Archive of Our Own

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Prologue
The large man slowly made his way down the corridor, the air of silent anger that surrounded him enough to dissuade any passing foot soldiers and guards from approaching him. Steadily he headed downwards in the foot tower towards his own quarters. The information he had learnt from the shredder tonight was disturbing to say the least. The audience with Shredder had taken the expected route with him ordering that the turtles be destroyed. This wasn’t what surprised the large man, this was what had been expected. Shredder had given the large man control over the turtle problem with orders to eliminate them quickly and with any means necessary. In order to do this he had requested to know as much information about them as possible, such as their fighting style, where they usually appeared, anything he could get his hands on.When he arrived at the necessary floor he continued along the silent corridor deep in thought until he arrived at a large set of double doors. He distractedly entered the necessary pin number to access his own area and headed towards his desk. The room was bare and had only the furniture necessary. What stood out most was the large black desk in the centre of the room to which he immediately went to and sat down in the large office chair behind the desk.Replaying his conversation with the shredder in his mind Hun reflected on what he had learnt. These turtle freaks weren’t the only mutants; there was also a mutant rat who had trained them as Ninja. The shredder had disclosed to him alone, that in his battle with the rat he had learnt the rat knew of Hamato Yoshi and considered him his master. It was this information that had disturbed Hun, for he remembered the night they had killed Yoshi well, for it was a night that had left him with a certain mark. From a rat. The chance of this mutant rat being the same one that had scarred his face years ago were astronomical, however the proof was there. Yoshi had been a ninja master who had a pet rat. A mutant, ninja rat had revealed Yoshi was his master during battle with the shredder.A grin slowly spread across Hun’s face as he reached under his desk and pressed the button he knew would call the leader of the purple dragons to him. Screw what the shredder wants Hun thought, he wanted the rat. It was only right he had his chance for revenge for all those years ago. If he gets the turtles as well Shredder can have them, the rat was his target. The shredder didn’t need to know of this, his dragons would secure the rodent while the foot looked for the turtles, and then he would deal with the rat personally.

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I Spy
Slowly Splinter lifted the lid of the man hole cover and after checking the alley was indeed deserted slipped into the alley replacing the man hole cover without a sound. Silently he made his way onto the nearest rooftop with relative ease, with the fire escape proving useful. As he made his way up to the rooftop his thoughts drifted back to the events of the last few weeks. His sons had been patrolling as normal however over the last few weeks they had noticed the number of purple dragons on the street decreasing and the foot hadn’t been sighted at all for the last few weeks. Michelangelo had joked they had gotten bored being punching bags, but Splinter suspected there was something different going on. Splinter arrived on the rooftop and slowly looked around the area. It was the rooftop where his sons would usually start their patrol. Although the routes their patrols would take varied there were still key areas they would pass through most nights. Leonardo has assured him he had been closely watching all areas for any signs of activity or traps, however it didn’t hurt for more experienced eyes to take a look as well.This was why he was here. Although he had trained them as ninjas they were still teenagers and so they could get distracted or possibly overlook something. They didn’t know he was doing this, they would think I was being overprotective Splinter thought to himself but if nothing else it would ease his own fears for their safety.What Splinter didn’t realize was that the man hole he had just come out of, and was often used by his family was being monitored along with a number of other manholes. A tiny camera with a heat sensor had been placed expertly in a brick in the alley, to find it would have meant searching every brick in the alley. This sensor sprung to life when anyone entered the alley and would show Hun who was there.Unbeknownst to Splinter he had activated this sensor that his sons had been activating for the past few weeks, and now Hun knew he was out of the sewers. Splinter silently continued assessing the area before leaping to the next rooftop to continue checking the patrol routes.The full moon shone brightly in the sky as Splinter considered heading home. He had found nothing out of the ordinary in any of the main areas his sons would go and was about ready to admit he was being paranoid when a desperate scream filled the otherwise silent night.

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Rat Trap
Swiftly Splinter darted around to the site of the noise and saw what appeared to be a young woman getting attacked by a group of purple dragons. Leaping off the building Splinter landed in front of the woman in the alley and delivered a powerful reverse punch to the chest of the nearest purple dragon.“Help they’re taking my baby!” The woman screamed into the night, causing Splinter to swiftly look around the alley, noticing for the first time that a group of 7 purple dragons were running out of the alleyway and into the night with a small bundle thrown in a bag over one dragons shoulder. Splinter immediately dispatched the three remaining dragons with accurate, powerful strikes and darted up the building again to follow after the kidnappers.It was only later that Splinter would realise the woman in the alley hadn’t screamed in fright of him, but at that moment his thoughts were consumed with following after the rapidly fleeing purple dragons. He silently followed them from the rooftops when he saw them once again enter another alley and slip into an abandoned looking building.How dare they kidnap a child! Splinter thought to himself as he stealthily approached the broken looking door the purple dragons had entered through. His sensitive hearing could pick up the sounds of receding footsteps down the corridor and heard some of the dragons talking amongst themselves.“Looks like we lost the freak” Remarked one dragon. “No one can beat the purple dragons” Another replied with a distinct edge of arrogance in his voice.Silently Splinter shook his head wondering if they truly believed they could lose a Ninja Master that easily. No longer able to hear their conversation Splinter deemed they had moved far enough away for him to sneak in, and so silently slipped in the broken door and down the dark corridor. Keeping to the shadows he followed them to a large room where they threw the sack containing the child into the middle of the room.Now hiding in a shadowed corner of the room Splinter glanced at his surroundings and realised they were in what had probably once been a sports hall but was now coated in dust and had metal bars covering the windows, apart from the door he had entered through, there was one other door in the room.Quickly Splinter counted the dragons in the room and noted that there were seven of them in total. Fighting the purple dragons while they had the child could have been dangerous for the child, but since they had deposited the sack in the middle of the room now seemed the best time to attack the dragons who were congratulating themselves to one side of the room. They won’t be doing that for long Splinter mused to himself as he crept closer to the group of dragons.Looking back on this Splinter would reflect on the many mistakes he made that night. As much as he told his sons not to get complacent he had done just that, and so failed to notice a number of things that may have alerted him to something more than a random kidnapping. Firstly the sack hadn’t once moved or made a sound, secondly the purple dragons hadn’t locked the door upon entering the building, and thirdly why were they stood around as if waiting for something? Had he noticed these things he may have realised that he had walked straight into a trap as 30 purple dragons suddenly flooded into the dimly lit room and turned on bright lights that dispersed all shadows in the room leaving Splinter in plain sight.“Get the rat!” One dragon exclaimed, however Splinter was already in motion heading towards the sack in the middle of the room, with the intention of taking the child and escaping. As soon as he picked up the sack he noticed it was far too light to be holding a human. Swiftly he overturned the bag and a large doll fell out into the centre of the floor. How could I have been so stupid Splinter scolded himself as he turned to face the rapidly advancing Purple dragons who were surrounding him as he looked for an escape route. He felt his heart drop as he realised there was none, this room had been specifically chosen for this reason. The only ways in or out were the two doors in the room, which were now undoubtedly locked. The dragons armed with crow bars, chains and baseball bats stood motionless in a 30 strong circle surrounding Splinter as he prepared himself to fight his way out.At that moment a giant of a man entered the room with blond hair, and covered in tattoos. Splinter recognised him instantly and turned his attention towards him. Hun he thought with a snarl, the sheer bulk of the man could be easily recognised by Splinter even without the claw marks on his face binding Hun to the night Hamato Yoshi had been killed.“Hello freak I’ve waited a long time for this.” Hun growled though he was clearly enjoying having Splinter cornered. “Seems like the ninja master fell for our little rat trap” he sneered.Sensing movement to his right Splinter turned in time to block a pipe that was swinging towards his head, and with that the real battle began, as the purple dragon’s aimed to overwhelm Splinter through sheer force of numbers. Splinter fought ferociously dealing out strikes in all directions but the numbers were becoming too much as heavy blows rained down on him in all directions. One purple dragon managed to hit Splinter behind the knees knocking him to the ground where another dragon immediately followed up with a blow to the back of his head with a pipe, knocking him senseless to the ground.The purple dragons that were still standing parted for Hun as he made his way over to Splinter and securely wrapped him in chains.“Put the rodent in the truck and take him back to our base” Hun ordered “We’re going to have some fun with him”

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Absence
Slowly coming out of his meditation Leonardo glanced around the dojo and realised that the candles he had lit when he began meditating were now burnt right down to the bottom indicating he had been meditating for at least three hours. It had been a relatively quiet night for the young leader, as all of his brothers had chosen to pursue their own hobbies in the free time they had tonight.Master Splinter had told them to take a night off from patrolling the strangely quiet streets tonight, and with that he had left the lair himself stating he had some things he needed to do. Master Splinter probably assumed they thought he was scavenging or meditating in the sewers. But they knew him better than that. With the streets so quiet and devoid of any activity from either the foot or purple dragons, they knew Master Splinter would want to see for himself that there was nothing more going on; that they hadn’t missed a trap or were being set up. Leonardo and his brothers knew he was only doing this because he loved them, but as they were nearly 17 years old now it could get rather irritating to the brothers, in particular Raphael. But even he would never disrespect Splinter by telling him they didn’t need him to check things were safe anymore, besides if it helped give their father peace of mind it was worth it.Steadily Leonardo raised himself up from the floor and worked out the stiffness from his body as headed into the main part of the lair to check on his brothers. Michelangelo had fallen asleep watching TV and was snoring softly on the couch, upon further inspection of the lair he found Raphael was already asleep in his hammock and that Donatello was asleep at his desk in the lab.With practiced ease Leonardo carried Michelangelo to his room, and then repeated the same action with Donatello. Satisfied that all of his younger brothers were safe and in bed, Leonardo settled in to the arm chair to continue reading his book as he waited for Master Splinter to return. Judging by the fact it was past 12:30 now he knew Master Splinter probably wouldn’t be much longer but he would wait up for him anyway, as Master Splinter always does for them, to ensure all of their family is safe at home.Four hours later Leonardo stirred out of his sleep and a quick glance at the VCR told him it was 4:30 in the morning. Did Master Splinter not come back? He thought anxiously to himself. Usually when he waited up for Master Splinter, his father would wake him up if he had fell asleep and send him to bed. The fact that he was still asleep in the arm chair indicated his father hadn’t returned.Swiftly he went to check his Father’s room, just to make sure he hadn’t come back. Leonardo’s worry was growing now as he realised Splinter really hadn’t come back last night and he hastily pulled out his shell cell to try and call him. He knew Master Splinter wasn’t great at using the phones but was hoping he could answer it this time. Panic ran through Leonardo as the phone didn’t even ring, which to him indicated it had been broken, but he would need to get Donnie to confirm it.Wasting no more time Leo ran to wake up his brothers to let them know Master Splinter hadn’t come home. The sooner they were awake the quicker they could find him.

