A/N: Okay, I literally wrote this chapter over and over again until I was finally satisfied! I wanted to add everyone into the story and, for some reason, I saw this as a fit way to add our favorite hockey player! *SPOILER ALERT* Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! So sorry that it took so long!

Stay Excellent!

It was only a week after the big fight on the surface. The days for Ellie were beginning to blur together. The fights with Raph and Mikey were a pain, due to the fact that Raph is so strong and Mikey is so unpredictable. Fighting with April is easier, but she's gotten a few cuts from that Tessen. But her hardest opponent is Leo, no doubt. Unlike all of the others, he doesn't let his emotions get in the way when fighting her. Instead, he wants to beat her. Since they got together at the beginning of the week, they've both been fighting to prove who the best is.

So far, Leo has won every time, embarrassing Ellie to the extent. But this time, she's been training with Raph more and more, and she's been seeking advice from Master Splinter on how to confuse or trick your opponent. Raph might be an angry fighter, but he comes in really handy when you learn how to take a hit. She has a cut on her thigh under her fur from trying to disarm him, but it didn't work out so well. He's punched her several times, but no matter what, she always gets back up.

Ellie has lots of promise, no doubt about that. But it has taken lots of practice over the week to get her fire under control. Donnie has been doing his best to perfect the practice ring he has set up in an abandoned sewer pipe line. Its target practice and anger control. So far, she's almost got the target practice perfect, but her anger is still hard to control.

Ellie has become such a strong person over the course of a few weeks. Just two weeks ago, she would rather hide and cry, but now she is up and ready to fight for what is right and defend her family. She considers the Turtles her brothers now. All of them but Leo, because that would be sort of awkward.

But now as she stood in the Dojo today, yet another practice exercise with Raph, she was very confident. Not a shred of fear was in her eyes. So as they began to do the deadly circle like two sharks swimming around its prey, Ellie smirked. Her bright white teeth showed, her fangs glinting in the light.

"You think you can beat me today, Ellie?" Raph said, twirling one of Sais in his hand. Ellie grasped the weapon she now favored over all the others, The Naginata, in her hands and began to move her feet around carefully and swiftly. Just like a ferocious feline would. Her tail twitched back and forth as she narrowed her eyes.

Raph wouldn't admit it, but being stared down by a fierce feline that could catch fire was a little nerve racking. But he wouldn't let his emotions show. He could see the flames dancing in her eyes.

"I dunno… Can you handle the heat?" She smirked and before Raph knew it, she had lunged at him. He ended up falling on one of his knees, both of his sais over his head while the staff of Ellie's weapon was in between the both of them. Ellie had a very angered look on her face and Raph felt a shiver of fear.

Ellie used her cat abilities to completely flip herself over the weapon, bringing her foot in contact with the back of his shell, making him stumble forward. Raph turned around and growled while Ellie twirled the staff in her hands, smirking. She blew her black bangs from her eyes and looked up just in time to see Raph charging at her. She barely had time to react before she was slammed to the ground and he stabbed his Sai next to her wrist, keeping her left one confined to the floor in between the blades.

Ellie squeaked in surprise and looked up just in time to dodge the blade that was traveling towards her face. She rolled over as much as she could and wrapped her tail around his wrist. She used as much force as possible and sent him across the room with a loud growl.

Ellie carefully let her hand go relaxed and she was able to slip her hand free from its confined space in between the blades. Raph stood up with a very angry look on his face. Ellie was still rubbing her sore wrist when she heard the loud thuds of Raph's feet. She turned around just in time to earn a very hard punch in her stomach.

Ellie skidded across the floor on her backside and completely flipped over on her stomach. She began to cough, holding her stomach. Before Raph could hit her again, they both heard a loud shout. "Yame!"

Ellie knew what that meant. Her and Raph ran to the other side of the room where Master Splinter stood and they both kneeled down in front of him. Ellie coughed a few more times and rubbed her sore midsection a little.

"Elliot, you are improving greatly," Master Splinter told her. Ellie bowed her head slightly and waited for his constructive criticism. "But you are still lacking the pain tolerance that will build over time. But overall, I am very impressed at how far you have come," Raph put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at him, smiling slightly.

