Chapter Twelve:

Karai's eyes peeled open, slowly. Standing before her, was Leonardo.

"Good. You're awake."

She said nothing.

"Ah, I see…" He paused, sheathing the katana he was cleaning. "This'll work easier if you comply," he said gruffly. She could see right through him. He wasn't nearly as tough as he tried to be. She stayed silent. It wouldn't be long before he broke down. She could get the jump on him then. "Karai… I need to know how to get to Saki."

The bound kunoichi gritted her teeth.

"You know him better than anyone. You know his schedule, where he sleeps, and more importantly, you know the ins and outs of his security detail. I need to know everything."

"Never," she hissed.

He sighed.

"I want this to be easy. I do. This… this isn't you talking. Just tell me what I need to know. I… care about you, Karai. Don't make me have to hurt you."

She stifled a laugh, until she looked up and saw the look in his eyes.

Is… he serious right now?

"Even if I did tell you… What makes you think that you can defeat him? Alone?"

"As long as he lives, my family is in danger. For too long, I kept him at bay. I wanted to keep them safe by staying away, but all that did was encourage him to come after us. I've lost almost everything because of this rivalry between my father and The Shredder. I can't allow that to happen again. I can't watch any more of my family members die at the hands of him. His evil knows no bounds. He will never stop. I have to do this. Don't you understand?"

She took a deep breath.

He was serious.

"Honey! Breakfast is ready!" April shouted from downstairs. Donatello yawned, stretching. His joints popped as he sat up.

He blinked.

He was no longer in the cell.

He was healed- no bruises littered his body.

What happened? Had it all been some elaborate dream?

Don hopped up, tying his mask over his face, and walked swiftly down the stairs. He paused in the doorway of the kitchen. Standing at the stove, with the light of the morning glowing behind her, she looked as beautiful as ever. It made his heart swell. She was burning some eggs. He smiled.

"Shit," she whispered, scraping them off the pan, onto a plate.

"April?"

"Morning, sleepyhead. I sort of made some eggs. They're a little dry. I'm no Gordon Ramsey, but-"

"Sounds amazing."

She smiled and walked over, raising up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. He leaned into her, his hand sliding up her back and into her hair. When they parted, he pulled her to his chest.

"I missed you," he whispered.

"Whaddya mean?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

"I… I was gone. Bishop had me trapped- I dunno, maybe it was all a dream. I just… I want you to know that I love you. So much."

"I love you so much," she said, grabbing the plates from the counter. She pulled away, and grabbed his face in her hands, suddenly. "And I'm going to find you. No matter what it takes."

His eyes widened and he tried to say something, but woke up instantly, bolting upright in his cell.

"APRIL!" he shouted, panting in the darkness, his hands shaking. His heartbeat thudded in his swollen eye and his head ached.

"Don?"

"I-"

"Hey! Keep it down in there!" a guard shouted. Even from down the hall, they could hear the whirr and buzz of the torture device kicking on.

"Another nightmare?" Raph asked, his voice merely a whisper.

"Raph, they're alive."

"What?"

"She's- I don't know how I know, but she's been visiting my dreams."

"Don-"

"No, I know it sounds crazy, alright? But… Just now, she was cooking breakfast at the-" he stopped, realizing they were probably listening, and kicked himself. "But that-that doesn't… you can't say that doesn't mean anything."

"I said keep it down!" The guy shouted again, standing. He brandished the baton and scraped it against the metal bars. The two turtles laid back down and Don's hand brushed his shell where the keycard sat. He needed to figure out how to get out. And fast.

"Hng!"

The chair Karai was strapped to hit the ground on the right, her face and shoulder colliding with the hard floor. She could still feel the sting of Leonardo's slap.

"Where are they?!" he shouted, his chest heaving up and down. She grinned, blood coating her teeth.

"Why would I tell you? Why would I betray my father?!"

"HE IS NOT YOUR FATHER!" He yelled, picking her up and setting her upright again. She clenched her jaw, her eyes moving toward the wound on his arm. It had been bandaged up, but if she could somehow- "Listen to me, Karai. I know you. Better than anyone, as much as you'd hate to admit it. God, I can't- I can't keep hurting you! So you're gonna tell me what I need to know, and I'll help get that worm out of your head-"

"You are highly misinformed if you think I'm going to speak one word to you!" She spit blood at his feet and he growled. "They'll come looking for me. He will. If they can use this so called 'mind control' technology, then they can track me down. And what will you do then?"

"I'll kill him."

Karai threw her head back, cackling.

"You really think-"

"No, I know! The Kuro Kabuto will hang in my home like a prize buck, and every day I will be reminded that he can no longer hurt anymore of us."

"You keep saying 'us'! There is no 'us'! Your family is dead!" Her heart started to beat harder in her chest when she realized that her tactic wasn't working. Nothing would phase him. "Splinter would've wanted you to murder someone in cold blood? To completely stray from the honorable code you've studied and dedicated your life to? Would he have wanted you to-"

He cut her off, grabbing her jaw and squeezed her cheeks against her teeth.

