He reaches his hand behind his shell, fingers curling around the handles of his right handed katana, while he holds up his other hand in front of him in a defensive gesture. They haven't even begun to battle and his palms were sweating already. His grip was slightly slippery when he tried to grasp the handle tightly, and he was aware of his trembling legs.

It was peculiar as to why he was so nervous, because sparring with Karai wouldn't be any different comparing with now. And yet, he forced himself to lock his eyes with Astraea, like the act was his last dying breath. Leonardo was struggling.

He unsheathed his katana slowly, noticing Astraea's eyes were focused on his hands and not his eyes. She was watching his movements, and Leo thought that she was avoiding his eyes because she would not leave if she saw the look of plead in them.

The blue banded turtle's orbs moved on to watch her movements as well. She had her hands clenched, with her left hand holding her whip at waistline, and he was worried because he had only fought one other person–well, a robot–using a whip, which was 'Chrome Dome', as Mikey named it, though it was his little brother who defeated the droid. But with Leo's thoughts on his brother, he figured that fighting Astraea with a whip would be no different to sparring with the orange banded turtle using his kusarigama as his weapon of choice. However, Leo was merely giving himself false hope in thinking that.

The blonde teen gritted her teeth hidden behind her lips. She didn't know whether she was to make the first move, or the turtle. She had fought the toughest turtle, Raphael, and almost won, but she got the vibe that he was nervous fighting a girl. Or it was just her. Either way, she convinced herself that his victory was a fluke. And by this thought, she too was giving herself false hope like Leo. Her thought caused her to think that she had the upper hand, but against Leo, no one would really know.

As Leo prepared for any possibilities, Astraea jumped at this opportunity of weakness, sprinting straight at him. And a second before she would have crashed against him, she jumped and frog leaped over him, quickly using him as a support when she placed her hands on the top of his head, and pushed herself higher into the air. In the same manoeuvre, the sixteen year old grabbed the katana held in his hand and the second katana secured on his shell before rolling on the floor to break the impact, then standing a few feet behind him, twin katanas in her grasp.

Fortunately for Leo, he grabbed the whip that she placed on her waist belt last minute, as she snatched the katana in his other hand. He didn't even realize he had done it until he looked into his hand and saw her weapon, while his other hand was empty. Both glanced at their swap of weapons in unison, but while Leo was frowning, clearly stunned, Astraea was ready to burst out laughing. Of course, it wouldn't be suitable since the blue banded turtle was taking this fight very seriously, and she felt the need to feel the same.

"This will be very interesting", she said and smirked. It was the first sentence she was able to slip in after the long period of sparring silence.

Leo gulped. Here he was, holding a weapon he does not have a very good experience in using, and Astraea on the other hand, had his weapons, and seemed like she knew very well how to use them, judging from the stance she took with his katanas. Even her arms weren't trembling as much as his as she held his weapon.

No matter how nervous Leo was with using this, whip, that he was quite clueless about, he decided to test what he could do. He raised his arm and brought it down rapidly, letting an ear-splitting crack rip through the atmosphere of the living room. He hoped it was loud and frightening for Astraea, but she didn't move a muscle. Now he was back to square one. Feeling awkward and confused.

What is the matter with Leonardo? He seems to have no clue how to use my whip properly, Astraea thought as she stared at him. She didn't know if she should burst out laughing now, or pity him. Maybe she could do both.

This is taking too long. What am I waiting around for anyway? I should just run now. I am close to the exit, have both of Leonardo's main weapons, and he has no idea how to use my whip. I clearly have the upper hand at the moment, the teen thought, but her feet were rooted to the ground. She sadly sighed, and out of sympathy, she tossed both Leo's katanas back to him, without reluctance. She hoped that her gesture would lead him to let her leave.

When the blue banded turtle picked up both his weapons after hearing something clatter in front of him, he was shocked as to why Astraea would do that. She seemed like she had wanted the upper hand so badly, but after she had it, she turned the tables around. Not in the way for her to have the upper hand because she had it already, but for him to have a chance. And now, she had no weapons at hand. She chose to be very vulnerable.

But out of the blue, a strong cry rang out, and Leo's eyes darted to see Raph jumping at Astraea. He clenched his teeth anxiously, strangely not wanting Astraea to get hurt from his brother's sudden presence, but he wanted her to be defeated at the same time. I should probably stop them, the blue banded turtle thought, as he watched Astraea battle Raph with nothing but her hands and feet. He ran at the two battling and used his katanas to try pushing them apart.

