A Turtle on the Outside, a Wolf on the Inside

by Sairey13

Before Yoshi got the turtles from the Pet Store, Leo was found playing with the manager's dog, who was told to be a wolf-hybrid. Right before Yoshi took the turtles away, Leo ate some of the canine's fur and when he got mutated, the mutagen somehow enhanced the inside of his body to match a wolf's behavior and abilities. NO T-CEST, LEORAI or APRITELLO!

9. Act of Mercy

April didn't know what to say; after hearing the near-death experience Raphael and Leonardo just went through five years ago, it would make anyone too speechless to know what to even say at all.

Donatello kneeled beside Splinter, who placed both his hands on the floor when he hunched over and lowered his head, placing a hand on his sensei's left-shoulder to offer silent reassurance and comfort to the sad father.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Mikey asked April, who sounded all excited and happy when he was telling the story, now sounded scared and sad when he passed the role of storytelling to Raphael. "And even to this day, none of us could figure out how Leo was able to fight off the albino-dude for so long, or why it didn't try to finish our bro off when they both got out of the water."

A tremor of unease ran through her entire being, shivering from the thought of what the albino monster could've done to Leo when he was just a preteen.

"...It's... I don't even know what to say." She whispered, turning her gaze to the red-masked turtle, who turned his own gaze from their small group to the entrance of the lair, no doubt awaiting to see the sight of the eldest turtle to return from the fight with the Foot and rescuing Murakami. "Do you guys know what ever happened to that gator?"

"Last we heard from the news, which was about two years ago, it got shipped off to Gatorland in Colorado after the zoo keepers at the zoo found nearly all of their alligators and crocodiles killed." Don answered, his eyes downcast. Raph let out a snort of disgust.

"Should've shipped it off the very moment they fished it out of the waters, instead of bringing it to our Zoo... Better yet, they should've put it down the moment they set their eyes on that monster; seven people died by that monster, three were killed while they were still sedating it with tranquilizers and another four when getting it caged."

The girl didn't have to take a guess on how much the red-masked turtle wished the sewer had died, instead of it still being alive.

"I see..." A moment pause of silence went through the room. "...It must've been hard, to almost watch your brother die right before your eyes."

Realizing what she just said, April face-palmed herself on the forehead, muttering "stupid" to herself, and tried to apologize to Raph, when his reply stopped her from doing so.

"...It wasn't an easy sight to see, April." He grumbled out, still keeping his emerald-green eyes at the entrance of their home.

His left-hand clenched on to the back of the couch, his fingers digging into the cotton material of the furniture, trying to control the sick, scared feeling that history could be repeating itself the longer the blue-masked turtle took his time getting back home.

"And unlike Don and Mikey, despite them not being there to see it all like I did and afraid that we were going to lose him from how damaged he was when I got him back to the Lair, I wasn't just scared that I would be losing just a brother to that monster, but somebody who's more than just a brother or isn't just my only best friend I have in this life."

April cocked her head to the side.

"I don't understand," she said. "What do you mean he's more than just a brother or only best friend, Raph?"

"April, there's something about Leo and Raph that you should know about." Don explained to her, staying still in his place next to Splinter. "Leo and Raph may have a sort of love/hate connection towards each other whenever they get into an argument or a serious fight, but they truly care for each other. Believe it or not, they bond much more than Mikey and I do, and that's because... Well, it may come as a bit of a shock, but... Raph and Leo are more than just brothers: They're twins*."

April's jaw dropped from the news, earning a chuckle from Splinter and a small laugh from Mikey at seeing the stun look on her face.

"...They're... What did you just say?" She's positive that she misheard to what Don just said. There's no way that Leo and Raph, both who seem to be opposite from each other, are actually twins.

"Heh, I know. Big shocker, ain't it?" Raph smirked out. "But it's the truth. Brainiac made that discovery when he was analyzing our blood to see what type of blood we each have, just in case if one of us would need a blood transfusion that Leo almost needed."

He jerked his thumb at the purple-masked turtle, who blushed when he was brought on to the conversation and rubbed the back of his head.

"Like I already knew and figured out a couple years ago, thanks to the mutagen that mutated us into humanoid-turtles, we four carry Master Splinter's DNA, which also means we carry his genes as well, making us Sensei's biological sons. It's almost like we were grown-made, cloned probably, from Master Splinter's human-DNA when he was still Hamato Yoshi and are bodies are the vessels, hosts to be precise, for the cloning process to take place for the Mutagen to have us become his sons and still have our turtle anatomy, with human anatomy in the mixture*."

A small pause went around the room.

"Uh, Donnie, sort of off topic there." Mikey reminded, not sure on what his third older-brother just said for a moment but knew it wasn't on how he figured out the two eldest turtles are twins.

"Oh, right. Anyway, we each have different types of blood, but when I scanned through our genetics and analyzed our blood for any signs of serious illness we would probably have to be aware of in the mere future, I discovered that, despite the blood types and body structures being different, Leo and Raph's genetics are more similar to each other than they do with me and Mikey. And it's like some people say, 'there's a pair of twins in every group of quadruplets'. Although, for us, Leo and Raph are fraternal twins, non-identical twins."

"You wouldn't believe the look on Raph's face when Don told us that Leo and Raph are twins; it was hilarious and I even took a picture of it!" Mikey laughed out, lying on his shell and kicking his feet in the air, only to have his time of laughter to be cut short by his injuries and a warning growl by his older-brother. "I wish I could show you the picture, April, but somebody tore it into pieces, burned them on the stove in a pan and threw the remains in the trash before I had the chance to hide it."

April had her sky-blue eyes staring at Raph, imagining Leo into her head and compare the two on how similar they are... Which wasn't very much, but she can actually see on how the two eldest turtles can somehow pass as twins, even though they're non-identical.

"It does make sense of them being non-identical twins, but I can also see how they could've pass as twins, even if they weren't." She then turned back to stare at Don and Splinter. "How did Leo take the news about being twins with Raph?"

Don and Splinter look at one another, with Raph and Mikey doing the same. Mikey simply shrugged his shoulders, Raph shrugged only one shoulder, Splinter stroked his beard and Don rest his chin in his right-hand, tapping his right-foot lightly against the floor.

"He looked a bit surprised by the news, but other than that, he didn't really seem that fazed about it." The purple-masked turtle stated.

"Yeah, Dude, it was almost like he already knew they were twins or that it wasn't that much of a big deal to him that he's a twin to the hothead in the family." Mikey added in, who didn't get any sort of warning glare or growl from said hothead.

"Back to the subject at hand, my sons." Splinter told his sons, staring back at April. "We all feared that Leonardo wouldn't make it, especially on how deep the claw and bite marks were on his skin and how infected some of his wounds were. He wasn't conscious when Raphael brought him back and remained unconscious for three whole days. I had done the best I could to treat his injuries, but it was all up to Leonardo to pull through from what he's been through on his own."

---

Flashback: April Twentieth, 2007; three Days Later...
"Master Splinter, why isn't Leo waking up?" Mikey asked his father, staring down at the unresponsive turtle who laid motionless on the couch, his head resting on a pillow on top of Splinter's lap.

Splinter let out a tiring sigh, his ears dropped and gaze downcast, as he gently placed his hand on Leo's forehead and slowly stroke his head.

"I do not know, Michelangelo." He answered, hating himself for not knowing the answer to why his eldest child still sleeps and has not woken up during the three days he finally returned home. "I truly do not know..."

Heartbroken by his father's answer, Mikey gazed sadly at his maskless brother, wishing that his big brother will wake up already and their family can finally go back to normal before that terrible argument had ever occurred.

When he, Don and Splinter went back to the Lair, all three of them finding not one, smallest hint to finding their missing loved one, they had all feared that he went up to the surface and got himself captured by the humans, most likely dead after being dissected or hunted down like a wild animal that he would appear to be to the humans. However, when Raphael returned, he wasn't alone nor did he came back empty handed like the rest of the Hamato Clan: Held in the crook of his left-arm, maskless and unresponsive, is his eldest brother, Hamato Leonardo.

It brought a smile on Don, Mikey and Splinter's face, but their happiness on seeing their long-lost loved one was immediately cut short when they saw the condition both boys were in. Both their legs were damage, their plastrons engraved with scratches and their bodies covered in bruises. While Raph's worst injury is his fractured right-leg, Leo's wounds were more severe and in worst condition than the red-masked turtle's wounds: Scratches and bite-markings covered his shell and plastron, his right-arm having four large puncture holes that indicates bite wounds, with two puncture wounds on both sides of the limb, his left-leg having three scratch marks that reach over the halfway point of his thigh and bleeding, three claw marks at the back of his head that are also bleeding and a crescent-moon scratch over his right-eye.

