A/N: Eclipse belongs to GeekyCookie1.

Soren Chandler [mentioned] belongs to MariChat3.

"I've been told that I don't have a single mean bone in my body. Well, it must be true because I'm always gonna be willing to help out the person whenever I know them or not. It's kinda funny because my family keep telling me that I can't trust everybody just like that since I never know if they're trustworthy or not but I guess I just got a big heart. And this—is an example of that."

HENRY LAID IN bed back at his house that night, completely unable to fall asleep as he stared up at the ceiling. His conversation with Splinter earlier that night before he headed home replayed over and over in his head. It didn't matter how much he turned or tossed around in his bed, he eventually gave up on trying to fall asleep and just laid there with his eyes staring at his ceiling. All he was able to do was keep replaying that conversation in his head over and over no matter how much he wanted to forget it.

"About Briana."

Henry blinked in confusion as he stared at the mutant rat. "I don't get it. What do you mean, Sensei? What's the truth?"

"Briana isn't fully human," Splinter informed. "But before I tell you about her, you should know the truth about her parents and where she comes from."

At those words, Henry stared at him with a small frown. "I thought you didn't know anything about that. At least, that's what Bri thinks."

"I'm afraid Briana cannot know the truth about her—not yet, at least. It is too dangerous for her to know anything since the Shredder, Soren, and Jake are not the only ones after her." Splinter informed.

"Sensei, this doesn't make sense," Henry said, clearly confused about the whole thing. What was it that was so dangerous for Briana to know? And why was Splinter so scared about it that he's been willingly lying to her about it for fifteen years? "Who else could be after her?"

"I believe everything about Briana goes much deeper than you, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Eclipse think," Splinter said before he began explaining. "Oroku Saki was not my only friend and brother during my time as human. I had two other best friends that I consider my brothers. Quill Sentry and Flash Sentry, Briana's uncle and father."

Henry blinked, the surprise and shock written on his face but he remained quiet and kept listening.

"Quill Sentry and Flash Sentry were the sons of Kenji Sentry, the headmaster of the Sentry Clan—one of the oldest clans in Japan just like the Foot Clan and the Hamato Clan. Growing up, the four of us were close as all brothers and as brothers, we were also rivals. Unfortunately, Kenji Sentry was a man without honor and mercy. He raised Quill Sentry and Flash Sentry as soldiers, molding them into his best assassins. One day, when his wife suddenly vanished and his eldest daughter perished in a plague of sickness, Kenji Sentry became everything that Quill Sentry and Flash Sentry came to fear; a monster. As the years went by, Quill Sentry and Flash Sentry escaped from their home in the middle of the night and came to my father with guilt on everything that their father forced them to do.

My father then took them in, giving them a place where they could call home. It seemed that things were back to normal but then, my friendship with Oroku Saki changed and so did Quill's and Flash's friendship with him changed too when we met Tang Shen and her best friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle of the Crystal Empire, Briana's mother." Splinter explained.

"Wait, what? Her mom was a princess? Wouldn't that make Bri...?" Henry questioned but trailed off.

Splinter nodded in confirmation. "Yes, Briana is the lost princess of the Crystal Empire."

"Everyone thinks that the Crystal Empire and the Lost Princess are myths," Henry said. "You're saying that it's real?"

Splinter nodded as he continued to explained. "You already know what happened between Oroku Saki and I over Tang Shen but not the parts that I left out. It was Tang Shen that introduced me, Oroku Saki, Quill Sentry, and Flash Sentry to Twilight Sparkle. That is how Briana's parents met and fell in love with.

At the time, it was Twilight's mother, Twilight Velvet that was the queen of the Crystal Empire alongside her husband, King Nightlight. Back then, Queen Twilight Velvet was the vessel to Unagami, a demon spirit from the underworld that had the power of darkness and because of that, everyone believed that she was the one that the prophecy of the last Destroyer that would one day face against the Dark One was talking about."

"But she wasn't?" Henry asked.

"No," Splinter confirmed as he shook his head. "The day before Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle got married, Queen Twilight Velvet had visions about Briana that confirmed that Briana is the one that the prophecy is talking about. On the day of her birth, the Shredder and the Foot Clan attacked the Crystal Empire with the help of Soren and Jake as a attempt to capture Briana for their plans but in order to protect her, Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle used a portal to send her away to a place where nobody would be able to find her."

Realization filled Henry's face as he realized where it was. "That's how Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Clips found her that day in the sewers, wasn't it?" He asked, knowing about how they found newborn Briana in the sewers crying that day.

Splinter nodded. "That is why the Shredder, Soren, and Jake are after her because Briana is the last Destroyer from the prophecy and the new vessel to Unagami, which means she is very powerful. Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle were worried about her falling into the wrong hands so they sent her to me to keep her safe."

