A/N: HELLO!

I know it's been a while, but I've been distracted! But with the holidays finally here, I'll have more time for you lovely people! Thank you to everyone who's helped me/supported me through a ll of this! You guys are the greatest!

I OWN NOTHING! And I promise you guys so Tiger Claw and cub fluff in later chapters!

Enjoy!

Chapter 21

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."

― George E. Woodberry

"HEY! Mikey, whaddaya think you're doin'?! That's MY toy!"

"I was playin' with it first, Raphie!"

"But it's MINE! Daddy gave it to ME, not YOU! Giveit!"

"Ow! That hurt! LEO! RAPHIE HIT ME!"

His mouth forming a very thin line, the three-year-old Leonardo sighed heavily and rolled his eyes to high heaven as the bickering of his younger brothers continued in the living room behind him. He had been sat out on the grass in the front garden of their hidden forest home that late afternoon, simply wanting to enjoy the warm sunny day and smell the pretty flowers that grew around him. However, the peace he'd sought was not to be once Michelangelo had gotten hold of one of Raphael's toys that Splinter had managed to bring back from his last junkyard run the night before. And now, as what often happened when Raph got mad, the two of them were fighting over the small toy car, throwing clumsy punches and kicks at each other as they tussled for dominance.

Leo slapped his forehead in agitation. 'Here we go again' he thought to himself as he climbed to his feet and hurried back inside the house. Splinter had agreed to take Donnie out into the woods for a short walk, so it was once again up to Leo to put a stop to this nonsense.

Just as Mikey and Raph were about clash again, Leo quickly slid in-between them with his arms outstretched, his hands pressing against their chests even as they fought to push him off. "STOPPIT!" he shouted, "You're both bein' stupid! It's just a car!"

As Leo successfully pushed them away from each other, Raph's little hands balled into tight fists as he huffed angrily with a sour pout. "But Leo! That's MY toy!" he argued again, pointing an accusing green finger at their youngest brother who was cowering behind Leo's shell. "He's so clumsy he's gonna break it!"

Standing behind the shield that was Leonardo, Mikey visibly flinched at Raph's harsh statement, his expression scrunching up into a sad pucker as he looked down at the car in his hands. Leo instantly noticed this, and he snapped his young hard gaze at his other brother, folding his arms over his chest in the most commanding manner a three-year-old could possibly manage, (though to others it would have been hilariously cute). "That wasn't very nice, Raph," he scolded. "He just wants to play with it."

Raph wasn't deterred in the least, and instead got angrier. "So what?!" he barked. "He's got your teddy bear now, so why can't he play with that instead?!"

"Because Little Leo is special!" Mikey piped up from behind Leo with a defiant frown. "Leo gave him to me to chase away the Nightmare Man!"

Sighing, Raph rolled his eyes to the heavens. It was times like this that he really regretted ever making up the Nightmare Man thing to scare Mikey in the first place.

Quickly losing the will to live at this point, Leo shook his head again. How on earth was he ever going to get these two to stop fighting each other of the silliest things? True, he and Raph fought a lot, especially during practice, but it was different compared to something like…wait a second. Practice! That's it! Leo's face suddenly brightened as a solution came to him, and he turned back to Raph with a smile. "Hey Raph, how 'bout you come and do some practice with me and let Mikey play with the car instead?" he offered. He knew that Raph liked to fight; Leo did as well, but Raph liked to prove that he was the best at everything. And besides, a little ninja practice would probably burn off the steam that was spouting out of his ears.

His large green eyes darting to the side, Raph seemed to silently consider this for a moment, before he looked back to Leo and wordlessly nodded his head once in agreement. Leo fought a sigh of relief as he eagerly led Raph back outside to the front garden, leaving Mikey alone to play with the toy car on the wooden floor, which Leo noticed that he was carefully moving back and forth this time. Once they were in position on the grass, they both acquired the battle stance they had been practicing with their Sensei, and Raph sent Leo a cocky smirk. "You ready to get beat up again, Leo?" he teased.

Leo grinned back at him. "No, you're gonna get beat up this time, Raphie!" he shot back.

With that, Raph charged first and delivered a flurry of hard punches to Leo's chest and face, which the older turtle managed to block with his forearms, though they quickly started to hurt from how hard Raph was hitting him. Also, his punches were faster than they normally were, so Leo was having trouble keeping track of them.

Raph didn't seem to notice how Leo was struggling, too caught up in the rush of adrenaline and the thrill of sparring as his grin grew wider. All he knew was that he was going to beat Leo again. And before he could stop himself, he threw another punch at his brother before he was ready for him…

…it was only when he felt his knuckles connect with Leo's jaw did he realize his terrible mistake.

Leo let out a cry of agony as he fell to the ground, his hand pressed against his throbbing jaw as tears cascaded down his cheeks. With wide eye filled with horror, Raph was by Leo's side in an instant, hesitant hands taking him by the shoulders as he helped him sit up again. "Leo, I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" he cried frantically. Tears of fear began to pool in his eyes as he gazed at his crying older brother…he was crying because of him. But Raph really hadn't meant to hurt his big brother. He was just sparring with him, just like they always did. He never meant to hurt his brothers, not like this, not at all…and yet he kept doing it.

