A/N: Hello! Sorry for the long wait! Thank you for all the reviews so far! One little note, again, I DO NOT OWN TURTLES! And please R&R, Faves are good too! Hope you enjoy this!

I have come back and edited every chapter, just so you know…again!

Chapter 9: Peril

The air was crisp and chilly that early morning in the land of what many people often referred to as 'The Land of the Rising Sun'. The once rosy pink petals of the millions of Sakura trees had now faded to beautiful shades of red and orange as they fell one by one to the ground. Crimson leaves fluttered through the cold breeze and were carried off far, far into the mountains beyond.

Not many people were out that day, due to it being too cold for some, and with a forecasted snow storm soon approaching, it was best that they all stayed indoors to keep as warm as possible.

However, one such individual was not as bothered by the cold as others normally would be, for she had been trained in far worse conditions before.

Sitting on the platform outside of an old dojo with a steaming cup of tea by her side, clad in only a purple sweater and jeans ripped at the knees, the young, black-haired kunoichi, Karai, closed her amber eyes and took in a deep breath, letting it out again with a content sigh.

The search for the Shredder had been yet another dead end, but it was good to be back in Japan at the very least, the land of her birth. She hadn't been able to just sit back and unwind for some time, and it felt good to finally ease off the stress and rest her muscles for a little bit. After training with Danny (one of April's friends that had decided to come with her on her search) for the past two hours that day, she'd finally let the boy go sightseeing whilst she sat outside despite the chill.

She'd been sat outside for at least an hour now, simply letting her mind relax and take in the tranquil aura of the winter air.

Karai opened her eyes again, watching as the petals of the sakura tree in the center of the garden twirled as they fell soundlessly to the ground, reminding her of the beautiful ballet dancers she used to love watching as a child...or better yet, they reminded her of little pink snowflakes.

Smirking to herself at the thought and closing her eyes again as she let her head fall back slightly, Karai inwardly mused over the fact that she may or may not be able to make it in time to fly back to New York at this rate, and spend the holidays with her new 'family'. She knew they would understand, though; the flights from here to America were very nearly booked up for the amount of people going abroad to visit friends or relatives this year. As for the expenses, she could handle that; he late 'father' was loaded with cash that he'd 'borrowed' before his disappearance.

However, she also knew how she would probably never hear the end of it from Raphael, over the fact that she'd missed out on getting the chance to kiss a certain someone underneath the mistletoe.

Kissing under a plant…was that a western tradition or something? It seemed pretty popular as well as very tempting, so she thought she'd give it a shot just for the fun of it. The thought of seeing him turn redder than his younger brother's mask afterwards made her grin and snicker to herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard running footsteps on the floor boards coming towards her. She slowly opened her golden brown eyes to see Danny, having probably returned long ago from his sightseeing trip, running towards her with a phone in his hands. Sitting up, she regarded him coolly. "What is it?" she asked evenly.

Danny bowed in respect to her, and even now she still couldn't hide the smile over the fact that she was a sensei now. The concept was just so cool. "Sensei, it's for you," Danny said, holding out the phone to her. "It's Leonardo. He said he wanted to speak with you right away."

Karai bit back a smirk. The blue clad turtle was so needy at times that it was almost funny if not cute, but of course, he always denied it. She nodded as she took the phone from him and put it against her ear, her other hand picking up her warm tea cup. "Hey there, sweetie. Miss me already?" she teased with a mischievous grin.

However, her smile then slowly turned into a serious frown when she heard his tone.

"Karai, listen, this is serious. There's something I have to tell you…"

Karai's brows creased together, now paying full attention to the slightly distressed mutant turtle on the other line. Something was wrong; she could hear something in his voice that she hadn't heard in a while.

It was fear.

Straightening up, her brows creased as she pressed the phone closer to her ear so that she could hear him clearly. "Okay Leonardo, I'm listening," she said earnestly, but kept her voice calm as not to rile up the turtle any further. "What's going on?"

What he said next made her heart freeze in her chest and her blood run cold in her veins.

"It's The Shredder. He's here in New York. And he's got my brother…"

With wide eyes, Karai dropped the tea cup, letting it slip from numbed fingers as the contents spilled all over the floor.

