Author's Note: Here it is. Longer than the precious with more information from the first Present Day chapter. I do apologize due to the fight a the end not being very detailed. I'm not quite sure how to write them well. But other than that, I hope you enjoy it!

Present Day 2- March

Michelangelo had woken up more refreshed than he had in months. He isn't sure if it was the little bit of his feelings, he allowed free or the notion of freedom that was now just within reach that had been responsible. But either way, it was a good morning. Even when Leonardo knocked on his door telling him to get up in a stern voice.

Michelangelo reluctantly replied and waited until he heard the other disappear down the hall. Ugh. Now he had to deal with the Hamatos. He took his time getting dressed, before he moved his desk back to the side of the door and finally stepped out.

It was quiet in the main room of the lair. Which meant everyone was in the dojo. Right, they had to discuss what they were going to do about that night. Shredder's message still weighing over the clan.

He silently joined them by sitting on Casey's other side. He wondered what Splinter would tell them. After all, they hadn't relayed the message properly. The message they relayed was that Shredder was going to reclaim something Splinter had taken.

"I have meditated on what you told me. I am unsure of what Shredder believes I have taken from him." Splinter finally spoke up, surprising Michelangelo when he didn't bring up anything from last night.

"So Shredder's insane. Great. We already knew that." Raphael grumbled with a scowl.

"It could be that he genuinely believes I've stolen something from him. Which is why we'll all be heading to the surface tonight."

"You mean you're going to come with us?" Donatello asked in disbelief.

"What if it's a trap, Master Splinter?" April asked in worry.

"Be that as it may. I wish to hear from him what he believes." Splinter said firmly. "But we must be careful. You are correct that it may very well be a trap." Splinter told them. He was silent for a little longer before he finally spoke up once more. "We will be training today. We won't be taking any chances." Splinter said firmly.

"Yes sensei." They all replied, determination in each of their faces.

The training was intense, even for one of Splinter's worry fueled training sessions. It lasted longer than they usually did. And Michelangelo realized that Splinter was preparing them in case this became the final fight with Shredder.

He knew it wouldn't be. But he supposes whatever floated their boats. By the time their session was over, it was well past lunch. "You all did well." Splinter told them. "Spend the rest of the day resting and ready yourselves for tonight." he ordered. "And Michelangelo, a moment." he added before the blonde could leave. He nodded and waited until the others left- Raphael snickering at what he was sure was going to be a punishment for the other. Michelangelo was pretty sure the red-headed boy was right. So, he remained where he sat.

Things between them were silent for a long minute. Just when Michelangelo considered leaving, Splinter finally spoke up. "You did well this morning my son." Splinter began. Michelangelo almost scowled at the address but hid it behind a smile that was specific to 'Mikey' when he was praised by the man. "Having said that, we still need to discuss last night." he continued, and even 'Mikey' slouched a bit at that.

'Well, I was wondering when it'd be brought up.' he thought. He really should have just kept to himself after all.

"You are reluctant to apologize to Raphael. I understand this. And I have decided that I will not force you to apologize for provoking him as you did." Splinter told the other.

Michelangelo nearly growled in a feral rage. So, Splinter still considered him at fault. How damn typical of the rat. He wasn't going to have to apologize which was great, but he didn't know where Splinter was going with his statement.

"Things are at too critical a point to breed resentment between you four." Michelangelo had to bite his tongue to hold back his snort of derision. He bit it so hard that he had drawn blood.

'You're about 16 years too late.' he thought angrily.

"I'm sure that the stress of tonight's possibilities has everyone on edge and stressed. I'm sure that when this night is past us, we will all find a form of closure and relief. And we will all be thinking clearer. Things will be as they should." Splinter said.

Michelangelo actually smiled, much to Splinter's relief as he saw 'his youngest' returning to normal in that moment. "I think you're right. After tonight, everything will be as it's supposed to be." Michelangelo agreed. "May I go now? I have lunch to prepare." 'Mikey' asked with a bright smile. He noticed how Splinter relaxed at the immergence of 'Mikey' and mentally rolled his eyes at the other.