Wincing from the pain, Leo turned back to Raph with one hand still pressed against his face. And to Raph's shock, instead of blaming him and running away from him, Leo actually smiled at him despite the tears still trailing down his face, and his aching jaw that already looked as if it were swelling badly. "…good hit, Raphie," he praised, his voice slightly muffled from his hand and the puffiness of his flaming jaw. "…you're getting really good."

Blinking hard once, Raph simply stared at Leo in silence, his mouth agape in shock. Even Mikey, who had been preoccupied with the car before he'd heard Leo's cry, was staring at the two of them with a bewildered expression on his freckled features. After the moment had passed, Raph smiled back at him, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand as he let out a breath of relief. "…thanks, Leo," he sniffed. "…you did good too, I guess." In response, Leo just shrugged and smiled as much as he was able to.

"Boys, what happened here?!"

Startled, Leo and Raph turned their heads to find Splinter emerging through the secret entrance of their secluded home with Donnie's hand held tightly in his own as he stared at the pair of turtles sat on the grass…or to be accurate, staring at the swollen, purple bulge on Leo's cheek. Frowning, the ninja master immediately turned to Raph, a brow raised in disapproval. "Raphael," he began, the tone in his voice making Raph flinch slightly as he fought the urge to hide in his shell. "What have I told you about hitting your brothers this way?"

Looking down at the grass, Raph bit his lip as he wracked his brain in search for a way to explain himself this time, but he found nothing. Why did he have to hit Leo so hard? Why couldn't he stop? Why did he have to be so angry all the time? Why did he have to be so bad?

But before he had the chance to submit himself to punishment, Leo suddenly spoke up for him. "It's okay, daddy! It's my fault," he claimed with a clumsy smile. "We were just practicing and I slipped up and hurt myself again. Sorry!"

Raph snapped his head to gawk at Leo once again. Did he just lie to Master Splinter? For him?

Splinter shook his head and sighed. "Most careless of you, Leonardo," he said, releasing Donnie's hand as he crossed over and knelt beside Leo, gently tilting the child's face so that he could inspect the bruise. He hummed to himself in thought. "It appears you will need an ice pack, and quickly," he said, picking up Leo and holding him against his chest. He looked back down at Raphael and raised his brow again, this time in amusement as he spotted the large patches of dirt littered across his usually green skin. "As for you, you are going to need another bath, Raphael," he chuckled, bending down to rub his son affectionately on top of his muddy head before he headed back into the house to fix up Leo.

But just before they disappeared into the house with little Mikey trailing behind them, Leo looked over Splinter's shoulder and winked at Raph, beaming from ear to ear.

Raph blinked again in surprise, but smiled all the same.

With a plastic bag held in his right hand filled with a various collection of rocks and leaves that he had collected during his walk with Splinter, Donnie stepped beside Raph and stared after his father and his two brothers for a moment before looking over at Raph. "…what was that for?" he asked his older brother, quirking a confused brow.

Raph simply shrugged, still smiling. "I dunno. Just Leo, I guess."

A bright beam of yellow light was suddenly shone down upon the youngest ninja turtle like a blinding spotlight as he gasped loudly, shutting his eyes to block out the sudden gleam. He would have used his hands to do so, but they were unfortunately bound down with strips of duct tape to the armrests of the desk chair he sat upon after his several unsuccessful attempts at escaping his current situation. His two older brothers, Donatello and Raphael, were standing before him with their arms crossed over their chests and their eyes narrowed darkly at their younger brother restrained to the chair in the middle of the lab. Swallowing thickly, Michelangelo began to shift uncomfortably under their harsh gaze, and he fought the urge to try and use his feet to swivel the chair away from the lab, lest they end up taping his feet together as well.

Though to be honest, this was a little out of order in itself.

"Michelangelo," Donnie finally began with a hint of a growl to his usually calm and collected voice, which made Mikey flinch backwards slightly in the chair he was restrained to. Donnie's eyes went dark with controlled anger. "You. Went out. To meet…LEONARDO?!" he shouted angrily.

Shriveling like a wilted flower, Mikey gulped again and could only manage to utter a single word in reply. "…eep."

Raphael grabbed the back of the chair and spun Mikey around to face him instead. "Mikey, do you have any idea how stupid that was?!" he barked harshly. When Mikey did nothing other than hunching his shoulders and turning his head away from him, Raph rolled his eyes and pinched the space between his brows in irritation. "You've done some dumb things before, Mikey," he continued, "and I mean really dumb things, but I thought even you were better than this!"

