A/N: Sorry this took forever, but I had a lot of things to deal with! And to Pen-Woman I STILL LOVE YOU DEAR! This chapter is an apology to you and all you lovely people out there!

I OWN NOTHING!

Enjoy!

Chapter 20

"It was a mistake," you said. But the cruel thing was, it felt like the mistake was mine for trusting you."

― David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary

"What do you want to know, Mikey?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Michelangelo bit his lip as he wracked his brain for questions. What should he ask Leonardo first? He had so many questions to ask him and so many things that he was desperate to find out about his oldest brother; it was going to very hard just to pick one. However, he used that he would be better off starting small first; jumping to questions such as 'who raised you' could trigger Leo to lose some of that trust, make him think that Mikey was trying to get information out him, when really it was just friendly conversation. With a nod, he looked back to Leo with an eager smile. "Do you like cats a lot?" he asked.

Leo blinked in surprise at the younger turtle sat before him. Was that really the first thing that came to mind? Well, it was better than going straight into his personal life. But even so, it was very…well, plain, unexpected…and admittedly, a little bit embarrassing as well. Of course he liked cats; his father was a cat. As a child, he'd come across his fair share of stray cats that came wandering into their part of the forest, and whenever he was around the smaller felines, he felt that he was rather at home with them. He never took one home to keep, however; he had a bigger, scarier and stronger cat already living with him, so he mused that one was enough.

To Mikey's surprise, Leo looked as if he were trying to hide as he shrugged. "…is it that obvious?" he said with a little wince, gesturing the cat in his lap.

Though he tried to restrain it, Mikey giggled. "It's okay, dude. Don't be ashamed to show you're love for animals!" he piped, reaching out to take the cat from Leo's lap as he nuzzled his nose into its fur, and it purred happily and licked the bridge of Mikey's nose in response. Mikey snickered at the cute gesture. "Animals are part of the wonders of this world that we live in bro, domesticated or wild…or at least, that's what I think. I mean, I love little kitties too! I've always wanted a cat but…" he shrugged, "Sensei's a rat and all, and cats and rats don't really mix, y'know?"

At that, Leo's somewhat bashful smile faded, and unbeknownst to Mikey, his expression darkened at the mention of the rodent. I can imagine, Leo thought as he looked off to the side again, casting a flattened gaze at the ground as he narrowed his eyes. Then he'd better think twice before ever meeting my Sensei.

"So what do you like to do for fun?" Mikey suddenly asked, catching Leo off guard again.

Bringing up a hand to rub the back of his neck, Leo bit his lip as he searched for a suitable answer. "…well…I like to train a lot, if that counts for something fun," he replied.

Quirking an eye ridge, Mikey tilted his head to the side. "…you think training is fun?" he asked. "Is that really all you do all day? Don't you play any video games? Skateboard? Can you cook? Do you watch T.V? Do they even have stuff like that in the Foot Clan?" Mikey refused that Leo didn't do anything besides training. There had to be other things besides work that he did for fun.

It was Leo's turn to look confused again as he stared at Mikey. What on earth was a Video Game? What did he mean by a Skateboard? Was that the kind of board used for chopping with your hand or something? He'd never heard of things like that before, not even from Karai or the old radio that he used to listen to. Cooking was not one of his specialties either, and he still had no idea what a T.V was, let alone what one looked like. It seemed that wherever he and his brothers lived in this strange city, they had been granted with far more freedoms and had seen things that Leonardo had never even heard of in his twelve years living in the forests of Japan. It made him quite envious. Don't get him wrong, he'd always loved the forest; it was a part of who he was and who he would always be, no matter what. But he couldn't help but wonder what it was like to have all those things that Mikey had mentioned…

Looking back to Mikey, he couldn't help but bite his lip again. "…I actually don't know what a T.V is…or a skateboard," he confessed, inwardly dreading Mikey's reaction. A silence hovered over the heads of the two mutant turtles and their cat friend as Mikey stared at Leo with wide baby blue eyes. Leo began to shift awkwardly where he sat, adjusting his scarf around his neck.

