A/N: HEY! Long time no see! I know, it's been forever since I've updated this fic, but after that Season 2 Finale...i needed a LONG time to recover because...damn, the feels hit me hard dudes.

Anyway, here you go guys! The long awaited next chapter! I OWN NOTHING!

Enjoy!

Plus, thank you everybody who has reviewed this so far! You are all amazing!

Chapter 16

"Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free."

― Jim Morrison

Narrowing his cold, bloodshot eyes dangerously as he glared down at the three figures bowing down before him, the Shredder released a low, menacing growl from his throat. This was a truly pitiful sight to behold; three of his greatest warriors, defeated shamefully and now kneeling at the foot of the stairs that led to his throne, waiting for what their master had to say. The two humans, Bradford and Xever, were dripping wet with both their heads bowed lowly in disgrace. They knew what was coming, and they were obviously not looking forward to it. However, what irked and intrigued Shredder the most was that the mutant turtle, Leonardo, remained completely unscathed, apart from a slightly bloodied lip. And instead of having his head bowed down and his eyes on the floor like the other two, his blue eyed gaze was fixated solely on them. He appeared calm and uncaring, as per usual, but Shredder could see the tension in his shoulders and in his stare, as if he were waiting for whatever they had to say.

This should be interesting to say the least.

"This is unacceptable!" Shredder snapped at them, watching as Bradford and Xever flinched marginally at his tone, but Leonardo remained unresponsive, continuing to stare at the humans beside him. Not unusual, but even so, Shredder kept his eyes on him.

"Humble apologies, Master Shredder," began Bradford anxiously, his face still dripping wet, "but we had them in our grasp!" He then turned his hard gaze towards Leonardo on his left. "Well, that was until –"

Shredder saw the mere fraction of a second where Leo's shoulders tensed, and then he spoke over Bradford.

"– Until Raphael managed to disarm me," he cut in swiftly, his voice and features as calm as ever, even as the two humans shot him accusing glances. He barely took notice of them, looking directly at Shredder as he continued. "He was able to knock me down and use my katana to cut down the water tower. After the Foot were washed off the roof, they escaped. That's all, Master Shredder."

From where he sat upon his throne, Shredder eyed Leonardo ominously. "…Is that so?" he queried further.

Leo nodded once. "Yes, sir," he answered simply.

The ninja master noticed how as soon as the words left his mouth, the boys' eyes darted to his left, and his hand clenched into a loose fist on the ground. Shredder knew him long enough to know that the boy was obviously lying.

He had been the one to help the other three turtles in their escape.

He narrowed his eyes at the young turtle. Normally, this would have enraged the man a great deal, but in this case, his feelings about the matter where somewhat mixed; on the one hand, Leo's treachery meant that Shredders' plans for him were finally beginning to take effect. He was starting to feel for his former family again to an extent. One the other hand, it also meant that he had lost the chance to capture and interrogate at least one of those turtles, and then find the location of their beloved master, Splinter. Such failure to follow orders, and deliberate betrayal to the clan deserved a severe penalty. And Shredder had no real qualms upon punishing the turtle at last.

Though of course, he would rather watch it be done to him rather than to do it himself. It would be far more entertaining that way.

"Leonardo, you are to go to the dojo, and wait for me there," he ordered lowly, "I wish to speak with you further on this matter in private."

Bowing his head once, and making sure that his breath of relief was discrete, Leo stood up and walked straight out of the room, ignoring the looks he received from Bradford and Xever as he disappeared through the large doors. Once he was gone, the two henchmen turned back to their master, utterly outraged. "He is lying, Master Shredder!" Xever exclaimed angrily, his fists clenching at his sides in anger. "I saw what happened before the water tower fell; he was the one to cut it down! He helped the turtles escape, and humiliated us all! But I swear, the next time we meet –"

"Silence!" Shredder snapped irritably, shutting them both up at once as they bowed their heads again. "I am well aware of what Leonardo has done, but as I told you, it is all a part of what I have in store for him in the future. And by looking at the both of you fools, he was far closer to killing them than you were." Standing up from his throne, Shredder strode down the stairs and past his two men, making his way out of the room. "It seems that I shall have to deal with Hamato Yoshi's disciples myself…" he snarled. "…after I deal with this turtle for his 'treachery'. If everything is going to go according to plan, I cannot allow Leonardo, or Tiger Claw, to suspect anything otherwise…"

As Shredder left the room, Bradford and Xever stood up, and they both shared a sly look. That turtle was going to get what he deserved for ever daring to make fools out of them in front of their master.

If only they could be there to watch him squirm, and be beaten down like the animal he was.

It was during his lone meditation session in the sleeping quarters that he shared with his son that Tiger Claw was brought out of his trance by the door being opened. Atop his head, his ear twitched slightly in mild irritation upon being interrupted, since he had planned to continue meditating until his son arrived from his mission. Perhaps it was Karai again, coming back to see if Leonardo had returned from his mission (or just to pester him further about how he'd ushered her out of the room whilst she was sleeping on his bed.) But as soon as the familiar scent of death – from a number of lives that even himself or Leonardo had never taken – and the sound of rattling metal armor, the irritation immediately washed away, and after taking a single deep breath in and out again, he turned to look behind him from where he sat in the center of the room to find that his employer, the Shredder, was standing in the doorway. He was waiting for him; Tiger Claw knew that the man didn't like to be kept waiting, despite how far his patience could stretch on for. Getting to his feet, Tiger Claw turned to face his master and bowed once. "Master Shredder," he began respectfully, "to what do I owe the honor?"

