A/N: YAY! E.T.'s turn again! cackles It's the chapter you've all been waiting for! (I think). Oh, and thanks for all the reviews! This makes me feel all warm and cozy inside!!

Alix: They love me! They really love me!

E.T.: AHEM

Alix: I mean...US! They love US!

E.T.: That's better.

Don: Hey, don't you mean they love US? -points to his brothers and himself-

Mikey: Yea, we ARE the stars of the fanfiction -poses- Turtle Titan!

Raph: -about to hit him in the back of the head-

Leo: -stops him and shakes his head- No Raph. -smacks Mikey up the back of the head himself-

Mikey: OW!

E.T.: Hey look, Donny! You have your own little fan club in the reviews. Maybe we should start renting you out to Lunar-ninja and pacphys.

Don: Um...I don-

Alix: DONATELLO FOR RENT!

Mikey: WHY DOES NO ONE WANT TO RENT ME?!?!

E.T.: They all hate you and secretly wish you would choke on a cream filled donut. But seriously, guys; we need some Mikey and Leo lovers to show their colors! Support your brothers!

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Chapter 4: Ruptured Repose

Uroku Saki, known as the Shredder when in his full armor, finished tying the sash around his waist. Infernal clothing, when he ruled, such devices would be outlawed and he would no longer have to hide among the humans. He would kill anyone who said anything about his appearance. A malevolent smile grew on his face. How he longed for that day, striving for it with all his energy yet always managing to slip just out of his grasp

And it was all because of those turtles.

Now those turtles were in his way… again.

He clenched his fist in anger at this newest thorn in his side. They were in possession of an essential ingredient to his plans, belonging to him and only him. He was determined stop at nothing to obtain it. Even if his methods required punishments similar to that of Baxter Stockman's in order to force Hun to move quicker. Such measures were his least desirable solution, but to achieve his goal, Saki would do it. Sitting down behind his desk, which was barely off the ground, and leaving room for his legs to fit underneath, Saki glared at the Japanese mat in front of him. He did not lose his first influence of this planet's culture and would thus uphold it throughout his existence on Earth. Patiently, he awaited his first daily report of a series, from profits to new discoveries. The door opened and in walked his first agent.

It was Hun, grinning.

Saki narrowed his eyes as he stared at his most faithful servant. Considering his servant's countenance, he concluded no punishments were needed after all. "I hope you have good news for me, Hun."

The assistant looked up after bowing, as was customary, to his master. His grin, a grin that would chill the blood of even the bravest of the brave, remained on his face. Carrying a hand held device that beeped each passing second, he said nothing, too jocular for words. Stockman's work, Saki supposed. He waited a while, savoring this feeling of victory even before it was announced to him.

"Well?"

"We've found her, Master. We leave to retrieve her upon your approval."

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Angy woke up from her nightmares with her usual scream and panting, but this time the pain and fear did not disappear as quickly as it would like to do. She sat in her bed, putting her head in her hands, taking deep breaths in order to calm herself. This dream was real this time, even more than the previous night. She massaged her forehead, feeling the smooth cloth of her gloves against her face and sensed the frigidness in her body relax.

Everything was fine. She had her gloves. Nothing would go wrong when wearing them. But something...something wasn't right. What was missing this morning? Why was it so quiet? Instinctively she flung her head to the doorway.

Mikey. Mikey hadn't saluted her yet this morning.

He usually woke up when she did, or was up before she was, and always greeted her in the morning. Yesterday was the first time he actually slept in the same room, since the poor turtle was still upset from her absence at the movie marathon. Thinking of that day created butterflies in her stomach.

Back in her original trains of thought, she reminisced with some sadness on Mikey's naïve personality. He was always there with the first smile or welcoming back pat. But he hadn't shown up yet today. Suddenly the girl felt a blanket of loneliness. He was no where to be seen. Frowning, she listened. She heard quiet whispering out in the main part of the lair. That was odd. The brothers never spoke in the morning, and when they did, they talked normally, not in whispers. Angy careful climbed out of bed, changed into her everyday clothes, and paused at the entrance of her room.

Something in the air did not feel right. A sense of being out of place and ominous warning filtered through her mind. However, after more intriguing sounds, she let curiosity consume her.

