Warnings: Rated M for language, adult situations, and possibly other stuff not for the youngin's..

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT; they belong to Mirage, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird I believe. I do own the plot, and OC's. Want to use them? Ask!

Music:

End Of The World -- Armor for Sleep

Chapter 25

"All great truths begin as blasphemies."

-- George Bernard Shaw

"FUCK! You burnt me!" Sophia exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry!" Skylar said, she'd burnt herself good a couple times, but it was hard to burn such thick rope with a crappy lighter. "If I just burn through one part of the rope we should be able to get it off… have you figured how the hell we're gonna get out yet?"

"Not really…" Sophia said.

"You have one job to do…" Mumbled Skylar.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" She replied innocently, "Alright, I'm trying again, this time tell me I'm going to burn you as soon as you feel the heat, I can't do much if you wait until I set your hand on fire."

"Yeah, yeah, just do it."

Skylar struggled, but lit the lighter and twisted her body to see if she could see how much the rope was being burnt. It was a thick rope, but she was getting through it. As she burnt through the rope the smell got a little heavier, and she hoped it would go unnoticed by those outside the room. Or that there wasn't some sort of smoke detecting system, then they'd be totally screwed. Skylar bit her lip as the last strands burnt away and the binding became exponentially loser. The two of them wiggled so it loosened more and sighed simultaneously. Skylar reached down and picked up the cigarette from the floor and lifted to her lips, and lighted it.

"You better share that." Sophia said.

Skylar reveled in the first drag and the relief it brought. Blowing out the smoke, she turned in her seat and handed it to Sophia who turned as well. They smiled at each other as Sophia took in a drag and passed it to Skylar. It was silent except for the sound of them exhaling the smoke. It hung heavy and gray in the air, but no one came in, nor was there any alarm. Skylar watched Sophia for a moment before she grabbed the cigarette, the black haired girl was staring at the floor, looking deep in thought. Skylar pushed the cigarette towards her and she shook her head. The younger girl shrugged and finished it off. It was quiet still as Skylar threw the butt on the ground putting out completely with her foot.

"I didn't know you smoke." Skylar said.

"I try not to, but this is a forgivable moment."

"That it is." Skylar nodded.

"You know, it's kinda nice just not being tied so uncomfortably…I might have cooperated easier if they hadn't been such dickheads." Sophia said and Skylar chuckled.

"Isn't that always the case?"

"Are you going to stay…once all this is over?" Sophia asked, "If we're alive, that is."

"I…it…it depends on Heather."

"Heather?"

"I lo-" Skylar caught herself, but Sophia caught it, "I care about Raph a lot… and I love Don like my own brother, and Leo and Mikey as are you and Cam and Splinter but…she needs me."

"Are you sure it's not the other way around?" Sophia asked softly.

"What?"

"Okay, don't get offended, I really don't mean to make you angry…but…" Sophia sighed, "It seems to me like…she needs you, yes, but not the same way you need her." Skylar frowned and Sophia continued, "You obviously have emotional baggage, I don't what the hell happened to you, but I can tell."

"How?"

"Sweetie, I don't have any other kind of baggage, I can tell, and aside from that I'm a psychology major, I know my shit." Sophia said, "Heather's the only one who you've let in, and hasn't hurt you…you know each other back to front and its comforting to you to know someone has your back. She's the one person you really trust, and the one person who really trusts you back."

"That's fucking creepy." Skylar breathed, "Do you have someone like that? Is Cameron the Heather to your Skylar, so to speak?"

"Well, you can have more than one…" Sophia said, "But yeah, that's Cameron." Skylar paused,

"But yeah, if Heather wants to stay…I probably will…what happens between Raph and I after that…" She shrugged, "Who knows…what about you, you staying?"

