So this chapter is partly going to be about Fishface/Xever and his flashbacks about meeting Astraea for the first time, and I wanted to go deeper with that since he is sort of a main character in this part two, but also because he's Astraea's friend and she's the main character (besides the turtles of course).

Anyway, on with the story!

The red and white mutant kicks furiously and rapidly at the metal dummy, his fists beginning to feel sore from the firmness of the metal. It was different from the wooden dummy he was used to, but he had taken note that when he hits and kicks a wooden dummy, the object breaks after several blows. It was his robotic legs that caused the dummy to break so easily, and he was quite frustrated from having to replace it every training session, every day.

So, the problem was happily resolved when Astraea purchased a few metal dummies for him. He didn't know why she made such a kind gesture, or where she got the money from to buy them, but he didn't question her generosity. He did consider her a close friend after all, and vice versa.

The mutant lifted his arm up and held the dummy still so it would stop moving, and then he made his way to the bench with his belongings placed on it. However, when his eyes settled upon the bench, all he saw was Astraea and him sitting quite comfortably–well he felt comfortable anyway– and they were talking, though with the blonde teen's mind clearly elsewhere. He sighed; devastated that she left him alone in his dojo, and it was just a few hours ago. She had basically ducked out of her training session with him, which was abnormal in his opinion.

As he sat down on the same spot on the bench, he couldn't help but wonder where Astraea was headed off to. The first thing in his mind was that she had just remembered an errand she had to do for Karai, or the Shredder. He knew they always had her running around busy, but never before had her task interrupted a session with him. Her training with him seemed to be the only thing she looked forward to, besides some times in the day when she went to her job.

He casually glanced at the clock on the wall, and his heart stopped. 10.27 am. Those numbers, seemed to have such little meaning, but conveyed so much to him.

The mutant thought it was odd to look at the clock at a random time, out of all the times since two years, and see those particular numbers only now. 10.27 am might not mean much to other people, but this was the exact time he had first met the person who changed his life. He thought it sounded too drastic or exaggerated, but he felt comfortable thinking that those words explained it right. He closed his eyes and smiled, reminiscing the scene like it was yesterday.

Two years ago.

"Ha! That is the third time in a row I have beaten you Bradford!" Fishface declares and smirks as he walks towards the wall with the target before tugging out the knife. He was enjoying beating Dogpound in a round of knife throwing at the target, but even he couldn't deny that he could best the other mutant any day. Knives were his weapon before he was turned into a mutant, but his ability to throw knives accurately was not lost even if he was a mutant fish.

Dogpound growled and his grip around the knife in the palm of his hand tightened. Fishface's smirk curved more around the edges, and he wouldn't be surprised if Bradford threw the knife at him out of anger. This would only trigger his teasing even more whether the knife hit the center of the target or not because he was the target and not the human silhouette shaped outline drawn on the wall in red.

But both Dogpound and Fishface knew that he would simply dodge the weapon when thrown, so Dogpound saw no point attempting to injure the red and white mutant. He loosened his grip on the weapon and placed it back on the table of knives adjacent to him, causing Fishface to chuckle as he walked back towards the large mutant dog.

"You won't laugh for long Fish head", Bradford muttered under his breath.

Fishface lifted his eyebrow, wondering what inaudible words Dogpound spoke, but was interrupted by something tapping his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with a Footbot. He was taken aback by the presence of the robot, and figured that there was a task waiting for him from the Shredder.

Xever let out a groan. He was not in the mood to do something for his master at the moment, especially since he was the one asked, not Bradford, or the both of them. Every time there was a task to be completed, it seemed like it always included both of them. Never one.

The red and white mutant glanced at the Footbot, remaining in the same position as before, and he assumed that he was to follow the robot. The Footbot spun on its heel and stiffly walked in the direction of the exit and Fishface was not reluctant to follow. He dropped his knife on the knives table among the others and grabbed his water bottle near them, taking a long drink as he headed out, but unbeknownst to him Dogpound stared at the mutant fish walking away with a smirk curling on his lips.

Fishface dragged his feet across the floor as he followed the Footbot. They turned left and right, from one long hallway to the other, and thoughts began to spiral into his mind. The long hallways triggered thoughts to appear in his head, as if he was peering into the deepness of his mind at every passage.

The first thought that came in was: what does the Shredder have waiting for him? He usually received news beforehand, and when he went to see the Shredder, he always had to go with Bradford. It was like they came in pairs, but that thought instantly sickened him. Without a doubt he would prefer to do things solo, but that option was out of the question ever since he met his 'partner'.