Shredder didn't answer straight away, and instead he turned away from the large cat. "…I have a soldier in the higher Clan ranks that has gone against me," he declared, "But he is far too valuable as an asset to my plans against Hamato Yoshi's Clan, so I cannot eliminate him. Instead, I would like you to show him his place."

Tiger Claw quirked a brow; a rebellious soldier in the higher ranks? Well, it wasn't exactly the first time he'd been asked to either punish or even remove several Foot Soldiers for acting against their master. But he had never had to do such a thing for those in the higher ranks; they had gotten where they were due to Shredder finding their loyalty and their skills unquestionable. He wondered why one would suddenly decide to betray him. Better yet, why would anyone be idiotic enough to go behind the Shredder of all people? Brushing off the thought for the time being, Tiger Claw bowed again, putting his right fist in the palm of his left. "As you wish, Master," he answered.

Casting the tiger a glance, Shredder nodded once and then began walking, leading Tiger Claw out of the room and towards the dojo. "The soldier is waiting for us in the dojo," he explained as he continued forward, "make sure his lesson is learned…and Tiger Claw?"

Tiger Claw stopped just in front of the doors to the dojo, and he looked at his master. He noticed that there was an unfamiliar, yet somewhat troubling glint in the humans' eye that the old tiger didn't like in the least.

"…do not hesitate. That is an order. Is that understood?" Shredder growled forebodingly.

A moment of silence past before the tiger nodded once, though he was slightly confused. Why wouldn't he hesitate? This was just another Foot soldier that needed to be reminded of respect and order under his masters. Sliding the doors of the dojo open, Tiger Claw stepped inside the room first in search for the –

His eyes widened when he spotted not a Foot soldier, but a blue clad turtle, leaning against the wall on the far right corner of the room with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes cast darkly on the ground. From where the mutant cat stood in the doorway, he could see the dried up blood on his bruised, lower lip, meaning he had just come back from his mission…

Oh no. Leonardo…he couldn't have…but Leo was loyal to a fault. He was one of Shredders' most trustworthy soldiers, and more importantly, he was his son. He couldn't do this, not to him. There had to be a practical reason behind all of this; Leonardo knew better than to betray his clan…

The doors slid shut behind him, and after hearing a familiar click, Tiger Claw snapped himself out of his trance as he turned to find that Shredder had locked them in. His heart sank in his chest. If he dared disobey Shredder's orders, he would probably take his eye out. Or worse, he would decide to deal with Leonard himself. Tiger Claw couldn't risk that. Shredder was ruthless, and was not a man of idle threats; if he declared he was going to kill you, he would do so without further delay.

There was no turning back now. He would have to do this. This was for both their sakes.

The sound of the door bolting shut made Leo finally look up from the floor at last. At first, his face remained a mask of indifference, but as soon as he laid his eyes on Tiger Claw, his features creased in confusion as he came off the wall and stood up straight, looking up at his father with a raised brow. "Sensei, what are you doing here?" he asked, "I thought Shredder wanted to –"

Then he abruptly stopped when he saw that the aforementioned man was standing behind the mutant tiger, watching them both from the other side of the room with his cold-eyed glare. He made no move towards the two mutants as he folded his hands behind his back, simply waiting.

And with a silent gasp, Leo's eyes widened as he finally understood what was about to happen.

Warily, his blue eyes slid back up to Tiger Claw, and all he saw was his sudden dark, distant amber eyes – the same eyes he had when he was ready to fight – before a large, orange fist came flying towards his face. The force of the hit sent him stumbling to the ground on his knees, letting out a breath of shock as he pressed a hand to his bleeding nose. Shaking his head to clear the dizziness, he staggered back to his feet as he held his aching jaw. "W-What the hell?!" he managed to growl once, before Tiger Claw cut him off with several, hard blows to the face and chest. Every punch or kick that Tiger Claw sent his way burned and hurt like hell. What was worse, Leo couldn't track them, nor could he even evade them. And the pain only worsened when Tiger Claw launched a final kick to his chest that sent him flying and smashing his shell against the wall at the other side of the room, racking every bone in his body. As he slid back down to the floor and landed on his face, Leo found himself completely paralyzed as he lay there. His whole body ached unbearably; even his shell felt as if it had been knocked loose. All he could think about was the pain as he coughed out blood.

It hurts it hurts it hurts…

Tiger Claw had never been this rough on him, even during their training. Had he been going easy on him for all these years?! Well, he'd have to, otherwise Leo would end up like this, or worse…and was that blood pooling from his head?

A large, dark shadow came over him, and Leo was inwardly astounded that he had enough strength to actually look up from the floor again. When he found that it wasn't Tiger Claw standing over him, he sent the armored ninja master a snarl that would make any tiger proud, and a piercing blue eyed glare. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was Shredder who had ordered Tiger Claw to do this to him, simply because he didn't want to get his blades dirty just yet.

