Thanks to the readers so far! Hopefully this chapter works - it's probably not the best, but that's for you to decide. I own nothing except for Tripper!

Section II
Chapter IV

The next morning, April awoke to drifting howls. They seemed relatively close, closer than usual, so she decided to get out of the apartment for a little while. Dragging Casey with her, she left and made her way through the rain to one of the nearby cafés to wait. She directed her gaze out the window as she sat down in one of the window-side booths, and to her surprise, she saw a large white wolf hiding in the shadows. Its paws were muddy and scarred, while its fur was matted and caked with dirt.

"Casey, look," April said, tugging on his sleeve. He turned and looked out the window, but the white wolf was gone.

"What was it, April?" he asked. "A wolf or somethin'?"

)))

Speaking of the white wolf, she was hiding in the shadows, keeping to the dark spots. But that wasn't difficult, as she was always in the darkness. As soon as she could, she jumped out of the alley and ran, unseen, to the park. After fumbling over a few wet, fallen logs and stepping all over soaked leaves, she reached a grassier, deserted area. Most people had abandoned the park, but there was still one section where people could go and play, so long as no wolves were heard with a ten mile radius.

Tripper paused and pricked up her ears, listening for a slight sound. She heard howling, but it was different this time. As she honed in on the howling, Donatello dropped from one of the nearby trees. Her left ear twitched sideways and in an attempt to get a grip on the new smell and sound, she turned her head slightly. "It's just me," Donny replied, holding his hands up defensively. Snickering in an affectionate way, she pawed the ground, which meant that she wanted him to come over to her. "Why don't you come over here?" Donny paused and waited.

With a hesitant step, she started forward, but she stopped again. "Just try and use your sense of smell." Taking a quick whiff of the air, she moved towards him, but he stepped back. Everything else he had tried didn't work; her senses weren't any sharper than they had been two months earlier. So, taking a different approach – a slower one, at that – maybe he could get some work done. Tripper's ears were pricked as she tried to listen, but she just growled in frustration.

Donny walked over to her as the cold autumn wind blew across the path, sending up a swirl of leaves. "So, you wanted me to meet you here?" Tripper gave a slight nod and waited for Donny to start walking. The purple banded ninja was cautious as he reached up with a black strip of cloth – durable yet soft – and made a collar out of it. Surprisingly, Tripper only growled, but when he took hold of it and pulled her along next to him, she stopped fighting it. "Just so that I can keep track of you."

And he just received a skeptical snort.

Feeling a little better about things, she moved a little faster, letting Donny do the steering so that she could lead him where she wanted to go. When they finally reached a place where the asphalt path ended, and the leaves piled up, she stopped. At first, Donny didn't understand, but a gray wolf emerged from the shadows. It was the same one that Raphael and Mikey had fought on the first night when they had picked up Tripper. It was limping and battle scars tore through its fur.

Tripper snorted, her breath easily seen in the cool air, before she crouched down, bringing Donny down with her. The opposing wolf sat back on its haunches and growled, so the white wolf accompanying the purple banded ninja growled in return. Donny realized they were having some sort of conversation, but he'd ask Tripper what it was about later. It got heated; her upper lip curled back into a snarl, while the gray wolf rumbled out an almost earth-shattering growl.

Before Donny could come up with a diplomatic solution to the issue at hand, the wolves sprang forward. Pulling out his staff, he stepped in front of them. However, Tripper shoved him out of the way and went for the wolf before her. They danced around each other for a moment before lunging, but both attacks missed. The other wolf retreated, backing into the forest, but not before Tripper made a break for it, relying only on wolfish senses this time. She managed to take a chunk of shoulder out, but other than that, the other wolf got away.

Donatello approached Tripper, but a snarl made him back away. He noticed a pinkish substance on the ground where the other wolf had been and after closer examination, it looked more like mutagen. Avoiding touching it, he led Tripper back to the path and left her there, going to get the other turtles.

Bringing Leo and Mikey up to the surface was no problem, but Raphael didn't want anything to do with Tripper of the wolves, so he was harder to persuade. Finally, with some persuasion, they got the whole group of four up top, and into the park – unseen. When Donny led them back to the end of the asphalt path, Tripper was sitting on the bench. She barked when she noticed that they had brought along Raphael.

"Don't start this again," Leo said firmly, directing it at Raphael and Tripper. They both snorted and said nothing more. "What's up, Don?"

"This," he replied, pointing to the pink substance. The turtles gathered around while Tripper sat blankly on the bench, not bothering to follow after them.

"How'd mutagen get out here?" Mikey queried, looking at his brothers.

"Well, I didn't see it when we first came out here," Donny started, "but after the other wolf left, it was right there."

"Other wolf?" Raphael said in a demanding tone.

"Wait, you don't think the wolves got hold of any mutagen, do you?" Leo asked, ignoring his younger brother's question.

"I don't see how," Donny responded thoughtfully. Raphael rolled his eyes and turned around, glaring at Tripper. She caught on and gave him an annoyed growl in reply to his glare. "It wouldn't make sense, unless they have someone helping them. Someone who would know just what mutagen could do." Tripper and Raphael were going at it again, but the three just ignored them for the time being. "Purple Dragons…? I doubt it, unless they've gotten their hands on any of it lately."

