Hey guys! Yes, I'm finally back from the dead. So sorry for the long delayed update! Summer has been nothing but work ever since it started and there has been no end to it. This chapter was a sucker on my brain! It took me a really while to get it right. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!

"Through thick and thin, I'll accept

you at your strongest. Yet, love and

support you at your weakest."

Raph's POV

'She was with him. Alone. By herself. Of course this is her home now, so she can go anywhere she likes. Except up top. But she was with him. He was...looking at her. And she was...holding hands with him. Why does that bother me so much?'

I wake to the sound of Rachel's steady breathing as she lay sleeping peacefully next to me. She must come back from the dojo after I'd fallen asleep last night. She's looks so much better than before and is snuggled up right next to me. Whenever I watched her before, I most often saw her tossing and turning in her nightly persistent nightmares. Sometimes they were so terrible she would start sobbing and writhing like a lunatic in her sleep. I always feel awkward when I see girls cry, but I often had the urge to just come into her room and fold her into my arms just until she calmed down; An urge that I always subdued before.

Without warning, the door creaks open, light seeping its way into the room. It's so bright that for a moment I'm blind to the person standing in the doorway.

"Raph? Are you awake?"

I pretend to be asleep, but too late as the intruder walks in anyway and starts nudging me, "Raph. Come on, I know you're awake. I need to talk to you."

"Spare me the lecture. I ain't gettin' up for one of you're stupid training exercises." I try hard not to yell so I don't wake Rachel. Poor girl's been through a lot in the past week and she'll need as much rest as possible. "What's it gonna take for a turtle to get some sleep around here?"

"Training? It's almost noon, you've slept through half the day Raph. And it's not training. It's about Rachel," he beckons.

He says it as though it's really important. Whatever it is, it better be good. Without as little movement as possible, I untangle Rachel's arms around me. For a moment, it almost looks as though her skin looks a shade darker, almost to a faint grey. Or that may just be the lighting. I tuck them up under the pillow. She stirs in her sleep, reaching around in the area where I had been sleeping moments before. It's a good thing she's a heavy sleeper, but I hope she doesn't try to do anything drastic while I'm gone.

My blue-masked brother walks into the empty living area and into the dojo where Mikey and Donnie were already waiting for us.

"Whatever this is about Leo, it better not have anything to do about what you saw! She was frightened and I—"

"Bro, I think you did the right thing. She needs looking after and she needs you," he says smiling and from what I can tell, his face depicted a slightly pained expression.

Suddenly, I feel my face starting to burn from embarrassment. 'Was not expecting that. And in front of the guys.' "Oh, well then? Then what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Awww! Raph really does her! Oww!"

"Okay, so you guys know how I didn't sleep too well last night?"

"No," we all say at the same time.

I can't help but smile at his annoyance. "Well I didn't. So I went into the dojo to meditate. Rachel actually woke up late last night too and joined me."

"Leo geez! I know you like and all but seriously, can you show a little restraint? Oww! Stop hitting me Raph."

"Then show some restraint on that big mouth of yours. What's this all about Leo?"

"She talked to me about her capture. Things that I think you should know about. Things that happened in Stockman's lab while she was being...experimented on."

'She actually talked about them? She could barely speak about them at all when she first woke up, but why would she go to Leo first? And not me?' "Like what?"

"It's a lot to take in, but there's one simple thing I can say. And it's that Stockman's cruelty to her will not be so easily passed off. The things that she described to me were both more fascinating and worse than I could ever imagine. Than WE could even imagine."

"Um, Leo? I'm not sure I'm old enough to hear this story," Mikey says quietly.

"Like what Leo? What did they do to her?"

"After listening to her story, I think I understand why Shredder's going bonkers looking for her."

"You want to share with the rest of the class what the shell you're talking about?"

"Shredder's done everything he can to hunt us down and finish us, and even use anyone we know to obtain the upper hand in this fight. And sometimes by interrogation. He has his methods to get his victims to talk when they have information he wants. But I don't think he wants her for intel on our location or secrets."

"What do you mean?"

"Devilish images and horror SIMs are not your ordinary torture. I thought over it all very carefully and I think Shredder wants her for something far bigger."

