Kamryn rubbed her arms against the chill in the air, subconsciously fearing the worst. As if the two sets of eyes watching her every move weren't enough to make her feel paranoid, now the dropping temperature had her anxiety spiking even higher. It had become so intense that a hand landing on her shoulder almost sent the woman into orbit.

"Easy! Sorry, I should have said something."

Kamryn met the bronze-haired woman with a nervous shrug. "It doesn't take much to set me off, Katherine." She glanced up at the gathering clouds and hugged her arms over her chest. "I don't know about this. I don't like it. I think the Vagari are on to us. It doesn't feel natural."

"What doesn't feel natural?" The other woman sounded much more even-keeled than Kamryn could fathom.

"It's too cold. Isn't this your hottest season?"

"Well, yes, Kamryn, but temperatures can fluctuate quite a bit in this area of the globe. It's not unusual to have cooler nights, even in the summer. Is anything bothering you besides the weather?"

"Only everything," she muttered.

"At least we're getting out of here."

"To be transported somewhere else, that we don't control anymore than we do this place. There doesn't seem to be anywhere safe for them to go. The turtles need to leave entirely."

"Then what would happen to everyone else?" Katherine asked softly.

"I can't help them, anymore than I helped any of you. We were too late to stop Vagari from cornering their children. There's little chance the communication we risked everything to send got through. And my reaction to our capture nearly got Leonardo killed. At this point, all of you are better off without me."

Katherine gave her a look which was difficult to interpret. It seemed to be a mixture of sadness coupled with sympathy. "I asked Olivia and Nate to tell me their side of things from that awful night so many times, I know they got sick of it. But I think it helped me realize something you haven't."

Kamryn couldn't imagine feeling better about it, but motioned for her to go on.

"Bahri's pod managed to land safely, but yours couldn't, right?"

She shook her head. "No, not after being hit. I had to bail out early in that park."

"And your ship ended up exploding."

"Yes, that's what happened." Kamryn was mystified as to where the woman was going.

"Afterwards, Olivia said the momentum of the attack changed. Do you know why?"

"It seems they got more violent," the younger woman lamented.

"They became desperate," Katherine corrected. "Their cover was blown. The kids said they acted like they didn't want to leave the park to begin with, though they ended up chasing them. But when the risk for exposure became greater, they had to flee."

"And take the children with them."

"Yes, but they didn't get them all, and judging from the weapons Liv described...they certainly could have."

Kamryn bit her lip in concern. "Yes. I'm surprised they didn't."

"Instead, they ended up with only two out of five. I can't help thinking the exploding pod may have done more to help their cause than harming it. They were forced to cut things short."

She honestly hadn't thought about it that way, but she wasn't encouraged. "It doesn't help their other young ones."

"Do you think it makes no difference to the rest of us that Nate, Olivia, and Jayden aren't missing too? I can see why you made such good friends with our boys."

The amusement in the older woman's tone struck Kamryn as strange. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I find that you're very similar to them, in the best possible ways. Loyal and sacrificial to the end...but guilt hits you just as hard. The turtles don't even like killing someone who's bent on destroying them."

"We differ there," Kamryn replied sharper than she intended. "I harbor no shame in killing someone who's trying to do the same to me, or another I care about. I've never apologized for it, and I'm not going to."

"You sure don't have to say sorry to me. But you're still carrying a lot of guilt for something which isn't remotely your fault."

Kamryn searched the Latina's brown eyes, and was struck by the sincerity behind them. "We wanted to stop them altogether. It shouldn't have gotten this far!"

"That doesn't make your actions or sacrifices worthless, Kamryn. My family is in your debt."

The younger woman blinked back unexpected tears. "No. I am very much in theirs, and always will be. Meeting Donatello saved a part of my soul which was so dead, I never thought it'd live again. The very idea that his little girl suffers in the hands of those...those monsters, it makes me want to scream night and day."

"You're not alone there, but we still have a chance. Can you admit it for me?"

"A chance, yes..." she faltered. "I would feel better if we'd at least made contact with someone. They would come, Katherine. If they knew the situation, the Nalikjan wouldn't hesitate to respond, even if it spelled their certain doom. Which it probably would."

"Kamryn, what does expecting the worst get you?"

Katherine's question caught her off guard. "Well, I...I don't know. I don't enjoy it, but what choice do I have? I can't lie to myself, or see our circumstances for anything other than what they are. I'd do anything to change the outcome, but it hardly seems possible at this rate."

"But what does it get you?" she repeated.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"I mean you can be 'realistic' about the situation, and accept abject failure as the only future. But why bother fighting after such an admission?"