"You may go now Michelangelo. Rest in preparation for tonight." Splinter said with a nod. Michelangelo performed a shallow bow before he left the room with an actual smile on his face.

'Oh, this is going well. I can't wait for tonight.' Michelangelo thought as he entered the kitchen and began to make lunch for everyone. As was expected of 'Mikey' before a big operation.

RFB

Oroku Saki groaned as he sent his last email of the day and shut down his business computer. He had been busy over the past few months with the different projects he was working on. Too busy, unfortunately, to meet up with his lieutenant that was currently in enemy territory. He frowned. According to the others, Michelangelo understood the stress and pressures he had been under as a prominent businessman, politician, and the leader of a vast clan.

Despite the other claiming it as part of his 'Mikey' persona, Michelangelo himself really was a kind and understanding person. So long as it didn't involve anyone from the Hamato Clan.

It had taken only a month or so to confirm his loyalty and dedication to both his plans and to the Foot Clan. Once they realized they could trust him, the rest of his elite and the closest thing to a family that Saki had left, had easily accepted the new mutant into their ranks. His role as a spy had especially been a boon to them... until it became a curse. A boon to get one over on the Lotus Clan. A curse, when they realized the true extent of Michelangelo's circumstances just around half a year after he had joined them.

And, oh if the elite hadn't become quite possibly the most protective and feral pseudo siblings Saki had ever seen when they learned just how bad it was for Michelangelo when he was with the Hamatos. That had not been a great night for anyone, especially when Michelangelo told them he was used to it and it didn't stop him from wanting to continue his role as a spy. If Saki hadn't seen how important doing so was to Michelangelo, he would've taken the boy from the Hamatos immediately.

He shook his head to clear his mind of those thoughts. He was finished with the preliminary plans now. And as he looked over the city which was bright and colorful even this late at night, he decided it was time for their own to return to their sides. Enough time had passed, and Saki was sure the other's plan could move forward now. Nodding to himself, he left the office and headed towards the dojo, knowing the others would be there.

"Gather!" he called, when he entered and immediately the spar was put to a stop and the four of them knelt down before him. "Rise." They stood and gave Shredder their full attention. He looked them over in thought. A lot had happened over the years since they had come to New York City. Two of his children had been mutated, for one. And one of their own was in an abusive household suffering even now. And while the other two had chosen to remain mutated thanks to the benefits that came with their new forms, they still needed one more before they were complete.

"I'm sure you've all been antsy stuck inside while the groundwork for our plans were laid out. That is now complete." he told them. Their eyes widened at what that meant. "And with that news out of the way, I believe our number is one short. Don't you?" he asked.

"Yes! Our baby brother is coming home!" Karai cried excitedly, her older brothers also grinning as they smacked their fists into their hands in excitement.

"Indeed." Saki chuckled. He glanced at the time. The turtles and their human companions should still be on patrol for another hour at least. "Takeshi." Saki said, looking at the tiger assassin. While he was much more controlled in his reaction than the others, the way his body had relaxed was more than proof enough that he was ready for their youngest to return to them.

"Yes, Master?" Takeshi asked, waiting for his orders.

"Find the turtles and their allies. Tell them that I have a message for their master: 'Yoshi, you and yours have something of mine. I will be retrieving it tomorrow night.' Those exact words. I'm sure one of them will say something about how Yoshi never stole anything from me. I'm quite certain they'll relay it to Splinter like that as well, which puts him in a position where he'll be more susceptible to what tomorrow night will bring." Saki told the tiger who gave a toothy, feral grin and accepted his mission before he left.

"What can we do? I can't sit around just twiddling my thumbs waiting for Takeshi to return with news." Karai grumbled. The other two nodded. Saki huffed a laugh at them.

