Purple Dragon, just normal daily life criminals on their way of breaking the laws. They were about the only problem the turtles had to face now after April and Casey's wedding, since Khan and the cyber Shredder were out of commission to lead the rebel Foot. Life had become quite dull, especially for Raph. At least the Foot could provide him a little more challenge with their ninja skills and all that tech toys stolen from Chaplin. Not that he complained about the weapons these Dragons were having these days, like right now when they had to take cover from a Triceraton bazooka, avoided getting turned into charcoal. The building they're in couldn't hold out much longer.

"Yo Leo! Got a plan B?" He shouted over the firing.

"Working on it!" Leo yelled back.

The wall they're hiding behind was being chipped away, reducing their cover. Hun just put down the bazooka only to grab another one. His underlings kept them in place with suppressing fire. There're not much options for Leo to choose from. If they jumped out, they'd become Swiss cheese in a second. If they stayed put, they'd be melted by the bazooka. Fearless darted his eyes to Don:

"Do you have any smoke pellets left?"

"Just a few, it won't be enough to cover all of us."

"Don't need to. When I give the signal, throw them out, aim for Hun. I'll take care of the rest."

"No way Fearless" Raph gripped his wrist "I ain't let ya be burnt into crisp like that."

"It's either one of us, or all of us! Raph, I need you to take Don and Mikey out while I deal with Hun."

"What? I…"

"Protect them, please!" Leo's voice sounded more like a plea than an order.

"Argh! Alright, but ya better come back. I'm gonna kick yer ass later."

"Do what you want. Ready Don? GO!"

The genius tossed the pellets over his shoulder, over the wall without even looking. They made a complete arc before falling in line right in front of the human gorilla and his goons, blinding them from the desperate turtles. Guns were still firing, but to no specific direction, and Hun still held the giant weapon over his shoulder, readied to fire with watering eyes. Leo ran right to him, knowing his brothers were on their way to safety when a beam of green light blasted right pass him, turned the wall behind into nothingness. It cleared up the smoke in an instant, revealing the leader right in front of the bazooka's muzzle, still way out of reach. He heard Raph yelled something in the distant, but couldn't make out what. All the guns were on him, and Hun's voice rumbled with triumph:

"Goodbye, freak!"

Before Hun could pull the trigger, a shadow dropped right on him. The man landed face down to the ground, head banged hard on the floor and was immediately knocked out. The rest of his minions were so shocked they couldn't react in time as the shadow lashed at them, taking them down one by one under the impressed turtles. Snapping out of trance, Leo and his brothers also joined the fray. Without Hun to lead them, they didn't put up much of a fight. As Leo fought alongside the shadow, it moved with such speed, and such grace which were so familiar to him. He recognized those movements anywhere, but why would that person help him and his brothers?

The last Purple Dragons fell with a dull thud, leaving the shadow now turned to them. Now Leo was sure: that slender body could only belong to…

"Are you losing your touch, turtles?" Karai let the hood on her head fell to her shoulder "Are these petty criminals now too much for you?"

"Karai? What are ya doing here?" Raph jumped to Leo's side, pointing the sai at her.

"I will explain when we leave this place. I already alerted the authority, they should be here any moment now."

Leo put a hand on Raph's shoulder, making him reluctantly comply. The ninjas climbed up the roof and followed Karai to a hotel building near the Foot headquarter, rightfully belonged to her. She turned to them with a light bow:

"I want to deliver my gratitude for your invitation upon your friends' marriage. I know the grudge we have for each other is hard to forget, and I did not expect to be invited, nor to confront the cyber version of… the Shredder."

"Actually, it was April's idea" Mikey tipped in "she said it was a long time ago, so we might as well let bygone be bygone."

"And as I recall, you were smiling during the whole ceremony, so April was right inviting you" Don quipped.

"It would be better if ya can control yer own soldiers" Raph retorted "As well as that virtual tin-head."

"I was aware of the rebellion, but did not expect they would attempt such hideous act. I am doing my best to suppress them. Nonetheless, I was truly happy for your friends and for you as well. Now I would like to do the same for you."