Back in New York, under the cover of the pitch darkness of the winter night, with Leonardo taking the lead, closely followed by Michelangelo and Donatello as they quickly leapt across the buildings of the active city below them, their breaths coming out in little clouds as they ran as fast as their legs could carry them, not stopping for even a moment. They stuck to the shadows, never once straying into the light or making a sound as they bounded over air vents and fire escapes.

Outwardly, Leonardo remained calm, his eyes narrowed and focused as he led his two remaining brothers across the city rooftops. But on the inside, he was truly petrified. His little brother, his best friend, in the hands of the Shredder himself…it terrified him to the core.

But it also enraged him. It made him want to take out his katana and sever the man's head clean off his shoulders for even daring to kidnap his little brother.

On the other hand, it also made him want to smack the green off of Raphael for going against his orders, even after telling him over and over that he would only get himself hurt if he did. But as usual, that red idiot just wouldn't listen to him.

If they ever managed to get out of this alive, Leonardo would kill him just for the immense stupidity of what he'd done.

The three ninja turtles finally landed on the building opposite the secret entrance that Keno had told them about. "Here it is. Just like Keno said," whispered Leo. He narrowed his eyes as he spotted two Foot Soldiers standing guard in the obscurity.

Leo turned back to his younger brothers and made a few motions with his hand. 'Go around back and strike hard'.

Michelangelo and Donatello both nodded once, and then the three split off into the shadows.

The Foot soldiers were taken by surprise as two large figures appeared behind them, knocking them out in seconds and dragging their unconscious bodies away, throwing them behind the dumpster nearby. Darting his eyes left and right, Leonardo silently opened the door and let his younger brothers inside first before he followed at the rear. The three turtles entered 'The Dome', hunkered down as they moved promptly but soundlessly through the junkyard.

"The perimeter's pretty quiet, Leo," Donnie whispered.

Leo nodded, but he couldn't help but notice that it was a little too quiet for his liking. He was certain that they were walking straight into a trap…

"Hey guys, didn't Keno say something about alien robots? I told you guys I was right!" Mikey piped up in a loud whisper.

Leo and Donnie shushed him testily. "Knock it off! We're not here to 'Alien Sight See'. We're just here to get Raph and get out!" he hissed. Looking forwards again, he suddenly struck out an arm to stop the other two as a Foot Soldier came into view, armed with a long bladed staff.

Leo held up a finger and pressed it to his lips as he motioned for them to follow him. They rolled along the ground as they came closer to the unsuspecting ninja, hiding behind several empty oil barrels. Leo regarded Mikey behind him, and cocked his head towards the soldier. Mikey nodded once, his eyes narrowed with concentration now as he slowly stood up and crept up behind the soldier.

Before the black clad ninja could turn around, the turtle whacked his hand hard on the side of his neck. The ninja twitched violently for a moment before falling limp into Donnie's waiting arms. As Donnie dragged him away towards a dying bush, Mikey dusted his hands off smugly. "Well, that was easy!" he chuckled.

Donnie and Leo shushed him again. "Yeah, but it was a little too easy, don't you think?" Leo said quietly, folding his arms as he stared down at the insentient soldier behind the bushes. "These guys don't seem to be more than a couple of Ashigaru-sha's. I wonder why?"

Mikey followed Leo's gaze, and a smirk found its way across his freckled features. "These are the guys who managed to take down Raph? Dudes, he is gonna be soooooo humiliated!" he laughed quietly, thinking about all the teasing he could do once they rescued the red turtle. It kind of served him right for being so stupid and worrying them all.

Donnie and Leo rolled their eyes collectively as they moved ahead, moving deeper and deeper into the center of the large hideout, careful not to knock or trip over anything as they weaved their way through the seemingly deserted junkyard. Leo's azure eyes skimmed the area, looking for any sign of his red clad brother, but saw or heard no one. If Raph was being held captive, they probably would have heard him trying to escape somehow or something.

Where could they be keeping him?

In the midst of all the garbage and debris, Donnie spotted an old structure situated in the center of the junkyard. He reached out next to him and tapped Leo on the shoulder, silently motioning the building. "Maybe they're holding Raph inside there," he whispered.

After looking the building once over, Leo nodded to him and beckoned them onwards, bodies crouched low as they sprinted across the yard. The three pressed themselves against the wall as they peered around a corner of the old building. Leo was about to give the order to infiltrate the complex, but was interrupted when Mikey let out a sharp gasp, pointing over their shoulders frantically.

"Look! It's Raph!" he exclaimed in a loud undertone, and his older brother's followed his gaze.

