The team had pinpointed a potential shipment for a new Kraang weapon and set up a stakeout. They didn't have to wait long, much to their surprise and relief before a few vans showed up at an unmarked warehouse. Donnie used his telescope to see what their weapon was and leaned back in shock, "Woah! That's a sub-spatial endoparticle disrupter."

"Gonna have to explain if that's 'oh, no' or 'yay'," Leo remarked.

"I heard the words 'particle' and 'disrupter', so I would say 'oh, no'." Hikari sighed with a meh gesture.

Mikey piped up and ask, "So, what does it do?"

Donnie explained, "The disrupter can de-synchronize subatomic resonances, which invert polymolecular structures, - causing them to implode."

Donnie's explanations only drew a blank look on Mikey's face so Raph summed it up, "It makes things go "boom"."

"Implode, not explode." She clarified.

"Yeah, so it makes things go zwee-chooooo!" Donnie closed his hands together and popped his lips for emphasis, "It's important to be accurate."

"Okay, guys. Get in position." Leo went into leader-mode and pulled out his katanas. Everyone else did as he said, armed and ready.

What the team didn't know was that they weren't the only ones there. On a nearby rooftop was Baxter Stockman looking down at the same scene. "With that endoparticle disrupter in our arsenal, we'll be unstoppable. All right, men, we move on my signal." He said without taking his eyes off his binocular, which meant he didn't see Bradford's hand reach over to pick him up.

"Your signal?" Bradford growled at his face.

Baxter started begging right away, "Please, don't hurt me."

"You do what we say, and then you thank us for letting you live. Got it, Stinkman?" Bradford tossed him aside the moment he was done with his threats.

Baxter let out a groan as he hit the ground. Perhaps it was adrenaline or a desperate attempt at regaining some control and dignity, he gritted his teeth and corrected the beast, "Stockman. It's Stockman."

His retaliations were met with a metal foot to his gut, leaving him wheezing while Xever looked down on him, "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Baxter quickly responded. Xever scowled, prompting Baxter to finish the line, "Thank you for letting me live."

"Screw this up, and I will finish you myself. Remember that."

"Just you wait, you freaks." Baxter clenched his fists in rage. He was sick of it, all the mutants and aliens. He was just a simple man trying to make a living, not some pet they could keep on a leash. Ever since those five kids busted his first heist, he couldn't get away from this circus show. Well, he would make them regret it one day.

But right now, the focus was on the disruptor. Both parties had their eye on the prize, waiting for the signal, and then leaped into action. The team dropped from their hiding spots, closing the Kraang's route before noticing that Bradford and his Foot soldiers now had the Kraang trapped between the two groups.

"Kraang, and Fishface? And Dogpound? I must be dreaming, pinch me." He let out a yelp of pain as Mikey actually pinched him, to which he retaliated with a bonk to the head.

"Ouch!" Mikey rubbed the forming bruise, "You said so."

"Boys, save the rough-housing until we're back in the lair."

Since the Foot soldiers were humans, Hikari mostly kept to hand-to-hand now that she was much better thanks to her constant training. She used her whip to trip up her opponents or disarm them, but her nimble kicks and flexibility had been doing well to keep herself out of harm's way.

Leo made his way through the onslaught of Foot soldiers, even managing to hop over one of them being kneeing them in the back. He made it over to the truck where the disruptor was. He heard the revving sound of a chainsaw coming from behind him, only for Dogpound to show up and take care of the Kraangdroid for him. Now he could focus solely on taking out Dogpound.

Everyone else in the team held their own well. Donnie rolling and flipping in time with shots to get close enough to disarm the droids and destroy them. Mikey flailed his nunchucks with his over-the-top battle cries, taking down every enemy that comes his way. Hikari was very unamused that one of them tried to saw her boyfriend, so she decided to return the favor. She did keep her word as to not kill them if not needed, but she did make quick work with their exosuits once she turned her uniweapon into a laser circular saw blade with a handle in the center. Raph and Fishface, in the meantime, were too busy with their own feud as they focused on fighting each other.

As the battle ensued, one of the Kraang picked up the disruptor and fired a shot at Mikey. Donnie saw this and pushed him out of the way as the blast now zipped past him, hitting a car behind him instead. The car glowed a bright yellow before shrinking rapidly in size before it disappeared with a small 'pop'.

Watching Mikey nearly blinked out of existence made that Kraangdroid Hikari's new target. She changed her uniweapon into a spear and drove it into the Kraangdroid she was currently fighting. She then used the spear to vault herself closer to the Kraang with the disruptor. She quickly retracted her uniweapon once she was in the air and stuck her feet out to land a dropkick onto its torso. She quickly grabbed the disruptor and held it close to her chest, "I got it!"

Leo heard her and called out to his brothers, "Turtles, fall back!"

The five of them reunited in the lair, with Raph being the last one to meet up. He seemed annoyed that his fight got cut short, but that didn't matter as he joined in on their victory celebration.

"Great work, Hikari." Hikari glowed slightly at Leo's praise, the device in her arms.

"With this device, we can finally take out the Kraang portal." She chimed while handing the device over to Donnie.

"We'll need to be smart about this. They have to know we'll be coming for them." He said as he took the disruptor from her, "I'll take this back to the lab and see what I can learn about this thing."

"Don't stay up too late, Donnie." Hikari reminded him.

Raph quipped back, "Don't wander into the wrong bedroom, Hikari."