"We'll wait and see," said Leo. He turned to his brother and the "wolf-girl" as she had been dubbed. "Alright, enough you two." Leo stood in between them, giving them each stern glances. Tripper woofed and just sat there, as Raphael turned away and started off. Tripper clambered to her feet and ran after him blindly, slamming into a tree in the process. She stood up and made sure she was back on the path before running after Raphael again.

It was hard for her not to fight with him; even though she wanted respect she wasn't willing to be walked all over like a doormat. The white wolf barked. She hadn't expected him to turn around, nor could she tell that the turned around, so consequently, she slammed right into him. Scrambling to her feet and steadying herself, she snarled once more, however, it came out as a whimper crossed with a snarl. Raphael just turned back around and continued walking. It took her a minute to realize he was walking away again, so she jolted after him once more.

Again, she ran head-first into a tree.

This time, Raphael laughed at her – only to make her mad. Tripper snarled; it started as a low growl but it grew as she got angrier. Before they knew what had happened, the white wolf had blindly flung herself at Raph. He pulled out his sai, but she just knocked them away with her paw. Growling, she attacked relentlessly, but due to her blindness, Mikey and Leo were able to pry her off of the red banded turtle. Before they could even and try to calm her down or get her under control, she snapped at them and darted away.

Her paws had specks of mud and blood on them.

Raphael got to his feet and retrieved his sai. He was merely scratched up, a few cuts and scrapes here and there. But he was angry. What gave Tripper the nerve to attack him that way? "I'm goin' after her," he started, furious. "It's time for some damage control." With that, the hot blooded Raphael took off down the path, following after the wolf. Leo turned to his brothers.

"That just proves the theory that we can't trust Tripper," the blue banded ninja said, a heavy sigh accompanying these words. Mikey nodded his agreement, as Donny looked at them thoughtfully. Even if the white wolf was his friend, his brothers came first – and they were right. He nodded his head in agreement, as Leo said, "We have to calm Raph down, though, before he does something irrational." The three brothers took off down the path.

)))

Tripper burst into the city, running through the streets and down the sidewalk, not caring if she was spotted. She was running for all she was worth. She didn't care if she ran into things – it didn't matter. She had made a mistake in attacking Raphael that way, and she was running from the inevitable. She had nothing to lose – nothing to gain – and so she blocked out all rational ideas for the moment and let the wolfish senses (of hearing and smelling) take over. However, they were still weak and she didn't get very far…

…before Raphael caught up to her. She pricked her ears up and ducked into a dark alleyway as he dropped off the rooftop above them. Catching her off guard, he blocked her path. Tripper snarled and backed up, unsteady paws shaking even more now. Since she was unable to use her senses to her advantage, he had the upper hand. She was about ready to give up the fight, but with one last little attempt to defend herself, she swiped. It was a clean cut, right through his shoulder.

But even in spite of this, he still had the upper hand.

Tripper gave up completely then, crumpling down, waiting for the final blow. Raphael raised the sai…but Master Splinter's voice rang clear in his head. And then he realized what he was about to do. "What…?" Even though he was hot tempered, this was pushing it a little too far. He wasn't supposed to kill anyone innocent, even if she had attacked him first. Putting his sai away and stepping back, Raphael remembered that killing in general didn't really solve any problems; sometimes, it only made things worse.

He may not have liked her at the time, but killing her wouldn't do any good.

Just as he was about to climb back up the side of the building, something large and rather furry attacked him. It was the black wolf. Ice blue eyes glared down at him, as he realized he couldn't reach his sai and that he was pinned to the ground. It was as if the wolf was saying, "This is it. I've got you now."

Tripper stirred, growling in questionable manner. She could hear the other wolf growling and she sensed the struggle. He didn't kill me? She thought to herself. Raphael hadn't killed her? Maybe he was a decent turtle after all. The wolf clambered to her feet – with this knowledge, she felt compelled to save him from the black wolf. But she was no super hero; how was she to do so? However, that compelling feeling (however odd it might have been) never left her as she stood, listening to the hissing growls of the other wolf.

Blindly, she launched forward, coming in contact with the black wolf. They snarled and rolled across the wet asphalt, biting each other and trying to come out of the fight alive. The black wolf was astonished, and in fury, it gained the upper hand and attacked Tripper with all its strength. The white wolf was forced back again, and blood matted her fur and her opponent's fur.

Raphael was on his feet in an instant. She saved me? He thought to himself. Tripper hadn't left him to die? Maybe she was a decent "wolf-girl" after all. The red banded turtle contemplated what to do for a moment, before returning the favor – doing what Tripper had intended to do for him. He used his sai to injure the black wolf. It glared at him furiously, and attacked him once more. This time, however, Tripper got up and they double-teamed the opposing wolf.

It ran off, limping, eyes ablaze with fury.

Tripper collapsed next to Raphael, her injuries taking their tolls. Raphael knelt next to her as Donny and the others appeared. "What happened, dude?" Mikey asked. Raph explained the story as Donny knelt beside Tripper, who was dying because she had been so battered and bruised.

"Hold on," Donny said, examining the deepest wounds. "We need to get her back to April's place – the Lair would be better, but I don't think we could get down there unseen with a giant white wolf."

"Uh…hey, Don," Raphael started, as they searched for a way for her to get her down to the sewers. His purple banded brother gave him a questioning glance. Knowing Donatello was listening, Raphael continued by saying, "Tripper got me out of a tight squeeze… It's hard to admit, but she saved me. Why would she do that if she hates me?"

"We all do bold things every once in a while," Donny replied with a shrug.

"I guess…"