"You said that the truth was dangerous for her to know though," Henry said. "Why?"

"Because the more Briana knows about herself, the more danger she's in, and the easier it is for people like the Shredder, Soren, Jake, or even Kenji Sentry to find her. That is why she must not know the truth until the time comes for her to know." Splinter informed.

Henry remained silent for a while, taking all of the information he had just heard in. "Sensei... if Bri's not fully human and the vessel to Unagami, doesn't that mean..." he trailed off as he stared at him.

Once again, Splinter nodded in confirmation. "Yes, Briana is half human and half demon."

"Don't you think you should tell Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Clips, Sensei?" Henry asked with a frown. "You said that it's not just the Shredder, Jake, or Soren after her. Shouldn't they know about this?"

"Perhaps," Splinter admitted with a concerned expression. "I do not want them to see her differently or for them to be afraid of her."

"I don't think they'll ever see her differently or be afraid of her, Sensei. They've been spoiling Bri and treating her like a princess her whole life." Henry admitted. Though he even could admit that there had been a few times where he spoiled his other little sister too. He didn't know what it was but when it came to Briana, there was just this light around her that made him feel protective over the girl that's like a little sister to him and he knew that Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Eclipse would agreed with him on that.

In a way, it was like Briana was this ball of sunshine to them and they were determined to make sure she was safe.

"I suppose that is correct," Splinter said with a chuckle leaving his lips. "But in this case, it's too dangerous for anybody that knows and I'm afraid that by telling you this, you'll be in even more danger, Henry."

Henry frowned slightly. "I think after everything that we've gone up against, we can handle anything else, Sensei."

"That may be," Splinter said, a fearful and concerned expression in his eyes. "However, the Shredder may be one thing that you children will have to face but I'm afraid that the Dark One is one that you children have never seen the likes of yet and I hope that you never have to find out."

Henry frowned slightly, seemingly to have an idea where this was going.

"Until the time is right, Henry, nobody else can know the truth or anything of what I'm telling you," Splinter said, frowning slightly himself at the thought of the secrets he's been keeping. "It's the only way to ensure their safety."

And with a heavy sigh, Henry nodded.

"Hai, sensei."

Henry sighed quietly to himself as his eyes remained on the ceiling. The last thing he wanted was for Briana, who was practically like another little sister to him, to be in danger and at an bigger risk but he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep it from her. Then, his thoughts wandered to the five mutant turtles and he knew that he couldn't keep it from them—not when Briana meant so much to them as she did to him. But first, he had to find a way to convince Splinter that telling the truth about Briana to the five mutant turtles would definitely be a great help in making sure that she remains safe because deep down inside of him, there was a feeling that told him that it wouldn't be easy to make sure Briana is safe.

And he had a feeling it was only going to get harder from there on.

👑👑👑

THE NEXT DAY, it was a nice, casual day at the lair after everything that's been happening and they were all enjoying the chance to laid back and relax for a bit. The only one that couldn't seem to focus was Henry, who was having a hard time keeping everything he learnt from his conversation with Splinter to himself as the idea of keeping everything he learnt to himself but the first thing he had to do was somehow convinced his teacher that telling the truth to the five mutant turtles would definitely helped their case.

"Who wants to try my latest creation?" Michelangelo asked loudly. "We all love pizza, we all love milkshakes, so I combined them!"

They all winched at the sound of that.

Donatello looked up from his laptop to stare at his brother. "Okay, that could not be less appetizing."

Michelangelo grinned, pulling his hands from behind him. He was grasping a large glass filled with a mixture of blended red-and-orange sludge. "I call it a P-shake!"

"And you've officially ruined pizza for me." Eclipse said while Raphael shook his head in disgust at what their brother was holding.

Donatello looked like he was about to vomit as he turned his head away, covering his mouth with both hands as his face looked a little greener than usual. "I stand corrected."

"Too far this time, Mikey," Henry said. "I may love pizza, but not that much."

Michelangelo shook his head. "You guys have no sense of adventure."

And with that, he tipped the glass into his mouth and drank some. A second later, his eyes widened and he spat back into the glass as the others groaned in disgust.

"Where did I go wrong?" He asked sadly before he paused.

"Please don't—" Briana warned but he ignored her and started chugging the drink, causing the rest of them to groan from the disgust again. "Mikey, that's gross!"

"Don't care!"

He continued chugging and Leonardo shudders, flipping the TV to the next channel. Sure enough, he found what he and Briana were looking for: Space Heroes.

"In all my travels, I've never seen anything as cute as these Strumpets. But I'll be darned if they're not the most annoying species in the cosmos!"

"Captain, we've got to find a humane way to get rid of them!"

"If there's one thing I'm known for, it's my humanity. Open the airlock!"