Without any hesitation, even though horrified at the poor condition his eldest child appears to be and noticing the few signs of infection taking over the ten year-old's body, Splinter took Leo out of Raph's hold and immediately made his way into his room, where a few of his herbs and medical kit were kept safe inside and ready to be used after ten years of being held on to for emergencies such as this. Splinter never felt so glad that he was able to get his medical kit and herbs, along with the rest of his belongings, when he got mutated into a humanoid-rat, before the landlord of his old apartment had reported him missing and would've dispose his belongings to The Salvation Army. While the forty-five year-old quickly went to work on treating Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo helped Raph to the bathroom and did what they can do to help him with his fractured leg.

It took Splinter over an hour and a half to clean the wounds that were infected, apply the gel from the plant of an Aloe Vera on both the old and new wounds and Yarrow on the wounds that are bleeding, stitch up the scratches on his left-leg, place a medical patch on the back of the head, splint the radius and humerus of his right-arm and wrap the wounds up in gauze, until he finally finished treating Leonardo's wounds. While it took a few minutes for Don and Mikey to wash away the blood and dirt that may had entered Raph's leg, and temporarily splint his leg until Don could make a cast for him and Leo to have in order to have their bones heal correctly. Don even took the time to turn the pipe that Raph was using to moving around into a homemade crutch, making it more comfortable and easier to grab on for Raph to use.

After Don had informed their father that they treated Raphael, Splinter decided it would be best to have Leonardo stay in his room for the night, just in case his health takes a turn for the worse and for him to be close by to take care of the situation. None of the brothers liked the idea of not seeing their big brother before they went to bed, especially Raph when his temper got him to yell at Splinter and demanded to see Leo, but they all eventually accepted their father's comply to let their brother stay with their father, if he would move Leo to the living room couch in the morning.

Luckily for the family, except for the fever and the wheezing in his breathing, Leo's health and condition wasn't in any danger and seemed to look a bit better than he did when brought back home with Raph. And so, just as he promised his three sons, Splinter moved the maskless turtle to the living room and that's where the cerulean/sapphire-eyed turtle has remained for the last two days. And during those three days, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo had slept in the living room, not wanting to leave their big brother alone for more even a minute, unless to use the restroom, until they know for sure Leo was going to be alright.

In the mean time, while Mikey and Splinter chose to stay in the living room to keep Leo company, Don has taken the time to head for his lab and do a little research on what to do when a human and/or turtle gets infected wounds and what the family needs to keep an eye out for if the eldest turtle gets worse or doesn't wake up. And Raph... Well, because of his fractured leg preventing him from blowing off steam in the Dojo and not wanting to disturb his sleeping brother by attack the practice dummy or loud video games, he decided to lock himself in his bedroom and take the quiet moment to sleep or figure out what he should do once Leo wakes up.

Glancing down at the uninjured hand that isn't underneath the blanket and hanging over the side of the couch, the three-fingered hand resting on the ground and leaning next to the sofa, Michelangelo reached for Leonardo's right-hand and held it gently in both of his. No reaction was made from the maskless turtle, not even the slightest twitch was made when his hand was held in the firm but gentle grasp of his baby brother.

"...But he's going to wake soon, isn't he?" The orange-masked turtle asked his father, staring up with his big, puppy-dog like eyes, begging for the humanoid-rat to give him the answer that he wants to hear. It's always hard for Splinter to refuse his sons whenever they give him their sad puppy-dog eyes, especially when his youngest son would give him the look on his own. However, if there was one thing the forty-five year-old father would never do, even if it were to crush his sons' their happiness and spirit, is to lie to his children just to try to cheer them up that would end up backfiring.

Though he may not know when his eldest child will wake up, Master Splinter knows that Leonardo won't sleep forever and isn't hibernating when he had already slept through the whole Winter. With those comforting thoughts in mind, along with the knowledge that his son doesn't have any sort of head injury that would be causing him to remain unconscious, the rat-father leaned forward and placed a hand on top of Mikey's head, giving him a comforting smile and a reassuring look to don't lose his faith.

"Leonardo will wake up when it's time for him to awaken, Michelangelo." He calmly explained to the youngest child, choosing his words carefully to be sure that "...But yes, he shall awaken... Perhaps sooner than we may think."

That brought a smile on the orange-masked turtle, who beamed to his father's words and went back to his cheery self. Splinter smiled and let out a light chuckle, happy that he made his youngest child happy once more, even if it was for a moment. Mikey let out a giggle when his father let out his laugh, until his stomach let out a growl, signaling how empty it was and that it wants food. Splinter let out another chuckle at his child's stomach growling, then stared at the TV, seeing the News Channel on and presenting its five o'clock update of the hour of day.

"Why don't you go get Raphael and Donatello? It's time for dinner."

Usually, at a time like this, the food-loving turtle would head for the direction of his brothers and call for them to get ready for dinner, then he would make a beeline for the kitchen to help himself to some of the algae and worms that was already prepared for the family and already be eating before the rest of the Hamato Clan has served themselves. However, with his big brother unconscious and battered, his love for food and eating has been put on hold and made the orange-masked turtle a bit sick to his stomach on eating when one of his big brothers are unable to eat with him.

At first, Michelangelo was going to refuse and choose to stay and continue on watching over Leonardo, but he knows that he mustn't worry his father and/or his two older brothers for his lack of eating and that they must focus on getting Leo better. And so, knowing that he must prevent himself from getting sick and end up on the couch to recover like Leo and Raph, along with noticing the look in his father's eyes that he wish to have some alone time with the maskless turtle, Mikey nodded his head to his father's request.

"Hai, Sensei."

Before he got to his feet to gather his brothers for dinner, Mikey slightly tightened his hold on his brother's uninjured hand and gently placed it back underneath the blanket. He gave his brother sad smile, then leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Leo's forehead, something that the eldest turtle would do to silently tell his brothers that he loves them whenever one of them tells him they love him first.

"Sleep well, Leo... I hope you'll wake up soon." He whispered into his brother's ear, nuzzling his head against the maskless turtle's, then got to his feet and made his way to get his two older brothers for dinner.

With his youngest off to do as he suggested on doing, Splinter turned his attention back to his eldest child, continuing on gently stroking his head and silently wishing that Leonardo will come out of his unconscious state and open his Cerulean/Sapphire-eyes that the father missed seeing for the passed month. Tears formed in his reddish-brown eyes when his hope went unanswered and the ten year-old continues to sleep away the time that slowly went by. When they finally came running down his cheeks, with some of them splashing lightly on Leo's face that didn't get even the slightest twitch out of him, did the father felt he can and could no longer pretend to be strong when the walls he built of his deepest emotions finally broke.

As swift and gentle as he is, he pulled his son's body on his lap and rested Leonardo's head against his chest, where his heart was beating at a heavy and fast rhythm that was anywhere but normal or calming, wrapping his bandaged-wrapped arms around his son to keep him safe within his grasp. No doubt that if anybody, including his three youngest sons, were to see him now, they would come to believe he's holding a small child instead of a ten year-old humanoid-turtle that's supposed to be the eldest turtle in the Hamato Clan... And he wouldn't care what others would think of him, as long as he gets to hold his child that he missed being in his life for the passed month and a week.

It was too much for the great Hamato Yoshi to handle, let alone get over of the possibility that his sons were bound to get themselves wounded in the future battles that are going to happen. And having to see one of his sons, one of his babies, badly wounded that resulted on him using his emergency first aid kit and herb plants that he was able to grow, brought up terrible memories of the fire that will always remind him of his past failure for letting his wife and baby daughter die by the hands of the Shredder.

"My son, please, you must awaken." He whispered to the maskless turtle, using his thumb to lightly stroke the boy's left-cheek that isn't wrapped in any bandage and was left undamaged. "I do not know if you can hear me, but if you can, I ask of yo-... Iie, I beg of you to come out of your abnormal sleep and return to us." He pulled back to stare down at the calm expression on his son's face before he leaned in and placed a light kiss on his forehead, just above where Mikey laid his mark on his big brother. The rat-father then gently laid his forehead against his son's and closed his eyes, his tears continuing on streaming down his cheeks and landing lightly on either Leo's skin or one of the bandages he wears over his wounds. "Your brothers need you here, Leonardo... I need you here, Musuko."

After pulling his head away, laying his son's head back over to his chest and refusing to keep him out of his protective hold, Splinter lifted his head and gaze at the ceiling, imagining that he's staring into the sky and is trying to search for one hint that the Almighty God is staring back at him... Along with his own father, Hamato Yūta, and the rest of the Hamato Clan who perished in the flames, especially the ones who were killed by the hands of the Shredder... Including his beloved wife and daughter, Tang Shen and Hamato Miwa.