Leo started stammering with a heavy blush while Hikari was confused at that. She never wandered into Leo's room after all. He quickly explained to her softly and her only response was, "I'm still getting sleep so that's not the point."

Leo hid his face in his hands and groaned out of embarrassment. Raph and Mikey started laughing and mocking them as they turned in for the night. Donnie went over to his lab, leaving the couple alone.

She smiled and poked Leo's red cheek, "You know they only tease you because of this."

"Well! Admitting that doesn't help, OK?" Leo retorted, but his blush wasn't fading.

"I want to kiss your cheeks right now. You're so precious."

"Just for that, you're not gonna find out what happens to the Steel Man after his duel with Captain Patriot."

The five of them sit in the tatami mats, anxiously waiting for the strike. Hikari understood the idea behind the lesson, but she was always better at reacting to an oncoming attack than predicting one she couldn't see. The fact that it had not happened yet was stretching her out like a black hole.

None of them could look behind or at each other, which made it worse. Hikari tensed as she heard a whack and a yelp from Donnie at the end of the line. She knew that Mikey was next in line and he knew it too.

After a period of silence, he spoke up and asked, "Just so we're clear, Sensei, you are planning on swinging, ri-"

His question was answered with a swift whack to the head. Mikey cried out in pain and swallowed a whine as he rubbed the sore spot on his head.

Raph was next and he took his swing to the head with an annoyed grunt, likely angrier at the fact he didn't get it than actually getting hit.

Hikari was now sitting upright with tension. She wanted to get it after all, but she wasn't sure what to look out for. She counted to thirteen before attempting to duck. The wooden sword still hit her right between her shoulders as she wasn't quick enough. She let out a startled squeak from the hit and sulked over her failure.

It was a surprise to only Leo himself that he was the only one who dodged it in time and made it unscathed. Even if she was disappointed in herself, she couldn't help but crack a small smile at Leo's enthusiastic "Yes!" with a fist bump and grin on his face.

"What is the point of this, anyway?" Raph complained. She suspected he was even more annoyed after Leo succeeded.

"Evading a sword you cannot see demonstrates an ability to sense your enemy's intention." Splinter answered.

"I already know my enemy's intention, Sensei." Raph retorted, "To take me down."

"Knowing that your enemy will strike is a given. But sensing when he will strike can mean the difference between victory and defeat."

Raph took Splinter's words in and sighed, "Hai, Sensei."

"Better luck next time, Raph" Mikey patted him on the shoulder as they got into their feet. Morning training was over, and they wanted to relax before their patrol in the evening. Since today was a weekend, April dropped by early and entered the lair in time to see the team come out of the dojo.

"Hey, April." Donnie greeted her cheerfully, "What'cha got there?"

"Oh. There was a sale on cream puffs at the bakery."

Hikari picked up the small fluffy pastry and popped the whole thing into her mouth. She started to chew and let out a delightful noise as the sugary treat melted in her mouth, "I like this."

"You've got great tastes, April."

"Thanks, Donnie." April looked to Hikari, who was eating another cream puff, "Hey Hikari, when did you get your weapon?"

She swallowed her treat before answering, "Well, Lightfuries only get their uniweapon after we master the basics of our core energy."

"No. I mean, doesn't Splinter give you a weapon to use?"

"In the beginning. But once I got my uniweapon and guard, I had no need. My uniweapon can transform into most weapons after all." She noticed April looking down and realized the question April was really trying to ask, "April, using any weapon requires a lot of skill and training. I've been training since I was a little spark to do this."

"I know. But I'm going to need a weapon of my own. The Kraang have guns, and my arms won't be any good against metal."

"I think you should mention this to Splinter. He'll understand." Hikari saw that April was looking at the doorway and glanced over, noticing Donnie's shadow by the doorway. She picked up another puff and put her hand out as she said aloud, "Want more cream puffs, Donnie?"

Donnie poked his head into the kitchen, looking sheepish that his cover was blown but he took the out that Hikari gave him. "Uh-Yes?" He took the soft pastry, rolling it between his fingers before saying anything, "So, I heard you're going to ask for a weapon. Any idea on what you're gonna get?"

"I don't know." April shrugged, "I just thought I'd be given one."

"When sensei gave us our weapons, he chose them based on our strengths and personalities." Donnie explained, "I'm sure you'll get your weapon soon. And I'll be happy to help you get the hang of it too. If you want me to, of course."

"Sounds great. I just need to convince Splinter first." April got off the seat and started heading for the dojo.

Hikari looked over at Donnie and grinned, "You're getting better at talking to her at least."

"I just keep tripping over my words, it doesn't make sense." Donnie dropped his head onto the countertop, "How come I can't be as like you or Leo?"

"Well that's not fair on you, you're Donatello. You're the smartest guy on the team, the one who made an armored vehicle with scraps and an abandoned subway car." She patted him on the shoulder, "Give yourself some credit, there's a reason the team works so well with you on it."

Leo had been waiting anxiously for her to come out of the kitchen. Once he saw her, he walked over and said in a hushed tone, "Hey April, you got a second?"

"Sure?" April followed him to the corner next to the waterway, "What's up?"

He had put a lot of thought into this and he really felt like he shouldn't need help with this. But his brain was running endlessly in circles. Besides, he did not want to turn to his brothers for help about this. "I want to take her on a date, but I'm kinda stumped on what to do for her." Leo scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "You spend a lot of time with Hikari doing things on the surface. Do you have any ideas?"

