Hey guys, sorry about the wait. I've been pretty busy these past couple of days but now, I am finally able to update! :D

I figured we should have a chapter featuring the turtles before the next OC is introduced (whom is owned not by me, but by my very best roleplaying buddy). After all, I know how boring it can be when a story seems to focus entirely on the OCs.

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT… But heck, I wish I did.

…

Chapter One

"Alright, new plan… Mikey attacks first." Leonardo whispered to his brothers. The four were huddled in a tight circle, careful not to alert their meditating master to their presence or inform him of their plan. They had to be quick, precise and silent; no hesitation, no mistakes.

The orange-masked turtle jumped slightly, absolutely shocked at the idea. "Why me? Why do I have to attack first? This is Splinter we're talkin' about." He complained, his voice barely above a whisper. "Why can't Raph do it?"

"Because I did it last time," Raphael huffed. "Besides, you're the fastest. If you can't tag him then you can at least distract him."

Donatello raised a finger to interject. "May I point out the many obvious flaws in this plan?"

"No," Leonardo told him bluntly. "Look, how about we all try it at the same time?"

Raphael rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like he won't be expecting that." He muttered sarcastically.

Unbeknownst to the four brothers, Splinter's keen ears had already picked up on their plan. Although the rat master appeared to be peacefully meditating in the center of the dojo, he was fully prepared for the attack.

The turtles swiftly but silently surrounded their sensei and when Leonardo gave the signal, they all attacked at once. Almost immediately, Splinter jumped to his feet and prevented Leonardo from landing a punch. He grabbed his eldest son's fist and, with ease, threw him across the dojo floor. "Too obvious, Leonardo." He told him sternly.

Next, Raphael charged at the rat master with a battle cry and tried to perform a high kick while Splinter's back was still turned. Unfortunately, he could not land a hit for Splinter had ducked and then used his tail to trip his hot-headed son. "Too noisy, Raphael." He chided.

Quickly Splinter turned to face Donatello, who seemed to be contemplating his next move. His whiskers gave a light twitch of amusement as he feigned a punch. As the purple-masked terrapin went to block it with his staff, Splinter delivered an unanticipated kick to his brightest son's gut. "Once again, you are over-thinking Donatello. Do not think; do."

Finally, he faced off with Michelangelo. The youngest turtle seemed to do alright at first. He managed to dodge every single one of Splinter's attacks until…

"Hey guys!"

Michelangelo gave a bright smile, turned and waved at the red-head that had just entered the dojo. "Hi Apri- OW!"

Splinter had successfully delivered a kick to the youngest's shell, sending him crashing into his oldest brother. The rat sensei pretended to dust off his hands, before glancing over at Michelangelo. "Too easily distracted, Michelangelo." He sighed, but there was a hint of amusement lining his tone.

"Did I interrupt something?" April asked, looking down at the four groaning turtles.

"No," Splinter told her, folding his hands behind his back. "In fact, I had just finished teaching my sons a lesson."

"A lesson that won't soon be forgotten." Leonardo grunted, pushing his younger brother off of him.

As the four teenagers knelt in a line in front of their sensei, Splinter paced back and forth in front of them. "I expected much better from the four of you," He lectured. "Your plan was poorly structured and your techniques were even more so. That is why, there will be an extra training session tomorrow morning."

The brothers all groaned, but knew that there was no use in complaining. Whatever Splinter says goes, which was the number one unspoken rule they all rarely broke. As the four turtles all disbanded to do their own thing, Splinter headed back over to April. "Not that your visit is not a pleasant surprise, but were you not planning to visit Florida with your father and aunt?"

April shrugged, blowing a strand of ginger hair out of her face. "I was, but then I kinda decided I wanted to stay. Florida isn't that great anyways… I used to go there all the time with my mom when I was little. But, when my mom passed away…"

"I understand, child." Splinter told her, grabbing his staff and heading out of the dojo. "The boys have all missed you, Miss April. It has been a while since your last visit. Perhaps you should spend some time with each of them."

The red-head was eager to do just that. She headed into the living room, seeing Leonardo watching Space Heroes and Raphael reading a comic book not too far off with Spike by his side. Michelangelo occupied one of the pinball machines. "Hey guys." She greeted them, but winced when she saw the door to Donatello's lab shut quietly.

The others all greeted her happily. Well, Raphael wasn't all that happy but he still said 'hi' nonetheless. Everyone was glad to see her; except for Donatello. April knew why this was, but decided to just leave him be. It would be best not to make things more awkward.

Not too long ago, April had gotten together with her new boyfriend Casey. At first, Donatello pretended to be happy for her, but soon stayed away from her altogether. She knew that the purple-masked terrapin had once had feelings for her, but she had never seen him as more than a best friend… or a brother. April missed their friendship deeply, but she knew it would be a while before Donatello got over her relationship with Casey and begun hanging out with her again.

"So, how've you been April?" Leonardo's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, I've been pretty great actually." She replied, smiling lightly. Michelangelo quickly joined them in the pit, plopping down beside April with his usual bright smile. "You coming on patrol with us tomorrow night? It's so AWESOME when you patrol with us."

April shook her head. "Nah, sorry Mike. I'm scheduled to hang out with some friends from school tomorrow night."

"Aww," Michelangelo pouted, pulling the puppy dog eyes. "But it's been so long since you last patrolled with us."

"I know Mikey," She told him, giving a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll be back to patrolling with you guys soon enough. School's just been pretty time-consuming lately."

"Well, don't let us come between you and your education okay April?" Leonardo told her. "You take as much time as you need to study and get your homework done."

Splinter listened to them for a few more moments before sliding the doors to his room shut. For unknown reasons, he could not shake the feeling of foreboding washing over him. It felt like something bad was just waiting to happen. But what?