Indeed, they had found Raphael, but he was bound to a large pole, his hands tied behind him and had silver duct tape across his mouth. His right cheek was red and swelling with dried blood crusted on the twin, dagger shaped wounds. He looked so exhausted, as if he'd been trying to get himself free for so long but had spent whatever energy he had left.

Donnie let out a quiet gasp. "Oh my god…Raph," he breathed.

"W-what…what did they do to his face?" Mikey shuddered, turning pale at the sight of blood.

Leo's eyes were wide and burning with fury. How dare that monster of a human show his face in this city and hurt a member of his family again?

He would make sure that the Shredder would pay for what he'd done to his little brother.

Raph's weary emerald eyes blinked once as they looked up from the ground. Then they immediately widened when they met the alarmed gazes of his three brothers on the other side of the junkyard.

No…nonononono they couldn't be here they just couldn't be here! Those idiots were going to get themselves killed! Didn't they know that this was a trap?! They had to go, they had to leave him behind and get to safety! He tried calling out to them as he struggled once again against the ropes restraining him to the pole, but of course, the duct tape muffled his cries and warnings.

'I don't like this' Leo thought as he watched his brother shaking his head and shouting muffled words at them. 'This is definitely a trap...but to save Raph, it's a risk we're going to have to take…'

"Keep your eyes peeled, guys," Leo warned as he motioned for them to follow his lead. They raced swiftly and silently towards the red turtle.

Raph shook his head vigorously now as his brothers, instead of heeding his warning signs, headed straight towards him. Those idiots! If only he could get himself free, or at least get this stupid tape off his mouth so he could shout at them to leave.

In the corner of his eye, he caught something moving behind one of the trash piles.

His eyes widened again as his green skin turned pale. Oh no…they were moving in! His brothers wouldn't stand a chance against them! Why did they have to come back for him?!

"Y'know," Donnie mused quietly as they neared their captive brother, who's struggles and inaudible calls became more intense as they drew closer, "given the layout of this junkyard, and the proximity of certain structures, if they were gonna set a trap, I'd say they'd do it right about…"

Several Foot Ninjas suddenly leapt out of the shadows and surrounded the three turtles, weapons keen and at the ready.

"...now..." Donnie concluded flatly as he and the other two turtles drew their weapons, and without another word, the Foot attacked.

At first, the turtles found it easy to knock the soldiers down to the ground, as per usual. A quick kick in the stomach or a whack to the side of the head with a staff or nunchaku, and they were down on the ground within seconds. Mikey dusted his hands as off and folded his arms with a nod. "And that's that!" he cheered. "Now let's get Raph and get outta here!"

However, just as they moved back towards Raphael, strangely and scarily enough, the soldiers were back on their feet again, ready for another attack.

Raph hung his head in despair. They were doomed.

Leo's brow furrowed as he, Mikey and Donnie stared at the black clothed ninjas in confusion as they recovered from what should have been a clean knock-out. "Okay…that's weird," he murmured, and was just in time to bring his katana up to block the swing of a soldiers' axe before his head got lopped off, and the battle recommenced.

But after several minutes, the battle became progressively difficult as somehow, the Foot soldiers slowly began to get somewhat used to their attacks.

Almost as if they'd started to adapt.

Donnie spun his Bo staff over his head before swinging it towards a soldier's face, only to receive a shock when the soldier was able to duck underneath his swipe with ease, spin on his heel and then launch a hard kick into his side, sending him flying into Leo as the two tumbled to the ground. The two turtles quickly pushed themselves to their feet again and dodged an oncoming dog-pile of Foot.

Mikey let out a yell as zigzagged across the battle field, spinning his nunchaku before smacking a Foot soldier in the head. The weapon did nothing more than bounce off with a metallic clank as the soldier remained standing. The soldier's eyes seemed to glow red as he turned to face the young turtle. Mikey made a face. "They armoured up or something?!" he cried incredulously.

Leo clashed blades with a ninja, grunting with effort as he pushed him away from him with brute force, before turning and quickly bringing his katanas down upon another. To his shock, the soldier caught the blade, his hand remaining intact in the process, and landed a solid kick into Leo's stomach that felt like metal, sending him staggering backwards. Leo growled in frustration as he wiped a smear of blood off his lip with a flick of his thumb. He was growing very tired very quickly, and so where his brothers as the fight wore on.