"You guys haven't been on a date yet?" She blinked owlishly, "You guys have been together for like two months."

"Between stopping the Kraang and the Foot, the only time we could really spend with each other is before bed."

Leo paused when he realized what he'd said. It sounded weird, especially after he noticed April's shocked yet slightly judgmental expression.

"Not like that!" Leo quickly denied, willing away the blush that was starting to overshadow the green on his cheeks, "We huddle and read comics together. It's fun reading them with her and hearing her question its logic."

"Right…" April decided to leave that be and focused on the matter at hand, "I'll be happy to help. When's the date?"

"Hmm… I hadn't really asked her yet. I thought I was supposed to have an idea of what to do before I asked her."

"She'll say yes for sure, Leo. Don't worry about it." She reassured him, "Though planning a date without any ideas would be a little tough."

"Great."

"Just ask her first, we can work on the details later."

"Thanks, April." Leo smiled weakly. He had other things to worry about now. "Good luck with your training."

During their evening patrol, things were quite calm in the city. All except the hushed wailed coming from Mikey, "I can't believe you, my own sister!"

"Nii-chan…" Hikari sighed exasperatedly.

She tried to explain but he silenced her before she could get another word out, "Betrayal!"

"Mikey, I'm just saying that they made it very obvious. I mean, Yellow was so quiet, and we rarely show him on screen."

"But he and Cyan were bros!" Mikey retorted passionately, "And Yellow threw him out of the airlock."

Hikari was going to say something about it all being an act from Yellow. But Leo stopped the argument from continuing, "Hey! We're ninjas, remember? Ninja mode."

Hikari sheepishly nodded, while Mikey just gave him a pair of thumbs up. Leo rolled his eyes but he was used to their shenanigans by this point.

Donnie looked down from the rooftops and spotted something. "Look alive. I got eyes on one giant dog and fish, six 'o clock." He reported to the group.

"Where?" Mikey pushed ahead to see it, only to be disappointed, "Aww, it's just Dogpound and Fishface."

Leo pulled out his telescope to get a closer look. He was surprised that they weren't even really hiding. They were sticking their heads out and making wide corners, very odd considering they were supposed to be Shredder's top men. "What are they doing in the open like this?" He asked aloud.

Hikari was up in the front and next to him as she scanned the area, "No vehicles. How did they get here?"

"I think we should proceed with caution, guys." He said to his brothers. The couple looked at each other, then behind them when they heard no responses, "Guys?"

The three of them were gone already. They looked down to see the rest of their team in the middle of fighting the two mutants. "For solar's sake." Hikari muttered, her uniweapon transforming into a whip as she dropped down into the fray with Leo.

Dogpound was ready to attack Mikey when her whip wrapped around his arm, her drop and weight pulling the arm back while Leo landed a two-legged kick onto his chest. This knocked Dogpound onto his back, a sword pointed at his face as he raised his head up.

"Stay." Leo smirked victoriously, "Good dog."

Dogpound smacked Leo off and turned around. He and Fishface shared a look before running down an alleyway. Fishface followed right after, leaving his fight with Raph unresolved.

Raph seemed pleased to see the two escaping, "Look, we got 'em on the run"

"Raph, wait, something's not right!"

"Yeah, you talking while they're getting away!" Raph ran after them, leaving the others with no choice but to follow him.

Hikari kept looking around above them and noticed something, "I don't understand. Where are the Foot soldiers?"

"This way!" Raph's callout stopped that train of thought. The team approached a warehouse, which was already open. They had their weapons at hand as they entered cautiously. They watched each other's backs as they made it to the center of the room, looking for Fishface and Dogpound.

"Alright." The two of them came out from their hiding places with their hands up and matching smirks on their faces, "You got us."

Leo blinked as something clicked in his mind, "This was too easy."

"Why are you always worrying?" Raph complained with a side-eye glance. As he said that, a giant circular wall shot up from the ground and surrounded all of them. Raph paused and relented, "Oh, that's why."

"Careful, guys. This may be a trap." Mikey muttered seriously.

Hikari sighed as her uniweapon shifted into a whip, "Thanks, Mikey. I think we got it."

Just as the team was staring down Fishface and Dogpound, a voice came from a speaker overhead. "Welcome, contestants." The voice said it like he was a ringleader, "I'm so glad you could join us tonight."

The team recognized the voice almost immediately. Leo sputtered, "Blister Stockboy?"

"It's Baxter Stockman." Stockman gnarled into the speaker, "I'm your archnemesis."

"Clearly you've never seen what she does to the Kraang." Raph muttered under his breath.

But Hikari heard it and shot him a glare, "Hey."

Stockman continued speaking and ignored the interruptions, "You'll be playing for the ultimate prize your lives in the all-new, family-friendly, incredibly deadly maze of doom."

The team groaned in annoyance, Stockman was less of a threat and more of a nuisance to deal with when compared to their other foes. Sure enough, lasers start firing from the ceiling and the team moved out of the way. It was more of a workout at this stage. Hikari changed her uniweapon into a large shield and used her guard to create a protective barrier, "Guys, over here!" She skillfully deflected any stray shots as the brothers grouped up under the barrier.

A few shots nearly hit Dogpound and Fishface, and they reacted very aggressively at that. "You fool. What are you doing?" Fishface waved his fist at the camera.

The barrage stopped as Baxter starts monologuing, "I'm sick of you freaks. You treat me like dirt, threaten me. Well, Baxter Stockman doesn't make threats."