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Trapped
Consciousness gradually returned to Splinter leaving him with a pounding head ache from where he had been knocked out. As he opened his eyes to take in his surroundings he realised he was strapped down to a lab table in a bright room with no windows and one large metal door. Various sharp and heavy instruments lay on a table beside Splinter, which Splinter suspected may well be used soon.He sharply pulled against the restraints but they didn’t so much as budge leaving him pinned to the table waiting for what would come next. As he cast his mind back to his capture he couldn’t help but think about the many mistakes he had made and how he had been complacent, something he always berated his sons for. It’s my fault I got captured; now I must hope my sons will be able to find me Splinter thought sadly.Splinter didn’t have to wait long until the large metal door opened and in walked Hun, looking satisfied with his new captive.“Hun” Splinter growled at the large man.“Listen up freak, this is how it’s going to work. I am going to make the rest of your short, miserable life hell. I won’t kill you. Yet. But every day you will be wishing you were dead.” As he spoke the large man made his way over to the table Splinter was strapped to. “You should have seen the surprise I had when I found out you were the same rat who had left its mark on me all those years ago.” He continued.Splinter had remained silent throughout Hun’s speech. He remembered Hun from when he had attacked his Master Yoshi, and clearly the large man was harbouring a grudge, but he was expecting to have been turned over to the Shredder.Hun reading the confusion on Splinter’s face answered Splinter’s silent question “No rat I’m not passing you over to Shredder, this is between you and me. Shredder is more interested in those Turtle freaks you call sons, and if I catch them he can have them, but you’re mine.”Splinter couldn’t help but feel panicked at this latest revelation not for himself but for his sons. They were actively being hunted, and the quiet streets were a trap for them, which he himself had fallen into it. What made this worse for Splinter was how he was powerless to warn his beloved sons, who would most likely be looking for him.By this point Hun was looming over the helpless Splinter, and with a sneer he said “You won’t be able to escape from me rodent, but just to be sure...” Hun raised his right leg and with a powerful side kick broke Splinter’s left leg. Grunting in pain Splinter tried not to blackout even though his vision swum before his eyes.“That’s better, now you’ve no chance of escaping alone” Hun said with an evil grin as he turned and left Splinter alone to his pain.

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Searching
Nervously Michelangelo tapped his foot on the ground as he waited for his older brother, Donatello to complete his tracking. It was only half an hour ago that Leo had woken them up with the news that Master Splinter still hadn’t returned home yet. As soon as those words had left his older brothers mouth he was wide awake and ready to go look for their father. Donnie had immediately suggested they ring him on the shell cell, which sparked hope in Michelangelo that they would be able to contact him, however this flame of hope was quickly extinguished as Leo announced he had tried that and the shell cell didn’t even ring, indicating it had been broken.They knew their father’s habits well, and for him to be gone this long something must have happened to him. They all realised this, which was why they were so desperate to start their search for him. At the moment Donnie was looking to trace the last known signal of the shell cell before it had been destroyed.Raph was currently prowling around the main room in agitation, desperate for something to hit, and take the brunt of his anger. He had wanted to go out straight away but Leo had calmly tried to point out it would be better to narrow down their search area first using Donnie’s tracking suggestion.The youngest turtle was as desperate as Raph to go out and do something, and as he waited his mind turned over all the possible reasons for their Father’s absence. His thoughts had ranged from sewer tunnel collapse, to illness and injury before his mind wondered to the possibly someone had taken Splinter. How could that be possible? Mikey mused to himself, Master Splinter was a master Ninja and if he needed help would he not have tried to call them? They all knew Splinter went to check the streets out, to see for himself that there was a lack of activity and nothing more sinister going on, had it been a trap meant for them he had walked into? What if the Foot had him? Slowly Mikey shook his head as if to shake away the thoughts. Negative thinking wouldn’t help them, he was supposed to be the positive thinking turtle!“Ok guys, I’ve traced the last known signal of Master Splinter’s shell cell!” Donnie called from the computer. No sooner had those words left his mouth than Leo, Raph and Mikey appeared behind him.“Well where is it, Don?” Raph asked impatiently, clearly he was ready to go. “It seems that the last known location was from some abandoned sports club.” Explained Doonie, looking confused as to why there Father would go to such a strange location.Leo leaned over Donnie’s shoulder to look at the location on the map before stating “That location isn’t on any of our usual patrol routes”Michelangelo stood quietly listening to the conversation of his brothers, he had a gut feeling Master Splinter was in real trouble, and Master Splinter had always told them to listen to their feelings.

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Off we go?
Raphael was not a patient turtle at the best of times. When his father hadn’t returned last night only served to increase his impatience, and so it came as no surprise that he was ready to storm the building Master Splinter’s shell cell had last been traced to. As soon as Donnie had told them where he was half way out the door, certain his brothers would be right behind him, however it only took one sentence from Leo to drag him back to reality.“Raph we can’t risk going topside now, its daylight!” Announced Leo; who clearly hated to say it as much as Raph hated to hear it.Raph was momentarily stunned into silence by his big brother pointing out this obvious fact, that he had forgotten before he regained his senses and threw his fist into the nearest wall.“We can’t wait! The angry turtle roared “Master Splinter could be in trouble, we have to go now!”“We know how you feel Raph” sympathised the orange clad turtle “we’re worried too.”Donatello who had been looking at his computer map while his brothers argued interrupted their conversation with a light in his eyes.“Wait Leo, we can still go now there’s a sewer tunnel that goes right under that place, and if I’m right we should be able to get in through the sewers!” Exclaimed Donatello who was clearly satisfied with his plan.“Are you sure that place is abandoned Donnie?” Questioned Leo who was torn between jumping for joy at his brothers plan, or being over protective of his brothers and waiting for night to fall.  “Trust me Leo, we can sneak in and see what’s going on and sneak out again easily” The brainy turtle explained. With that said all eyes turned to Leonardo to make the decision, two pairs of desperate, pleading eyes from his youngest brothers, and the angry but also pleading eyes of Raphael.“Ok then, let’s go” The leader announced as he jogged towards the exit of the lair followed by his anxious younger brothers.

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Waiting is a pain
Fighting back a wave of nausea Splinter clenched his eyes shut against the pain. He had just finished a ‘session’ with Hun and was once again alone in the bright room, helplessly strapped to the table. He had no idea how long he had been here but it already felt far too long to the Ninja Master. After his initial meeting with Hun where his leg had been broken he had been left in agony for what seemed like hours until Hun returned earlier and had spent some happy hours torturing the rat.Escaping by himself had become much more problematic when Hun had broken his leg and so he was now forced to wait for rescue to come to him, by his sons who by now would have realised he was missing. Splinter jerked against his restraints hoping to at least loosen them, he hated how he was forced to remain in this one position and couldn’t move to a more comfortable position.The leather straps wouldn’t budge however and he slumped in defeat and took to assessing his injuries. When Hun had broken his leg, Splinter had at least thought the bone hadn’t moved out of position and so would eventually heal correctly, but even this meagre hope had been dashed when Hun had came back to see him and continuously pressed against his leg forcing the broken bone further apart, causing Splinter intense agony. He had managed to remain silent throughout Hun’s session, even when Hun had taken a scalpel from the table beside him and slowly dragged it across Splinter’s chest, causing a deep wound that had only just started to stop bleeding.Throughout his time here which he roughly estimated was so far a day, the only person he had seen was Hun, his keen hearing had detected no sounds in the building, and the only new thing in the room was the smell of the drying blood on his chest.He knew his sons well. They would come for him; he only hoped he wouldn’t have to wait too long.

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On Track
Donatello ran through the sewers towards the abandoned sports centre on autopilot as his mind raced with hundreds of questions, theories and concerns. Him and his brothers were silent as they flew through the sewers, each dealing with what they may find at their destination in their own way.He was the smart turtle. Supposed to have all the answers, and follow the logical approach in his thinking. It was this aspect of himself he was proud of but today he wished he never had this ability. It was this that allowed him to look at every possible reason for something occurring, and so it was this that showed him the reason Master Splinter hadn’t returned yet or called was bad news.Turning sharply down a narrow tunnel to the left the turtles continued on towards their destination. Upon leaving the lair Leonardo had suggested calling April to bring the battle shell close to the abandoned sports centre, in case they needed a quick get away. She was upset to learn that Master Splinter was missing and had immediately gone to get the battle shell.Donatello was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed his brothers were slowing down in front of him and he continued moving forwards to the manhole cover they had stopped by.“Is this the place Donnie?” Questioned Leo, looking as apprehensive as the rest of them.“Yes, if we go up here we should come out in a maintenance room, and from there we can access the rest of the building.” Answered Donatello who was desperate to go up but worried for what he would find.“When we go up, we stay silent and we stay together. Understood?” Ordered Leo, in full blown leader mode now.“We got it fearless, now let’s go!” Answered Raph impatiently as he  pushed past his brothers and began climbing the ladder to the manhole cover, quickly followed by a strangely quiet Michelangelo.Leonardo followed after them in silence and Donatello brought up the rear, silently Raphael removed the manhole cover and disappeared into the dark room, swiftly followed by his brothers. Without saying a word Donatello passed his brothers a flashlight each and the small room became illuminated revealing a maintenance room as Donatello had said, filled with mops, buckets and cleaning supplies. The room was covered in a layer of dust, and cobwebs showing the brothers it hadn’t been used in a long time.Leonardo now took the lead and opened the door that led them into a wide corridor with multiple doors leading off from it. Carefully they opened each door along the corridor and shone the torches through checking for any signs of activity, with their senses on high alert for signs of activity. The first three rooms they looked in had been stripped bare of any exercise equipment and were all coated in dust, and clearly hadn’t been used in months, even the door handles looked disused, leading the turtle brothers to believe no one had been in here, but the last signal from Master Splinter’s shell cell was here, there had to be something!The doors the brothers had opened so far were along the right side of the corridor and along the left side of the corridor, were a large set of double doors, which looked like they were leading to a sports hall.  Michelangelo glanced across at this door when his brothers were examining the one opposite, when something caught his attention; the door looked like it had recently been used! There wasn’t the usual dusting of grime and signs of disuse that were present at other parts of the building. Mikey turned around and tapped Raphael on the back and then pointed at the door, nodding in understanding he quickly got Leo and Donnie’s attention and joined Mikey at the entrance to the sports hall. The brothers swiftly entered the room and shone their lights around the hall, when Michelangelo’s light stopped on a wooden walking stick in the centre of the room lying next to a crushed shell cell. The turtles raced towards it momentarily forgetting their plan of stealth as they gathered around their father’s belongings.“Someone must have taken him.” Spoke Donatello softly as his worst fears were confirmed, Mikey gently lifted the walking stick from the ground as his eyes filled with fear for where Master Splinter could be. Raphael gently placed his hand on his brothers shoulder in a rare display of comfort.Leonardo meanwhile had been scanning the room, after discovering Master Splinter’s things and suddenly went rigid as if listening for something “Guys we need to get out of here, now!” The leader urged in a whisper “Something’s not right.”No sooner had the words left Leo’s mouth than black shadows filled the abandoned hall surrounding the brothers.