"For now, we'll do some training. I want all of you at top form tomorrow night. I have no doubt that despite how poorly they view Michelangelo, they'll still try to put up a fight when he returns to us. For this reason, I want everyone to spend tomorrow resting." Saki said. The trio nodded and he put them through several katas and scenarios as they awaited Takeshi's return.

None of them had expected the tiger to be snarling when he finally returned. Knowing what state this was for the other, Saki had the other three stay off to the side while he and the assassin engaged in a near hour long spar before the tiger finally worked through enough of his anger to calm down. "What happened?" Saki demanded.

Takeshi growled lowly before getting himself back under control. "I arrived to find all but Michelangelo present. They had just finished off a half fleet of Kraang."

"Just a half fleet? Wait... Does that mean Michelangelo faced an entire half fleet on his own?" Xever asked angrily. They knew Michelangelo would have managed them just fine, but that would imply that Michelangelo had been abandoned by the others.

"I believe so. Leonardo got hurt because Raphael had left him on his own to go after one of the Kraang who seemed to have been trying Earth insults on him." Takeshi continued. The others snorted. Of course, the hot head had.

"Michelangelo arrived shortly after the remaining Kraang escaped." Takeshi frowned. "I'll admit, Saki, that it's a good thing we're retrieving him tomorrow night."

"Why?" Saki asked in concern.

"I'm pretty sure Michelangelo's masks are starting to break. Without his permission." Takeshi told them all seriously. "In accordance with his mask, he asked it they were okay. Raphael replied with 'No thanks to you.' Quite frankly, I was confused myself, and I had watched the majority of it." Takeshi replied. "Michelangelo was unsurprisingly confused. Donatello informed him of Leonardo's injury, a relatively minor hit to the head that hadn't even left their leader with a concussion. And blamed it on Michelangelo for not being there to provide backup."

"What? That's ridiculous! Where was Michelangelo's backup?!" Chris snarled.

"Apparently, Leonardo had used a new order that I'm certain was never discussed as a team. According to Michelangelo, Leonardo ordered them to scatter when they were being overwhelmed by the fleet of Kraang. From what I understood, Donatello hadn't 'scattered' instead having gone an adjacent direction to the two humans. He's still infatuated with the red-haired woman, O'Neil. And didn't want to leave her with Jones."

"Ugh. He's so creepy. Like, there's a difference between a crush and an obsession." Karai shuddered. Donatello really creeped her out sometimes, and she was very thankful she only had to deal with Leonardo's crush for that first year.

"Well, Raphael stated that he was obviously supposed to go adjacent to one of them to provide backup should it be needed. Michelangelo was the one who replied." Takeshi told them, causing them to wince. They understood what he meant about the masks breaking now.

"After a very scathing retort, he then demanded to know where Raphael was when Leonardo got hurt, since the humans and Donatello had obviously been fine on their own." Takeshi took a deep breath before continuing. "Raphael laid his hands on Michelangelo."

"What?" Saki's deadly calm tone made all but Takeshi flinch.

"Raphael. Laid his hands. On Michelangelo." Takeshi grit out. "It took all I had not to just pound him black and blue. Then, Raphael wasn't reprimanded for what he had done or said to Michelangelo beforehand. Leonardo merely told him to calm down. His face is severely bruised, and his lip was busted. It was then that I appeared, gave them your message for Yoshi word for word. Donatello accused you of accusing Yoshi of theft. As you guessed." Takeshi finished his report.

"I see." Saki said. "Everyone, go and get some sleep. We're bringing home our own tomorrow night. No matter what." Saki told them.

"Yes sir." they replied, leaving Saki on his own. Saki took a deep, calming breath. He had learned from Michelangelo over the years that the other three with the humans as accomplices gave Yoshi clearly biased reports and that the rat took at face value. And he was certain that Yoshi was going to accept the blame being pinned on Michelangelo. Like always. He'd find out tomorrow night just what the rat had said to hislieutenant. He wouldn't be held accountable if it was as bad as he feared.