"What do you mean?" Leo raised an eyebrow.

Karai took off her glove to reveal a diamond ring on her finger. The four turtles widen their eyes.

"Chaplin just proposed to me the other day. We will hold a party to announce our marriage. But before that, I want to invite you all to a private ceremony, one which you will feel comfortable as you are, and bear witness to our engagement."

"Well… Now it's awkward" Raph said sheepishly "Didn't think ya would invite us."

"To be honest I was reluctant at first, afraid that you would not forgive me for hunting you in the past, but you did invite me, and Chaplin also put in his own word. Who knows, perhaps this can be a chance for all of us to mend old wounds."

The turtles couldn't help but smile at the thought, except one of their smiles was a little dwindling than the others. Leo nodded:

"I understand. I will ask permission from master Splinter. I'm sure he'll be happy for you. And… congratulation, I guess."

"Thank you. I'd like to extend the invitation to your father as well. It would be our honor to have him as our priest. Now if you excuse me, I still have guests to invite, such as your friends April and Casey. The ceremony will be held on this Saturday night at the Foot headquarter. Come whenever you feel comfortable."

With that, she vanished into the dark with a smile. For once, Leo didn't know how to react for such news. He and Karai went way back, with all the battles they have been through, with and against each other, he had grown a kind of affection toward the woman. He couldn't figure out what it was, not even now when he agreed to attend the party. One thing he knew though, he had to push it aside in order to smile brightly along with his brothers when they shared the news to master Splinter. The old wise rat could detect almost anything hidden within his sons, and right now Leo didn't really want to share his unknown feeling…

:::

Something's off with Fearless lately, Raph just knew it. The moment Karai told them she was about to marry that geek assistant of hers, Raph could feel the tense in Leo's voice. One or two days later, his suspicion was confirmed. His blue clad brother practically sealed his lips, except for when training and talking to their father. No doubt he was thinking about Karai. That woman crawled under Leo's skin more than once. If Raph had to tell his eldest brother about her, he'd say good riddance. Sure they had a lot in common: skillful ninjas, code of honor, not to mention the long forgotten grudge they once held against each other. Karai was like a human, female version of his brother, with an addition of viciousness. Raph never liked her much, even less when she wanted to hang his head on her walls as a trophy, but at least now they didn't lash at each other the moment they met like in the past. Oh well, the loss was all Leo's though. He didn't have any chance advancing toward her much, with all their travel to the future and in cyber space.

There's nothing much Raph could do to cheer his brother up. Might as well leave him be until he's out of his sulking mode. He on the other hand though, could still look for a partner. He didn't know if Karai invite the Acolytes, so he dialed for Joy's number. The last he heard, she was in New Jersey studying with her scholarship. The girl just had to have it all: brain and brawn.

"Hello?" Joy's voice sung on the other side.

"Hey Joy, it's me Raphael. How's yer study go?"

"I'm having summer break, just passed the exam with flying color. It's… rare to have you call me like this. What's the occasion?"

"Remember Karai? The girl we need ta drain the power of tha Tengu Shredder? Well, she's getting married."

"How can I forget, especially when she just invited me and the other Acolytes to the wedding." She chuckled.

"Cool. Wanna be my partner for tha wedding dance?"

"Oh! I'm… sorry but… I'm kinda going out with Adam right now. We've been dating for nearly a year."

"That's… great ta hear" Suddenly, the moist in his throat disappeared "Guess I'll see ya both at the party then."

He hung up before the blond girl could even say goodbye.

So… the girl's with Adam now. Good for her. He's a real nice guy, a gentle giant, not to mention he's somewhat a geek just like Donnie. She'll be happy with him. And Raph, he's a 6ft tall talking, mutated turtle. If it wasn't for all the commotion in their life, Raph wouldn't have any chance to go topside and appear in public. Yeah, Joy would find it real peachy to coop up in the sewer with him. What was he thinking? No matter how much their human friends loved them, they always ended up with one of their kind, never with them. Even Angel had her eye for a guy in her class.

It sucked being one of the only four mutant turtles ever walk the underground of the Earth. Raph wondered if his brothers ever had the same thought as him...