"Have you gone mad?" Fishface seemed shocked for a change.

"Mad?" Baxter laughed, "I'm full-on mega crazy!"

"You traitor!" Dogpound shouted angrily.

"And even if you make it through my maze alive, you'll still have to face my monster of-"

Leo cut him off with a deadpan tone, "Doom? Is it a monster of doom?"

"No!" Baxter denied indignantly, "Uh, monster of… uh-Uh Oh, the heck with it."

Just as he said that, the floor under their feet disappeared and they all fell down a long tube. They all crash onto the ground, which was near indistinguishable from the walls. Hikari picked herself up and looked around, a hallway with no way out.

As the others got up too, they all stood in their fighting stances. Each waiting for the other to make the first move. It didn't take long as Raph and Fishface were eager to resume their fight. Leo and Hikari shared a glance and a nod before breaking off, Leo staying with his brothers to fight Dogpound, while Hikari acted as backup for Raph.

Fishface managed to get a good hit and got Raph on the defensive. Hikari dealt a high kick to the jaw and pushed him back. Raph wasn't too happy to be bailed out like that, "What're ya doing?! I got this!"

"We don't have time for your ego battles. Let's get this over with and get out of here." The two of them were keeping Fishface busy before he managed to throw her back. Hikari noticed a red laser blade swinging towards her face and tumbled out of the way, "Woah!"

Leo wasn't doing any better and he was tossed next to her. He looked up and noticed the laser scythe traps coming towards them. "This can't be good." He muttered.

Raph noticed it too and pushed Fishface out of the way as one appeared and swung at where he was, "I saved you why, calamari boy?"

"Everyone, I suggest a fight rain check." Leo suggested.

"Never. We do this now." Dogpound stubbornly continued, but he stopped quickly once he barely missed his beheading with a chip off his shoulder.

Hikari came to Leo's aid, "If we keep fighting, we are never going to get out of here alive."

"Hikari, can you stop them?" Leo asked. She dodged another swing before extending her whip to the arm of the scythe. Once contact was made, she pushed her energy into overloading it. But it didn't work, and the blades got wider.

She quickly pulled back as Baxter mocked them, "Nice try. I finally managed to figure out how your powers work, and I recreated that power source."

"The exit! There!" Donnie pointed to the white light at the end of the hallway.

Dogpound and Fishface pushed the team aside and rushed to the exit. The team all stuck close and they evaded the blades. "Leo, you don't think we can trust them, do you?" Raph asked him cautiously.

"It's our only option." Leo responded warily.

"Well, what do we do when they turn on us? Because they will turn on us."

"We'll just have to trust that we'll see it coming first." Leo's answer didn't fill any of them with confidence, but it was the best they got right now.

At the end of the hallway, there was another blaster waiting for them. But Hikari had an idea. "Mikey, swing me up there." She pointed to the blaster in the ceiling. She swung her whip and allowed it to twine together with Mikey's kusarigama. The two of them started spinning and got enough momentum that Hikari launched herself and smashed the blaster off its post with a well-placed kick.

"Everything is breakable, one way or another." She shot a scornful glare at the camera while crushing the metal heap under her shoe, "We'll find a way out of this."

She then heard a low whistle with a slow clap. "I always forget about that fire in your soul, chica." Fishface smirked, "It's a shame you won't join me."

"I have something better, if only your boss would leave us alone." She didn't spare him another glance, walking over to Leo and touching his hand. He calmly took it and led them all ahead.

April had been thinking about how she wanted to ask him. She really wanted to start fighting with the guys, but she wasn't sure if Splinter would say yes. After all, practicing the techniques is different from actually using a weapon in combat. After she finished her set, she spoke up. "Sensei, not that I don't enjoy running ukes six thousand times, but when do I get a weapon?"

"Ah. But April, you already possess the kunoichi's most powerful weapon." Splinter tapped at his temple, "The mind."

"When was the last time you saw someone hit a guy over the head with their mind?"

He paused for a moment, "True. Let's find you a weapon."

April smiled and followed him to the wall where Splinter has quite a few weapons displayed. He picked up a Chigiriki, as he called it, and started wielding it like a master. The chain spinning so quickly that it looked like a blur.

He then presented the weapon to her, "Remember, April, your weapon chooses you as much as you choose it."

April hesitantly picked up the weapon and tried her luck at it. She flailed the heavy weapon around until she couldn't pull it down again. She tried again but it wouldn't budge. She looked up and sheepishly smiled, "I think it chose the tree."

The group moved onwards with a tense and uncomfortable silence. Dogpound and Fishface were watching their own backs, while every member in the team was making sure those two didn't get a chance to strike at one of them.

"I've got my eye on you, turtles." Fishface looked back and warned them. Hikari rolled her eyes at that but kept her tongue in check. The seven of them enter a large circular room with an exit at the end. Each party looking at the other, wondering who will be the one to let their guard down.

"Uh, please, after you." Fishface stepped aside, making a big gesture towards the exit

"No, no, you go ahead. I insist." Leo responded sardonically.

"What's the matter?" Fishface said with a fake grin, "You don't trust me?"

Raph stepped forward, "If you think we're going to turn our backs to you, you're nuts."

Suddenly, both doors in front and behind them shut while the room starts to spin. They were all tossed around before three metal walls joined in the center in a Y-shape came down between them, separating the parties. Leo and Hikari were holding each other and were stuck on one side, Raph and Fishface on another, while Donnie and Mikey were with Dogpound.

