Yay, UPDATE! :D Well, the Unlikely Alliance will last for 5 parts as it turns out.

One hour earlier, City Museum rooftop …

Leo and Natalie only stared at each other in silence for a few minutes, neither knowing how to start a conversation. Tiger Claw knows that Natalie was not very good at socializing with others and this trait was passed down to Leo. Inside of her head, she was throwing curse words to Tiger Claw for doing this to her while thinking of a way to start at least something. Her son was in front of her after more than 15 years of being separated and she couldn't even start something as simple as a chat.

"So, um… want to sit down first?" She finally begins.

"Sure." Leo answered happily. They walked to the edge of the building and sat down there. Leo could not believe it that he was sitting right next to his mom. He got so many things to tell her but he couldn't decide what first. He also has a ton of questions for her, like how did she and his dad met for the first time. Of course Tiger Claw already told him that story but it was Tiger Claw, who knows how much he had edited the story for his own entertainment. He needs to hear it from his mom's side.

"So… uh, c-can I call you mom?" He asked shyly. "B-b-but, i-it's okay if you don't want it." He was too nervous and stammered a bit as the result. "I-it's just …" He sighed. Even his breath got small pauses from his nervousness. "I've always wanted to know what kind of mom I have. You know, before dad told me about you, I thought that I was just created in some kind of lab as a test subject. I thought that he was my dad just because I was created using his DNA. No real parents whatsoever." He confessed very softly, no longer making mistakes as he spoke from his heart.

Natalie was taken aback by his statement. He's the criminal she was hunting for so long and this kind of turn of events never once passed through her mind. She just never knew just how painful the life her son must gone through in order to survive this unforgiving world. To think that he once had that kind of theory in mind means that he was no longer innocent since he was still a very young age. It means that he already knew there are some people evil and heartless enough to force mutants as test subjects. She smiled at him sadly. She reached for his cheek then starts rubbing it with her hand, making Leo purr. "Of course you can, Leo."

Leo was happy beyond description. "R-really?" He asked again to be sure. She gave him a nod. He feels like he had to jump as high as he could to show her just how happy he is right now. "Mom, can I ask you something else? It's already bugging me for quite some time." He asked her enthusiastically.

"Sure." She said simply.

"How did you and dad met? What happened when you two meet for the first time? Dad already told me about it but, well, you know why I ask you now."

She chuckled at what her son was hinting at. No matter who you are, it's not that easy to trust Tiger Claw and his stories, even if he never meant for any harm. So, she told him about the story from her point of view. As expected, Tiger Claw already edited a few things, like the part that the two fell in love at each other on their first meeting.

"So wait, you didn't fall in love with him at first sight?"

"Well, I'm not really sure. I feel attracted to him but I don't know if it was because of my job of catching him or is it because of love."

"Oh, by the way, how did you managed to cut his tail anyway?" Leo asked her curiously.

"We were fighting the first time we met. I think he got distracted since he fought me in way better terms a few minutes earlier. He managed to dodge my knife, but his tail didn't. Don't tell him I said this to you but he's secretly still mourning for his tail for these 18 years."

Leo laughed after trying to imagine his father mourning his tail. In his imagination, Tiger Claw was crying while he's on his knees near a tombstone with "My Precious Tail" written on it. "What happened after that?"

"He fled the battle after that. The next day he found me. He pinned me easily on the wall. At first I thought he was going to kill me, I never knew he would be confessing. Of course that time I said no. But you know how your persistent your father is so he spent a few months trying to ask me to at least become his friend. After I got annoyed enough, I accepted him just to see him fail. Again, I was wrong. After knowing him better, I realized my feeling and fell in love with him as well."

"Whoa." Leo was awestruck. It was a bit weird but still a better love story than Twilight (LOL Sorry, I couldn't resist).

"Leo, I also want to ask you something."

"Uh, sure."

"Why … why did you become a murderer?"

Leo's eyes widened. He thought it would be the best to tell her so there's nothing that could ruin his relationship with his mom. His family was just too important to him. With that in mind, he told her about everything. From the leaked hideout location, to Shredder's deal, his meeting with Tiger Claw, everything. "And that's the whole story."

Natalie was shocked. Her son never meant to kill anyone. He was doing it to protect his family. Her ambition to put the murderer behind bars had completely vanished. Newfound hatred on Shredder flooded her heart. How dare he'd use her son to do his dirty work.

After he noticed her expression, he cut her off from her thoughts. "It's fine mom. Really, it is. If not because of this, I don't think I would've meet dad or you, and I don't think I would have got in a relationship with my girlfriend."

Her expression changed completely. "Girlfriend?"

Leo then realized he had revealed just a bit too much of his story. He sheepishly rubbed his hand behind his neck. "Y-yeah."

"Tell me about this girlfriend of yours."

He tugged his t-shirt with his index finger. "Well, she's from Japan."

"Go on."

"She's good at fighting and is a respectable martial artist."

"What is it with you and your father always trying to get into trouble."

"We liked to live dangerously, I guess." He said with a chuckle.

"Okay, anything else?"

"Well, she's …" He paused for a while, thinking if it's a good idea to tell her. "she's the Shredder's daughter and is his only child." He said, shutting his eyes. Then, silence.

Natalie was shocked would be an understatement. So, he just said he fell in love with the daughter of the same man that made his life miserable. She was about to open her mouth to say something but a voice cut them off.

"Leo! It's time to go." It was Tiger Claw's voice.

"Oh, thank goodness." Leo and Natalie exclaimed at the same time.

