I hope everyone enjoyed their winter break. I know I did. Now I'm back to writing. Enjoy this chapter, because "Battle for New York" is coming next! This chapter is kinda on the short side, so bear with it.

I'm feeling somewhat better now. I had one too many poisonings the other day, and it was worse than we thought. I took a lot of poison damage, in fact, so much, I was down to 1 HP by the time we got back to the apartment. I was unconscious by then, and sleeping restores my HP, so I am so glad I was out of my misery at that time.

But I think my only complaint about the resting part, besides my immense concern for Karai's health and safety, is that Nyata kept feeding me diced berries, like Sitrus Berries, Oran Berries, all those berries that restore HP. It's not that I don't like her little fruit cocktails, but I'm a carnivore. By definition, I'm a meat-eater.

And she gave it to me again. "Again? What do you take me for, a vegetarian?" I asked her. "No, I take you for someone who will eat what's in front of him, whether he likes it or not." Nyata answered. "Are you sure you don't have anything meatier?"

"I have a pack of sausages here." Jackie said, holding up a packet of three sausages. "Pass 'em." Jackie was about to toss them, but Nyata stopped her. "Eat that first." I groaned. As I reluctantly began eating her fruit cocktail, Nyata put a paw on my shoulder. "I'm forcing you to eat it because I care about your well-being. I don't want you fainting in the middle of a mission."

"I know, and I appreciate your concern for me. Next time I see that Seviper, I'll give him the what for." I growled as I finished the bowl. "Kay, I'm done. Can I have the sausages now, please?" Nyata rolled her eyes with a giggle as Jackie tossed the pack of sausages. "Yes! Finally, some meat!"

I opened the pack and brought a sausage to my mouth. Oh my god, sausages, I missed you so much. I was about to eat the second one, but I noticed Nyata giving me those damn puppy dog eyes. Stifling a laugh, I gave it to her, "Here ya go."

I hate packs of three, because we each got one, but one of us gets two. "Sorry. I only had three packets, and the others were hungry."

"Oh, it's okay." Thinking smart, I broke the last sausage in half. 3 divided by 2 is 1.5. We each had one, and we each had half of one. You're welcome for the math lesson.

"Rest up, bud. We're going to Coney Island." I heard Leonardo's voice. "Oh, I've always wanted to go there. Mostly because of that roller coaster." I said, excited.

Leonardo, Michelangelo and I ran across rooftops. Soon enough, we arrived at Coney Island. My tail began wagging. "Ay! Coney Islan-" Leonardo stopped me. "We're not here to ride the roller coaster. Promise me you won't mess around." He told me. "Promise."

I saw a white snake enter the- oh boy. The ghost house. "She went into the-" I heard claws scratching against wood. "Ghost house…" I turned to the source of the sound. Good thing I brought a baseball bat with me. I slowly walked over to the shadow. The silhouette I saw was familiar. Very familiar.

I can't quite make out what it is. It raised its head to look at me. "Yo…" It muttered, trailing off. That voice… "Marcus, is that you?"

My ears perked up. How does this guy know my name? "Who are you?" I asked the silhouette. "You don't remember? It's me, Gamma. The leopard dragon you made friends with." The silhouette revealed itself to be… oh my god.

My eyes widened, "Gamma?" I asked. He nodded. Out of shock, I dropped the bat and hugged him around the neck. I missed him. I haven't seen him since the invasion started. "I was so worried about you. When you got knocked out in the invasion and left, I… I thought I'd never see you again." Gamma said.

"I felt the same about you, buddy." I said, pulling away from him. Leonardo kneeled down next to me, "It's good to see you again, Gamma." He said. "You too." The two shook hands. "So, uh, what brings you here?" I asked Gamma.

"This is the only place I can go that isn't inhabited by Kraang. It's like my little getaway place. I never liked crowded places, anyway. What brings you three here?" Gamma said, then asked us. "Have you seen a white snake mutant around here?" I asked. "I have, actually. I think she went inside the ghost house. Karai, right?"

"She's the one. We could use another helping paw, if you wanna come with us."

"Anything for a friend of mine."

The four of us entered the ghost house. "This place isn't so-" Michelangelo said, before a fake Frankenstein popped up in front of us. Michelangelo screamed, and Gamma leapt on my back in fear. I didn't even flinch. "How are you so blank like that?" Gamma asked. "I've seen Insidious enough times."

"What's Insidious?"

"It's a supernatural horror film that has a lot of jumpscares in it. I've seen the entire film series four times. By the fifth time, I don't even flinch." I explained. "Goes to show, watching horror movies can be helpful in a situation like this."

"I tried watching Unfriended once. I didn't last long." Gamma said. "This is just a painted board." I said, pointing to it. Then another one popped up. All three of them screamed, jumping on me. "As was that." I muttered. "Just for that, it's safe to say that you three wouldn't last thirty minutes into Insidious. Now, would you please get off of me."

They did what they were told. I lit my paw on fire and saw Karai. We chased her into the House of Mirrors. Oh, I hated the House of Mirrors. I saw Karai in one of the mirrors. "I got 'er." Gamma said before pouncing on the mirror, almost breaking it. "Ow." He said. We each ran for Karai, but we all bumped into a mirror. Finally, we made it back outside.

Gamma sniffed the air. "Where'd she go?"

"You can't do this! We have friends who are gonna kick your butts!" Was that… April? I turned the corner and saw a warthog in a purple and black jumpsuit with a purple mohawk and visor, and a black rhinoceros carrying an unconscious Raphael and Casey. Anton Zeck? Ivan Steranko? They got mutated?

"So, other turtles and the kitty cat with the stripes are here? Da?" Steranko said. "Turtles, pussy cat! Come out and play!" Anton Zeck said. "If you surrender, the humans go free." Steranko said. "Pinkie promise."