Then the silence was shattered to a thousand tiny fragments as Mikey suddenly leaned in very close to Leo's face. "WHAT?! Dude, you don't know what a T.V is?!" he cried, making the cat in his lap yowl in surprise.

Leo's eyes flew wide open as he leaned as far back from the suddenly flabbergasted younger turtle as he could, but his shell against the tree trunk behind him prevented him from going any further as their noses nearly touched. What was his problem? Was a T.V really that big of a deal? "…um, n-no, I don't," he stammered awkwardly, felling increasingly uncomfortable with the closeness of Mikey's face to his own. The urge to punch him away from him was steadily rising.

As if sensing Leonardo's discomposure, Mikey immediately drew away from him and sat back on his haunches again. "Oops, sorry Leo. My bad," he said as he composed himself again, stroking the cat he held in an attempt to soothe it after his little outburst. He should have known better than to freak out like that over something he, Raph and Donnie would find rather trivial. He'd forgotten that Leo wasn't like his two older brothers; he was raised in a less loving environment than they had, and maybe he wasn't used to this kind of behavior. The last thing Mikey wanted to do was to scare Leo off or make him feel as if he were being accused of a terrible crime (though not having a T.V was a serious issue that he made a mental note of to deal with later). So he decided to drift off that particular subject as he smiled at him again. "So, do you do anything else besides training?" he asked again, calmer this time.

Feeling confident that Mikey wasn't about to explode like that again, Leo sat up straight as he gave Mikey a little shrug. "…well…does Ninja Tag count?" he asked.

At that, Mikey gasped and beamed in excitement. "Ninja Tag? That was one of our favorite games when we were kids, dude!" he said. "Do you remember when we used to play out in the front garden and –"

Mikey stopped short as his smile vanished. Oh crud, he'd done it again. Bringing up their few years of childhood together would only stir up those old, unwanted feelings that Leo had felt after…

To Mikey's surprise, Leo nodded as he looked down at his lap. "…I remember," he said, smiling only a little as he reminisced. "You were always the fastest. I don't remember ever actually catching you, though."

Mikey let out a quiet sigh of relief. Maybe not all of Leo's memories were bad after all. "Yeah, dude! I was always the fastest ninja!" he boasted. And then another thought came to him as he stroked the cat and nuzzled it once more with his cheek before setting it back on the grass, the two turtles watching as it mewed at them a final time before turning and scampering back into the bushes. Once the feline had disappeared, Mikey turned back to Leo. "…do you…do you wanna play a game of Ninja Tag, Leo?" he asked, the earlier bravado reduced to a quiet, unsure tone as he twiddled his fingers together.

Leo regarded Mikey silently for a moment, a little surprised by the invitation. He wanted to play a game with him? Well…he'd played Ninja Tag before of course, both with his father and Karai. It was often used as a training exercise for endurance and tractability, but was also often an excuse for them just to play around. However, it was getting rather late now. And he was sure that Tiger Claw and Karai were going to start getting suspicious if he stayed away for too long.

But as he noticed how Mikey's eyes had widened a little, his baby blue eyes now pleading as he looked up at him, Leo felt a very vicious tug at his heartstrings as he narrowed his eyes and let out a little moan. This little bugger was playing him like a trombone, wrapping him around his little finger. And despite knowing all of that, Leo knew he wouldn't be able to refuse him now. Perhaps…maybe one game couldn't hurt. Just for old times' sake.

After letting out a little breath through his nose as he rolled his eyes, Leo turned back to Mikey. And for the first time that night, Leo actually grinned at him as he held up his hand and poked Mikey on the nose once.

"You're it."

The beam that stretched across Mikey's freckled features couldn't be matched.

She was mad.

No, she was very mad.

And as she leapt from building to building, getting closer to Central Park as she trailed after the mutant turtle, she swore she was going to hurt him once she got her hands on him. How could he lie to her? What did he have to hide that he couldn't trust her, his best and only friend for six years, to keep a secret? And better yet, why couldn't he tell Tiger Claw about it? He was his father, and the two of them were far closer than she and her father ever were.