That malicious snake…

Unfazed by the turtle's snarl whatsoever, Shredder motioned Tiger Claw with a single nod. Hesitating for only a moment, Tiger Claw nodded back once in return before grabbing Leo by the arm, the only one he could really feel now, and hauled the weakened turtle back to his feet before slamming him against the wall again. Leo failed to restrain a cry of pain, and a thick trail of blood dripped down his chin as he looked back up the slowly blurring figures.

Was he going to pass out? Oh, great.

With Leo pinned against the wall by the tiger, Shredder took a step toward him and glared him down. "Your skills make you a valuable asset to my army, Leonardo," he said lowly, taking no notice of how the turtles' eyes narrowed angrily, "and your loyalty to the Foot Clan in the past has been indisputable. However, your actions tonight tell me otherwise. You, of all my soldiers, should know the penalty for rebellion. After all…your victims suffered the same fate by your very hands."

Leo's breath hitched as he ground his teeth together, glaring up at the monster. Tiger Claw had to force down a growl from his throat, but his ear twitched in irritation.

"Such treachery will not be tolerated, Leonardo," Shredder growled, "If it were not for your usefulness, I would have already disposed of you myself. Remember, those three turtles mean nothing. They are you mission, nothing more. Do not make the mistake of aiding them again. Is that understood?"

Eyes widening, Tiger Claw shot Leo an alarmed and confused gaze. He had saved the other turtles? His son, the one who had vowed to put an end to them himself, who could not rest until every last one of them was wiped out, had actually helped them to escape? But why? He still believed that they had abandoned and hated him…

Unless…

Leo narrowed his eyes at the Shredder, though inwardly, he was cursing himself for his stupidity. Of course Shredder had seen through his little lie. After all, he had been spawned from the master of all liars. "…yes, Master Shredder," he forced himself to say, just wanting to collapse already. He could feel himself already slipping, and couldn't keep awake for much longer.

Sure enough, he was finally released, but not without Tiger Claw planting a solid knee into his stomach that sent the boy falling to his knees, clutching his stomach as he coughed up more blood, forcing down his last meal. Shredder watched him suffer with indifference, though in reality, he couldn't be happier to watch the once 'fearless' warrior fall to his knees like the weak and feeble animal that he was. Tiger Claw however, though outwardly he remained cold and passive by his masters' side, he felt as though he was being ripped apart from the inside out. How could he have done this to his young cub? Yes, the child's actions had been very foolish, but those turtles were his true family. All the tiger wanted was for his cub to be happy…and here he was, beating him within an inch of losing consciousness because he had taken a first step towards recovery from his life-long hatred…

What had he gotten his young, lost boy into?

After casting one last glance at the bleeding turtle, Shredder turned to Tiger Claw. "It appears that I have underestimated you, Tiger Claw," he spoke, "I did not think you would have the backbone to punish you presumably 'loyal son'. However, see to it that he does not make the same error again…or I shall deal with him myself. And know that I shall not hold back on him, regardless of your bond with him."

The mutant tiger felt his insides churn at the thought of this man even daring to lay a finger on his cub, but he held it back as he bowed to him. "Yes, Master Shredder. I will make sure that the young cub stays in line," he assured, sliding his gaze over to the turtle, who had yet to get up from where he lay in a small pool of blood. The smell of it sickened him to the very core.

With that, Shredder turned from them, his black cape swishing behind him as he strode away, unlocking the doors and leaving the two mutants alone in the silence of the dojo. Once the man was out of sight, Tiger Claw immediately rushed over to Leonardo's side, his cold mask disappearing within seconds as he attempted to help the boy to his feet, carefully placing his paws on his shoulders and lifting him off the floor. "Leonardo, say something my son!" he probed worriedly as the adolescent terrapin staggered unsteadily. He had held back as much as he could, but even so, the blows Leo received were taking its toll on him. He was actually surprised he'd been able to endure for this long; his cub was becoming stronger every day.

A loud, harsh cough racked through Leo's wounded body as he weakly looked up to meet the worried gaze of his father. He was back to his old self again. Good. Now he had nothing to fear anymore.

He gave him a soft, but sure smile. "…y-y'know," he struggled to say, "…you could've knocked me out…at least…so I wouldn't have…to listen to him monologuing…"

Unable to hold on any longer, Leo's eyes fluttered closed as he finally gave in, and the last thing he heard was Tiger Claw calling out his name before he fell limp into his arms, everything fading into black…

"…L-Leo? Leo, help! I'm scared! Leo!"

Blue eyes going wide, startled awake by the sound of his youngest brother crying, the oldest of the four turtles scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could without slipping on the polished floorboards, dashing back into the old house and running towards their room. After sliding the doors open with ease, he spotted his baby brother, Michelangelo, sitting up in his futon with wide, baby blue eyes filled with tears that dripped down his freckled cheeks and dampened his orange mask. The youngest turtle sniffled as he clutched the blankets in his little, tight fists that trembled with fear.

Smiling softly, Leonardo silently crossed the room, being careful not to wake up his other two brothers sleeping on the opposite side of the room as he sat down beside Mikey on the futon, wiping away his tears with the tails of his own mask (since Mikey's mask tails were too short for that). He wrapped his arms around him as he held him close, allowing the crying younger turtle to bury his face into his shoulder. "There, there, Mikey," he soothed, mimicking his father somewhat whenever he came to comfort them during the nights. He was currently out on another one of his scavenger hunts for more supplies, which was why Leo had decided to wait and sit outside, standing guard for his brothers and the house until he returned.