"Shite kudasai, chichi (Please, Father)." He whispered to the empty space and blank ceiling above him. "I've already lost my family once by the one who was once my brother, please don't make me lose my family again... Don't let me lose another loved one... Please, don't take away another one of my Nyūyōji (babies)...!"

His breath quivered and fear shot through his heart from the thought of losing another of his family, another of his children... Losing his first son, like he had lost his only daughter. And Splinter knows that the moment Leonardo's gone, his brothers would soon follow and once all of his children are gone, he would be all alone and would have nobody, not even Oroku Saki, to blame for the loss of his family. He would then lose all reason to keep on living and would find a way to end his suffering... Which means, he would face Oroku Saki, prepared or not, and would drag the both of them to their deaths, to put an end to their clan rivalry and the grudge between the two who once called each others 'brothers'... Which is something Shen would never want him to do.

"Shite kudasai, watashi no musuko (Please, my son), you mustn't give up." Splinter pressed on, resting his head on top of his son's. "I know that I'm the one at fault for you to run away from home, from us. If I'd only known you were planning to leave us that day, if I'd made the training fair for you and your brothers... If only I'd truly did treated you and your brothers equally, to show I see you all equally special in your own way and that I love you all equally, either when having all four of you together or even spending time with just one of you four, none of this would've happened and Raphael wouldn't had felt the urge to speak such words that he never meant to say out of anger. And for that, Leonardo, I'm so sorry."

His back started to ache, so he gently got off the couch and sat down on the floor, resting his back against the cushion of the couch he just sat in.

"I know that apologizing won't be enough to repair the damage that's been made, especially when it's been going on for over a month, but I swear to you, Leonardo, that I'll become a better father to you and your brothers, if you'll give me a chance to fix this. Please, give me a chance to become a better father, and awaken from your slumber." He slowly rocked himself back and forth. "...You four are all I have left in my family, my only reason to keep living... Onegai (Please), don't leave me, too..."

He didn't know how long they stayed like; sitting all alone in the living room, holding his unconscious son against his chest and on his knees on the cold-floor. However, sensing the fatigue in his muscles from staying still in the same position for a good while and hearing the sounds of his three youngest sons breathing deeply in calm rhythm within their own bedrooms, it was late and the father of the four turtles must get some rest.

And so, after placing his eldest son back on the couch to rest, pulling the cover over his form to keep him warm and placing a final kiss on the boy's forehead to wish him goodnight, the great Splinter positioned himself to his meditation position and, without any resistance on fighting, allowed the darkness to pull him into a meditate-like sleep... Knowing fully well what will be waiting for him within the deep subconscious of his mind and dreams.

In Splinter's Dreams...
Darkness... All he can see is the black void that has always greeted him when he sleeps... And within the dark void, there comes a scream of a woman... Followed by a scene of red... Which leads the humanoid-rat to the scene of his destroyed world and living Hell: The deaths of his beloved wife, Tang Shen, his baby daughter, Miwa, and the fire that consumed the home of the Hamato Clan.

"I-Iie..." He stuttered, falling to his knees and bowing before the burning building that was once the mighty Dojo of the Hamato Clan... And before him, unresponsive and has gone deathly pale, lays Tang Shen... Dead... The one thing that stuck out of the beautiful woman, the one thing that wasn't supposed to be on her, is the blood-covered claw-marks that came from her neck and left-shoulder, down to her right-hip and chest.

He raised a trembling to rest on her face and, using the other hand to cup the back of her head, pulled the upper-half of her body to him and rested her head against his chest. He slowly rocked the both of them back and forth, as tears streamed down his face.

"Shen... My Saisai (Beloved)..." He pulled back to stare at the uncomfortable, calm expression on her face, gently brushed aside part of her hair to get out of the way from her closed-eyes and leaned down to lay a kiss on her forehead. Splinter then rested his own forehead on top of his wife's forehead and closed his eyes, as his tears landed lightly on her face and trailed down to the side. "Gomen'nasai (I'm so sorry), my love..."

"...You brought this on yourself, Yoshi."

Splinter snapped his eyes opened and lifted his head from his wife's, his anger and rage rising the very moment one word was spoken to him by a familiar sound he would never forget.

'...That voice!' Hamato Yoshi knows that voice anywhere and for the rest of his life, even in death, he won't ever forget that voice... For the voice belongs to the one person who caused the death of his wife, daughter and the rest of the Hamato Clan. His eyes saw nothing but red, blood red, when he turned his head to see and stared into the cold, vengeful eyes of Oroku Saki, The Shredder.

His clawed-hands clenched their hold on Tang Shen for a moment, keeping her pressed up against his chest to where his heart beat at an angry paste, before gently setting her down and standing protectively over her very still form, as he forced himself to face his arch enemy and let loose a low snarl.

"Saki... Anata hitogoroshi (You murderer)!" Splinter yelled, his claws drawn out and allowed himself to spring forward towards his enemy. "You killed her!"

"I did no such thing!" Saki yelled back, rolling off to the side to dodge Splinter's attack and unsheathing the metal-claws of his gauntlet. "It was you who caused her death! You are the one who killed her! Who took her away from me, when you knew we were meant to be together!"

He charged the moment the humanoid-rat landed on the ground with his back facing him and thrusted his steel-claws of his gauntlet out, immediately going in for the kill. Just before the tips could even scratch into the fine material of the robe, Splinter forced himself to backflip over his opponent and, shifting his body in midair, gave Saki a good roundhouse kick in the side when the enemy tried to shift himself to leap towards Splinter.

"She was never yours to have... She has never been yours to begin with!" Splinter hollered, not hesitating to run at Saki's fallen form and pinning him to the ground, his claws digging into his enemy's shoulders and drawing out blood. "You were the one who stabbed her! Who spilled her blood with your own weapon!... You are the one, who's hands are covered in her blood!"

Saki, who glared back at him the whole time, punched Splinter in the stomach, the force being another to have the humanoid-rat to lose his grip on his opponent's shoulders and to land harshly on his side. Saki got back to his feet and planted a foot on Splinter's chest, the claws of his weapon held out in front of the rat's face.

"And you just sat there and watched it all happen, when you could've done something to save her from being stabbed! Just like when you stood there and let one of your sons hurt your eldest child by his words, which caused him to run away and almost die from protect said kin who hurt him!" He put more force into his foot, forcing a sharp intake of breath out of Splinter and keeping him pinned down on the ground. "You knew you could've done something to save Shen, to save one of those disfigured freaks who you call your sons. Instead, you chose to save yourself and let her die! You chose to stay out of the way and let your sons hurt each other!"

Despite knowing what Saki was trying to do, Splinter could do nothing but take in what his former brother just told him... And in a way, somewhere deep down within his subconscious and heart, he believed him.

"You know that I speak the truth, when I tell you that your actions, alone, are enough to tell me of your failure as both a husband and a father. Hence, why else is your actual blood-child gone?"

Reddish-brown eyes widen from the bringing up of his first child, his first baby and only daughter, Miwa, into the conversation, which he had no answer to Saki's question; he didn't know the whereabouts of his child, during the night of the fire; he believed she had perished within the flames, like the rest of the Hamato Clan. He looked everywhere for her when the fire died and when a cloudy dawn rose from the horizon, but not one hint of a clue told him where to find his missing daughter and, with a heavy heart, was convinced she died in the flame.

Saki let a smug smirk be plastered on his face, seeing the look of remorse and devastation Splinter held within his very soul for failing his family in Japan, which gave him the opportunity to bring him down while lost in his grief.

"You failed as a father to your blood-child, and you failed once more as a father to those pathetic creatures." He pulled back his right-arm, aiming the claws for Splinter's chest to pierce one of his lungs and/or chest. "Allow me to put an end to your suffering and relieve the burden your sons are better off to last without."

Splinter snapped out his moment of grief, but knew it was too late to try and break free from Saki's grasp. Just when his enemy brought down the claws of his gauntlet for the heart and lungs...

"Awwooo!"

A cry of an animal caught both men's attention to stare up at a, for some odd reason how it was there, rocky cliff, with a silhouette of a short but large creature standing on the ledge of the cliff, with the moon glowing behind said creature. Before either men could do or even say anything about it, the mystery creature ran down the cliff, coming down the cliff with no sign of struggle or the slightest hint of losing its footing while running with the wind, moving like a shadow trying to hide from the light. When it swiftly made it to the bottom and stood on a tall rock, it launched itself towards the two men, shoving Saki off of Splinter and pinning him to the ground for a second time... At the same time, getting impaled by the steel-claws of the gauntlet.