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Mind Games
“You don’t have to say anything freak, you can just lie there in silence for the rest of your miserable existence. I’m not going to ask you where the turtles are, I want nothing from you but to cause you as much pain as possible, and I think I’m doing a pretty good job.” The large man whispered sinisterly to Splinter as he broke the last finger on Splinter’s left hand.This was the third time Hun had came to see the rat and was clearly enjoying the latest session with his captive. It had only been 24 hours since the rats capture and already he had broken his leg, all fingers on his left hand and carved several deep cuts into his chest. None of this would kill his prisoner, certainly not yet. Hun’s goal was revenge and he would systematically break the rat one bone at a time to get it.Slowly Hun stepped away from the table where Splinter was strapped to and took in the state of his prisoner, the rat was panting in pain and still bleeding from some new cuts across his chest mixing with the already dried blood, his broken leg was sticking out at a slightly odd angle, as were his fingers, all together making the Ninja master a very sorry sight to see.All in all Hun was in a good mood, he was exacting his revenge with great cruelty and the news he had received before entering this room had only improved the session for him. The rat might consider himself strong enough to withstand any physical punishment but Hun would break him both physically and mentally.“I rather enjoyed that session rat, didn’t you?” Hun questioned while barely concealing the smirk on his face. As expected the only response from Splinter was a glare. “Well maybe I’ve got some news for you that will cheer you up” Hun continued as Splinter looked warily at the man. That got his attention Hun thought sadistically.“It appears those turtle freaks you call sons have been out looking for you, and found themselves at that abandoned centre you were in-““What have you done with them!” Splinter growled interrupting Hun.“Like I said rat you were the only one I wanted” stated Hun turning to leave the room.“Although I did tell the Foot I expected them to be there.”

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Cornered
“Be ready to fight” Leonardo commanded whilst his hands instantly went to where his swords were strapped to his shell. Leo wasn’t just angry, he was furious. First of all with himself for not sensing anyone else in the building, and secondly for leading his brothers into an obvious trap.The four turtle brothers backed towards each other until their shells were touching, and each now had their weapons drawn as they faced the mass of foot ninja. The foot must have taken Master Splinter Leo thought sadly, realizing in the very real danger their father was in. Apparently Raphael had come to the same conclusion because he yelled out at the nearest foot ninja “Where’s Splinter? You goons took him didn’t ya!” Raphael ranted as if he really expected a response from the silent ninjas. As Raph finished his outburst the first group of foot ninja surged forward and the battle commenced. As one the brothers attacked wielding their weapons with deadly accuracy, all fuelled by the rage and fear of knowing the enemy had Master Splinter, and if they didn’t do something quickly they would be joining him.“Leo we need to get out!” called Donnie as he dispatched one foot ninja with a sharp crack of his Bo staff and spun round to fight off another.“I don’t think they plan on taking us alive dudes!” Pointed out Michelangelo, as he spun through the air dodging the slice of a katana blade and twirling his nun chucks dangerously.At this point in the battle the turtles were beginning to get overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and ferocity of the attack, for every foot soldier dispatched another would take their place. The battle was taking its toil and each brother was growing more tired with every hit they dished out and the blows they took themselves.Throughout the battle Leonardo looked around desperately for a means of escape, but metal bars covered the only windows in the room that were high up anyway, and the door they entered through was blocked by foot Ninjas. This left only one door which was at the opposite side of the room. This could be a possible escape for the brothers, the only drawback the young leader found was that it was daytime outside and so the risk of being seen was high.We might be able to get out if we can get April near here with the battle shell thought Leonardo as he slashed and sliced with his katanas in all directions. Swiftly he vaulted over the heads of the ninjas in front of him and removed his shell cell from his belt. A phone call was out of the question there was no time, so he pressed the distress signal Donnie had installed, and hoped April would understand the need to blast in here.Leo continued defending himself and found he had Raphael next to him fighting off his own swarm of ninjas. “Got a plan yet fearless?” Questioned Raph who was covered in sweat and panting with exhaustion. He was bleeding from several cuts across his body but nothing looked to major.“We need to get over to Donnie and Mikey.” Answered Leo as he spied his youngest brothers together on the other side of the room, fending off their black clad attackers “I have a plan but we should get close to each other.”“I’ll clear a path.” Raph smirked as he let out an almighty battle cry and flew through the ninja’s between them and their brothers, as his Sais whipped through the air disabling attackers on all sides and causing panic throughout the Foot, at Raphael’s berserker charge.

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Turtle Panic
April O’Neil sat restlessly in the driver’s seat of the Battle shell, in the alley she was waiting in for her turtle friends. She constantly checked around her to make sure she was alone in the alley, after all this was known as a particularly bad part of the city, which was enough to make anyone nervous. April had been shocked  to learn that Splinter hadn’t come home last night and wasn’t answering his phone, so she could only imagine how her friends felt as they now checked the last place his shell cell  had been tracked to.Why would Splinter be in this part of town? April mused as she considered the turtles reserved and formal father. At first she had been wary of Splinter since he seemed so strict and often harsh but as she grew closer to the turtles she soon warmed to him and realised he was just naturally protective of his turtle sons and over the years she had come to consider him as a father figure herself.I hope he’s ok April thought with a sigh as she slumped back in the driver’s seat of the battle ready van. The guys had all shown her how to work the many missiles and gadgets in the battle shell for emergencies but so far hadn’t ever needed to use them. The turtles were taking a big risk today, by entering the abandoned building in daylight; they wouldn’t know who was in there and if anything went wrong they would struggle to escape unseen. Which was why April now sat in the alleyway a few blocks from the building itself.April was suddenly jerked from her thoughts as her shell cell started flashing, and beeping. Swiftly she grabbed her shell cell and immediately recognised the distress signal. What do they want me to do? April thought panicking slightly at how she would save her friends.April took a deep breath to calm herself as Master Splinter had taught her and hoped inspiration would come to her. “Yes!” The red head shouted eagerly as she realised she could use the battle shell to get in there.Revving the engine into gear she pulled out of the alley and drove around to the apparently not so abandoned building. Leo had told her on the phone before she left, if they were in trouble they would hit the distress button, which left April knowing she had to get in there, and praying she wouldn’t get arrested in the process.The disused sports centre came into view and April was grateful there wasn’t many people around, swiftly she fired off two missiles which blasted into the side of the wall clearing a large hole, as bricks and debris rained down to the ground.I have to be quick she though anxiously as she drove the armoured vehicle backwards into the hole she had just created. Already there was panic in the street as people heard the bang of the missiles.She heard the back end of the van open that was parked in the newly built hole and her four turtle friends piled in screaming for her to go. Putting her foot down the battle shell shot back out of the hole and roared through the streets. It took only one glance in her rear view mirror to see the black clad foot soldiers in the sports hall, and one further glance into the back of the van to see her friends covered in blood and clearly lucky to be alive.The worst thing she noticed though as she drove manically through the streets, making sure they weren’t followed. Was that the turtles had arrived alone, and Michelangelo was clutching Master Splinter’s walking stick in his battered hands.

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Nowhere to go
A week. That was how long Splinter estimated it had been since Hun had told him of the cruel trap he had set for his beloved sons. It might have been more or less than a week for all Splinter knew, as he had remained firmly strapped to this hated lab table the entire time, in the bright white, windowless room his keen eyes now knew every detail of so well.Once again Splinter tried to push up against the straps holding him in place but it was a weak, half hearted effort. Every day now Hun would enter the room his captive was trapped in and take pleasure in breaking the rats body and spirit. Hun had not mentioned the trap he had set for his sons since, and Hun’s face was impossible to read. This only caused Splinter to growl at Hun at even more and for the following two days after Hun’s announcement he had struggled wildly trying to escape, and attempting to bite at Hun. This behaviour however had only managed to earn Splinter a broken left arm and dislocated shoulder, along with several deep cuts into said shoulder.Splinter was a wreck, and he knew it. The pain from his broken bones was intense, and he wasn’t entirely sure the bones were healing right. Well his leg certainly wasn’t, judging by the swelling and heat coming from it, and he could hardly feel his left arm at all anymore due to the dislocated shoulder, though in truth that may not be a bad thing as it prevented him from fully feeling the break s in his arm and every finger on that hand. Letting out a pained sigh Splinter tried to push all thoughts of his own pain away, and focus on something else. Pain is mind over matter after all He thought to himself remembering the numerous times he had told his sons this throughout their training.There it was again. His sons. What are they going through now? Are they hurt? Captured? Dead? By escaping the pain in his body he was greeted only with pain in his mind and heart as worried over the possible fates of his sons. Gradually he slipped into a restless, feverish sleep where his worst imaginings were played out before him, in his mind.Yes, Hun was truly a master of torture of both mind and body.

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Setback
With a snarl of anger Hun let loose a powerful kick at his desk which moved the solid furniture backwards a good few feet. How had they still not captured the mutant freaks? Hun thought bitterly, the trap he had set for them a week ago should have allowed those supposedly highly trained foot soldiers to apprehend the green freaks, if not through skill then through sheer numbers at least.The large man returned to pacing across his office, deep in thought about how to fix the turtle problem. His plan had been perfect, he knew they would eventually end up where the rat had been, and he had ordered the foot soldiers to be ready to attack and capture the freaks for Master Shredder. Master Shredder could do as he wanted with the turtles and he would continue tormenting the rat for the remainder of its miserable life. But no! Those foolish foot ninja can’t even do that, when he practically delivered the turtles to them.Taking a deep breath Hun sank into his large leather, office chair and closed his eyes deep in thought. He hadn’t mentioned the turtles to the rat since and he knew the not knowing of what had happened to them was getting to him, in his already weakened state. Some Ninja master that was, the purple dragons had easily captured the rodent.The turtles hadn’t been seen since their armoured truck blasted into the abandoned centre and neither had the O’Neil woman who had undoubtedly been driving it. Hun had both purple dragons and foot soldiers keeping their eyes open for any signs of the turtles or O’Neil coming out of hiding. Even the other known ally of the turtles had disappeared from sight, and was most probably with the freaks in their hideout.Hun slowly opened his eyes and leaned back in his chair while he absently drummed his large fingers on the table. They had been tricked once, perhaps they could be deceived again. It was a risk, but he would not fail Master Shredder, all his trap needed was the right bait and he knew just how to get it.Preparations would need to be made, but he was certain they would fall for it.After all they would go anywhere to get their precious rat back.

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Frustration
Punch. Kick. Kick. Punch. Strike. Breathe.Raphael Hamato panted with exertion as he tirelessly took out his anger on the worn and battered punching bag hanging in the Dojo. With one final kick the punching bag snapped off the much abused hanging frame and fell lifelessly to the floor. With a snarl of frustration Raphael sank to his hands and knees on the dojo floor panting heavily, as sweat dripped off his tired body. As much as he tried to clear his mind through beating out his anger, his thoughts couldn’t help but return to the cause of his anger. Master Splinter was still missing.Slowly Raphael rose to his feet and looked over the damage to his punching bag. With a sigh he realised it was beyond basic repair and he’d probably need Don to help him fix it. Silently he glanced around the empty dojo, and felt a pang of sadness run through him. He had been working at his punching bag for over 4 hours, and it was his usual way of dealing with stress and his brothers knew to leave him alone. However when he was angry and needed this kind of stress relief, his father would come in and ask if he wanted to talk to him to usually only to be answered with growls of anger from the red clad turtle. This never stopped his father trying though and when this happened the rat master would simply sit and meditate in the corner of  the dojo until his stubborn son had exhausted himself and worked out his anger. No words were exchanged beyond the offer of a conversation, which had never yet been accepted, but in his own way, Splinter never did leave Raphael alone, his calming presence was always close by for when needed. But now Raph glanced across to the corner where Master Splinter would sit only to find it all to empty.Swiftly blinking back the tears he hadn’t realised were threatening to fall, he strode across the Dojo and out into the main room of the lair. There was an eerie silence in the lair as Raph glanced around to locate his family members. Since the ambush when looking for Splinter, no-one had left the lair since in fear of another ambush, even Raph who had eventually been persuaded by Leo’s logic and his younger brother’s pleading.Scanning the lair Raph could tell Donnie was still working in his lab, probably attempting to hack into the Foot’s database, whilst Leo and April could be heard quietly discussing possible options for attacking the foot tower. Since April had blasted her way into the old centre and saved their sorry shells she had stayed in the lair with her surrogate family and was lending her support in any way possible.  The sheer ferocity of the foot attack had caught the turtles off guard, and they had been very lucky to escape at all even though they weren’t unscathed. All the turtles had suffered from numerous large cuts and heavy bruising, and for that they should be thankful they weren’t more seriously injured. A day of rest and a few dozen stitches later they were raring to go and find Splinter.Michelangelo hadn’t taken it well when they found Splinter’s stick and shell cell he had been unusually withdrawn and since it wasn’t him currently snoring in the main room he was probably in his own bedroom. That meant that the snoring coming from the sofa belonged to Casey Jones. After arriving back at the lair and sorting their injuries out they’d immediately called Casey and told him to come down to the lair. The vigilante had been upset to learn about Splinter’s capture, and even more so annoyed that they hadn’t included him in their mission to the abandoned centre.“How come you didn’t invite me? I want to kick the butt’s of the guys that took Splinter too!” raged Casey to the defeated turtles who were resting their aching bodies in the living room.“It was a stealth mission Case, if we knew we were going to fight we would have called the bat swinging maniac in then!” snapped Raph as he massaged his aching shoulder.Despite being annoyed at his original exclusion Casey was loyal and had promised to stay and help the brothers with whatever he could, even if it was just swinging a bat. Heading towards the showers Raph resolved to turn his anger around tomorrow, and use the energy it gave him for a new purpose. To use his fire to drive his family’s search for Splinter. “Hang on a bit longer Dad, we’re coming to get ya.” He muttered to himself as he stepped into the bathroom.