RFB

The seven of them were running over the roof tops when Shredder and his elite finally made an appearance. This brought the group of seven to a stop. Shredder and his four-elite stopping on the opposite side of the roof they were on. Silence reigned over them as they studied each other.

Michelangelo was watching from behind the other six and almost winced at the fury he could see in the eyes of the others. Shredder's cold eyes in particular almost made him feel sorry for Raphael and Yoshi. Almost. He couldn't wait to let Shredder know how Yoshi had reacted to the whole thing. It was Yoshi, who spoke up first. "I got your message, Shredder." Yoshi began. "But I'm afraid I'm not aware of what you believe I stole from you. Would you mind enlightening me?" Yoshi asked.

Shredder tilted his head slightly. "Stole?" he asked after a second, voice almost confused. "I'm also not aware of what you're talking about, Yoshi. I never said you stole anything from me." Yoshi's eyes narrowed at that.

"Oh, was that not the message you relayed to my children?" Yoshi asked, suddenly tenser than before. If it wasn't an accusation of thievery, then there was something more at play that Yoshi didn't know. And not having all the knowledge present could be deadly.

"No. I merely had Tiger Claw inform you and yours that you had something of mine, and I wished to retrieve it tonight. I never accused you of anything as petty as theft." Shredder informed. And there was nothing but honesty in that tone, before something cold replaced it in his next words. "Not that it stopped you and yours from neglecting and abusing it while it was in your possession." he spat out, voice full of vitriol and disgust. That made them all tense and shiver. None of the Hamatos had seen a reaction this strong from the other man before.

"What are you talking about?" Leonardo growled. "We haven't abused or neglected anything of yours. We don't even have anything of yours."

Karai was the one who spoke next. "Oh, they don't consider it neglect or abuse. How silly of us." She hissed with such disgust aimed at Leonardo that it stung. Even if he didn't have a crush on her anymore, she had been his first and that had hurt. But he was also so confused.

"Does it really surprise you, considering how long Yoshi let it go on without punishment? They probably believe it's their right or something." Xever growled, before muttering something in Spanish that the Hamatos didn't recognize. Michelangelo almost laughed at the insults that Xever had spewed.

"I'm not following this anymore." Casey admitted. He really wasn't. They didn't have anything of Shredder's of all people. You would think they would know if they did. And yet, the Foot Clan was positive they had something of theirs. And apparently, they hadn't been treating it well if what the man had said was true. But he's about 90 percent certain they would know if they had abused or neglected something of Shredder's.

"You're not alone." April replied, wincing. "But they are genuinely furious at us for something." That made the Hamatos tense. If they were so furious even April was feeling it, then there was a good chance this wasn't going to end without a fight.

"There is something that I must do first though." Shredder suddenly mused.

"And what's that? A hula?" Raphael snarked in annoyance at the whole thing. Pain bloomed across his face as he fell back into Donatello sending both of them to the ground. None of them had even seen the Shredder move.

"Raphael!" Four voices cried as they rushed to Raphael and Donatello's sides as Shredder casually walked back to his group, handkerchief in his hand and wiping down his knuckles. Once he was done, he tossed the blood smeared cloth to the rooftop.

"Why did you attack my son, Shredder?" Yoshi snarled from next to his second eldest son's side. Raphael's cheek was bruised and his lip split, blood spilling in a steady trickle. Donatello was doing a quick examination though the red banded man tried to say he was fine. He spit out a couple teeth instead. Leonardo, April, and Casey stood before the two downed turtles and Splinter. Yoshi noticed Michelangelo was standing back where they originally were, having not moved as he watched them. And it had him worried if his youngest had been frozen in shock at the impressive speed.

"Retribution." Shredder replied to Yoshi's question casually. Getting the man's attention once more.

"Retribution?" Yoshi parroted before growling low. "You'll be apologizing for this." Yoshi tried to promise, only for Michelangelo to speak up.