Blood spilled down the claws, as the tips of the steel-claws stuck out in the back and midsection of the creature. Splinter, who got himself off the ground and sat up in a squatting position, stared wide-eyed shock at what just happened to the unseen creature before his very eyes... And yet, in spite being stabbed through by the Shredder's steel-claws, it didn't seem to do anything to the mystery creature, which should've actually killed it and eventually slouched on top of the one who impaled it.

The silhouette let loose a low growl at Saki, angered that the fiend was bold enough to stab it through the chest in thinking it would die so easily to the selfish man, as it kept its body on top of Saki to prevent him from getting back up, no matter how many times the man struggled to free himself or how deeper he tries to sink the claws further through his chest. When he finally ceased his struggle, his eyes held confusion and anger and his body trembled in fear, when his gaze stared into the eyes of the unknown creature.

"What is this?" He growled out, jerking his head up to expose his neck when the creature laid one of its appendages to the bottom of his throat and pressing pressure down to cut off his breathing for air. "Kore wa nani (What the hell is this)?! Why didn't you die?!"

...Heh...

A low smirk of a sound echoed around the three figures; one still crouched low, still completely stunned by what just happened moments ago. The second forced down to the ground and struggling to pull free from the third figure, who had yet to reveal its true-self to both men. And oddly enough, Saki even tried to pull the steel-claws of his gauntlet out of the creature, thinking it would bleed to death from blood loss, but couldn't seem to even move an inch out. It was almost like something, or somebody, is holding on to his weapon and won't let him pull the claws out of the figure.

During the pulling and struggling, the appendage pressed down harder onto Saki's throat, forcing him to choke and needing air. And during that time, the blue-orb of the moon rose higher into the air until it stood in the center of the sky. It's light bringing down on all three of the figures on Earth, revealing the identity of the dark-silhouette pinning down Saki and who saved Splinter's life by taking the attack for itself: A black-wolf.

The appendage, now being shown as a paw, sunk its claws deeper into the flesh of Saki's throat, drawing blood and forcing the man's face to turn a slight bit blue.

"Naze anata wa kore o yatte imasu ka (Why are you doing this)?" He choked out his question, glaring into the eyes of the creature to have dark-brown eyes staring into cerulean/moon-blue eyes, sounding and even looking as if he knows who the wolf before him is and why it was doing this to him.

In response, the black-wolf lifted his lips to reveal his rows of white-fangs, let out a snarl from its throat and let its eyes narrow out hatred and disgust in its ocean/moon-like eyes at the human under its paws and at its mercy.

Watashi wa kare no kagedakara (Because I'm his shadow). The moment it said those, speaking in clear Japanese language that stunned both Saki and Splinter while the voice echoed in the air around them, the beast swiftly lowered its head and, with its jaws parted from each other, clamped his fangs down on Saki's throat, more than halfway consuming the human's throat and holding it in the grasp of its fangs. And your actions, to what you did to Tang Shen and the Hamato Clan, allows death to be your punishment. With nothing more to say to the human in its grasp, just one bite, hard, onto the neck and that was all it took to silence Oroku Saki, The Shredder.

The sound of bone snapping and the sight of blood seeping through the wolf's jaw made Hamato Yoshi sick to his stomach, but knowing he was brought down made the weight of his self-blame lifted off of his shoulders. However, he knows that the moment the animal no longer has its attention on the now deceased Saki, he does not know what his fate would be and if he should fight the large-creature if it chose to attack him as well.

You're a fool, Hamato Yoshi. The voice of the animal broke him out of his train of thought, as it pulled its fangs out of Saki's neck and used its paw to push the arm that still had the claws in its chest out and away. To let the words of this pathetic, excuse of a human to get to you and bring you down, when you were caught up in your own self-pity. The wolf walked off of the body of the last, remaining Oroku, not showing even the slightest sign of being injured and/or hurt by the gauntlet, and stood in front of the humanoid-rat who now calls himself 'Splinter'. But, then again, this is what you've been telling your sons to not do and to not let words, no matter how hurtful they are, to get to them.

Reddish-brown eyes widen in shock, surprised that a creature he never seen in all his life, besides seeing them on the television, would know what he's been teaching his sons to do.

"How-?"

Do I know what you've been trying to teach your sons to do? The wolf cut him off, its expression showing no signs of emotions but the eyes of the creature showing irritation and appeared rather bit annoyed at the rat. It's like I said to Saki. I'm his shadow; I know everything about him and what he goes through in his life, whether it be in dreams or even in the Conscious World.

The words of the wolf now brought a new confusion to what it just said to him.

"Nani?"

He had actually thought that the wolf told Saki that it was his own shadow, since he was the only person around when the wolf spoke to his enemy and, judging the anger and disgust in the creature's voice when it growled and spoke to Saki, which for some reason sounds very familiar to the rat, there was not even the slightest chance that it was referring itself to being Saki's shadow.

Seeing the confused look on Splinter's face and the question to his word, the creature let out a grunt of a snort.

What? Did you actually think I meant I was your shadow? The wolf shook its head. Sorry, Hamato Yoshi, but I'm afraid you're mistaken; If I were your shadow, I would be a creature that's best suited for you... Well, besides you being a rat. It let out a low chuckle at the last comment it made, before getting back to explaining itself. No, what I meant was I'm his shadow. The creature then lifted its head and jerked its nose up into the air, indicating for Splinter to look where it's pointing its nose at.

Hesitant at first, for a split second thinking the wolf will attack him once his back is turned to it until seeing the eyes of the creature showing no sign to harm him, Splinter turned his head to the direction where the creature is trying to point at, looking back at the cliff he saw the creature cried out from... And his eyes widen in disbelief to what he saw at the very top of the cliff.

There, standing at the edge of the cliff and the moon's light gazing down with her beam of light, is Hamato Leonardo. Awake and gazing down at his father with a calm, yet unreadable expression on his face. Splinter, who just gotten back on his feet in order to see what the wolf was trying to have him look at, felt his knees losing their strength to make his body wanna collapse back to the ground once more, which he allowed himself to do.

"M-Musuko..." He stuttered, startled to be seeing his eldest child standing above him, showing no sign of being afraid at standing over the ledge at such a long height or any indication of pain or injury he sustained from fighting with the Sewer Gator. 'He's awake. He's okay... But how?'

Still haven't figured it out, let alone remember, don't you? The wolf's voice stole Splinter's attention, who now stood beside the humanoid-rat and stared up at the ten year-old who he revealed to be his shadow. Even if I wasn't able to watch over him during the time he's in the Conscious World, it wouldn't take me long to figure out what a fool you are.

For some odd reason, despite not knowing for sure if the wolf doesn't truly mean any harm to him or to even his son, the presence of the beast brought a sort of comfort and a familiar aura that seems to soothe his soul and chase his troubles away, like it just did when it finally brought down Oroku Saki, the Shredder, to spare him from death.

"What do you mean?"

Rather than answer the humanoid-rat or even bother to stare at the rat, the wolf took off running and leap its way up the cliff, heading for Leonardo, who didn't look even the slightest bit afraid of the shadow creature coming for him, knowing that his own shadow would never harm him. When it finally reached to the top and now stood across in front of the ten year-old, the creature gazed into the scared eyes of the worried father.

Cerulean/moon-blue eyes of the wolf, that Splinter realized are nearly identical to his son's Cerulean/Sapphire-eyes, stared down into the rat's Ruby/ember-like eyes, mesmerizing his gaze in order to draw his attention away from the preteen it stood protectively over.

You are in a dream, Hamato Yoshi. A dream that you let take control over you by feeding it your sadness and suffering of the past. And now, it's time for you to wake up.

Just by the voice of the wolf saying the word 'wake up', the moon seemed to have gotten a bit more brighter than it normally did, forcing Splinter to squint his eyes a bit and to shield them with the fold of his arm going over his forehead.

"I'm... In a dream?" He questioned the two, hoping that his son would actually speak this time and not the familiar, yet unknown, echoing voice of the shadow creature. "I'm still asleep?"

The wolf grunted and gave a firm nod at the rat, while turning to the ten year-old to allow him access to get on its back.

"Wallowing yourself in your own self-pity and feeling sorry for yourself to what happened to Tang Shen and your clan, is what brought you to this dream in the first place." He finally spoke! Leonardo finally spoke to him, as he helped himself to get up on the wolf's back, who didn't show the slightest sign of discomfort of the ten year-old getting on its back. "If you want to put an end to the nightmares and the guilt you harbor within yourself, Sensei, you must let go of the past, face them head on and remove the source of the problem, not allow yourself to be consumed in your own misery of the past that was never caused by you in the first place."

