Wow... I actually updated a lot more than usual today... Then again... the usual is nothing...

Disclaimer: Still no, quit asking.

Twelve Hours Later

Shredder exited the conference room. He tugged at the tie on his navy blue suit, very uncomfortable. He'd just finished the meeting with the mayor, and he was not impressed by the man at all. The mayor was gullible, weak of character, and too easily persuaded by the green of greed. Shredder shook his head, somewhat in irritation, the mayor was an idiot. Shredder had no idea why the mayor had been elected… perhaps as a scapegoat, because his money held influence over people, or maybe because people were just as much idiots as the mayor.

Shredder entered his chambers and quickly dressed into his loose fitting robes. He strapped a sword scabbard to his waist and unsheathed the katana. He instantly transformed from an irritated business man, to a ninja with deadly grace. He swept the katana into graceful arcs and slashes.

~.~.~.~.~

At the piers, four heavily clothed figures stood at the edge of a dock. The shortest of the quartet held a black porcelain urn. Mikey held the urn close to his plastron.

The four stood there, silently grieving. One was smirking underneath scarves and hats, safe from suspicion. Mikey gently uncorked the urn and fought off tears. The ashes of their Sensei and Father lay in the urn. He'd been cremated, just as he'd wished.

Raph and Don exchanged a look. An unspoken promise, to not tell Mikey that their father had committed suicide, passed between the two turtles.

Mikey tipped the urn and some of the ashes poured into the water. He handed it off to Don, wiping away tears. Don sniffed and tipped it as well, more ashes drifted into the water. He handed it off to Raph, tears clouding his vision. Raph tipped the urn, dropping more ashes into the water. He handed it off to Leo, fighting off his emotions. Leo grinned under the scarves and hat. He "accidently" dropped the urn.

Raph dived for it. "No!" He cried as he fumbled for it. Leo watched with mild amusement, feigning another spasm of his arms. The urn crashed against the dock, spraying ashes on the wood. Raph knelt, staring at the shards and ashes. Mikey sobbed and ran in the other direction. Don stood there staring in horror.

Leo smiled at their grief and horror. It was only a matter of time before he was able to botch another service.

That Night

Shredder stood, clad in ninja uniform, on a rooftop. He silently strode towards the edge of the rooftop and gazed down into an alley. Six armed men stood there, standing guard at a back door, all wearing a black jacket with a purple dragon upon it. "Purple Dragons…" Shredder mouthed underneath the mask. He raised his right hand and flicked his wrist in a chopping motion.

Ten ninjas darted out of the shadows, one wielding a pair of nunchucks. Shredder spun his index finger in a circular motion. The ninjas surrounded the P.D.'s from the rooftops. Shredder nodded to his second in command, motioning for him to move in with the others when Shredder gave the signal. Shredder dropped down into the alley silently, slinking into a shadow immediately.

He slid a pair of shuriken between his fingers and hurled the metal stars into a pipe. Steam shot out, engulfing the alley. A few panicked whispers broke out from the P.D's. Shredder moved in silently, sticking to the shadows of the steam. He came up behind one P.D and quietly snapped his neck. The other P.D's whirled around in the steam. "Perry! Where are ya man? This ain't time to be playing jokes."

Shredder moved forward, he covered the mouth of one P.D as he dragged him back. The crackling of a radio resounded. "We need reinforcements; someone's trying to break in through the back!" One of them said into the radio. Shredder dropped the P.D on the ground after snapping his neck as well.

The steam began fading; Shredder sprinted in and launched his body into a jump kick. His foot impacted in the center of a chest. He kicked off the P.D and spin kicked the others before landing in a crouch, one hand on a sword hilt.

They grunted in pain and landed with thuds on their backs. Garage doors opened and more men and women flooded out, each wielding a gun of some type. Shredder unsheathed a katana in a fluid motion as he rose into a defensive position. The Purple Dragons brought the gun muzzles up, all aimed at him. Shredder punched a fist up into the air and brought it down, forward into a chopping motion.

The guns blazed, firing at will at the lone ninja. The large imposing figure of Hun stood at the rear of the assault force, grinning.

Shredder leapt aside from the spray of bullets, ducking behind a dumpster. Ten shadows moved forward along the rooftops, a group of four proceeded to Hun's position. Another four moved into skirmishing pairs. The skirmishers broke away from the group and, using the shadows, darted in and out of the assault force. Two of the group, perched on opposite sides of the alley nocked arrows onto their bows. Shredder nodded approvingly, his plan was working so far.

The Purple Dragons outnumbered the Foot Ninjas, but the P.D's were at a disadvantage: They were a large force, boxed in. The two bowmen would pick off the higher ranked men and women while the skirmishers would attack and disappear, distracting parts of the assault force. The group headed for Hun would take down the large man.

Hun also, had no idea who was attacking them; he was still allied with Shredder. It was however, a tense alliance. This would break it completely; Shredder did not want anything to do with the hulking man.

