i do not own Ninja turtlesMy wing was well and truly on the mend. Every day I was able to fly and exercise for longer. Six weeks in the countryside had been a perfect vacation to the chaotic running we had done before running into Casey. That had come too close to capture for comfort.

Tzu was enjoying himself as well. He was constantly wrestling with his friend, and Casey was beginning to introduce us to the 'ways of the ninja', as he called it.

We learnt the basic stances and kicks and punches rather quickly as we had been fighting for years in mock battles against each other.

Another morning dawned on the farm, as crisp and bright as ever before. We had hardly noticed the winter creeping in on us until the first frost had arrived. I was up with first light, stretching my wings, warming them up for the flight I was planning.

"You shouldn't really go anywhere without something to eat first, Takara, and you know it," said a voice behind me. I turned to see Casey behind me, arms crossed. He nodded at the stairs and I obediently headed for the warmth of the fire and a plate of breakfast.

I was amazed by Casey; he was not only the one who had distracted the Dragons from us, the one who had brought us here, the one who had kept us fed and safe while my wing was on the mend. Now my wing was on the mend, he had began teaching us more sophisticated fighting styles and had invited us to make this place our home if we wanted.

As we had no better plan than remaining in this haven, we had agreed to remain. He was a true friend.

By the time I had eaten, Tzu had emerged from his sleep as well and, wrapped up in a fur coat and thick gloves, headed outside to practice his kicking and boxing on a sack of grain Casey had organised for us. After I had allowed my digestion to process most of the food I had had, I opened the window and let myself fall out of it, opening my wings wide.

There were plenty of air currents on this farm –it was just a matter of using them the best way.

Casey's family owned the land around for miles, and it was not really farmed, so it was close to a wilderness. There was always something new to explore. I headed out over the track that led to the farm and out over the trees opposite the farm. It was a beautiful wood, calm and peaceful.

I spotted a huge Douglas fir tree ahead and landed in its branches, pausing to catch my breath. My wing was starting to ache, and I had to flap it hard in an attempt to shake it into life.

But this was the furthest I had been able to fly from the farm so far, which was a good few miles away. I could still make it out, a prick on the top of a hill. I had managed to leave the Jones' territory behind in this direction. Once I had my breath back, I would be able to fly back.

No one else came this way. In six weeks, I hadn't seen a single walker and only tractors ventured down the road with the driveway to the farm. I settled back against the fir tree's bark and closed my eyes, concentrating on the ebb and flow of nature that was all around me.

After a few hours had passed in complete stillness, I opened my eyes. Judging by the height of the sun, it was getting on for midday.

I had to get back –Tzu had been concerned for me for weeks, forbidding me from spending more than three hours out. With my wing still on the rocky side, I could see the dangers of overdoing it. But so far I had been unable to fly continuously out to my furthest limits and back. That strength was taking its time to work its way back into my right wing.

I gathered myself, allowing myself to fall through the air as I so often did.

Halfway between ground and my starting point, I let my wings snap out to their full extent, gliding up above the treetops. On the way back, I practised my nose-diving which was obviously an area that needed work considering I had broken my wing trying to recover from such a manoeuvre.

As I prepared to dive down again, I saw something that did not fit in with the norm I had grown used to.

Below, on the road that connected to the driveway into the farm, was a four-wheeled-drive truck.

I pulled out of the dive, choosing to soar just overhead as I judged how much of a threat it might be. There was only one true destination along this road, and that was Casey's farm. The roof was hidden below camping equipment –whoever was in this was planning to stick around.

I was too lightly built to ram the truck, and I was wary of damaging my wing more than it already was.

But I was strong enough to do a bit of sabotage that would give me the chance to fly past without being seen as well as delay their arrival time, allowing us to prepare or run.

I landed on top of the baggage and found a rope securing some of the bags. I never went anywhere without a weapon of some description. I slipped a knife out of my pocket and slashed at the rope. I managed to sever it, and I tossed several bags in front of the truck, causing it to swerve in an attempt to avoid the baggage.

I gathered all the power in my wings and set off for the farm with all the speed I could as the truck swerved until it was facing back the way it had come.