I rolled my eyes. Gamma shot a lightning bolt from his mouth, shocking them both. While they were distracted, Leonardo and I ran to the and Gamma weren't so lucky. "Forget it. We don't trust youse." Gamma said. "You has no- huh? Little kitty with the strange markings here, too?" Rocksteady said, noticing Gamma. "Don't call me a kitty."

"That's a leopard, yo. Looks like a snow leopard, too-" Gamma shocked them again. "Whoa!"

"I'm a leopard dragon." Gamma said. "So, how's about you let those humans go, huh?"

They were talking for a while, until I felt a hand on my shoulder that wasn't Leonardo's. That scared the crap out of me, and I punched whoever it was. "Ow! My piggy nose! You punched me in my piggy nose!" Bebop said, holding his nose. "Aww, did I hit you in your piggy nose, little piggy? Too bad!"

I grabbed him with my tail and threw him into Rocksteady. Then we all saw Karai enter the ghost house again. Bebop and Rocksteady chased after her. Meanwhile, Leonardo and I managed to open the van. "We'll have you guys out of here in a sec." I said as I used my claws to slice through, whatever this purple stuff was. "Thanks, big guy." Donatello said, rubbing my head.

"I've had enough of those two for one day." Gamma said, hopping into the van, looking frustrated. "Hey, Gamma!" He and Donatello fist bumped each other. "Ugh, my aching brain. What hit me?" I heard Raphael's voice. I peeked out of the back of the van and saw Raphael (and Casey) holding his head.

"Marco." I said. Raphael looked confused for a second. "Polo?" Then he turned to me. "Oh, hey, bud." I flapped my ears, happy to see him. "Turtles free?" Uh oh. "I thought that'd paralyze him longer." Gamma said. Rocksteady charged. I shouted, and he lost his footing and fell flat on his stomach, missing us entirely. That was Obstruct, a move that can only be learned by Obstagoon.

"What's the plan, boss?" Gamma asked me. "Uh, one, two, three, four, see if you can find Karai. The rest of us will take on Rocksteady." Casey, April, Donatello, and Gamma ran off to the ghost house. "Who made you leader?" Leonardo muttered in my ear. I grabbed him where the shoulder connected to the neck, and he flinched. "Who said you had to be a control freak? I'm second in command, in case you forgot." I released him. "Sorry." He said, rubbing the spot where I pinched him.

Rocksteady stood up. I whistled to grab his attention. "Hey, Rock!" He turned to me, but we were already at the roller coaster. I had a retro-mutagen sprayer in my mouth. "Come out, lowly cowards!" Rocksteady shouted as we hid. "You want us? Come and get us!" I said, taking the sprayer out of my mouth, then putting it back in. "All aboard the turtle coaster!" Michelangelo threw a shuriken star at the start button. The roller coaster began moving.

"Here he comes." Leonardo said. I turned behind me and saw Rocksteady chasing us. My ears drooped and my eyes widened. Aw dang. "Can't this thing go any faster?" Raphael asked. "Wait." I electrified my paws and put them on the floor. The roller coaster sped up a little bit. "Good work, Marc-" He was cut off when we saw Rocksteady in front of us. What the f-!?

He slammed his fists down. We were sent flying. I caught the retro-mutagen sprayer with my mouth. Then Rocksteady grabbed me. "Now the little kitty gives me retro mutag-" I took the sprayer out of my mouth. Then, using Thunder Fang, I bit Rocksteady's large horn, electrocuting him for the third time. I threw the sprayer to Leonardo.

Enraged, Rocksteady began crushing my jaw. I wanted to roar out in pain, but my mouth was forcefully closed. "No!" The boys shouted. "You will give me retro-mutagen now!" Rocksteady said, holding me up. "Put him down first! I don't trust you!" Leonardo said. You has your word you'll give?" Rocksteady asked. "You has my word."

Rocksteady threw me to them. A painful landing, but I'm okay. "Asante, guys." I said, standing up. "Retro-mutagen now!" I took the sprayer from Leonardo. "What about a game of catch. Coming to you, Raphael!"

I threw the sprayer. Rocksteady was about to catch it, but Raphael beat him to it. "No! You gave word!" Rocksteady shouted. "But I didn't!" I surfaced my body in metal and rolled along the tracks of the roller coaster. This is Gyro Ball. The slower the user compared to the target, the more the move's power.

I was moving pretty fast by this point, and by the time I hit Rocksteady, it was enough to knock him off the roller coaster and flying into Bebop. I shook myself off. We jumped off the roller coaster. "Everyone okay?" I asked. "I think I sprained a leg or two." Casey said. "I almost broke a claw. Other than that, I'm good." Gamma answered.

Okay, now for the real reason why we came here. "Karai? You can come out." Gamma wandered away a bit, grunted and gestured to us, then Karai came out of her hiding spot. "It's okay. We're right here." I backed away and snapped my fingers. Leonardo took out the sprayer. Karai bowed her head, letting him spray her. But when the smoke cleared, she didn't change.

Gamma tilted his head in confusion. "That was supposed to do something, right?" He asked. "I told you, guys, Karai is special. She's not a normal mutant." Donatello said. "So it was all for nothing?" Raphael asked. "Doesn't matter. Come with us." I told Karai. "No. Too dangerous. My mind… is going." She said.

"Then why did you want us to come find you?" Leonardo asked in disbelief. "Wanted to say goodbye, to all of you." Karai said. Then she jumped into the ocean. "Karai, wait no- too late, she gone." I said before rubbing my face with my paw. I heard April say something about Bebop and Rocksteady getting away, but I was too bummed out to care.

I just turned around and began walking back home. "I'm sorry, man." Gamma said as we walked with me. "It wasn't your fault, Gamma."

"I know."