When Mikey's tears had subsided, he held him back enough so that he could look down at his sniffling brother. "Did the Nightmare Man come back again?" he asked quietly.

Mikey used the back of his hand to wipe away the tears as he nodded. "I-I thought you were g-gone, Leo! I-It was really dark and scary and I thought you g-got lost, and I couldn't f-find you!" he stuttered, on the verge of tears again. "I t-tried, Leo, I really t-tried to find you…"

"Shh," Leo soothed as he brought him in for another hug, stroking the back of his head. "I know, Mikey. But I'm not going anywhere; I'm staying right here forever…" Then a thought came to him as he suddenly smiled brightly down at Mikey, who despite Leo's reassurance, still looked doubtful. "Wait here a second, Mikey," he said quietly, getting up from the futon and tiptoeing towards his own. After rummaging through his blankets, Leo found what he was looking for, and his smile broadened.

With the large, fuzzy object in his arms, Leo hurried back over to Mikey and sat down beside him. He watched Mikey's expression shift from confusion to wonderment as he looked down at what his older brother held out to him. It was a big, brown furred teddy bear with black button eyes and a stitched-on smile. Mikey looked up at Leo, waiting for an explanation, and Leo just grinned. "Okay, Mikey," he began eagerly, "This is Mr. Bear, the teddy that daddy found for me. He sleeps with me every night, and he chases away the Nightmare Man for me. I'm gonna give him to you instead, so that whenever you're scared, you can hug it and feel better again. Okay?"

Mikey gasped in delight and nodded his head excitedly as Leo handed him the bear. He held it tight and giggled into its fur, planting a little kiss onto its fuzzy head as he looked back up to his strong, kind older brother. "Thanks, Leo!" he squeaked, "you're the bestest in the world!"

Leo smiled and shrugged. "It's okay, Mikey," he said as he reached and patted his head. "But you gotta take care of it, alright? He's very special, and there's nothing else like it in the whole wide world, okay?"

Mikey nodded again. "Yeah! I'll take care of Little Leo!" he piped up.

Quirking a brow, Leo's head tilted in confusion. "…Little Leo?" he repeated

"Yeah," Mikey whispered as he lay back down on his pillow, snuggling with the bear under the covers as Leo tucked him in, "cuz since you gave him to me to chase away the meanie Nightmare Man, he's just like you, cuz he's brave and strong! And just like you said, there's nothing else like him in the whole wide world! So I'm gonna name him Little Leo instead…is that okay?"

Leo blinked once as he gazed down at his baby brother. He was going to name something after him? Wow…that actually made Leo feel really cool! He smiled warmly as he rubbed Mikey's head. "Yeah, Mikey. You can name him Little Leo, if it makes you feel better."

Mikey's beam only grew as he let out a long yawn, closing his eyes again as he slowly let the gentle hands of sleep claim him again. But before he fell under completely, he mumbled something as he held the bear tighter in his little arms. "…I love you, Leo…"

Leo giggled softly. "I love you too, Mikey. I'll always love you."

"…Leonardo?"

The sound of a deep, concerned voice managed to bring Leonardo fully out of his strange, yet somewhat familiar reverie as he slowly, but surely blinked awake again. Boy…that was a weird dream.

Or was that a memory? Whatever, he was too confused and drowsy to care at the moment.

His vision was blurred at first, and his head ached something fierce (as well as pretty much the rest of his body including his shell). He could make out the familiar plain walls of their sleeping quarters, and the indistinct orange figure that had to be Tiger Claw looking down at him. And…was he always that fuzzy, or was that just his vision?

Once his eyesight blurred back to normal, Leo let out a soft groan of pain as he struggled to sit up again, but almost fell back onto his shell again if it weren't for Tiger Claws' steadying paws on his shoulders. With his help, he was finally able to sit up and get a good look at himself. His biceps were wrapped in bandages, and when he reached up to feel the spot on his head that had been bleeding before, he found a large plaster had covered it, though when he drew his hand away again, he found that traces of blood had seeped through it. Letting out a breath as he let his hand drop limply onto his lap, he cast his gaze over to his left, where Tiger Claw sat with one paw still bracing his shoulder. "…How…how long was I out for?" he asked quietly.

Tiger Claw didn't reply right away, and instead averted his eyes to his lap. "…a few days," he answered.

Leo's mouth dropped open. He couldn't say anything more, for the words were trapped in his throat, which felt rather raw. He was out for a few days? He was beaten up that bad?!

As the silence between them endured, Leo forced his mouth closed again as he looked back up at his Sensei. He could see the fear and the regret in his amber orbs. It was unsettling for the young turtle, since he had grown up in believing that his Sensei was stronger than steel, and braver than the fiercest of beasts. He was shown otherwise many times during the missions they had been sent on throughout the years, but even so, it scared Leo somewhat to see him so…so not like the Tiger Claw he knew and loved.

However, despite that, Leo preferred this Tiger Claw over the one he had seen back in the dojo, when he'd thrown him around like a sack of potatoes. That was far more frightening.