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Attention to detail
It was with weary eyes that Donatello continued his attempt at hacking into the foot mainframe. Since escaping the ambush last week he and his brothers had been deep in planning with April and Casey about how to attack the foot headquarters which was presumably where they were holding Master Splinter. The fact that the foot had attacked them when they followed the shell cell signal to that abandoned centre had almost completely confirmed their worst fears that the Shredder had Master Splinter, and their father had been captive for just over a week now. What worried the brothers most was the not knowing what kind of condition he was in and where he was in the Foot tower.If Donatello could find out where he was being held it would mean they could target their attack on the tower in that area and not risk fighting their way through every floor of the tower. After all he didn’t need anyone else in their family risking getting captured or hurt. So far his attempts at hacking the foot database had been unsuccessful which indicated they’d been upgraded since the last time the foot database had been hacked., which was forcing the mentally and physically exhausted Donatello to tirelessly search for a gap in their defences, through which they could gain any information possible.A million thoughts ran through Donnie’s head as he unwillingly fell asleep in the computer chair, plagued by concerns for his family. Despite being the same age as his brothers Michelangelo knew he was still considered the baby of the family, by both his brothers and Master Splinter, which on the positive side meant he could enjoy being the happy go lucky turtle he is, but the downside was that he often felt smothered by the over protectiveness of his family that wasn’t really necessary, he had been training just as long and hard as his brothers had. Well maybe not as hard as Leo, but who did?Sure he liked to play video games and as Leo put it ‘goof off’ but he was still a kick butt ninja, and as his father pointed out to him some years ago he had skills his brothers didn’t such as his eternal optimism, natural speed and attention to detail. When the orange banded turtle had gone to his father when he was 12 crying about how he couldn’t be part of the team, since he had nothing to contribute. His father had kindly pointed out to the young turtle what his strengths were and how he was just as important to the team as his brothers. Master Splinter’s talk had cheered the turtle up considerably. Nearly as much as seeing Raphael do 30 flips afterwards did.The quality that Master Splinter pointed out which had surprised the turtle most though was his attention to detail, which Mikey hadn’t known he possessed until it was pointed out to him. At first Michelangelo had thought his father was confusing him with Donnie, but when Master Splinter had explained, it made sense.
“I think you mean Donnie Sensei, I’m the unfocused one remember?” the young turtle sobbed into his father’s robe.

“No my son, at times you may be unfocused but that doesn’t mean you don’t notice things you’re brothers often miss. Donatello may notice technical things more easily, but you see things that are often overlooked as being too obvious but are in reality just as important as more complicated matters” the rat kindly explained to his upset turtle.

“Thanks Sensei, does this mean I can still be a ninja turtle?” Michelangelo asked with hopeful eyes a few minutes later.

“Of course my son, now I must go and see to Raphael about his actions...”
Since then he had often noticed himself point out things to his brothers they had missed, ranging from the big to the small, it took him time but he eventually realised Master Splinter hadn’t just meant noticing objects his brothers missed, he noticed patterns in events and emotions that would often go unnoticed. Personally he put it down to his artistic vision, and his uncanny attention to detail meant his artwork was more realistic and never lacking in detail.As he lay on his bed with these thoughts swirling in his mind he picked his sketch book off the night stand and began to casually flip through the busy pages. There were several scenic sketches of New York at night time, and a few realistic ones of the sewers but the majority of the sketchbook was filled with lovingly drawn sketches of his family, whether it was memories from childhood, or the pictures depicted a quiet family night, the sketchbook highlighted Michelangelo’s love for his family.As he continued flipping through the pages he found his eyes lingering on the sketches including Master Splinter, and once again his thoughts returned to his missing father. There was something about this whole situation that felt odd to the orange banded turtle and had done since the beginning of this nightmare. His brothers probably thought he was still moping in his room since finding Splinter’s walking stick and not Splinter, but right now he decided to put all his rarely used focus on this nagging problem and starting from the beginning he thought over the events. Tearing a spare page from the sketchbook he started to list the important points.
The foot and Purple dragons hadn’t been seen in weeks.
Master Splinter worries and goes to the surface without coming back.
Shell cell signal leads us into an ambush by the foot.
Carefully Mikey looked over his list wondering how to get his attention to detail thing going, when he noticed something. Although the Foot had reappeared on the night of the ambush, and since then had been seen several times on Donnie’s vast security camera network; which spanned the sewers as well as outside both April and Casey’s apartments there had been no sighting or mention of the Purple Dragons. Since both groups disappeared from the streets at the same time, why would only one group return unless the other was hiding something?Shaking his head clear Mikey tried to think logically about this fact. Surely the purple dragons would be no match for their highly skilled Sensei, and the foot must have some connection to it as they used Splinter’s shell cell to set the trap. Unless both groups were working together to rid themselves of a common enemy.  But who would be able to unite both groups? The purple dragons weren’t loyal to the shredder, they were led by Hun. Hun. Realization dawned on Mikey as he found the missing piece of the puzzle. Hun led the purple dragons, but was also Shredders right hand man, so he would have the power of both groups at his disposal. Startled by his revelation, and more than a little impressed with his focus on such an important problem. The energetic turtle darted out of his room and towards Donnie’s lab. If Hun had taken Master Splinter, then they’d been wasting all week planning an assault on the foot when they should have been searching for Hun. ‘Oh shell this is bad!’ thought Mikey as he burst through the door to Donnie’s lab.

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Long Night“Maybe we should call it a night Leo, you look worn out” suggested April softly as she stifled a yawn herself.“You’re right, we should all take a break, but it’s hard knowing the foot have Master Splinter and how long it’s taking us to get to him!” vented the blue clad leader to his red headed friend.Since the ambush last week no one was to leave the lair, while they recovered and planned the assault on the Foot tower. The stress of the last week was evident on Leonardo as he worked himself into the ground making plans, strategising and making sure his brothers were eating and sleeping properly. April had kindly offered to help Leo with his planning and so she had spent the last few hours pouring over all maps of the Foot tower Donnie had been able to get.“Thanks for your help April, you and Casey being here with us has really helped” said Leonardo as he began folding the maps and plans. April smiled in return and also moved to help tidy the kitchen table.  At that moment Leo caught a green and orange blur shoot through the living room of the lair towards Donnie’s lab. Where’s Mikey going in such a hurry? Thought Leo, as he recalled that Mikey had been understandably withdrawn since finding their father’s walking stick and crushed shell cell.“Was that Mikey?” questioned April having also noticed Mike’s dash to Donnie’s lab, before noticing that Leo was already hurrying over to the lab and so she decided to join the turtle brothers as curiosity got the better of her, as to what could cause Mikey to fly out of his room like that.Donatello was startled awake by the sound of his lab door crashing open, as his only younger brother burst through with a look of sheer panic on his face.“Mikey what’s the matt-“ stated the genius turtle but he was swiftly cut off as Mikey blurted out his reason for the interruption“I think Hun has Master Splinter!” exclaimed Michelangelo as he began to pace around Donnie’s lab in nervous energy.Before Donatello could formulate a response, Leonardo also appeared in the door way closely followed by April, but before Leo could even ask Mikey what was wrong the orange clad turtle once again got straight to his point.“I think Hun took Master Splinter not the Foot!” babbled Mikey who seemed to be getting more hysterical with every second.“But Mikey, the foot were waiting for us at the old sports centre” reasoned Donnie having recovered enough from Mikey’s shock entrance and theory to respond to his brother’s idea.“What’s going on in here?” questioned a gruff voice from the doorway as the remaining members of the family entered the lab. The noise in the lab most probably alerting Raph and waking Casey, judging by the sleepy look on his face.“Hun has Master Splinter!” Mikey wailed, but this time was met by a wave of rejections from Raph and Casey insisting that it was the Foot and April was also trying to explain this to Mikey, although a bit more gently. This bickering continued for a few minutes as Donatello sat silently in his computer chair wondering where Mikey got his idea from before Leonardo’s voice rang out above the chaos.“Enough! Mikey if you seriously think Hun has Master Splinter then I want you to fully explain to us all, what makes you think Hun has him and the Foot don’t.” Leo was clearly in full leader mode now, the implication of them making a mistake and wasting precious time in the search for their father was more than enough to set everyone’s already frayed nerves on edge. But as usual Leonardo took charge of the situation and wanted to gather as much information about Mikey’s claim as possible, as any diplomatic leader would, however Donnie could see the fear in his eldest brothers’ eyes as he spoke. What if Mikey was right?There was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the group and it was decided mostly by Donnie that their family meeting should take place in the living room and not the relatively small area of his lab. The group gathered on the sofa and floor in the living room subconsciously leaving Master Splinter’s arm chair empty, Michelangelo began to explain what led him to this conclusion, and Donatello couldn’t help but be impressed by his little brothers reasoning skills, he took far more notice of things than they gave him credit for.When their orange banded brother had finished his panicked, but well thought out explanation a stunned silence fell over the rest of the group. Donatello could easily see the worry lining Leo’s face as well as he could see the anger building up within Raphael and Casey. April also looked more worried than before. Michelangelo was nervously glancing around at his family as if waiting for someone to confirm or deny it. As for Donatello he was angry. Mostly at himself for noticing the absence of Hun in all of this, they had all been so obsessed with the thought of the foot taking Splinter they had neglected to think of other possible enemies taking him, and the idea of the Foot and purple dragons working together was completely plausible.“Well what are we waiting for? We gotta find Hun and get Master Splinter out before it’s too late.”To everyone’s surprise it was not Leonardo who was urging them to action and taking charge of the moment, but Raphael. Their angry, hot headed brother seemed to have stifled his own rage enough at the moment to bring them all back to reality. Which was that a very dangerous man had held their father captive for just over a week, and sitting around on their shells marvelling at Mikey’s attention to detail wasn’t going to save him.As if a spell had been broken April moved towards Mikey offering a comforting hug and saying how well he had done to notice this. Raph and Casey were deep in discussion about where Hun and the Purple Dragons could be hiding, but Leonardo had not yet moved a muscle and was still looking at his knees as if in shock. Deciding to give his brother some much needed time, Donatello headed back to his lab to start his search for where the purple dragons could be hiding.It was going to be a long night.