He felt a sense of Déjà vu and realized the situation was similar to the time he tried to separate Karai and Raph at the Worldwide Genome Project building, and things went south. Leo shook his head, trying to erase the memory as it was a time when he allowed his feelings for Karai interfere with the mission. He hoped it would be different this time, and knew he was wrong the split second the pain came.

Astraea held a shuriken in her hand, droplets of red staining the sharp points. She hadn't cut him very deep, but enough to draw blood. There was no doubt she didn't want him to die, which is why she cut him just to distract Raph. And it worked.

Raph kneeled beside his brother when Leo stumbled to the floor, and Leo was clutching to his side where his palm and fingers were covered in red. The pain was not immense, but his heart was torn again for being too hopeful, and that brought on even more pain. He shut his eyes tightly as his head was spinning, and a hand was rested on top of his hands. His brother's hand. As he lay on the ground shaken up, the pounding of rapid footsteps echoed in his head, and he could feel the vibrations from the ground.

Leo wasn't surprised when he slowly rolled over and could see a blurry, figure dashing off. But he was surprised that his brother was not giving chase, not yelling for Mikey or Donnie to pursue. The red banded turtle remained at Leo's side, like he didn't even hear Astraea escape.

The blonde teen was hesitant to sprint as she snatched a glance at the red and blue banded turtle behind her, but it didn't look like Raph was going after her. Maybe he was giving up, and Astraea was hoping he was.

As she somersaulted over the turnstiles, her green orbs settled on an asphalt slated motorbike. She smiled inwardly in relief. There was finally a reward for her hard work.

The blonde teen strolled to the vehicle, not in a hurry to escape, but was reluctant to get on the bike to drive away…to her freedom. She looks back and sees the red banded turtle crouching next to his brother, one of Leo's arms slung around his brother's shoulder for support as he tries to sit up. Raph looks up and catches Astraea's eyes locked on them. He gave her a look that Astraea feared. And it was an indication for her to leave, now.

She tore her gaze from the turtles and jumps on the motorbike, reeving the engines before shooting off down the train tracks, her mind clear from any regret.

"I have returned Master Shredder", Astraea said. She bowed down in front of Shredder, who sat at his throne at the end of the room. He stared at her a few feet away from him, but didn't say anything. His eyes remained on her.

It was dark in the wide glassed room, moon still shining bright and high up in the sky. It eased the tension of the atmosphere, but she found it difficult to breathe without feeling so self-conscious.

Minutes passed, and the blonde teen hadn't dared to face Shredder. She had been caught before, staring at him out of curiosity, and was scolded at shortly after he left. They said it was rude to stare at him since she was too low for him, though she wondered why when she was Karai's hench woman. Astraea didn't even remember who 'they' were that told her not to stare and she didn't think her position was that low.

"Astraea", the deep voice said, making her almost jump. He grabbed her attention immediately from the loud, echoing voice. He could speak at a normal volume, and he would still sound as if he was using microphones to talk. His voice was that loud.

"Apologies Master Shredder, I was not aware you had spoken as I was too deep in my thoughts–distracted", Astraea said. It was true. This may have been the fifth time she was dazed and didn't hear what Shredder was saying to her. And everyone knew he disliked repeating himself.

Her orbs were glued to the ground for the whole time she spoke; till the moment Shredder spoke to her. And she didn't lift them as the sound of footsteps approaching closer to her grew louder, mixed with the sound of heavy metal slapping against flesh. She dipped her head lower, the top of her head nearly touching the floor, and the thought occurred to her, that maybe she did have a low position. Bowing so low clearly showed it.

Her heart stopped when Shredder unsheathed his gauntlets right in front of her, and though she could not see it, she could hear the rapid slide of metal of the blades. He will not kill me, Astraea convinced herself, but she was not confident in that statement since Shredder was quite unpredictable.

And all of a sudden, a ferocious crack on the ground erupted. She raised her head up a bit, and her eyes drifted down the long metal fist claw buried in the floor, a few inches apart from her hands.

Through all that, she did not move a muscle. Not even a flinch. And the fact that she had no reactions had surprised even her.

"Do you have any useful information on the turtles?" Shredder asked. Astraea flinched only then, but at the mention of them. The teen was reluctant to answer, not knowing whether to lie to Shredder, or tell him everything that happened. The first option would have unpleasing consequences if they didn't go her way, of course.