These guys were not nearly as hard to fight back at TCRI; they just wouldn't stay down! What happened to them? How had these guys become so strong in the space of only a few days? And how could they read their moves so easily after only seeing them once?

Something wasn't right here. Maybe they'd been enhanced somehow…

A Foot soldier attempted to strike Leonardo from behind, and pure instinct took him over as, without thinking, Leo spun around and sliced his head clean off. He watched in horror as the head rolled off his shoulders and bounced onto the floor. "O-oh my god!" he cried in terror, "I killed him! I-I didn't…huh?!"

He stopped dead as he stared at the headless body. It sparked with electricity, wires coming out from his shoulders before it fell to the ground with a clatter of metal.

"These guys are robots?!" Donnie exclaimed as the Foot Bots closed in on them, effectively boxing the turtles in. The brothers stood shell to shell, weapons at the ready for another attack, though they could barely keep themselves standing at this rate.

Suddenly, a silver ball rolled out onto the ground in front of the three turtles. Staring down at it for no more than a second, Leo's eyes then widened in realization. "Look out!"

But before they could move, the silver ball exploded and a large net burst out from within, ensnaring the three turtles as they fell and rolled to the ground in a pile of tangled, green limbs. Raph could only watch and let out a muffled cry of alarm as his brothers were entangled. Their weapons had fallen right out of their hands when the net had sprung out, so there was no way that they could cut themselves free.

They were caught with no way out.

"Agh! Whatever this net is made out of, it's tremendously resilient!" Donnie growled as they tried desperately to free themselves, but to no avail.

"No kidding, Don! Remind me to thank the guy who made it later!" Mikey deadpanned, earning a look from his older brother as they continued to futilely thrash against their restraints.

Abruptly, bright lights flashed on and flooded the area, nearly blinding the turtles with its intense glow as it shone down upon them. "Ow! What now?!" Leo cried in agitation, his eyes squinting painfully in the bright light.

Then from out of the darkness, a large, foreboding shadow towered over them as they lay struggling in their binds. They looked up and collectively gasped in horror, their jaws hanging open in terror. "Dudes, it's The Shred Head!" Mikey cried.

In the flesh and armor, the Shredder loomed over the three of them, glaring down at them with his deadly bloodshot gaze. Beneath his mask, he grinned devilishly. Finally, his enemies were in his grasp, and the time had come to claim his vengeance.

He could only wish that Hamato Yoshi was here to watch them die before his very eyes.

Unfazed by Shredder's deathlike glare, Leonardo growled up at him. "It's about time you showed your face again, you coward!" he hissed, "What are you trying to pull this time?!"

Humored by the child's bravery, Shredder chuckled darkly at the older turtle. "Foolish turtles; you were so concerned for the life of your dear brother that you would all rush blindly into an evident trap. You amuse me with your doleful compassion," he chided as he drew closer to where they lay helplessly. "Well, now here you are, utterly defenseless and completely at my mercy…"

Still struggling underneath the net, Donnie ground his teeth together in anger. "Let us go, you maniac!" he barked, "or you'll be sorry you ever showed your ugly face in this city again!"

Narrowing his eyes, Shredder unsheathed his blades and pointed them threateningly towards Donatello's face. Donnie flinched back and then froze, staring at the point of the blade with a small squeak of alarm. "Silence!" Shredder blared furiously. "I care not about your empty threats. But do not worry…you shall all get what is coming to you soon enough, creatures."

Donnie gulped nervously. Mikey whimpered as he nearly drew into his shell in fear, but Leo continued to glower up at him unwaveringly.

Sheathing his blades, Shredder turned to Raphael, who could only watch the exchange from where he stood bound to the pole. "As for you, I will spare you death for now…" he sneered, "by letting you watch them all perish."

Raph's eyes became ablaze with anger as he struggled fiercely against his binds. Shredder chuckled forebodingly as he turned back to the turtles wrapped defenselessly in the net below him. "Foot Bots, take them away; lock them in the shed until the preparations are complete." he ordered without averting his gaze. "And then, the time will come to put an end to you creatures…once and for all."

The Foot Bots responded accordingly to their masters' will, and three of them stepped over and grabbed the net, dragging the three trapped turtles along the dirt despite their struggles. Raph could only watch as his brothers were pulled away from him. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening! He had to be dreaming this…

No…of course not. His worst fear had become a reality, and he was just standing there, tied up and gagged, helpless to stop it.

