Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Twelve years later...

"Leonardo, watch your left foot." the elderly mutant rat warned me, sitting on a scavenged and repaired old wooden chair, one wrinkled paw resting on the stubby rounded top of a worn walking stick as the other stroked his long whiskers, watching his pupil with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Hai, Master Splinter." I quickly realized what I was doing wrong and shifted my three-toed left foot slightly readjusting my stance accordingly. I lifted my worn and chipped katanas, prizes scavenged years ago from some drug dealer and put to far better use, and began working my way back into the kata I was smoothly running through.

It felt good to be back in the small dojo with him. The elderly rat had been so ill the last few days, I hadn't known what to do.

Since that fateful day so long ago, a new beginning that I barely remembered, Master Splinter had taken me in and raised me as he would have his own child. We were both mutants, changed inexplicably by the mysterious green ooze into a half human, half animal hybrids, he a rat and I a turtle. It didn't take us long to learn that we would only ever be feared, despised, and hated by the humans above, and thus we were exiled to a life in the sewers and shadows. Living on scavenged scraps and our wits and cleverness, life was was often difficult and hard for both of us, a constant struggle to survive. Often a times very dangerous struggle, as the many battle scars on my flesh and gouges in my shell testified.

Fate, otherwise cruel, had given us one kind boon, however. Master Splinter had once lived as a pet in the dojo of one of the most powerful masters of nijitsu ever to live. That this ancient and wise rat who had raised me from a newly mutated child had mastered an art form so deadly and versatile, perfectly suited for our life in the shadows, by merely watching his old human master in his years as a pet was almost as miraculous as our mutations themselves.

Miracle or no, though, I still thanked the stars that he had been able to retain so many of the lessons. Ninjistu was a craft that I lived and breathed for. Despite my shell and the reputation of turtles being slow, I reveled and excelled at the life of a ninja. It was everything to me, not just a means to protect ourselves and survive. I lived for the feeling of my body honed to perfection, the thrill of being able to melt away unseen and reappear like a ghost, and, yes, the sheer adrenaline rush from letting my twin swords sing and dance in battle, knowing that few in the world could challenge me unscathed. I was strong, fast, agile, and silent, able to scurry up brick walls or melt into shadows.

I would protect my family. Master Splinter was all that I had, and I was determined that I would do everything in my power to care for my beloved master and protect him from any threat.

Alas, as was becoming all to clear, though, I could not protect him from time.

Master Splinter had been old when he was mutated, and, thankfully, he had been blessed with many, many additional years beyond those of a the lifespan of a normal rat, but that didn't change the fact that he was still ancient. Old, wrinkled, and frail looking, he could no longer demonstrate many of the katas that he had once shown me as a child. His old bones ached, and sometimes it was all he could do to simply rise up out of his chair in the morning. Recently, he had started displaying a very troubling cough that he just couldn't shake, fits that sounded wet and painful every time they shook his frail body. Living in a damp, dirty sewer probably didn't help things, but we had little choice in the matter. The human world above wouldn't let it be any other way.

I continued to step through the kata with effortless grace, my two battle-worn, plain katanas slicing through the air like steel ribbons. Flowing through the well-practiced movements, I finally came to an end, and turned to bow before the rat respectfully.

"Well done, Leonardo." the rat nodded, his milky brown eyes warm with pride. "Once again, you have excelled. You bring honor to the teachings of my beloved Master Yoshi."

"Thank you, sensei." I nodded, straightening back up. His words warmed my heart, though I drew more pride from his praise then the theoretical approval from a human I didn't remember, though I would never tell him that out loud.

My Sensei loved his old master. All my life, he had told me tales, some he remembered hearing, and some from his own memories. Of how Hamato Yoshi had led a great ninja clan, one of the greatest and most honorable in the world. Of how he was once married to the beautiful Tang Shen, and especially of their sons, of whom Master Splinter often spoke of with almost parental fondness. The family had been happy and full of love. And then, finally, how Yoshi's adopted brother, Oroku Saki, had discovered his own hidden roots as the true heir of the Foot Clan, a clan destroyed in a centuries old feud with the Hamatos. He had betrayed his adopted family on their behalf, murdering Shen before Yoshi's eyes just after the birth of their third son. To protect his sons, Yoshi had slain his former brother.

If anything, the stories quietly made me question the morals and ethics of humans all the more. How could Saki turn and attack the people who took him as one of their own as a baby, raised him, trained him, provided for him, and loved him, all in the memory of people he had never met?