"Useful information?" She replied, deciding to take it slow. She tried to read his expression, but it was cold and hard. Too unreadable.

"You were held captive by the students of Hamato Yoshi. The turtles", Shredder stated, not asked. He paced some to her right, then to the left, but returned to the spot he stood on originally. Astraea gulped; heart thumping loudly like someone was rapping their knuckles against a door. She knew he was on to her, but did he know what really happened–the whole story?

"I-I do not Master Shredder, but I did–", Astraea began, and immediately stopped when Shredder abruptly interrupted her, his voice booming into the atmosphere, her ears, and over her whispers to him.

"Then I don't need you here to tell me something that does not concern me." Shredder turns at the end of his sentence and walks back to his throne, leaving Astraea stunned and confused. She mentally shakes her head, adjusts her lips into a thin line, and replies, "Yes, Master Shredder."

The blonde teen stands up, and spun around in the opposite direction, walking away in a moderate pace as she leaves her thoughts about the turtles in the room. Or at least thought she did as she exited the room. Once she took a step past the doorway, her thoughts of the turtles came crashing down on her again. She tried to push them away but she couldn't.

Astraea walked quickly down the hallway, chewing her fingernails aggressively in deep thought. Her head wasn't focused on her footsteps, or where she was going. Where ever her legs were taking her just felt so automatic, like it was another day in the Foot Clan.

As she turned a corner of the hallway, her thoughts vanished at bumping into someone. The person she was not looking forward to seeing.

The familiar dark hair, and smirk on their face caused Astraea to slip her hand back to her side, and stand straight. "Where have you been Astraea?" Karai asked, her arms in the air to emphasize her irritated, and angry mood.

"Why are you still awake Mistress Karai? It is past 1.00am", the sixteen year old replied, and realized her mistake quickly afterwards. Never in her time at the Foot Clan had she averted Karai's question, and asked her something when she was in a bad mood. She silently gulped at what was about to come.

"I know it's 1.00am, Astraea, and it is none of your business to know my whereabouts", Karai snapped back. Astraea opened her mouth to apologize and answer Karai's question, but the eighteen year old quickly cut in.

"Doesn't matter. But when you were missing for a week, do you know what I had to do?" The dark haired woman asks a question once again, and Astraea knew it was rhetorical, so she didn't bother to answer. And her guess was right. Karai would ramble like this for a bit before Astraea could walk past her.

"All the errands you should have done. Next time, you should think about other people first before you take off for your vacation", the dark haired girl yelled, and finally stopped, her tantrum over. She muttered, "Selfish", as she walked past Astraea, purposely bumping her in the shoulder as she did so.

The blonde teen sighed once Karai was gone. From relief, and misery. The scolding was probably the shortest one Astraea had ever received, and she never countered with anything. She remained silent, listening to the words raining down on her. "Goodnight, Mistress Karai", Astraea whispered; knowing that Karai wouldn't hear her. She was talking to air, but saying those words felt right. She wanted to show she still respected her.

Astraea whirled around and continued on her route as new thoughts came pouring in. Karai did not know was missing. She did not care. She only cared that I did not do the things she wanted me to do, she thought, and thinking it felt like someone grabbed her heart and squeezed it hard. It was painful.

Her pace picked up and she was soon jogging, feeling the need to get away from this main base to avoid Karai, Shredder and other people she didn't want to see just yet, but it seemed that the world was against her that day. For the second time in the same hour, Astraea slammed into someone unexpected. She thought he would be asleep at this hour, and not roaming in the Foot Clan base. Astraea was not trying to avoid him in particular either, but knowing him, he would without a doubt, be concerned about her when she was in this state.

"Astraea what are you doing up at this hou–what happened?" the red and white mutant asked. The blonde teen sneaked a peek to catch his expression, and he really was genuinely concerned for her. He was unlike Karai and Shredder, and was giving her a chance to share her thoughts with him.

Astraea kept her eyes glued to the ground and mumbled, "I am fine." She glances up at him briefly, giving a small smile and walks around him hurriedly. She keeps her head low as the distance between her and Fishface increase, and she is pretty sure he has turned to watch her leave, probably confused, but he won't stop her.