"I was moving to New York anyway, so yes." Sophia said, "Same thing goes for Leo and I though…who knows…"

Cameron was sound asleep, her head lolled backwards onto Heather's shoulder. The other girl was just staring at the wall, up at the windows, the floor, the bomb, and her shoe lace. She couldn't focus on anything but the pain in her heart. The clock was ticking, and she would never say goodbye to her sister. She'd never get to beat her for being an idiot, she'd never get to hug her and say that she was sorry she didn't tell her, and she'd never get to say she loved her. Thinking of Donnie was painful, it hurt her chest even more. Heather took in a deep, shattered breath that hurt her throat a little. A couple tears escaped her eyes as she leaned her head back against Cameron's shoulder.

"You okay?" The other girl asked, shocking Heather.

"Fine." Heather mumbled.

"No you're not."

"No I'm not." Heather shook her head.

"Still think they're gonna rescue us?" Cameron asked softly.

"I hope so."

"They're not." Cameron said.

"Stop it." Heather demanded, "My last hour of hope is not going to be ruined by your pessimism."

"What does that mean?"

"What?"

"Pessimism!" Cameron said.

"Oh," Heather chuckled, "It's the opposite of optimism, you know what that is?"

"Yeah." Cameron nodded, "So, it means…like…always thinking of the…worst?"

"Pretty much, yes."

"Oh." Cameron said.

"What are you gonna do after this?" Heather asked.

"Go to heaven."

"Hardy har." Heather said, "You wouldn't be welcomed there.""Hey!"

"I'm kidding, you're a lovely girl." Chuckled Heather.

"I'll probably go home, get all the stuff I really need, come back and go to beauty school." Cameron said, "The whole turtle thing still weirds me out a little, but I'll get over it."

"Are you sure?" Heather asked, "You can't make the move if you're not."

"Oh, I'm sure." Cameron said, "Turtle or not, he was still awesome in the sack."

Heather laughed loudly at this, and Cameron chuckled a little. It was quiet again between them as they simply looked at the tall ceiling. Heather began talking about how she wanted to go to art school, and maybe become an art teacher. Cameron made her promise to draw a picture of her if they lived through this. It made Heather laugh again and agree. The two just sat talking to each other, not really paying attention to the ticking clock, or the fact that they could well be dead very soon. Heather closed her eyes and sighed, and Cameron squealed making her jump a little.

"What?"

"I was just thinking…" Cameron said, "When we get out of here, I could totally do you and your sisters hair and make-up, it'll be amazing! Skylar seems like she'd be down for letting me mess with her hair."

"Oh, she would be." Heather laughed, "The girl is obsessed with changing her hair. You two can bond over piercings, tattoos, and insane make-up."

"I can't wait." She giggled back, Cameron opened her mouth to speak again but a bang caught her attention, "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah…" Heather said softly.

The two straightened up and looked to the two large warehouse doors. Faint light peeked through them from the lights outside, as there was another bang. The two reached for each others hands, holding them awkwardly because of the bindings. Their hearts raced, as they remained silent. Hoping, hoping, hoping that it was who they wanted, no, needed it to be. Fearing that it was someone who would only make their matters that much worse. Bang, bang, bang. The door was bound to give way and open eventually. Bang, Bang, Bang, and the doors gave way. The light from the outside, and the faded light in the warehouse made it hard to see.

"Heather?"

"DONNIE!" The girl screamed, tears escaping her eyes, her heart soaring.

"Oh, man, Geek Boy, am I glad to hear your voice." Cameron said, and Donnie chuckled coming into the room, followed by a very sullen looking woman that Heather recognized.

"What is she doing here?" She snarled.

"Elena helped us defeat them…" Donnie said, "She's here to help."

"How can you trust her?" Cameron said.

"She killed her best friend to save Mikey, Cameron." Donnie said sternly, "And she tried to take on Olivia…"

"Isn't she your--" Heather began.

"Yes." Donnie interrupted, "We don't have time to explain right now, just please trust me on this." Heather sighed,

"Always."

Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo raced across the city at full speed. Stopping for nothing, and no one. It was a tiring distance to be going full speed, but none of them really gave a damn. There were a building full of Foot ninjas, and two very important ladies waiting for them. Mikey wished so much he could have gone with Donnie to get Cameron, but he knew his brothers needed his help. There was no way they could take on the entire Foot clan with just the two of them. Hell, he didn't even know if the three of them even stood half a chance. The clan had decreased in size, but still, they were outnumbered immensely. The lighted sign of the "Redeye" building was in the distance, and Mikey saw his brothers pick up pace if that was even possible. He mentally noted that the only way to get them to get along was to kidnap their girlfriends and keep them for a while. The orange banded turtle almost snickered.

As they landed on the roof, it was no surprise there were ninjas waiting for them. One ninja notices them, but Raph had him silenced in an instant. The three brothers tried to stay out of site, but it was difficult there was no way to get in without raising alarm. Leo looked over the ledge to check the fire escapes, but there were ninjas waiting for them there as well. Leo signaled to his brothers to jump to the next roof. They did so, and crouched down, looking at the building from another rooftop. Mikey narrowed his eyes, the Foot obviously knew that if they would come, they would come by rooftop. They would have security on the top floors, but where would the security become looser?

"The bottom floors!" Mikey exclaimed, jumping up. Leo and Raph pulled him down between them and he received a punch to both sides of his head simultaneously.

"Shut up!" Raph grunted.

"But I --"

"Really, Michelangelo, you almost blew our cover!" Leo snarled.

"Yeah, my bad, but --" Mikey attempted.

"What the hell are you goin' on 'bout, 'the bottom floors' for?" Raph growled.

"We always show up on the roof…and we always use fire escapes for access, so where would they not be expecting us?"

"The bottom floors…" Raph and Leo said in unison.

"Good job, little brother." Leo said.

"Yeah, nice job, numb skull." Raph smirked, Mikey gave an identical smirk,

"I try."

The three turtles jumped to a rooftop adjacent to the back of the building. The climbed down the fire escapes on the other side of the building and crept around the building to find the floor free of guards. The three were at a loss as they stared at the back door. Do they just walk in and demand to know where Sophia and Skylar were? The three brothers looked at each other and nodded. Kicking open the door, very loudly they found it to be almost empty save for one guard who jumped and began to send alert via Walkie Talkie. Leo's sword pressed against his throat and he didn't move, he stopped speaking as the voice on the other end demanded to know what was going on. Mikey came behind him and removed the mask. The man was obviously scared.

Foot ninja began filing in and once they stopped, Mikey jumped in front of the door. It was silent. Raphael took Leo's place in guarding the unmasked Ninja with his sai. He took the device out of his hand and tucked it into his belt. He then turned to Mikey and nodded. The orange banded turtle snickered and began attacking ninjas near him. This started an outrage, but there was no one to call for back up, so it was only the couple dozen ninja, the three turtles and the chaos ensued. Raphael, however surprisingly, did not partake in the skull bashing just yet. He leaned in real close to the unmasked ninjas face and glared, pressing his sai to his throat tightly. The man gulped and sweat formed on his forehead.

"Where. Are. They?" He growled lowly and the man gulped again not replying, Raphael exerted more pressure, "I'm not gonna ask again…"

"Basement!" The man squealed.

"Leo!" Raph called, and the blue banded turtle flipped a ninja over onto his stomach, kicked another and glanced at his brother.

"What?" He called.

"They're in the basement!" He called.

"Cover me, Mike!" Leo called, looking for basement access.

"Will do, big bro." Mikey chuckled, "You gonna stand there, or are you gonna help, Raphie?" He teased. The red banded turtle grabbed the unmasked ninjas head, rammed it into the wall hard enough to knock him out and began helping his brother.