They were both dismissed from the Dojo and Ellie was still coughing a little, rubbing her stomach.

"I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" Raph asked her. Ellie snorted. "You wish," But she was lying. In truth, her stomach hurt pretty badly. But she thought it was best that she didn't tell him.

Ellie passed Donnie's lab and heard a loud crash. Her ears folded back as she flinched. "What the…" She decided that it should be investigated. Ellie made her way towards his lab and saw that there was broken glass everywhere.

"What the heck happened here?" Ellie said, looking around at the shattered glass. "N-Nothing! Everything's fine!" Donnie lied, scrambling to pick up the dropped papers, but managed to step on the broken glass. He screamed and fell over on his shell, groaning and holding his foot. Ellie snorted and grabbed the broom next to the door.

"Relax, Donnie. I won't say anything," She promised, sweeping up the shards of glass and dumping them in the trash can. After that, she grabbed his foot and looked at the piece of glass in his foot.

"OK, this might hurt a little… Hold your breath," She said, wrapping her claws around the shard and ripping it from his foot. He nearly kicked her in the face but she stopped him before he could.

Being the cat she is, Ellie decided against her human instincts to lick the wound. Donnie looked at her in a very funny way and she then realized what she did.

"Gah! Gross! Turtle blood!" She stuck her tongue out and started to wipe her tongue on her furry arm, trying to get the taste out. Donnie just laughed at her before they heard someone clear their throat. Ellie and Donnie looked up at April who was smirking.

"Am I interrupting something…?" She snickered, covering her mouth as a snort escaped her nose. Ellie stuck her tongue out. "Unless you count the foul taste of turtle blood, not at all," She said, a shiver running down her spine. As she was looking down, she heard a very unenthusiastic cheer from Donnie.

"And, Oh look! It's Casey Jones…" He rolled his eyes. Ellie looked at Donnie and then at the person he was talking about. In one instant, her eyes went to slits and she backed away in fear. "You…"

The boy stared at her in surprise as she slipped across the floor on all fours and shook with fear.

"Ellie… What's wrong?" Donnie asked. The boy looked at her and suddenly, Ellie sprinted out of the room on all fours and into her and Leo's bedroom, shaking with fear. Leo looked up from the comic book he was reading and stared at Ellie.

"Ellie? Are you alright? What's wrong?" He asked, kneeling down and putting his hand on her shoulder.

"C-C-Cas-sey J-Jo-ones…" She stuttered over and over again, panting with fear. Leo gave her a confused look and then looked at the door when it opened. Donnie looked down at the girl trembling in fear, hugging her fluffy tail. "Donnie, what happened?"

"I don't know," Donnie told Leo. "She freaked out when she saw Casey," He said. Ellie was now rocking back and forth, tears slipping from her eyes and on her furry cheeks.

"S-S-Still H-Hur-rts," She whimpered and suddenly held her side, falling over and curling up into a ball of fear.

Suddenly, it hit Donnie like a punch in the face. "Ellie… Is Casey one of the kids that bullied you?" He asked her. She just nodded and brought her hand to her cheek, where the bruise used to be.

"Did he ever hit you..?" Once again, just a nod. Donnie's eyes were now up in flames and he was steaming with anger.

"Now I am gonna hurt him!" Donnie jumped up and tried to run towards the direction where Casey obviously was. But Leo stopped him. "Donnie, don't!" Leo was pretty upset too but he didn't want to hurt his friend. But then again, he didn't like to see his girlfriend in so much pain…

"Pounding Casey's face in won't change anything," Leo said flatly. "But it might make him say he's sorry…?"

"He probably doesn't even remember Ellie. Don't go stirring up trouble," Leo sighed and simply wrapped his arms around Ellie, rocking her back and forth comfortingly. Ellie opened her eyes slightly and jumped forward, hugging him tightly. "Don't let him hurt me,"

"No, Ellie. I won't let anyone hurt you, ever again," He whispered into her ear that perked up at his voice. Donnie couldn't help but kneel down and wrap his arms around her as well.