"I wonder if it was just another test. When I checked the readings of her vitals when she was submerged in that tank, her stress levels were skyrocketing. As in on the brig of a heart attack. If the setting was any higher, it would've killed her."

"But why would he do that to her? Why would he keep her alive?"

"I think I know Mikey, but it's going to sound crazy."

"You'll sound crazy anyway. Just spit it out already!"

"I think Rachel may have 'The Seeing.'"

For a moment I'm just shocked that he'd even bring up some old Japanese Legend. "Haha. Leo you've finally cracked. You can't seriously believe that Rachel could have some ancient Japanese power."

"I'm serious Raph! Based on what she told me, she saw events in her dreams that looked like they were past events that she's starting to remember. But only after she witnessed pictures that horrified her. And a key emotion to triggering 'The Seeing' is fear."

"I don't know Raph. Leo may have a point."

"Donnie? Seriously, do you believe this?"

"Well, technically speaking it may just be her faulty memory, but….it just may be possible. Leo, what else did she tell you?"

"She described a dark sky, a blacked out city, and giant lizard-like creatures roaming the rooftops and streets. Fires everywhere. She said she couldn't see the creatures clearly enough to see what they really were."

"So Rach can like see the future or something?"

"Interesting. Still Leo, do really think that she could have a gift like that?"

"Master Splinter's description does seem to match it perfectly. Rachel could have the gift of foresight."

"My sons." They broke the circle as their father joined them, his focus on the eldest. "What is this all about?"

"Sensei, I think Rachel might have 'The Seeing.' Do you think that it's possible?"

The old rat stroked his beard calmly and closed his eyes deep in thought. "Hmm. Perhaps. 'The Seeing' is a very rare and certainly powerful gift blessed to some of the most greatest practitioners of ninjutsu. Very few have acquired the skill, especially one of such a tender age. And though it is a powerful and sometimes useful gift, it also makes its bearer more mentally unstable and temperamental."

"But Rachel relies more on instinct than just skill and has nearly excelled above the title of kunoichi to the higher ranks, almost higher than us. And she told me that she's been seeing things."

"Explain my son."

"She told me….she's been seeing repetitive pictures every time she has a dream or meditates. Some of them she said were remarkably familiar to her and some also involving the Kraang."

"It is possible, but I think it best for us not to make any further assumptions until we have further confirmation. Furthermore, I advise that we say nothing to Rachel until she has had time to heal from her afflictions. We need not burden her even more."

A bloodcurdling scream comes from outside the dojo. In a few seconds, I'm out of the dojo and across the living room.

"Rachel!"

Rachel's POV

I grab a bundle of clothes and run my fingers through my oily hair as I walk across the hall to the bathroom. Since I've been asleep for so long, I can't remember the last time I had a shower.

The hot water feels amazing on my skin. I scrub the gunk and oil out of my hair with the shampoo and conditioner that Donnie had brought down for me from the surface. I slip on the T-shirt and jeans I had brought with me.

I brush out my hair and pull it back into a ponytail. But when I look in the mirror, I scream! Two tufts of fur stuck up from either side of my head and something long and heavy brushes against my legs. Reaching behind me, I grab at it and pull. It's soft and furry, but it feels like I'm pulling at my own tailbone. Touching either side of my head, I don't feel my ears! I'm losing feeling in my knees and they crumple lifelessly to the floor. A thick fog covers my vision.

"Rachel! What's wrong?" says a voice behind the door

I turn towards the door, but don't unlock or open it. "Raphael! Something is happening to me!"

"What is it? Are you okay?" he says in a calm voice.

"No! I don't know what's happening to me!"

"Rachel, do you want me to come in?"

I hear his voice, but my eyes are clouded with tears and cannot see the bathroom door anymore. The ar feel as though it's getting thinner and it becomes hard to breathe. His voice becomes fainter and fainter. I can't move!

"Rachel, are you alright? Please open the door," he calls again with more concern in his voice, but I almost can't hear him anymore. I open my mouth to answer him, but no sound comes out. All of my joints feel frozen, nailed to the wall at my back. I draw deep breaths, but I lose more than I gain! I jump as I hear a loud crack.

Large arms wrap around my shoulders, squeezing me tightly, but the I still can't clearly see his face.

"Rachel, look at me." Two green eyes peek out through the haze, full of worry and sympathy. "It's okay. Just calm down."