They were all sitting in the lair, waiting for her. Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello at least pretended to look as if they were just hanging around. Raph leaned up against a pillar next to his punching bag, Mikey sat on the couch (miracle of miracles, the TV was off), and Don was perched on his stool in the lab, doodling on a pad of paper. But Leonardo and Master Splinter were not even bothering to hide their tense patience. Master Splinter sat on a chair with his legs tucked under him, his eyes closed and his hands in his lap. He was never up this early, or if that was the case, was still in his room meditating. Leo stood behind him, slightly to the right. His eyes bore into hers with a concern that frightened her.

What was going on?

She stepped out of her room and walked to the edge of the outer part of the Lair. If she jumped down, she would be in the center. Maybe this was just some kind of a game? But then she saw Leo pat Master Splinter on the shoulder, and he opened his eyes. The look in them told her that this was far from a game. Angy began to fidget with her gloves, picking at them and then pulling them straight. She wasn't going to like whatever was coming up next.

"Good morning, Anguissolah. I hope you slept well." Master Splinter seemed overly calm, overly serious. These were simply formalities, but those that made her flesh crawl.

"As...well as can be expected." Angy vacantly responded, nervously looking around at all the other turtles, whom seemed very calm and collected, but with small little twitches or movements betraying their uneasiness. "What's...going on, Master Splinter? Did something happen?"

Master Splinter slowly shook his head, thinking of a good opening to the underlying topic. "No, my dear. We have found nothing. I wish to ask you something, however. I wish for you to truly search your mind for the answer to my question and to trust us with the answer."

Angy merely raised an eyebrow, completely clueless.

Master Splinter sighed at her dense reasoning. "We are greatly concerned about you. Raphael has told us of your mishap yesterday on the surface-"

"WHAT?!" Angy stared at Raphael, who was most carefully avoiding her eyes. "You….. told them?" A small jab of pain hit her stomach, then another and another. "But you...Raph, you promised you wouldn't tell anyone! You PROMISED me!" She couldn't say anything else, only stare at him. An uncanny silence followed her accusational outburst. Her whole stomach was now full of pain. Pain, fear, and anger. Her nausea overwhelmed and threatened her previous meal (which was not much anyway). However, she held it back, not wanting to make the turtles believe her to be more of a nutcase then they already expected.

"Angy, something like that can't be kept a secret." That was Donatello, always the peacemaker, always the explainer. He now stood next to his brother and their sensei, staring at her, trying to win her support through his eyes. However his tone of voice made her feel sicker. Stop preaching already!

"Yea, Angy. We can help you. Maybe if we knew what happens when you touch people without your gloves, we can make it stop. That won't happen anymore. Then you won't need those gloves of yours." Raph added, slowly making his way behind his Master, attempting to hide from her. He still wasn't making eye contact with Angy, and that added another pain, this time in her upper back. She wasn't sure how long she could keep still with all these eyes on her. The walls were beginning to close in.

Leo stepped forward, standing right in front of her. "We can just run a few tests, see why it happens." He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to look at him. He gave her a small, uneasy smile. "Maybe it's part of your DNA or som-"

"SHUT UP!" Angy pushed him forward, away from her looking at the floor in order to keep the tears of frustration from falling. Leo was offended, receiving the message that he was something nasty and disgusting. "Are you crazy? Willingly go without my gloves? Willingly go through all that stuff again?" Angy glared at him, her eyes bright with tears. She couldn't cry in front of these guys, she just couldn't. "I don't want to go through all that again! I don't want to see him die again! I just want it to go away!"

The tears trickled down her cheeks, despite her best efforts. Angy crumpled to her knees, holding her head. Her gloved hands clenched and unclenched around her ears. The walls were getting smaller and smaller. She was in danger. They were trying to harm her; they were trying to make her fail. They didn't understand what was going on with her and she wasn't going to be some guinea pig. A different instinct took over her body. Find a way out. Anyway out.

Master Splinter looked greatly troubled. "Anguissolah, what are you talking about? What images are plaguing your mind? Who is it that perishes in your visions?"

She didn't hear him. She suddenly felt eyes all around her, staring at her, chasing her. Her mind shot back to the first night she could remember of her new existence, when she'd met Casey. All those ninjas...it felt like they were all there, watching her. Someone was looking for her. Someone was going to hurt her. She had to get out, had to get out NOW.

The fear, the awareness.

They were going to find her.

She looked at all exits, everything was heightened. She saw Mikey standing at the entrance to the Lair. A guard, trying to keep her in, trying to let them catch her. Her teeth clenched. Well, she just wouldn't let them catch her.