"Time to split you kids up." Baxter's voice came from the speakers above them.

Hikari and Leo stood up immediately and took action. Leo was swinging his katanas at the walls while she called out to the others, "You guys alright?"

Faint voices came from the other end. They heard Mikey reply, "Yeah, we're good."

"Speak for yourself." Raph's muted voice replied.

"You're wasting your time, Leonardo." Baxter laughed, "Those walls are magnetically sealed."

"Uh, what's that?" Raph's voice came across the wall as Hikari looked up. There were a few metal orbs that appeared out of nowhere and were now hovering over them. The orbs activated and revealed sets of laser saws around them.

"Move!" She shouted before ducking. The orbs dove down to slice her but got nothing but air. Another door opened and she pointed it out, "Leo, let's go!"

The two of them ran into the room, with daggers flying into the room and destroying the orbs. They shared a concerned, then a calm yet tense look with each other. They now had to find their way back to the team before Baxter actually accomplished his goals.

Donnie, Mikey, and Dogpound quickly escaped the orbs of doom. The air around them was tense as was their reluctant alliance. With three of their five members stuck on the other side of the wall, things were not looking great for them. Dogpound saw this as an opportunity, "Looks like you've got no one left to hide behind."

Donnie and Mikey both took up defensive stances. "I don't care what you think, but we won't go down without a fight. Besides, you need us way more than we need you." Donnie reminded him with a steady tone, "With my intelligence and Mikey's own brand of chaos, we should get out of here just fine. You on the other hand…"

Donnie left his threat unfinished but the message couldn't be clearer. Dogpound relented to keep the truce intact, "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm reconfiguring the T-phone's internal magnet so that it can detect ambient A/C current. We can use it to trace our way back to Baxter."

Donnie subtly let out a sigh of relief, he had no idea how Leo could keep this up. Mikey grabbed him by the arm and started shaking it excitedly, "Dude, that was totally awesome! You put that puppy on timeout!"

Donnie internalized those words with pride. He always felt a little overshadowed by everyone on the team: Leo's instincts, Raph's raw strength, Mikey's wild sense of creativity, and Hikari's alien powers. It was nice to know that he could be more than just the smart guy.

Xever looked at the deactivated orb he managed to snag on their way out of the death room before putting it away. Any tool he can use against the enemy is a good one after all.

"Longest tunnel of doom ever." Raphael complained aloud. With how often they fight, Xever sometimes forgot they were nothing more than children fighting someone else's war. While he had some respect for them, he would never let that blind him from the fact that these teenagers are the enemy.

Suddenly, the path in front of them was blocked off. The two paused and readied themselves for a fight but were surprised when the wall in front of them revealed itself to be a fan. The fan spun so quickly that it started pulling panels off the floors and walls towards the blades. Raphael stuck his sais into the floor panels to try and hold on, while Xever used the claws on his metal feet to anchor himself to the ground.

The panel Raphael was holding onto came off and he was pulled towards the fan. Xever had a choice to make, and it didn't take him long to decide. He pushed himself to walk up onto the ceiling and grabbed Raphael before he became minced turtle.

Now they just needed a way out before there was nothing left to hang onto. Xever noticed a loose panel on the ground and took a chance. With his heavy steel feet, he put his weight into crashing through the panel. The black panel cracked under him and the two fell through the floor. There was no air current pulling them to their doom, so that was a good sign. Raphael stood up and looked at him with disbelief.

"Well. That makes us even, huh Fish Sticks?"

Xever scoffed at him, both at the ridiculous name and his naivety. "You think I'd let Baxter do away with you?" Xever let out a laugh, "Ha. That is a pleasure I am reserving for myself."

Xever looked ahead at the dark path before them. He was certain that Baxter didn't intend for them to go this way, so it would likely be safer than trying to get back up.

April has tried a bunch of weapons so far, but none of them fit well with her. Some are too heavy for her to lift. The Kamas she tried to use backfired on her, literally. If Splinter wasn't there, the blade might've ended up in her face. They decided to find something lighter, so April tried her hands at swinging a kusarifundo.

"Remember, keep your movement fluid." Splinter instructed. She did so and the chain was moving at a steady pace. It looked promising until the chain slipped out of her grip. She could only watch in horror as the chain soared through the air and hit a picture on the shelf.

April quickly rushed over to check on the picture, hoping that she hadn't broke it. "Oh, master Splinter, I am so sorry." She paused when she saw the family in the portrait then placed it into Splinter's open hand. "Who are they?" She asked.

A look of longing appeared as his gaze met the picture, "That is me, my wife, and daughter, before Shredder…"

April already knew the story, but she wasn't prepared to see the pain on his face whenever his past life was mentioned. She looked at the portrait once more, paying attention to the people this time. His wife was beautiful, even in black and white. Her face was smooth and unblemished, her expressive eyes filled with love for her family. The smile on her face was proof that she was happy and content with her life. These were all traits that April could see the daughter as well, all with a hint of innocence. "The baby, she was beautiful." She said.

"Yes. Miwa would have been about your age now." Splinter sighed wistfully, "I would like to think she would have turned out as well as you have, my child." He looked at her the same way her dad did whenever they talked about her mom, the thought of that warmed her heart.