As they continued down the hallway that didn't seem to have an ending, his attention averted to the Footbot. They had walked in silence the whole time, and he felt a pang of annoyance at the droid. He felt like he was being treated as a prisoner going to see his captor. And the droid was not helping. It acted like a henchman to a captor, not speaking or making eye contact as he lead the prisoner to a destination. It was as if the Footbot was more superior than he was, but in truth was only a disposable soldier that could be replaced easily.

Xever shook his head at these thoughts, banishing them from ever appearing in his head again. He must have been going crazy. First he actually thought of Bradford as his partner without trying to, and now he was jealous of a Footbot. He didn't understand what was happening to his thoughts.

When the mutant and the Footbot approached the end of the hallway, a dull grey door stood before them. The Footbot reached for the door handle and pulled the door open.

A cold gust of New York air slammed into Xever, and he blinked rapidly from the wind; at realizing how windy the day was outside. He had been indoors most of the time, training, so he didn't take note of what the weather was going to be like.

The door stood open for him and the droid, and he stepped outside of the building when the Footbot was unmoving, indicating to him that the droid wanted him to go first. The first thing his eyes settled on was a white van, back doors open with kraang droids inside. A final thought slipped into his mind as he stared at the vehicle. That Footbot took me through a long passage of hallways, so that we could go outside to a van?, he thought. Whatever was going on didn't add up.

But the next thing that came was unexpected. It felt as if something hard hit his head, sending him collapsing to the floor. His hands immediately moved to his head, and though there was no pain before he was lying on the ground, there was just a high ringing in his ears. And object rolled out of his grasp, and he came to realize that it was his water bottle. It rolled on the ground with no direction of where it was headed to, and it paralleled Xever's situation.

He had no idea where he was heading to because there was no other explanation except that he was drugged–by the kraang most likely, and they were going to take him somewhere in that van. But where would they take him, and let alone, why did it have to be him?

Fishface lay on the floor on his left cheek, still clutching his head, but with a softer grip than before. His hands were basically limp, resting on his head, and soon he couldn't feel his body. Sooner or later his head would be numb too, and he blinks slower, and slower, until his eyes were closed and no longer blinking.

His face felt cold and damp as he woke up, and he guessed that it was water. He thought of the irony, that he was a fish, but he woke up gasping because water was splashed on him. His head still felt sore as he pushed himself to get up and his body felt foreign to him. The mutant sat up in a sitting position, and blinked many times to clear his blurry vision. As he lifted his head, he could feel and see the presence of a figure, but he couldn't identify who it was.

When his vision cleared, he rapidly stood up straight, despite his aching head, and the odd feeling in his body. He had to ignore it. The odd feeling was soon gone because he had to try and ignore it and all because the person standing before him, was the Shredder.

"Master Shredder", Xever greeted. He bowed his head slowly, and only leaning in a few inches as he couldn't risk falling face-plant on the floor in front of his leader. His head still hurt, and he didn't want to make a fool of himself if he collapsed.

"Xever", Shredder said, his voice booming into the atmosphere, and caused Xever to hear the high pitched ringing sound in his ears once again. The master and henchman stood in silence after Shredder's greeting, though it sounded too dark to be a kind response to Xever's greeting.

And the silence continued, making Xever want to squirm from the uncomfortableness. Nevertheless, he remained in his position, not moving a muscle with his head still bowed. He wouldn't dare to look up, as it was a sign of disrespect, though he honestly thought it would have been harmless to do so.

His eyes were glued to the floor, and soon he was studying the texture and detail of it. It may have sounded odd, but he had no other options. The floor was made of smooth concrete, and sort of had an old appearance, and he figured that this must be some other abandoned place Shredder took over to use as another base.

But as he was studying the floor, he felt very sure that Shredder was studying him. Was it his loyalty? The way he looked? Because he thought that looking like a mutant fish for almost three years would already feel normal, and he didn't understand why the Shredder would judge his loyalty by just looking at him. He thought he had done nothing wrong, but maybe there was a mistake he made and he didn't notice it?

Okay, stop. I have done nothing wrong. But what is Master Shredder waiting for?

And just when he couldn't almost restrain himself from speaking, the Shredder spoke. "You were drugged Xever." His voice was loud and deep, echoing repeatedly in Xever's head, like it was some sort of throbbing pain. It was an odd statement, but Xever wouldn't interrupt as he was overcome by a sudden curiosity as to why he was here–where ever this place is.

"Stockman engineered a tranquilizer for a man and fish. A mutant." Shredder spoke with darkness dripping in his voice. Fishface winced at the tone. So he still thinks of me as a monster still, the mutant thought disappointingly.