The silence was finally broken when Tiger Claw cleared his throat, gaining Leo's utmost attention again as his father spoke. "…Leonardo," he began, his voice shaking ever so slightly as he lowered his head, and it made Leo's heart sink further. "…I am so sorry for this…but you must know that it was for both our sakes. If I had not, then Shredder would have…"

"Sensei," Leo cut in quietly, making Tiger Claw look up again. Leo offered him a weak but sincere smile. "…I understand," he said, his voice croaked slightly from the lack of use of his throat. "You had to. It was Shredders' orders, after all. You're bound by honor to do what he says…even though he has none," Leo added with a frown, but after getting a disapproving look from Tiger Claw, he cleared his throat and shrugged his apology. No need to get into any more trouble than he already was.

"…and besides," he continued, looking his father in the eye, "I was the one who went against the Foot Clan. I…I should never have helped them escape…"

That was when Tiger Claw remembered, and his brows furrowed. Leonardo had indeed aided the other turtles, the younger brothers that he had claimed to despise with a passion. But the question was why did he do it if he hated them so? Could it be that they had revealed the truth to him somehow? Or maybe he had finally gotten over his hatred? No, no such thing; hatred was a powerful thing, and he knew as such more than anybody. Well, Shredder was also a very fine example of how hatred and vengeance could conquer an unfortunate individual. There had to be a different reason behind Leonardo's actions that night.

Well, the only way to find out would be to ask, now wouldn't it? But he would leave out a certain even that had occurred shortly after that night. He presumed now was not the time to tell the boy that the brothers he had risked his own hide to save had almost been eradicated by the Shredder himself. The thought of how close the man had been to killing him still unsettled him.

Nodding to himself, Tiger Claw turned back to his injured son, who was now looking down at his hands guiltily. Squeezing his shoulder slightly as a sign of reassurance, Tiger Claw reached out and gently tilted Leo's chin up with the tip of his claw, so that their eyes were meeting once again. "Leonardo," he began, choosing his next words carefully, "I do not condemn you for your actions…but I am confused. Tell me, my son, what drove you to help them escape?"

Lowering his eyes to the floor again, Leo bit his lip. Should he tell him? Lying was going to get him nothing but a very dented head, and he was already banged up enough as it was. With a sigh, he looked back up at the tiger mutant, who sat waiting for his answer. "…I…I remembered what you said to me before I left," he confessed, playing with the wrappings on his wrists absently. "You told me that anger is self-destructive…and at that moment when I had Raphael, I just…I couldn't do it. Not because I care about them, but I realized…I was being driven by my anger. And that made me do things I regret. I let Xever involve an innocent man. And I forgot about mercy. I'm just…"

Then he let out a frustrated growl as he buried his face in his hands. "I'm just so confused, Sensei!" he cried. "I don't get it! Why can't I do it?!" he let out a long sigh and simply let himself fall backwards again, landing on his pillow with his hands still covering his face, mumbling incoherently to himself.

All the while, Tiger Claw simply watched him, stroking his chin as he hummed to himself in thought. It was good that Leonardo had heeded his words, but he was still not quite there yet. He was recovering (emotionally as well as physically), but he still had a very long way to go before he could ever accept them as his family again. Tiger Claw knew that he had to help him somehow, but how would he do that with the Shredder seemingly watching their every move?

The first thing he would need to do was to get Leo away from all this madness, if only for a little while. The boy needed some time to clear his tangled web of thoughts, outside the walls of Shredders' lair and away from prying eyes. Perhaps he could suggest a training session out in the city? He smiled softly to himself at the thought. Maybe that could work; Leo had yet to properly see the city for himself, and on top of that, it had been a long time since he and his cub had actually spent some together.

Plus, he knew how much his son loved to train, ever since he was but a toddler.

With his decision in mind, he looked back down to Leonardo, who still had his hands covering his face. "My son," he said, gaining the turtles' attention at last as he peeked through his large fingers, making the tiger chuckle. "Are you able to move properly?" he asked.

Quirking an eye ridge curiously at the question, Leo removed his hands from his face as he sat up again, flexing his shoulders experimentally before slowly and steadily climbing to his feet. Once he was sure he wouldn't fall over, he nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay, I guess," he shrugged. "Just a little stiff. Why?"

Smiling again, Tiger Claw stood up as well, placing a paw on his cubs' shoulder. "I believe it is about time that we got away from all of this folly. So I have decided; we are going on a training exercise in the city," he announced, "just the two of us. And don't worry; Shredder will never know about it."

Leo blinked in surprise, staring up at his father. Then he bit down on his lip and turned away to hide the smile that was trying to make itself known on his face at the concept of training. Jeez, that tiger knew him far too well.

Tiger Claw only shook his head and chuckled again at the reaction.

It looks like he hit the nail on the head this time.

"Having a hard time keeping up, boy?!" the over-sized tiger taunted over his shoulder as the two mutants ran and leapt from building to building deep within the city, with the big cat well in the lead. He could hear Leonardo panting heavily behind him, and a part of Tiger Claw feared that maybe he was going too fast for him, for he was still injured from his 'punishment' a few days ago. But that was until the young turtle performed a perfect somersault over a water tower, landing perfectly on his feet before sprinting after him again, and Tiger Claw simply smiled; that little show-off. Though there was no way the boy was going to catch him with all of those showy tricks.

That wasn't exactly how 'Ninja Tag' worked.