The moon glowed brighter, its light consuming the darkness and the land before its presence, including the bodies of Tang Shen and Oroku Saki and the fire of the Hamato Clan house. As the light blinded his vision, Splinter was barely able to see the shadow creature and his son standing over the ledge before their image also began to be consumed by the light and growing smaller. He raised a hand towards them, as he felt himself being pulled away into the light.

"Wait! Leonardo!"

The shadow creature lifted its head to let out a howl, as if saying farewell to the once man known as Hamato Yoshi.

It's time to wake up, Hamato Yoshi... Now, wake up!
End of Splinter's Dream...

"Hah!"

Snapping his eyes open and leaning forward to have his hands hold him up and to avoid crashing onto the floor or hitting the couch in front of him, Splinter let out many gasps for breath that he felt to have lost from his dream, which was more of a night terror than some ordinary nightmare. His heart beat at a wild paste, as if he just ran a marathon, and his vision was still trying to catch up to the conscious from being snapped wide open to escape the nightmare he just had.

In just mere seconds of catching his breath, his heart finally slowed down to its normal beat and, after rubbing his eyes to clear away the sleep within them, did the humanoid-rat finally come to conclusion that he's alright.

'It was just a dream, Yoshi.' He thought to himself, letting out a deep exhalation out of his lungs and letting his eyes rest a bit by letting them see nothing but the darkness. 'It wasn't real... He doesn't know where you are and hasn't found your or your sons... We're all here, safe and sound.'

His mind may agree to him about that part... However, his gut was tying itself into knots for some reason, telling him that there's a flaw to his deduction. His eyes opened slightly as they narrowed in confusion.

'Something isn't right, but what is it?' Even though he's still staring at the ground and at the bottom of the couch, his eyes can see and tell him that he's still in the living room, along with the light of the television still being on to light up the dark room. His hearing caught the sound of people talking from said television, with the mixture of faint waters dripping from the pipes outside of their home and the sounds of his three sons sleeping soundly through the metal doors...

Immediately, he knew what that flaw was. Swiftly raising his head to stare at what he knows should be in front of him, his heart froze in fear and his eyes widen in horror when he saw an empty space on the couch and a discarded blanket laying over the back of the furniture, where he should actually be seeing his eldest child laying in that spot with the discarded blanket wrapped around his wrapped up form.

Extending a trembling hand to lay it on the cushion where he knew his son was just on when he went to sleep, the humanoid-rat felt barely any body heat on the furniture, indicating that the eldest turtle had left his spot for a good while. In no less than a second, Splinter was on his feet and had his eyes search his surroundings.

"Leonardo?" He called out, his eyes looking everywhere they could see for any sign of the missing child that was supposed to be on the couch. "Leonardo?!"

The doors to his sons' rooms are solid metal and thanks to Donnie for adding a few touches to make them block out any unnecessary sounds the boys didn't want to hear from outside of their rooms, none of Splinter's younger sons were aroused by rising sound of his voice.

"My son, where are you?!"

Leonardo wasn't behind the couch, nowhere in the kitchen, or even in his own bedroom, which the humanoid-rat has went to those destination to check if the injured turtle has actually moved himself to one of those location. After running out of the hallway of his sons' rooms, his eyes stared in horror at the entrance of their home towards the darkness behind the turnstiles, fearing that his son was not only successful at not waking him up from his meditated sleep but was also able to, scratched up leg and broken arm and all, leave the Lair and go back to wherever he has taken shelter at when he ran away from his family.

Splinter's heart quivered a few beats, that he tightly grasped on to his robe, his claws digging into the material to avoid digging in his own flesh, feeling like it was breaking on just the thought of never being able to find one of boys again, especially if they're still recovering from terrible wounds that would've became life-threatening if they weren't treated on time.

The hand that wasn't clenching on to his robe turned into a tight fist, claws digging into his palm and drawing blood.

'No...!' He thought to himself, letting out a low hiss on thinking of the sewer gator, instead of being gone like Raphael has told him and his younger sons when telling them what happened to him and Leonardo, that it would go after his eldest child for a final fight and kill him like it had intended to do. 'I won't stand by and lose another one of my family for a third time!'

With his mind set on what he must do, he made a dash towards the entrance of his Lair and at the darkness standing outside. The moment he ran through one of the turnstiles and just before he took a step into the darkness, something in the back of his head and heart froze him from going out.

Annoyance and anger dominated over his senses and mind of confusion; why has his body suddenly stopped listening to his brain on leaving the Lair, where his eldest baby is out there, alone and wounded, and could end up dead without his father there to protect him?

Splinter would've shaken off the feeling that was holding him back to leave the Lair... If that feeling hadn't given him a sense of a sign that his fears of a worried father was blocking him from realizing that the atmosphere of their home has changed... And that his son, may not, be gone as he thought him to believe.

'He's still here? In the Lair...? But where?'

Splinter knows for a fact that his eldest child isn't in his room, for the door has remained wide open ever since discovering the note and, but most importantly, his three remaining sons had been sleeping in their big brother's room for the passed month. The bathroom's light isn't on and there are no sounds coming from inside, so Leo isn't in there. And there was no chance at all that he can be in the kitchen; unless it was to get water, or whenever he's being dragged to eat, the kitchen is the less likely place the eldest turtle would ever go.

Splinter grew a bit impatient and frustrated, wondering if his senses are playing tricks on him and preventing him from leaving his three remaining sons to look for his eldest child. He took a few moments to calm his raising mind and heart, then tried to feel out for Leonardo, even using his sense of smell, to find some sort of trail to help lead him to where the eldest turtle could've gone... Only to have both his Ninja Training, senses, even fatherly instincts telling him Leonardo is still inside the Lair.

"There's no where else he could be... And yet, I still sense he's still within the Lair. But where?" Closing his eyes to avoid certain distractions and taking a deep, cleansing breath, the humanoid-rat fell to his knees to kneel on the floor in order to use one of his techniques that allows him to sense the vibration through the floor, along with using another of his senses: Hearing. He may not be part bat or even part moth, both of which can hear many times more than most animals can, being part rat means he can create his own ultrasound, which means he'll be able to hear an incy-wincy spider coming down the drain pipe.

So far, all he could hear are the deep breathing of his three sons sleeping in their rooms, the sounds of rats running through the sewers, the tapping sound of leaking waters dripping from the pipe to the ground, a slow, deep breath exhaling from the Dojo-… Wait, what? Snapping his eyes and immediately getting up on his feet, Splinter locked eyes on the shōji, his heart pounding with anticipation that his eldest son, his eldest baby, is in the dojo and hasn't left. Without any second thoughts, he stormed his way towards the shōji and, not caring how uncivilized or unrepresentative he makes his announcement into his room, yanked the door wide open.

A harsh, heavy gasp escaped as the air was being robbed from his lungs, his legs trembling to keep himself up from falling to the floor and his reddish-brown eyes, widening in complete disbelief and possibly being tricked by his mind wanting to see what he wanted to see. Because there, kneeling before the shrine of his deceased wife and daughter, the picture that held all he has left of his past life, was the missing link to his present life: Hamato Leonardo, scarred and in poor health… And Awake!

Whether the unmasked turtle has sensed his Sensei's presence long before making his appearance in the Dojo with him, too lost in his thoughts to sending his prayers and respects to Tang Shen and Miwa or even chose to not make any sort of reaction to greet Splinter, nobody could be certain on what was going on inside Leo's head. But to the humanoid-rat, none of that really mattered. All that matters is that he has found his son, here in the Lair and still alive.

He took a step forward.

"M... Musuko?"

His tone was shaky and slightly over a whisper, but it appears that the ten year-old heard his voice. Leo's body slightly flinch, most likely startled from either his praying or meditation being interrupted by his father's voice. Then, much to Splinter's surprise, the turtle slowly turned his body until he's now kneeling in front of the humanoid-rat. His arm, leg and head still had the wrappings of gauze covering the wounds, and his body trembling from most likely being in a sitting position that may had agitated his injuries. His Cerulean/Sapphire-eyes made contact with Splinter's reddish-brown eyes, holding unreadable emotions or expression the humanoid-rat couldn't identify.

Before he could get a single word to leave his lips once more, Leonardo made a startling response: He lowered the top-half of his body, ignoring the possible agitation his wounds pulsed through his still-healing body, and bowed before Yoshi.

"...Watashi o yurushite… Sensei…"

A trembling paw rose to his lips, containing a sob that nearly gave away the father's disbelief to his son's voice. He, his eldest child, forced himself to bow before his own father, wounded and damaged, asking for his forgiveness…? He couldn't bring himself to voice out an answer to Leonardo's request and, unable to hold back his calm-nature, Splinter pushed his body forward and wrapped his wrapped-arms around the child he feared would end up leaving him like his wife and daughter.