Both Briana and Leonardo were watching the cartoon with wide grins, their eyes beaming with the obvious fangirl/fanboy joy.

"You two have to be the only ones in the world that like this show." Raphael commented.

Leonardo shook his head. "No way! There are millions of Spaceniks out there!"

"Spaceniks? Is that what the fans are calling themselves?" Eclipse questioned.

Raphael smirked at those words before snatching the remote from Leonardo's grasp as he changed the channel to the news.

"I'm Joan Grody," the news woman said. "With a Sewer Shocker! City workers attacked... by mutants?"

Henry's head shot up towards the tv from his comic book.

"Take a look at this terrifying footage!"

The image on the tv switched to a video of the same sewer worker. He pointed a night-vision camera at himself. "So, some people think the sewers are dark and scary. But actually, it's a lotta—"

His face fell as he turned around to find a large, towering creature standing right behind him. It growled and lunged at the man, who screamed.

"Ahh! Somebody help me!"

The video ends as the news woman comes back on the tv. "Are malicious mutants menacing Manhattan? Find out next on Grody to the Max!"

"I got a bad feeling about this." Donatello said.

"You and me both." Eclipse said with a nod.

"The last thing we need is some mutant causing trouble in the sewers." Leonardo said.

"Or some news crew down here looking for him." Henry added.

Leonardo nodded as he stood up. "We've gotta track this guy down and stop him ourselves."

"Wait," Donatello said as he grabbed the remote. "Let's rewind this. I think I saw a tunnel number..." he pressed the button and started to rewind it back to the footage. After a moment, he finally paused the tv. "There! Tunnel 281!"

👑👑👑

EACH ONE OF them knew the sewers like the back of their hands so, it was easy to get to the tunnel. By the time they got there, the entrance itself was blocked by yellow police tape so, they went under it and walked into the tunnel. "Whoa, check it out," Leonardo called out towards the others as he showed them a giant footstep embedded in the ground.

"What the heck made those footsteps?" Eclipse questioned.

"Look," Donatello said, pointing down the tunnels where the footsteps led off.

They continued to follow the footsteps, tracking the prints. But before long, Henry's ears pricked at something that was up ahead; growling and the more they continued down the path, the growling only got louder and louder. Just as they reached the corner, they stopped walking and peeked out to find the Kranng firing their guns at a tall, raging mutant alligator. The mutant alligator roared with fury as he tore up every droid within range. The droids tried firing their guns, but the lasers simply bounced off his skin. One droid jumped on the creature's back, but the mutant grabbed it and threw it off. He grabbed another droid in its jaws, thrashed around, and threw him away. The decapitated droid flew at the seven teenagers, who quickly moved aside as the droid slammed into the wall.

"I never thought I'd feel sorry for the Kranng." Donatello said.

The mutant alligator then got jabbed by one of the Kranng droids that was holding a taser. The alligator growled and fell to the ground.

"Tell Kranng in what place can be found the power cell that Kranng wishes to find the place of," the droid demanded.

The alligator lifted its head, roaring in the droid's face. "Never!"

At once, several more droids hit the alligator with more tasers this time and once again, the alligator roared in pain. Briana couldn't help but frown at the sight of that, feeling bad for the mutant that was currently getting tortured.

Michelangelo grabbed Raphael's arm and tried to pull him forward. "Come on, we gotta help him!"

Raphael pulled his arm back. "I think gotta is a strong word."

"Yeah, I'm with Raph on this," Eclipse said in agreement. "How do we know that we can even trust this guy?"

Briana frowned slightly as she pointed towards the mutant alligator. "Look at him, he needs our help!"

"Bri, they're right. We don't know anything about this guy." Henry said.

"He could be way more dangerous than the Kranng." Leonardo added in agreement.

"That gator dude needs our help. We can't wait around for you cowards!" Michelangelo said.

"Do you know what you're getting into?" Donatello asked.

Michelangelo didn't answer as he took out his nunchucks and jumped into the fight, already taking down the Kranng droids. "Booyakasha!"

Briana then took out her katana blade and joined the fight as well, taking out the droids with her brother.

"Well, that settles it. Let's go whack some piñatas!" Raphael said, taking out his sais as the rest of them drew their weapons and joined the fight.

By the time that the fight was over, the Kranng droids had been defeated and both Michelangelo and Briana were by the unconscious alligator's side in a instant. "So, what do we do now?" Donatello asked.

"We gotta get out of here before more Kranng show up." Leonardo said.

Michelangelo and Briana tensed at the words, neither one wanting to leave the mutant behind. "We can't just leave him here!" Michelangelo argued. "What if the Kranng find him?"

"Yeah, we gotta help him!" Briana said in agreement.

"Well, what do you two want to do? Take him back to the lair?" Henry asked sarcastically, not thinking they'd actually agree to that.

