A/N: Hey all. I'm sorry for not being able to update during the last year. A lot of things have been going on in my life, taking my mind away from my story. My job situation have changed, I was married in March with my beloved boyfriend. Then I became a mother in the beginning of May. A lot of stuffs have been happening for me indeed. I have dreamt about the turtles at nights during the period. I have been feeling the urge to come back to the story and finish it. Don't know what the hell is going to happen after I get done with this story, but I have to finish it. It deserves that much both for my trusting readers and for me. Please enjoy…

Leonardo gave a small shake of his head in disbelief before he pressed the secret code to the entrance of the lair. Somehow Raphael had shocked him. His furious brother hadn't given him any information about why he was bothered about his relationship with Aki. Leonardo heaved a huge sigh, before taking his cell shell from his belt. With a fast beating heart, he chose to send a text message to the red masked turtle in hope that he wouldn't be stubborn enough not to read it. The message was clear. Leonardo wanted to tell Raphael that he was sorry for hurting him for some unknown reason, but that Raphael needed to come back, as they had to prepare themselves for the upcoming battle with Rex. Leonardo walked into the lair with slow steps, making himself aware of the surroundings.

As far as he could hear, his family was gathered in the kitchen and a small unsatisfied growl from his own stomach told him that it was because of the lovely scent of Michelangelo's famous pizza. They were all in there laughing and having fun. Master Splinter's health seemed to be improving. His face was warm again and the eyes were glowing with life. Even a joke from Michelangelo made their father brighten in a wry smile. Leonardo took this sight into relief as he had been concerned about his father's condition after Rex's latest attack on him. Donatello was sitting at the dinner table, finishing probably the last notes on his preparations towards the upcoming fight. Michelangelo was standing next to Aki, bending down to take the pizza out from the oven. However Aki immediately turned her head towards the door opening, as he walked into the room, asking him a silent question which he answered by shaking his head slightly.

"Good afternoon my son, you just came in time for the lovely dinner that your brother has made for us," Master Splinter said without turning his head towards him. "Where have you been Leonardo?"

Both of them were aware of the fact that the old rat exactly knew which of his sons who had arrived in the room even without turning his head around to see for himself. As he had taught his sons, it was by sensing the small aspects within a person that would reveal their presence. Master Splinter was both sensing Leonardo's soul near him, but he also used his hearing abilities as all of his sons had a special way of moving, though it might have been impossible to notice by the common people.

"I'm sorry Master, but I had to find Raphael. He left the lair suddenly," Leonardo said truthfully.

"I see," Master Splinter nodded and raised his eyes to meet his oldest son with a serious look. "And why did he leave the lair, Leonardo?"

Leonardo considered how to answer the question. At one point his honour demanded him to answer his Sensei with the truth and on the other side Leonardo still felt an obligation to Raphael. He knew that his tempered brother was keeping his feelings close and didn't want anyone to know about his emotions. Leonardo turned his gaze briefly toward Aki, who smiled comforting back at him. Somehow it gave him the courage to continue as he knew that she was standing with him and supporting him.

"I actually don't know the exact reason," Leonardo then said with a dark voice. "However I know that he probably left because of me and Aki."

Master Splinter's eyebrows rose in surprise for two seconds, then his expression went back to normal. The Sensei followed his oldest student walking with determent steps towards the woman; he loved, seizing her hand in silence. The warmth glow in her eyes told the old rat more than a thousand words, and he nodded in satisfaction as he finally saw happiness again in Leonardo's spirit.

"Wow, so you and Leo are a couple now?" Donatello said while he raised his head from his papers. "That is truly awesome."

"Congrats might be in order for you, because you sure are lucky," Michelangelo said with a bride smiled on his face. "We have all just waited for this to happen though."

"Thanks," Leonardo said gratefully and then turned his head towards his father. "If it is fine with you, Sensei. I won't do anything that can hurt our family."

Aki stroke Leonardo's arm softly while she laid her head comforting on his shoulder. She suddenly felt a bit scared of the old rat's answer. She knew that it was important for Leonardo to be insured that his father and teacher approved of their relationship, as Leonardo was a person, who was dedicated about his family and very concerned about whether it was the right thing to do. Master Splinter suddenly got a glint of sadness in his eyes and he turned his eyes toward the young Asian woman and his beloved son.