Still unable to free himself from the chair as he glowered down at the floor, Mikey felt his temper suddenly spike as he ground his teeth together. Were they blaming him? Were they actually accusing him of committing some kind of terrible crime? Sure he'd lied to them, and he could clearly see why they would be mad at him for something like that. But they weren't mad because he'd lied, oh no. They were mad because he'd tried to help their older brother. This just wasn't fair! He was trying to help his family get back together again, to make them whole again after so long…and then they had to come along and mess everything up! It was because of them that everything had gone so wrong, just when he'd been so close…

Snapping his head up from the floor, Mikey sent Raph a blue eyed glare. "No, you guys are the dumb ones!" he shouted, startling both of his brothers at his sudden angry outburst, for only seconds prior he was cowering before them like a sopping wet kitten. "I was just trying to help him come back to us! And it was working too, until you guys showed up and ruined everything! Now because of you, Leo might not –"

"That's enough!" Donnie snapped, spinning the chair around again so that Mikey was facing him now as he looked his baby brother in the eye. "We get it, Mikey. You may not think so, but we really do; you miss Leonardo, and you're desperate to get him back on our side. We want the same thing, but you've got to understand something..." He let out a sigh as he leaned back and planted one hand on his hip, using the other massage his throbbing temples. They had only gotten back to the lair not ten minutes ago, and with everything that had happened at Central Park plus this current 'interrogation', the tech master could already feel another headache coming on. He wanted nothing more than to go to bed and put this whole thing behind him…but this was far too serious of an issue to simply brush aside.

"…Leonardo isn't the same kid we knew anymore, Mikey," Donnie continued, hoping that he could finally knock some sense into the freckled turtle. "He's in the Foot Clan now. And whether he was raised by Shredder or not, it doesn't matter; he's still just as bent on killing us and Splinter as the rest of the Foot."

"Exactly," Raph nodded, and Mikey craned his neck to look up at him as his red clad brother hooked his thumbs into his belt, giving Mikey a pointed look. "You can't trust him, Mikey. You can't trust anyone in the Foot. I don't know how the heck you managed to survive as long as you did or what you two even did in Central Park to begin with, but the next time he sees us he'd have forgotten all about –"

"You guys don't get it!" Mikey cried again, glowering hotly at his brothers. He'd heard just about enough of this garbage! "You don't get anything! You don't know Leo like I do now; he's not like the other Foot Soldiers, in fact he hates the Foot, and he hates Shredder even more! You should've seen him, guys! He and I were playing Ninja Tag, just like we did when we were kids! He's just…he's just…"

He trailed off as he bit his lip, desperately wracking his brain in search for the right words. Finally it dawned on him, and he looked up at his brothers as they awaited his response with great skepticism. "…Leo's just like the rest of us, but a little more serious and guarded because he thinks he doesn't have anyone to trust outside of the Foot." He then sent Donnie and Raph a deep scowl as he narrowed his baby blue eyes. "Well, he did have someone, until you guys came in and wrecked it!"

The older turtles simultaneously rolled their eyes and sighed at Mikey. He just couldn't understand it, could he? No matter how many times they tried to beat it into his brain, the youngest turtle refused to listen to reason. Finally, Raphael'd had enough of this, and he roughly grabbed hold of Mikey's shoulders as he let out a growl, his temper flaring dangerously. "He's just saying and doing those things to get you to trust him!" he yelled, not noticing the way Mikey flinched away from him with wide eyes. "He lured you right into a trap, Mikey! And if we hadn't gotten there in time he would've killed you for sure! Don't you get it yet?! Leonardo. Is. Not. On. Our. Side! And he never will be! The sooner you get that through your thick head, the better! Understand?!"

Standing before them as he watched the scene unfold, Donnie noticed that Mikey was trembling slightly underneath Raph's blazing gaze, and his eyes were shining with the start of tears. He let out a light gasp. This was quickly getting out of hand; he had to stop Raph before he said or did something he would regret, and by the looks of it, that was already happening. Donnie was supposed to be the leader for crying out loud, not the bystander! This had to stop! With narrowed brown eyes, he reached out and gripped Raph by the shoulder, roughly pulling him away from Mikey. When the hot tempered turtle directed his green eyed glare to him instead, Donnie remained indifferent. "That's enough out of you too, Raphael," he warned, releasing his brothers' shoulder.

He then looked back down at Mikey still strapped helplessly to the chair. He had calmed down from his near breakdown, but he was now staring sullenly at his lap, the fight no longer in him as he remained motionless in his seat. At that, the genius purple clad leader couldn't help but feel inwardly awful as he frowned. He'd truly believed he could have changed Leo's mind…and maybe he was right, in a way.

Maybe, if they hadn't stepped in when they had, Mikey could have gotten through to Leo…

Another growl from Raph brought Donnie out of his thoughts as he turned to find Raph leaning against Donnie's computer desk with his arms folded tightly over his shoulders. "Why should I stop? He's not getting it!" he argued, gesturing Mikey with an exasperated wave of his hand. "If he won't listen to reason, then he's gotta learn the hard way; you don't play with the enemy, you take 'em down! And even if that means Leo too, then –"

Mikey's eyes had suddenly widened at that, and his blood turned very cold. Take down Leonardo? As in…kill him?

"NO! You're wrong about him!" he shouted, catching his brothers off guard again at just how angry he'd become. "We're not gonna hurt him! He's our brother, and he has a good side! You've gotta believe me!"

Before Donnie could stop him, Raph balled his fists as he took a dangerous step towards Mikey. "Why the hell should we?!" he yelled. "After all, you were the one who almost got yourself killed if it weren't for –"

"What is going on in here?!"