"Are you okay Leo?" the red banded turtle asks his brother lying the couch, some blood seeping between his fingers. He didn't know why Astraea would hurt them, and out of all people, it happened to be Leo. He knew Leo was kind to Astraea for the whole time she was at their home, and even he thought she would have a change of heart from that, but he guessed that evil, ruthless enemies never change. Especially henchmen of Shredder.

"I-I think I'm alright Raph", Leo replies in a raspy voice as he grasps his side where Astraea cut him. He was on the verge of tears from her move. He thought he really got to her, and was about to change her mind if she didn't have such a strong drive to escape from them.

"Good, because what were you thinking?!" Raph pounds his fist into the soft seat. He would have hit his brother's shoulder, maybe even softly, but he knew the blue banded turtle had gone through enough pain.

"What's going on?" a voice from behind them says joined by several footsteps. The two turn around and sees Mikey rubbing his eye sleepily, with Donnie right behind him.

No, not Mikey AND Donnie. Wish Raph didn't have to yell so loudly that they'd wake up, Leo thought, but was speechless. He wouldn't know what to say to his younger brothers. They sort of look up to him to be the leader, even if they can't express it, and how would he explain to them that he allowed Astraea to escape because he was about to trust her? Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Raph beat him to it.

"Leo over here thinks Astraea would change. I knew what you were up to the moment I saw you and her standing out here. You had your weapons, she didn't have any, and you looked too scared to hurt her", Raph said to Leo, though he knew both Mikey and Donnie were listening.

Great, now Raphs making it seem like it's completely my fault. Most of it was, but it was partly Astraea's too. The blue banded turtle covered his eyes with his hand in embarrassment. There was no way his brothers would respect him more now than before this incident.

And to make matters worse, Raph decided to have another go at his elder brother again. "See, that's the problem with you. You're too hopeful", the red banded turtle said. He stood up from his seat position next to Leo, but stopped when his brother countered his comment.

"You're one to talk", Leo said through gritted teeth. It was a mistake to take on his hot-headed brother, but he needed to let some steam out too. He would be further injured if the fight moved from verbal to physical though, and he took the risk anyway.

Donnie and Mikey took a step back together at seeing the heat and tension between their elder brothers. "Things are about to get ugly D", the orange banded turtle whispered into his brothers ear behind his cupped hand and Donnie could only manage to nod in response.

"Oh yeah, and why is that?" Raph shot back. He was boiling with anger now. "The whole Jaylene thing", and from those words, Leo sensed immediately that he was swimming in dangerous waters at seeing the look he created on his brother's face. The red banded turtle began to approach Leo, stomping stiffly, and angrily. The fact that his brother brought Jaylene up in that way angered him.

But right before Raph could bury his fist into Leo's stomach, Splinter came into the living room as he said, "It is not Leonardo's fault Raphael."

Raph paused at hearing Master Splinter's voice and lowered his arm. He slumped into the couch, grumbling about missing his chance, and glared at Leo on the other seat. He thinks Leo deserved a beating, but Splinter would never agree to that.

"I understand that Leonardo thinks Astraea will change. I talked with her a few hours ago, and discovered she had much pain in her past, so Leonardo thought she would change because we could help her find out more about who she is. Even miss Astraea did not know who she really is", the wise rat explained to his son. Raph muttered inaudible words under his breath and grumbled like he did earlier before asking, "But why would she go back to the Foot Clan. And Shredder?"

Splinter paused at Raph's question. He didn't know why she would go back to her Foot Clan life, but he imagined the pain she had, and figured that she still thinks going back to the life would be what she thinks is best for her.

"I do not know the answer my son, but I would think she is running back to the only thing she knows. The Shredder seemed to have helped her to start over, and she does not want to throw it away, though her curiosity may change her mind."

Astraea grunts as she falls on her stomach; the air pushed out of her lungs from the impact. Usually she would grumble from making such a mistake, but she was not in the mood today to put her mind fully into it. She was doing everything half-heartedly, and without her normal motivation of trying to improve on her skills. She lifted herself off the mat with her hands pressed flat on the ground, and pushed herself up, and in front of her eyes appears a scaly hand.

"Are you alright Astraea?" Fishface asks, concern written on his face. The same expression he wore a week ago. The one he had that very early morning when she returned to the Foot Clan.

The blonde teen nods, and accepts his hand. The mutant pulls the teen on her feet, the concern on his face un-changing. He didn't believe her for a second that she was okay. He could see her mind was somewhere else, and if not, she was just making every move two times the rate slower than her normal, rapid speed. She was also witty very often when it came to combat, and it she didn't seem to show it the whole morning of their training, or the days before that.