Heather didn't like a lot of things happening in her life at the moment. She didn't like that the same woman who strapped a bomb to her was now trying to deactivate it. She didn't like that Cameron was completely silent for once. She didn't like that she couldn't latch onto her boyfriend. What irked her the most was how he defended the very same woman. Sure, she believed she helped him escape the battle alive, but she sure as hell did not trust the timid woman kneeling in front of the bomb. It was taking longer than Heather expected. Seeing as Elena built the bomb, she figured she'd be able to deactivate it decently quick. Cameron fidgeted again, and leaned her head against Heather's shoulder once more. Heather twisted her head awkwardly to her hairline and kissed it softly. A small smile lifted Cameron's lips.

Donnie watched Elena's hands work intently. They had about twenty minutes, and that seemed to be more than enough time, but he was still nervous. Elena never paused, she worked quickly, and they both knew she knew exactly what she was doing. She knew how to deactivate it, everything would be fine. He hoped. Donnie caught Heather kissing Cameron's head softly and she turned back to him. There was something aside from relief in her eyes, and it was annoyance. He could have laughed. How could she be annoyed at a time like this? It would be something small, he knew, and it would probably make him laugh at the completely wrong moment which would get him into even more trouble than he already was in. Still, priorities were priorities and he couldn't worry about that until after his girlfriend didn't have a bomb strapped to her.

"Almost done?" Cameron asked as politely as possible.

"Yes." Elena replied quietly, "I just have to clip this wire…but I don't have anything."

"That's a dilemma." Cameron said, Heather stared at the blacked out, tall windows.

"Donnie, break one of the windows." Heather said.

"God, you're brilliant." Donnie exhaled in adoration as he went over to the window.

With a one swing a panel of the window shattered, and he picked up a large piece of glass carefully. He was agile as he made his way back over, careful not to step in the glass. He hand the piece to Elena who looked at Heather with an impressed nod. She clenched the glass tightly, and it cut her skin. Heather winced slightly as blood dripped from her palms as she cut through a bright purple wire. Everyone held their breath as she cut through it. Though the glass was sharp it needed more pressure to cut it. Elena grunted slightly as she pressed harder, the glass cutting into her hand even more. Second ticked away. Suddenly, the ominous, blinking red numbers on the screen abruptly stopped. Every exhaled at the same time. Elena straightened up cutting the ropes with the glass.

Heather let out a sob, and threw herself into Donnie's arms. The purple banded turtle held her tight enough to make it difficult for her to breath, but she didn't say a word. She didn't really give a damn. Stood rubbing the sore spots from the rope. Elena threw the glass down and looked at her bleeding hand. She was suddenly engulfed in a hug, and didn't know how to respond. Cameron didn't really give a damn, she'd never been so grateful in her life. Elena accepted the hug, it made her feel like her sacrifice was worth a lot more than she thought. She looked over to the embraced couple and smiled softly. Elena had done good, and somewhere Olivia was realizing it, she hoped.

"Elena, I need you to get the girls home, Raph, Mike and Leo are taking on the Foot."

Sophia and Skylar were completely prepared. Once someone came in, they would break free quite easily of their bonds (seeing as they made it so they could simply stand and the ropes would fall off of them) and scare whoever it was with their mocked strength. Once that happened they would run for their lives. Sure, it wasn't a great plan, but it was sure as hell better than nothing. Skylar was bored with waiting as was Sophia. They had traded life stories and superbly, secret secrets, and there was almost nothing more to discuss. The two had now begun singing songs of common interest. It was almost fun, and it drowned out the sounds from above that they had no idea what was causing.

A sudden bang, and several grunts made them jump and shut up. Something large, green, and wearing a blue bandana had tumbled into the room, ninjas following after him. He was bruised, cut but not badly hurt. He looked tired though, and was keeping the ninjas preoccupied, but not getting enough time to knock any of them out. Sophia and Skylar stood in shock for a moment. Plan forgotten, their minds were blank. They certainly weren't expecting this at all. Sophia came out of her reverie quickly and too in a shattering gasp before, she screamed.