A stern voice from the mouth of Donnie's lab silenced them all, and they all snapped their heads around to find that their father and master was standing with his hands folded behind his back, his usually passive rodent features now creased with a deep frown as he regarded his three quarreling sons. It was early in the morning when he had heard his sons return from their little escapade, and it was after a few more minutes of loud yelling and Japanese cursing that he had decided that enough was enough, and he stood up from where he meditated beneath the tree to discover exactly what was going on. Upon his entry into the lab however, he didn't expect to find that Michelangelo was strapped to Donatello's chair by his wrists, which were duct tapped to the armrests. He raised a disapproving brow at the older two as he strode further into the lab. "Donatello, Raphael, this is no way to treat your brother!" he snapped. "Release Michelangelo at once!"

The two turtles didn't hesitate as they used their hidden Tanto blades within their wrist wraps to cut Mikey free. Mikey stood up, rubbing his numbed wrists as he shot another glare at Raph, who's fists clenched again as if he were about to hit him. Splinter cleared his throat, and the boys immediately froze under his dark look. He turned to Mikey. "Michelangelo, I would like to speak with you in private," he said, his tone not as harsh as before. "Please meet me in the dojo."

Mikey numbly nodded once in response, and he trudged out of the lab without a word or a second glance at the others as they watched him leave. Splinter turned to follow his youngest, but turned one last time to Donnie and Raph, eying them both. "It would be in your best interests that you retreated to bed, my sons. You have training in several hours," he advised, and then he strode out of the room, leaving the two eldest alone.

Raph let out a sharp huff as he folded his arms again, not caring to grace his leader with a glance. In turn, Donnie only rounded on Raph again as he planted his hands on his hips. "Did you have to be so hard on him, Raph?" he hissed. "I mean, it's bad that he lied and that he was out there with Leonardo, yes, but for you to go and pour salt into a wound I'm sure we're both at fault for –"

"He doesn't get it, Donnie," Raph muttered over his shoulder, but there was no anger in his tone any longer. Instead, Donnie noticed with a blink of surprise, his tone was rather sullen, almost remorseful. "No matter how many times he says there's good in him, or he's just confused or whatever, it's not gonna change his mind," Raph continued gloomily, keeping his back turned. "Leo is never coming back. He just has to accept that and move on…"

The realization of the loss of fight and anger within his older brother finally clicked, and Donnie let out a quiet, sad sigh. Of course Raph felt bad for how he'd snapped at Mikey; the things he'd said were no doubt true, but they were still rather cruel, especially in the face of the one who had longed to see him the most after years of blaming himself for his supposed death. However, Raph couldn't help it. When the temper of the oldest turtle was at its worst, he tended to say the things that had been brewing inside of him, be it insults or confessions that accidentally slipped out in his anger.

What Donnie had witnessed between Raph and Mikey had been more than a mere confession. They were Raph's true feelings. He was just as bitter and distraught over Leonardo as the rest of them. And he was simply scared that if Mikey refused to listen to them, he would lose yet another brother, permanently…

Raph and Leo had been very close when they were little, despite how often they seemed to have fought. To see how much he hated them now must have crushed him inside…

With a resigned shake of his head, Donnie once again grabbed Raph's shoulder and spun him around to face him, and before the shorter turtle could protest, he was silenced as Donnie threw his arms around him and held him close to his chest. Raph went ridged from the shock, but it didn't deter Donnie in the least as he tightened his embrace and rested his cheek upon the top of Raph's head. They said and did nothing for several moments, before Raph's arms finally, hesitantly, encircled Donnie's waist as he returned the hug with equal strength. Donnie forced back the lump in his throat before he spoke. "…I get it, Raph. And I'm sorry. We'll figure this out together…I promise."

Against his brothers' shoulder, Raph frowned deeply as he squeezed his eyes shut. "…you sure you can keep that promise, leader?" he murmured.

Donnie's eyes narrowed as he stared straight ahead. Of course he couldn't. How could they possibly bring their distant brother home again whilst he was in such a state?

However, despite the impossibility of it all, the words left Donnie's mouth with determination before he could stop them. "…Of course I can. And I will. We all will."

Once Splinter entered the dojo again after his son, he wasn't surprised to find him standing in front of the shrine, staring at the old stuffed toy sat on the shelf as he remained as still as a staff. However, Splinter did notice the way his fists were clenched tightly, shaking as his knuckles turned white from the strain. And with his heightened sense of smell, he could smell the familiar scent of salt in the air…

Splinter sighed deeply, lowering his head as he shook it. It was clear that the encounter in Central Park had not gone as planned at all. He presumed that either Michelangelo had let the information unintentionally slip, or his brothers had caught him and his estranged eldest son together and assumed the worst, resulting in some form of confrontation between them. Either way, it had not ended well.

Splinter should have known better than to let Michelangelo see Leonardo in secret. He should have known that nothing good would come out of it, ad that it would only lead to more pain. However, he had allowed Michelangelo's words to give him a sense of hope, however small it had been at the time. He'd had faith in his son, believing that he really could have at least brought some new light upon Leonardo. But of course, that was not to be. And now, it appeared that whatever bond of trust they had made with one another had been broken, possibly never to be regained again.

