He stumbled down the sewers and fell to his knees, hoping had had left his pursuers behind this time. For a moment he thought he did until he heard a faint noise behind him. Cursing under his breath and struggling under his burden, he forced himself back to his feet and struggled on, ignoring the burning pain in his side. He knew he was leaving them a trail just because he knew he was bleeding hard enough to leave one. He had gotten separated from the others somehow and he was out here all alone except for the limp body in his arms. Didn't mean he was completely helpless.

The noise grew closer and he could now make out the footsteps for what they were. He quickly found a secure spot and stashed his unconscious sibling in there before he turned and pulled out the katanas. He may be tired and weak himself from blood loss, but he was nowhere near ready to give up yet. He wanted so much to just go home, but knew he couldn't, not while he was being followed. He slipped into the deep shadows instead and waited. Darkness was his ally more than theirs, and he intended to use it.

For a moment, despair filled him as he watched the group pour into the large reservoir area he was in. There was no way he could take them all on, there had to be at least twenty of them and he had been struggling and bleeding for awhile now. He pushed that doubt away with a low growl and just remained hidden. He didn't have a choice in the matter, he had to be able to take them on. That's if he was found, he was wise enough to remain hidden. If he did it good enough maybe they would move on to another part of the sewers and he could then grab his sibling and back track.

That hope was dashed when they got out their heavy duty flashlights and turned them on. Once that happened, he was quickly spotted with his advantage being stripped from him. "There's the freak!" Came the expected shout. "Get him!"

The turtle narrowed his eyes and let out a chilling snarl. His helpless sibling was behind him and he was going to show them just how big of a mistake it would be for them to follow that order. His eyes blazing, he met them head on. Katanas swinging around him furiously, he pushed them back. He refused to lose. Until his body decided otherwise.

Pushed harder than he could endure he collapsed to the ground on his knees in pain and weakness after knocking the first few away. His arm now pressed against his side, he still held onto one of his swords as they came in. Looking up at them with a glare, he quickly brought it around and stabbed the closest one in the leg and he fell to the ground screaming in pain. The turtle ignored him as he brought it back around again, but it was kicked from his hand. Then he was kicked backwards and fell against the wall under where his sister was hidden. He couldn't even catch his breath by this point. He raised his unusual eyes up to the men closing in, he refused to show them fear. He couldn't face them like this, he was too tired, too weak...and he wasn't his father. Titian just couldn't fight them back anymore.

"Got you now freak." The leader grinned as he stalked in. A grin that lasted until a chain came out of the darkness behind him, wrapped around him, then pulled him into the darkness beyond. His startled scream was quickly silenced after that.

Twenty plus flashlights zipped to where the man had flown too, but he was gone. Then another one was yanked into the darkness. Dropping his light and weapon, he too disappeared. Flashlights were zipping all over the open space now, but none of those beams could pinpoint the tormenter, it had already moved on. Suddenly small pieces of metal flashed in those bright streams an instant before a whole row of flash lights literally exploded in the hands that carried them as the shuriken hit. An instant later the ones holding them were pulled into the darkness and disposed of. On the other side of the group, more just toppled over, but their assailant wasn't to be seen.

Ty however had an inkling about what was going on, he could feel something only he, his sister and Mother could, though he didn't have Mother's range. That he could feel it now meant someone he knew very well was near. He calmed immensely, but he was still in a bad situation.

Now that the attention was off of him, for the most part, Ty snarled through his pain and managed to kick the legs out from under the man closest to him, then kicked him in the face as he fell and that one wasn't going to get back up. Another, already starting to show the first signs of fright about what was going on, snarled and slammed the butt of his weapon against Ty's head. "That's about enough out of you!"

He was the next to go down. Even as Ty slumped back down in pain, the man was hoisted up in the air, trying to cry out but couldn't because of the hand that suddenly found itself around his neck.

The figure now standing in front of Ty was larger than life, would always be to him. He was tall and muscular, but that large frame held a being that was calm and always in control, for the most part. He was Ty's teacher, had taught the seventeen year old everything he knew and Ty had chosen the katanas to honor this turtle. The blue eyes behind that blue mask weren't clouded by pain and weariness. There was no injury to slow down this one's fury at what had just happened, and he proved that by throwing the man into the cluster still standing there, knocking more of them down. In front of the young turtle stood the imposing frame of Leonardo, the bane of countless gangs, thugs, crooked crime lords and whatever other evil doers were out there, the leader of the turtles who called these sewers home and Titian's father.

You would think that with his age he would be slowing down by now. That was not the case. Even as the teen watched from where he was on the ground, Father calmly reached out and hurled another one across the room, then jumped right into the middle of them. His leg swung around almost effortlessly in a roundhouse, knocking a group out like falling dominoes before he leapt and took out two more in a split kick. He came down punching and in a few short moments, the tables had definitely turned. Then the katanas came out and Ty could only watch as his father put them to use. Lessons he had been taught he could now see as his father effortlessly brought them around again and again, disarming those around him with ease.

