I am so so so sorry for everyone who has been waiting for this. For those who are new to this story, this is a sequel to my other story Mikey's New Friend. I recommend reading that before this story or it might a bit confusing. Anyway on to the story!

The light cautious tread of footsteps and scared, quiet whimpers were the only sounds heard in the darkness of the sewers. A group of frightened humans travelled as quietly as they could through the sewers trying to hide from the monsters that had invaded their city. Arnold Jones held his daughter protectively in one arm while he held his cell phone in the other using it like a flashlight. The sound of painful groans made the group of humans stop dead in their tracks.

"What the hell was that?" a woman asked in fearful tone.

"There is something near the water," another man answered.

Arnold noticed the shadow before another painful moan echoed in the sewers. He looked away for a moment to hand his daughter to the woman before he cautiously made his way over to the injured form.

"Hey…you okay?" Arnold asked cautiously as he slowly brought his phone to shine on the dark form.

The young father gasped in shock along with the others to see that the injured form was a giant mutant rat holding his injured side. Arnold looked into the creature's eyes and saw that he looked terrified.

"P-please…help me," the rat begged.

Arnold stood like a deer caught in the headlights for a moment before he asked, "What the hell are ya?"

"I was once a man before I was exposed to mutagen," the rat explained.

The human looked at the rat nervously before turning to the group of humans he had come in with looking lost on what to do. While the adults all shook their heads in fear, the three children in the group all looked at each other before the oldest girl spoke up.

"Daddy…you're gonna help him, right?" the little girl with purple highlights asked.

Arnold looked over at his daughter before she said, "He's hurt daddy. We need to help him."

The man smiled before he replied, "Ya Angel. Don't worry baby, I'm gonna help him."

"Are you insane? He's one of those things!" a man cried in disbelief.

"We can't just leave him here like this. Those things probably hurt him to," Arnold argued.

"Please…I am no threat to you…I can take you somewhere safe," the rat said before hissing in pain as he sat up.

That seemed to make the adults in the group reconsider their choice a bit but they still looked very nervous. These people had already lost their homes and families because they were attacked by strange creatures and now they were being asked to trust another strange creature.

Arnold looked at his group before he looked at the rat nervously. The human took a deep breath before he said in a firm voice, "I don't mind helpin' ya pal, I really don't but we got a group of scared people trying to protect what they have left. So, you gotta swear to us right now that you ain't a threat."

The rat rolled his body so that he was facing the group of humans before he said, "I swear on the lives of my children and on the memory of my wife that I will not harm you, your daughter, or your clan."

Arnold looked at the group to see that they looked more comfortable with the idea before turning his attention to the rat. He nodded his head before he carefully made his way closer to the mutant.

"Good enough for me," Arnold said as he wrapped one of the rat's arms around his shoulder and half carried him up towards the group.

"Thank you," the rat said and by the look in his eyes the human could tell he was sincere.

The human smiled at the newest member of the group before he replied, "No sweat Pal...by the way I'm Arnold Jones but my friends call me Arnie."

The rat returned his smile before he said, "I am Splinter."

…

It had been a difficult three months for the Hamato clan. After arriving at the farm house that belonged to April's family, everyone had gone in separate directions.

An unconscious Leonardo had been placed in a bathtub of water to keep him hydrated so that he could heal properly. Raphael had not stopped watching over his older brother and stayed by his side as Leo's own personal body guard. He was often in deep thought about how he and his brothers were going to move on from this. He held onto hope that Leo would pull through and that they would go back to New York to find their father alive. However, part of him thought that perhaps he was asking for too much.

Donny built himself a laboratory in the barn where he could focus on making a retro mutagen to save the people of New York. The tech savvy turtle threw himself into his work to distract himself not only from the nightmare their lives had become but also the heartache he felt after being rejected by April. He knew her returning his feelings was a long shot but at the same time it was painful to know that she was the likely the beginning of a lifetime of rejection because of what he was.

Mikey had not stopped feeling guilty about leaving his oldest brother behind and blamed himself for Leo's condition. The youngest turtle vowed that he would take care of his brothers and sister in his own way by taking on the responsibility of cooking as well as doing all the chores around the house. He tried constantly to get his siblings and his friends to try and to do something together but they would push him away. The orange masked turtle couldn't help feeling like this was his punishment for abandoning Leo.

Miwa was taking their situation especially hard. The teen constantly felt consumed with rage as she worried about her brothers and her father. She had been there to witness her father being thrown into the water and yet her instincts told her that he was alive. It was not knowing that was the most difficult for her to handle. When the girl wasn't training herself past her breaking point, she was using what little Splinter had taught her to use mediation to try and find her father.