"Our secret, our traditions have always been hiding ourselves from the world, living together down here in peace for all humans. It isn't easy for a human to decide to live her with us. We live down in the sewers where it isn't exactly the flower you smells. Though we have made a good home for ourselves, many would find this place like a prison. I have tried to prevent my sons from the thinking that they would find someone special in life…"

Both Michelangelo and Donatello turned their eyes towards their father and listened carefully to his words as he continued: "We are mutants, living freaks and monsters in this world. Many would rather make experiments on us, than leave us alone. Many wouldn't understand what we really are. We have made some good friends in humans that we trust, but I was certain that love would never occur between a human and one of my sons, so therefore I made strict rules against it to prevent my children from being hurt by love that can be so wonderful and yet so painful."

Master Splinter signed and his eyes became even darker. "I thought I made the right choice by forbidden my son to have feelings for you, Aki. However as the days went by, I realised that I wasn't saving my son, I was destroying him. With this realisation I could no longer justify why it should be better for Leonardo to deny his love for you. He would probably be able to survive a broken heart than to live with you, young woman, without being able to confide his deep feelings for you."

Aki smiled happily at the old rat. However, Splinter was far from over with his explanation. "Nevertheless there are a lot of matters to concern. Not concerning my son, but you Aki. You are not even eighteen yet. If you think about it carefully, then do you see your future with my son ten years from now? I have no problem with your relationship, but please think about this before it gets too serious."

Aki nodded silently. She didn't want to answer the rat at this point though she could feel Leonardo's intense eyes looking at her, begging her to tell his Sensei that of course she was her future with him. She was aware that she was unable to answer Master Splinter's question at this point. The old rat's eyes softened with compassion as he noticed the confusion his question had coursed her. He remembered how it was to be young and uncertain about one's future.

"No one expects you to know what you want from life at this point, my dear girl," the wise rat answered with a wry smile. "Just promise me that you both will think clearly about this matter."

"We will, Sensei," Leonardo responded with a firm voice.

"Well let's eat, shall we?" Michelangelo asked and giggled. "It seemed a little too serious for me. Let us enjoy the biggest enjoyment of all; the best pizza in this world. No one can ever…"

Michelangelo paused as he heard footsteps coming from the door and all the heads turned to see Raphael. The red masked turtle didn't have any expression that revealed what he was thinking. He slowly turned his head towards his oldest brother and for a brief second his eyes burned with rage, before turning into stone. Master Splinter quickly rose from his chair and walked towards his tempered son.

"It is nice to see you back my son," he greeted with a calm voice. "Please join us for dinner. You need the strength to fight our enemy tonight."

"I know. It is the only reason why I'm here," Raphael growled and placed himself next to his master; opposite Leonardo and Aki.

"This isn't the time for anger and hatred, my sons," Master Splinter began, as he placed himself on his chair. "This is a time to unite our powers to fight against our strong opponent. We must not fight amongst ourselves but work together as a team. You are brothers. The strength lies in our family bonds. You most never forget that."

"I don't Master," Raphael burst out sharply and then turned his eyes at Leonardo. "At least I don't."

"Please don't start," begged Donatello and stopped Leonardo from answering his tempered brother. "We have a lot of things to prepare and little time in doing so."

"Indeed we have bro, but now we must eat while it is still hot," said Michelangelo with a bride smile, as he took the first bite of his pizza.

The joyful outburst that came from Michelangelo made most of them smile. However there were two persons around the table who wasn't joyful at all. Raphael gaze was so intense that it was impossible for Leonardo to ignore. Aki gazed worried at the two brothers, and then turned her eyes towards master Splinter, who was merely looking calmly back at her. She could see that the old rat was certain that his sons were able to put their indifferences aside when they were going to battle. She hoped that it was true.

The meal went on in silence. Every man was thinking for themselves. For most it was concerns about the near upcoming battle, for some it was despise for sitting together with persons that they couldn't take at the moment and for one, it was a question on how on earth he was going to make it to level 22 in the "Monster Blast" game. Michelangelo gave a little shake of his head. He had tried so many times to get to that level only to be killed in the last end of level 21. It irritated him greatly as he had a strong suspicion that he wasn't far from his goal.

When Master Splinter saw that most of them were finished with their meal, he gazed upon his family. "I want Leonardo to operate the mission."