"Which reminds me, wait here." Splinter took the picture and left for his room. April wondered about the picture. She didn't know much about Splinter's past life, even Hikari didn't know much more and she lived with him. It was nice to know that Splinter saw both herself and Hikari as a part of the family. But she couldn't help but wonder what kind of person Miwa would've been if she had survived that night.

Leo was fidgeting with his T-Phone, trying to get in contact with his brothers to no avail. "Still no signal." He put his phone away before noticing Hikari's odd behavior. She had her eyes closed and her hand out, as if she was searching for something. "What're you doing?"

"Since Stockman apparently replicated my energy signature, I can't overload it. But I should be able to use it to track down the power core for this death maze. We'll see how well it will run without it." She spoke with such conviction that it made him smile. Hikari was a force to be reckoned with even if he didn't always agree with her actions. She started walking again and Leo followed alongside her. The maze looked the same no matter how far they've walked. Leo wondered how far he was from the others right now.

Just as he got lost in his thoughts, his reflexes knocked in and he caught something that Hikari tossed at him. He chuckled when he saw a coin in his hand, "Do you just keep pennies on you now?"

She shrugged but the concern on her face was evident, "What's on your mind? I know you're overthinking again."

"I'm worried about Donnie and Mikey." Leo knew that Raph wouldn't let Fishface push him around, but they always had a tougher time with Dogpound because of his massive size.

"Hey, none of that B-team nonsense. They'll be just fine, Leo." Hikari had her arms on her hips, almost like she was lecturing him. She was cute when she tried stuff like that. He held in his comments but took her words to heart.

Hikari let out a soft mewl of a yawn accompanied with a long stretch, "I can't wait to get back to the lair though. I need a long rest after this, can we read issue #56 tomorrow night instead?"

"Yeah, totally." Leo answered absentmindedly. Seeing her like this reminded him why he liked her so much. It was a weird time, but his brothers weren't around to ruin it. He mustered up the courage and decided to go for it, "Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you."

Hikari opened her eyes, silver meeting his blue ones as she tilted her head curiously, "What is it?"

"I know it's weird timing, death maze and all, but this has been the longest time we've been alone together in a while." Leo took a deep breath and kept his voice steady, "I was wondering if you wanted to go out on a date."

Hikari stopped in her tracks. Her silver eyes widened in surprise then soften with emotions that made his heart race. She smiled sweetly and opened her mouth to answer. But Baxter's screechy voice came through the speaker and ruined the moment, "Really? You two are planning a date in the middle on my death trap?! Well, maybe this will remind you how much of a threat I can be!"

Leo froze when he heard the telltale screech of Stockman's mousers, "Oh boy."

The two ran down the tunnel, hands intertwined with Hikari leading the way. She stopped at looked down on her feet, "This is it!"

She transformed her uniweapon into a large Warhammer and smashed down on the panel beneath them. The two fell into the hole to see a massive red glowing generator, much like the one Donnie had in his lab to store Hikari's energy. It stood tall in the center as the only light source in the room with cables connecting them to every surface above them.

Leo and Hikari shared a glance and a smug grin. He unsheathed his katanas while her uniweapon shifted into a scythe. "Let's tear this place apart." Leo said as the two leaped into action.

Donnie and Mikey looked at each other in shock. Donnie sputtered in disbelief, "Did he just say-"

Mikey on the other hand, had a wide smile on his face and cheered, "Go, Leo!"

"I can't believe this." Dogpound muttered under his breath, wondering what he had done in his life that he had to depend on children to escape this. "Skunkman! I know you're in here somewhere!"

The floorboard sprung up to reveal a blaster that fired a powerful red laser at them. Donnie took initiative and used his bo staff to smash the cannon, "Come on, the signal's getting stronger."

The three of them only managed a few steps forward before the walls start to move and reveal more cannons beneath the panels. Just as they tried to figure out what to do, the floor and walls start to spin as the lasers rain down on them.

Donnie felt his eye twitch as he was ready to snap, "Seriously?!"

"Seriously?!" Raph looked up at the ceiling and groaned. It was bad enough he had to deal with those two lovebirds in the lair, now they had to do this in front of the enemy?

"Ah, young love." Xever said mockingly, "It seems Stockman is going to bother them for a while."

Raph walked side by side with Fishface, neither willing to expose their backs to the other. As they continued down the hall. He decided to fill the silence, "Tell me, Xever. What's a nice fish like you doing with a guy like Shredder?

"In many ways, it's all I've ever known." Fishface answered, "At a young age, I learned a very simple rule You want something, you take it. I was the best thief, until one day, my luck ran out. They would have left me to rot there. Fortunately, the owner of that briefcase found my skills useful."

"Shredder." It wasn't a surprise to Raph that Shredder would reward crooks like him.

"Yes. And he employed me for many of the Foot's dirtier jobs. Most recently, the destruction of you, your team, and your Sensei."

Raph took a moment to process all of this information, "So, you do all this because you owe Shredder?"

Fishface shrugged, "Eh, mostly I like having a job where I get to crack skulls every day."

"Okay, I can relate to that." Raph nodded.

"Yes, we are of a kind. We live for the thrill of the fight." He agreed.

Raph internalized those words, it may be true but he didn't like to admit that. "Well, maybe. But I'm still going to whip your butt when this is over." Raph warned him, only earning snide laughter in return.

Suddenly, they felt a boom ripple through the air before hearing the explosion and the floor trembled below them. Just then something came crashing into them at high speeds, causing the two of them to crash through the other side of the wall.