"I guess you wouldn't."

Katherine nodded. "We have much greater reason for despair than optimism. But since expecting to be destroyed won't do us in favors, I'd rather take the revolutionary approach of believing things can still work out. I don't know how. Yet rather than abandoning all my energy to negativity, I have to look to hope."

"How?"

"You can't choose what happens at every turn, but you get to decide how to react. Our matriarch Victoria told me something once, and I never forgot it. She said hope for the future gives us power to act in the present. I try to live by that idea, especially at a time like this."

"But I don't feel hope in the slightest."

"That's because it's not technically a feeling, any more than faith is. It's a choice, one you can make in spite of everything else."

Kamryn shifted her weight awkwardly. "It doesn't say much about me if I can't accept there might be some hope left, does it? I should have more faith."

"No one has it all together, Kamryn, especially me. But the words you speak and the thoughts you think are significant. They shape your mindset, and ultimately, what you choose to believe. If you want to see hope, you can't focus purely on negativity and fear."

She stared at the ground. "I really wouldn't care as much if it was only me. The turtles don't deserve to suffer this way."

"Neither do you," the older woman declared.

Kamryn snorted unintentionally. "Their motivation has always been purer than mine. At the root of everything, I'm still fighting to take back a life which was stolen from me. I'll be struggling forever, it seems."

"I can't pretend to understand what you life has been like," Katherine acknowledged. "But you're with us now. We need all the help we can get...but it also means receiving support in return."

"I'd do anything to help you."

"It will begin with helping yourself, and letting go of perceived failures. You showed up, Kamryn. That's more than anyone could have asked. You risked your life, and accepted being captured to get the chance. Regardless of whether you 'feel' it's good enough, you have to accept that it was."


Kamryn was still feeling a little skeptical before their transport showed up, but when she saw the size of the approaching vehicle, she had the urge to hide her eyes. She watched bleakly while their armed escort began herding their group to line up, but then quickly moved to get behind Donatello.

Her gaze narrowed when someone stepped directly in the path to cut her off, and found herself glaring at the Major. "Am I allowed to walk, or do I need permission?"

"I want you to stick close," the man directed. "I have a couple questions for you, which may determine where we go next."

Not laughing was difficult. "I'm not the person to ask for directions on your planet."

"So I gathered. But you are the one who can detect their drones when no one else does."

Nerves assaulted her stomach, but she tossed her head as if unconcerned. "I have experience with their technology. I can't tell you where they are exactly, but if they're nearby, I can find them pretty quickly."

"How do you know?"

Kamryn glanced at the purple-masked turtle instead of the man, and could see Donatello's protective side gearing up. "Maybe I'll tell you, if I have a good reason."

"We're leaving like all of you wanted."

"But where are we going?" The Major shut his mouth at once, and she sighed. "Exactly. You want us to blindly trust you, when you don't trust us."

The man motioned his head toward the monstrosity of a vehicle. "We'll talk inside."

Sure we will, if you open up first.

Kamryn edged closer to Donatello when the Major moved on. "Do you know what that thing is?"

The turtle chuckled softly. "It looks like a tour bus. So we're either going to be pegged as a bunch of traveling foreigners, or looked at like groupies."

"What's a groupie?"

Donatello merely smiled. "That sort of bus isn't what the military would typically use, so it's a good move for starters. The question is whether other precautions are in place."

"You think we'd have you out here otherwise?" Stewart scoffed from a couple feet away.

"Don't pretend to care about us, Major," Donatello retorted. "Everything you do is to benefit yourself."

The man scowled in response. "Last I checked, I was trying to keep you alive."

"If you really want us alive, you wouldn't be carting everyone around like cattle. You'll probably want to brand us next."

"There's no making you happy, is there?"

"Sure you could make us happy," Raphael interjected. "But ya won't."

"I'd hoped we were moving past the insubordination stage and closer to collaboration."

"Oh, is this a collaboration?" Donatello challenged. "Then where are we going?"

Instead of answering, Will wheeled around to face the line getting on the bus.

Donatello leaned closer to Kamryn when the man wasn't looking. "I don't think you should be telling him anything."

"Donatello, he knows I'm not normal. Everyone can tell, just by looking at me. He probably already suspects my origins. I won't share any of it unless he's more open with us, okay?"

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do, Kamryn. But I don't trust him."

"Neither do I, and I'm sure I never will. But you said this would be a 'give and take'. Doesn't that imply we have to share information eventually?"

"Yes, but on our terms."