Still a little farther behind his Sensei, Leo launched himself off of a fire escape as he continued the chase, his blue scarf and mask tails trailing behind him as he ran. "S-Shut up! You were the one who kicked the crap out of me! Excuse me if a little slow!" Leo snapped breathlessly, though he was grinning from ear to ear. The two of them hadn't been able to spend some real time together ever since they came to this city, and it felt great. It was just the two of them, running across the rooftops, just having fun. The only thing that could make this even more perfect was if Karai was out here to enjoy this with them, but she was busy handling the two 'new' additions to the Foot Clan, both involving a giant mutant Dog, and fish out of water…how that had happened, he had yet to find out for himself.

Also, this would be so much better if he could actually catch that cat! There was no way he was going to let him taunt him over the fact that turtles were slow; that was a hurtful stereotype!

"You would do well to watch your tongue, child!" Tiger Claw mocked once more, and his smile broadened once he heard that he'd even brought out a laugh from his son. His plan was actually working, and better than he had originally thought it would. Well, he couldn't make it too easy for him to win, now could he? It was a 'training exercise' after all. So it was just before Leo was only inches away from grabbing him after a surprising burst of speed, Tiger Claw activated his jet-pack and flew into the air, hovering high above the flustered turtle. He couldn't restrain the laugh that burst out from him when he heard Leo's cry of utter outrage, and he folded his arms smugly over his chest as he watched the cub gawk up at him.

"HEY! You can't do that! That's cheating!" Leo barked, though he was nearly doubled over with his own laughter. "Get back down here!"

Smirking, Tiger Claw shrugged nonchalantly, clearly still enjoying himself very much. "Very well," he replied simply, and without warning, he dived back down towards Leo, whose jaw dropped comically as his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates before he was tackled to the ground by the larger tiger. The two rolled across the rooftop before coming to a stop with Tiger Claw pinning Leo down with one giant paw on his chest. "Ha! Now I have you, reptile!" he declared, grinning from ear to ear as the defenseless turtle dissolved into a fit of helpless laughter, his struggles to free himself from the cats' grip failing miserably.

This was exactly what they both needed right now, and they were loving every minute of it.

"Okay! O-Okay, okay! I give, I give, I give!" Leo pleaded, weakened from his laughter to stand up even as his Sensei released him. Even though it hurt his injuries a little when he had rammed straight into him, Leo could care less about them; this was just about him and his father. Nothing else mattered right now.

Except for one little thing…

After taking in a few breaths to calm himself down, Leo looked up at Tiger Claw with a devilish gleam in his eye. "…by the way, Sensei," he grinned, lifting up a hand and prodding the cats' nose once, smirking as it twitched slightly as the cat went crossed-eyed. "Tag. Your. It!" And then he rolled to his feet and bolted as fast as he could over the edge of the roof. He could hear Tiger Claw laughing behind him as the chase ensued once again, but this time, Leo had gotten the head start.

Darting over the rooftops and dashing through the shadows, a sudden and very cheeky thought came to the hyped up turtle. This was 'Ninja Tag' for a reason, so why not put his stealth skills to some good use? With a wide grin, Leo dove off the roof and down into an alleyway, rolling along the ground as soon as his feet touched the concrete, and after making sure Tiger Claw hadn't seen him, he quickly climbed into a dumpster, shutting the lid closed as soon as he was inside (though it seriously stunk in there). Despite the fact that he was grinning so hard that it hurt, Leo forced himself to calm his breathing and keep his laughter down. He heard the sound of something large landing just in front of the dumpster. The sounds of sniffing were heard, before heavy footsteps trailed away, moving farther away from the alley way.

Once silence resumed, Leo peeked out from underneath the dumpster lid, his eyes moving left to right in search for the mutant tiger, and was elated when he found no trace of him. "Yes!" he silently cheered as he climbed back out of the dumpster, securing his scarf a little tighter around his neck and striking a heroic pose. "Turtle scores one, Tiger scores zero!"

A dark shadow zoomed overhead.

Leo froze in place. What was that? A bird or helicopter perhaps?

He looked up, and to his surprise, he found several small, pod-like crafts flying across the rooftops directly above him. His eyes widened, and he quirked a confused brow. What were those things? Where they those weird toys that humans played with remote controls?

No, they were a bit too big and far too advanced in appearance to be mere toys. They were something else entirely.

Curiosity took over the young turtle as he adjusted his scarf so that his mouth and nose where covered, and then he proceeded to quickly but quietly climb up the fire escape. Once he reached the top of the building, he spotted the strange floating pods traveling fast towards an abandoned warehouse nearby. Flipping himself gracefully onto the rooftop, he quickly followed after them, ducking behind air vents and water towers to prevent being spotted by whatever those things were as he tracked them. Only the whites of his eyes were visible as he perched on the edge of the building closest to the warehouse. The pods (or whatever the things inside of them were supposed to be) showed no signs of knowing he was there, and soon lowered themselves down into a sliding trap door situated at the top of the building.

Leo watched them with narrowed eyes. What were those things exactly? They didn't appear to be man-made, and it was clear that they had nothing to do with the Foot Clan. Perhaps the only way to find out was to sneak inside, and find out for himself what was going on. He prepared himself to jump, but then another thought hit him as he stalled, his eyes widening ever so slightly. He quickly cast a glance behind him, over to the brightly lit city beyond. What about Tiger Claw? He must be getting very worried by now.