"Don't you mean Raphael should apologize?" Michelangelo asked, voice so innocent and seemingly confused. Time seemed to freeze over the rooftop as all eyes landed on the blonde man whose head was tilted slightly. Busted lip and bruised cheek on full display in the moon light.

"What? Why should Raph apologize?" Donatello asked in disbelief, sending a bewildered look at their baby brother.

Cold blue eyes looked directly at Yoshi. "I mean, he did provoke Shredder into attacking him by asking a simple question. That's how it goes, isn't it Yoshi?" Michelangelo asked with no inflection. "After all, Raphael should know better by now than to provoke someone into attacking him." A chill went down everyone's spines at his tone of voice which was so unlike him.

"What-?" Yoshi's words got stuck in his throat as he tried to think of a reply to that.

"That's what you told me, after all. That it was my fault for provoking Raphael and that I should have known better." A cold smile appeared on his face. "I mean, you even wanted me to apologize to the bastard. When all I did was ask a legitimate question. So." Michelangelo tossed a look Raphael's way. "What are you waiting for, Raphie." His tone was pure mockery. "Apologize to Master Shredder for provoking him into attacking you."

"Master Shredder?" Raphael repeated the other's words, too shocked at what the other was saying.

"He told you what?" Shredder snarled, more furious than he had been before. Michelangelo looked over at the others and saw that they were all furious. He smiled softly at them.

"Yoshi told me it was my fault for provoking Raphael into attacking me, when all I did was ask where he had been when Leonardo got hurt." Michelangelo replied, walking towards them as he untangled the knot on his orange bandana and ripped it off. "Told me I should have known better than that by now and wanted me to apologize." He stopped a short way from Shredder and looked back over his shoulder to the shocked Hamato clan.

"Oh right. You asked if I had anything to say to you last night Raphael. Well here it is: Go to hell." Michelangelo said with sweet smile on his face as the orange bandana fell from his hands and got caught in the slight breeze, sending it to land at the feet of Yoshi and his clan.

"Mikey?" April asked, not believing what was happening. But he ignored her and turned to the elite, only to be tackled into a hug by Karai.

"You're finally coming home baby brother." Karai said excitedly. And that made the three brothers freeze in utter shock when the blonde returned the hug and called her sis.

"About time too. You've been missed kid." Bradford said, pulling him from Karai's grip before he suffocated.

"He only says that because he's tired of losing to me at poker." Xever said, ruffling the young man's hair.

"Hey! Not the hair Xev!" Michelangelo squeaked with a laugh.

"Michelangelo Hamato, what is going on? Get back here." Leonardo snapped in the tone of voice he saved for when any of them were being particularly disobedient.

Michelangelo scoffed. "You are not my leader Leonardo. I do not answer to you. And just so you know, I renounced the Hamato name six years ago- well, five for you lot, but six for me. I lived in Dimension X long enough that I'm actually 21. So older than you, even." Michelangelo mused, watching the realization of that enter Casey and Donatello's eyes.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to realize that Donatello, but that's fine. You're not exactly the sharpest kunai in the pouch after all." Michelangelo soothed, giving him a look of pity.

"Smarter than you, knucklehead. You don't even seem to realize who your real family is." Raphael snarled.

Michelangelo snorted at the red-banded man's words. "I know who my real family is, and it's not the one that abused, neglected, and limited me for the sake of their own fragile and pathetic egos." he replied.

"We never abused you!" Donatello denied. Michelangelo leveled the other man with a blank look and tilted his head purposefully to show off the bruise and split lip.

"Then there's all the time you three took your anger out on me during spars. Not that you ever cared when any of you gave me a concussion. Fractured something. I've been taking care of my own injuries for years. Then there's all the times you would bring biased reports back to Yoshi and pin all the blame on me when I hadn't even done anything wrong. But that's okay, after all, Yoshi takes them at face value, so it's not just you guys alone."