He pulled him up against his chest, slowly rocking them back and forth, burying his snout against the humanoid-turtle's forehead and planting kisses on the exposed skin that isn't covered by the bandages. A watery smile grew over Splinter's face, relishing the warmth of his eldest-son's body growing warmer and no where cold when he wasn't conscious.

"...You are safe, musuko," he whispered. "You are home..."

End of Flashback...

---

"Amazingly, in spite of having his shell and plastron scratched up, along with having to take a bit longer to heal than Raph did, neither his shell nor plastron didn't get cracked and both completely healed." Donatello described the situation to the girl. "He did gain a few permanent markings on his plastron and still has some of the scratches on his shell, but the markings completely faded and you can only know where they are if you're sitting next to him or even try to feel where they were implanted at."

April was amazed of the news.

"Wow... He must've been one, lucky turtle back then."

Don nodded his head.

"Yeah, he was, and still is." He stated. "The bite marks on his right-arm and the scratches on his left-leg were more serious than the condition of his shell and plastron. His right-arm broke from the second fight he had with the sewer gator and his left-leg was very infected, while the back of his head was, surprisingly, only a flesh wound and bruised up, which somehow avoided getting any sort of infection."

"Wait... If you didn't have any sort of medicine that would put him to sleep while treating his wounds and he didn't get a concussion, why did your brother slept for three days straight? You'd think he would wake up the next day."

"If you had to fight a two ton gator, twice, almost drowned and fall from an almost hundred foot waterfall that could kill a human, you'd be sleeping for days as well if you were in Leo's place, April." Raph answered, sounding a bit tired when it was clear he's still trying to get over what could've happened to his older-twin brother if he hadn't made it.

"...Good point." A chill of goosebumps trailed down her arms, even with the sleeves of her shirt keeping her warm from the cold sewer. "So, did you finally apologized to Leo, Raph?" She meant to say it in a teasing manner, and managed a slight-smirk to appear on his face.

"Course I did," he answered. "If I hadn't, Donny and Mikey would've never let it go on how much of a wuss I'm being at not apologizing, even when they know I'll kick their shells all over the sewer." At least he was being honest and acting like his old, hot-headed self again. That was a major relief for the teenager.

"If that's the case, I guess that means everything went back to normal." An awkward silence went through the room, once again making her worried and feeling completely stupid for thinking it was all over. "...And I'm guessing that it didn't go back to normal, did it?"

"Actually, for about two days, it had gone back to normal... Then, he went missing, again." Sky-blue eyes widen to Donatello's answer to her question. Before she asked for how long, as he expect her to, he quickly answered, "He didn't go missing for long, only about three days this time."

She looked very relieved, but am unsettling feeling ran in the atmosphere. She wasn't sure if she even wants to hear when they found him the second time, but couldn't help but ask.

"When you guys found him, did you learned why he just left?"

"I left, because of Spike." A voice, coming from the entrance of the Lair, startled the five mutants and April from their conversation and when they turned their attention to who answered her questioned, all eyes widen when they saw the return of their blue-masked turtle… Covered in bruises, cuts… And blood, covering part of his plastron and limbs. He appears to be holding something in his arms, but is shielding it with his left-arm. However, despite his disturbing appearance, he's able to move around without much difficulty.

"Leo!"

"Leonardo!"

Many got to their feet and nearly ran to him, when the blood-covered turtle raised his left-arm to stop them in their tracks.

"I'm fine," he grunted out. "Mostly scrapes and bruises, but none of them is from me."

Donnie, too concern of the blood covering his brother's body, went into his doctor mode and did a quick check over for any signs of blood seeping through cuts... Which, getting a closer look, found about five cuts on Leo's body that showed signs of blood escaping his body. One on each arm, two crossed over each other on his right-leg and the last one at the left-side of his neck.

He narrowed his eyes down on his eldest-brother.

"If that's the case, then why do i see blood escaping from five cuts on your body?" His question brought more fear and concern to the others wanting to circle him, Splinter already standing before him and also examining the wounds for himself. The direct contact wasn't too much of an issue but feeling their gazes roaming over his body, made him feel claustrophobic and his instincts telling him to get away for solitary space to treat his wounds on his own.

Thinking quickly before his instincts kick in and start snapping at them, Leo decides to allow himself to give in to his brother's unspoken request to check him over. He turned his head to stare at his brother, not wanting his sensei to look into his eyes to see his silent plot to avoid any more contact from the rest of the Hamato Clan and April.

"If it'll get you all to calm down and to stop crowding me like a flock of vultures, I'll go with you to treat my injuries, Donnie."

His choice of words clearly stunned everyone in the room, which appears to also made the mid-child turtle a bit more concern for his brother to give in to his silent plea to treat his wounds. But, because he's cooperating to ease their worry for him and not run off to keep his distance from them, Don is more than happy to take this opportunity to care his brother wellbeing by accepting his proposal to treat him.

"Sit on the couch, I'll get the medical kit from the lab." Leo's left-arm cringed slightly to his brother's orders, but didn't say anything and went for the couch as instructed, taking a seat on the same couch Michelangelo sat on but scooted up to the corner to leave space out for Donnie to have.

The moment Don left for his lab, Mikey was immediately at his side.

"What happened, Leo? Did you kick Foot's butt? Is Murakami-san alright? Was there any pizza involved?!" Of course, having a hyperactive brother to keep dropping questions on a subject and not give another turtle a chance to answer any of them, Leo knew exactly how to get Mikey to stop. Reaching underneath his right-arm, the blue-masked turtle slowly maneuvered his left-arm towards his chest and turned his shell to the others, before he turned his head to stare back at his baby brother.

"Before I get a chance to answer your questions… I got something you're going to love, Mikey."

When he raised his right-arm from his left and held up an item in front of his brother's face, Mikey's eyes went all white and flashed with sparks when he saw what he believes to being the greatest treasure he ever seen. Wrapped inside a large, plastic bag, is food that the turtles forever will see as their greatest meal ever, made by Mr. Murakami, himself: Pizza gyoza. All eyes stared in wonder at the food Leo presented before them, then back at the blue-masked turtle, who simply smiled tiredly at his brother and gently handed him the cold meal.

"Murakami-san sends his thanks, his gratitude and willing to keep our existence a secret."

April gasped at his words.

"He's alright?!" She asked, a smile playing on her face and the joy grew when a reassuring smile from the leader returned to her.

"Only bruised a bit, but is doing well, especially for somebody who nearly fell to his death by behind tied to a plank wood over a rooftop." After he answered her, Michelangelo sprang himself on his big brother, forcing a yelp of surprise from the strangling hug he's getting by his baby brother.

"You're the best, bro!" Raphael, who stayed in his spot to silently give some space to his brother until he gives some sign of permission that he won't be angry, got out of his spot and firmly pulled Mikey off of Leo.

"Ease off, Mikey. You heard what Don said. Leo's injured, which means we can't be too rough with him to avoid further hurting him." Listening to his brother, Mikey removed himself off of Leo, a sincere sad look on his face showing his apology and forgetfulness.

As always, Leonardo came up with an idea to cheer him up.

"How about heating those pizza gyoza for dinner, Mikey?" His suggestion truly stunned everyone; never, not once, did Leo ever request for food. The blue-masked turtle pushed aside the insecurity of stares upon him. "We hadn't had a decent meal for a good while and, if memory serves me right, Master Splinter didn't have the chance to try any like the rest of us did when Murakami-san first made it."

Getting what he's saying and what he's doing, Mikey was more than happy to take his precious food to the kitchen and heat them up for all to enjoy. April smiled down at Leo for attempting to lighten things up with the suggestion of food, though her stomach growled in discomfort from the thought of having pizza potstickers. Around that time, Donatello came back to the living room, the medical kit in hand, and took his spot beside his big brother.

"I need you to be as still as you can, Leo. Some of the cuts appear pretty deep and I have to stitch them up, but they'll probably recover after a day or two of rest." The purple-masked turtle turned to his 'secret' crush. "April, can you go get a washcloth and a bowl of water?"

Though not doubting his intelligent son's observation and examining, Splinter came before eldest-son and took a look at the injuries, himself.

"While Michelangelo's preparing dinner, Leonardo, would you please explain your meaning of Murakami-san keeping our existence a secret?"

---

Throughout the rest of the night, Donatello and Master Splinter helped treated Leonardo's wounds and stitched up three of the five cuts that needed to be sewn, which are the cuts on his arms and neck. April also helped with the treatment by getting ice for the bruises and, under the watchful eyes of Don, her sensei and Leo, wrapped the cuts in fresh gauze and washed the blood off his limbs and plastron. Raph, feeling awkward at sitting on the sideline, went to go check on the meal, which he's able save a certain amount of pizza gyoza when catching Mikey attempting to help himself a good portion of the meal.