Looking back up, Splinter saw that Michelangelo's shoulders were now shaking slightly as he fought to contain his tears, even as they slipped effortlessly down his cheeks. Letting out another soft breath, Splinter moved to stand behind his youngest child, placing his hands upon his trembling shoulders. Mikey didn't turn around to face him, his teary eyes trained solely on the bear on the shrine. "…I'm sorry, Master Splinter," he spoke softly, his voice quivering. "…I tried…I really did…but I guess I f-failed…"

Splinter shook his head, and he gently turned Mikey around to face him. He lifted his chin with a single clawed finger so that his tear-stained face met his serene, understanding gaze. "No, Michelangelo, you did not fail," he said. "Not to have tried at all is the true failure. And although it did not go as you had intended, I am sure that there will be a part of Leonardo that will never forget you have done for him." He then laid his hand against Mikey's cheek, and he offered him a soft, caring smile as he used his thumb to wipe away the streak of tears running down his cheek. "I am proud of you, my son."

Mikey nodded as he sniffed, using the back of his hand to wipe away the tears. Without further invitation, he then charged into his father's waiting arms as he wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his face into his robes. Splinter said nothing more as he simply held his son close, stroking the back of his shell with a tender hand. He cast his gaze back up at the bear, and he couldn't help but frown sadly as his heartstrings pulled harshly in the pit of his chest.

If only things had been different…if only he hadn't left him behind…

"Aw, the mermaid's growing legs!"

Blinking rapidly, Leonardo was brought out of his own musings and back to the present at Bradford's loud jest, which was aimed at the giant mutant fish-out-of-water currently surrounded by metal parts, various tools that Leo could barely identify…and was now supported upright by a pair of long, two-toed metallic legs with a brace around his middle. On his back, there was a large orange colored plastic tank filled with clear bubbling water, which was equipped with pumps attached to Xever's gills in order to keep him breathing above water.

It was a very odd spectacle to behold, even for the other mutants present in the room. But for the first time that day, Leo found himself genuinely smiling at the sight, if only a little bit.

It had already been two days since the incident at Central Park, and with Tiger Claw out again on another solo mission (which Leo noticed he seemed to be getting a lot of recently), it had just been Leo and Karai left in Shredder's lair, along with the giant brooding mutant dog and their new captive scientist, whose name no one could seem to get right the first time. It was due to her boredom that Karai had offered Leo the chance to go out into the city to scout for the other turtles. But Leo declined her offer; he wasn't up to patrolling at the moment, nor did he have any desire to see his brothers either. She understood, but seemed somewhat disappointed nonetheless before she led a small team of ninjas to scout the city in search for Splinter's disciples.

Eventually, Leo began to regret his decision to stay in the lair; even training in the dojo seemed a little dull without someone to spar with that was worth his time and effort. However, Bradford had come in moments later to inform him that Shredder wanted them both to oversee the progress of Blister's – Baxter's – latest creation; a pair of legs for Xever to get him back out onto the field. To say that Leo was happy for Xever would be a minor understatement, but he'd been eager to help all the same.

It had taken a while to get Xever out of the tank beneath the floor and quickly attach him to the water apparatus before he suffocated, and even longer until the legs were actually completed, but due to the diligence of Baxter Stockman, it seemed as though Xever was finally on his way to getting his legs back. Even if they weren't his real legs, at least he'd be able to walk again.

At Bradford's mocking call, Leo turned to glare at him and nudged him hard in the left arm, which earned him a low snarl as the over-sized canine returned the glare. "Knock it off, mutt," he warned. Despite the man now being twice his own size and possibly strong enough to squash him beneath his paws – or even worse, eat him – it didn't intimidate the young blue clad turtle in the least; he was still the same obnoxious, stuck-up jerk that Leo knew and loved to hate since day one.

"Please! Settle down!" Baxter snapped at them, further silencing the two bickering mutants. Bradford simply harrumphed, but Leo dipped his head in a short bow of apology. Baxter was a bit of a wimp, but Leo could find it in him to respect him for his genius and agreement to help Xever (though it was under threat of death by the Shredder, so really he had no choice unless he wanted to die).

Baxter then looked up at Xever, who seemed as though he was still a little unsteady on his new legs. "Xever, get ready to walk!" he said with an enthusiastic smile as he picked up the remote controller sat on the floor on his right. Xever himself appeared a little less enthusiastic, and a little more nervous, and rightly so. This was going to be the first time he'd walked in weeks, and with robot legs no less. Swallowing thickly, he cast a glance at Bradford and Leonardo sat on the stairs in front of Shredder's throne as they watched. Bradford was smirking, looking as if he knew that this test was going to end up with Xever bursting into flames. Leonardo however, was offering him a small smile and a nod of encouragement. Despite himself and his awkward position, Xever found himself returning the nod firmly. He hadn't forgotten their little chat several days ago, and ever since then, it had actually given the mutant fish…well, a sense of hope, almost. Hope that maybe he would be able to get back out there and fight another day. And hope had indeed come, even though it was from an unexpected source. All he had to do was take the first step. Literally.