*

Casey and Tzu were training in the frosty yard when I came in for my landing. I was going a little too fast than was really needed, and landed too soon. The result of my bad timing was that I ended up having to run to slow down, and nearly collided with the front wall of the house.

"What's the rush?" Tzu asked. He had read my face and could see the alarm. Normally I was a whole lot better at landing than that. My worry transferred to him.

"There's someone coming," I panted, getting back to my feet. "I delayed them with a little sabotage, but that won't keep them busy for too long. We have to get out of here, Tzu."

"Hold up!" Casey said, coming over to join us. "All you have to do is to be quiet and keep out of sight. If you hear the sound of fighting, clear off then. Otherwise, it'll be my friends, the ones who have fought Saki plenty of times. They've recuperated here plenty of times before."

Tzu nodded in agreement, and pulled me into the house and into the upper part of the attic, where we slept. I opened the window wide, creating a quick and easy way of getting out if the need arose. Crouching underneath the window reminded me very vividly of hiding above the Purple Dragons' contraband before we panicked.

But this was different –if we had to wing it, Tzu would be on my back and not aiming for a very thin life-line. And there was plenty of room to take off here.

Before long, we could hear the approach of the truck I had attacked drawing closer until I guessed it was a few metres away from the house. There was the sound of doors opening and closing, and then a conversation started.

"What are you guys doing here?" Casey asked. He sounded as surprised as we felt at this unexpected interruption to our recuperation.

"You took off without telling us why you were going away, at least not the truthful version," said a voice. I glanced at Tzu –I recognised that voice. It was the voice of the more aggressive unknown person who had detected us in the subway –the one called Raphael if I remembered rightly.

"What are you talking about?" Casey said. Tzu and I guessed that he had somehow talked to his friends without our knowledge, but they had worked out that he was hiding something.

"I think we both know what we're discussing here," said another voice, a female one I could not place. "We agreed to help the guys find the two, not take them and hide them from the rest."

"Alright, but there were complications," Casey said, abandoning his ignorance act. "Liam was alright, but the girl was hurt. And Liam refused to let me call for you. Trust me, winning their confidence was not easy, and it may have been damaged by your arrival."

"Liam? I thought his name was Tzu," said another voice I could remember from the night of our escape from the sewer system –Leonardo, I was sure of it.

"Tzu was not his original name. Before he disappeared, he was Liam Marks, one of my protégées," Casey said. "I knew him, taught him how to fight and trained him to battle against the Purple Dragons."

"What about Takara? Is she alright?" asked a voice that I recognised in seconds. I had heard it for two years and I had hated it. What was Adkins doing here? Tzu looked as alarmed as I was at the sound of the voice of our tormentor.

"Who's this?" Casey asked, and he sounded surprised. I guess he had never met Adkins before; either that or he was a very good actor.

"This is the man who mutated Tzu and Takara into what they are," said yet another familiar voice from the sewers –Donatello. "Don't worry; he swears to be on our side now. And that means he's no longer with the Shredder."

"Yeah, and he's likely to get shredded now," said the fourth voice I recalled from the sewers –Michelangelo.

"Not funny, Michelangelo," said another unfamiliar voice. "But perhaps we should carry on this conversation in the warmth."

There was the sound of the front door opening and then closing, and the buzz of conversation moved to the room below us.

"What do you reckon?" I asked Tzu, looking to him for leadership.

"Casey seems to trust them, even Adkins. And if he's turned against Saki that can only be good news for us."

"But he told us not to trust anyone, and we ended up relying on Casey," I argued.

"I knew him for years," Tzu countered. "Besides, if he had wanted to betray us, he could have easily done it at any point over the past six weeks. In fact, he could have done so while we were in that trailer on our way here. I know we can trust him, and his friends."

"I hope you're right," I said in reply. "But I'm not staying up here."

I clambered up onto the windowsill and lowered myself onto the snow-covered roof. Keeping a tight grip on the windowsill, I knelt, testing before I was willing to let go. I slid a little of the way, bearing down on the porch. I gripped the edge tightly and swung myself onto the wooden porch, rolling into a crouch.

It was one of the moves Casey had taught me and Tzu during our stay. We had practiced it over and over again, and now I saw it gave you a handy quiet way down the building without detection.