Michelangelo smirked as he nudged Briana and whispered something into her ears. Catching on instantly to what he said, Briana immediately gave the others her puppy-dog eyes that the orange masked mutant turtle taught her back when they were kids.

"Oh, no. Oh, no! Not happening!" Henry said, doing his best not to fall for her puppy-dog eyes.

Raphael, Donatello, and Eclipse simply turned their heads away, leaving Henry and Leonardo to deal with that on their own since they knew that if they kept looking at her puppy-dog eyes, they'd craved in to Briana.

"Henry's right, did you guys not see what he did to those Kranng droids? We are not bringing that monster home with us." Leonardo said.

"He's not a monster!" Michelangelo argued. "He's a... giant, Kranng-crushing, mutant alligator monster!"

Briana blinked at his words. "Uh, Mikey?"

Michelangelo blinked as if he knew what he'd just said. "I said monster, didn't I?"

"Yep."

"Sure did."

"You got that right."

"Uh-huh."

"Well, you know what I meant!"

"I thought you meant monster," Raphael said simply.

"Me too."

"Yep."

Michelangelo frowned. "Fine! I'll bring him back myself!"

While Michelangelo was trying to move the alligator, which he barely got the mutant to move, Briana went back to look at Leonardo and Henry as she gave them her puppy-dog eyes again. Raphael, Donatello, and Eclipse once again looked away from her puppy-dog eyes while whistling, leaving the two leaders of the team on their own while Leonardo and Henry gritted their teeth, trying not to crave.

"Aw, sewer apples," Henry muttered under his breath as a sigh left his lips. He looks over at the blue masked mutant turtle, who makes eye contact with him. "Just said it, you know we can't win."

And with that, Leonardo sighs before he motions for them to help. At this, Briana grins widely before moving to grab one of the alligator's limbs as the others do the same and they finally started to drag the mutant alligator away.

👑👑👑

"I CAN'T BELIEVE you two agree to this." Eclipse said as they reached the lair with the mutant alligator that they brought back with them.

"Yeah, how are we supposed to explain this to Sensei?" Raphael added in agreement.

"Blame Mikey, he's the one that taught Bri how to make the puppy-dog eyes." Leonardo grumbled.

"It's not my fault you guys are easy to bend," Briana said with a wide smile on her face. "Besides, it's also not my fault that you guys spoil me."

"Yeah, clearly, too much."

"Aww, look at him!" Michelangelo said as he grabbed a teddy bear and placed it by the giant's head once they had him in a good spot. "He's so peaceful!"

"That's because he's out cold." Henry said.

Then, Donatello approached, holding several long lengths of chains in his hands. He held up the chains as he cautiously walked towards the gator.

Michelangelo noticed and glared. "Whoa, what are those for?" He demanded.

"We can't keep him here unless he's chained to something really big." Donatello stated.

"But that's so mean!" Briana argued.

"That's so wrong!" Michelangelo added in agreement, hugging the mutant's head. "He's not gonna hurt us, we're the ones who saved him!" The mutant shifted, his large eyes opening. "See?" He whispered. "He's perfectly calm. I bet the first thing he's gonna do is thank—" the mutant shot up, sending the mutant turtle falling back. The creature roared, making them jump as the alligator grabbed the teddy bear and tore it in half. "Or, maybe the second thing!"

The gator roared and lunged forward, grabbing Donatello by his head.

Donatello then dropped the chains and yelled as he was lifted into the air. "Get him off me! Get him off me!"

"I'll help you, Donnie!" Michelangelo picked up one of the chains and twirled it above his head, flinging it forward to wrap around Donatello's waist.

"Not like that!" Donatello protested.

While the others began pulling on the chains and trying to get the purple masked mutant turtle down, Briana walked over and dodged the alligator as she ducked underneath. Then, she pressed two fingers against the alligator's neck that caused the alligator to quickly collapse onto the ground, dropping Donatello as the alligator fell back asleep.

They all turned to the purple haired girl, blinking. "How you'd do that?" Eclipse asked.

"Alligator pressure points," Briana explained.

"Alligator pressure points?" Henry questioned.

Briana nodded. "Sensei taught me."

"What is all this commotion?"

Everyone froze, turning to see Splinter staring at them with a stern look.

"Sensei, Mikey and Bri made us bring a mutant back to the lair, and it attacked us!" Raphael said.

"It needed our help!" Michelangelo argued.

Raphael wasn't convinced though. "It's a dangerous monster!"

"Just like you," Unagami taunted Briana from inside her head with a smirk. "How long do you think you can hide me from them? It's only a matter of time before they see you the same way."

Briana gritted her teeth as she did her best to ignore the demon in her head, squeezing her eyes shut for a second when she heard multiple voices whispering in her head, holding back a winch of pain from what felt like a war going on inside her head.