While being treated and when they gotten their saved food by Raph, Leonardo told them how the battle against the Foot went.

---

Flashback…
Anger coursed through his anger when his sense of smell helped him locate Murakami being held captive, on top of the Fortune Cookie Factory, where a water tower at the highest part of the roof. Surrounding the building, about twenty Foot ninjas, ready to strike if they see any signs of the turtles. Standing on the plank that held the blind man, Xever got out one of his butterfly knives and had the blade up against the rope. Bradford, though on the opposing side, argued with the street rat to wait a while longer and to not send the blind man to his grave sooner than they gave the turtles to find them.

Leo had tracked down their scent from Murakami's shop and has remained in the shadows for over fifteen minutes to try and come up with a plan on how to get the poor civilian out of harms way. He thought about creating a diversion to take down a portion of the Foot to fight off less, but had a feeling Xever would figure out his plan and would most likely kill Murakami. Getting help from some of the animals in the surrounding area could also be useful, but he isn't willing to put the lives of innocent creatures on the line, just to try and avoid a battle which will surely backfire and, once again, kill Murakami. He truly has no choice but to face them, head on.

This would be a lot easier, if you let the others come and assist you in battle. You know you can't take them all on by yourself and with Murakami held hostage, they'll have the upper-hand to force you to surrender.

'You think I don't know that?' He thought back to his conscious. 'I can't make them follow me into battle, not while they're injured from their idiotic attempt to get back at the Purple Dragons. Besides, the only who's more capable to be here is Michelangelo, and he isn't one who can handle pressure very well… Not to mention, I'd have to remind him of the plan three to seven times before going into battle.'

Pup correct. Pack-mates injuries will hinder them if brought to battle a third time, with no time for rest or treatment to wounds. Omega-Brother Michelangelo may provide support, but, as Pup stated, has trouble paying attention and stress will trigger panic. Besides, Xever and Bradford will get to Kins with taunts and tricks.

Something that his instincts just said, caught Leo's attention.

'"Tricks"...' He doesn't have much up his sleeves, but if he played his cards right and, if his hunch is correct, there's a chance he get the battle away from Murakami. An immediate attack is too risky and waiting for the right moment to catch the blinde man would still involve him as a hostage used against him. 'Which means, my only option... Is to come out peacefully and see what move they'll make on me. Then, whatever happens, I'll make my move.'

"l know you're out there, Turtles!" Xever called out, looking out at the other buildings in front of him as the blade slowly dug into the rope. "Come out, or have the old man fall to his death!"

"Xever! We don't execute our hostage!" Bradford yelled. He may have been taught about honor, even sticking to his own honor to never harm the innocent, he's still been trained by Shredder and, no doubt, taught him to take the lives of innocence when they stand in their way or has any ties to the enemy.

"You may not be willing to do what's necessary, but this is how it gets done by my way. Master would approve of this, since the old man made himself a friend to the mutant freaks." Another slice has been added to the rope, and Leo knew he can't delay any longer.

Swiftly, like the wind itself, he jumped across to the building next to the factory, slammed his hands against the back of the head of three Foot ninjas to knock them out, scaled up the wall and now stood beside the water tower, startling the Purple Dragon leader when Leo appeared before him and gave away his location by yelping. The fifteen year-old has no time to deal with him and let him scurry away in fear, glaring down at his two opponents when they took notice his presence.

Xever smiled a smirk.

"You finally arrived, Turtaruga." The Brazilian street rat pulled away from Murakami and once again stood beside Bradford, twirling his butterfly knife in his hand. "I was getting bored on having to wait, that I was considering ridding the old man."

Leo quickly looked to the blind man, seeing the rope will only hold for a little while before it starts giving way from the human's weight overpowering the damage part of it's structure, before staring back at Xever and Bradford.

"So, amigo, where are the rest of you freaks?" Xever questioned, looked just about ready to start fighting and skewing his opponent. "Our master grows tired of you four meddling in his business, and has given the order to eliminate you all."

Bradford remained silent, ready to strike the moment the fight begins. Leo, meanwhile, decide to play along before starting the battle.

"The knowledge of my team's whereabouts is none of your concern, and you'd just finish your task if I just gave away their location so easily and not get the chance to exact your own satisfaction on finishing us off in your own way." He glanced over to Bradford. "Besides, honor dictates both party must fight to the bitter end and if Shredder hears that one of his enemies didn't put much of a fight before their death, it wouldn't be as satisfying than learn how much suffering his own men inflicted."

Xever thought about it for a moment, while Bradford already knew what he's doing but wasn't going to lose the chance to take him down, especially when they outnumbered him and is here without any backup.

"...Well, I can't say that I agree with your logic of 'honor', but I will admit to agreeing to get my own satisfaction to killing you aberrações my way."

The time for talking is done, and Xever made the first move to attack. Leo chose to avoid the two, and to focus his attention on taking down the Foot ninjas before facing Xever and Bradford. However, he knows that the longer he fights, the rope will break and there's a chance he won't be able to save Murakami on time. However, right now, he can't let that fear and thought come to mind. At this moment, he has to focus on his multiple opponents before he can even save Murakami from falling.

With Musashi and Kamiizumi at his service, they helped him block other bladed weapons from scratching or stabbing him, stunning when jabbing some of the Foot with the hilt… But most of all, in order to prevent some from returning to the battle, they succeed on inflicting serious injuries and spilling blood, a warning and a sign to others how serious he is in battle.

Including the first three he knocked out, six Foot ninjas went unconscious and another five received serious damage from the twin blades that left them unable to keep fighting. During the fight, Leo crossed path with the Purple Dragon leader when the human tried to lay an attack with the rest of the Foot and while making an attempt to wound him from behind would give him reason to not let him go without injury, the fifteen year-old chose to leave him in order to dodge a bunch of kunai knives Xever tossed towards him. He actually expected him and Bradford to come after him, even as he avoids them and focused on taking down the Foot ninjas.

Even while using his speed to dodge and rush the enemy, enhanced strength to overpower the humans, using his sense of hearing and smell to track down enemies coming up from behind or in the shadows, even able to sense the vibration through the ground from his feet, Leo started to feel the strain in his body the longer the fight went on. Not only that, but his ears told him the rope is giving more away and time is running out for Murakami the longer the battle continued.

"Ha!" Bradford landed a powerful punch to the plastron that sent the blue-masked turtle ramming his shell against the wall, while forcing himself to flip off to the side to avoid a Foot ninja's strike to his neck and ended up with a cut on his right-leg. Another two charged from behind and Leo only had enough time to kick them both off the roof, before Xever slide his foot underneath both of Leo's arms and kicked him in the same area Bradford landed his punch in the midsection to his stomach to force him against the wall, again.

"You give up yet, Animal?" He didn't wait for an answer, and signaled two ninjas to make their mark. Leo felt the two make their way and forced his legs to swing high to his left-side, positioning his arms behind his shell and pushed himself off the ground and into the air.

He knew his timing won't allow him avoid injuries from the ninjas' blades, and ended up with two cuts digging into both his arms. Still, better his arms getting cut than having his head sliced off. He blocked more of Xever's kunai knives he expected to happen, with one crossed glazed over the first cut on his right-leg and a second slicing the left-side of his throat, but once again got punched by Bradford and his back hit one of the wooden beam that held the water tower. His hands released their grip on Musashi and Kamiizumi and both blades landed in opposite direction from each other and their user, Musashi barely hanging on the ledge of the factory and Kamiizumi a few feet away from the Purple Dragon leader.

Leo hit the ground on his plastron and remained on the ground, struggling to catch his breath, while Xever and Bradford stood over him.

"You see? That's how you catch a turtle." Xever told his reluctant companion, twirling one of his butterfly knives in his left-hand. "And now, I'm going to show you how to filet one."

"You couldn't had caught him, if it wasn't for my help!" Bradford argued, getting tired of the Brazilian telling him off and acting all mighty, because Shredder ordered him to follow his lead.

"Yes, you were of great help, by using my tactic aim as distraction to better hit a cornered animal." Their attention is now focused on each other, strong over who did most of the work and who should deserve the credit.

Leo can hear the rope nearing to it's breaking point to snap, but can't get to Murakami when surrounded by his enemies. Not only that, both his swords are out of reach and he can't sustain any more injuries to his arms if he fights with no weapon to use... Although, when his shell collided with the water tower, he felt how full it is and how it pulled back a bit from the impact. He can use the water tower to, literally, wash his opponents away and make a grab for the blind man. But, again, his swords are too far from reach and soon, the two will other kill him, wound him with fatal injuries... Or even, take him to Shredder, himself.