I slipped off the porch and headed for the barn. I knew Tzu would be able to see me, but no one in the house had noticed.

As I swung myself into the rafters, I saw the doors, which I had shut completely, being pushed wide. Four creatures stepped in, creatures I had never expected to see before. They looked like giant turtles that had learnt to stand on their back legs. Casey followed them in.

"Takara, I know you're in here," he shouted. I remained quiet. I had decided to have a bit of fun when I had made the dash for the barn. "These are the friends I told you about –Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello. They've fought Shredder, who you know as Saki, and they only want to help."

"OK, guys, put your weapons down," commanded one. From the voice, I knew it was Leonardo, who I had already classed as the leader. "I think that since she only knows the basis of our style, we shouldn't really use weapons."

What did he mean by 'our style'? Casey had only refined our technique, but I could get answers out of them once this little game was over.

I had a feeling I knew what was coming –it was a method of training Tzu and I had been put through time after time by Casey since I had recovered enough to fight again.

It was a bit like blind man's bluff as there would be no lights apart from what there was naturally. As the light was dim in here at all times, it was full of shadows, and I knew them all. this was going to be fun.

I drew my knife and sent it spinning as one stepped forward. The knife embedded itself an inch from his foot, causing him to stop and glance up. But he couldn't see me; I had moved while the knife was still flying, choosing a new patch of shadows.

"OK, she means business," said the tough aggressive Raphael, who I could distinguish as he wore a red mask just as Leonardo wore a blue one. "Let's go."

He and his fellows jumped, heading up for the rafters. They were slow, but I could instantly see that they were masters of the talents I had learnt over the past few weeks. Next to them, I looked like a real rookie, apart from the fact that I had the added advantages of knowing the turf and having wings. My stealth flying had really come on.

But I would avoid flying as much as possible, meeting them on their own terms, taking to their level.

The one nearest my hiding place when they reached the rafters was one wearing an orange mask. Because I hadn't heard his voice yet, I couldn't put a name to him. He was some distance from the rest, who had grouped around in one area, watching out for each other.

As he neared the shadows I had chosen to hide in, I knew I had to act or be spotted. I stood slowly, stealthily, like a falcon circles before launching itself at a rabbit that had no idea it was there until it was too late.

Up here was my domain, and it was time this little invader learnt that lesson the hard way.

I left the shadows in a spinning kick, so hard I not only knocked the turtle off the rafter but went over myself. As he fell into a haystack, I flapped my wings, returning to the rafters and disappearing into the shadows again.

"Mickey, are you alright?" Raphael shouted down. So I had just unbalanced Michelangelo, had I? Well, one down and three to go.

"Watch out for her, guys," Michelangelo shouted back, struggling out of the hay. "She came out of nowhere, and she doesn't care about falling off the bar."

"We noticed," Leonardo called down. Then he turned his attention to the rafters again, trying to work out where I was. He was looking in completely the wrong direction though, as I crept up on them on the rafter over their heads.

"OK, guys," he said to the other two. "She's aiming to pick us off one by one, and come out of nowhere. So keep your eyes peeled."

I was already in position to strike again. Gripping the bar I was kneeling on, I swung around and down, straight into another. I knocked him clean off, and as he fell to join Michelangelo, I reached the highest point of the swing and released my grip, allowing my wings to catch me again and swoop around the barn.

I saw the turtle I had knocked off was wearing a purple mask and, since Raphael and Leonardo were the only two left, it was safe to conclude that Donatello had just taken the fall.

I rose into the air, allowing them to catch their first real glimpse of me. As I hovered there, beating my wings to remain airborne, I felt every eye in the barn on me. Then I swooped over Leonardo and Raphael, coming in to land on a rafter a few feet away.

I just stood there, creating an invitation to attack me while I was in the open.

If had got the measure of them right, it would Raphael who would take the bait.

And I was not wrong. Raphael moved at me, and I waited for him. When I judged him to be closer enough, I dropped to one knee and span on my hands. My legs connected with his, knocking him off balance and off the rafter.