Karai's skidded to a stop just at the edge of a building, catching her breath as the wheels began to turn in her head. She hummed to herself as she put a finger to her chin in thought. What if he was seeing someone in secret? A girl, perhaps? No, that couldn't be it. Leo was adorable and all, she could admit that much, and he had a very likeable personality. But to someone who hadn't gotten to know him like she had, there was no way he could get a girlfriend. It was rather harsh to admit, yes, but it was the cruel, bitter truth of this world.

So, he wasn't seeing a girl; scratch that off the list. What else could Leo possibly be doing in Central Park? She prayed that he wasn't going out there to buy drugs or something like that. Though if he was, Tiger Claw would be able to smell it the moment he walked into the lair –

"I swear, I'm gonna kick his ass when I get my hands on him!"

"Raph! Keep your voice down, meathead!"

Her eyes widened as a pair of gruff and equally ticked off voices from a few buildings away caught her attention. She spun around on her heel to find that there were two, large, moving figures in the distance. Two moving figures, she noticed, that were green. Eyes narrowing now in curiosity that would make any cat proud, she crouched down low on the rooftop she'd landed on to avoid being spotted as she watched the strange pair run across the rooftops, both of them bickering with one another as they came to a grinding halt three buildings away. One was taller and thinner-looking than the other, wearing a purple mask and Bo staff that was sheathed in a strap behind his shell. The other had green eyes that nearly glowed in the darkness as he glared up hotly at the taller one, his two Sai sheathed in the belt around his waist.

So, these were Leonardo's blood brothers then. She could clearly see the family resemblance...

Wait a minute, weren't there supposed to be three of them? Where was the other one?

Straining her ears, she listened closely to what they were saying.

"Would you shut up already! It's bad enough that he lied to us, I don't need you throwing another temper tantrum and alerting everyone within a mile radius that we're here!" the tall one barked, prodding the short one in the chest with an accusing finger.

Shorty slapped his finger away with a low growl. "You shut up! You're the one who let him run right by you! Now he's probably getting himself trashed in Central Park by Leonardo!"

Karai's eyes widened again at the mention of Leonardo. Who was getting trashed? Were they talking about the missing third one?

Wait a minute…was that why Leo had left in such a hurry?

"…let's just get going already! We save Mikey first, and then you get to beat him up," said the taller one as he set off again, with shorty not too far behind as he grumbled under his breath.

Once they were far enough away, Karai stood up straight and stared after them, confusion clouding her features. Leonardo was at Central Park with one of his brothers? What did that mean? Did Leo capture one of them somehow, and was now using them as bait to lure the other two into a trap? No, that wasn't how Leo worked; kidnapping and baiting was Xever's department, and unless Leo had finally lost it, then there was no way he would stoop so low.

So what was he doing?

"Hmm. This is getting pretty interesting," she grinned to herself behind her black mask. It was about time that something exciting happened in this town. So it was without further hesitation that she leapt off the building in pursuit of the other turtles, determined to finally get to the bottom of this. However, unbeknownst to all three of them, something lurked in the shadows of an alleyway, watching them with glowing, bloodthirsty beige eyes as a low growl rumbled within his chest.

It was their fault he was like this. It was their fault that he was now a giant, disgusting freak of nature. And it was because of them that he hadn't slept or eaten in days, all because they kept interfering with his hunts. Well, now it was their turn to be hunted.

As they made another leap in the air, the pair of antennae atop his head fired three, yellow balls in their direction, and after sailing through the air, they latched onto their shells and armour. They didn't notice as they continued on their way. The creature grinned maliciously.

"I'm coming for you, turtles," he sneered, "You hear me? I'm coming for you!"

"BOOYAKASHAAA!" Mikey hollered with glee as he darted through the bushes and trees of Central Park, his chaser not too far behind him despite how fast he was moving. Casting a glance behind him, Mikey stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at the older turtle in a taunting gesture. "Can't catch me, Leo!" he mocked in a singsong voice.