He waited until the assault force was distracted, and then he scaled the side of a building. He sprinted across rooftops, passed one of the bowmen, and ran towards the rendezvous point. He met up with the group of four and they dropped behind Hun, two of them turned to take care of any guards. Shredder and the other two immediately went offensive on Hun.

Hun's eyes were wide. "Why are you attacking me? Your Master will have your heads for this!" He roared. "I ordered the attack." Shredder said, and sent a kick to Hun's solar plexus. Hun staggered back and sent a punch down. The other two ninjas struck from Hun's sides. Shredder ducked under the punch and spun on his knee, sweep kicking Hun. The large man thudded onto the ground. Shredder rolled onto his forearms and mule kicked Hun's face.

Shredder spun onto his feet. "You have been robbing houses, stores, and even cargo planes. You've attacked innocents and have sunk lower into the crime underworld. You disobeyed my direct wishes. In other words: You're fired." Shredder stated. The two ninjas kept a close watch on Hun. The P.D's noticed Hun's predicament and decided to scram. Screams and cries rang out, pleading for mercy. They dropped their guns and ran. "You're going downtown, Hun… And don't move. There are twenty archers ready to send a volley of arrows into your head." Shredder growled, lying about the latter.

Hun groaned.

~.~.~.~.~

Mikey sat on a rooftop, crying. A pair of caws caught his attention. Mikey turned his head to see a pair of ravens perched on a clothes line. They turned their gaze on him and flapped over to perch on his shoulders. Mikey flinched slightly; they nuzzled his cheeks and wiped away his tears with their wings. They crooned to him.

Mikey stared at them and gently stroked their feathered heads. They crooned at that and nuzzled his hands. Mikey smiled sadly. One of the ravens hopped down onto his lap and cocked its head at Mikey.

"What's your name?" Mikey asked, sniffling. The raven cawed and flapped its wings, taking off in flight. The other raven cried after it and nuzzled closer to Mikey. The young turtle sat there, stroking the raven. He somehow sensed that the other raven would be coming back. And it did.

It dropped a folded, worn, and yellowed piece of paper onto Mikey's lap and perched on his shoulder. Mikey gently unfolded the paper. He saw it was written on in Leo's handwriting. He glanced at the ravens in surprise and began reading it.

Dear Brothers,

If you are reading this, I'm probably dead. Or I've been captured. These two ravens are my companions. Kari is the smaller one, Kite is the bigger one. They've been faithful and great friends. Please take care of them for me.

If I'm not dead, then disregard this letter. If you think I've been captured, leave me and live your own lives. If I am dead… Then I guess I'm dead. I ask that you guys never try to take revenge out on whomever, or whatever, killed me. I'd rather have died knowing you would live the full length of your lives.

Raph, know that though you've been a real pain in the neck in the past, I always loved you. If you think this is just too mushy for your bad-boy attitude, grow up bro. I know that I can trust you to take care of Mikey and Don. Make sure to get Don to come out of his lab and eat. Listen to him talk, even if you don't understand what he's saying. Encourage Mikey's childish antics, it might irritate you at times, but you'll understand that it's all that can keep you sane sometimes.

Don, you're brilliant and very talented… but don't forget about family. Keep working at your experiments and inventions, you'll succeed. But make sure to come out of your lab once in awhile, spend time with Mikey and Raph. Watch movies with them. Help Raph work on his bike; help Mikey with his latest videogame. Don't lose yourself in your own world.

Mikey… what could I say? You've been such a great baby brother. You were always there for me when I was moping around, you understood me. I'll never forget the promise I made to you. So don't think that just because I'm dead or being held prisoner, I won't keep it. No matter what Mikey, I'll be there for you. To the very end, if I must. Though you keep everyone happy, sometimes you forget about yourself… Don't keep your emotions bottled up Mikey. I was always there to help you with that, but you need to confide with Raph and Don too. I'd hate to know that you cracked under the pressure of keeping all your emotions inside. Please be open, if not with your brothers, with yourself.

Make sure to take care of Master Splinter, he's not as young as he once was, I worry that one day he won't wake up. Keep him happy; make sure that he knows how much we all love him. Make sure to give him a reason to wake up every morning. Though you might not know it… He feels that you are all he has left to look forward to when he awakens. Be sure to give him my own regards… and be sure to tell him I love him.

I love each and every one of you. Be assured that one day, we'll all meet up again. And until that day… I'll be waiting for you.

Love,

-Leo

Mikey stared at the paper in his hands. He felt as if Leo had truly died, he hadn't realized it until now. Sure, Leo was still walking around, talking and training. But Leo hadn't gone into Mikey's room to check in on his baby brother anymore. He hadn't been the same caring and loving brother since he was tortured by the Shredder.

Mikey hugged the letter close to his plastron and wept for a new reason. Kari and Kite nuzzled his cheeks and crooned sadly. "I want my brother back… I want my dad back… I want it back to the way things were…" Mikey managed between sobs.

A/N: A few chapters left then an epilogue...