a chance to drop anything else on him, he automatically turned a one-eighty in another direction, sprinting toward another exit. To think he loved coming here. This was his playground and now someone was trying to kill him! As he kept running, the genius was surprised upon finding that nothing else came flying towards him. But he didn't want to give them a chance. A moving target was better than a still one, just focus on getting out. He would be ok once he got in the sewers.

Too late.

"No!" He shouted as an entire pile of junk mountain was starting to collapse across his path...Nothing but jagged metal sticking out, it would cut him to shreds. He stopped just short of missing the crumbling pile. How the heck could this person keep ahead of him by jumping from multiple piles to the other without been seen or making a sound? The only person he knew who could do this is Master Splinter! He turned in another direction only to find the path behind him was blocked by more debris, and not the kind he could climb over. Shell! Breathing heavier, he hated having an enemy he couldn't see. Donatello started to back up into what he didn't realize was a dead end. Not until his shell was facing a huge wall of junk he couldn't get through or over. Weapon in hand before planting his feet down, preparing himself for a fight. "Where are you! Show yourself!?" Donnie shouted.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't scared. This person or persons were clearly strong, and fast... And obviously freaking crazy! But this wasn't Shredder's style, as he was much more direct. So, who were they? And why was he a target? Now he was trapped and at a disadvantage. They seemed to know the junkyard better than he did, as he had to get his shell cell from his side strap -

"GYAAHH!" Donnie was yanked out of his thoughts by a piercing pain suddenly inflicting his ankle. His eyes squeezed shut and teeth gritted as his leg buckled, taking him down to one knee. Both eyes rose in surprise upon seeing a massive grey rat with red eyes clamped down onto his olive-green skin. His reaction was automatic, grasping the rodent, attempting to pry it off him. He had to try and take control of the pain now radiating up his leg. His actions only made the rat clamp down even more, intensifying the pain, likely hitting a nerve. Little did he know that the pain in his ankle was just a distraction from another mass falling down from above, landing this time on his shoulder.

"Ooowwhhh!" It came out as a long hiss as the giant needles pierced his shoulder. He didn't need to look and see what has him, but it still shocked him seeing the huge rat clamping down onto him like he was a chew toy. Reacting first, he tried slapping the rodent away, but that didn't work. Desperately grabbing it, he squeezed it. He cried out as he pulled the rat away before releasing him. Its teeth dragging through his skin before it was flung aside. There was blood now oozing. "GAHHH!" He didn't see the other rats closing in until they were clamping onto any area exposed. The next one jumped onto his wrist, attacking the nerve in his hand, the next one bit into his other leg.

"S-STOP!" Donnie begged as the pain was taking over, draining his energy, causing him to drop his bo staff. He tried reaching for it as it rolled away into the distance. The rats didn't listen to his pleas as they just continued biting into his flesh. Slowly but surely Donatello started to lose his strength, rendering him weaker. He hadn't even realized that he had fallen onto his hands and knees, limbs trembling violently, he couldn't even reach his shell cell. He tried to remain calm. He tried to protect himself, but the fight was leaving him. It couldn't have been the rats throwing the washer at him or knocking over mountains of metal.

He was so distracted; he hadn't heard the thud of someone much bigger landing close by. Moments later the rats released him, quickly scurried away, leaving him to his agony.

"W-What the...s-shell?" Confused but decided he didn't care. He chose to run, but he was riddled with bites. His limbs shaking to much... he just needed a moment for the pain to pass.

"Gyah!" He went to stand, trying to put pressure on his left leg, but his ankle radiated sharply keeping him down. When he heard the footsteps come up behind him however, he froze. A huge humanoid shadow over casted him. Still gasping in pain, the turtle turned to see his attacker...only instead to see a fist coming towards him. Then he saw nothing.

Master Splinter suddenly sat up in his bed, gasping for air and shaking. He realized right away that his right hand was tightly in a fist, as though he was about to throw someone a punch, as his tail flicked back and forth. What was more unsettling, there was pain radiating up his claw as though he had already punch someone. The ringing in his ears was worse than ever and he had just had a terrible nightmare... He didn't remember all of it, but he did remember seeing Donatello. He remembered seeing him in pain, he had seen himself hit him, knocking him unconscious before effortlessly yanking him harshly up over his shoulder. Then he had woken up. Though shaken by the images, Splinter rationally shook it off as a bad dream. Besides he hadn't been able to pick up any of his boys since they were turtle tots and even then, it was a struggle. Still Splinter felt the need to go and check on his smart son. Then he remembered that Donatello was at April's for the evening.

Ok that was it! The rat quickly got himself up from bed. Time for some meditation on the spirit plain for some peace and quiet... and he might check in on his smart son's well-bean while he was there.

A/N: Hope you like. So all of you who knew something that was going to go wrong were right. Donatello was being stalked and encountered someone. Not only that but Splinter is now having problems of his own. What are they you may seem, and what is with the last part I assume you all are wondering. Well can't say as it will be a spoiler. But rest assure Glazier Blue and I are on it, and are working on the next chapter. Just be patient to find out more. Look forward to your responses to the chapter. Till next time.