Behind the younger turtle, Leo grinned in response to Mikey's taunt as he swung from a lamppost and ran along the branches of the surrounding trees as he pursued him. "We'll see about that, Michelangelo!" Leo shot back, glaring at Mikey with playfully murderous intent.

The two of them had been at this game for more than an hour since Leo had initiated it. To his disbelief, after he had darted off into the park, Mikey had been able to catch up to him within minutes and tag him, which thereafter Leo was forced to chase after the faster ninja as he practically danced away from him. Though he was quickly getting tired, Leo was determined to catch that little rat if it was the last thing he did!

And it was then that Leo realized he was having fun. He was actually playing a game with one of his 'supposed' enemies, and he was enjoying himself.

It reminded him of how they had always used to play together back when they were younger, all those years ago. He remembered how Raphael was always the slower one, always getting tagged first and always getting mad when they laughed at him. Donatello, always the smart one, somehow managed to set a trap for them, catching them off guard by pouncing from behind something at the last second. Michelangelo, being the most mischievous little monkey, was always the faster one, and it would take all three of them to catch him in the end. And Leonardo…well, he was the one to hide from them until they spotted him, which was when he would run as fast as he could until he was eventually caught. How could he have forgotten such fun times? After all the hatred that had gathered like storm clouds in his heart, they had managed to block out the lighter memories of their times together…but then again, how much of those memories were true?

He shook himself out of those thoughts as he brought himself back to the present. For now, Leo could forget all of that. Right now, he had a turtle to catch. And he knew exactly how to catch his prey.

Grinning like a maniac, Leo leapt up into the treetops, keeping still and waiting for Mikey to notice his absence. Seconds later, Mikey turned around to find that Leo was no longer chasing him, and he skidded to a stop as he glanced around him. He scratched the top of his head in confusion, and Leo had to bite back a laugh at his befuddled expression. "…uh…Leo?" he called. "Where'd you go, man?"

Only the whites of Leo's eyes were visible as he slowly crawled across the branch on all fours, his movements slow, light and precise like that of a wild cat stalking his next meal (which he had learned from the very best of course). He released a practiced, low growl from his throat, watching with undisguised glee as Mikey suddenly froze in place, his eyes going wide as dinner plates as he slowly turned around. "…Leo?" he squeaked fearfully.

Without warning, Leo suddenly pounced from the shadows, leaves bursting everywhere in his wake as he fell upon the shrieking younger turtle, and the two tumbled to the grass in a tangle of limbs. As Mikey tried to get back on his feet, Leo grabbed him and pinned him to the floor, tapping him hard on the nose. "TAG! You're it!" Leo proclaimed at last. And before he knew what was happening, the two of them had collapsed beside each other as they began to laugh hysterically, clutching their stomachs in pain.

As they lay there side by side in the grass beneath the moon in the gardens of Central Park, Leo felt no regrets upon his decision to meet with Michelangelo. This was what he'd needed all along after all.

As the laughter finally subsided, Mikey turned his head from where he lay sprawled out on his back to face Leo, and he grinned. "That was…really fun, huh?" he sighed.

Leo nodded. "…yeah. It actually was," he huffed as he regained his breath, turning so that his eyes met Mikey's as he smiled back. "…thank you, Mikey."

Rolling onto his stomach, Mikey propped his chin in his hands as he looked down at Leo, his grin growing ever wider. "No problem, dude. That's what I do!" he snickered. This was amazing. This was everything that Mikey had ever dreamed of, and so much more. After so many years, he was finally playing with his big brother again, just as they had done when they were younger. Perhaps he'd succeeded in finally getting Leo to fully trust him? Well, he had to trust him now after an hour of playing Ninja Tag. And better yet, he'd even made Leo laugh. That, in Mikey's book, counted as a sign of deep trust. Maybe now he could ask him if he wanted to…

"So…" Mikey began after a moment of content silence between the two of them, "do you think that, maybe…I dunno…" he trailed off as he looked away.