*Shnk!*

Leo looked up, not believing his eyes for even a second when he sees Musashi before him and when he saw where he presume his blade came from, there stood the very human he spared and showed mercy he dubbed as 'Curl-Tail': The Purple Dragon leader, himself. And he's standing on the higher part of the roof, turned his gaze away from Leo and merely folded his arms over his chest, as if he saw nothing and didn't do anything at all.

None of the Foot ninjas saw what happened, and neither Xever or Bradford took notice of the betrayal the Purple Dragon just did for aiding their enemy. Leo's mind shifted into overdrive, grabbing for Musashi, launched himself to the upper-level of the roof and swiftly landing a powerful strike at the wooden legs of the water tower.

Gravity pulled the water tower forward and when it hit, water instantly gushed out and those in the water's path have been washed away. Leo didn't bother waiting for the water to past, because the rope finally gave way and barely caught Murakami on time... By grabbing the rope, wrapped around the blind man, with his own fangs and gently hauled him back onto the roof when the water finally died down.

As Leo bit part of the rope to release Murakami and check him over for injuries, he saw the Purple Dragon already make his escape and has jumped to another building's rooftop. Before fleeing for the ladder, the human made eye-contact with the blue-masked turtle. They flashed of fear... And gratitude for sparing him, even worry for his own safety.

Leo slightly nodded his head at him, and the human took his leave. There's no doubt in his mind they'll cross paths, let alone any possibility he'll turn over a new leaf and stop being a villain. But his actions, alone, told Leo that isn't completely bad as he thought to be... Perhaps, someday, he'll see the wrong doing of his decision and eventually give up a life of crime... Yeah, someday it could happen... But, not today, and maybe even not tomorrow... Someday.

His hearing caught the sound of sirens coming their way, the cops most likely to investigate the cause for the water tower to fall.

"Turtle-san?"

Murakami's voice pulled the leader room his thoughts, stunning to be referred to as turtle when he couldn't see what he looks like. He didn't have time to answer his silent question. Instead, he gently urged him to get on his back and, after making sure he has a firm grip on the man's legs and his arms around his own throat will keep him on his back, the turtle took off into a swift sprint away from the Fortune Cookie Factory before the police even parked next to the curb of the building.
End of Flashback…

---

"After I took him back to his shop, helped clean up the place, he made us a batch of pizza gyoza to show his appreciation. Also, he already knew we were turtles from the start." Around him, everyone had their portion of the meal, while Mikey had tried to have a few extra helpings to himself and Donnie saved his second helping after he finally gotten April to try them. They all looked surprised to his claim, wondering how he could've figured it out. Apparently, Leo already figured that one out. "He has other senses, you know. Touch. -He turned his gaze over to Mikey- Smell…" The others stared at Mikey's direction, who then realized that his delay of bathing is catching up to him and embarrassed his scent gave them away.

"And, he's okay with us being non-humans?" Donnie questioned. Leo simply shrugged.

"I asked him something similar, though I ask on how he doesn't think we're weird or scary." Leo answered, simply staring down at his smaller portion of the meal in the small-bowl in his left-hand. "We saved him, and even asked who was he to complain. Besides, because he's blind, it doesn't really matter if we're humans or not. To him, we're normal people in his own point of view and that's good enough reason for him to welcome us as his 'special customers'."

The three younger-brothers smiled in relief and joy to their big brother's words, while April only stared at him in wonder. The way he explained his battle with Xever and Bradford, there was no glorified joy in his tone and didn't show much expression or emotion. He also made sure he made himself as small as he could on the couch and took up little spacing on the furniture, but kept his right-arm on the corner after Donnie stitched up the cut. However, what caught her attention the most, was his answer to her question when he came back.

"...Hey, Leo?" She couldn't help but ask, "What you said earlier, what did you mean you left because of Spike?"

A flash of exhaustion reflected off his Cerulean/Sapphire eyes and signs of anger can be read on his face. She instantly regretted asking him, but saw the anger isn't towards her.

"I don't have to guess that they've told you of a certain event we swore to never bring up." His brothers and sensei held flashes of guilt in their eyes, which has responded by glaring at them the hurt and disapproval he has for them. He then let out a tiring sigh. "While out on my own in the sewers, I found an egg floating down the water towards the exit of the ocean. It was cold to the touch, but I couldn't just left it alone without giving it a chance to hatch."

She quickly realized what he's saying.

"...That egg... Was Spike?" Leo nodded his head.

"For weeks, I gathered certain items to form a makeshift nest and keeping the egg warm as much as possible. When my mind cleared from recovering, I remembered the egg and didn't bother to tell anybody about it when I ran to check on it... Which finished hatching by the time I got there, because of my injuries."

April smiled of imagining a baby-version of Spike, squealing and crawling out of his egg.

"However -the happy thought vanished from the word- Spike was born very ill, and most likely suffering from the cold while I was unconscious from my fight with White Death. I tried getting him to eat, finding clean water and even keeping him warm for three days, but he wasn't getting any better. When he seemed to have gotten worse, I knew he needed to go to a vet and get proper help from the humans."

Raph glared at his brother.

"You should've came home, instead of thinking about going to the surface world." He growled out, but this time is in more control of his anger to not lash out again. Splinter gave his second son a warning glare, and thumped his tail to catch his attention for the message to get through.

Leo glared back at him, pushing the slight embarrassment that he should've done five years ago but didn't think it through because of his fever clouding his mind back then. He's also angered that they still don't trust him to go out on his own, all because they found him heading up the manhole cover on that very day and made a conclusion of their own before they learned of Spike.

"You all made the assumption, on your own, that I was-"

*Peep!* *Peep!"

A high-pitch sound caught everyone's attention, coming from Leo's right-arm he tried shielding from the others. This time, a slight blush did covered his cheeks.

'Knew I should've went for my bedroom first,' he scolded himself.

They would've heard your door opening if you did, then they would assume you're trying to avoid them and are still angry at them.

Besides, Little One would still give away Pup and self in unfamiliar environment if Pup left her alone.

"Leo? What do you have under your arm?" Donatello gently asked, as he and the others came closer to see what was it that still letting out 'peeping' sounds.

They would've found out, sooner or later, what you brought home.

Leo silently agreed to his conscious.

"...Before I came home, I had a little run in with the Kraang."

He decided to come right out with it and reveal the truth of being delayed while returning to the Lair, as he slowly brought up a small nest onto his lap... Inside the nest, a small black-bird sat in the center, chirping away and looking at Leo to feed it while lifting it's small-beak in the air.

The clan and April could only stare down at the baby bird, before staring right back at the blue-masked turtle, all silently asking him of his intention with the bird.

"She's orphaned, and they tried to take her away." He gaze into his father's concerned eyes and, for the first time in many years, silently begged for his permission. "If the Kraang wants her for something, she'll need a safe place to be raised in until she's old enough to fly."

TBC

---

*: I made it perfectly clear in the summary: THERE WILL BE NO, AND I MEAN NO, T-CEST/SLASH MOMENTS IN THE STORY (or any story I write)! Also, to me, I can see Leonardo and Raphael being twins, at least non-identical twins. With the turtles being born as quadruplets, there's a possibility Leo and Raph could actually be twins.

*: Explanation on how they became humanoid-turtles/Splinter's biological sons, will be better explained in a future chapter when they (we, as well) learn more about the Mutagen (probably somewhere in the "Wormquake!" episode/chapter).

Yes, people, Leo is going to have a pet of his own. However, he prefers the term 'companion' instead of pet. Also, because his brothers have animal companions of their own on the show, Leo should have one of his own.

I know Splinter seemed a bit OOC, but in my honesty, I actually expect Splinter to have a traumatizing fear of losing his sons after losing his family in Japan. I mean, his clan was under attacked and/or killed, he watched his wife die before his eyes, lost his daughter (not knowing Oroku Saki took her away) and narrowly escaped the fire and the Shredder with his life. So, surely, he would've had severe PTSD (though, in a photo of him and Saki together, it looked like they were in the army, which could mean that he may had already have PTSD but had worsen when he lost everything) and perhaps nervous breakdowns before getting the boys. And while raising his sons, they became his rock, his main and maybe only reason, to continue on living. And if losing even just one of his sons who he raised ever since the boys were infants, that could damage him even further and could probably be almost impossible for him to ever recover.

And if there's anything else to add: I hate driving… And my work is literally trying to kill me; working as a Courtesy Clerk isn't as easy as it may look. The only plus side, I get my exercise.

R&R