"And let's not forget that every time I potentially showed skills that were better than yours, I was punished from a young age with isolation or more abuse, in an already isolated life. So really, where do you not see abuse and neglect and limitations? Sorry I forgot. You all are perfect. You could do no wrong! It was always the mistake's fault." Michelangelo shot the group as a whole a look of pure disgust.

"Michelangelo my son-" Yoshi began, voice struck with emotional pain.

"I'm not your anything." Michelangelo interrupted him. "I renounced the Hamato name when I was 15 and joined Master Shredder and the Foot Clan." Michelangelo gave a gentle smile to the group that stood protectively around him.

"I was treated with respect, encouraged to improve and be myself without punishment. And, of course, get my revenge on you all." Their eyes widened. "And to think, all I had to do was renounce your clan's name and give up information. And really, I would have given Master Shredder so much more, just for a chance to get back at you all." Michelangelo admitted.

"Revenge on us?" Casey asked in shock.

Michelangelo leveled Casey with a contemplative look. "Mostly them, but I knew you would be on their side as well as O'Neil. You two really were just collateral I'm afraid." He shrugged. "Really, I've spent over a decade coming up with all sorts of plans to get back at them. And the options just got greater when we started patrolling around the city."

"I settled on this shortly after we first started to do so. Which I really need to thank you April." He grinned at the red-haired woman. "If you hadn't given me 'My Friends' back then, it would have taken me longer to find Chris here. He helped me to get an audience with Master Shredder where we made our deal." And Michelangelo was really happy about that. "And I suppose I could thank the three of you as well." He added to the turtles. "I mean, if you hadn't kept those two from following me so I would 'learn my lesson' as you so eloquently put it, I wouldn't have been able to go through with my plans."

"But he betrayed you!" Raphael cried, disbelieving what they were hearing. Michelangelo laughed.

"Oh, that was all part of my act. We knew it wouldn't be long before you all eventually realized that Chris was one of the ninjas that attacked us. So, we decided to put on the whole betrayal act to make sure you never suspected anything. I mean, even you three, with how incompetent you believed me to be, would have been suspicious if I had stayed friends with Bradford for weeks or so before you found out." Michelangelo shrugged.

"It was one of the first things Michelangelo agreed to do to prove how serious he was about the deal. It took roughly a month I believe before we fully trusted him. After that, the real Michelangelo- not the 'Mikey' mask he wore around you all- fit right on in with the rest of the clan." Shredder added to the story.

He took some perverse joy at the shift of emotions going over their faces, disbelief, pain, horror, denial. It was a wonderful mix. "No. No that can't be true!" Leonardo cried.

"Aw look. They're in denial." Michelangelo cooed gleefully. The others snickered.

"This isn't denial! Our brother wouldn't do this!" Donatello growled.

"Did you hear that? Now I'm their brother." Michelangelo snorted.

"How sad, it looks like they're 16 years too late." Tiger Claw mused with a rumbling laugh.

"I don't believe my son would betray us of his own free will." Yoshi growled. "And you will not be taking him without a fight."

"Oh please, I've been nothing but a prop to elevate the statuses of your real children." Michelangelo told the rat. "And I'd rather not go back to the hellish existence you decided to confine me too. I'm much happier with Master Shredder and the Foot. Have been for years. So, I won't be returning with you. And if you try to take me back with you by force." Michelangelo's eyes hardened. "Just know that I'm not holding back anymore."

The Hamato clan tensed, ready for a fight. And the Foot Clan responded in turn. Six versus six. "So, who would you like to take out first?" Karai asked the man beside her in the silence that was brewing between the two groups. The three brothers tensed.

"I think I'll take out Donatello first. Then Raphael. Then Leonardo. So, if you'd like to just keep them busy until I get to them, that'd be wonderful." Michelangelo said casually before glancing at Shredder. "Am I right in thinking you would like to deal with Yoshi yourself?" Michelangelo asked.

"If you don't mind." Shredder mused.