It almost made him feel sorry for the kid, seeing as though once his role was finished, Shredder would have no further use for him…

With a click, Baxter switched on the mechanism controlling the legs. Xever drew in a deep breath, and he steadily put his right foot forwards. And then the other foot. And then the other.

From the other side of the room, Leo was smiling again as he watched the mutant fish take his first few steps across the room. Xever was actually walking again! The robot legs were actually working! He'd be back out into the city and fighting again in no time –

Xever's right leg suddenly froze mid-step, jerking violently back and forth before both legs began to move to their own accord, propelling themselves forwards at running speeds and taking Xever with them. "Whoa! No no no no no no!" Xever shouted out in shock as his legs went AWOL, slamming him against the wall with a loud crack that had everyone in the room wincing in sympathy, aside from Bradford of course, who was grinning from ear to ear as he fought the urge to laugh out loud. The legs swiveled back around again, sending the helpless fish sprinting towards the stairs beneath Shredder's throne…which unfortunately enough, was where Leonardo happened to be sitting.

Eyes widening to the size of saucers, Leo didn't have time to move out of the way and was only able to squeak out an "Oh no!" before the fish collided with him. Losing the battle, Bradford began to laugh as Xever rammed straight into Leo, the two of them tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs, two of which were robotic and still moving as they kicked the air helplessly. Beneath the crushing weight of the fish mutant, Leo struggled to free himself, but only ended with Xever's foot in his face for his troubles. "OW! Mr. Stockman, can you please shut these things off?!" he shouted over Bradford's barking laughter.

"I – oof! –agree!" Xever grunted as the foot kicked him in the face yet again. "Fix this, or I will bite your head off!"

Fumbling around with the controls, the panicked Baxter finally managed to switch the legs off, the metallic appendages whirring to a halt just before Leo could lose a tooth. The young ninja allowed his head to fall back on the floor as he let out a long sigh of relief. That was too close for comfort. Beside them, Bradford chuckled one last time, and Leo sent him a glare that could have burned a hole into him if looks could kill. Losing the glare, Leo managed to wriggle himself from underneath Xever as he sat himself up on his knees, and then he cast a worried glance down at the lopsided fish. "You okay, Xever?" he asked.

In response, Xever huffed in annoyance from where he laid upside-down on the floor. "…no." he replied honestly with a light hiss through his fangs. Sighing and reaching out to pat him on the head once, Leo couldn't help but feel terrible inwardly for him; he'd been so close, too. Well, there was always tomorrow.

"Baxter Stockman!"

The scientist nearly jumped out of his pink knitted sweater at the sound of their master's deep, foreboding voice as he spun around. "Mr. Shredder!" he cried as he gazed up at the imposing armored figure, who glowered down at him coldly. Baxter swallowed thickly. "Uh, h-how long have you been standing there?" he quivered.

The Shredder narrowed his eyes darkly, clearly not as amused as Bradford had been in the slightest at Xever's comedic blunder. "Long enough to witness your failure," he growled. "My patience is wearing thin."

Next to Bradford and Xever, Leo stood up and folded his arms over his chest, fighting the urge to roll his eyes skyward. 'He had patience?' he mocked inwardly. 'I'm surprised he even knows the meaning of the word.' He cast a look down at Xever, who shrugged as if he were thinking the same thing.

Still on his knees beneath the piercing gaze of the Shredder, Baxter shakily nodded his head. "Y-yes sir," he stammered, "it's just, the controlling mechanism is proving trickier t –"

"Enough!" Shredder barked, nearly causing Baxter to drop the controls from his shock. "If he is not walking soon, you won't be either. I will give you one more chance, and then I'll –"

"Father."

Shredder's threat was cut off as Karai, who had appeared seemingly from out of nowhere, entered the throne room and strode purposefully towards her father. Taking off the black mask from off her face, she cast a quick glance and a greeting nod to Leonardo, who returned it with a small smile of his own. He was actually surprised that she'd come back so early; it had only been two hours since she'd left the lair. What could have caused her to come back?

Karai turned her attention back to Shredder, who turned his back on Baxter for the time being as he regarded his daughter. "We spotted the other turtles fighting some guys in suits," she explained, "but they were actually…slimy brain squids in robot bodies!"

Leo's breath hitched, his eyes going wide in shock as he stared at her. What? Karai had been in contact with those things? Better yet, she'd seen the creatures, and she was still alive?! The last time he had seen them, he'd been almost overwhelmed, until Michelangelo came to his aid. Unless they hadn't seen her or had decided to leave her alone that is, which Leo thanked the stars for. He wondered if the other turtles had made it out with their lives…a part of him hoped they didn't, but in the back of his mind he knew he couldn't doubt their skills when they fought as a team. In fact, he couldn't help but admire them…

Shredder however was less than amused, nor did he seem fazed that his daughter could have become closely acquainted with death as he narrowed his eyes at her instead. "Your mission is to destroy them and find Splinter. Everything else is a distraction!" he snapped. Behind them, Leo's face twisted into one of confused disgust as he glared at the armored ninja master. The Kraang, and alien race that have invaded the earth, possibly years before even he or his brothers were born, a distraction?! What on earth was he talking about?! These creatures were anything but a mere distraction!