As he fell onto a haystack, I realised I had lost track of Leonardo. I snapped my eyes around, searching for him. I could see nothing.

Then I felt someone collide with me from behind, not only knocking me off the rafter but also pinning my wings.

As we fell, I knew I was going to get the mouth of straw. Sure enough, when we landed, Leonardo had ensured a soft landing for himself.

When he released me, I felt around my wing that was so newly healed, checking nothing had happened to it. I could feel nothing, but to be on the sire side, I flapped it as I got to my feet.

"Are you alright?" asked Casey, coming over to me.

"I'm fine," I told him, tugging my wing in close again.

"You're really good," Leonardo said from behind me I turned to face him. "I didn't realise Casey could be such a good teacher, considering he's quite the hothead. I'm Leonardo," he said, holding out his hand. "My fellows are Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael."

I took the offered hand and shook it, glad of the proper introduction after so long. "I'm Takara," I said. "And I suppose you've already met Tzu?"

"He told us we'd find you here," Donatello said, coming over to join us. "In fact, when he told us Casey had been training you as ninjas, we had to see how good you were. I was expecting you to struggle, but I'm proud to have met you and had some sense knocked into me."

I was the centre of attention right then. As I spoke with these creatures, I felt included in a real team. Despite the apparent clashes of personalities in the group, they worked as a team, just as Tzu and I did. But I sensed it would be awkward to ask how they got as they were, so I avoided the question.

"Shall we go back to the house?" Casey said after a while. "There're still a few people you have to meet, Takara."

We walked back to the house as a group.

"Sorry about the flying knife act, by the way," I said to the whole group.

"I'm assuming it was you who slowed our journey down on the way up," Raphael said, and I nodded. "Well, as long as you don't have any more hidden away, I think we can forgive you."

"She didn't know we were friendly back then. No one was hurt in that anyway," Donatello said. "And the knife didn't hurt anyone. She was discarding her weapons just as we discarded ours."

Not another word was spoken until we entered the house again. Tzu was sitting by the fire, and his eyes turned to me the instant I appeared.

"So how did the training exercise go?" asked a voice I recognised from the yard. I found myself face to face with a giant rat, who was sitting in one of the chairs, eyeing us with a look of polite interest.

Giant turtles were one thing, but giant rats as well? That I was finding really hard to handle, but I was sure I could adjust.

Leonardo was speaking, and I focused on his words.

"It was a draw," he said.

"What, four against one ended as stalemate?" asked the other unknown person in the room. This voice belonged to a young woman with a head of red hair. "And didn't you say it would be a piece of cake, Mickey?"

"Yeah, that was rich talk," Raphael said, elbowing Michelangelo in the ribs. "Especially as you were the first out of the four of us to be knocked off the rafter."

"I didn't see her coming," Michelangelo said. "Anyway, you rushed in and got knocked off because you're such a hothead."

"A true ninja is ready for every attack, Michelangelo," the rat said from his place by the fire. "You must always be prepared, always be on guard."

"Yes, Master Splinter," Michelangelo said. The rat turned to Donatello.

"Now, Donatello, how did the exercise go?"

"We got into the rafters, and only moments later, Mickey knocked down. Then I followed due to another stealth attack. Then Takara changed her tactics, moving into the light. Raphael rushed her, and got knocked off because of haste. But she had lost track of Leo, and that gave him the chance to knock her off. But to ensure she couldn't simply fly back up, he grabbed her wings, which meant that he fell as well."

"You implied a good strategy, Leonardo. I am impressed. Sometimes victory is not as easy to gain without having to sacrifice something in return."

"But I didn't win, Master Splinter. It was a draw."

"You achieved what your brothers could not, and sometimes when victory isn't something you can easily gain, you don't lose either. Your battles with the Shredder should have taught you that at times things end in a stalemate. You just have to keep fighting."

"Takara did well though, didn't she?" asked a voice I recognised at once. I turned to see Adkins standing a few feet away. It still spooked me to see him, and I felt uneasy around him. He was looking at me with an immense pride I had never seen before in his face.

"Very well, considering she has only been training properly in the art for a few weeks," the rat said. His eyes were on Adkins, and I got the sense he didn't approve of what he had done to Tzu and me.