"Not at all." The blonde assured. Then he moved so fast, none of the Hamatos had seen him as he kicked Donatello across the roof and jumped after his rolling body to continue the fight. After that, everyone else was moving too.

The fight went on for nearly an hour as Michelangelo effortlessly took out the three men. While Michelangelo was playing with them like prey, Shredder enjoyed his time fighting Yoshi, adding in some information here and there to dig the knife in deeper.

"You know, if you hadn't failed so drastically with raising those three, you might not have lost, quite frankly, the best student you could have ever had." Shredder mused, kicking Yoshi back into a wooden shed that was on the roof top. It collapsed around the rat who struggled to stand back up. "Looks like your age caught up to you. What a shame. You used to be more of a challenge." Shredder taunted.

"Be quiet, Shredder. You will not be taking my son." Yoshi growled, rushing at the other with a burst of speed that he usually kept hidden. But it was nothing compared to Michelangelo's true speed, and Shredder had sparred with him enough to easily get around Yoshi's attack.

"You lost Michelangelo when you chose them, over him." Shredder informed the other casually dodging the man's attacks.

"I did no such thing." Yoshi hissed.

"That's not what it looks like from my side of things. Biased reports that always put Michelangelo at fault. And you never questioned it. Never asked for Michelangelo's side of things. Believed them over him. Punished him even when he didn't do anything wrong. Never reprimanded them when they hurt him out of anger in spars or out of them." Shredder punctuated each statement with a hit to the other man. "Victim blamed him, then told him to apologize to the one who assaulted him!" Shredder snarled that part angrily with a kick he knew broke the other's nose.

"You chose them over Michelangelo every time! And it disgusts me how you've treated him." Shredder growled, walking confidently towards Yoshi's downed body. "When I found out the full extent of how bad things were, when he came to us broken and bloody after you failed to stop a spar from going too far, I very nearly took him right then and there. But he desired bringing you and yours to your knees more than his own well-being." Shredder stopped in front of Yoshi who was struggling to get up from his kneeling position. Shredder kicked the man in the side, sending him sprawling again. "And that's your fault too! Yours and theirs!" he was furious by it all.

"I was shocked by just how little self-worth he had, despite all of his potential and all of his skills. He's mylieutenant, in case you weren't aware. And it took us years, to get him to finally realize his worth and accept the position because he hadn't believed he deserved it." That had been a battle that they had barely won.

"But you know what the absolute worst part of what you did is?" Shredder asked, grabbing Yoshi by the front of his shirt and lifting him from the ground. Shredder's flashing copper eyes bore into Yoshi's swollen chocolate. "It was taking such a pure and honest soul andtaintingit with hatred and loathing." Shredder threw the other man across the roof where he rolled with a groan, stopping next to the others in his clan who weren't looking any better.

He noted that the three turtles were thoroughly beaten. Neither they nor their rat master were so badly injured that they were in critical condition. And they weren't maimed. But they would need a week or so to recover. Even with their faster mutant healing. The two humans were in much better condition. They didn't want to kill them all after all. They just wanted them to suffer. His elite joined him, and he breathed a silent breath at how well they all looked. He glanced back at the Hamato Clan. This was done. "You took what you had for granted. It's not our fault that you forsook your greatest gift. Live with that truth." He growled before nodding to his own.

In a unified movement, they tossed down some smoke bombs and disappeared from the roof top. It was time for them to head home.

RFB

The Hamato Clan trudged painfully into the lair. None of them had been spared. Even if they hadn't been maimed, Donatello estimated it would take a week or two for all of them to heal up. Silence however reigned throughout their home. They were all lost, not sure about what to do in that moment.

And they wouldn't for some time, as it ran through their minds, all the different times that they fought with the Foot Clan over the years, during the time Michelangelo had claimed to be working with them. They hadn't seen it coming. And they weren't sure what was going to happen next.

Author's Note: And there we go. I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be the next past chapter with a bit of a time skip in it. Until then.