Author's Note: Welcome again to another chapter! So, you know how April would do one-on-one sessions? Well, first up she'll be doing it with Karai. I think there's still some unresolved tension between the two, but they're about to get it settled one way or another, if April can keep herself from going ballistic again. Plus, we'll be learning what Donnie's prognosis is. Will he be able to walk or even be a ninja anymore? Well, just read and find out!


Chapter 7: Between Us Girls

"So…what's my prognosis, Rockwell?"

Donatello couldn't hide the wince on his face that came from his pain-filled shell being touched. Laying on his side caused more discomfort, but it was the least-painful way for Dr. Rockwell to check for signs of healing. Donnie was skeptical, seeing as it was only a week since he woke up, that any healing occurred. He also took into account possible damage caused by his 'outburst' after seeing…her. Just thinking of her made his body tremble in dread, something Rockwell quickly caught during the examination. Donnie knew the mutant chimp was concerned when he felt his hand on his jittery shoulder.

"Donatello, I can't see any changes if you keep trembling. Try to keep calm, my boy." Rockwell scolded gently.

Donnie reluctantly complied and allowed Rockwell to keep checking his shell, no matter how painful. Rockwell looked over the shell and saw the remnants of the amateur patchwork done, and it caused him to feel shame for a moment. He was a scientist and knew of biology, yes, but he wasn't a doctor found at a local hospital. When it came to surgeries or putting a broken body part back together, he did as well as Donatello's medically-unqualified brothers. If anything, his concerns were that this patchwork did more harm than good. If April's attack didn't cause paralysis, then shoddy medical work would…

"There seems to be healing in the shell. The keratin is regenerating slowly, but surely. Since I brushed up on my knowledge of turtles, I'm much more prepared if further repairs are needed." Rockwell's calm smile faded and his eyes immediately focused on the turtle's legs. "But this is the moment of truth. Donatello…try moving your legs."

Donnie took a deep breath and attempted to heed Rockwell's request. Both of his legs trembled crazily, an early sign that they still functioned. But would they actually move instead of just trembling? Donnie barely lifted his left leg forward before it fell back with a cry of pain. With pain radiating in his thigh and all of his shell, it masked the sense of surprise and relief he felt. His leg actually moved, and he could feel pain in it. There was a chance he would recover, but what if it led to something worse? He constantly feared an infection, a severe case of sepsis, and his leg movement being a false sense of hope. And all because he just tried to be a good friend.

"It looks like your legs still function, but until your shell heals, you won't be able to move them without causing pain." Rockwell noted before preparing Donnie another dose of pain medication and water. "So as your shell heals, you must limit your mobility. I'll see if I can set you up with a wheelchair if you need to get around. Once you've healed enough, you'll need to undergo intense physical therapy to regain full function."

Rockwell heard no response from Donatello. As the mutant chimp turned to bring the medicine to him, he could hear quiet sniffles. He knew immediately Donatello was the source. He found himself confused as to why the turtle would be crying. Tears of joy at not being paralyzed? Or tears of pain from continuing to relive the horrific incident? Splinter told him of the fit triggered by April's presence, and even he could sense a dark influence attaching itself to her. Whether or not he wanted to place full blame on that influence, he didn't know. But he knew Donatello suffered enough.

"…Why…why did she do this to me?" Donnie asked, not actually addressing Rockwell. He slowly hugged his body with his trembling arms and closed his eyes, tears falling down his face. "…I just wanted to help her…"

"Donatello, you have no blame in this." Rockwell assured. "Put yourself first. Once you recover, then you can confront April."

Donnie only shook his head. "I…I actually…want to hate her for what she did. B-But I just want to know why…" A strangled sob, then, "I want to know…why that crystal's more important…"

Now he understood why Donnie didn't express happiness with his prognosis. He surely expected painful physical therapy and a long recovery. However, Donatello could handle physical pain…but he wasn't adept at handling emotional pain. Since this incident was caused by the girl Donnie adored-with a message that an alien trinket mattered more-the emotional pain threatened to be permanent.

'God, be with this poor child…' Rockwell prayed in deep sadness.


"You may be wondering why we are gathered here, April."

April was honestly surprised that Master Splinter didn't call her to the lair. She quickly deduced that it wouldn't rile up Raph and cause a physical altercation of some sorts. What surprised her more, however, was that Splinter called her to Shredder's old throne room at the abandoned Foot headquarters. She hadn't been here for weeks, not since her humiliating defeat against Shinigami, grimacing at the memories flooding back. But Splinter had to have a good reason to call her here, especially if he had to get her father involved in getting her to come. Maybe some new form of meditation to control her anger?

Then they walked in. April's shoulders hunched the moment she caught sight of Karai and Shinigami. Splinter brought her to their home turf for some strange purpose; perhaps they would humiliate her again as punishment over Donnie. But Splinter wasn't cruel like the Shredder, so he had to have a good reason for this meeting.

'Look at them…lambs to the slaughter. Now you can show them the consequences of humiliating you.'