Quirking a brow, Leo rolled off the grass to sit upright as he regarded Mikey. "What? What is it?" he asked.

Mikey bit down on his lip and worried it as his baby blue orbs darted down to his grass stained lap. Should he ask him now? Would it really be right to ask if he could come with him back to the lair now? Leo had said so himself that he had some personal ties to someone in the Foot Clan, so he couldn't just leave them for good, whoever they were. But still, it wouldn't hurt to just visit for a little while…and maybe have Splinter tell him the truth. His insides were twisting with dread, but it was now or never. He was running out of time before dawn came, or worse, before Donnie and Raph decided to go looking for him. He drew in a deep breath and decided to go for it.

"Leo," he began again, bolder this time as he started to reach out to him. "Do you wanna –"

"MICHELANGELO!"

Both turtles were startled out of their shells as they shot to their feet. Leo's former content had vanished completely, replaced now with dangerously narrowed eyes and a sneer as he reached back for his Katanas, his eyes darting around the garden darkly for the source of the voice. Mikey had noticed this sudden change in his older brother, and he felt his heart sink into the pit of his chest as his shoulders slumped dejectedly. He'd lost him again…

Suddenly, two furious figures landed in front of the pair from the treetops, and Mikey's jaw dropped to the floor as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets with fear. "Oh no…" he whimpered.

Practically radiating with rage, Raphael marched right over to Mikey and shoved him away from Leo as he glared the older turtle down. "You stay back, and don't move an inch! I'm warning you!" he yelled in warning, pointing the tip of his unsheathed Sai at Leo as he stood between him and his younger brother.

Leo remained unfazed by Raphael's threat, but the way he looked at Michelangelo standing behind him was as if he'd just been slapped in the face. Then, that look of shock quickly turned into an ugly snarl as he glared at the youngest terrapin.

That little liar…

With Raph keeping Leonardo at bay for the time being, Donatello quickly approached Mikey and grabbed him by the shoulders as he roughly spun Mikey around to face him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he screeched. "How could you do this to us?! How could you just lie to us like –"

"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" Mikey cried as he ripped himself out of Donnie's grip and shoved Raph out of the way, glaring both of them down like never before. "How did you even find – w-who told you –?!"

Before Mikey could finish his sentence, Donnie whipped out his T-Phone in a single fluid movement and held it out so that Mikey could see the orange blinking light on the screen hovering over Central Park. "We can track you, remember?" Donnie deadpanned with a deep scowl. Beside him, Raph folded his arms and narrowed his green eyes, keeping them glued on Leonardo at all times.

The colour seemed to visibly drain from Mikey's face as he let out a sharp gasp. He'd completely forgotten about the T-Phone's built-in tracking system. And Splinter had told him to keep it on at all times in case he ever got into trouble…

Mikey quickly turned back to Leonardo, who was now glaring stormily at him with his arms folded over his chest and his ocean blue eyes narrowed into slits. Mikey felt as if he were staring it his very soul and a shiver ran down his spine at Leo's next words.

"…what happened to 'coming alone', Michelangelo?" he hissed slowly.

His eyes darting back and forth between his three brothers, Mikey began to panic as he held up his hands. "L-Leo, listen, it's not what it looks like!" he stammered as he reached out and took Leo by the shoulders, hoping beyond hope that he could make this right again. "I was, I mean –"

"You had a tracker on you all this time?!" Leo barked loudly as he roughly shoved Mikey away from him, not noticing how Raph's shoulders tensed as he looked as if he were ready to charge him. "You led them right to me?! All this time, you were just distracting me so that they would have time to get here?!"

His eyes stinging with the beginnings of tears, Mikey shook his head rapidly. "No, no, no! That's not it, I swear it, Leo!" he pleaded, his wavering voice cracking at the edges. "You have to trust me –"

Another growl rumbled from Leo's throat, stopping Mikey in his tracks as he slowly lifted his hand to the hilt of his katana. "…I did trust you," he spat, his grip tightening on the hilt as he drew the sword from its sheath. Leo had been played like a fool this entire time. That night on the rooftop, the promises they had made, this entire night, had all been just another one of their lies, a simple hoax to get him to drop his guard and make him feel safe before they delivered the final blow.