"But Sensei," Raphael began to protest, only to receive a firm rejecting look from his master.

"Silent!" the old rat ordered and continued. "Leonardo has the best skills to lead this operation and we are NOT going to argue on this Raphael."

Raphael quickly removed his eyes from his Sensei, but most of them noticed the dark look in the eyes of the red masked turtle. If eyes could kill, then Raphael would have a lot of deaths on his conscience. Master Splinter decided that he wouldn't take the discussion with Raphael at this point, but he had to talk with Raphael about respect for his sensei's decisions.

"Donatello, have you finished your task with the belts?" the old rat asked and turned his head toward his most brilliant son.

"Yes I have," Donatello answered and his eyes turned to Aki. "If you are willing to test it, Aki?"

"Sure. What do you want me to do?" Aki asked curiously.

"I want you to make your wind blow against me," Donatello said and then continued explaining for his family. "I have been thinking about that this wind attack, Rex is able to beat us with just using that attack against us as it blows us away from her and might damage us, if we get thrown into a wall for instance. These belts have the advantage that they are able to turn the strong wind to the sides instead of hitting us directly. Let me demonstrate out in the open area."

They followed Donatello out from the kitchen into the big area with the lake. The purple masked turtle placed himself in front of the lake while he pressed on the small green button on the brown leather belt.

"Now please attack me Aki," he then ordered the young woman.

"Hehe, blow him into the lake," added Michelangelo and giggled.

Aki smiled and then turned the palm of her hand against the genius turtle. The strong air flew from her arm towards the turtle. She had on purpose not made the wind blow very strong as she didn't have any intentions of hurting Donatello. However; the purple masked turtle stood stern at his place, not moving an inch from his spot.

"Was that all?" he asked with a little mocking smile.

"No, I can give you more, if you like," Aki said with a bright smile, looking forward to the small test, he was giving her.

"Then give me the best, you got," Donatello taunted dryly.

Aki turned her hand towards him yet again, this time she was increasing the power in the wind blow. Donatello wasn't moving at all.

"Hihi," Michelangelo continued to laugh behind her.

At this point; Aki raised one of the eyebrows, gazing challenging upon the purple masked turtle. He returned her gaze calmly, sure in his mind that she was unable to throw him away. Aki felt her spirit and her air power flowing within each other, connecting to a deep and powerful bond. Then she sent out a wind blow so strong that the others behind her could feel the strong waves. The powerful wind blow flew with fast speed against its target, only to be cast away to the sides, leaving Donatello out of harm's way.

"Amazing," Aki said impressed. "This wind attack I made was stronger than Rex would ever do it as I use my skills of the Air Element to increase the power in the attack, and it didn't harm you at all."

"Nope," Donatello said and gazed upon his family with pride in his face. "I have been working on this for a long time. Now we should be safe from that attack. I have made a belt for each of you."

"That sounds awesome Donny," Michelangelo said and then added with expectation. "Oh shell, I can't wait to see the look of Rex's face, when she discovers that she can't use her wind attack."

"You still have to be careful though," Master Splinter reminded his students. "She is still able to take the weapons from your hands and use it against you. Even the belts, she can remove from you."

"I have been thinking about that as well Sensei. As I recall, Rex have to say the words to make the things appearing in her hands, so I have made this injection which will make her tongue swallow in her mouth so it will be hard for her to say anything."

"You are pure evil sometimes Donny," Raphael remarked gloomily and then added with a wicked smile. "I like it".

"Do you have more inventions for our battle against her?" Leonardo asked his younger brother.

"No that's all," Donatello replied. "I can't do anything to prevent her from using her fire abilities, only Aki is able to do that."

"Okay, Aki explained her plan to us earlier, so we all know what to do," Leonardo said with a firm voice as he turned his eyes towards his brothers. "We need to gather the flutes from Rex's men before engaging her."

"We know that Rex is still holding the flute of the dragon, the tiger, the ox, the pig, the sheep and the rooster in her possession. She has divided the flutes among her men. However; she has been keeping the strongest one, the flute of the dragon, for herself."

"Does dragons still exist?" Michelangelo asked wondering.

"No one really knows," Aki answered frankly. "I have seen magical creatures that normally existed in old legends. However; dragons haven't been seen alive for centuries."

"We have to collect all the flutes and seal the door to the rooftop, where Rex's apartment is, so we are sure that her men won't be able to help her."