April ignored the thought and chose to have a silent stare-down with Shinigami. The witch didn't stare back with that usual condescending smirk, to her surprise. Shinigami's expression remained emotionless, her lips set in a small frown, while Karai shared the same expression. For them to not treat what was about to happen as a game made the tension grow in the room, most radiating from April. Splinter allowed for the stare-down to continue a minute longer, but decided that things needed to get moving now.

"In order to heal your relationships with everyone involved, we must get to the source of your anger." Splinter began, eyes boring into April's very soul and arms held behind his back to show his authority. "Words have been exchanged in the past, and your insecurities have caused conflict with others. It is time to face these insecurities one at a time, and a lesson to trust others to help with your problems."

The redhead stared incredulously at the rat and quietly asked, "And…how will I do that, Sensei?"

Splinter eyed the pathway to his nemesis' throne, glancing for a moment at his daughter and her friend. Looking at April again, the idea suddenly came to him. "There was an exercise I had Raphael perform long ago. He had to dodge arrows from his brothers while they threw insults in his direction. But you will perform the task differently."

His eyes went back to the other two girls, and he spoke firmly, "Shinigami, you may observe, since you are unaware of everything occurring before your arrival. Right now…" He paused and allowed his eyes to settle on Karai. "Let us settle the conflict between April and Miwa."

"What?" Karai, not April, stood straighter in surprise. "Father, we don't have a conflict anymore. We're allies, remember?"

"On the surface, yes. But I can feel resentments still buried beneath." Splinter corrected, yet used his statement as scolding in disguise. Miwa was a stubborn one, and like April, had a hard time admitting her weaknesses. "If not discussed, those resentments fester and cause great damage. April simply let hers show first."

Karai found herself humbled by her father's words. Maybe he wasn't just talking about any bad blood between her and April. Maybe he also addressed her desire to get even with Shredder for her mother's death the years of lies and abuse. She admitted that those factors often led her to taking her frustrations out on others, and April and Leo were often the targets of it. Once her need to get even caused Donatello to get hurt, she realized the severity of dragging them into her crusade, and decided it would just be her and the new Foot Clan. But if she wished to truly have April as her friend, she would have to voice the conflicts between them.

"Now, in this exercise, I want the both of you to engage in sparring." Splinter started, taking a place next to the observant Shinigami. He watched the two girls take opposite places on the walkway, and decided to surprise them with the second condition. "But as you spar, you must throw insults at each other. Do not give cheap shots, either; dig deep and do not hold back."

April and Karai stood in disbelief, and the former asked, "And how is insulting each other supposed to help?"

"It will allow you a setting where you can vent your darkest feelings about each other. Being honest with each other, even if it hurts, will bring you to an understanding with each other." With the statement spoken, and hopefully understood, he commanded, "Now…hajime!"

Both hesitated for a split-second, but Karai was the first to charge and swing her fist at April. If there was one thing she prided herself over besides her ninjitsu skills, it was the way her words could cut like a knife. Holding back wouldn't be an issue, either. Either April would listen, or this would be a one-sided fight.

"You can't beat someone who's trained her entire life in ninjitsu!" Karai's punch managed to hit April in the shoulder, but not with enough force to take her down.

April grimaced at the pain, but quickly charged with a roundhouse kick. "Well, I'm surprised the ninja under you listen to you! You're nothing but a bratty half-pint barking orders!"

The kick landed against the side of Karai's head. Karai, however, also refused to go down. The growing intensity of the sparring also made the intensity of the insults grow. She huffed, and shot her knee into April's stomach. "You're always whining about how you miss your normal life when I've had it worse than you!"

April coughed and doubled over from the pain in her stomach. Her anger began to leak through the surface, and the crystal gave a faint glow. Her hand twitched as though to reach for her tanto, but stopped herself short. She took a deep breath and fought to maintain control, as her anger caused the dire situation in the first place. But the anger wouldn't go away, though she decided to increase the force of her words.

"You're still no different from the Shredder!" April managed to catch Karai and painfully twist her arm behind her back. "You're as crazy-obsessive with revenge as he is!"

That struck a nerve with Karai. If there was one thing she and the others knew, it was that comparing her to the Shredder now was bound to bring up bad memories. She was nothing like him. She didn't mutate people she claimed to love, and she wouldn't kill the person she obsessed over because of some love triangle. She wouldn't lock up her child when they wanted the truth of their heritage. April was some spoiled girl who didn't know what true suffering was, and she would let her have it.

"At least I'm not some test-tube kid created by psychotic aliens to be a weapon of mass destruction!" Karai spun around and caught April in a headlock, teeth gritted and rage in her brown eyes at the previous insult. "You don't feel so special now, do you!?"

Splinter suddenly felt the situation growing out of control. "That is enough, both of you."

But they refused to listen. Their blows against each other grew increasingly violent, and Splinter feared he would have to physically separate them as he often did with Leonardo and Raphael. To his surprise, Shinigami held her arm in front of him. He didn't know what her intention was, but he would not let the fight evolve into bloodshed. When he opened his mouth and made a move to lower her arm, she beat him to the punch.

"They need this. Only step in when necessary."