"Embrace your fate as the last Destroyer."

"It's your destiny to destroy the world."

"The prophecy must be fulfilled."

"Raphael," Splinter's firm voice snaps Briana out of it as the voices in her head disappears and the pain vanishes. "There is no monster more dangerous than a lack of compassion." The mutant stirred, growling lowly. "My mistake."

"We're doing to him what everyone else does to us," Michelangelo said. "Judging him by his looks!"

"And..." Donatello stood slowly. "The fact that he had me BY THE FACE, MIKEY!"

"But he was fighting the Kranng, Sensei!" Briana added, wanting nothing more than to forget about what Unagami said and the voices she keeps hearing every now and then.

"Yeah, it's like you always say! The enemy of my enemy is my bro!" Michelangelo added.

Splinter stared at his youngest son, eyebrows raised. "That is not exactly what I said. But what's this about the Kranng?"

"They were trying to force him to tell them where they could find some... power cell." Henry explained.

"And he refused to tell?"

"Yeah!" Michelangelo piped up. "They were all like, zap zap zap! And he was all like, roar! Never!"

Splinter then turned to face his youngest daughter. "And Briana? You supported Michelangelo?"

Briana nodded. "Yes, Sensei."

"I see," Splinter said. "You made a wise decision, Michelangelo. As did you, Briana."

Leonardo, Henry, Raphael, Donatello, and Eclipse stared with wide eyes at what he said. "Huh!?"

Splinter nodded. "Yes, I never thought I'd hear myself say that either." He kneeled before the gator and examined him closely. "His scars run deep, but they protect a genuine heart," he said lowly. He looked up. "When he awakens, Michelangelo, Briana, you two must find a way to befriend him."

"No problemo," Michelangelo said, giving a thumbs up while Briana nodded.

"We need to learn what he knows about the Kranng," Splinter said as he stood and looked at the others. "In the meantime, the rest of you try to find this power cell before the Kranng can."

"But, we're still chaining him up, right?" Donatello asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Splinter said, tapping his head with his stick. "I am compassionate, not insane."

👑👑👑

"YOU REALLY THINK this'll work?" Briana asked as she watched her brother making something in the kitchen while the others had gone out to try to find what it was that the alligator was hiding.

"Trust me, Little Prankster," Michelangelo said enthusiastically, calling her by his nickname for her. "Nothing says friendship like pizza-noodle soup!"

Briana blinked at those words. "Are we sure that's a good combination?"

"Definitely!" Michelangelo said, stirring the soup.

A few minutes later, the mutant alligator began to stir before opening his eyes and growled. "Where am I...?" He lifted his head, his growls becoming angrier as he sprang to his feet.

"Mikey! He's awake!" Briana shouted.

She frowned slightly as she watched the gator pulled on the chains but they held him down. She felt bad that the alligator had to be chained up but she understood why they had to keep him like that yet she did her best to ignore the urge to set him free.

Then, Michelangelo emerged from the kitchen, holding the pot of soup with a grin. "Well, look who's awake."

The gator roared and reached for the turtle. "You! Set me free!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry about the chains," Michelangelo said apologetically. "The guys said we had to keep you locked up or you might attack us."

"Who are you?" The gator demanded. "What am I doing here?"

"I'm Michelangelo," he answered cheerfully, holding out a hand.

"And I'm Briana," she answered with a small wave.

The gator glared at them and snapped his jaw angrily.

"Our brothers, our sister, and us saved you from the Kranng." Michelangelo explained.

The mutant suddenly growled, rearing back his head and roaring loudly. "Kranng!"

The mutant gator yanked on the chains, trying to break free but they didn't budge. The gator then fell to his knees and hands, looking exhausted as if he hadn't slept for weeks.

"Whoa, take it easy, we're not gonna hurt." Michelangelo said. "You're safe. We brought you here so you could get better. And nothing will heal you faster than my world-famous pizza-noodle soup!"

"I don't think we could call it world-famous since nobody else ate it," Briana said.

Michelangelo just shrugged, taking a spoonful of the soup and held it out to the gator. The mutant looked at it for a moment and a second later, leaned forward and ate it. To both Michelangelo's and Briana's surprise, the gator licked his teeth, looking satisfied.

"This is the best thing I've ever tasted," the gator said, his growl of a voice returned back to calm.

Briana felt her jaw dropped open from the surprise of those words. 'I guess it was a matter of time when someone likes Mikey's weird food combinations with pizza.' She thought secretly to herself.

"Really? Alright!" Michelangelo said as he pumped a fist in the air. "Someone finally likes my cooking!"

He sat down with the pot in front of him, the gator straightened and sat down as well. The orange masked mutant turtle then began feeding him and the gator ate it happily. Grinning, Briana moved to sit down next to her brother.