He had known her for two years, and never before has he seen her this way. Even on her first training day with him she was timid, and seemed like the kind of person that wouldn't hurt a fly. But when she put on a sports crop top, he saw the bruises and scars on her abdomen and her back. And seeing those marks, he knew she was a fighter.

But when he compared his thoughts then, to his thoughts now, something was definitely off about Astraea. And it seemed to have started after she came back from her disappearance.

The sixteen year old tiredly trudged over to a bench with her water bottle placed on it, and sat down on the seat before she grabbed her bottle and drank all the liquid in one go.

The teen closed her eyes, exhausted from the whole morning's worth of training and leaned back to lie down on the bench.

But from the moment her eyes shut, a vivid image of Raph kneeling beside Leo appeared in her mind. And as Raph turned to face her, her eyes flew open, but she didn't jolt before she sat up. She tried again, closing her eyes in relaxation, though to no avail, and she saw the same thing once again.

She had the same problem when she attempted to fall asleep after she reached her apartment in the early morning a week ago. It was like they were haunting her, a guilty conscience but she wondered why it would be a guilty conscience when she didn't feel guilty.

But pondering over her thoughts, she reached inside herself and found the guilt she carried. The guilt that haunts her. It may have been bothering her now and when she tried to sleep, but it was eating away at her very quickly.

Did you have to hurt Leonardo? Did you make the right choice? Astraea, what happened that you're not telling me?, and the blonde teen thought, and at the last question, her face had confusion clearly expressed. That did not sound like something she'd ask herself, but she felt a sudden tap on her shoulder, with a faint voice of a man calling out to her.

"Astraea? Astraea?" the man said, and Astraea shook her head before turning her head to face Fishface sitting beside her and tapping her shoulder.

"Apologies Xever, I was…too deep in my thoughts," Astraea said and smiled at the mutant as her cheeks were heating up and were soon scarlet red.

"What are you thinking about? And another question, what happened to you on those days you were missing?" Fishface inquires. Astraea could see he was very eager to know, but giving him every single detail could make matters worse. She considered the events something between her and the turtles, only. Especially after Shredder's dismissing attitude towards her. His, and Karai's.

"I was thinking…I just needed some time to think. About me being here," Astraea replies, which came from the thoughts in her head. Never lied to Xever, but I had to do it.

She averts her eyes from his and looks down at her hands rested on her lap instead. She twiddled her thumbs from the uncomfortableness in the atmosphere as Fishface continued to keep his eyes on her. The sixteen year old knew he didn't buy her reason for a second, but he wouldn't press on.

"Is this because of Karai, and Master Shredder?" the mutant asks. "Is it because you think Karai hates you again, and Shredder too?"

Astraea gives a small nod in return, but it was now her turn to ask a question.

"What happened when I was gone?" and Fishface was not hesitant to answer. "Nothing much. I was the only one that noticed you were gone, apart from Karai asking a few times because she had some jobs for you." He replied in a nonchalant tone, and the words were fluid coming out of his mouth.

Astraea's physical response was nothing. But she did her best to keep her face straight, though her reactions on the inside were quite the opposite because to Fishface, the sentence didn't mean anything, but to her, she received a completely different truth.

From what she inferred, she knew two things. One, Shredder and Karai–the two people she takes orders from–dismissed her showing they don't care about her whereabouts; they don't really care about her. And two, she made a mistake escaping from the turtles. She didn't run away from her problems, she ran to them. She ran straight back to Shredder.

Astraea stood up, stunning Fishface a bit from the whole time of silence and stillness. She made up her mind, and her gut was telling her it was the right thing.

"I think I would like to finish up on training for today Xever. There is somewhere I need to be."

Fin

Wow that took a while, and I'm finding that I always say that. If I had a penny for every time I apologized for the slow updating, I would have quite a bit of pocket money. Anyways, I have exams coming up for me so updating could be slower, though I don't know how much slower it could get than this! But hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, and sorry if Fishface/Xever seemed a little OOC. I was trying to show his soft side, and more about his friendship and first meeting with Astraea will be in the next chapter!

Sorry to OrangeFizz and blueeyedinnocene3 for saying I'd update soon, and then it came AGES later! There was a delay when I had assignments I forgot to finish, and as I said above, I have exams coming up, so study, study, study is what I have to do for a while!

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT 2012