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Expiration Date
It was the metallic click of the large metal door that alerted Splinter to the visitor in the room. Splinter however, didn’t even attempt to raise his head this time. After being strapped to the same table and tortured regularly for what he guessed was over a week, the rat master simply didn’t have either the strength or the will to glare at his captor anymore. Throughout his captivity the only person he had seen was Hun, from what he could tell there were no guards, and no one else ever entered the room. The pain from his broken bones and numerous injuries was severe, and he could feel his body beginning to get sick from the lack of food and drink. But still it was not this pain that bothered the rat the most; it was the not knowing of whether his sons were alive. Had his mistakes leading to his capture led to their deaths?The large figure of Hun loomed over Splinter’s battered form, as the rat mentally prepared himself for another beating.“You don’t look so good freak. Are you in pain?” taunted Hun in his ear however Splinter remained silent as his captor gloated over him.“You won’t be in pain much longer rodent, I’ve enjoyed playing with you but I think it’s getting near your expiration date, and I’ve mercifully decided to end your suffering.” continued Hun, as a smirk spread across his face.“Do you want to know how?” whispered Hun to the restrained rat, only to once again be met with silence.“You see rat, those turtle freaks barely escaped from my last trap” at this Splinter raised his head to look at Hun in sudden interest, as the large man continued with his plan “but this time there will be no escape for them. In two days time we’re going to have a little fun in the foot headquarters.”The relief in Splinter’s eyes as he heard his sons had escaped the trap was replaced only by fear that they would fall into another one. Hun seemed pleased to have finally caught his prisoners’ attention and with a sinister smile told the once proud ninja master his fate.“I’m going to string you up in the foot headquarters in front of the entire Foot clan and let my purple dragons tear you to pieces, but they won’t kill you. When you are beaten, broken and begging for death I will personally finish you off. Think of it as a public execution.” explained Hun who knew that despite the gruesome fate he had just set out for his prisoner it was the turtles he was more interested in.“Don’t worry about your precious turtles freak, they’ve been attempting to hack into the Foot database all week, I will personally ensure they know exactly where and when, their daddy is going to be executed, and when they come there will be no escape, every member of the purple dragons and foot clan will be there waiting for them, and I will have been the one to deliver them to the Shredder” snarled Hun as he finished outlining his horrific plan.Splinter could only look at the man in horror. Whilst his own fate was gruesome, it was the thought of his family being slaughtered trying to save him that really made him sick. They couldn’t come. It would be the end of them.“They will see it for a trap, they won’t come” croaked out Splinter who was desperately hoping his words would be true.Hun let out a short, manic laugh as he spoke “They’ll come freak, I’ve no doubt about that” answered Hun as he turned and exited the room leaving Splinter alone in his misery.

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Cross Road
Hun couldn’t help the smug smile on his face as he left the room that held the rat captive. Telling the rat his plans had the desired effect on his captive. Whilst the freak might not care what became of him, he still cared about the turtles. They were his weak point and using this against the freak added a nice bit of psychological torture to his plans for the rat.Hun made his way down the twisting corridors of his the base towards his office, as his mind meticulously went through the plans he had carefully set out. Now was the time to set his plan in motion. Two days from now the rodent would be beaten and killed in front of the foot clan and purple dragons as promised. He would make sure the turtles and their friends knew exactly when and where, and then he would capture those turtle freaks for Master Shredder. It was fortunate for Hun that Shredder was away in Japan on business and in his absence had left him in charge of the Foot. As Shredder’s second in command, Hun had been left in charge of the Foot in his absence and he planned to fully use the Foot to capture the turtles. By the time Master Shredder returned the rat would be dead and the turtles would be captured and at his mercy. This couldn’t be happening. It simply wasn’t possible.Donatello continued to stare at his computer screen, as if he hoped his eyes were deceiving him. After a few minutes, when Donatello was certain his eyes were not mistaken reality began to set in for the genius turtle as he once again re read the words that made his blood run cold.
A most hated enemy of the Foot Clan is to be executed this Friday on the 23rd Floor of the Foot Tower.

All members of the foot are invited to attend this event.

The mutant rat will be executed at midnight after some entertainment which begins at 11:00pm.

Feel free to bring any weapons you wish to take revenge on this disgusting freak
This was the advert that greeted Donatello when he had hacked into the Foot mainframe. The purple banded turtle had been looking for any information on the purple dragons who they now believed to have captured their Father, when this had immediately caught his attention. An open invitation to the Foot to torture and kill Master Splinter; the sick message truly left Donatello feeling ill. After taking a few breaths to calm himself down Donatello turned to leave his lab, the sooner he told the rest of the family the sooner they could put a plan together. They had a deadline now, two days until Master Splinter was to be killed.Wasting no more time Donatello hurried from his lab, into the main room where he found his older brother’s and Casey deep in discussion.

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Path of Pain

Splash
Splinter’s eyes jerked open as the bucket of cold water was thrown over him, his once bright brown eyes looked dull as his body shook with the shock of the cold water Hun had thrown on him. Splinter had not seen Hun since he had come to tell him of his plan. To rub it in his face how he would be the bait for his beloved sons. His physical condition had continued to deteriorate to the point where the throbbing pain in his broken bones felt like it had always been there as the lack of food and water weakened him to a point where he felt he would die before Hun had a chance to kill him.‘Perhaps that would be better’ Splinter had though morbidly as he was left in both physical and emotional pain. His own crushing guilt at being captured spurred the dark thoughts to enter his mind, whispering to him in his darkest times that he would lead his children to their deaths, he had failed to protect them, had failed as a father. He tried to resist the voices as they nagged at his mind, to tell himself his sons wouldn’t risk coming. However this only served to ignite an even more crushing thought, that his sons didn’t care enough to come.The moment this dark thought entered his mind he attempted to dismiss it. The rational side of him argued it would be better for them to leave him to his death, however pain, fear and isolation had began to drive rational thought from his mind, instead filling his mind with his worst imaginings and hidden fears, that ate at his mind while awake and haunted him in his sleep.  Another cold splash of water hit Splinter as he was once again drenched in the freezing water. What he guessed was the day after Hun’s last visit, two large purple dragons had entered his room. This was the first time since his capture Splinter had seen anyone else but Hun. One of the dragons carried a bottle of water with him, and Splinter realized they weren’t going to let him die from thirst before Hun could have his fun.Splinter had first snapped at the dragon with the water as he approached where Splinter was strapped to the table and had almost managed to bite on his hand, however the second dragon had come up on the other side of him and punched him mercilessly in the head until he was hardly conscious.  Not a word was spoken as they forced the water into him, and both were silent again as they left. This repeated again the next day however this time the ninja master simply couldn’t find the strength to fight back, after his previous attempt had brought him no closer to freedom and earned him a pounding headache. The new level of training the purple dragons seemed to have was disturbing to say the least, but at the moment the least of Splinter’s concern.Splinter was still shaking on the table from the icy chill of the water as Hun approached the table where his captive had been trapped for over a week.“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this freak. All the planning, research and preparation I put into this operation is finally going to pay off. I’ve seen you breaking in here, and tonight I will show you mercy and finally put you out of your misery.“ Hun breathed into Splinter’s ear. “After some fun.”Rising again to his full height, Hun moved away from the table slightly as 4 thick set purple dragons entered the room.“Untie the rat, the games are about to begin” ordered Hun as his eyes never left the shivering and sodden body of his captive. “and remove that robe, he’s only an animal after all.”Taking slow breaths Splinter tried to stop himself from shivering, but the icy water had shocked his weakened body and he was still shivering with cold as felt the straps pinning him to the table being removed. Hun was cruel. He also wasn’t taking any chances that Splinter may try to escape, although his injuries made that all but impossible. The ninja master in Splinter was trying desperately to convince himself to fight back, to struggle to his last breath as he knew his son Raphael would. As that thought crossed his mind a voice sounding very much like Raphael rose up in his mind.I thought you were stronger that this the Raphael voice said in disgust.As the last strap was removed Splinter felt hands grabbing at his robe, yanking the thin material from him and with it the last of his dignity. Splinter could do nothing but shiver and groan as the men grabbing at him jostled his injured shoulder and arm, forcing him to screw his eyes shut in pain when more voices decided to join the Raphael voice in his head.Why are you letting them do this to you, are you too weak to fight back? Michelangelo questioned.To think I admired you and wanted to be just like you said Leonardo in revolt.I thought you were a master but you couldn’t get yourself out? Stated Donatello in disbelief.I’m so sorry my sons, please forgive me Splinter pleaded to the demons in his head as he was lifted off the table and dropped onto the floor before Hun. A hiss of pain escaped him as he landed on his broken arm and fingers, with his swollen leg also smashing into the floor. Hun’s feet suddenly appeared before Splinter and he felt Hun’s large hand grab his chin forcing his face to meet Hun’s face.A  smug grin spread across Hun’s face as he took in the sorry state of the once mighty ninja master. Still holding onto Splinter’s face the large man decided on one last attack to the rat.“Perhaps you’re right and the turtles won’t come to try and save you rat. After all they have each other, and their friends. Do they really need you? You’re not even the same species as them. You’re not worth the rescue effort. You consider Hamato Yoshi your master and Father freak, when you were nothing more than a pet to him, he cared nothing for you, as your sons care nothing for you” snarled Hun as he continued watching the rat for any flicker of emotion.The voices in Splinter’s head grew louder as Hun’s words gave weight to his darkest fears that continued to batter his spirit. Throughout Hun’s talk Splinter’s eyes had drifted to the three red scars on the left of Hun’s face. His mind buzzed with the hazy, pre mutation memories of that night. He hadn’t stopped to consider if defending Yoshi from Hun was worth it, he acted out of his love for him whether or not that love was reciprocated.  Hun was now threatening his sons, and whether they loved him or not he would die for them. Splinter’s brown eyes warmed and seemed to stare straight through Hun as he brought his right claws slicing deeply into Hun’s meaty forearm.The large man dropped him in his pain as the four purple dragons fell on to Splinter as his world turned dark.

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When Death comes
The clock struck 10:30 as Hun glanced around the mess hall of the foot tower. The hall was a spacious room situated on the middle floor of the foot tower. Usually this room was for the use of the foot soldiers to eat and gather in any of their free time however preparations had been ongoing all day to prepare a large stage at the far end of the room in anticipation of tonight’s execution.Hun continued to watch the foot soldiers preparing the room from his position in the corner. Satisfied that their work would be done in time, the large man took his leave from the room to prepare for tonight.As he wound his way through the passages of the foot tower towards his office he glanced down at his throbbing arm to find the hastily wrapped bandages now dripping with blood from the ragged claw marks the rat had managed to gouge into him.Satisfied that the work would be completed soon Hun called a foot soldier to him. The hour had nearly arrived for all his efforts and hours of planning to pay off.“Make the announcement to come to the mess hall for all foot soldiers and purple dragons. Also tell the guards to bring the rat to me” Ordered Hun as the foot soldier hurried away to carry out his commands.As the Soldier left, the rest of the foot soldiers who had been preparing the hall had also finished the preparations and after a nod of approval from Hun quickly left the hall to join their units.“I’ve waited far too long for this” announced Hun to the empty room as he headed towards a room at the back of the stage.As soon as the door clicked shut behind Hun, Leonardo who was hidden high up in the rafters of the room clicked his headset on.“They’re about to bring him up here to Hun in a room behind the mess hall, we’ve got to move quickly. Every member of the Foot and purple dragons will be here within the next 20 minutes. We all know the plan, there’s no room for failure tonight, let’s do this.”

