A.N: I should probably just make it a thing now to say I'll either be updating Sunday or Monday every week. BUT after the new year. I'm very close to finishing my Star Wars story and then after my whole focus will be on this and the GLTAS story. And work…

I don't own TMNT

(Translation)

CHAPTER 19

With the moon high in the sky, the Mutanimals jumped from roof to roof. Keeping low as to not get spotted by Kraang patrols. When they stopped at the edge of a Pizzaria, Slash said, "Ok, Pete. Go scope it out high."

"Going up!" Pete almost yelled. Everyone shushed him, hoping none of the Kraang heard. "Sorry…" the bird whispered. "Going up…." And he took off into the air. A while later he came back down and said, "We got two groups coming down both sides of 8th Street."

"Then why the glum look? You like tackling Kraang for bread," Slash said.

"I do. But I couldn't find a Karai from up there."

Rockwell grumbled, "Another night, more bad news to take back to Fillien."

"It has been two weeks," Leatherhead said slowly.

Slash shook his head and said, "Buck up you said sacks. We'll keep looking for her. Don't give up yet. Besides…" he pointed to where a group of Kraang with a Kraang Walker came in view around the corner of the street. "We can come home with a victory tonight at least." Slash pulled out a piece of bread from his belt and threw it down towards the Kraang droids.

The metal machines looked down at the bread that had come out of nowhere, until they heard a loud, "SOURDOUGH!" from above. Pete was the first to attack with the others following behind. The chaos caused an onlooker who was hiding nearby to retreat deeper into an alley. It slithered away in a blur of light before coming into the light of a small lamp over a door.

There Karai stood in view, looking back at the fight. She had been trying to figure a way to cross the street when those mutants came in at the right time. She would usually get into the fight for the fun of it but seeing Slash made Karai backtrack. And it suddenly brought back some haunting memories. One she didn't need at the moment.

Karai shook her head and slithered blindly around a corner and up and the alley that ran parallel to the street. All in all, she was trying to keep back the emotions building up. First Breaker takes her for a fool and makes her feel shameful and now Slash brings back the fear. Could she just catch a break!? The snake girl, thinking she was far enough from the mess, finally made a turn towards the street she tried to cross before. She was met with another Kraang Patrol and their Walker. "Oh what the Hell!" she hissed as she just plowed through a couple of Kraang to cross the street.

They were all in shock at first but quickly realized she was a mutant, the ones not hit ran after her. The Walker began to fire plasma blasts from its turret guns. Karai was quick, avoiding getting hit or making contact with the Kraang. But as she turned into a couple of alleyways she found herself at a dead end. "Great…" Then she looked in every possible direction. The best was either to climb up… or go into the sewer. Which was quicker? The Kraang droids suddenly appeared and began firing at her with blasters.

On instinct, Karai used her tail to kick up the manhole cover and when she grabbed it with her mouth she threw it towards the Kraang. It went like a Frisbee before hitting the Kraang heads like a pinball. Once all their heads were cut off from the body they fell to the ground. Kraang creatures burst out of their chest and scrambled away to avoid the Kraang walker from stepping on them. Before the giant machine could fire a barrage towards Karai, the snake girl was gone.

Inside the sewer tunnels, Karai slithered away as fast as she could. She didn't care where. She just needed far, far away. Away from hurt, pain—No! "Not… again!" Karai came to a halt, looking back behind her to see if the Kraang had followed her before she relaxed. Her human form appeared as she laid her back against the arced side of the tunnel wall and slid down to sit. Pulling her legs to her chest and burying her head in her knees, Karai took deep breaths. No way was she going to think like that again. The primal instinct to flee and think so little of it.

That's how she had been when she first became a mutant. And she was helpless. She was hating this was happening to her again. Leaving New York made her a better fighter and helped her control her shapeshifting mutation. But everything else she learned was becoming noot. Every little bit of emotion set her off. With more and more memories to get her angrier. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let those memories bring up…. That…man. Karai and Fillien sacrificed so much to get Karai better. The snake girl had to stay strong. Strong enough to find Fillien.

Karai took deep breaths. In and out. That's it. Take time, just like Tomoe said. That Praying Mantis mutant may have been a nut but she had a good head on her shoulders. Tomoe knew what she was talking about. This helped Karai relax her breath. Even though she didn't raise her head, the Kunoichi smiled. She was no longer panicking, so Karai could think of what to do next. "Go North. Fillien wasssssn't… in East…. Ssssshe may be… more north."