It was taking too much effort to keep up with the lasers, Donnie realized. For each one they destroy, another two come up to take its place. His arms were started to ache, and he heard Mikey panting with every leap. Even Dogpound was started to get singed with all the blasts that he had taken. They needed to get out of here before they exhaust themselves.

And just when things were looking bleak, the lasers stopped. The lights in the tunnel dimmed as Baxter ranted frustratingly into the speaker, "No! No, no, no! What happened? What did you do?!"

Suddenly, there was a rumble and an explosion. The ground beneath their feet shook. Something happened, and he suspected that one of them was responsible for that. He checked his T-Phone again and noticed that the A/C signal was much clearer now. "There's a strong ambient A/C current is coming from underneath this cannon." Donnie pointed to a cannon coming from the floor.

Dogpound grabbed onto the cannon and yanked it out of its place. He immediately jumped in, leaving Donnie and Mikey to go ahead. Mikey turned to Donnie and asked, "You think they're alright?"

"If I'm right, they probably caused that explosion." Donnie answered, "They might already be out there."

Hikari tightened the grip on her uniweapon as she stuck the landing. She looked up and around the room, quite proud of herself and Leo for how much destruction they caused. All the wires had been cut with sparks lighting the room. Most of the equipment in this room were likely unusable now.

Leo used his katanas to destroy the last power surge in the room before walking over to her, "There. That's everything."

"Almost." She turned to the red glowing power generator and started looking around the giant machine, "We could probably blow this up and get us out of here. Let's see if I can find…"

"What're you looking for?"

"If this is designed to generate energy, it should have a-" She opened a panel and reached into the hole, smiling as she found and yanked on something inside. She pulled it out and showed it triumphantly, "Circuit breaker."

The machine glowed even brighter and started to smoke. Leo nervously walked away from it, "I'm guessing it's overloading?"

"Uh-huh." She transformed her uniweapon and her guard into shields, "Get behind me!"

The generator exploded and the force was so strong that it pushed them through the wall. They were a little disoriented, but their exit strategy worked out. She groaned and got up before she noticed someone other than Leo with her.

"Hikari?" Raph grumbled as he got up. Hikari helped Leo off the ground, while Fishface picked himself up.

"Leo! Raph! Nii-chan!" The three of them heard Mikey's cry and turned to see him and Donnie safe.

The moment was interrupted by Stockman's petulant whining, "No! You were supposed to destroy each other, not work together. No matter. You may have made it to the end of my maze, but now it's time for-"

"The Bonus Round?" Mikey asked innocently.

"Yes, the bonus round of doom!" With that, Stockman activated the robot in front of them. Baxter's platform hovered above them all like a spectator at the colosseum, the body of the robot was wide and bulky. He stood proud as the screen on the robot's chest showed his face, "Kneel before the awesome power of my monster-"

"Of Doom." The seven of them completed his sentence with the most unenthused tone ever.

"You all think you're so clever. Let's see how clever you are when you're hit by my missiles of d-" Baxter caught himself and continued stiffly, "When you're hit by my missiles."

Baxter fired his missiles at them, six rockets soaring at them and they quickly dodged out of the way. He continued his relentless pursuit, never letting up on his attacks. The robot fired off lasers with one arm and missiles on the other. It was enough to keep all of them on the move. The robot let out a metallic screech as mousers shoot out of its back.

Hikari sliced into a mouser but got knocked onto the ground from a missile blast. Mikey and Donnie were keeping the missiles at bay, while Raph helped her back on her feet. Leo took the chance to get close to the robot, ducking and weaving blast every blast coming his way. With his katana in hand, he leaped onto one of the extended arms coming out of the top and stabbed his blade into the screen with Stockman's scowling face on it.

Stockman didn't like that at all. The robot's body glowed red before it released a burst of energy around it, destroying all the mousers and knocking everyone to the walls.

"How do we stop this thing?" Dogpound asked.

Hikari looked to Leo who was in full leader mode. He quickly scanned the scene, and she smiled when she noticed the lightbulb above Leo's head. "Mikey, Dogpound. Draw it under Baxter." He whispered to them.

The two nodded and did as he said. Baxter's platform flew higher out of their reach as they approached it. He looked down on them and gloated, "Ha. Nice try. But you'll have to be faster than that."

Mikey and Dogpound merely smiled before turning to the robot. "Yoo-hoo, monster of doom." Mikey called out to it, "We're over here."

The robot stopped its attacks as it noticed Mikey and started marching towards them. Leo saw that his plan was working, "Hikari, Donnie. Give us cover." Hikari and Donnie nodded and went to take care of the new mousers that the robot created. He then continued to his other teammates, "Raph, Fishface. There!" He pointed at the bottom of Baxter's platform.

The two caught on and got into position. Fishface started running before sliding on his back with his feet hunched up, Raph hopped onto the metal soles with his sais in his hands.

"Ready?" Fishface asked, waiting to launch him.

Raph nodded. He waited until they were in position before Raph gave the signal. Fishface kicked up and pushed Raph upwards. Raph had his sais pointed up as he stabbed into the center of the platform. He quickly dropped down and back with the team while the platform smoked and sparked with an angry Stockman at the helm. "No! Stop helping each other!" He screamed furiously as the platform went down and crashed into the Monster of Doom. The collision caused an explosion, filling the room with smoke.

Once the smoke cleared, all they could see was heaps of smoking scrap metal. "Where's Dexter?" Mikey asked bemused.