"What he would've said doesn't matter anymore! It can't matter anymore. Because he's gone! Splinter is gone, and Saki is to blame! How can you still not understand? If it kills me, I will not rest until he's gone, too. Until he can no longer have the power over our lives." He took a step closer, his eyes softening. "Until he can no longer hurt us. I won't let him hurt you anymore," Leo said, using his finger to tilt her chin up to look at him. She struggled against the knots around her arms and he only leaned closer. She could feel the heat of his face against hers, and unwillingly felt herself relaxing. His lip nearly brushed hers when he suddenly grabbed her by the throat, cutting off her air. Her eyes looked up at him, wide and frightened, and his lip quivered.

"Don't make me do this! Just tell me what I need to know!" he yelled, hysterically, pleading into her bloodshot eyes. He could see it in her. The fear. Deep down, Karai was in there. The human part. The one who made mistakes and learned from them. The one that he loved so deeply it caused his breath to catch in his throat at the sight of her. Her eyes rolled back and she slumped against his hand, slipping into unconsciousness. Leonardo let go, tears stinging his eyes, and his shell found the wall. He slid down it, sitting with his head between his knees.

"Please," he begged. "Don't make me do this anymore."

April jolted out of her meditation, her lungs gasping for air. Had she been holding her breath? She didn't know. Blood trickled down her nose again. She wiped it away swiftly, the image of him burning itself into her brain. She knew the way to him now.

She took a deep breath and settled into position. She felt something tug on her mind, and she turned her attention to it, following the direction it was coming from. She could see something in the distance. A building? She focused harder, and reached out her hand, hoping to grasp it, grasp anything.

And then she saw him.

He lay there, shaking.

She tried to speak, but it was almost as if someone had grabbed hold of her vocal chords. Abruptly, he began to writhe, painful shouts filling the air around her. She could feel it. His pain. The electricity travelling through his body. Her muscles spasmed with his, the residual aches causing them to jerk involuntarily. She yearned to say something, to call out, to comfort him. A tear escaped down his cheek as his eyes started to go blank.

"Raph," he whispered, almost inaudible.

It started to slip away, then, and she felt herself retreating back into the present.

No, no, please, I need more time-

She fell to her knees, blood oozing down her face, and shook. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she punched the dirt, leaving a small crater in it.

"It's no fucking use!" she yelled, the pain in her body still lingering. She slipped to the ground then, watching the world from a sideways view. Her ears began to ring, and her vision began to fade around the edges.

When she woke up, it was dark in her room. The bedroom was lit with only the thin lines of moonlight peeking through the blinds. She blinked a few times, looking over at the clock. 3am… She sighed and sat up against the headboard. After the hours and hours of using- maybe even abusing -her powers, her body was more tired than it had been in awhile. Her head was foggy. When did she leave the barn? How did she get up to the room? She leaned back against the headboard, sliding a hand down her face. Not feeling the comfort of sleep any longer, she moved an arm to flick her bedside light on, but bristled. A shadow moved in the corner by the window. She slid the drawer open almost instantly to retrieve her tessen, when-

"April."

She froze.

"There's not much time," he said. She felt a strange sense of deja vu.

"Donnie…?"

He stepped into the lines of the moonlight, and she turned the knob of the lamp. He looked as she remembered him- lean, muscular. His olive green skin accentuated by the yellow tint of the light. He took a few steps closer, and she stood.

"I need your help."

"What you said before… about the tale-the twins. I remembered, I… why couldn't I reach you? I tried so hard. I-"

"April," he said, barely above a whisper. He smiled a sad smile, and she staggered back, realization pooling in her gut.

"Oh God, no. It can't be for nothing. I can't lose you again-oh no, no, no-"

"April! Listen to me. There's not enough time! Do you remember when mutants were going missing from-"

"How could I have been so stupid?!" she sobbed, sinking back onto the bed. "God, no-"

"APRIL!" She gulped, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Please, you have to listen to me." He grabbed her hand and sat beside her. "When mutants were going missing in New York. Do you remember the government statements? The-gaaah!" He fell to the ground, grasping his side. Blood pooled around him, and she lurched forward, resting his head in her lap.

"No! Don! Wait, please-"

"EPF," he whispered. Tears stung her eyes as his arm fell slack against the floor.

April gasped, coughing as she inhaled the dirt of the barn, and sat up, tears staining her face. She blinked and shakily rolled over, staring at the high ceiling. She hissed as her stitches pulled but she stood, and made her way to his computer.

I'm going to find you, she thought.

A/N: Okay, it has been FOR-E-VER! College is kicking my ass, y'all. Sorry it's so short. The way it played out, I wanted the chapter to split the next bit of story, because there's a lot to come.