"LEO!" But her call went mostly unnoticed, "Skylar, we have to help!"

"Okay, okay!" Said the other girl, "Here's the new plan."

"Hurry up!!" She exclaimed.

"I'll jump up, get their attention, and run." She said, "You save Leo!"

"That's a really shitty plan!" Sophia said, "What the hell are you going to do?"

"Oh please, you think he came alone?" Skylar said, "I mean, I know he's an arrogant jerk, but he's not that much of an arrogant jerk." She yelled.

"I heard that, Skylar." Leo grunted loudly.

"Fine, okay." Sophia said, "Ready?"

"Ready!" Skylar stood up, and kicked a turned around ninja in the bum, knocking him into another getting their attention, "Hey, assholes, any of you got a cigarette?" The ninjas turned to each other and said something loud getting all the other ninja's attentions.

"RUN YOU IDIOT!" Sophia screamed, and Skylar chuckled sprinting the same way Leo came in. Sophia stood and hugged Leo tightly.

"If you ever get yourself kidnapped again…I swear…" He said holding her.

"You'll what?" She chuckled through tears, "That's an empty threat, Crazy."

Skylar realized the major flaw in her plan as she entered an even more chaotic situation. A ninja grabbed her shoulder and she screamed throwing a blind punch. She caught him in the stomach sending him backwards into the basement access door and down the stairs knocking the other ninjas down with him. They stopped at one of the landings, all of them looking unable to move. She gave a nervous, and accomplished laugh and turned back to the room full of scurrying ninjas. They all seemed to be trying to exit, but Mikey and Raph were not letting that happen. A ninja was approaching Raphael's side, where he was blinded because he was already taking on a couple of ninjas. Skylar threw herself at the ninja pulling him with all her strength into the opposite wall. He didn't fall just looked confused for a moment. She waited until he turned around and came toward her again before delivering a harsh punch that knocked him over finally. She gripped her hand,

"OW!" She exclaimed, "Asshole!" She kicked him in the ribs. She turned back to Raph and Mikey who were extremely busy. Skylar stood next to Raph who still didn't notice her, "So, how are we getting out of here?" She asked and he looked at her, shocked, "Look out!" It was too late, he'd gotten a pretty decent punch to the face. Skylar kicked between the ninja's legs hard and he fell to the ground instantly. Raph got up and almost glared down at her, "Sorry." She said.

"You'd better be." Raph grunted, punching another ninja across the face like he had just been assaulted. "Do ya' know how much trouble ya' been causin' me lately?"

"Thanks a lot, ass hat!" Skylar said, "I'm so glad you're alright too!"

Sophia stood behind Leo as they made their way up from the basement. They were both considerably silent, but she wouldn't let go of his hand. As they reached the first floor Sophia gasped slightly. Leo tripped a ninja headed for his brothers. The ninja went flying into another and the fell into a heap on the floor. Sophia chuckled a little when she saw Skylar fighting with all her might, which wasn't much. Leo was counting how many left there were and looked around it seemed none more had arrived, but there were still a lot. Just then the back door where the three brothers entered busted open and a familiar purple-banded turtle jumped into the room, taking out a few Foot ninjas as he did. Leo chuckled a little at the giddy expression on his brother's face.

"You guys do this a lot don't you?" Sophia called to Leo who smirked down at her.

"How can you tell?"

"Because it's like game…who can kick the crap out of the most crazy ninjas." She shrugged, "Can I buy in?"

"No, you're going to find somewhere safe to wait."

"Skylar is helping!" Sophia whined like a child.

"Yes, but Skylar isn't someone I have authority over." Leo said and immediately regretted it.

"Who says you have authority over me?" Sophia said.

"Not now, Sophia, please." Leo said exasperatedly, taking out a ninja.

"No, I want to know where you got this crazy idea --" She was cut off by a blur grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the room.