"Fools!" Baxter's voice drew their attention above, to which they see Baxter flying with a propeller coming from his helmet. "You haven't seen the last of Dexter-" He awkwardly cleared his throat and corrected himself, "Baxter Stockman!"

April was starting to get worried about Splinter. He was gone for a while, and she started to think he might have been more affected by her mistake than he had let on.

The sliding door opened and Splinter emerged from his room. She approached him, wondering what the item he had retrieved was. Splinter showed a metal fan he had behind his back. Once he opened it, she was taken aback by it. The fan was skillfully crafted. It had a few white sakura flowers on the metallic surface with the Hamato crest proudly displayed in the center. April could tell this was a prized possession by the way he had cared for it.

Splinter explained, "I had intended to one day pass this on to my daughter, but I would like you to have it."

"It's beautiful." She stared at the fan with awe.

"Yes. And-" Splinter demonstrated by tossing the fan at the tree. The sharp blade of the fan embedded itself into the bark.

April smiled, "Looks like we found my weapon." She went to retrieve the fan from the tree. Once she folded it, she bowed to him with gratitude. "Thank you, Master Splinter."

"Do not thank me yet. The tessen is a powerful tool in the hands of a skilled ninja." Splinter reminded her, "We will begin your training immediately."

"Hai." She bowed again, reinvigorating her spirit once more.

After he left, everyone made their way out of the warehouse. The team was dragging their feet on the ground, already exhausted after dealing with Stockman and his stupid maze of doom. Hikari wasn't even sure if she could activate her weapons with how tired she was.

"The truce is over…" Fishface said while catching his breath.

Dogpound stood up but his stance wasn't that intimidating when he could barely keep his eyes open, "Let's finish this."

The five of them got onto their feet and drew their weapons, neither had the energy to really fight. Mikey tried though. "Booyaka-", He weakly swung his nunchucks, only to have his signature cry cut short with a yawn.

Both sides stood there for a moment before they realized neither of them cared about fighting right now. "Ah, forget it. Next time." Dogpound waved it off and started to leave. Fishface following alongside him.

"Things could've done much worse." Hikari noted while putting her uniweapon away.

Leo nodded as he sheathed his katanas, "Let's head back to the lair."

As they started to leave, Mikey spoke up, "You know, Raph, you and Fishface actually made a pretty good team back there."

"He's still our enemy, Mikey. And he'll take us out the first chance he gets." Raph answered. He then swiftly stabbed his sai towards Leo. On the end of it was one of the orbs from Baxter's lab. Leo and the others were in shock. Raph just turned to Fishface with a distrusting look, "Trust your senses. You'll see 'em coming."

Hikari could see a smug grin on Fishface before they turned the corner. She stuck closer to Leo during their walk back to the lair. They only gave Splinter a mumbling explanation before they all went to bed.

When Hikari came back to the waking world, she felt stiff and uncomfortable. As she moved around, she realized that she hadn't changed before she crashed. After a few long stretches, she grabbed a new set of casual wear and headed for a shower.

She felt much better after a long hot shower. She didn't even bother tying her hair up when she walked into the living room area. The first thing she noticed was the smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen. The others were already up and about.

"It smells great, guys." Hikari said once she entered the kitchen.

Mikey and Donnie were serving the pancakes, while Raph and Leo were finishing setting the table. Hikari went to the fridge to pull out some blueberries she had gotten for a pretty low price. She sat next to Leo, playfully throwing blueberries at him until he started catching him in his mouth. It turned into a game of them feeding each other by throwing berries into each other's mouths.

Raph got fed up with it very quickly, "Can I just eat breakfast in peace, please?"

Hikari stuck her tongue out childishly, "Fine. Also, Leo?"

"Yeah?"

She smiled gently, "Yes."

Leo blinked owlishly. She giggled at how adorable he looked like that, and clarified, "You asked me for a date. My answer is yes."

They seemed surprised, which she found odd. Did they think she was going to reject him? Mikey was the first to say something, "Nee-chan, you're not wearing your translator."

She touched her neck and felt the lack of metal there. She must've forgotten to put it back on after her shower. She had spent moments without her translator in the lair, but she was always a little self-conscious about it, making sure that her words were spoken correctly or that she didn't slip back into her mother tongue. It must've been disorienting to hear her buzzing laugh again after so long.

"I actually miss hearing you laugh like that." Leo said softly with a smile.

That was enough for her to relax. Her skin started to glow faintly and she chirped a few phases she knew by heart with love in her eyes, only expressible in her own language. It was always nice to know that they still loved the alien side of her as much as they do 'Hikari'.

"That's it." Raph got up with his nearly finished breakfast, "I'm not dealing with this crap today."

Hikari rolled her eyes with a fond smile. She gave Leo a peck on the lips, which to his brothers' disgust. "I look forward to our date."

A/N: This chapter took a long time, but it's finally here. Hikari is starting to reconnect with her alien side more as the boys accept her every step of the way. Leo asking Hikari on a date was something I really enjoyed writing, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter too.

My schedule has become a lot more irregular with life coming on. I cannot promise a consistent timeframe, but I can promise consistent and improving quality.

I would like to welcome anyone new who has found my work, and I'm glad you're coming along for the ride. Special thank you to Lolipop 3, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write.

I'm really excited for the next chapter, it's quite a bit of character development so you all can look forward to that.

Please feel free to leave some comments to share some love. Feedback and reviews give me life and motivation.

Thank you all for your support c: