October 10th, 2001

I guess by now, I should be used to keeping an odd sleep schedule. It's not like we could ever do much during the day anyway. But now that the Wyvern Clan has struck an alliance with our family, it's basically guaranteed that until this crisis is over, we're all going to be working the night shift.

Leonardo's pen hovered over the line in his journal, wondering if that really was the best way to phrase… well, this whole situation. 'Alliance' conjured images of two countries joining their militaries, or–he supposed, in Michelangelo's own parlance–'a superhero team-up'. As if anyone in New York could or would ever consider two clans of monsters to be such a thing.

Derek Maza disappeared on, as far as any of us can guess, the 4th of October; it was the last time anyone saw him. His disappearance was discovered on the morning of the 8th. Elisa and the gargoyles decided to meet with us last night, on the 9th.

I had my reservations at first–and so did April–but it turns out, we were both expecting the worst. It's honestly not been as hard to integrate our families as I was afraid it would be. I have to admit, I have a lot of respect for their leader, Goliath. Which, given how rocky a start we had, is saying something.

'How rocky a start we had'? He grumbled. What an awkward way to phrase it. He scratched it out.

Which, given our rocky start, is saying something. I don't think I'd ever say this to the others, but I was worried that last night would go straight to shell. For a bunch of flying monsters from a millennium ago, they're actually pretty –

Reasonable? Personable? He didn't quite know which word to use here.

They're actually pretty cool. I mean it. It turns out, the Gargoyle Way bears a lot of semblance to our own Hamato style of Bushido. They work together, they live together, they fight together. They're willing to put their lives on the line for each other, and I have nothing but respect for that. After all, it's what I'd do for my brothers and my father too.

He pulled the quilt closer around his shoulders as he sat on the rooftop of April's apartment, steaming mug of black tea carrying wisps of steam off into the wind. He took a sip, searching the sky for one specific silhouette. Not seeing it, he pulled out his phone, tapping the power button to check the time. Midnight. Goliath should have been here by now. He half wondered if he'd run into trouble. He didn't seem like the kind of person to be late for anything. He took another sip of his tea and kept writing in his journal.

Mikey and Broadway were almost instant best friends, which makes me laugh. The whole night we spent planning how to help Detective Maza track down her brother, they spent most of it on the riverbank talking about Star Trek and their other favorite TV shows. Mikey's promised to show him his entire collection of Naruto manga. Which is going to be a bit rough, given that basically all of his collection is in Japanese. Mikey'd have to read to him, but Broadway doesn't seem to mind. I think he's just excited to have a friend.

Leonardo smiled quietly to himself.

I'm proud of my little brother. I always knew that, if the world gave him even a single chance, he'd make friends easily with anybody. Our lives have been incredibly lonely. I think it's affected him the most out of all of us, and our new allies seem to have begun to heal that loneliness in him. I guess that sometimes, that naïveté of his is a good thing. Never ever change, Angelo.

He sighed as he began the next few paragraphs, kneading the bridge of his beak.

Raphael and Brooklyn? Honestly, I don't know if they're being friendly or being competitive. It's hard to tell with Raph sometimes. Brooklyn seems more calm and laid back, but Raph seems excited to have a new sparring partner who can keep up with him. Brooklyn's expressed some interest in learning techniques from us, and Raph approves. He seems to be the most interested in kenjutsu, which I'm excited about. But more than anything? I think that first night that we all met left an impression on both of them.

Raph doesn't seem to have any hard feelings against Brooklyn. Which is a relief, especially since they kicked each other's asses. Apparently, they both claimed to have won the duel. Now that I've heard both sides of the story? I think they're right. After all, if it weren't for Raph, we never would have met them. I'd never tell this to his face, but I think it was a win for all of us.

Thinking about Raph's bellicose rashness was usually a source of exasperation for Leonardo. After all, how many times had Raph's itchy shuriken-finger pulled them into a fight they weren't ready for? He looked up again, checking the sky. Still dark, still empty. He continued writing.

I'm not sure what to make of the one named Lexington. I have a hard time getting any kind of a read on him. All I can tell really is that he asks a lot of questions. He seems so closed off, so quiet. When I heard Casey's description of how he fought, it certainly didn't seem to match up to the guy. He's so small–it's hard to believe that he can contain that kind of fury. But, appearances are deceiving. I guess we'll figure out more about him as we keep working on this.

But what is 'this'? He had to wonder. Was 'this' the plan they'd made to find Derek Maza? The alliance they'd struck? Or was 'this' the beginning of something bigger than that? He didn't know.

I feel like if Sensei was well enough to leave the lair, he'd get along great with Hudson. Two grouchy old guys, harping on their four younger sons, trying to keep them on the straight and narrow. Apparently, they both like Celebrity Hockey.

When we told Master Splinter about our meeting last night, I was worried he'd be angry. After all, the idea of revealing our presence to others is something that always sets him on edge. It took at least three pots of tea for him to finally calm down and let us explain the whole thing from the beginning.

I can't help but shake the feeling that we dodged a bullet by talking things out rather than letting it escalate. I guess we have Detective Maza to thank for that, too.

He tapped his pen on his chin. He was forgetting something… Oh, right.

April and the detective? Somehow, I get the feeling that 'likes repel' here. I've never seen April more on edge, more defensive. She's itching for a fight every time she sees Maza. It's so unlike her. I didn't even know she was capable of that kind of anger, and what's worse is–

He was about to finish that thought when he heard the telltale whoosh of massive wings overhead. He looked up, seeing that dark purple shape land on the rooftop of April's apartment, taking a few steps to compensate for a sudden gust of wind.

Goliath caped his wings, slowly turning to face Leonardo. "You're early."

"I try to be." He replied, closing his journal and putting it back into his belt pouch. He stood up, blanket caped over his shell, clasped with one hand. "I was about to head back inside, actually. The cold isn't exactly good for us."

"A disadvantage." Goliath noted.

"Sometimes, but not always." Leonardo shrugged, blanket shifting. "But I'm not Don, I'd be the wrong turtle to ask for a biology lesson. Uh… how is your family?"

Goliath looked south, towards the Eyrie Building. Its shiny, black glass veneer dominated the skyline, a giant that was head and shoulders above the other giants in the distance, crowned with a stolen castle. He took a deep breath that came out in a long, rumbling exhale. Leo almost could have mistaken the sound for a bull or a dinosaur's breathing.

Goliath spoke slowly, carefully. "My clan is still adjusting to the possibility of Xanatos' enmity. If what we've discovered has even a grain of truth, then perhaps we were right about humankind. It shames me to think of the possibility that I led my clan into captivity by believing his lies."

Leo sighed. "I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, our family's no stranger to betrayal either. The Shredder was, at one point, my father's closest friend."

That was news. "What did this Shredder do to your family, Leonardo?" Goliath asked.

Leo pursed his beak. He looked down at the street, turning away from him slightly. His blanket and Goliath's wings rippled in the slight wind that had picked up.

"Sixteen years ago, my father Splinter fell in love with a woman named Tang Shen. At the time, he and Oroku Saki were more than best friends; they had promised to be like brothers to each other. Nothing could come between them. He had no way of knowing it, but Saki had fallen in love with Shen too. When she and my father eloped and left Japan, Saki was furious."

Goliath's eyes softened, a memory drifting there behind his pupils. "Love is blind."

"He followed them here to this country, and murdered her in a jealous rage. But for Master Splinter, he had something worse in mind. He used a…" Leo drifted off, trying to find a word that this ancient warrior would understand. "A poison. Something he'd received in a bargain with a powerful yōkai, a demon. The yōkai had told him that it would inflict eternal pain on any living thing it touched. And, well… it did."

"This mystical poison…" Goliath gestured to Leonardo. "It was used on you?"

He nodded. "By accident. Splinter was exposed to it in a much larger dose than we were. The change that turned him into a rat tore the joints in his body, and it makes movement extremely painful for him. He has arthritis. That's why he doesn't usually leave the Lair. Since we were just hatchlings at the time, we were… a little more flexible."

Goliath shook his head, muttering quietly. "Only a coward uses poison. It is a shameful thing to resort to it."

"The Shredder's been hunting my family for years." Leo said, an odd hitch in his voice. "He's done a lot of shameful and cowardly things."

Behind Goliath's eyes, some intuition prompted a connection. "The cracks in your carapace," Goliath pointed at Leonardo's shell, hidden under the blanket, with an extended claw. "Did he inflict that upon you?"

Leo looked back down at the street, still not meeting his eyes. "Last May. He attacked our friend's home, forced us to escape the city. Home hasn't been the same since."

Goliath snarled, a sound that made Leonardo's heart skip a beat. It was frightening how alien, how bestial the gargoyles were. The way their voices sounded when they were angry or upset reminded him so much of huge, predatory animals. It made him want to pull his head into his shell, in spite of the present lack of danger.

"As long as our clans are allies," Goliath vowed. "He shall not break you again."

Leonardo tried to meet his eyes. When he did, he saw them glowing white with fury. He was taken aback, gripping onto the mug of tea a little tighter than he did before. "Thank you." He said quietly.

"Are you ready?"

Leonardo took a deep breath. "Let me get inside and warm up. Then, I'll show you the way to TCRI."