Suddenly the eyes close, a hand tilts my head, and I stop breathing as a pair of lips presses against mine. My eyes close and the only other thing I know beyond my focus is that Raphael is so close to me. When I pull away for air, it's easier to breathe.

"Raphael-" but he silences me with his fingers.

"I know. Just breathe. That's right." He smiles as he hugs me to his chest, rubbing circles on my back and whispering comforting words in my ear until my breathing returns to normal.

"Are you okay now?" he asks after some time.

I nod, but my gaze is focused on the tail that twitches and wags behind me. "I don't know what's happening to me. I felt like I was dying."

"I don't know what's happening or how it's happening, but I bet you 50 bucks Donnie might have an idea. Why don't we ask him? Can you stand?"

"I'm just frightened Raph, not crippled." I lie. My legs feel like jelly. He steadies me anyway when I start to wobble.

"Thanks."

He smirks at me."Now come on. Let's ask Donnie."

"Donatello!" I half-run across the living room towards the dojo, only to be surrounded by the entire Hamato family.

"Rachel. Are you alright? I was just going to come and…." He trails off and just gawks at me. "Um, Rachel? You have a tail."

"Donnie," I plead, ignoring what he had just said, "Please tell me! Exactly what was in those injections!?"

"Why? What happened? Wait, what's up with your eyes?"

I pointed to my eye with one hand and extended my other arm to show him. "They're gold, Donnie! Just yesterday, I'm pretty sure they were green! My skin is gray, and" I hold up my tail, "I have a tail!"

"Calm down Rach. I'll figure it out," he took my hand, examining it carefully. "Interesting."

Raph hurries over to me and takes my other hand. "What's happening to her Don?"

"Well, it looks almost like…it could be that...wait...no, I'll have to run more tests to be sure."

"Spit it out brainiac," Raph snapped, "What is happening to Rachel?"

"Don't pressure me Raph. I don't know exactly...yet," Donnie stutters as he leads me out of the dojo, briefly signalling the others to let us alone. We go into the lab and he sits me on the main counter in the center of the room. "Now Rachel, do you remember anything else that Stockman was doing in that lab? Knowing Stockman, he often has a knack for revealing his plan to his enemies. Did he tell you anything that he was going to do?"

Thinking back to the incident with the water tank, I shudder. "I remember...he said something about testing my respiratory capacity...and...during the procedure he was securing me to the table, stabbed me with a syringe, and when he was about to submerge me in it...I..broke the shackles. I broke right through the metal. I thought about never seeing you guys again, or seeing my parents again...but it wasn't enough. He secured me again and right before he submerged me,...he said he was...going to amplify...something. Something about my strength with chemical reagaaa...I don't know, it seems all fuzzy."

"Don't tire yourself out Rachel," says Donnie resting a hand on my shoulder. "I think a portion of the injection components was meant to make you forget some of the incidents so you wouldn't remember enough to tell us about his plans. Sometimes while he's not being stupid, he can be pretty clever. But you said just enough. Obviously the tank covers the respiratory part of it. But the chemical reagent, I'll have to run a full diagnostic to be sure, just to make sure that you're clean of any trackers or anything else. I would have done it last night, but I didn't want to stress you out after you just woke up."

He clears off a spot on his cluttered desk, pulling out a clipboard with notebook paper and a pencil. First he checks my pulse and scribbles something on his clipboard. He inspects my irises closely, holding a light in front of it and watching my pupils resize before writing more words down. And Raph watches him vigilantly, occasionally growling under his breath.

"Alright Rachel, I need hold very still for me while I take your bandages off." I do as I'm told, listening to him as he unravels the bandages on my arms. "The marks from the chains should heal pretty quickly, but it appears that Stockman created small puncture wounds along your side when he stuck all of those IVs into you. They're not terribly serious, but they may take a little longer to heal." Suddenly, I feel him stop and turn my gaze over at him, his face full of disbelief. "Woah." When I look, we share the same faces.

The marks from the chains are gone! No wound, no scratch, not even a break in the skin. They've completely disappeared.

Raph shares the same look, gently grazing my newly healed arm with his thumb. "You'da think that it would'ha taken much longer for them to heal than just a night."