Ty was still building his reputation among the city's lowlifes, was still learning and gathering his own experience. Father already had one. And he lived up to it as he relentlessly kept at them until the small few that were left finally got smart and ran like hell. They might have been a match for an injured Ty and an unconscious Lavi, but they didn't stand a chance against a furious, healthy, Leonardo.

Father watched them go with hard eyes a moment before he turned to his son. His eyes quickly took in the condition of the teen before they softened. "Donnie!" He spoke into the headset he wore. "I found them. East side reservoir, I'm going to need some help to get them back home." He listened for a moment before he moved in.

Ty tried to sit up, but his side hurt to much and he collapsed back against the wall.

"Easy..." Father knelt down to inspect the damage. "Don't move."

"The...others?"

"Your cousins are a little busted up, but they are fine. They came home about two hours ago." Even as he spoke, his gentle hands ripped off part of his clothing and tried to stem the flow from the injury. "Hold this here."

Ty nodded and did as he was told. Father then stood up and pulled Lavi from where Ty had stashed her and laid her gently on the ground next to Ty. He then began his meticulous inspection of her. "What happened?" He asked while he worked. "Didn't really have time to get it out of the others, all we could get was that you guys got ambushed and separated."

Ty leaned his head back against the wall with a sigh. "That's basically it." He replied as he closed his eyes. "Walked right into it too. Lost our headsets and everything." He muttered. "I'm...sorry... You entrusted me with leading them...and I failed miserably tonight."

Father was quiet for a moment, bandaging what he could on Lavi with what little he had to work with, then he met Ty's guilt filled eyes. "Ty...stop." He said quietly.

Ty opened his eyes to find his father looking firmly back at him, his hands paused in the act of tying one of the makeshift bandages on Lavi's arm. "Don't do this to yourself." Ty couldn't meet that intense stare and had to turn his head away. Father wasn't about to let up though. "I say that because I know what it will lead to." His voice continued on. "I chose you for a reason, and I knew from the get go that you would run head first into things that will not go according to plan. I trusted you enough to be able to think quick when it does happen, and you did. Because no matter how much you think you screwed up, you didn't. Because you are all alive."

Father then moved from Lavi, apparently now finished with her, and knelt down next to Ty, checking the injury, and frowned a moment before he continued. "But if you doubt yourself now, all that will do is burden you more the next time you go out. Use this, learn from it and grow. Don't let it drag you down, because then you drag down the rest."

"I just don't know if I can do this." Ty admitted.

"There was a time I didn't either." Father admitted right back. "I had those same doubts you do now."

"Does it ever stop?" Ty looked up at his Father. "Does it ever get easier?"

Again the older turtle was quiet as he thought how to answer. "Does it stop? No. I can't tell you how many times it still tries to come back, the feelings of inadequacy. Happens every time one of you gets hurt...like now. To be honest, I'm running a whole bunch of things through my head right now. Maybe I should have went with you, maybe you aren't ready for patrolling on your own after all... But I've learned to push them away. And there is something you always need to remember."

"And that is?"

"As long as I am able too, I'll have your back. Don't ever think that just because you are out there without me that you are alone. I made you that promise the day you were born, and I'll keep it as long as I can."

Ty teared up a little as he looked back at Father and blinked them away as those calm eyes met his. "Thanks Dad..."

A calming hand on his shoulder was the only reply he got. "Can you move?" Father asked then. "We need to get out of here before they wake up."

"I...don't know." Ty did try, but slumped back to the ground, he just couldn't...

Father didn't even blink, he stood up and gently laid Lavi over his shoulder before reaching down to pull Ty up. "Lean on me."

Ty did and his father didn't even stumble under his burden and they slowly managed to make their way out. It didn't take long before the tunnels were filled with life again, but this group Ty was glad to see. "Leo!" Uncle Mikey called when he came into view, with the other two right behind. They quickly closed the distance and the smallest Uncle took Lavi while Uncle Raph went to hold Ty's other side up. Uncle Donnie was on that gash in his side in an instant. Removing Father's work and giving it a better wrap job.

An hour later he was back in the comforting surroundings of his home, with his worried mother hovering over Lavi as Father stood by Ty.

"She'll be fine Vic." Uncle Donnie told Mother. "She just got a few cuts and scrapes and a decent egg on her head. She'll recover just fine." Then he walked over to Ty. "This one on the other hand is going to need stitches." That's when Mother thought she should hover over him instead and Ty had to suppress a groan. He knew she was going to baby him relentlessly now for the next few days.

Ty sighed. He really didn't like needles too much. Oh well... He was hurting bad enough that he really didn't care at that point. His uncle caught the pain filled look and took action accordingly, by giving the younger turtle something to knock him out.

Before he slipped into that black void, Ty met his Father's gaze and once again calm reassurance flooded him. He would be there, he would always be there. Ty knew that this wasn't going to be easy, had found himself struggling with this life earlier. But under his Father's watchful eye he would learn and he would grow. There may be low points ahead, but he felt a bit better equipped to deal with them as he replayed the earlier conversation over again in his head. Maybe one day, if he kept trying, he would have a reputation as fearsome as his Father's and uncles. Until then...he still had a lot to learn, and a Father willing to teach him.