"It was in your bottle", Shredder said after a few moments passed. Fishface's eyebrow rose at the statement, and he knew why he collapsed before he was put in the back of the van. Bradford. He put the drug in my bottle. That's why he didn't throw the knife like he would have, the mutant thought. He felt anger course through his body at his 'partner'. He will be my former partner next time I see him.

He was ready to punch something to let off some steam, or at least imagine that what he punched was Dogpound's face, but Shredder stopped him from doing anything he would regret.

"Follow me, Xever", the deep voice of his master boomed again. And as Shredder turned around, Xever could feel the breeze of the wind from his cape. But the movement from his leader made him look up and follow Shredder. He may have been relieved that he didn't have to bow any longer, but he had a queasy stomach thinking about what the Shredder had waiting for him.

Xever hesitantly walked after Shredder, and he could finally look around at the place he was in. Besides staring at the floor detail, he could see that the place he was in was some sort of warehouse. Old and abandoned, of course. He guessed that Shredder was fond of old and abandoned places, as he could turn it into new bases for himself, or the kraang.

When they reached a large metal door, Shredder came to a halt, with Fishface almost bumping into his back. He lowered his hand and grasped the door handle, before pulling it open. The door let out a deep groan as it opened slowly, and unlike the Footbot, Shredder obviously went through the door before his henchman. The red and white mutant walked behind Shredder into the next room and he glanced at the round clock on the wall opposite of him as it was the first thing he saw. 10.27 am.

But when he tore his glance at the clock, the second thing his eyes settled on took him by surprise. He didn't know what to expect when he entered the room–a dull, gray concrete walled room–and here in the center of it stood a girl. Her hair was long, blonde and straight. It seemed to shimmer brighter than the dim light of the room, and it cascaded down her shoulders.

She stood with her back to him, with Shredder standing adjacent to her, towering over her short figure. When she slowly turned around to face him, he was surprised once again by her soft face, which wore a timid look, but was contradicted by her large, curious green eyes. What he was surprised by was that she did not give him a look of fear when her eyes met with his, and they lingered longer than a normal person would if they saw him. She didn't appear bothered by his appearance, but it was probably the reason why her eyes were full of curiosity towards him.

Shredder places a hand on her shoulder, and the gesture was not loving or protective. It conveyed more of a possessive gesture, showing that she was another person added to the list of people that worked for him. "This is Astraea", Shredder said. Her name pondered in Xever's mind. It was unique, and so smooth that it would roll of the tongue easily.

"She is under your care now Xever."

Astraea waited until late at night before beginning to pack her things. 10.27 pm. It was the best time to start since no one would be checking up on her at this time, and should be asleep. But her face scrunched up at the thought that someone would come in right now, because she had no idea what time anyone in the Foot Clan goes to bed ever since the early morning she returned. Karai was up and walking around the base and even Xever was awake, which stunned her the most.

In spite of that, she was willing to give it a try, and she needed to escape as soon as possible. Xever was proficient at detecting the kind of mood she was in, and from the attitude she displayed to him, he was definitely concerned.

She could almost feel him reaching out to her, wanting to know why she was not acting like herself, but that and, the fact that he had checked up on her a few minutes ago, just when she decided she was about to pack her things. Fortunately, all he saw was that she was out of bed, with her hand on the light switch of her lamp.

But she was confused at why she didn't fear a kraang droid barging into her room at any time. She was living in a building full of kraang droids, and they were working downstairs, levels below her. Her room was located in a kraang building, but even robots respected her privacy; not like the red banded turtle, Raphael, who entered her room without knocking. He was not supposed to be in the building in the first place, and for all he knows, she could have been in the middle of changing her shirt.

The memory annoyed Astraea, but she reminded herself that she and the turtle would have to cooperate, be allies, as she would help them search for Jaylene.

She shook her head and cleared her thoughts of the turtles for now, because her main goal was to escape. Again.

So, toothbrush, hairbrush, my clothes, sweater, flashlight, cellphone, a few weapons–oh, do not forget your whip!, Astraea listed in her mind as she pointed at the objects, and placed them compact in her sports bag.

She turned around and looked into her now-empty wardrobe, and her eyes drifted over to a particular white fabric outfit. My uniform. My Foot uniform, the blonde teen thought, and she wondered if she should bring it with her. She grabbed the uniform and squeezed it tightly in her hands. I should bring it just in case.