Present time, rendezvous point …

"Leonardo, Third-in-Command." He said, as the Hamato clan stared. Silence came flooding the scene. The silence was deafening. No one ever thought that such silence could have so much meaning. Leo was already expecting this to happen. This is the last part of their deal, Leo at the end must reveal his real self in exchange of no more killing and his family would be safe from the Foot clan, forever. This is his sacrifice, something he must do to keep the others safe, to keep his family safe, to keep his brothers safe. The deal only extended to anyone associated with the Hamato clan except the leader of it, Splinter.

The Hamato clan could only stare in disbelief. None of them could believe what they are seeing right now. Leonardo, the most loyal, honorable and overprotective of the clan actually defected and joined their enemy. But, for what reason?

Shredder saw the opportunity and took it. "Do not be modest, Leonardo." He said, breaking the silence and earning everyone's attention, even Leo's. "Leonardo is also the Assassin Master of our clan, just like his father and never once he'd failed or refused a mission to annihilate my targets. That being said, his exceptional leadership skills had earned him the position of leading the Foot Elites." He explained, grinning like a mad man under his mask. He might be starting to warming up on the tiger mutant but he's still the manipulative man he was and will take any chance he could find.

Leo was holding back his anger. 'That sly old man, if it's not because of our deal and you being Karai's father, I've already planted a bullet on your forehead'. It took every single resistance in his body to not go and punch the Shredder right in the face. But nonetheless, he still kept a strong image of himself. He did not flinch and only shows zero emotion, something he had been good at from young age. He stood still with his hands at ease on his back just like what his dad is doing.

"Are you sure this is the best choice?" A voice rang in his head.

'Haven't heard from you for a while, Izumi.' He used his thoughts to communicate. Surely he hasn't showed up since that day.

"Yeah, gaining a physical form completely drained my energy and you haven't been killing anything lately so it took longer for me to recover. Did I miss anything important?"

'You could just read my memory, remember?'

"Heh, completely forgot about that."

'Seriously? Anyway, I can't talk with you right now. Kinda busy trying to get out of this situation'

"Okay, I'll go recharge more energy then, in case you need assistance with Akuma's wielder. Good luck getting out of these though."

He sighed when Izumi finally goes to rest again. He knows very well when is the worst time to make his wielder talk to him. 'It should be put in his talent list'. Leo thought, making him smile, almost chuckled. Unfortunately, his family noticed his amused smile. 'Me and my imagination.' He scolded himself for probably creeping out his family even more. Shredder must be smiling under his mask right now. I went back to my serious face but that doesn't help. The damage had already been done. 'If I can't save everything, I'll just save anything that I could save.' He thinks about his motto, which is also Tiger Claw's. He said to Leo that keeping it in mind will improve his bad guilt problem and it works.

"The introductions is now done, come tomorrow to our Headquarter to discuss the plan to stop the invasion." Shredder announced. With that, the Foot clan left the meeting point except for Leo and Tiger Claw.

"This is a lie, right?" Everyone turned their glances to Mikey, who was looking down on his feet. "Please, tell me this is just some kind of trick." He said, tears running down from his eyes. This is too much to take in all at once. Leo defected from the Hamato clan, him being an assassin, and he also has a very high rank that only Shredder or his own father could give him orders in the entire Foot Clan. Everything was just too much.

His hearts breaks witnessing Mikey, the always cheerful one of the brothers to be reduced to tears. He wanted to reach of for his brother but he can't. So close yet so far. Such words are the ones that fits the situation most. He just stood there, showing no emotion, trying not to break himself.

"GAAAAHH." Raph screamed and charged using his sais on Leo. He saw it coming but he didn't even try to dodge it. He thought that he deserved it. Breaking the heart of his family is unforgivable. Everything is necessary for the survival of his family, for their protection. He braced himself for the attack, but then …

*CLANG*

Sound of metals clashed filled the place. Raph's attack was stopped easily by Tiger Claw. Using only one sword, he blocked both of Raph's sais. Even though his attack was blocked, he still speaks his mind out. "How could you do this, Leo? You made Mikey cry. Why did you-"

"I wouldn't move any closer to him if I were you." Tiger Claw said. Apparently, not only did he easily block the attack, his ninjaken was now only mere inches from Raph's neck. In his left hand, his handgun was aimed at Raph's head on a point blank range. Tiger Claw wasn't going to let Leo get hurt more than he already did. None of them seems to be looking carefully enough, how Leo was about to break down right now.

"Raphael, stand down!" Splinter ordered him with a loud voice. Slowly, both sides withdrew their weapons.

Tiger Claw switched his gaze to Splinter. "Keep your students under control, Splinter. If I had let that attack through, the alliance would be canceled." He said with a cold voice. It was actually just a bluff. His son wouldn't let their alliance to be broken. "Let's go, Leo. Shredder might have some more things for us to do."

Leo nodded once and disappeared in the shadows. Tiger Claw followed and disappeared as well.

As soon as Leo and Tiger Claw left, Mikey broke into a cry and hugged Splinter, he keep asking him how could Leo leave the family just like that. Everyone else tried to calm him down with no avail. Splinter's next order is to go back to the lair to sort out the turn of events.

On the other side of the coin, Leo did the same. Right when they were far enough, Leo broke into tears while embracing Tiger Claw. It was the longest night he had ever experienced.

Whew, done. A bit anti-climatic but I think this is what would happen if anyone was put in the same situation. Silence has a power of its own you know. I can't think of anything than their own speechlessness, Raph's impulse and Tiger Claw's protectiveness.

BTW...

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Next up: Last part of Unlikely Alliance. The two clan learns how to work together before tackling their strongest opponent yet. Will they learn to accept each other? Stay tuned to find out.

Sneak Peak to Tiger and Cub next chapter (Dont read if you don't want any spoilers) :

No much of a spoiler but Leo is having some trouble managing himself with the new body. Tiger Claw getting worried about the cub. Worst of all is Leo's PTSD.