👑👑👑

BRIANA WAS ENJOYING the time that she and Michelangelo had spent talking to the gator, who was surprisingly nice when he was calmed down. "So, what's your name anyway?" Michelangelo asked curiously.

The gator then hung his head, saddened. "I do not have one..."

"You don't have a name?" Michelangelo asked as he stood up. "Ha! Well, today's your lucky day! Cause I'm a genius at naming stuff!" He looks the gator up and down. "Hm, let's see."

He started walking around the gator, poking and prodding at him. He even opened the gator's jaws and looked inside. Then he stood on his tiptoes and rubbed the top of the gator's head. "Your head is kinda leathery... How about Headleather? Heather?"

Briana giggled. "Heather's a girl's name, Mikey."

"Oh, yeah," Michelangelo said before thinking a bit more as his eyes then widened. "No, wait, Leatherhead!" He stood in front of the gator. "Even better! Leatherhead!"

The gator sat up, smiling. "Leatherhead it is, thank you."

"No problemo," Michelangelo grinned, folding his arms. "It's what I do."

"He does it very often." Briana added, Leatherhead chuckled and she smiled while her brother sat back down next to her.

"So, I've been wanting to ask you," Michelangelo leaned forward. "Why'd you go all crazy-eyes on our brother Donnie?"

Leatherhead sat up. "Your brother?"

"Yeah," Michelangelo said. "Instead of shaking his hand, you shook his face. And most of his body."

Leatherhead then looked down as he suddenly looked horrified.

"Are you okay?" Briana asked, a worried expression in her eyes.

He didn't respond immediately but closed his eyes. He breathed deeply before opening them. "There are times when I lose control," he growled sadly. "When I awakened, I am horrified by what I have done. A monster like me deserves to be chained!"

Briana frowned, as if she could feel her heart breaking by his words. "You're not a monster."

The gator hung his head. "You're very kind, but a monster is all I've ever been."

"Or maybe you just think you're a monster because everyone treats you that way." Michelangelo said softly.

Leatherhead looks up at him, staring for a few seconds. "You are wise beyond your years."

"Yeah," he grinned. "I get that a lot."

"And you," Leatherhead said as he looks over at Briana. "You are possibly the most kindest person I've ever known."

"Yeah, that's my little sis for ya," Michelangelo said with a smile towards her. "She's always this nice."

Briana couldn't help but blush in embarrassment and smile shyly while rubbing the back of her neck from the compliments. Then, both Michelangelo and Briana shared a look with each other and it was if they both knew what they were going to do next and in complete agreement with each other.

"Alright, Leatherhead," Michelangelo said as he looked towards him. "We've decided to take your chains off."

Leatherhead straightened up. "But... why?"

"Because we trust you." Briana answered with a grin.

👑👑👑

LEATHERHEAD WAS DEFINITELY more happier off the chains as he was pleased to be able to stretch his legs. He even wanted more of Michelangelo's pizza-noodle soup so, he followed the orange masked mutant turtle and the purple haired girl to the kitchen where Michelangelo made more. Eventually, the others had gotten back to the lair from the pool and once they got out of the water, both Michelangelo and Briana walked over to them.

"Hey, guys!" Michelangelo greeted. "Leatherhead is totally off the chain!"

"You mean you set him free!?" Raphael demanded horrified as the others looked horrified as well.

"That's not what he meant." Briana said.

"Yeah," Michelangelo said. "Off the chain means he's cool." The others sighed in relief. "And that's why we set him free."

Leonardo, Henry, Raphael, Donatello, and Eclipse then gasped in horror as they quickly turned their heads in the direction that Michelangelo faced. Briana looked over to see Leatherhead had came out of the kitchen and held the large pot of soup in his hands, smiling at them.

"You guys let that maniac loose!?" Donatello demanded.

"Don't call him that!" Briana defended with a frown.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Donatello grinned sarcastically. "But maybe you forgot that he grabbed me by the face. So, I'll remind you: he grabbed me... BY THE FACE!"

"Relax, you've been hurt worse since." Eclipse told him.

"Eh," Raphael said with a shrug in agreement. "She's not wrong."

"Guys, you shouldn't have unchained him." Henry said.

"Yeah, what if he goes berserk?" Leonardo added.

"He won't," Briana said as she then made her way over to the gator alongside Michelangelo. "Leatherhead, these are our brothers and sister," she gestures to them. "They just wanna talk to you for a bit, okay?"

He nodded. "Of course."

Briana smiled and turned back towards the others. "See? He's fine."

"Yeah, dudes, dudette," Michelangelo said in agreement, placing a friendly hand on the gator's snout. "He's totally mellow."

None of them seemed too convinced but Leonardo straightened determinedly. "Okay..." he walked forward slowly, chuckling nervously. "So, Leatherhead... about the Kranng..."

Clang! Leatherhead dropped the pot onto the floor, reared his head back, and roared. "Kranng!" He lashed out, swinging his arms at them.

Briana ducked and grabbed the gator's arm. "Leatherhead, no! It's okay, you're safe!"

"Dude, chill! Chill!" Michelangelo yelled, rubbing the gator's head.

Leatherhead went back down, falling to his knees. He breathed heavily as he calmed down.

"Shh, it's okay," Briana soothed, rubbing his arm.

"What were you thinking?" Michelangelo hissed at the leader.

"You said he was mellow!" Leonardo snapped.

"We didn't know you were gonna said the K-word!" Briana argued. "That's his trigger word, it's a sensitive subject!"

"Okay, what should I do?" Leonardo asked.

"I don't know!" Michelangelo snapped. "How about start with an icebreaker? Like, how was your day?"

"Fine," Leonardo said as he took a deep breath before smiling nervously. "Um... Leatherhead. How was your day?"

"It started out awful," Leatherhead growled lowly.

"Yeah, you were attacked by the Kranng." Michelangelo said.

Once again, Leatherhead roared. "Kranng!"

"Mikey!" Briana yelled.

"My bad!" Michelangelo ran up and jumped onto Leatherhead's head, trying to calm him down. "Whoa, buddy! Cleansing breaths, cleansing breaths..." Leatherhead fell to his stomach, panting from exhaustion of his outburst.

Briana rubbed Leatherhead's arm gently. "It's okay, take a deep breath, buddy."

Leatherhead nodded slightly.

Michelangelo slid down to kneel on the other side. "You know you're in a safe place now, right?"

"Yes..." Leatherhead growled.

"Our brothers and our sister just wanna ask you some questions," Michelangelo patted the gator's head as he spoke. "Do you think you can handle that?"

Leatherhead breathed deeply, closing his eyes for a second. "Yes..."

"Okay," Michelangelo grinned before turning to the others. "Now, what is it that you guys wanted to ask?"

Leonardo, Henry, Raphael, Donatello, and Eclipse stared at them before Leonardo, Henry, Raphael, and Eclipse turned their heads to look over at Donatello.

Donatello gulped, looking nervous. He stepped forward, rummaging through his satchel. "Okay... we—we just wanna know... what this is." He pulled an object from the bag: a large, glass container with something that looked like a pink, glowing crystal.

Suddenly, Leatherhead lunges forward and grabbed the purple masked mutant turtle's face. "Thief!"

"Oh, come on!" Donatello whined. Leatherhead lifted Donatello in the air, standing up and roaring louder than ever. Henry gritted his teeth, the loud roaring bothering his sensitive ears. "This is not my day!" The mutant turtle said through muffled shouting.

"Leatherhead, stop!" Briana said.

But the gator just roared louder. Leonardo, Henry, Raphael, and Eclipse drew their weapons and lunged at the gator. The gator just swung his large arm and threw the mutant turtle at them, who went flying. The power cell was knocked down and rolled onto the ground, Leatherhead went to reached for it but Raphael kicked it away from it. The power cell was knocked away and bounced against the wall.

Leatherhead turned and went after it. Raphael jumped on his back, jumped forward, and grabbed the power cell before the gator could. Leatherhead rolled onto his back toward Raphael, who was able to throw the power cell to Michelangelo before Leatherhead rolled on top of him. Leonardo, Henry, and Eclipse all ran forward and grabbed onto him.

"Leatherhead!" Briana yelled.

Leatherhead whipped his tail out and knocked the three of them off of him. He advanced on Donatello, snapping his jaw at him, who was pushed against the wall and Leatherhead growled.

"Leatherhead, relax, it's okay!" Michelangelo said.

Leatherhead turned to him. Roaring, he snatched the power cell from his hands. "Thief!"

"No! Put that down!"

Leatherhead growled and threw Michelangelo off of him. Michelangelo fell and slammed against one of his turnstiles. He looked up as Leatherhead bared his teeth.

"Leatherhead, stop!" Briana said, only for Leatherhead to roared again.

"Stop!"

Leatherhead turned and saw Splinter standing there, looking furious. "Get away from my children!"

Leatherhead opened his jaws and roared. Splinter didn't move, unfazed. As the gator charged, Splinter stood his ground and easily defended himself, having beaten the gator with ease.

"Leave this place! Out!" Splinter ordered.

Leatherhead growled at Splinter before snatching the power cell and turning. He jumped the turnstile and ran off, nobody noticing that Michelangelo and Briana had gone after him.

"Boys! Eclipse!" Splinter shouted, concern on his face as he rushed over to them. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Leonardo groaned as he sat up. "Yeah, we're okay."

"Where is Michelangelo and Briana?" Splinter asked.