A sudden fit of hoarse coughing broke through all thoughts of humans. "Master!" I immediately sheathed my swords and was over at his side in an instant, all thoughts of further training gone.

He tried to wave off my concern as he gasped for air and tried to get the coughs under control. "It... *cough* It's nothing, Leonardo... *cough*." He gasped, and took a deep shaky breath, the fit apparently passing, and finally settled back wearily. "It's just the small cold I've been battling. Nothing more."

I bit my lip, worried. "How about some warm tea, Sensei?" I finally offered gently, helping him stand shakily up on his feet. "That should help."

"Thank you, Leonardo." My rat father leaned against me, old, tired, and frail, and I gladly bore his weight. "Yes... some tea sounds nice."

A short while later, we were in what counted as our living quarters of our small and humble lair. The old control room located in some forgotten part of the sewers showed both the harsh reality of our life and the efforts we made to pretend it wasn't so. A rusty folding table that had one broken leg duct taped to a stick was covered in a old blue tablecloth with a vase and some fake flowers tastefully arranged on it. Thick curtains of varying colors hung all around on the walls, both to help insulate and to act as some sort of tapestries, and white christmas lights hung from the pipes in the ceiling to give light.

Unfortunately, some days it was a struggle just to keep the electricity and heat going for our most basic needs. I had shocked and burned myself far too many times to count trying to make our dangerous tangle of wires and cords work properly to siphon the power needed to run our few working appliances. My mediocre mechanical skills often left haphazard-looking setups, and I lived in constant fear of a fire or carbon monoxide leak starting while I was away. Winter would be coming soon as well, and I worried about that as well. Should I try to repair our heater again, or risk breaking into a store to steal a new one? Both choices carried risks.

For now, I sat beside Master Splinter's chair, carefully using a small knife to carefully peel an apple, before cutting it up into small pieces and placing them in a small clean bowl for him. It was sometimes hard for the elderly rat to chew now, and I wanted to make it as easy as possible for him.

Master Splinter was wrapped in the thickest blanket we owned, sipping gratefully at the steaming chipped mug filled with his favorite blend of tea. He was watching me with sad eyes.

"I was thinking about making another supply run tonight, Master." I mentioned casually, still cutting up the apple. "There's supposed to be a heavy fog later, which should provide me with extra cover. I might be able to access junkyards I normally avoid."

Master Splinter gave a low, breathy sigh, and nodded, looking down at his cup.

"While out there, I'm going to try and continue to restock our food supplies, though we're still going to have to settle for non-perishables until I can figure out how to get the fridge working again." I tried to keep up a conversational tone. "I also noticed we need more batteries for your radio, and I'm also hoping to find some more warm blankets, what with October only a month away. We need to start getting ready for winter." I set my small knife down off the side and offered him the bowl of small, peeled apple pieces.

"Ah, my precious student." Splinter smiled weakly at me. "You carry so much responsibility on your shoulders for my sake these days..."

"Don't worry. I'm a turtle." I smiled wryly, putting a green, three fingered hand gently on top of his shriveled clawed one, enveloping it warmly. "My shell allows me to carry the weight of the world if such a task is required of me."

Splinter gave a wistful chuckle, then turned his head to the side and sighed. He was quiet for a moment, then looked back up at me, his soft brown eyes troubled. "Leonardo... what will you do when I'm gone?"

I had picked up my knife to clean it, but froze at his words. Then I casually picked up a clean cloth and began wiping down my blade as intended. "Bah, you're talking as if you plan on surrendering to a mere cold, Master. For shame!" I mock-scolded him with forced joviality in my tone, concentrating on scrubbing the steel blade.

"All things must come to an end one day, my little turtle." the ancient rat sighed, leaning back into the pillow I had placed behind him. "And truly, I have been blessed in my life and can move on with few regrets. My only sorrows are that I will never see my beloved Master and his children again, and that I leave you alone."

"Do not talk that way!" I hissed a little more harshly then I intended, then winced and took a deep breath to steady myself. I set aside the knife and moved to cover him up a little more securely with the blanket. "It's just a cold, Master. I'll look for some more medicine when I go out tonight. You'll be feeling better in no time, you'll see."

"Leonardo..." his milky eyes blinked at me sadly.

"I still have so much to learn from you, Sensei." I smiled softly at him, smoothing down wrinkles in the worn blanket with my hands. "And I look forward to getting my shell handed to me once again when you're well."

He drew an old, thin furred arm out from under the blanket, and placed it on my strong green scaled one. "You should seek out my old master and his sons." he suggested to me seriously. "They are your family as well, and you could learn much from them."