Maybe he should go back and tell him about this first before moving in…but if he left now, those things might not be there when he retraced his steps later on.

Now Leo found himself at a crossroad. It was either go back to Tiger Claw now, or find out what those things were and what they were up to in an abandoned warehouse. With the hardware they had, they could probably more of a threat than even the NYPD could take down. In fact, those things could be a danger to the whole city, and that was just by looking at their hovercrafts.

He could be over exaggerating, as Karai told him he often did, but even so, Leo couldn't risk that possibility. He had to, at the very least, find out whoever made those pods and find out what they were up to.

With his decision in mind, Leo nodded to himself once, casting a final glance at the city behind him. 'Sorry, Sensei,' he said in his thoughts, before turning back and leaping down towards the warehouse, landing with soundless poise on the roof. Already he could hear commotion inside there, the sound of machines whirring and metal clanking against metal, and that only further increased his curiosity. Looking left and right in case he was being watched, Leo then opened the trap door that the other pods had lowered themselves into, and he himself crept through it. Once he was inside, creeping along the wooden support beams overhead, he was greeted unpleasantly by dozens of glowing, electronic purple lights flashing all around him, and he had to blink several times until his sight adjusted to the sudden gleam. Once they did, he looked down at the activity below…

…and his eyes widened as the breath left his lungs.

"…holy crap," he muttered.

Below him, utterly ignorant to his presence as he watched them with wide blue orbs, was a mass of robotic, human-like creatures marching about the complex, some with weapons that appeared to be highly advanced guns, and others standing by large, white orbs that flashed with the same purple beams that surrounded them. Taking a closer look, Leo noticed that within the chests of every robot form, there was something small and pink resting inside...with disturbing green eyes and mouths filled with sharp fangs…

Wait a second…where those things supposed to be brains?

These creatures were alien brains?! In robot bodies?!

Without averting his eyes away from the strange aberrations below, Leo slapped a hand over his forehead as he shook it disbelievingly. This was nuts. This was completely insane. He had only heard of extra-terrestrial creatures from the stories Karai always told him when they were little, and he read about them in the books she and Tiger Claw used to bring for him. The idea of bloodcurdling beings from other worlds scared him back then, but they were only ever a fantasy, something that little boys and girls loved to read and talk about. This however, was by no means a fantasy.

What Leo was seeing was real.

"…this is freaking crazy," Leo breathed, looking back to the trap door from where he came in. "I…I've gotta get back to Tiger Claw. He has to see this!" Wasting no more time, Leo promptly crawled over the support beams, making sure that none of the aliens below noticed him from below as he backtracked towards the trap door, very much glad to be out in the open again as he slid the door shut behind him. He let himself drop into an alleyway close by the alien complex, and he rolled into the shadows, pressing himself against the brick wall. He needed to find his Sensei, but where on earth could he be? He must be looking for him right about now…and now Leo felt guilty.

He must be pretty worried about him by now. Maybe it was about time that they got a cellphone or something…

"It is one of the ones called The Turtles! Stop, one known as turtle!"

Eyes going wide with surprise, Leo whirled around on his heel at the sound of a cold monotone voice coming from behind him. Damn, he'd been spotted. So much for stealth. He instinctively reached back for his Katanas as he faced whoever had managed to spot him –

And Leo found himself unable to move from where he stood as soon as he laid eyes upon the cold, emotionless faces glaring down at him, their guns aimed with killing intent.

His heart thumped rapidly, pounding against his ribcage, yet he felt as though he couldn't breathe. His eyes widened, and his katana blades slipped through numbed fingers and clattered to the floor. The whole world seemed to come to an abrupt halt as he stared into the eyes of…of…

The black suits…the emotionless masks…their cold, lifeless voices…

No. It couldn't be...

They were the same monsters that had tried to kill him as a child. The same, horrifying creatures that had haunted his nightmares for years.

They were here.

Leonardo let out a shrill, horrified shriek as he lurched backwards, falling onto his shell as he desperately scooted away from the monsters, his breaths coming out in rapid, raggedy huffs of terror as they moved closer and closer to him. His shell then thumped against the wall at the corner of the alleyway, and Leo found himself helplessly cornered. They aimed their guns as they glowered down at his cowering form, and Leo dared not move or even speak, though his whole body was trembling violently. This couldn't be happening. This was all just some kind of horrible nightmare. He was positive that he was still unconscious back in Shredder's lair, and he would wake up from all of this with Tiger Claw by his side to ease his fears.

But it wasn't a nightmare. This was another cruel reality that he had been mercilessly thrown into. These creatures were here, and once again, they had him surrounded and at their mercy.

"Kraang, the one known as turtle is not one of the turtles that Kraang recognizes," one dressed in a black suit spoke to another, and then it turned his pale face towards Leo, and the turtle let out a cry as he flinched, covering his head with his quivering arms and squeezing his eyes shut as tears pricked behind them.

"…p-please…please…" he pleaded, though his voice was barely heard as it shook with fear. "…l-leave me alone…please!"