Once they were outside, Skylar turned to Sophia who looked pretty mad. She shook her head and dragged her out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. Skylar seemed like she knew what she was doing as they moved between an alley two buildings away from the one they were being held captive. Sophia lifted up a manhole and the two girls jumped down, they sighed. It was disgusting, and wet, but they were never happier to be in the sewers. They looked at each other, having almost matching bruised faces. They hugged tightly and laughed loudly.

"How long do you think we'll have to wait for them…?" Skylar asked.

"I don't know." Sophia asked, "But how did you know where this manhole was?"

"Donnie told me to about it, he said to wait there for them. He said he had a plan."

"How do you know how to get to the lair?" Heather asked Elena coldly.

"I lived there for three years." She responded.

"How is your hand?" Cameron asked cordially.

"Fine." Elena said.

"That's good…" Cameron responded awkwardly.

It was considerably silent between the three girls. Heather and Cameron held hands as they followed the other girl. Elena said nothing, and had a blank stare in her eyes. Her fist was clenched, blood seeping from between her fingers. Heather glared at her, and Cameron was feeling sleepy and sore. Heather did not know if it was jealousy that fueled her hatred or simply because Elena had beat the crap out of her at one point during her capture. Still, she did not see herself getting over her dislike for Elena soon. Cameron sighed, a groan slightly escaping her lips as they tread forward. The shorter girl released her hand and wrapped an arm around Cameron's waist, letting the black haired girl rest her head on Heather's.

"How are you two holding up?"

"We'll be fine." Heather said softly. There was a pause.

"I'm sorry, for all the trouble we have caused you." Elena said thoughtfully, "I hope you do not blame Donnie, or feel like he can't protect you." She glanced over her shoulder, "He can."

"I'd never blame him for what you've done." Heather said in contempt, "I accepted the way he lives a long time ago…I just never got a chance to witness it until now."

"And has it changed your opinion?" Elena asked, "Are you doubting your ability to adapt?"

"No." Heather snapped.

"Good."

"What made you change your mind, anyway?" Heather asked, "As if betraying Donnie in the first place wasn't enough, you betray the woman you love as well?"

Elena stopped abruptly, making Heather and Cameron do the same. Cameron stood straight and looked at Heather as if she wanted to murder her for speaking. Elena spun around, a hateful glare in her tearful eyes. Heather blanched for a moment, but kept her stare stern on Elena.

"Did Donnie even tell you that I betrayed her before by letting him get away?" Asked Elena harshly.

" Yes he did. A little late for your conscience to kick in if you ask me." Heather said, "You wait until the moment when all of his brothers could be dead to tell him that you wasted two years of his life just to murder him?" Heather snorted, "How merciful of you."

"You don't understand what I had to go through --"

"What you had to go through?" Heather yelled, "How about what he had to go through? What all of them had to go through?" Her temper was slipping, "How could you let someone give themselves up to you for two fucking years, only to rip their hearts apart?" She screamed, "How could you hurt someone as kind, sweet, and caring as Donnie?"

"Don't you see that's why I let him go?" Elena yelled back, "I never loved Donnie the way he loved me but he was the best friend I ever had!" She said, "I hated myself for what I did to him everyday!""Then why didn't you stop it sooner!" Heather yelled.

"I didn't have a choice!" Elena said, "You don't understand the kind of business I am in…I was in…" She corrected, "I didn't have a choice!"

"There's always a choice!" Heather screamed, and Elena didn't respond, "You never answered my question. What made you betray someone you love and care about, why did you betray Olivia?"

"I don't have to answer to you." Elena went to turn.

"You sure as fucking hell do!" Heather screamed, "You don't get to kidnap, beat, and scar me for fucking life and all of the sudden become the good guy without some kind of explanation. That isn't how it works." Elena didn't look like she was going to cooperate, "I'm not moving from this spot, not until you answer me."

"I promised Donnie I'd get you back to the lair safe." Elena said.

"I'm sure you've broken a lot of promises to him…" Heather said venomously.