His brothers were going to die. And it was all his fault.

As they were hauled to the large shed built by the side of the larger building, the three turtles were ungracefully thrown inside, which only entangled them further. They heard the door slam shut and the sound of locks bolting as they sat in the darkness, forced to remain confined and wait for what was sure to be an unpleasant doom.

Mikey looked over to Leo, his baby blue eyes filled with fear. "L-Leo…we're gonna die, aren't we?" he stuttered.

Leo looked his baby brother in the eye, and despite his own inner fright, he said, "No, Mikey. We're not going to die. We'll find a way out of this together. If I could just reach my freaking knife…" he grunted, struggling to reach into his belt as he drew out a knife. Forcing his hands to stop shaking, he began cutting at the ropes of the net, working as fast as he was able. Who knew how much time they had before the Foot Bots came back for them.

As his older brother worked at setting them free, Donnie reached out and took Mikey's hand, squeezing it out of reassurance to both himself and his baby brother, who was still trembling. The purple clad turtle felt as though they'd been lying in here for hours, when in reality it had only been mere minutes. He could feel his heart beating against his chest wildly with fear. What was Shredder planning on doing to them? Was he just going to leave them in here to rot away, or was he going to torture them until they gave away the location of Splinter and their hideout?

Or was he just going to kill them?

Suddenly, could hear footsteps coming from outside. His eyes widened. They were coming back already?! Wait, how long exactly had they been locked in here? Oh, that didn't matter; they had to get out of here fast! "Um, Leo! T-they're coming back!" he stammered. "You think you can cut a little faster?!"

"Dammit, I'm working as fast as I can, Don!" Leo snapped, "What do I look like, a freaking saw?!"

Donnie stared at his brother. The fact that he was swearing would have been rather funny, if not for the fact that it meant that he was nervous. When Leo was nervous to a certain point, he'd under-perform, become distracted and agitated. That was not a good sign, especially not now.

Donnie glanced over at Mikey. He'd noticed it, too.

The doors suddenly swung open, revealing the Shredder once again as he stood watching the turtles as they froze, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"The time has come, turtles," he announced, and then motioned for the Foot Bots behind him to grab them yet again.

Donnie gulped again. "Aw, crud."

Below the surface, April paced the floor of the hideout back and forth, her hands twitching nervously behind her back. Casey was leaning against one of the subway cars, his arms folded and his head down. Keno was sat on the floor beside Casey, his head buried in his arms shamefully. Splinter was sat on the couch opposite, his eyes closed as he meditated deeply. The air in the entire subway station was heavy with silence; no one moved apart from April and her pacing, and no one spoke; their thoughts were far too tangled and anxious for words, including Master Splinters' despite how calm he looked…

April glanced over at the old rat as she continued to pace. She and Splinter had discovered that the young teen had a rare gift when they had started her training; a bizarre yet unique sensitivity. It meant that she could 'read' people, as it were, or sense things such as fear or danger better than most humans.

But right now, April didn't need her 'sensitivity' to see that the ninja master was very anxious. The hands planted on his lap were clenched slightly, and his brows were furrowing, as if he were sensing or seeing something that disturbed or scared him.

He was just as worried as the rest of them.

Finally forcing herself to keep still and stop her anxious pacing, she looked down at her wrist-watch and sighed. "Where are they? They should be back by now…" she said, her voice dripping with nervousness. "They'd better be okay…"

Casey looked up from the floor, sending April a reassuring, yet slightly strained smile. "Don't worry, red," he said calmly. "They'll be fine. They're gonna get Raph outta there, and then they'll be back in no time, you'll see. And come on, they're ninja turtles for crying out loud; they've taken down the Foot before and they can do it again, right?"

Despite his efforts to calm her down, which she could clearly see he was trying to do, April was not convinced as she turned to him. "Yeah, but Shredder is going to be there, remember? Last time they were almost killed, Casey!" she cried, hugging herself and rubbing her arms as she bit down on her lip.

Casey blinked at her as he watched her. He'd never seen her look so nervous before. Was she really that scared? Well, he couldn't blame her; she had every right to be scared…he was scared, too…

"And if he's out for revenge like you all said," Keno added sadly as he finally looked up from where he'd buried his head in his arms, "he's not gonna hold back at all, is he…?"