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Shadows
Creeping along the wall concealed in shadow Raphael took a quick glance around the corridor before briefly appearing in the light of the corridor as he darted through the open door before soundlessly disappearing onto the beams crossing the ceiling of the corridor as the door shut quickly behind him. Raphael didn’t even need to look to confirm that Donatello had also made it through the door soundlessly.The red banded turtle’s gaze remained firmly fixed on the group of four foot soldiers walking down the corridor before them. Leonardo had successfully managed to track Hun and learnt that they were preparing to bring Splinter up to Hun before they started their games. Raphael bit back the growl that threatened to erupt from him at the thought of Hun and the foot using their Father for entertainment. In silence Raphael and Donatello continued to ghost through the corridor in their pursuit of the foot soldiers. Sneaking a quick glance at his younger brother to reassure himself he was ok, Raphael attempted to refocus on their plan.Needless to say Donatello’s discovery of what Hun planned to do to Master Splinter had provoked a swirl of emotions from the family. There had been Michelangelo’s joy that Splinter was clearly still alive, Donatello’s worry of the condition he was in, Leonardo’s fear that the trap Hun was clearly planning would kill them all and of course there was Raphael’s rage. Amongst the brothers private concerns over Master Splinter the stand out emotion to Raphael was rage. What business did Hun have taking Master Splinter and doing who knows what to him before planning to publicly execute him for fun! When Raphael caught up to Hun he would make sure he inflicted double damage for everything he’d done to Splinter.Sensing Raphael’s thoughts turning from simmering anger to homicidal rage by the way his brother seemed to be getting tenser as they followed the soldiers, Donatello maintained his focus on the foot soldiers who had now stopped in front of an elevator at the end of the corridor which was being guarded by a lone foot soldier.“What business have you here?” questioned the guard in accented English.“Master Hun has sent us to bring the rat to the mess hall before the fun starts” sneered the foot soldier in front of the small group.“Hun sent four of you to bring the freak up? I doubt it’ll put up much of a struggle, it looked half dead to me when it was brought in earlier” replied the guard who stepped aside from the elevator to allow the soldiers access to it.Donatello’s eyes immediately darted to Raphael who was practically vibrating with suppressed anger where they were hidden in the shadows of the ceiling beams. The purple banded turtle quite understood Raphael’s anger on this occasion but he had to keep it together. Turning his attention back to the Foot soldiers who were now filing into the small elevator, Donatello turned to Raphael and signed to him to wait as he saw his brother preparing to sneak into the elevator. It’s too risky thought Donatello as his quick mind tried to formulate an alternative plan.His red banded brother looked confused and angry as the elevator doors shut without them in it. What was Donatello thinking? Seethed Raphael, but as he turned to his brother he found Donatello already jumping down from their hiding space to land in front of the guard. In two swift blows from his Bo Staff the guard slumped unconscious to the ground.“Come on Raph, we don’t have much time” called Donatello into the shadows.“What was that about genius? We should have got in the elevator, kicked their butts and found Master Splinter”“We would have been seen Raph and that could have raised the alarm. Besides we don’t know where downstairs he is, if the foot soldiers are coming back this way with Master Splinter we can ambush them here, and we’re not wasting time searching ourselves”  finished Donatello as he switched his headset on.Grumbling slightly Raphael took up a position on the other side of the elevator. He saw the logic in Donatello’s idea, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Michelangelo’s headset buzzed to life as he remained hidden in the shadows on one of the low Japanese style roofs that made up the foot building.“Mikey, Leo, April are you there?” asked his purple banded brother over the headset“Yeah” answered Mikey as he also heard his eldest brother confirm he was there and April softly confirming she was listening.“Raph and I are on floor 12, four foot soldiers have just taken an elevator down to bring Master Splinter up so we’ve knocked out the single guard and are waiting for the soldiers to return. We can ambush them then but we still need a way out.”“Good work guys. April is there any way out directly from that floor?” questioned their leader.After a  moment’s silence April quickly came back onto the headset “Ok guys the corridor Raph and Don are in only has the single elevator which leads to a small corridor below them which must be where they’ve kept Master Splinter. The elevator is the only way out of that floor that I can see, so they will have to bring him back past Raph and Donnie. Floor 12 is a pretty long corridor that leads to the main stair case in the building.”“We gathered that” cut in Raphael “how are we supposed to get him out?”“The whole of the foot clan will be going down that stair case to get to the mess hall. We can’t go that way” replied Leonardo“Well if you can get down to the 10th floor there’s a small balcony that leads onto a sloping roof like what Mikey is on now. You might be able to get down from there” suggested AprilAnother moment passed in silence as Michelangelo waited to hear his big brothers plan. “We’ve not got much time. The mess hall is the 8th floor, I’ll be waiting at the stair case on the 12th floor to cover Don and Raph to the 10th floor. Mikey I need you to set up a rope from the 10th floor roof to a lower roof so we can get as low down as possible with Master Splinter. Then you need to get to the front gate and be in position to open it so April and Casey can get in with the battle shell. This is all about timing guys. Remember this is a stealth mission don’t let them raise the alarm.”“We got it Leo, now hurry up they could be back up any minute” snapped Raphael“Wait, April you need to be ready in the battle shell it sounds like Master Splinter is in pretty bad shape” Donatello quietly informed his family. A grim silence settled over the head set for a moment before Leonardo broke the quiet with a soft “Let’s go” before the head set clicked off.The orange banded turtle quickly turned to the duffel bag he had brought and rummaged through until he found a long grappling hook. No goofing around tonight, no one hurt his family and got away with it. With silent footsteps Michelangelo disappeared in to the shadows as he searched for the balcony April had mentioned.   The elevator dinged open as the group of four foot soldiers emerged into the corridor on floor 12. Two foot soldiers led the way into the corridor followed by the last two who were carrying a familiar grey body between them.As the elevator door shut behind them it took 3 seconds for one of the lead foot soldiers to realize the guard from before had gone. Exactly the same amount of time it took Raphael to knock the two foot soldiers holding Splinter senseless to the ground where Donatello immediately dashed to Splinter’s side. It took another second for Raphael to dispatch the remaining soldiers before they had a chance to draw their weapons.“How is he Donnie?” asked Raphael as he checked the area was clear of danger.“Not good” whispered Donatello as he gently turned his father on his back to see the full extent of his injuries. Noticing the tremor in his brothers voice, the red banded turtle swiftly dropped down beside him to see Splinter.Raphael felt his blood run cold as he took in the battered state of his Sensei. The first thing he noticed was the swelling around his obviously broken leg, as he moved his gaze upwards he took in the odd angle of his shoulder and swelling around his arm. The whole left side of his body looked like he had been hit with a truck. Dry blood covered his chest and was caked in his fur. Raphael found himself wanting desperately to look away from the broken state of his Father but found himself unable o move, as the cruelty of what had been done to Splinter shocked Raphael to his core.“Raph we need to go he’s freezing and I think quite a few of his bones are broken” mumbled Donatello with a shaky voice. “We need to be careful moving him “Snapping back to reality Raphael realized his purple clad brother was right and noticed that Splinter was also uncontrollably shivering. The two brothers worked out it would be better for Donatello to carry Splinter for now, but as Donatello placed one arm under his Father and started to move him, he was met with a soft groan of pain from the rat as his eyes blinked open.“Master Splinter?” asked Donnie gently “I’m sorry about this, but I have to move you” but Splinter didn’t seem to hear and merely looked straight ahead before his eyes closed once more.Once Donatello was securely holding Splinter they crept along the corridor with Raphael leading the way, Sais drawn ready to fight if necessary. They had Master Splinter now they just had to escape unseen.