"None of us will. We promise," Ellie hiccupped uncontrollably and tried to stand up but fell over. Ellie looked in between the two brothers.

"I w-wan-nt to t-t-talk to m-m-mas-ster Spl-linter," She asked them both. Donnie nodded. "Yeah!" Donnie and Leo lifted her up carefully and Leo picked her up bridal style. Ellie snuggled tightly into Leo's plastron and held her hands against the middle of it.

They both walked out of the room and Donnie and Leo looked at Casey who was still confused. Leo passed by while Donnie stayed behind, a very angry look on his face.

"What the heck is wrong with her?" Casey said, crossing his arms. Donnie snapped. "I'll tell ya what's wrong with her! She's so paranoid and terrified because of you! Why did you hurt her? Why?!" Donnie nearly shouted, running forward and grabbing him by the front of his shirt and holding him up to where his feet couldn't touch the ground.

April jumped back in shock and stared at Donnie. She's never seen him so angry! Donnie looked ready to break his neck and stomp his face in. "Donnie!" April shouted.

"If it were up to me, you would pay severely for what you did! Luckily, Leo doesn't want me to kill you," Donnie snarled in Casey's face. He looked terrified… "You lay one single finger on Ellie, you'll regret the day you ever met us," He dropped Casey and he fell down on the ground, staring up at him in fear.

"Wait… Ellie? The freak from school?" And with that, Donnie snapped. He brought his fist up behind his head and brought it down on Casey's cheek, punching him as hard as he could without causing permanent damage.

"Donnie!" Before he could do anymore damage, Mikey and Raph wrapped their arms around Donnie's shoulders and held him back.

Meanwhile, in the Dojo, Leo let Ellie walk towards master Splinter who was meditating. She carefully stepped towards him and sat down in front of him, crossing her legs just like him.

"What is troubling you, Elliot?" Master Splinter said, without looking up at her. Ellie whimpered, biting her lip slightly, her nose twitching and her whiskers wiggled.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Sensei. It's just… Casey Jones and I don't have a good history… And when he showed up here today, I was… almost petrified," She frowned, looking down at her hands that were shaking in her lap. Master Splinter let out a low groan, almost as if he was thinking over what he was going to say.

"Have you ever told him how you felt?" He asked. Ellie simply grabbed her tail and shook her head. "No, master. I've always been too scared that he might hurt me more. He is a hockey player, after all,"

"Not everyone was out to get you when you were human, Elliot. Casey has proven himself worthy to be down here and around my sons," Ellie looked down at her lap again and she sighed, itching behind her ear.

"But Master, what if I get sent into another panic attack? What if my cat side takes over? What if… I hurt him with my fire?"

"May I ask why you think it is necessary to not hurt Casey, even though he has hurt you?"

"Well…" Ellie rubbed the back of her neck and frowned. "I don't know. I just don't want him to think I'm a monster. I don't want any of the others to think I'm a monster either… "

Master Splinter gave a small smile at her. "You must talk to Casey. It will make everything better. Trust me," Ellie ran her claws through her tail and nodded once before standing up and walking out of the Dojo towards where she saw Casey.

And that's when she saw Casey and Donnie about to start fighting. "Why'd you do it? Why did you hurt her?!" Donnie shouted at Casey who was being held back by April. Donnie was being held back by Raph and Mikey!

"Why do you even care?!" Casey shouted, finally breaking free from April's grasp and lunging at Donnie who ripped free from his brothers. Ellie gasped as was about to pound his face in and Casey looked ready to de-shell him. Ellie ran forward and stood in between the two of them.

"Stop it!" Ellie shouted, putting one hand on Donnie's plastron. Donnie just stared at her. "You're defending him? After all he's done to you!" He yelled in her face. Ellie closed her eyes and then felt someone shove her from her place.

"Take your feline girlfriend and stay out of my face!" Casey shouted. He shoved her directly into Donnie's plastron and she stumbled a little.

"That is it!" Donnie shouted and tried to attack him.

"OK, you two need a time out!" Ellie got so mad that her body flamed up. The heat from her hands traveled through her whole body and she nearly set them both on fire as she thrust her hands out in frustration.