"They are humans." I said gently as if that alone explained all my thoughts on the matter. I looked away, frowning as I bitterly added, "And I have no desire to be their 'pet' once more."

Master Splinter sighed and moved his hand from my arm up to caress the side of my face gently. "At least consider it, my son. Please."

I swallowed hard, then exhaled. "If it will ease your mind, I will meditate on it later." I tried to soothe him. "Now then, no more talk about you leaving me. We both know that its not going to happen for a long time yet. Eat your apple, Master, and then rest. I'll be heading out in a few hours to start my supply run."

The ancient rat studied my face for a moment, then nodded and leaned back in his chair to pick up his bowl. I watched him break out into another coughing fit with a lump in my throat.

That night, the fog lay thick upon the city as promised, and the world became a veritable playground in front of me. In the cool of the night, the dark mist blanketed the streets and hoarded secrets jealously. The damp cloud particles swirled like smoke behind me as I silently leapt from rooftop to rooftop, disappearing like a ghost from view before anybody even knew I was there in the first place.

Pausing to catch my breath on top of a streetlight, I tilted my head and listened as I heard yelling and sounds of fighting off in an alleyway. Purple Dragons, more then likely. I silently scoffed. Humans. Always fighting over nothing. Always ready to attack first and then consider the truths later, if ever.

I listened carefully, and quickly determined that there were no innocents in this one. No helpless bystanders being robbed or beaten or worse. No, this was two rival gangs vying over territory.

Bah. That was fine by me. I had long ago vowed that I would not ignore those that truly needed my skill and protection just because their skin was different or they had a different number of fingers. I would try to make the world a better place, even if such interventions often lead to new scars, sometimes from the very ones I was trying to protect. I would not stoop to the level of the humans. I would not ignore injustices.

But if the rabid wolves who would normally prey on the innocent wished to injure themselves in pointless conflict, then let them. I had better things to do tonight.

Recalling that a nearby outlet store had recently gone out of business, I decided to head that way and see if I couldn't scavenge anything from the dumpsters or, if I was feeling particularly brave, inside the building itself.

It was a few hours later, and I was feeling particularly accomplished with myself as I headed through the sewer tunnels towards the Lair, my shell burdened down with far more bulky looted goods then normal. Of course, the most important acquisition tonight had been a bottle of cough syrup and a box of cold medication, but there was so much more to show Master Splinter!

Not only had I found a brand new, still-in-the-plastic-package comforter that looked especially warm, but I had found a rather fancy looking portable electric stove, simple enough for me to use. Gods knew we needed it. Our old portable stove had broken past my meager skill level of repair, and we had to rely on building small fires to cook our food, something incredibly unsafe in out enclosed lair. Plus, just to top off the night, I had grabbed a small carton of milk and a box of cheesy crackers. I grinned proudly. If I soaked the crackers in the milk, it would make for a delightful treat for the elderly rat.

I slipped in and entered the Lair quietly, hoping not to wake Master Splinter if he was sleeping. I noticed he was still nestled under his blanket in his chair, eyes closed. I felt some relief. With his cough, he had not been sleeping well lately, and obviously needed the rest.

I moved silently, not wanting to disturb him as I quickly slid my roped bundles off my shell, pulling out the new comforter and preparing to ninja stealth it over him without waking him.

Then I paused.

Something felt wrong.

Nothing looked out of place, but the lair felt... empty. Quiet.

Swallowing hard, I lowered the folded comforter, setting it on the ground. Then I slowly stood up, and hesitantly stepped forward. Each step across the floor of the lair only increased the lump in my chest as I approached my Master, my Sensei, my Father, laying still and quiet under the patched, ragged blanket.

The simple clock hanging on the wall ticked off the seconds as they passed, the monotone sound echoing through the lair louder then I had ever heard it before.

I stood there and looked down at my father for a long, long time.

I was alone.

Author Notes:

Geez, I didn't intend for this to get depressing. Sorry! Trust me, soon we'll have all sorts of grumpy Leo hissing and glaring at three brothers who are absolutely determined to make him part of their family.

Also, although Leo is technically about thirteen years old, I'm not pulling what I did in my Shadows series and making him a child. Turtles mature faster, so when he got mutated, he was about the equivalent of seven or eight in human years. Thus, now he's about the same as a 19-20 year old, about the same age, if not a little older, then Donnie. Heck, technically Splinter was only about 15 years old at the end there. He was just already a very old rat when he changed.