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Out of darkness
Hidden amongst the shadows of the rafters, completely unseen by the waves of foot soldiers passing beneath him Leonardo crouched tensely on the beam. The foot soldiers were steadily making their way down to the mess hall where they were assembling to watch the murder of Splinter. The thought made the blue masked turtle feel physically ill.Leonardo was statue like as he surveyed the area waiting for any sign of his other brothers. The stream of foot soldiers seemed to be slowing down as the clock grew closer to 11. Glancing towards the corridor where Raph and Don were supposed to be coming from his sharp eyes noticed the slight movement of a figure in the shadows and the blue masked turtle quickly focused on that corner of the corridor. A few foot soldiers passed along as Leonardo continued to look into the shadows until the corridor was truly deserted. Sensing the area was clear of immediate danger the leader jumped noiselessly to the ground and gestured towards the shadows.“Come on guys, this floor should be clear now.”Raphael emerged from his space in the shadows revealing Donatello behind him who was clutching Splinter to him.“How is he Donnie?” questioned Leonardo as his brothers joined him at the top of the staircase.“Not good Leo, we have to very careful when we’re moving him” answered the purple banded turtle in a soft voice.Leonardo took a moment to look at Splinter and his heart twisted as he noticed the numerous injuries the rat had sustained.‘Don’t worry we’re getting out of here’ Thought Leo as he reluctantly tore his eyes away from Splinter and prepared for the difficult part of the plan. Getting out. Through the window on the 10th floor the orange masked turtle had seen a flurry of activity as foot soldiers poured down the staircase but that was now slowing down to the last few soldiers as Michelangelo tapped his foot impatiently in the shadows. He just wanted to get Master Splinter and go home. He knew Raph and Leo would want revenge on Hun and he also knew that in time Donnie and himself would too, but to Michelangelo the first priority was getting Master Splinter home and fixing him up. Donnie said it sounded like he was in bad shape the orange masked turtle was having trouble imaging Splinter injured. Sure they’d all had battle injuries from time to time but none of them had ever been seriously hurt. Especially not their Sensei who had seemed practically invincible to them all for so long it was hard to picture him as being hurt and needing help.Shaking his head to clear the dark thoughts Mikey forced his thoughts to be more positive, he’d make sure Master Splinter was comfortable while he recovered, he could keep him company, cheer him up. Everything Splinter had done for them. Maintaining his watch through the windows Michelangelo realized that since the foot soldiers had filed into the hall and the staircase was empty his brothers were more than likely going to be coming along soon.‘Time for my second job’ Thought Michelangelo as  he prepared to head towards the gate but as he turned to leave his hidden place on the balcony, a slight movement caught his eye and dragged his attention back towards the 10th floor.The orange clad turtle felt his blood run cold as he focused in on not one but four shadowy figures lurking on the stair case. The Elite. He had to warn Leo. They had decided on a basic formation when heading down the stair case in case they were attacked, Leo would take point with Raph at the back leaving Donatello to carry Splinter in the middle. As they proceeded slowly down the first flight of stairs Leo’s head set buzzed to life with the voice of his youngest brother.“Leo the Foot Elite are on the 10th floor hovering around the stair case” blurted out Michelangelo with panic gripping his voice.‘Shell’ Thought Leo. The foot elite would make this even more difficult, it would be near impossible to sneak past them, they would have to fight through.“Ok guys new plan” whispered Leo over the headset so all of the team could hear him.“Mikey wait where you are, when we get to that floor and engage with the foot you help Donnie with Master Splinter and get to the gate. Get inside the battle shell as soon as possible. Raph and I will hold off the Elite until the battle shell arrives and cover your backs.” Stated Leo as his mind whirred with the possible problems with this plan.“April, Casey are you ready?”“Ready and waiting Leo. Be careful guys” answered April over the headset.Turning to Raph and Donnie, Leo nodded and they continued down the stair case. Raphael held his sais out ready to fight as Leonardo withdrew one Katana from his sheath. As the group progressed down to the 11th floor Leonardo could feel his already strained nerves tightening as he searched the area for any indication of unwanted visitors. Heading down the staircase to their final destination in absolute silence it was years of Ninja training that saved the leader as he turned in time to block a spear attack from a concealed Elite ninja that would have otherwise removed his head. Turning fully to engage the Ninja Leo heard the tell tale sound of Raphael engaging another hidden assassin.“Donnie go!” ordered Leo as he slashed and jabbed at his opponent.Hurried footsteps told him Donatello was heading towards the balcony window with Master Splinter where Mikey waited.“Aargh No!” a strangled cry from Donatello dragged his attention from his fight and Leonardo turned in time to see that the remaining two elite ninjas who had remained hidden until now had decided to appear and had attacked his purple masked brother, forcing him to drop Master Splinter, who was now lying still on the hallway floor.Withdrawing his Bo staff Donatello took up a defensive position in front of their Sensei and prepared to fight the Ninjas.“Raph, we need to get to Donnie!” called Leo as he ducked under a nasty shot to the head and countered with a swift kick to the elite‘s mid section.Backing towards Donnie and Master Splinter, the blue clad turtle couldn’t help but think they had failed. These Ninjas were too strong to defeat quickly, the clock was nearly at 11 and when Hun realized his prisoner hadn’t arrived, the whole of the Foot would be sent at them.A loud crash reverberate around the stairway as Michelangelo smashed through the balcony window and leapt in between Donnie and the Elite Ninjas.“Need some help Donnie boy?” teased their orange clad sibling as a relivied Donatello spun around to check on Master Splinter.“Nice timing goofball” called Raphael who had also backed towards the window whilst still fighting the Elite soldier who had attacked him.“Don, Mikey go!” shouted Leo as he leapt from his position and landed between the Elite ninjas and the window. Hurried movement followed as Donatello carefully lifted Splinter again and quickly left for the balcony and escape route Mikey had set up. A few seconds later and following a couple of parting shots from Michelangelo the orange clad turtle left after Donnie to proceed with the next stage of the plan.“We might just pull this off fearless” grunted Raphael who was jabbing and blocking in a swirl of energy as he now faced pressure from two elite Ninjas. The two turtles were beginning to tire after 5 minutes of intensive fighting when the sounds of pounding feet reached the eldest turtles attention.The pounding grew louder and seemed much too noisy for a Ninja as the looming figure of Hun appeared at the bottom of the stairs.“You” growled Hun as he ran up the stairs to join the fight “Where’s the rat?” he roared as he approached the battling Ninjas.Raphael turned towards Hun with anger flashing in his eyes, clearly intent on revenge, but was that what they should focus on? Mikey and Don should be at the gate by now, escape could happen within minutes. Or they could try and avenge Splinter by fighting Hun now? This thought appealed to Leonardo as his mind brought up the image of Master Splinter lying battered and beaten in Donnie’s arms, but the leader in him said no. Escape was priority.“Raph. We leave” ordered the blue masked turtle as he continued to edge towards the balcony.“You can try” rumbled Hun as he moved within striking distance of the brothers.Raph locked eyes with his brother as he considered the order and gave the slightest of nods.Now as far back as they could get on the balcony, Leonardo removed a smoke bomb pellet from his belt and threw to the ground in front of him and Raph. It was no ordinary smoke pellet as choking gas escaped and briefly incapacitated the Elite Ninjas and Hun. Specially designed by Donatello the pellet gave the brothers the extra seconds they needed to begin their escape down the building and across the open grounds of the Foot Headquarters where Leonardo was relieved to see the familiar shape of the battle shell waiting for them.Clambering into the back Leo and Raph were greeted by the relieved but clearly worried faces of April, Donnie who were leaning over Splinter and Michelangelo who pulled the doors shut behind them.“They’re coming after us!” called Michelangelo who had seen the beginnings of the Foot soldiers sprinting towards them.“I got this one” called Casey from the driver’s seat as he floored the accelerator on the battle shell and sent them blasting out the gate into the back streets of New York. As they sped through the gate Casey flicked several switches on the dashboard of the battle shell and sent several long range missiles towards the approaching Ninjas that sent them spinning backwards and ducking out of the way.Sensing the looks being sent to the back of his head Casey stated “What, I didn’t get to hit anyone so I figured I should at least get to blow something up!”With a small sigh of annoyance from April the four brothers directed their attention to Splinter who was lying unconscious in the back of the battle shell as April and Donnie assessed the injuries that covered him.Leonardo knelt down closer to the rat and felt Raph and Mikey draw in closer as well.“Don’t worry Father you’re safe now” whispered Leo as he felt the stress and worry of the mission fade way to be replaced with worry for Splinter’s condition.

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Damage
Looking around at the anxious faces of her turtle friends, April couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. The fierce Ninjas who had just infiltrated an enemy’s heavily guarded headquarters were gone and in their place were teenagers crowding around Splinter trying desperately to be of some help and see what was going on. Leo, Raph and Mikey were currently looming over Donatello who was kneeling on Splinter’s injured left side, and bombarding their sibling with questions.For his part Donatello seemed to be growing more and more frustrated as the pressure mounted on him. It was understandable that his brothers wanted news. They wanted reassurance Splinter would be fine, but it had only been 10 minutes since escaping the Foot Headquarters and herself and Donnie hadn’t had time to see to Splinter properly.“Guys” started April interrupting the stream of questioning to Donnie “sit down and leave it to me and Donnie. We will let you know if there’s anything you can do and I promise as soon as we know how bad his injuries are we will tell you, but you need to give us both some space to work.”Donnie shot April a grateful look as with a little grumbling Leo took up a meditating position at the back of the battle shell while Raph headed up the front to Casey. Mikey decided he wanted to stay close to Splinter so sat opposite where they were and watched from a distance.Turning her full attention back to Donnie and Splinter she was finally able to see the extent of his injuries and it didn’t look good. His chest was covered in fairly deep gouges that had bled out into his fur though the bleeding seemed to have stopped now it looked a mess. That was the least of April’s concern however as her eyes drifted across to his left side where Donatello was looking at Splinter’s shoulder.Donatello paused in his examination of his Father to meet April’s eyes “This is bad April. I.. I’m not sure I know how to fix him. There’s so much damage been done. I’ve never had to deal with injuries like these before” stammered the teenager as responsibility weighed him down.“Don’t worry Donnie, we can figure it out. I don’t think we can do much for him now, we might as well wait until we get him back to the lair” soothed April as she pulled a blanket out of the pack of supplies they’d brought and placed it across Splinter.“Ok” agreed the purple banded turtle as he sat back quietly deep in thought.“You’ll be ok” whispered April brushing her hand across the rats forehead as they drew closer to the lair. 2 hours.That was how long it had been since they had returned back to the lair with Master Splinter. 2 hours since Donnie and April took him into the lab to patch up his injuries, and the tension was slowly strangling Raphael as he sat on the couch in the main area of the lair. The news was playing across the screen quietly but Raphael knew no-one was really watching it.Leonardo was meditating on the floor near to the couch, and Michelangelo was lying on the other end of the sofa pretending to read a comic book. Casey had dropped everyone off at the lair and had agreed to stay above ground for the time being in case they needed anything urgently.Not long past the two hour mark a nervous looking Donatello emerged from his lab to give his brothers the news. His brother was trying to be professional about it but Raphael could tell he was scared as he listed the injuries Splinter had sustained. Left arm and leg both broken. Numerous cuts across his chest. Dislocated left shoulder. All the fingers on his left hand broken. Donnie’s voice broke a little on the last one as all the brothers crowded closer to Donnie.“Good job Donnie, has he woke up yet? Can we go and...” started the leader.“No you can’t! He’s not awake yet and I wasn’t finished” interrupted Donatello as frustration took over. “He needs surgery on his leg and shoulder. There’s some swelling on his leg and when we get that down a bit more me and April will need to operate and put some pins in. His shoulder won’t be much trouble but we need to tighten the tendons up since they’ve been hyper extended for so long”The three turtles exchanged concerned looks with each other.“Are you sure you can do that Donnie? You’ve never operated before” questioned Leo gently as concern for his Father rose.“We have to Leo! If we don’t he will suffer a lot more with long term damage and his leg won’t heal right April just called Casey and he’s gone to pick up some things we’ll need, lucky for us I’ve been stock piling medical supplies for years so I’ve got the pins for Splinter’s leg in storage and Casey is picking up antibiotics and more bandages.”“I trust you and April, Donnie” chirped Mikey as he bounced across to his brother “you guys will fix him up and he’ll be better in no time!”Donatello smiled sadly at his youngest brother, his support meant a lot to him but he had to make them understand the full extent of Master Splinter’s injuries.“After the surgery and some rest he should be ok though?” asked Leo sensing there was more his brother wasn’t telling them.“Yes and No” started Donnie trying to turn him emotions off and go into doctor mode “The bones in his leg are separated which is why we need to use pins to hold it together. The surgery isn’t too major but his leg will be in a cast for 15-20 weeks and he’s likely to suffer with arthritis in that leg afterwards. His arm was a clean break and hadn’t moved apart much so it will just need setting and putting in a cast. Like I said he will need surgery on his shoulder but that should be relatively simple to fix he might have some nerve damage on that side but we won’t really know until he wakes up and his arm will need to be in a sling for about 16 weeks in case it dislocates again which is a high chance in someone of his age. We cleaned the cuts across his chest with disinfectant and put a couple of stitches in a particularly deep one but as long we watch out for infection that should be fine. It’s likely he’s unconscious from the pain of the breaks and the fact he’s not been fed since he was captured and seems to have had very little if anything to drink so we will need to build him back up slowly.”“What about his hand?” questioned the red masked turtle remembering how his fingers had looked.At this question Donatello visibly slumped as he prepared himself to answer the most difficult question. “All three of his fingers on the left hand were broken, his thumb was fine though. Fingers are incredibly complicated and he’s very lucky they were clean breaks. We can set them so they will heal straight but he will only have limited use of that hand afterwards”Glancing at his brothers Donatello could see the shock and anger he felt play across his brother’s faces. Of all the injuries to Master Splinter this was the one that would cripple him, the one he couldn’t fix. Operating on it would be unlikely to help and risk serious infection. If his fingers or hand got infected like that in the sewers Master Splinter would likely need the hand amputated so Donatello had agreed with April when she suggested they just splint them.Part of Donatello screamed at him though that he was letting his father down. The skill and technology needed to fix his hand was far beyond his reach and the risks were too high. He tried to accept it and April reassured him Splinter was a Ninja and would be able to adapt however he couldn’t escape the pain he felt when he realized Splinter would be crippled in that hand and would suffer severe arthritis.Lost in his thoughts Donatello hardly noticed as Michelangelo pulled him into a tight hug followed by Leo and Raph.He’d always been able to fix his family but this time the damage was just too much for Donatello to fix and knowing that was a tough pill for the purple banded mutant to swallow.