"You don't think they...?" Donatello asked before he trailed off.

Immediately, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Henry, and Eclipse turned towards the turnstile, already having an idea where the two of them had gone.

👑👑👑

"DUDE, LEATHERHEAD!" MICHELANGELO shouted as he and Briana ran into the subway cart where they found the mutant alligator, who turned off the radio player. "What's the big idea, man?"

"You two should not be here," Leatherhead growled gently.

"We trusted you," Michelangelo said. "Then you freak out and attacked our entire family! I thought we were friends!"

Leatherhead turned to face them, a sad look on his face. "I warned both of you that there is a dangerous force inside me that I cannot control. And that is why I must be alone."

Briana frowned and shook her head. "No one deserves to be alone, Leatherhead. You don't deserve to be alone."

"Leatherhead!" Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, Henry, and Eclipse dive through the door with their weapons out. "Get away from Mikey and Bri, or we'll turn you into the world's uglier suitcase!"

"No!" Briana shouted as she moved to step in front of the gator, blocking their path. "He didn't mean it!"

"Please! I mean them no harm!" Leatherhead said desperately. "It was the Kranng who made me this way." As they lowered their weapons, Leatherhead continued. "I was raised by a kind, human boy but then, his parents discovered me, and dumped me in the sewer. The Kranng found me and took me to their dimension. They mutated me, and subjected me to horrible experiments. But they could not break my spirit! Six months ago, I escaped through the portal that they used to travel to Earth, and I stole this..."

He reached behind him and pulled out the power cell. It flowed bright pink, lighting up the inside of the cart.

"What did they use it for?" Donatello asked.

"It powers the portal," Leatherhead said. "Without it, no Kranng can enter or leave this dimension. I swore to keep it from them, and spare this world from their evil... even at the cost of my own life."

As silence overtook them, Henry felt his ears pricked up at the sound of movement from outside the cart, catching his attention. Henry looks over to stare at the door behind with narrowed eyes, trying to see what it was that he was hearing. Suddenly, the cart rattled, knocking them around.

"Give to Kranng the power cell that Kranng has come to demand that you give the Kranng." A voice said from the outside.

"It's the kranng!" Michelangelo stated.

"Quick! Barricade the doors!" Leonardo ordered.

The seven teenagers quickly rushed forward, pulling each door shut but it was jammed. The Kranng droids started pilling in on the door, trying to grab them or trying to get inside as well. One of the Kranng droids managed to get its arm through and attempted to take the power cell from Leatherhead but Eclipse sliced the robot's arm with her kamas. Then came a loud slam as Raphael and Michelangelo managed to closed the door.

Nobody moved or said anything.

Then, the blade of a chainsaw was shoved through the door, another one plunged through the roof, and another through the wall. "We're surrounded!" Eclipse shouted.

"We'll never hold them off!" Michelangelo cried.

"We gotta get outta here!" Henry said. "Donnie, Bri, can you hotwire this subway cart and get it running?"

"The track is dead, there's no electricity." Donatello informed.

"But what about the power cell? Can't we use that?" Briana asked.

"Yeah, but we'll need time." Donatello added.

"I will buy you time." Leatherhead said as he stood up. Then, the gator looked down at Briana and Michelangelo. "My friends, you have trusted me, now I am trusting you." The mutant alligator lifted his hand, dropping the power cell into Briana's hand.

"What about you?" Michelangelo asked.

"I will deal with the Kranng."

He opened the door and charged at the alien robots. While Leatherhead was taking care of the kranng, Briana passed the power cell to Donatello and the two of them got to work on the subway cart while the others kept the alien robots from getting inside.

"Got it!" Donatello then thrust the power cell into the motor box.

The crystal inside of it started glowing brighter as a loud whirring sound got louder and louder. The cart shot forward, and the seven of them were all pushed back. They all screamed as the cart continued to go faster than they've ever gone. After what felt like an eternity, Donatello finally managed to pull the brakes and the seven of them lurched forward as the cart slowed to a stop, halting immediately. They slid down the wall, slumping on the floor, panting.

Nobody moved for a second before they all got up and pulled the cart doors open, the seven of them peeking out to see where they were.

"So, where the heck are we?" Eclipse asked.

"By my calculations," Donatello said. "Sewage plant."

"Wow," Michelangelo breathed. "It's as beautiful as they said."

"You guys think Leatherhead's okay?" Briana asked.

"Yeah, I think he's gonna be fine." Henry reassured.

"Besides, it's the Kranng who are in trouble now." Raphael said, having a feeling that the kranng were practically toast now.

"Um, I have a question," Leonardo said. "How do we get this thing back to the lair?"

Not a single one of them knew how to answer that.

"Well, now you guys know what I meant now by saying that I don't have a single mean bone in my body. I told you, didn't I?"