Isla and Maya took turns using their blood to help Donatello with the retro mutagen as well as using it to heal Leonardo. Both mermaids were pushing their limits in hopes of bringing the oldest turtle back to them. When Maya wasn't healing, she was helping Mikey with the chores and doing her best to support her beloved. She knew that her mate blamed himself for what happened and did everything in her power to get him to see it differently. Isla focused her attention on doing what she did best, being a mother. She made it her personal mission to care of all the teens along with her fifteen-month-old son. She took over where Splinter left off leading sparing sessions forcing the teens to come together to train. Isla was also very strict on having family time after dinner. It was a time for their strange little family to enjoy each other's company usually involving games while watching whatever show they could get on the antenna.

April, Casey, and Irma could only watch as their friends struggled to deal with what happened to them all the while trying to deal with it themselves. April found peace in writing in her journal and helping Isla with the baby while Casey used mechanical therapy. The teen had found an old truck in the barn and decided to fix it up. Although a good distraction it was an excuse for Casey to cut himself off from everyone else to suffer from his grief alone.

Irma had kept herself busy helping Donny in his lab. On top of being a hacker extraordinaire she was a bit of a science buff and offered to be the turtle's assistant to distract herself from everything that had happened. Her and Donny had quickly gotten comfortable around each other and had become quite the tag team in the lab.

Kirby had put a small portable safe in the van before he was mutated that contained $2,000. The clan worked together to make the money last as long they could. Having a wood stove and a generator went a long way. Isla and Maya did a lot of fishing to provide food but they needed to use the money to buy food they couldn't get on the farm and toiletries.

Isla was checking over the supplies at the kitchen table when April walked in. The red head noticed the mermaid looking worried.

"Everything okay?" April asked concerned.

Isla sighed before she replied, "This one is fine but she can't help wondering how much longer our funds will last us."

April nodded her head in understanding before she said, "Well Irma, Casey and I were talking and we all agreed that if we need to we can all get jobs in town."

"That would be too risky… For now, we must be very careful with our portions," Isla explained.

When the mermaid looked up to see the worried face of April she sighed and offered the teen a comforting smile.

"Do not be troubled April. We are surrounded by resources that can sustain us for several months if need be. Maya and I can teach you all how to survive on what the woods can provide us," Isla assured the girl.

Before April could say anything, Mikey came into the room completely oblivious to the conversation that had taken place.

"Good news! The chickens laid eggs," the orange masked turtle announced happily carrying a bucket of fresh eggs.

Isla smiled before she replied, "That is good news. You can put the eggs in the fridge for now and then I need you to fetch everyone for training."

"You got it boss lady," the turtle replied before he quickly got to work.

April still felt a little worried about their situation but pushed it to the back of her mind for the time being. The girl had learned from this situation that they needed to deal with problems one day at a time.

"I'll go get my tessen and meet you guys outside," April said before leaving the room.

…

Raph stretched in his chair beside his brother. The red masked turtle had once again slept in the bathroom instead of his bed to stay close to his brother. Since they had arrived Raph couldn't stop thinking about how Maya lost her brother Bo. He couldn't stop thinking about how terrified Dylan was at the idea of taking over to protect and lead their pod.

"Leo I need you to wake up man…I can't lead them like you can" Raph pleaded to his big brother.

It was no surprise when Leo's response was to continue to lay asleep while his body healed in the bathwater. A light knock on the door caught Raph's attention. The turtle couldn't help the smile on his face as he watched Maya hold Caspian's hands as he took unsteady steps. The baby's face instantly lit up the moment he saw Raph.

"RAAAAAAA!" the child cried excitedly.

"Hello to you to squirt," Raph chuckled as he stood up and picked up the baby.

"Caspian wished to sit with you while this one tends to Leonardo…he is worried for you," Maya said before she began to hum a beautiful melody. She then cut open her hand and started pouring her blood into Leo's mouth.

Raph turned his attention to Caspain and hugged the child while ruffling the baby's soft hair before he whispered, "Thanks kid."

'This one want Raph happy' Caspian replied before he wrapped his tiny arms around Raph's neck. Suddenly the distinct sound of sucking could be heard as the child cuddled into the turtle's neck.

"You got a real distinct Mikey way of cheering people up squirt," Raph said trying to sound annoyed by the baby sucking on his mask tails again but failed miserably.

Maya couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her as she continued to check Leonardo over. She could see that his wounds had all healed but the blood could not stop the wounds from becoming scars.

"How's he doin'?" Raph asked nervously as he watched her work.

Maya finished her checkup before she looked at Raph and said, "his body is mostly healed. He did sustain permanent damage to his vocal cords that the blood cannot heal and his ankle is still healing but there are no other internal injuries."

The red masked turtle gave a her a strange look before he asked, "how can you possibly know all that?"

Maya smiled at her friend before she explained, "The blood speaks to this one. It helps direct where the healing is needed most and this one sends it there."

Raph nodded his head before he suddenly became very quiet. He looked as though he was trying to hold back his emotions before he asked, "He's gonna wake up soon, right?"

The mermaid quickly walked over to the red masked turtle before she wrapped her arms around his middle. Raph quickly returned the hug and rested his head on her shoulder as he body began to shake with fear.

Since they had arrived Raph had dropped his walls almost entirely around the mermaids. He knew that they could understand his fear better than anyone. He refused to be weak in front of his clan when they needed him the most to stand strong. However, his mask didn't work on Maya or Isla though and he knew it.

Normally Raph went to his father when he felt afraid, Splinter's presence always brought the red masked turtle peace. Without his father's guidance Raph constantly felt angry, scared and lost. He wasn't sure when he first started going to Isla and Maya but he found them incredibly helpful. They never tried to comfort him or tell him pretty words to ease his pain. They would simply sit there with him and hum while he got out his emotions.

"This one is sorry Raphael. The blood can heal his body but it cannot force him to wake," Maya explained with tears in her eyes as she felt Raph's heartache.

"I need him to wake up," Raph replied.

Maya pulled away from Raph's hug to place her hands gently on the sides of the turtle's face before she said, "Have faith pod brother. Leo just needs a little longer to gather his strength before he returns to us."

"Patience ain't my strong suit," the turtle joked with a smirk as he pulled away still holding Caspian.

"Even you can have your moments," Maya teased as she watched Raph stand the baby on his feet and take his hands to help him walk.

Raph smirked at her just as the door swung open again to reveal Michelangelo looking really amused before he said, "You guys better hurry up for training. Casey and Donny have already started making idiots of themselves to impress April."

"Beloved, what did you do?" the mermaid asked knowingly.

Mikey smiled before he replied, "Stood behind them waving like crazy till I got April's attention and made her smile. Next thing you know Casey and Donny are fighting over which one of them April was smiling at."

Raph started laughing as he pictured his friend and his brother fighting each other over nothing before he said, "Alright let's get this over with."

Team M&M watched as Raph picked up baby Cass and took him downstairs to train before Mikey turned worried eyes on Maya.

"I'm worried about him…I'm worried about all of them," Mikey asked nodding his head towards.

Maya squeezed the turtle's hand before she replied, "We will get through this beloved, I promise. You will all be alright once you are whole again."

The orange masked turtle gave his mate a smile before he brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it sweetly.

"Come, let us go train and see what mess you've started between Donny and Casey," Maya said before leading her mate outside.

…

It was the end of the day and everyone was tired from training. Raph had finished sitting through an episode of the new show Mikey and Maya were obsessed with. The red masked turtle decided he'd better go check on Leo before going to sleep for the night.

Raph walked into the bathroom to see that nothing had changed since he left for training. Leo was still unconscious and Raph still felt useless. Raph sat down in the chair before resting his arms on the rim of the tub and laying his head down on them.

"Leo…if you can hear me bro you need to wake up. We…I can't do this without you…I miss you," Raph said.

The red masked turtle put his hand in the water and gently squeezed Leo's. Raph's head suddenly shot up though when he felt Leo squeezing back.

"Leo…"

The oldest turtle squeezed again before he started mumbling and his eyes could be seen moving back and forth underneath his eyelids.

"Come on bro follow my voice. Come back to us," Raph said encouraging his brother.

After what felt like hours, Leo slowly started to open his eyes until they were half way open. It took a couple of blinks before the older turtle could see his little brother without it being fuzzy.

"Raph?" Leo asked as he started to feel more awake.

The red masked turtle could only nod his head before he finally said, "Ya I'm here bro. I'm here."

Leo watched as his little brother screamed for the others to come upstairs before instantly turning his attention back to Leo. The older turtle could see his brother shaking with fear and relief in his eyes.

Wanting nothing more than to comfort the younger turtle, Leo reached up until his hand was grasping the back of Raph's neck forcing the green-eyed turtle to look at him.

"It's okay Raph. I'm gonna be okay," he whispered gently.

Raph looked like he was ready to burst into tears but instead chuckled before he replied, "Ya I know you're gonna be okay Leo. We're gonna fix you up good as new and then I'm gonna pound you for scaring the crap out of us!"

Leo couldn't help laughing as he heard Raph starting to sound like his old self again. Little did he know though that after that moment he would learn that many things changed while he was in his comma.

Alright that's all for now! I'll update as often as I can, don't forget to review the lady!