Leo took another step toward the trapped looking girl whose haunted eyes were darting around frantically. She looked so scared, so fragile, so frightened. What was going on inside her head? Maybe if she could tell them what had been going on in those nightmares of hers..."Angy, what's-"

She wasn't listening. She just stared at him, backed up about two feet, then made a bolt for the door, past Leo as he made a grab for her arm, past Raph and Don, both falling in her wake as she ran. She could see Master Splinter running after her. "Stop her, Michelangelo! Do not let her get by you! We must calm her!"

She didn't have time for this. A few hasty calculations and she was free.

Mikey saw it all in slow motion from his stance at the very center of the Lair entrance. He saw Angy running toward him, her face so pale and frightened, like that first night two weeks ago, but her eyes were different. They were so cold...intelligent and, what scared him the most...merciless. He stood his ground, fully intent on knocking her out if he had to. She was 8 feet away, 6 feet, 5 feet...

Then she was gone. She just simply wasn't there. She completely vanished. But that wasn't...how could she-.

"Behind you, my son!" Mikey turned to see her silently running down the spiraling tunnels of the sewers, and soon she was out of sight. He didn't even hear her footsteps as the distance between her and the Lair grew. He hadn't seen her, he hadn't heard her...who was she, Batman?

He heard someone else run past him and caught them by the arm: Raphael.

"Whoa, hey, bro, where're you going?"

The red turtle wrenched his arm out of his brother's grasp. "I have to follow her. This is my fault! I'm responsible for her now." He dashed after her. Mikey began to chase after him, but he felt a hand on his own arm. This one belonged to Master Splinter. His eyes were determined as he looked at the three remaining members of his family.

"Let us take a better means of transportation, my sons. We will not catch her on foot." He let his hand drop to his side, his countenance so confused; a look his sons had never seen on his face before. "Something tortures her soul. I cannot guess what images appear in her head, but they are hurting her mind and her spirit." He turned to go to the alien elevator that would take them up to street level and to the Battle Shell. As he walked inside the strangely decorated contraption, he mumbled to himself, "So quick... how could she be so well trained in the ways of stealth and speed and yet know nothing about the way of ninjitsu?"

His sons followed him to street level, got in the Battle Shell, and followed the sounds of the roaring motorcycle.

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Angy didn't know anything about New York. During her stay with the turtles, she mostly remained down in the sewers so the Foot wouldn't spot her walking among them. She emerged from an alley into the bright morning light streaming down from the sky. Not many people were around, as it was still too early for major activity. But there were still too many people who she didn't know, didn't trust. She had to get away from the Lair, but she didn't dare run out in the open. She felt her new instinct take over again, this time with a different effect. Her fear faded from her mind and the pain in her stomach and back disappeared. She crouched just to the inside of the alley, invisible to all passersby. She searched her now calm mind for something, anything that might aid her in her plight. Shortly, she recalled the stories the brothers told her about their own escapades to the surface. On several of these occasions they told her about the secret highway of New York; the rooftops. The rooftops could take her to the one person that she still trusted to protect her; Casey Jones. She gave a small smile to herself as she nodded and stood.

Then that was the path that she'd take.

She walked back into the alley and found the fire escape she knew to be there. She crouched, gathering all the potential energy she could into her legs, then sprang up onto the bottom of the ladder. Gliding up to the top of the buildings, she walked over to the other edge. She hastily did a few calculations in her head. Not a hard jump. If she performed this one right, then the inertia in her body would carry her over any other obstacles until she reached her destination. She walked back to the first edge, then sprinted and leaped over the gap, continuing in this pattern for blocks upon blocks. She came to accept the fact that she was practically flying over buildings, like some kind of panther dashing through an urban jungle.

She soon landed on the roof of an old, run down apartment building, blue in color. Several of the windows had boards across them, intimidating any outsiders from entering its confines. The slowly darkening sky and the storm it promised added to its foreboding nature. She stilled her pace, then walked over to the rooftop entrance and opened the door, slowly descending the creaking steps, her instinct now leaving her. The fear came rushing back. What if Casey was going to hand her back over to the turtles? What if he didn't want to protect her anymore? What if he had forgotten who she was? She walked up to the door with the number he had told her to look for mounted on it. She raised her hand to knock, but stopped, listening to the voice coming through the door. Casey was talking to someone, and he didn't sound happy.