Donnie jumped back in surprise and began to calm down as the flames seemed to get brighter and brighter. Ellie was not happy.

Casey fell over in shock when she flamed up and just stared at her in fear as he was on the ground, panting. Ellie panted in anger as her flaming body refused to go out. She looked at Donnie and then at Casey.

"You guys are supposed to be friends! Don't fight!" Ellie begged, the fire now getting even brighter. The air around everyone seemed to get thinner and thinner until Ellie breathed slowly and curled her hands into fists. The fire on her body finally died down and she closed her eyes, breathing in and then breathing out.

"Donnie, I thought you knew better," Ellie sighed and rubbed her forehead. There was a massive headache coming on. Leo finally walked up behind Ellie and put his hands on her arms.

"Ellie? Are you OK?" He asked. She blinked several times and nodded. "I'm okay," She lied to him. All four of the Turtles surrounded her, making sure she was okay. Even Raph was concerned. Ellie just turned around and was about to walk away when someone put their hand on her shoulder. She tensed up and saw that it was Raph.

Without even thinking and without caring about who was around him, he pulled Ellie into a very tight and very warm hug. Everyone stared.

It was rare that Raph showed he cared, and this was… Huge for him. Ellie bit down on her lip and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a great feeling to know that someone like Raph could have emotional bonds with her.

All they could do was stare at them as Ellie's tail found its way around Raph's waist and her ears laid themselves against the top of her head. She breathed in and then out very slowly as Raph ran his fingers up and down the fur on her back.

"You know all of the pain he caused you is in the past… The only thing in your future is a new life… It's time to leave the old one behind… Completely. You have changed. And so has he, trust me…" He was right. It had been at least 5 months since Casey had ever touched her. 5 months ago, he didn't know the turtles or April. He has changed.

Ellie smiled brightly and finally pulled away to look into his eyes. He turned a slight shade of red from embarrassment.

April walked up behind Casey and then brought her hand up to the back of his head. It made contact and there was a loud echo.

"Aowww!" Casey snapped, bringing his own hand up to the back of his head with a glare. April gave him the evilest of looks. "You'd better apologize…" She sneered.

Ellie turned around to look at Casey who looked terrified of her. Ellie stepped forward, with her head down and ears folded back.

Casey was about to talk when Ellie spoke up. "Casey I'm sorry," Everyone stared. Why was she apologizing?

"I-I'm sorry for scaring you like I did. And… I'm sorry for everything before. I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you hate me so much, even if it was just my existence, I'm sorry…" She looked down at her feet and grabbed her tail nervously.

Casey looked at the others who all had a scowl on their faces. Even Mikey was upset with him. Casey had no choice.

"No… I'm sorry, Ellie. I had no reason to hate you so much… What I did was… mean. And I didn't realize just how much it hurt you… I'm really, really sorry." He looked down at her. Ellie looked up at Casey and it looked like she was about to cry.

"You mean it?"

"Yeah!" Casey approved without hesitation. That seemed to be all Ellie needed. She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him and was purring loudly. Casey's reflexes were still on the rusty side so when she pounced, she managed to knock them both over on the concrete.

Casey's head came in contact with the floor and let out a loud groan of pain. Ellie pushed herself up on her arms and blushed under her black fur.

"Heh… Sorry," Ellie stood up and held her hand out to him. He carefully grabbed it as she pulled him up to his feet.

"Well!" Raph shouted, running up to the both of them and putting his arms on their shoulders. Ellie flinched a little as he did so but just shook it off. "Now that we're all friends, what do ya say we let loose with some pizza and video games?" He suggested.

"I'm up for it!" Casey said, jumping over the couch and was followed by Raph and Mikey. Ellie then quickly glanced at Donnie and Leo before deciding.

"I think I'll pass," She said, smiling. "After I do my warm ups with Leo, Donnie's gonna help me practice with flexibility. He read up just a few days ago just how flexible a cat's body is and I wanna test that!"

With that, the three of them headed for the Dojo. Casey looked at Raph for an explanation and he just shrugged. "Girl likes to fight,"