"It's almost like it never happened. How is this possible Don?"

Donnie breaks out of his daze and scrawls more words on his sheet of paper. "Same way that giant talking turtles is possible. It's incredible. You healed almost a week faster than an average human."

This makes me feel uneasy. "Um, what does that mean? I have some strange way of healing faster?

"It would seem so," Donnie replies, tapping his chin.

"But it took nearly three weeks for my bullet wound to heal. How come that didn't heal as fast?"

"Well, often times it depends on the severity of the wound, what kind of treatments you give it, and sometimes you can stress it out if you're too active. For example, training could put stress on your wound and make the healing process much longer, it could be the-"

Raph rubs his temples and groans, "Einstein, could you save the geek talk and just tell her what the shell is happening to her!?"

"Pipe down Raph. I cannot work with all of this pressure. I'll figure it out. But I know it had something to do with the injections. Rachel?" He looks at me with a worried look for a brief moment and then looks away. "Whatever this change is, I think it might be...genetic."

"O...kay. That may explain the ears and tail. So what now?" Just by looking at his face, I understand.

"I'll need a blood sample to analyze. I...hope you don't mind."

I pull back my sleeve and hold it out to him. "It's fine Don. Go ahead."

He prepares a syringe, finds a vein on my arm and rubs the spot with a disinfectant wipe. I wince and look away as the needle sinks into my skin. I've long since been used to this kind of pain, but the sting still gives me shivers. Donnie carefully removes it, the barrel completely filled with my blood. Setting it aside, he places a bandage over the spot.

Raph stands beside me, watching his every move as he empties the sample into a microscope lens and types something into his computer.

"Donnie. What's going on?" The blue-masked turtle pokes his head inside the lab doors. He walks over to me and smiles. "Hey Rach. How you feeling?"

"Better, but something strange is happening to me."

"What is it?"

I slide off the table and show him my grey-tinted arms, my tail, and ears. "My skin is turning grey, I now have a furry tail and ears, and my eyes are gold."

Leo gazes at my eyes and seems to grow more and more amazed with every passing second. "They're beautiful," he murmurs.

I blush a little a his remark. "Oh, and I never got the chance to thank you guys for saving me, at least while I was still freaking out about what was happening." I throw my arms around Leo's neck. He seems a little taken aback at the sudden contact, but he returns the hug. "Thank Raph. He's the one who really saved you."

"Your vital signs were going critical while you were out," Donnie interjects while still typing away on his computer, "You were having some sort of anxiety attack, but….Raph got you out of it. He would hardly ever let anyone come near you."

I walk over to Raph and hug him. "Thanks Raphael." Right when I pull away, I can see his face turned as red as his mask.

"Awww!" Mikey cooes, "Big bad Raphie's blushing!" I didn't even notice him come in. Then again, he is a ninja.

Raph growls menacingly and starts to chase Mikey all over the lab while his playful young brother carelessly bounds around the room, which seems to make him angrier. All I can really do is just laugh.

"Guys! I found something!" All of us crowd around Donnie.

"After examining the sample I extracted from Rachel's bloodstream, I found another code of DNA in it. But it seems to be breaking down her cellular structure and reconfiguring it."

"Mind translating that into language we can all understand?" Leo asks.

"Her original human DNA code is undergoing mutations."

I start to panic."Wait, so I'm...mutating!?"

"It seems that all of the injections were combinations of animal DNA and were based with small amounts of...mutagen."

Mikey gasps. Raph and Leo exchange worried looks before shifting their eyes to me.

I don't quite know what to say. "What...kind of animal DNA?"

"Well...I don't know yet. There are many different possibilities and I have a number of hunches," he said as he clicked on a folder labeled "DNA Decoding" and I looked over his shoulder as he skimmed through the files.

"Give me your favorite."

He finally stops, clicks on one of the documents and compares the coding to mine on a separate window.

"It's this one. And it's a ...wolf."

"I'm going to turn into a wolf?!"

"No Rachel. No." Donnie says in a coaxing tone. "Only part of your coding is different. The rest is still your original human DNA code. If you were in there any longer and if Raph hadn't cut you loose, then who knows what other things Stockman could have done to you."

Raph smirks. "That's two you owe me, Princess." I lightly punch him back in the arm.