"The minion also confided to us that it was normal practice for them to have the flutes on them, so this is a stealth operation," Donatello told them and showed small injection needles with a slight purple fluid. "This contains enough to make them sleep for 4 hours but have to be given at close hand. Hopefully we will have ended the fight in that short period of time."

"We will divide ourselves in two teams. Raphael with Donatello, and Michelangelo with me," Leonardo continued, but was cut off by Raphael.

"Why am I not surprised?" Raphael asked tartly. Leonardo decided to ignore his comment.

"We will take Rex's men down one by one. This needs to be done quickly with stealth. We have to vanish from sight immediately after we have made the attack on each one. Take them out of line of sight, take their flute and use the injection on them. No one is allowed to make a sound so they can raise the alarm."

"That sounds hard Leo," Michelangelo commented a bit nervous.

"We have trained it many times before," Splinter reminded them. "Ninjitsu is the way of cunning and you have to use your ninja skills with speed and precision, Michelangelo."

"Yeah, but this time it isn't a training session," Michelangelo mumbled. "What if it goes wrong?"

"It won't," Leonardo cut him off simply.

"Michelangelo has a point though Leo," Raphael said. "It could go terribly, if Rex is getting alarmed by her men."

"We are trained enough to avoid this," Leonardo reminded him. "If it gets too hot in the building, then we leave. But that won't happen."

"I hope you are right Leo," Michelangelo signed and then gave a wry smile. "After all I need to figure out how to get to level 22 in my "Monster Blast" game."

"Geez Mike, you stupid game freak," Raphael burst out and clapped his youngest brother on his head.

"Ouch," Michelangelo burst out and rubbed his hand on his bald head.

"Aki have to wait for our signal to show up. After all Rex are able to sense her aura from some distance and therefore she has to keep out of sight until we are ready. We have to expect that Rex will confront us at her property, and there will probably be 5-10 minutes before Aki are able to be there even with her flying abilities."

"Again a long time to be bait, bro," Michelangelo said and shivered in his shell.

"We don't have a choice here," Donatello remarked and took a deep breath. "It is so important that we only have to fight Rex with her one flute, which might as well be useless as far as we know. We have to fight Rex inside her house in order to win this fight. Otherwise Aki's plan won't work. This is a small headset Aki. It will make us able to communicate with one another over the great distance."

"Good," said Aki and grabbed the small headset. "I'm just glad that this is going to be over soon."

"I wish I was able to follow with you my sons on this dangerous task," Master Splinter said and then sadness revealed in his brown eyes. "But my strength is weak after her latest attack. I can't…."

"We know Sensei. None of us had expected that you were going with us. However we will miss you while we are away," Leonardo responded and bowed in respect for his father and master. Then he turned towards the others.

"We have to leave now. It is going to get dark soon and we need the darkness to make this operation work."

All the others nodded, and Donatello gave each of them a leather belt. Then he gave the small injection needles to his brothers and then placed the larger needle in his own belt. "I will inject the fluid that makes her tongue swallow myself," he informed. "Hopefully I will get close enough to shoot it at her."

"Wouldn't it be easier to inject this sleeping fluid into her?" Raphael asked and lifted the small needle containers in his hand.

"If you could get to touch her neck with it, then yes," Donatello nodded and then turned his head doubtful to the side. "I will be impressive if she allows us to do so. This swallow fluid is easier to handle as I can shoot it a few meters away from her."

"Then just put more sleeping fluid in it," Raphael suggested irritated.

"I have one here," Donatello said and clapped on his belt. "But I have talked with Sensei that it is going to be the last solution."

"Why?" Aki asked curiously.

"Because Rex will go into a coma if she gets such large amount," Donatello explained. "If we are able to remove her powers without using this, it would be more right of us to do so."

"Are you ready?" Leonardo asked his brother impatiently.

"Yes, I am. Let's go," Donatello said and walked towards the elevator. "We have to walk there since I haven't had time to make a new Battle Shell."

"Phww, typical," Michelangelo laughed and rushed up to his brother. "You know Donny… That is simply not good enough."

Leonardo gazed upon Aki, who was standing still, looking at them leaving the lair. He wanted to take her into her arms and say goodbye but with one look at Raphael, he knew it wasn't the right time to do so. He knew that he needed his brothers to win this fight.