"Look, I'm going to have to explain myself to everyone in the end, so why don't you just cooperate for now?" Elena said, desperately, "I know you're tired, and hurt and being with me is not on the top of your list, but I cannot do this right now. I had to watch my family fall apart at my own hands, and if that wasn't enough you've given more than enough verbal abuse to make me feel worse." She sighed, "I'm not saying I don't deserve it, because I do." Her voice was quiet and broken, "But, please, just follow me, I've done enough to screw things up, don't make it so I have another fuck up on my list."

Heather seemed to be chewing on this information. Cameron was almost too tired to follow the fight, her eyes bloodshot and drooping. She grabbed Heather's hand and the girl broke her stare away from Elena. Cameron nodded at her and Heather sighed, closing her eyes tightly. She nodded and Elena smiled softly, whispering a thank you before leading the way once more.

"You were so cute, trying to be all tough." Sophia teased Skylar who chuckled a little.

"Not as cute as you…" Skylar cleared her throat and made her voice go a pitch higher, "Oh, Leo! Let's have a tender and cheesy moment while your brothers fight an epic battle!"

"Oh, shut up!" Sophia laughed.

"Fuck, I'm in pain." Sklyar said, somewhere between groaning and laughing.

"You and me both…" Sophia said, "Who do you think is gonna break down first once the shock wears off?"

"Ten bucks says its me." Skylar snorted, "I'll start crying and Raph will make a face like this." Skylar made a pained expression, and Sophia laughed.

"Yeah, it probably will be you." She said.

"Jesus, are they still up there?" Skylar asked .

"Obviously, if they're not here yet." Sophia said.

"Well, I'm fucking ready to sleep on a nice comfy bed or couch or whatever…as long as it has cushions."

The man hole above them moved and the two girls instinctively huddled together protectively. Relaxing when Donnie jumped down, Skylar squealed throwing herself at the turtle. He chuckled hugging her tight and Sophia laughed. Leo and Raph jumped down, followed by Mikey who picked Sophia up despite her protests. Skylar let Donnie go and began getting anxious, she wanted answers, and she wanted them now. Waiting a moment for Sophia to be put down by Mike, she waited to see if Leo would move forward to hug her, but he didn't.

"Where's my sister?" Skylar demanded, "Are all those psycho bitches dead?" She looked to Sophia who didn't interrupt, "And are any of you guys hurt?"

"Your sister is probably safe at the lair right now, we're fine, and all but one." Donnie replied.

"WHAT?!" Sophia and Skylar yelled.

"One of them is alive?" Sophia asked Leo.

"Which one?" Skylar asked in general.

"Elena," Donnie explained, "There's a lot to explain, let's just get back to the lair and --"

"Fuck that!" Skylar said, "My sister is with some psychopath freak!"

"That psychopath freak saved my life." Mike said in Elena's defense, "And Raph's too."

"Forgive us if we're being unreasonable," Sophia said, "But, I must agree, fuck that."

"Can we not have this discussion this moment?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, I'm totally swiped and I have yet to see the love of my life."

"What're you talking about I'm right here." Skylar winked, Mikey chuckled.

"You're in a good mood." Donnie said tiredly.

"She's having an adrenaline rush." Sophia said, "She'll pass out as soon as she gets onto a bed…"

"Seriously, can we go now?" Skylar said, "I miss my baby girl."

"Please sit still." Elena said softly to Cameron who was fidgeting around.

"But it burns." She whined.

"Only for a second." She said, "She's difficult enough for the both of you, just cooperate, okay?" Elena referred to Heather who was fighting with a bandage and trying to put it on one of her cuts herself.

"Alright…" Sighed Cameron.