Leo had been wrong. He really couldn't trust anyone out here…not anymore.

The moment Leo's sword was drawn, Raphael wasted no more time as he bolted straight for him, his Sais bared. Shoving Mikey out of the way and onto the grass again, metal clashed against metal as Leo and Raph clashed once again, their strikes as swift and as violent as ever as steel sang through the air. "You keep away from him!" Raph snarled as he spun on his heel and delivered a kick into Leo's chest, sending the other turtle stumbling backwards a few feet. "If you think you can lure my brother into another one of your little traps, you've got another thing coming!"

Wiping a smear of blood off his lip, Leo merely scoffed as he readied himself to charge Raph again, when he stopped short as his eyes widened a fraction. As a light gust of wind began to pick up, something yellow and powdered seemed to blow off from the back of Raph's shell, though he himself was oblivious to it. And as Leo glanced over at Donatello, who had his Bo staff clenched at his side, the same dusty substance was blowing off of him as well.

Leo raised a brow. "…what the hell is that?"

Raph blinked once in confusion. "Huh?!" he yapped, craning his head so that he could look at his carapace. His eyes widened as he noticed the yellow powder. He shared a glance with Donnie, who had also noticed the same powder on himself as well.

"…strange," Donnie muttered almost to himself. "It looks almost like pollen…wait, pollen?!" he cried.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them seemed to tremble as a series of loud, thundering footsteps echoed through the air. Startled and confused, the four turtles spun around to find that a colossal green, plant-like creature was now looming over them as it emerged from the shadows of the trees, its exposed heart beating repulsively as its large, yellow eyes glared down at them as it released a low hiss from its crooked fangs. Eyes wide and mouth agape, Leo gazed up in a mixture of shock and utter disgust at the misshapen monster standing before them, and he took a cautious step backwards. Another mutant? This time a Weed Monster? Just how many mutants were there in this city?

"I've found you, turtles!" the creature snarled, snapping its flytrap claws at the terrapins as it took another murderous step towards them.

Donnie gulped. "Oh my goodness…" he whined.

Raph scowled. "Great. Snakeweed. Just what we needed. Well, this night just keeps getting better and better," he droned. Snakeweed let out a high-pitched screech as he swung his vine-like appendage down upon the turtles, and the four of them leapt out of the way in time to avoid being squashed.

However, as Raph, Donnie and Mikey took out their weapons and began to face off the weed monster, Leo flipped back into the bushes on the side-lines, watching the fight commence from a distance with narrowed blue eyes. He had no intention of going back out there to fight that thing. Not because he was afraid of that thing course; he'd seen far worse in his lifetime, he was sure of that. But simply because they didn't deserve his help to fight such a foe. Why should he risk his life yet again to save them, when they were the ones who had lured him into their little trap in the first place?

No. Not this time. He wasn't going to be fooled by their lies or give in to pity yet again –

A hand from behind suddenly slapped over his mouth, muffling his cry of surprise as he was dragged backwards and deeper into the bushes. He was about ready to knock his attacker senseless, but then as he was turned around to face them, his heart skipped a beat upon finding himself face to face with a very, very angry Karai.

Her amber eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as she narrowed them darkly, and she dropped her hand from his mouth as she removed the black mask from her face. "Hey there, Leonardo," she said, her tone reflecting her expression perfectly.

Leo swallowed nervously as she continued to glare at him. Crap, she must have figured out his lie and decided to follow him here. How long had she been watching him? Better yet, since she'd just used his full name like that, how hurt was he going to be later on now that she'd figured it out? Rolling his eyes and sighing heavily as the start of a headache was making itself known, he shook his head. "We'll talk about it later," he said, standing up from out of the bush she had dragged him into, "Right now, we need to leave…" he then gestured his thumb to the giant weed creature fighting off the other three turtles.