Before her father, Karai's expression mirrored Leonardo's. "Distraction?" she repeated, echoing Leo's thoughts exactly. "Father, don't you wanna know what's going on? Robots and creatures? Splinters' disciples are turtles, the mutant brothers of one of your followers! Your own men got turned into hideous freaks –"

She halted abruptly, glancing over at Leo who had folded his arms over his chest and was raising a brow at her. She shrugged awkwardly. "Sorry," she said. Leo shrugged back nonchalantly, not really taking offense of it; he'd gotten far worse from Bradford and Xever before they had suffered the same fate.

Karai turned back to Shredder, who hadn't taken his impassive eyes off of her since her outburst. "But still, don't you think we should be finding out what's going on?" she probed, folding her arms over her chest stubbornly. "I mean, there's more to life than your vendetta!"

Shredder's fists clenched. "There is nothing more!" he shouted, and for a moment, Karai feared that he was going to unsheathe his blades on her in anger as her blood turned cold. Leonardo's body tensed, one hand already reaching up for his Katana out of protective instinct should Shredder dare to hurt her again. The memory of the scars she'd received from her last punishment still burned within him, fuelling him with more and more hatred than he could possibly contain.

However, instead of hurting her, Shredder walked around Karai and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Have you forgotten what Hamato Yoshi did to me?" he probed darkly as he met her eyes. "To us?" Unconsciously, Karai bit her lip, her eyes averting from Shredders' as she looked down at the floor.

As he watched her, Leo felt his heart throb in sympathy for his sister as his earlier tension ebbed away, and he let his hand drop to his side. Of course she hadn't forgotten. How could she possibly forget that she never got to know her mother because of that man? In fact, Leo could relate to her hatred, for it was that very man – that very creature, rather – that had once raised him, and had then decided to leave him to die alone in a forest…with those things.

Releasing her shoulder, Shredder took a step back as his daughter forced her somewhat sorrowful gaze back up at him. "Every day that Splinter lives is a stain on our honor that we must wipe clean" he said. "Stay focused on your mission, Karai."

Karai remained silent for a moment, as if contemplating her father's words. Then the familiar determined frown reappeared on her features as she nodded her head once. "Yes, father," she replied. Shredder returned her nod as he released her shoulder, and Karai placed her mask back on her face as she turned to look back at Leo. "Leo, we're going back out there. I'll need your help," she announced.

For the first time since the confrontation had begun, Leo smirked as he patted Xever one last time on the head before he strode down the glass steps of Shredder's throne. "You actually admitted that," he teased as he walked right passed Shredder without even gracing him with a fleeting glance. "I'm actually impressed. Maybe you've been hanging out with Tiger Claw a little too much."

Rolling her eyes as they made their way towards the door side by side, Karai swatted him upside the head. "Shut up," she muttered under her breath, but Leo could hear the smile behind her mask.

As they walked through the doors, Shredder's gaze never left the blue clad turtle. Something had changed within him over the past few days, and though Karai and Tiger Claw appeared to be oblivious to this, Shredder knew exactly what had happened to the boy.

Being the leader of a clan of highly skilled ninjas, one had to take precautions, even with their own followers. So it was without remorse that Shredder had assigned one of his higher ranking ninjas to keep a close eye on Leonardo, to follow him should he ever leave the lair without being given permission to do so. So far, Leonardo seemed unaware that he was being tracked on a regular basis, which allowed Shredder to gain some very interesting information. Leonardo had been recently spotted with one of his younger brothers in Central Park late in the night; Michelangelo was his name if he remembered correctly. But they had not been fighting. Instead, they had been merely chatting, almost as if they were friends. The ninja had seen no more of what transpired next, for the turtle had been close to becoming aware of a third presence, but it mattered not. Shredder had heard everything he needed to know.

His plan was working. True, the process was still ongoing, but it could not be denied that Leonardo was slowly becoming closer to his brothers, and farther away from Tiger Claw. Now all Shredder had to do was wait. There will come a time where Leonardo is ready to accept his previous family and leave the Foot Clan for them instead.

And when that time came, Shredder would finally have his revenge…

Once the two of them had made it into the corridor, Leo quickly looked left and right in case there was anyone else around. After making sure they were alone, Leo took Karai by the arm and led her down the hallway leading to the room he and Tiger Claw shared, ignoring her surprised protests. Opening the door and ushering her inside the empty room, Leo then shut the door and locked it, letting out the tensed breath he'd been holding as he turned back to Karai, who had taken her mask off her face as she folded her arms and raised a questioning brow at him. "Okay, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" she probed. "You looked as if you'd seen a ghost when I mentioned those alien robot things –"

She was cut off when Leo suddenly barreled into her, wrapping his arms around her as he held her close. Her arms pinned to her sides, Karai could only stare straight ahead and blink rapidly in confusion. Leo hugged her all the time, so that was no surprise to her, but this time he seemed as though he was…worried about her? Or afraid perhaps? What was going on? Had she missed something? Craning her head enough to look down at him, Karai raised her brow again. "…ummm…are you okay?" she asked.

After a moment, Leo finally let her go as he drew back, regarding her with a serious expression that Karai had not been expecting. "Did those aliens see you at all? Did they hurt you?" he asked, his voice strained as if he were trying to restrain fear.