"-DUH she ran out on you, Leo! You scared her half to death! Did you have to make her sound like a test subject? ......Yea, she probably will, especially since she doesn't know anywhere else....No I'm not gonna force her to stay! I'm going to hear her out, not start talking tests and all that 'you need help' crap you guys gave her!....I'll talk to her, try to calm her down. I don't want to get her caught by those Foot jerks...Only if she wants to be picked up by you guys, Leo. She doesn't have to go with you if she ain't gonna feel safe...Yea, well your best stinks. Leave this calming down thing to the two humans. She'll trust me to understand her more.... Alright, Leo.... Yea yea, bye." A beep signified the end of the conversation. She heard footsteps, then a squeak of an old chair.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

Again the squeaking of the chair signified the movement of the person within. She heard the footsteps walk to the door, no emotion of fear, nervousness, or haste behind them. Just plain old Casey. The door opened to reveal the face of her friend who had first found her on that terrifying night. He smiled at her with his genial smile, and one would think by his features that nothing was amiss.

"Hey, kid, come on in. The guys said you might come down here for a visit." He stepped inside to allow her passage into his humble household. She hesitated slightly, not sure if the conversation she had heard was genuine.

Casey noticed her uneasiness and shook his head. "Wow, they really must've freaked you out. Listen, kid, I don't know how 'ta make you believe me, but I ain't gonna make you do anything you don't want to. I'm here if you want to talk, but if you're just here to stay, that's fine too."

Angy could hear the sincerity in his voice and smiled. He meant what he said. She walked in past him and stood staring at the incredibly disorganized room as he closed the door. There was newspaper everywhere, food dishes left out on the table, dirty clothes left on the floor...

Casey blushed as he looked around the room. "Guess I'm...not used to a lot of company. Go ahead and sit, if you can find anywhere to park it without having to clear anything off." He grinned as she gave a small smile. She sat down on the edge of the couch, thinking about her next course of action.

Maybe Don was right.

Maybe these thoughts were best exposed to the light rather then keeping in hidden in the dark shelves of her mind. She gazed out the one un-boarded window and out into the sea of roofs. Maybe if she just described what was going on...

She jolted and had her eyes double out against the window. She ran to it, staring at the skyscraper among all the others about five blocks away. Something was familiar about that building. She couldn't quite place it, but it was something important. She recognized it from somewhere...She had to go there and find out what was nagging away at her. Maybe there they'd know something about who she was!

Casey was surprised to see her face considerably paler then when she arrived. She was staring fixatedly out the window. He walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Angy, you ok? You look like ye've seen a ghost or somethin'."

"I..." Angy turned to look at him, and then turned toward the door. "I know that building. I have to go find out why it's so familiar! I have to find out!" She vaulted out the door and up the steps, not bothering to stay quiet. She didn't hear Casey chasing after her, which was a comfort. He wouldn't try to hold her back, so she wouldn't have to run away, just towards.

She reached the roof and began her sprint and run leaps over the streets of New York. She soon arrived at the closest building, right next to the skyscraper. Pausing, Angy gawked at her hands.

This was unnatural. Leaping over huge building gaps? Cat-like, stalking abilities? Visions? What was wrong with her?

She looked down over the edge of the building. Ten stories down lay the street with all the people beginning to crowd. She couldn't enter from the front; too many people would see her. She crouched down at the edge, contemplating how to enter the building without bringing too much attention to her. But a small tap behind her broke her concentration. If she had been anyone else, she could have mistaken it for a large drop of water descending from the blackened sky. But she was not anyone else, and she knew it for what it was: a footstep. She turned quickly, and froze in her tracks at the sight before her.

There was the scary mountain with the blonde hair, surrounded by 100 or 1000 of the black clad ninjas. The butterflies within her stomach burst out of their cocoons and flew around in terror.

Hun grinned as he saw the girl pale at the sight of them. For once some of Stockman's equipment proved useful. It had showed him the exact location of the girl, thanks to the barcode she bore on the bottom of her foot. Not even her programmed stealth could hide her for long. He took a step forward and took pleasure in the fact that she stepped away, keeping the distance between them.

"This was all too easy; you're escape was futile. You bad little girl, you!" He motioned for his tide of black clad warriors to surge forward. He laughed as she looked from side to side, her genetic brain looking for an escape. The black wave surrounded her, cutting off any exit she may think of. He could see where the development was still incomplete. She was too slow in her thinking; her reactions should be faster. So that's why Stockman needed to do more operating. He laughed again as she looked around, turning in circles. Her eyes grew smaller and smaller as she seemed to lose her control to her true self, looking desperate, lost.