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Payment
“What have you done?” growled a deep voice.“Master Shredder I can explain-”“I’ve heard your explanation before. You described your plan to me in detail and I paid you the respect of hearing you out” continued the Shredder from his seat in the throne room of the Foot tower.Before him knelt Hun, the muscle bound fool trembled before him as he recounted what had happened with the turtles and the rat. Hun knew what the price was for failure and the Shredder would ensure he paid for his mistakes.“You will pay for your error of judgement in this endeavour Hun. You had the rat but didn’t kill him, you sought to trap the turtles yet they escaped you twice. Your foolishness has caused damage to the Foot tower and injured many of my Foot soldiers. Your plan failed and in doing so you have failed the Foot.”Hun had not moved his eyes from the floor as the Shredder delivered his verdict, failure meant death in the Foot and Hun was well aware of his failure.Rising from his seat the Shredder slowly walked towards the prone form of Hun. “You have been a loyal servant for many years Hun and your work is usually very impressive and it is that which saves you now“The Shredder couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face as Hun glanced up at him and the tension left him somewhat.“Elite” called the shredder as his four elite guards appeared around Hun “You will pay the price for failure this time Hun and you will then continue to serve me as you always have. You can consider this your final chance” finished Shredder.“I understand Master” whispered Hun as he allowed the elite soldiers to drag him out of the throne room and to whatever punishment he would be subjected to.Returning to his seat in the throne room, the shredder removed his helmet and placed it next to him. He had been furious when he returned to find that Hun had failed to capture and kill the green freaks, and was even more annoyed to find Hun had the rat at his mercy and dragged out its death for so long the turtles were able to reclaim him. All over some petty revenge he wanted on the rat.If Hun had managed to capture the turtles, Shredder would have happily let him tear the rat to pieces, but Hun had been overconfident, complicated things too much and lost sight of the true goal. Shredder’s goal. Through his obsession with the rodent, Hun had forgotten that first and foremost he served the Shredder and the Shredder was only too happy to remind him of that.There was some positive things to take from Hun’s failure and that was the rat was seriously injured and based on the details Hun had provided as likely to struggle to recover if he was still alive which made him much less of a threat to the Foot Clan, but now the Shredder was back in New York it was time to show how things should be done and he would start by destroying the turtles.

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Moving on
Distant voices drifted through his head as the fuzzy thoughts clouding his mind began to disperse. Desperately Splinter tried to focus on the voices he could hear; gradually he managed to turn his attention to what he could hear and ignored the pull towards the darkness that threatened to keep him unconscious.‘I must wake up’ though the rat ‘Where am I? What Happened?’Pushing through the darkness that overwhelmed him, Splinter became aware of more as he drifted towards consciousness; a dull ache through most of his left side greeted him as struggled to open his eyes.  The voices he had used to guide him suddenly stopped, but knowing he was close Splinter continued the seemingly impossible task of awakening.“Master Splinter?” asked a worried voice. He knew that voice. Leonardo.A few moments of silence passed as Splinter finally managed to push through the barrier and was able to take a bleary eyed look at his surroundings. Bright light flooded his vision and for a moment Splinter feared he was still with Hun, the momentary panic passed however as his eyes adjusted to the light and the rat realized he was not with Hun, he was in the lair.“Master Splinter?” questioned the voice again Splinter glanced around him to find the source of the voice. Sat to his immediate left was Leonardo next to Raphael while Donatello and Michelangelo were on his right.“My sons” croaked the rat as his hoarse voice grated in his throat.“Are you ok?”“How are you feeling?”“Do you need anything?”“We missed you”At the confirmation he was fully awake the four turtles crowded closer to Splinter and began to bombard him with questions.“Give him some space guys” intervened a feminine voice gently from the other side of the room.“Geez  guys give him some room to breathe!” added another familiar voice.‘April, Casey’ thought Splinter as their human friends came closer to where Splinter was lying.Still feeling somewhat spaced out Splinter watched his sons concerned faces reluctantly pull away slightly and their questioning cease as they relented enough to give him space. He wanted to talk to them and ease their fears but Splinter was still finding it difficult to focus properly. His body ached, his throat was sore from lack of use and his muscles didn’t seem to want to cooperate with him, leaving him lying on the soft bed and feeling helpless. Even when ill he had always managed to push past it, to never let the turtles see him helpless or in pain but now he felt both as the family crowded around him.A gentle hand on his right shoulder brought him back to the present. He hadn’t realized he ‘zoned out’ as Michelangelo put it.“Donatello” he wheezed as he turned slightly to see his purple masked son leaning over him.“How do you feel?” questioned his intelligent son as the rest of the family sat in silence waiting for his reply.“Fine” he croaked to the obvious amusement of Raphael who laughed a little at his reply.“Ya sound like me Master Splinter!” said his red masked son who grinned across at him, clearly pleased he was awake.“I’ll get you something to drink Master Splinter, your throat might be sore from lack of use” said Donatello turning to get the drink though he didn’t seem like he wanted to leave Splinter.“I got it” said Casey exiting the crowded infirmary.Deciding he didn’t like lying down the rat attempted to force himself upwards into a sitting position and was surprised when only one hand seemed to move.“Father wait, you’re hurt you need to stay still” informed Leonardo who had noticed the rat attempt to move. Concern burned through the brown eyes of his oldest son as he too moved closer to the bed. Michelangelo also moved closer to him and grabbed his right hand, the one he could move “Just rest Dad, we can take care of you!” pleaded the orange banded turtle with worry colouring his usually bright tone.The room went quiet again as everyone continued watching him, clearly unsure what to do next. Sensing the teenagers didn’t quite know what to do or say next, April decided to take charge. Leaning over to Donatello who seemed rooted to the spot April tapped him lightly on the arm “Donnie maybe we should do some checks and have a talk with Master Splinter about his injuries” whispered April.“Oh, yeah” answered Donnie in surprise as he was dragged from his thoughts“Here’s the water” called Casey as he re-entered the room“Thanks” said Donnie accepting the water. Glancing at his brothers gathered around their Father and back to April, she could tell he was reluctant to ask them to leave, the last three days since finding Splinter had been particularly difficult for the brothers but Donatello in particular had suffered. Ultimately he was responsible for Splinter’s care as he was deemed the family doctor and the best equipped to deal with it which had created a lot of pressure for the teenager. If April could help in any way she would.“Master Splinter we need to do some checks if you don’t mind? Maybe you guys could wait outside for a little bit, me and Donnie can handle this” asked April.Splinter glanced towards April and seemed to nod tiredly in her direction. Recognising a dismissal when he heard it and respecting the fact April and his brother were the best people to take care of Splinter, Leonardo stood from his seat. “It’s great to have you back Master Splinter” said Leonardo “We’ll be outside if you need anything. Raph, Mikey, Casey come on.”Also standing, Raphael waved at him “See ya in a bit Sensei” he called as he left the infirmary with Casey who shot the rat a quick thumbs up.“April and Donnie know what they’re doing! See you later Master Splinter” asserted Michelangelo as he slowly left the infirmary and reluctantly let go of his hand.Closing the door behind him Leonardo left Splinter in the care of April and Donnie. He was awake and alive. That’s all that mattered for now.

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Epilogue
Splinter tried to focus on his favourite TV show that was currently playing across the various screens in the main room of the lair but through a combination of the constant dull pain that plagued his body and sharpened with most movement and the distraction that pulled him from reality into his mind, the rat was having trouble finding any enthusiasm for the TV.It had been two weeks since his family had found him and brought him home. He remembered very little of being taken to Shredders building by Hun and the rescue by his sons; of which he was very proud of them though he wished they hadn’t taken the risk.After awakening in the infirmary of the lair surrounded by his family it had taken him a couple of days until he was able to stay awake for long and Donatello and April had kept him on bed rest since then. Today though his other sons had managed to convince the doctors of the family to let him rest in the living room where he could entertain himself with the TV, and he was certain it was to try and lift his spirits.After regaining consciousness for the first time and being greeted by the eager faces of his sons, Donatello and April had eventually sent the others out so they could check him over and it was then he had learnt the full extent of his injuries.Shifting slightly in the old arm chair the Ninja Master could only groan as his shoulder creaked with the movement and sharp pain shot down his arm. It wasn’t in Splinter’s nature usually to dwell on the negatives of a situation or give in to self pity but he felt useless.His brilliant son Donatello with April’s help had performed surgery on him when he had arrived back home and according to them it had gone very well. His leg had been pinned together and was currently stuck in a heavy cast which he had been told would need to remain on for at least 4 months. Thanks to Donatello and April he should regain mobility of his leg though he had been warned bad arthritis may develop in the limb.The break in his left arm had been fairly straightforward and was also set in a cast currently hanging from a sling. His dislocated shoulder had also been operated on to tighten the tendons, which should give him full movement although the sharp jolts of pain he occasionally felt down that arm were likely to remain with him. April had informed him he would have to keep the sling on for at least 16 weeks to protect against it dislocating again. Already the annoying sling and heavy casts were irritating him, his entire left side was a wreck and the extent of his injuries made free movement a distant dream.Despite his spaced out state when he was first being told of his injuries the Ninja in him had picked up on the fact Donatello and April seemed reluctant to tell him something. After telling him the state of his shoulder, his son went on to tell him the cuts across his chest weren’t too bad and he had only needed a couple of stitches but they had bandaged his chest anyway since they were in a sewer and they couldn’t stick plasters on the cuts because of his fur.It was at this point he became certain they were stalling but in his tired state his awareness had returned slowly and kept pointing out random things to him.
Where is your robe? This bed is soft. Your son is stalling. It’s embarrassing you’re naked under the sheets. Recovery will be hard. What aren’t they telling you?
Splinter became aware his show had ended and the next show on the channel was beginning but he couldn’t find the enthusiasm to change channels as his thoughts dragged him back to his conversation with Donatello and April.After checking his vitals, bandages and temperature the two had clearly run out of things to do when April seemed to nudge Donatello and his son reluctantly gave him the news.Limited use of his left hand.The breaks in his fingers and the time that passed between the breaking and the setting of the bones as well as the complexity of the fingers and hand would leave his left hand crippled and riddled with arthritis.Donatello had apologized though he had no need to. The hand was far too complicated to be operated on, especially in a sewer so they had set his fingers as best they could and see how his hand was when they healed.Crippled.The word drifted through his mind and caused a flash of anger to boil within him, until another word crossed his mind. Useless.When he was more awake his sons and their friends had recounted what he had missed and he had thanked all of them for saving him repeatedly. Since then he had not been left alone for long, someone was always with him and he wasn’t allowed to do anything himself, not that he could have in this state.Even now, Michelangelo was watching TV with him though he had yet to notice his Father was paying little attention to the screens.‘Hun has won’ he thought with a trace of bitterness. At least his sons were safe, they could have been killed trying to save him.What good was he to them now? Crippled and too injured to move unaided.Turning his attention back to the screens and attempting to focus on something else, the rat realized he had lost and wasn’t sure how he could recover from this. Maybe it was time to step back. Time to accept his fate and retire to a life on the sidelines. What use was he now?