Astraea stuffed the uniform into her bag before zipping it, and patting the surface like it was a pet animal. She moves her orbs to settle on the mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door. It wasn't long before she couldn't resist turning and looking at her reflection.

She thought she should wear some casual clothes that were also neat, so her appearance to the turtles would accept her as a regular person, and not the enemy anymore. And she depended on her navy blue cashmere sweater, white long sleeved blouse, and black jeans and brown leather boots to do the job.

If she dressed in her Foot uniform, they would probably attack her instead of welcoming her back. If they would welcome her back.

Happy with her choice of clothing, she grabbed her sports bag, slung it on her shoulder, and got ready to climb down the building with the grappling hook and rope she had already prepared. Thankfully, the kraang were too busy with their work to notice a long line of rope hanging from out her window and the side of the building. Here goes nothing.

She sits on the window sill, holding tightly to the window frame as one of her legs hangs out the building, and glances down below. The distance to the bottom was quite far, but she had faith in herself that climbing down would be a piece of cake. Hopefully.

As she wriggles in her seated position to find a way of slipping out the window smoothly and slowly, the creaking of the door stops her. Her eyes dart to the opposite end of the room, and see Xever standing at the doorway, wearing a quizzical expression mixed with surprise and worry.

Minutes pass as their eyes remain locked, none wanting to break the contact. But as the tension increases between them, Xever breaks it by saying, "Somewhere you need to be?"

He asks her a question from the statement she made that morning, saying she needed to be somewhere. He didn't understand what that meant at first, but now, he pieced the puzzle. She wanted to run away.

Astraea nervously nods in response. She couldn't reply in words. She felt too ashamed to. "I-I should return, soon", the teen pushed out. She had no clue of what else to say as seeing Xever there made her feel selfish. She was his only good friend, and leaving him would hurt her as much as if they were to swap places. She would be crushed if he left her alone with just Karai, and Shredder, but here she was, doing just that to him.

But Xever understands. He knows she hates working for Karai and Shredder, even though he doesn't know the rejection she received from them. The conclusion is that Xever wouldn't stop her from running away, as he would have done the same.

"Goodbye, Xever", Astraea says to the red and white mutant, before she slides out the window and climbs down the side of the building.

The engines roar powerfully as she drives down the train tracks, knowing she was getting closer to the turtles' home. She didn't know where it was since she was unconscious from the first time she was taken there, so she depended on the motorbike she stole from the turtles. It strangely had a homing device, which made things easier for her, but she found it odd to install a homing device in case enemies–like she was before, would have found the Lair if they got their hands on the bike.

It is lucky for them that I did not share to the Shredder about stealing this bike when I was about to, Astraea suddenly thought, and also decided that she would have a talk with Donatello about installing such a device.

She heard small, sharp beeps from the bike and glanced at the speedometer. The speed of the vehicle was gradually decreasing. Probably close to the Lair then, she guessed.

And her prediction was correct. When the motorbike came to a halt, she looked to the side and saw the turnstiles and large opening. The figure standing there though was not what–or who–she expected to be waiting. The blue banded turtle stood in front of the turnstiles, at the top of the steps wearing an unreadable expression. He was staring directly at her.

Astraea didn't know what to think as she got out of the bike, especially with his presence there. It was like he was guarding the entrance, and she hoped that he was not guarding it from her.

She walks up the steps, her head down, eyes averting from his. It was only until she bumped into his plastron that she looked up at him. And she plastered on an embarrassed expression.

The teen stepped back to avoid him spotting the heat rising in her face, and she lowered her head like she had before, but her green orbs paused at the bandage wrapped around his torso. She wondered why it was there, but gasped a little when she was aware that it was her fault the bandage was there. She had cut him, when she tried to escape, and only now did she feel more horrible about it.

Astraea moves forward to stand a foot away from the blue banded turtle. She extends her hand and touches the spot she cut Leo. He twitches from her touch, and either from pain or surprise, she didn't know. She pressed lightly on the spot, as if her touch would make it heal quicker, but of course it wouldn't. And after a while, the blonde teen gathered the courage to say, "I have chosen to take you up on your offer."

She subtly hints the plead in her eyes for his forgiveness as she gazes at him after her statement, and the pain that Leo was wearing a blank face at everything she did had ceased at last, when he gave her a small smile and wraps her in his arms. She gladly accepts his embrace.

Fin

Oh yeah, done with that! And I quite like the ending because it's so adorable! Please review and thanks for reading! Please ignore my mistakes because I was sort of rushing to finish this.

And I also want to credit Armageddongal for the 'disposable soldier' phrase. Hope you didn't mind that I used it!

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT 2012