Still confused, Karai shook her head. "No, they didn't see us. The only one who saw us was the red turtle, Raphael I think his name was. He looks like a little ray of sunshine, by the way. But why do you ask –?"

Then something dawned on her, clicking like a light switch. Narrowing her eyes curiously at the turtle, Karai put her hands on her hips. "Is there something else you're not telling me, Leonardo?" she asked, taking note of the way Leo's shoulders tensed and his hands clenched into loose fists at his sides. "Do you know about these things? And don't you dare try to lie to me this time," she said with a hint of a growl.

Releasing his own low growl from the pit of his throat, Leo cast his eyes to the right, focusing on the blank wall of the room as his mind reeled. Should he tell her? After all these years of keeping it a secret from her, fearing that she would distance herself away from him if she knew about the creatures he dreamed of, what he feared the most from his childhood…could he really tell her all of that now?

Yes. He could. He had to. This was Karai for crying out loud, the one person besides Tiger Claw that he trusted, his only human companion, and the person he saw as a sister. Heck, it was only a few days ago that he'd told her that he knew he could trust her with anything! It was about time that he told her everything. After all they had been through together, the good and the bad, she had the right to know. And besides, now that she'd seen them with her own eyes there was no real point in trying to lie to her again…that, and the fact that he really didn't want to be kicked in the midsection again. So after taking a deep shaking breath, he faced her once again and he told her. He poured out the entire story, from the day he had nearly been killed in the forest as an infant, the nightmares, the faces he saw when he was forced to kill someone, to his most recent encounter with them nearly a week ago.

"…and that's the last I saw of them," he concluded, unconsciously rubbing his left arm with his right hand as he looked down at his feet almost guiltily. "…I'm sorry I didn't tell you about them sooner."

Karai said nothing for the longest time. Her eyes were widened marginally, and her expression both disbelieving and contemplative as she gazed at the younger turtle before her. So that's what he'd been through? That's what he'd been hiding from her since the day they'd met…?

She looked down at the floor. She didn't know what to say. She barely knew how to properly react to all of this. It was horrible. It was borderline torture to think that he'd been through all of this before she had even picked up her first sword…but she did know what they had to do next as her expression morphed into anger. Snapping her head back up, she marched up to Leonardo and placed her hands firmly on his shoulders, surprising him as he looked back up at her. "Let's go," she said.

Leo blinked at her. "What? Go where?"

"To find the Kraang of course," she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Leo's eyes went wide and his mouth hung agape as he stared at her as if she'd grown a third head. Before he had the chance to argue, Karai was already interrupting him. "You said so yourself; these creatures are a threat to not just the city, but to the entire planet. They need to be stopped, no matter what, and if the other turtles can't do it then the Foot Clan can at least try. My father isn't going to listen to you and he won't listen to me, so we'll prove it to him. We'll just bring back a piece of their tech or something, we don't have to fight them –"

Leo held up his hand to silence her. "That's all good, Karai, but…you're insane." Leo interjected, taking a step back from her as he pressed his fingers against his temples. "These things are incredibly dangerous! They're not just going to let us sneak into their hideout and steal their stuff; they'd rather shoot a couple of steaming holes into us first, or worse, experiment on us! And besides, we don't know where their hideout is anymore, trust me. I went back to that place to see if they were still there, but they've cleared out –"

"That's what we have your brothers for, blockhead!" Karai snapped just as he was on the verge of panic. "They fight the Kraang on a regular basis, so we follow them to one of the Kraang's hideouts, sneak in whilst their busy and help ourselves!"

Leo folded his arms, still not convinced. Sighing as she raked a hand through her short hair, she put one hand back on Leo's shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "Come on Leo, this is our best chance of getting rid of them for good!" she pressed. "No one else has to know about this, not even Tiger Claw. And once they're gone, you never have to worry about them ever again. You'll be safe. What do you say?"

She held out her other hand for Leo to shake. Leo stared at it in silence, still considering his options. Karai was utterly suicidal, but she had her points. They could possibly put a stop to the Kraang with help from the Foot Clan…but it wouldn't be easy. And Leo wasn't sure if he could face them again, not after that night, nor could he bring himself to lie to Tiger Claw yet again either. But then again, Karai was going to be with him. This time he had backup on his side. And besides, if Shredder wasn't going to believe them without evidence of their existence, what other choice did they have?

And Leo wanted nothing more than to be able to live his life without the fear of those creatures ever harming him again…

Drawing in a deep breath and releasing it with a soft sigh, Leo looked back up at Karai. He offered her a smile as he nodded his head once, and took her hand in his as he shook it. "Alright, Karai," he said. "Let's take down the Kraang."

Karai grinned at him, using her free hand to put her mask back over her face as her eyes began to sparkle with excitement.

"This is gonna be fun."

A/N: Oh boy, stuff's going down again. Poor boys...

Well, either Shredder's got it wrong about Tiger Claw and Leo, or they really are drawing apart. Let's hope he's wrong...

Anyways, that's that! On to the next one, where the turtles meet Karai for the first time...along with another crazy mutant...