"There's no where to run to, kid. And your little turtle friends aren't here to save you this time." He could see his message had struck home as she gazed at him in horror. This was almost too ea-

"ANGYYYYYYYYYYY!!" A cry came from behind him. He turned to look, to see who the hell was talk-

Aw, crud.

Raphael leaped and landed in the center of the clump of ninjas; both Tsai's out and ready to kick some shell. He backed up until he was next to Angy, and then looked at her, his eyes filled to the brim with worry, concern, and relief. "Hey, you ok?" Angy gave a small nod of affirmation and quickly looked away from him, gazing instead at the large swell of blackness.

Great, she was still upset about that whole secret thing. What did she want him to do? Apologize? Psh, yea right.

But the broken promise was far from Angy's mind. As she stood there, surrounded, with her friend standing beside her, she felt as if she had gone through all of this before. But why? She didn't know any walking, talking turtles before now. How could she have gone through this? Why was this so familiar? But before she had time to evaluate these answers, the wave of darkness broke over them.

Raph was everywhere; left, right, overhead, stopping anyone from advancing farther than a few steps. Angy tried to stay out of his way, making herself as small as possible. When he cleared one side of the circle, she backed up, trying to find a place to keep her back, a safe place to watch, to maybe help Raphael fight in any way she could. Of course, her fighting skills were nonexistent, but maybe another eye would help?

She felt her back hit something rock solid. She turned to look at the barrier she found and looked up into the conniving eyes of the blonde ninja... Hun, she thought Casey called him. Before she could react, he grabbed her around the neck with his huge boulder like fists and hoisted her into the air. As she strained to see past the blinding pain that shot through her neck and into her eyes, she saw Raph standing in the center of a large pile of defeated foes, breathing hard, and staring daggers at her captor, his eyes alight with the fire of enmity, gritting his teeth in an attempt to prevent him from yelling. Hun only took a step forward, causing Angy to cry out in pain as his hand tightened around her throat. He saw the turtle start and take on a fighting position.

"Looks like I've got myself a new toy to play with." He grinned, shaking her slightly, causing her to shriek as his nails pressed into her tender skin. Raphael gritted his teeth harder to the point of actual pain.

"Put her down, lard butt, or I swear I'll-"

"You'll what? Insult me to death? You don't have the strength OR the guts to fight me. Your friend Jones and your brothers aren't here to help you... and you're all outta juice. So just go ahead and try." He stood in a fighting stance, keeping Angy in his left hand. He let a little more pressure fall on her skull, extracting a last shriek from her before Raphael leapt forward with an angry cry.

"I said put her DOWN!"

He kicked Hun right in the face, Hun was startled enough to let her go, allowing her to drop to the floor and roll away to the other side of the building. But not startled enough. He grabbed Raphael's leg and held him upside down. His rage showed through the horrible look he gave Raph as she stepped closer to where Angy crouched.

"It's time to get rid of you once and for all. Better hope you can fly, turtle, 'cause you'll need it." And with that, he flung Raph over the edge of the building, directly over the main traffic road running past the skyscrapers.

Time slowed as Angy ran to the edge and looked over. She could see the red sashed turtle falling and she suddenly knew what all her dreams were about. Raphael was falling. Raphael, her friend, her brother, was falling into a busy intersection, into heavy traffic, with cars speeding by.

He was going to die. It was not a dream after all!

He looked at her as he fell, looking terrified, but resolved. The last word she heard from his lips before she looked away and resigned herself to listen to the sounds of screeching tires, crashes, and honking horns was her own name.

"ANGYYYYYYYYYY!"

And as she laid her face into her gloved hands, those cursed hands, she sobbed out her own part in the reoccurring event that had been plaguing her mind.

"No! No! No! Raphael!"

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A/N: Suspenseful, ya? But hey, we're not done yet! We've still got.....I dunno how many chapters, but we have more! So stay tuned! (Jeez I sound like a Dragon Ball Z episode.)

Lynx: Don't ask why but I'm suddenly reminded of that scene from the Lion King where Mufasa dies. So sad!

ET: I know! Poor Simba…..

Mikey: Why are we put in the same category as Disney movies?

Raph: More importantly, why couldn't you kill Mikey off?

Mikey: What you talkin' 'bout Willis?! You deserved it!

Raph: Well look who all the ladies love! –twirls Tsai-

ET&Lynx: -squeal-

Mikey: You got me there.