A couple bandages later, Cameron was moving up to Mikey's room to get some sleep. Heather moved over to Elena who was trying to clean her wounded hand. She sat in the chair next to her and wordlessly grabbed her wrist, helping her clean the very deep cut. Heather gently cleaned the blood off of her hand and her wrist where it dripped. She wrapped up the cut tightly and tied the bandage neatly. She sat back and Elena looked at her hand and smiled up at her. Heather avoided eye contact. Just then the door opened and Heather looked excitedly to the door. She jumped up and ran into her sister's arms squealing happily.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Heather said.

"Are you okay?" Skylar asked looking at Heather's bruises.

"I'm fine." Heather smiled.

"Sophie!" Squealed a voice from the stairs.

Cam and Sophia hugged each other tightly, and Sky continued to focus on her sister's bruises. Donnie slipped over to talk to Elena who was considerably quiet. Splinter and April came into the kitchen, surprised by the sudden swell of people. Splinter narrowed his eyes at Elena, but Leo moved over to inform them of what had happened. Raph and Mike watched closely as Heather described what had happened when Don and Elena went to save them and Skylar kept shaking her head with a frown. The girl grabbed her sister's hand. Raph recognized the look on her face as she cleared her throat and said,

"What's with the change of heart?"

"Skylar, we told you --" Leo began, but she cut him off.

"I never said I doubted her, I just want to know why the hell she changed sides." Skylar said simply.

"You don't need to be so harsh about it." Donnie said.

"I don't?" Skylar asked, "Last time I checked she helped kidnap Cam, and did nothing to help my sister while she was held captive…" She said, "I think all of us deserve some kind of explanation."

"She doesn't have to talk about it." Leo said sternly.

"She can't just be excused, Leo!" Sophia agreed coming to stand next to Skylar, "Look, I'm really grateful you saved Mikey, and Raph and I'm sure you even helped save Leo." She said, "But you can't expect us to be kissing your ass…not after what you put us through."

"I understand you have some…" Heather began, biting her lip and sighing, "History…with the guys, but we've all just been thrust into this and got the shit beat out of us and…." She made a frustrated noise, "We're not used to this hero bull shit!"

"Well put, little sis." Skylar mumbled, "I just want some fucking answers." She said seriously, "I'm trying to figure this all out, we all are."

"I don't really care." Cameron said, and Sophia rolled her eyes.

"Ignore her." She said.

"Look, you girls are tired, you've had a long couple of days and you're obviously shaken, maybe you should all get some rest and we'll talk in the morning." Donnie said.

"No, Don," Elena spoke up, "They're right…" She smiled softly and played with the tie of her bandaged hand. "I never agreed with what we were doing…from the beginning it didn't sit well with me…" She began softly, "I didn't have a choice, when the team takes a mission, they stick to it as a team…I couldn't do anything about it…" She shook her head, "This past year…I've had to stall and just keep what information I had away from Olivia and Larissa, but I could only hold up the act for so long…When I helped you guys in California…that was when it was supposed to end for real." She shook her head, "I was supposed to tell Olivia I quit, that I couldn't do it anymore…and if I knew as well as I thought I did, she would have killed me there." She sniffed a little, "When we made the plan to make the final battle here in the city, I knew I had to do something more to help…"

"Why?" Heather asked, "Why were you so determined to make things right for us?"

"Because I know what it's like to be hated for what you are." Elena said, "My parents kicked me out when I was thirteen because I was different, I was bullied, and …" She sighed, "I just understand what it's like and I promised myself long before I met Olivia, Larissa or Vicky that I would never put anyone in that same position…" She laughed softly, embarrassed, looking at her hand, "I told you before," She looked at Heather, "I never loved Don the way he loved me, but…" She paused, "I loved living here, I loved this family…I hated the day we had to attack…that's why I let Don go, so he could get the family somewhere safe…"

"So you killed your friend, and betrayed your lover…" Skylar said, void of emotion.

"I did what I had to." Elena said, "Not only for you guys, but myself."

A/N: Ugh, I'm going on zero hours of sleep. Blehk. I hate insomnia. Please review!

-- Whispered Lies