There, that wasn't so hard. Karai could handle this right?

Suddenly, there was a sound down the tunnel. It made Karai's head shoot up. She looked down the tunnel she had left to go down. Well, as long as she left behind the one she came in to avoid the Kraang, the source of the noise was the next place to go. Might as well check out the sound. Standing up Karai walked down the tunnel and followed the source through several turns. As the sound became louder it became more distinct. Like someone was kicking cans and chewing through wood. Once she turned another corner, she noticed light starting to shine more into the darkness. The source coming from a large intersection of tunnels. There, in the middle of the pit, was heeps of trash… with a giant rat mutant on top.

Karai felt her body become rigid at the sight. She wasn't afraid, she was terrified. And not about what the mutant could do to her…. But what she could do to it. Because of this…. This was her father. Karai tried blinking several times and rubbing her eyes, hoping that she was dreaming. Where she usually saw him during the mission to Kilimanjaro. But he wasn't in his red robe or speaking to her. Opening her eyes, she got a better look at him.

Splinter was the same as she last saw him, with fur sticking up in different directions and eyes wide as saucers in pure nervousness. This time his red robe completely gone and he wore nothing but white undergarments for bottoms. He didn't look like a man turned into a rat. He felt like a rat that just got bigger. Scrambled around the trash pile every five seconds, stopped to grab something and almost stuff it down his throat before repeating the search cycle for food again.

He wasn't himself. Splinter was always calm. Yes, cautious, but his fears and anger never defined him. This was… this was sad. Karai had no idea what, but something happened to him for him to become so feral. But being a big rat and moving around like one was starting to make Karai feel itchy. Her pale, white scaly skin almost shuttered as the instincts to hunt down and kill were growing. No, no, no, no…. Karai stepped back, away from the view of the intersecting tunnels and into the one she came in. If she kept looking at him, the need to eat would only get worse.

Think, think. Human. He's Splinter. Hamato Yoshi. Karai's father. Can't eat him. Won't. But the more she thought of that the more the worst of the thoughts came. Even though Shredder had intended for the turtles to fall into that snake DNA mutagen tank and not Karai, the victim was always going to be Splinter. The snake girl couldn't let Shredder win. Shredder! "NO!"

Splinter heard the noise, dropping his food and his body standing upright. He looked like a meerkat standing on a hill. Splinter's head rotated almost 180 to the source of the yell. Curious? What's that? More food? Danger? Flee? No flee? Curious. Splinter crawled down from his pile and stalked over to the entrance of the tunnel where the source came from. He went slowly on all fours as he sniffed the air. Familiar smell? Why? Not Food? Friends? Enemy? Danger? No Danger? He got closer and as he did, the scent became more familiar.

For a second, he stood up on his feet. But not like any animal. His hands were to his side. His ears were back in grief. His eyes no longer wide in fear, but wide in shock. Splinter… knew it… knew her. He knew her this was… his… his daugh—a primal scent came and blocked his memories. Danger? Snake? Snake! DANGER! Splinter turned tail as soon as a large head came out from behind the tunnel entrance and clamped its jaws down to where he once was. Now, Splinter ran. Run. RUN! AWAY! HIDE!

Karai in her snake form hissed in fury and slithered after him. Splinter was on all fours, moving north through the tunnel system. Karai was hot on his heels, no sign of any human emotion as she focused on one thing. Food… so hungry… kill the rat… eat.

The chase went on for what felt like hours. Splinter almost got caught at one point. His feet skidded on a puddle of water when he tried to turn and make a corner. He missed it, falling on his side as he slid to what looked like a dead end. His back pressed to the wall, he looked up as Karai came at him with a full charge. He looked to his right briefly, seeing a small tunnel enough for him to go through with a crawl. As soon as she jumped at him with all three of her snake head jaws open wide, Splinter jumped into the right tunnel. Karai's faces hit the cement dead end with a loud crack forming on the wall by the impact.

Splinter never looked back as he crawled on all fours through the small tunnel space he managed to squeeze in. And he never looked back as he got out to the other end into a wider tunnel and run into the darkness. Dark not matter. No matter. Flee. From danger. Danger far away. safe from the monster.

A.N: So after the turtles restored Splinter back to normal when they got back to New York , is this what Splinter meant when he saw Karai? Maybe not but I did it like this anyway because FEELS! Boy Karai isn't going to take this well. Anyway, i'll be updating in early January so have a Happy HOLiday and a Great New Year! im KikaKatTIOI, peace out!