Ignoring his quiet begging, the aforementioned Kraang turned back to his comrade. "Yes, Kraang, I am knowledge of that," it replied, "however, this turtle shall prove to a perfect test subject for Kraang to do that which is known as testing. Kraang, we must be taking this turtle to the place that is known as the secret base that is secret to do that which is known as testing."

Leo's breath hitched, his dilated blue eyes snapping open once again as they darted back up to the husks that towered over him, one of them reaching out their cold claws out to grab him by the arm. Leo let out another cry, pressing himself as much as he could against the wall as the crooked hand drew closer, his shaking breaths came out in panicked gasps and his heart pounding faster.

Images suddenly flashed before his very eyes.

He was back in the woods of Japan as a child, trembling with fear as thick tears cascaded down his cheeks, the wound on his head till stinging painfully as blood trickled down the side of his face and mixed with his tears. The dark, terrifying creatures were looming over him, reaching out with their long, jagged claws to grab him, to take him away, to kill him. He was so scared. He wanted to go home, he wanted his brothers and his Sensei…but they were nowhere in sight. He was alone. He was defenseless –

Something suddenly clicked, and all the fear drained from Leonardo's face.

Twelve years ago, he was too young, too weak to save himself. If not for Tiger Claw, he would have died by these same creatures. Now, however, he was older. He was faster, smarter, and far stronger than ever before.

And he knew how to kill.

His eyes narrowed and his pupils dilated with rage, his hand snapped up and grabbed the outstretched wrist of the alien droid, nearly crushing it in his grip as he shot up to his feet. The droids looked at him in confusion, which then turned into whatever could be considered as shock as Leo twisted the wrist he gripped with a loud crack, and with a strong kick to the face, he sent the droid flying and crashing into a trashcan.

Snarling lowly in fury, Leo picked up both Katanas from where they lay on the ground, and he bore them at the creatures. Things were far different from when he was a child. He wasn't weak and helpless anymore. He wasn't about to let them take him, not now or ever. He could fight for himself now.

He could put an end to these creatures once and for all, and at last be free from his tortured nightmares.

With a loud, frenzied yell, he charged at the remaining two droids, slicing them both in half within mere seconds and watching as the two brain creatures skittered away in a tangle of tentacles and squeals of fear as they retreated back into the warehouse. Paying them no mind, Leo then spun on his heels as the one he had thrown into the trash leapt back up and attempted to shoot him with his outlandish laser gun, but the turtle dodged the shots with blinding speed, and before the robot could react, Leo's sword was through his throat, pinning him to the brick wall as the body sparked and became limp. The alien brain inside the body squirmed out and landed on the floor with a splat, but Leo's foot upon its tentacles prevented it from going anywhere.

The turtles' blue eyed gaze was a void of any emotion at all as he stared down at the snarling creature. He raised his sword, the tip of the weapon aimed for the center of its body. For the first time in years since he had made his first killing as a child, he felt nothing. "…see you in hell," he snarled, before plunging his sword into the Kraang, and the creature went still under his blade.

Despite himself, the turtle felt a sick satisfaction at that.

Just then, as Leo stood over the motionless body of the deceased Kraang, more robotic whirrs from the entrance of the warehouse caught his attention, and he looked up from the dead alien to find that there were more of them coming his way, having heard the chaos ensuing from outside. They had their weapons aimed at the ready. Leo merely scoffed coldly. More of these things?

Well, they were all about to feel the wrath of his blades.

With another enraged roar, Leo charged headlong into the fray, his swords slicing through every unfortunate droid that was stupid enough to cross his path. There wasn't a trace of Leonardo left in his eyes as he slaughtered the robots, picking them off one by one, feeling neither guilt nor shame as he ploughed through them mercilessly. He knew that this wasn't right, that he shouldn't let his anger blindly take control of him, but he couldn't care less. These things were the reason he had to suffer for so long. Now it was their turn to suffer.

But over time, as he continued to fight, he soon found that there were more of them coming his way. More than he could handle at this point, for he was quickly tiring out. The earlier adrenaline from his desperation to stay alive, his anger towards the nightmares of his past, was quickly wearing off. Worse still, the wounds he received were beginning to take their toll on him. Now, as he turned away from the remains of the robot he had finished off and saw that there were several more, his anger was replaced by fear once again. He was panting and sweating with exhaustion; he was too tired to fight anymore, but he had to keep going. He refused to die here, and not by the hands of these soulless demons.

Tiger Claw needed him, and so did Karai. He couldn't die and leave his family behind. Gritting his teeth, he raised his swords once again, preparing himself for another brawl.

Though deep down, he knew that he wouldn't make it to sunrise…

"BOOYAKASHAAAAA!"

Blinking in shock, Leo's brows furrowed. What the heck was that?

Seconds later, he got his answer as in a flurry of green and orange, two droids were taken down before they could even fire their guns. From where he stood surrounded by Kraang, Leo could only blink and stare in bewilderment at the speed of whoever took down those robots, before they landed right in front of him in a low crouch, their weapon spinning rapidly like wild, buzzing hornet in his grip as he glared at the mass of robots.

Then Leo's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and utter disbelief as he finally recognized the hard shelled, orange clad figure that was standing protectively before him.

What…it couldn't be…

"STAY AWAY FROM MY BIG BROTHER, KRAANG CREEPS!" Michelangelo bellowed.

A/N: *GASP* Could it be?!