Casey's glance shot from April to Keno, before he let out a soft, resigned sigh before silence descended once more. They were both right; there was no way Shredder was going to hold back on them if he caught them. But even so, they had to hope they would make it out alive. They were stronger than that; he'd seen that with his own eyes only months ago. They could do it…they had to.

This was for Raph, his best friend and their brother…

From where he sat on the couch, Splinter had been listening to the whole conversation in silence. He had to admire the young vigilante's utmost faith in his sons, and yet he couldn't help but agree with what both April and Keno had said. It was true that his sons were strong, very strong for ninjas their age, but the only reason they had beaten the Shredder was due to Splinters' intervention. If not for him, then they surely would not have gained the strength to beat him on their own.

A part of him wished he had gone with them, to aid them in their mission to rescue his captive son. But he knew if he had, Shredder would've undoubtedly tried to manipulate him into surrendering himself for the life of his child, who would then stand against it in order to protect his father. That was a situation he wanted to avoid at all costs. The very thought of any of his four boys sacrificing themselves for him was –

Something suddenly pulsed through him like fire, alerting his senses and forcing his eyes to snap wide open again.

Letting out a startled breath, he quickly but unsteadily got to his feet, gaining the attention of the other humans in the room as they stared at him in worry. April was the first to move as she hurried towards him, taking his arm to steady him as he swayed slightly on his feet. "Master Splinter, what's wrong?" she asked. Splinter was one to normally hide whenever he was worried, apart from the odd twitch of the ear or tail, but this time was very different. He'd sensed something that she and the others hadn't.

Something was very wrong.

Shaking his head to ward off the tingling sensation running down his spine like ice, Splinter looked down at the red haired girl. "I... I sensed that my sons are in grave peril...the Shredder has set a trap for them, and he has captured them," he breathed. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart, mentally cursing himself for not seeing the signs before he'd let them go up to the surface.

As a matter of fact, after the events of that week, when he and his sons had been separated, he'd almost forbidden them going back up to the surface again altogether. But of course, he could not – whether he liked it or not, they had become the protectors of this city, and it was their duty to continue to do so, no matter what the cost.

However, now his sons were in danger once again, and he hadn't been there to prevent it. He knew that Shredder was using them to lure him out of hiding, but if he were to go up there to rescue them, he was sure that they would not stand a chance of getting out of there alive…or without a grave loss.

The young humans' exchanged horrified glances, their eyes wide and mouths agape. Keno felt dread in the pit of his stomach. The turtles were caught? Shredder was going to kill them now for sure, and it was all his fault...

Tightening her hold on her Sensei's arm as terror ran through her like fire, April looked back up at Splinter. "What do we do, Master Splinter?" she asked, her voice wavering terribly as tears threatened to spring in her eyes. The thought of losing the four boys she'd come to adore and love as brothers was killing her…

"Well, one thing's for sure, Red…we can't just sit here and do nothing anymore!" Casey declared, coming off of the subway car and pounding his left fist into the palm of his right with a snarl on his face. "Those two-faced goons got our friends. They need us now more than ever. We've gotta get out there and rescue them before it's too late!"

Staring at the black haired boy, April's fear slowly but surely dissolved, and instead turned into determination as her brows furrowed together and her mouth forming a thin line. She nodded at him firmly before she turned back to the ninja master. "He's right, Sensei. They're trapped out there, and we are the only ones who can save them now. You have to let us go. Please," she insisted.

As April released his arm, Splinter looked back up to the teenagers, who gazed at him with determined resolve, but their eyes were pleading. April had only been training for a few months, and Casey Jones was still quite the rambunctious young man. Surely he couldn't allow them to go out there on the battlefield, against thousands of soldiers and possibly the Shredder himself…

But then he remembered; they'd already been on the battlefield even before Splinter had even met them, several times in fact, fighting to save his life and the lives of his sons. Perhaps they really could do it.

Besides, his options were limited, and they had very little time before the turtles were lost to them.

His decision finally made, he turned back to them. "Keno, you must stay here in the hideout with me. As for April and Casey, go and prepare yourselves. You must leave, quickly!"

Grinning, the two of them nodded back. "Let's do this!" Casey chanted as he and the girl ran off in search for their weapons.

The race was on to find the Foot, and save their brothers. And deep down, Splinter knew in his heart that they were ready.

A/N: Looks like the guys are in serious trouble...