Raising a brow, Karai turned in the direction of his thumb, and her scowl turned into a look of surprise at the sight of the new creature attacking the younger mutant turtles. "…whoa," she said. "This place really is crazy."

Leo said nothing in response other than letting out a little grunt of agreement as he reached out and gave her a little push on her back, nudging her away from the battlefield. The turtles were quickly losing that battle anyways, and they wouldn't last much longer against the thing they called Snakeweed...

But just before they disappeared into the trees beyond, Leo's eyes met Mikey's one last time as he fended off a living plant tentacle that was attempting to smash him into the ground. His baby blue orbs were wide and pleading as he stared at him, as if he was silently begging for Leo to stay, to help them…to forgive him. "Leo!" he called out desperately, watching as his Donnie and Raph became entangled by Snakeweeds' vines, and he remained helpless to stop it himself. "Leo, please! HELP!"

Leo stopped in his tracks, his eyes remaining cold and distant as he watched his brothers fight for their lives…but even so, his left hand clenched into a tight shaking fist as a battle of wills stormed inside of him. And then that same stinging, dulling pain from his temples began to pulse through his brain once again as he squeezed his eyes shut and let out a pained groan. Why this again? Why, after telling himself so many times that he was through with them, did this pain have to come back? What did any of this even mean? What was it trying to tell him? To flee? To kill?

…to help?

"You know when I'm telling the truth, Leo. And besides…why would I have any reason to lie to you?"

Mikey's words echoed through the throbbing pain, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it. And despite his efforts, he once again found himself clinging onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance that he could still…

"Leo?" Karai probed, taking his shoulder and shaking it slightly, snapping the blue clad turtle from his reverie. "Leo, snap out of it, we gotta go!" she urged.

Finally, with a frustrated sigh, Leo snapped his eyes open. "Damn it all," he cursed under his breath as he flicked his wrist and slipped out the short blade hidden within the bandages around his wrist, and he threw it. It sailed neatly through the air, and imbedded into the tree merely inches from Mikey's head. Mikey glanced at the new blade, and his eyes widened ever so slightly as he shot Leo another surprised gaze.

Leo dipped his head once in the barest of nods. "Sayonara," he said. And without another word, he and Karai vanished from the park.

Mikey stared after his retreating form sadly for only a moment, before his expression turned into one of steeled resolve as he quickly grabbed the spare blade. With it, he managed to slice himself free from Snakeweeds' coils, purple slime splashing everywhere as the creature screeched in pain. Only the whites of his eyes were visible as with blinding speed that the plant mutant couldn't track, he zigzagged his way to his older brothers, cutting them loose as they fell to the grass again in a heap. Raph looked up from where he was sprawled on top of Donnie, his face caked in mud and grass. "Oh, are you actually on our team again, now?" he scowled up at Mikey.

Mikey only rolled his eyes as he helped the two of them on their feet again. "A time and a place, dude," he muttered.

Snakeweed let out an enraged roar as he snapped his jaws at them. "You're not getting away from me!" he snarled as he bounded for them once again.

Donnie let out a yelp. "Nope! Guys, we're outta here!" he cried, searching desperately through his belt for a smoke bomb.

Raph turned on him with a growl. "What?! We're running away?!" he yapped.

With his smoke bomb now in hand, Donnie gave him a flat look. "We came here for Mikey and we've got him, and unlike you, I don't quite fancy being plant food, thank you very much!" he deadpanned, and before Raph could protest ant further, he slammed the smoke bomb on the ground as it exploded into a thick, purple cloud. The explosion caught the savage mutant off guard as he let out a cry, blinded for only a moment. Once his vision cleared, the three turtles were nowhere in sight.

An infuriated roar echoed through the park from the weed monster.