She nodded like she understood, even though she didn't. The turtle stood back to let her on the "bus" first, and she climbed up the unnaturally high steps with confusion. Once Kamryn got a glimpse of the unusual interior, the number of benches was a good indication for why the transport had been chosen. In addition, the sheets of glass installed directly overhead seemed strategic.

"Everybody watch the roof," the Major announced gruffly. "And if you have 'turtle' DNA, stay the heck down." Then he nodded to Kamryn, and pointed to Donatello behind her. "C'mon to the back. I'll be with you in a minute."

"So will I," Leonardo spoke up.

"Leo, you've got to get some rest," Donatello objected.

"As soon as I have a clue what we're doing, I will."

Kamryn caught the perplexed look the Major gave the blue-masked turtle, and bit her tongue to keep from chuckling. He doesn't understand how Leonardo can function so well after being shot. The Major will be in the dark forever, because no one's giving up the secret.

While walking down the aisle between seats, she felt a sudden chill. Am I actually considering telling this man my own story? His kind would probably like to take me apart as much as they would the turtles. Better me than them, but still...

The sensation of fingers protectively gripping her elbow made her smile back at the purple-masked turtle. "This feels familiar."

"Not quite," Donatello grumbled, and shot Leonardo a sharp glance. "You shouldn't even be mobile."

"Don, you can't make a big deal out of it, or he'll delve deeper," Leonardo hissed. "Act like everything's normal, or the Major will realize it's not. Is that what you want? He already knows the blood for the transfusion came from Jayden."

Donatello dropped his forehead into his palm. "Me and my big mouth. All right, I get it, but seriously...You need to rest."

"I'll be fine. If we both lean on him, I bet we can get some clue where we're going."

"You think?" The purple-masked turtle sounded doubtful.

"We have to try, either way."

Donatello nudged Kamryn to a seat, and positioned himself beside her. She was tempted to bask once more in the glow of his overprotective nature, but the Major coming toward them forced her to remain somber.

The man claimed a seat of his own, and sat down backwards to face Kamryn and Donatello, before inclining his head to Leo across the aisle. "I need to know how much advance warning you can get us on the drones."

"Not much," she admitted. "I can tell you when they're close by, though probably not from inside the...bus. Maybe if a window was open, but the glass is probably in the way."

"Would you rather have your friends exposed to thermal technology?"

"I'm not complaining," she said defensively. "But I'm also not magical, Major. I can't conjure up their location for you."

"But you'd know if they were here now."

"Probably."

"You have to explain some of this."

"I will – after you tell us where we're going."

The uncertainty in Stewart's eyes wasn't encouraging, but he leaned toward them nonetheless. "We have to do something unconventional. I've been 'dark' up to this point, which means no communication with my superiors. I can't maintain that atmosphere without qualifying factors."

"Which means?" Leonardo asked crisply.

"It means setting foot somewhere no sane person who knew better would go. We were already planning to head that direction eventually, so the move won't appear out of place."

The two turtles exchanged a look.

"What do you have in mind?" the blue-masked one pressed.

Stewart hesitated, resting his arms on the seat back. "Venezuela."

Donatello cocked his head. "That's a pretty tumultuous atmosphere."

Kamryn fingered the turtle's shoulder. "What does that mean?"

"It's one of the most dangerous places on Earth, outside of an active war-zone," he filled in.

Leonardo cleared his throat. "What's the point of the destination?"

"It goes back to our connections with Lendano. Traveling to Latin America won't look suspicious to those I report to. I also have some contacts in the country who are prepared set us up with arrangements in Caracas."

Donatello's eyes widened. "You want to send us to the epicenter of the madness?"

"I don't want to do any of this. I'd rather unload you lot and never have to look at you again, but I can't risk someone else finding you. You want to hide somewhere out of the way, right? I can't think of anywhere better."

"I can," the purple-masked turtle countered. "If you think-"

Leonardo stretched a hand to his brother's arm to cut him off. "You have to let us contact our people at some point."

"We can address that later. You wanted to know where we're going, and that's the plan. Are you ever going to explain how you know about the drones?" he directed to Kamryn.

She grinned in return. "You seem to have some intelligence, Major. You can clearly see I'm not a normal human being."

"Are you in fact, human?"

"I was born one. What I am now is up for interpretation."

"Are you from Earth or not?"

"Not. I'm a product of two of the many slaves who were abducted from your planet over the course of several years. But if the Vagari get their way, things will turn out much worse for the rest of you. I hope you know what you're doing, Major, because you aren't just gambling with the turtles. The future of your planet is on the line. You'd better not screw it up."