"But Donnie, what about the part that code hasn't changed?"

"That...may take a little longer to decrypt," Donnie replies, "But, in the meantime, I suggest-" But I cut him off!

"If you dare say rest and no training Donnie, I will SERIOUSLY break something," I say through clenched teeth,"Seriously, I've been asleep and out of action for days. Right now, the best thing for me to do IS train and prepare to go to the surface."

They all look at me with baffled expressions, and all at once, start yelling in unison. I hear a lot of "Are you crazy"s, "Not going to happen"s and "No way"s and "No your not"s.

"You are not going above ground anytime soon Rachel. And that's final," Leo says firmly.

"Yeah. As of last time, you got captured and nearly killed."

I'm not deterred. "Look you guys, the only reason I got captured by the Foot is because-"

"Because we weren't there to protect you." Donnie insists.

"No! It's because that I wasn't prepared and wasn't focused, and I wasn't trained enough to get away. I can be of use if you'd just train me and teach me skills I can use in the field. You guys can't just keep me locked away down here forever."

"Rachel," Raph says softly, "the safest place for you is down here. Especially, now that we know the Foot and the Kraang are after you, not to mention. Need I also remind you that you still don't have your memory back?"

"You too Raph!?" I immediately forget any other words, run out of the lab and into the dojo.

I walk to the center of the room and look up at the tree, growing from inside the cracks of the concrete. I sit in front of it, right in the patch of sunlight that illuminates from the ceiling, and cross my legs in the posture that Master Splinter had taught us a week ago. I close my eyes and try my best to slow my breathing. But no matter how many times I try it, I still can't focus! I bang my fists into the floor, breathing hard and my mind swimming.

"Leonardo notified me you were awake again, and that you have undergone sudden changes. I take it you feeling better now, my daughter?" I looked up to see Master Splinter standing in front of me.

I sigh and stare down at the floor. "Maybe better physically Sensei, but not mentally."

"I noticed," with that, he places his cane on the floor and sits with me. "What is it that troubles you Rachel?"

"Sensei, do you think I'm helpless?"

"You ask the wrong question."

"Well, I think I could really help the guys on patrols and missions if they just give me a chance. I'm not even hurt anymore. I should be training, but all they care about is me staying down here and resting 24/7. You always say Sensei that it takes a large amount of experience to be an effective warrior. How can I earn any experience if all I do is sit and wait around until they come home while they're out on the surface dealing with MY problems when I should be out there helping them?"

He strokes his beard. "You must understand that you are a female ninja Rachel. The word 'nin' means patience. And that is a particular virtue that you have struggled to learn."

"I've been patient for three whole weeks Sensei, yet they still think that I can't handle myself. Instead of hiding and being set aside like baggage to be called for when it's over, I should be training and honing my skills so that I can handle the obstacles that await me on the surface."

"With the Kraang, the Foot, and Shredder hunting you, your safety is our main priority."

"But I don't want to be SAFE, Sensei." I practically raised my voice. "I want to be resourceful. But they treat me like I'm worthless. Even Raph thinks I can't handle myself."

"My daughter," Splinter said gently, "Raphael does not think you are worthless. Neither do the others. You are worth more to them than you see. You are the reason that they come home alive. You give them hope because they know that if you are here, you are surely protected from the countless dangers of the surface. They simply recognize you as a part of this family, and do not wish to lose you.

I frowned. "I don't wish to lose my family again either. I've already lost the family that I once knew. Of course, I cannot miss them because I don't remember them. But I DO know that this is my family now and I want do anything I can to protect it. And I know that I can protect them if I fight with them. But I know I need a teacher. Please teach me Sensei. Train me to my best so I can fight alongside them."

"You understand that it will be difficult and you will be putting your own life at risk."

"Some things are worth the risk Sensei."

"You have my son's spirit. Passionate and selfless." He sighs heavily, but smiles as he takes my hand and helps me onto my feet. "Very well. Tomorrow, we will make it official."

"Thank you Sensei!"

He beams at me as he walks into his room and closes the door behind him.

What other surprises lie in wait for Rachel and her beloved turtle?

Does Raph suspect Leo in trying to take his girl?

Will Rachel become complete wolf?

Will she get her memories back?

When will she see the surface again?

Please review!