April received a punch to the mouth and found herself surprised she still had her teeth. Karai was never one to hold back, not even against a 'novice'. Whether friend or foe, her fighting style was always 'go for the kill', even when they first butted heads before April moved to the lair for safety. It was just a lucky strike that allowed her escape, but she wasn't that weak little girl anymore. Whether or not they wanted to believe it, she was stronger. She was a legitimate threat. She could be a killer, too. She immediately hovered her hand over the handle of her tanto and shot Karai a poisonous glare.

'Kill her.'

"You always think you're so much better than me!"

April yanked the tanto out of its sheath and got a running start towards the other kunoichi. What Karai said next proved powerful enough to make her think twice about bringing the tanto in.

"You're everything Splinter wanted in a daughter!"

April stopped dead in her tracks. Karai still looked ready to go and pull out her own tanto, until she saw April's dragon tanto slip out of her hand and clatter against the floor. Why the sudden look of shock? Was it from the revelation, or realizing she was ready to kill her? Whatever the case, April just stared at her as though the confession surprised her that much. But for April, the confession told her everything she needed to know. It told her the reason as to why there was tension between the two in the first place.

Jealousy.

In the background, Splinter flattened his ears and looked away in shame. How could he not see it sooner? Perhaps his joy in having his daughter back blinded him to the envy between her and April, and knew it went both ways. Shinigami briefly looked surprised, but kept her emotions back in check. They both watched Karai and April catching their breaths and attempting to find a way to lessen the awkwardness of the situation. But Karai suddenly opened her mouth, and the normally-controlled kunoichi found the words tumbling out without any planning ahead.

"You're everything I should've been as Miwa, but Shredder ruined everything about me. And…Father doesn't look at me the way he looks at you. You're…everybody likes you. But look at me." She waved her hand between herself and April to emphasize the point, fighting to keep frustrated tears back. "Anything I say or do just hurts the people I care about. No matter how hard I try, I'm stuck being in the Shredder's shadow. Compared to me, you have it made, and you shouldn't take it for granted…"

April didn't know what to say. It was then she realized even more how alike she and Karai were, but also how different they were. Both lost their mothers, only Karai's mother was murdered by a man that supposedly loved her. She could possibly get her own mother back, but Karai would never get hers back. She never had to live with a man that expressed 'love' through abusive punishment. She lost her father to mutation, but got him back and the loving man he was, and she had a surrogate father in Splinter. Both had to be cursed as mutants, but April was never mind-controlled or feral. Compared to everything Karai went through, April suddenly felt her complaints about her life were petty. She had it hard due to the Kraang, of course, but she would never take for granted what she still had.

"If it makes you feel any better…I was always jealous of you." April replied. "You're so much stronger than me, and no matter how hard I work towards it, you're always a thousand steps ahead. You and the guys are always ahead, and I feel like I can never catch up. When Shinigami beat me, the both of you just mocked me for trying…and even though you said sorry, I didn't get over it." Hugging her arms and feeling the weight of the confession off her shoulders, she added, "Now I'm afraid that with you back, Splinter and the others don't need me anymore. I got so angry over it, and because of it…I tried to kill Donnie."

Karai wanted to offer some sort of reassurance to April, but feared saying something that would make things worse. That was when she noticed her father looking shameful, realizing that the confession impacted him, too. "F-Father-"

"No…you are right to express that, Miwa." Splinter spoke, his voice low and his ears remaining flat against his head. He stepped forward, hands remaining intertwined behind his back. "You are my daughter, but I did not get to raise you. I did not get to see you grow into who you are now or prevent the hellish circumstances and put you in Shredder's hands. But no matter what, you are my daughter and I love you…and I'm sorry that we are not as close as we should be. I'm sorry that I did not get you away from him."

His eyes went to the morose April, who looked away in shame. "April…I apologize for neglecting you when you needed me most. While I have been busy reconnecting with my biological daughter, I forgot that I also have a surrogate daughter, too. Never feel as though you are inferior to Miwa. You are both my beloved daughters, and I will never stop loving you or needing you. Not even in this grave situation."

Karai stepped aside in time for April to collapse against Splinter in sobs. She would have her moment with him later, but April needed it more now. At least now, the healing could begin with the two of them. While April stood with Splinter and cried it out, Shinigami came to her side and studied April for a silent moment.

"This is just a first step." She noted silently. "I can sense something inside her growing irritable."

"And what does that mean?" Karai asked cautiously, not taking her eyes off April.

"It may be that April is slipping out of its grip, if just a little. But if worse comes to worse…then I may finally try my hand at an exorcism."

Splinter soon let go of April and allowed her to find reconciliation with Karai and Shinigami. This time, he knew April would readily accept it. But his sad smile at watching her turned into a guarded frown. He could feel the dark cloud within her growling like a predatory animal, feeling the frustration at April pulling away from it. The more she did this, the weaker the darkness would become.

But now, things were going to get harder for her.


And so it looks like things are cool between the girls! Next up will be Mikey, and boy will things get interesting. Especially since Donnie will once again spot April, but will he have as bad a freak-out as he did the first time? Is April truly starting to slip out of the entity's grasp? Well, stay tuned and find out!