The two of them took their time as they walked side by side back to Shredder's lair. An unnerving silence hovered over the heads of the pair of teenagers as the hue of the sky in the distance turned from black to pink as the sun was slowly making itself known once more. Leo felt the need to fidget as he adjusted the scarf around his neck, feeling the soft fabric as he rubbed his thumb across it. He shifted his gaze from the gravel of the roof over to Karai, who had her arms folded over her chest as she stared straight ahead of her, not sparing the turtle a single glance as they walked on. He let out a quiet breath through his nose. She was mad. Of course she was mad. He'd lied to her face about something so important…and of course Leo felt bad about it. He felt very stupid for lying to her instead of trusting her to keep it a secret, and he felt even stupider for not realizing that Michelangelo was playing him right into a trap.

Did she hate him now? Was she ever going to speak to him again? Or worse…was she going to tell Tiger Claw or even Shredder about this? He knew the consequences would be dire.

Karai suddenly drew to a halt near the edge of the rooftop, and Leo stopped as well as he looked at her with a questioning gaze. Neither of them said anything for several moments, before their eyes finally met. There was no longer any anger or frustration in her amber orbs; instead there was…something akin to hurt? "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked bluntly, her voice harder than her expression.

It was rare to see Karai looking like this; she was pretty guarded after spending so long in the Foot Clan, even around Leo most of the time. So, seeing the hurt in her eyes in that moment made Leo feel something close to physical pain, so much so that he had to turn his gaze elsewhere. "...I don't know…" he sighed, rubbing his left arm shamefully. "I thought that…I mean…"

"Leo," Karai interjected, making Leo finally look up at her. "I understand if you wanted to see them. Really, I do. They're your family…" Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and her eyes became downcast as she deterred them from the younger turtle. She couldn't believe she was acting so weak in front of him like this. She understood it, she really did. But even so…it still stung her, more than she cared to – or wanted to – admit. "…they're your real family. And we both know that family has always been a part of us, right? And that's never gonna change, no matter who they are. But…but you could have a least trusted me to –"

She was abruptly cut off as Leo suddenly rushed towards her, his strong arms wrapping around her shoulders as he pulled her into a tight embrace. She stood frozen to the spot as his grip tightened ever so slightly, before she finally snapped out of her trance and returned the hug as her arms came around his waist.

"Karai, I'm so sorry," Leo said, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder. "I was wrong to trust them. I never wanted to lie to you, or make you feel like I couldn't trust you. I was…I was just scared of what you would say or what you would think. I've always trusted you, no matter what. And I'm sorry that I put my trust with you in jeopardy. But listen to me when I tell you this…" He slowly drew away so that he could look into her eyes, and he brought a hand to rest against her left cheek. "I love you like you were my own sister, Karai. And you are just as much a part of my family than they will ever be," he said firmly. "They can never replace you, or Tiger Claw. Ever. Understand?"

Karai's eyes widened as she stared at him, the words dying in her throat as her mouth seemed to go dry. Of course she had always known that he loved her; it was a clear, unspoken truth between the two of them. She loved him just as much, but they never really tended to say it out loud in fear of looking too mushy. But to hear it coming from his mouth now, with such warmth and certainty…it would have undone her, if not for the strength she had gathered over the years of living with the Shredder as her father.

Instead, she smiled at him, and then threw her arms around his neck as she hugged him close again. "…me too, goody three toes," she said softly, content in knowing that whatever came their way, her strong and faithful turtle brother would always be there to have her back. For that, she was eternally thankful for…even if she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud due to her outrageous pride issues.

She heard Leo huff out a chuckle as he held her close in return. "I get it; you're not good at saying thank you," he teased. "So…are we good?"

Her brows knitting together, Karai hummed in thought. "…well…let me think about it," she said.

Her right knee jerked sharply upwards.

And within seconds, Leo went down faster than a rock with a high pitched cry as he fell to his knees, clutching his midsection as he whined in pain. Biting back tears of pain, Leo managed to gather the strength to glare up at her as he forced back tears of pain. "Y-y-you l-little -!" he cursed, his voice a little higher than usual. Karai only grinned like a maniac in response to his pain as she smugly folded her arms over her chest.

"Now we're good."

A/N: Oooooh right in the feels!

Sorry it's a bit short, but nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed that, cus it was hard to write! Poor Mikey and Leo...and poor Karai, too. Let's hope things can work out in the future!