A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long to post! For some reason I couldn't upload it. I'd love reviews!

Chapter 7

"Thanks for your help, Cassi."

"No problem, Christy! See you tomorrow!" Cassi smiled and waved good-bye to her friend, than headed back inside the warehouse and went down to the lair. Don had already put her necklace back on the table. She fastened it around her neck. Looking up at the four rooms, she called, "You guys can come out now, Christy's gone."

Don, Raph and Mike can out instantly. Leo on the other hand, stayed in his room, reading. As usual, Cassi went into her room. This time, Don followed her. Cautiously, he looked in. She was writing in her journal, so she wouldn't be out for a while.

He went back to the main part. Mike and Raph were watching television. He had to act fast. Don stepped directly in front of the screens. Raph was about to complain when his brother spoke.

"I think that Cassi and Leo have been sneaking out." He stated.

"So?" Mike asked trying to see around Don.

"Leo's finally not being 'Mr. Perfect' all the time. So what?" Raph asked.

"I want to know why they're sneaking out!" Daon replied, although he had an idea why, but he didn't want to be right. "Are you guys going to help me find out?"

"On one condition: you move from in front of the TV!" Mike said. Don looked at Raph, who simply shrugged. After moving out of the way, Don went to start planning.

---

Leo quietly crept out of his room. He listened a moment to see if the others were awake or asleep. Mikey was snoring, so he kept going. Swiftly, he jumped down to the main floor. Leo paused a moment more to listen for any signs if they had woken. After hearing nothing, he ran out the door of the home into the sewers. Only then did Don and Raph get to work.

"You can stop now, Mikey. He's gone." Don whispered into Mike's room. There was no response, but the snoring continued. "Raph, can you…?" Don asked. Raph grinned and nodded. He ran over to the sleeping turtle.

Don set up a small T.V. monitor and flicked it on. Instantly, a small red dot appeared on screen. It seemed to be moving through a maze. In another part of the screen, there was another dot.

"What's that?" A drowsy Mikey asked.

"A tracking device. There's one in Leo's shell cell and one in Cassi's necklace." Don explained as they headed out. One by one, they jumped down to the main floor. Each paused to listen for any signs that Splinter heard them. When they heard nothing, they ran out the door.

Following Donny up and down the sewer tunnels wasn't easy for Raph and Mikey. He would start to go down one way, then turn another. Sometimes he would stop abruptly to study Leo's location. One of these times Raph was about to complain when Don motioned for them to be quiet. Cassi's voice was coming form around the corner. They couldn't hear what she was saying, but it was defenitly her voice.

Donny peered around the corner. Sure enough, there were Cassi and Leo, sitting on a platform. They were just talking. Cassi was blushing and shaking her head. Leo looked like he was trying to convince her to do something. Don motioned for the others to look. I wish I knew what they were saying Don thought as he frowned. Finally, it looked as if Cassi was giving in.

---

"Come on Cassi!" Leo grinned. Cassi smiled, but shook her head. "Please? You are really good, whether you choose to believe that or not." Again, she shook her head no. She was beginning to blush. "Just one song." She sighed.

"Alright, alright." She took in a deep breath, and began to sing.

---

"Wow!" gasped Mike. "Is that really Cassi?" He whispered. Raph and Don were just as stunned. Don nodded slowly, as if he were in a trance. They were amazed. Her sweet voice continued to fill their minds even after she had finished. The three of them continued to watch Cassi and Leo for the next while.

---

"Donny, they're just talking! For all we know, it's brother-sister bonding! Can we go home?" After a while of sitting there, Raph was growing restless. Don didn't answer. He stared at Cassi and Leo in shock. Raph turned his gaze from Don to Cassi and Leo . They were kissing!

"I'm gonna be sick!" Mikey moaned softly.

"Forget the second part of what I said. I still want to go home!" With that, Raph stood up and left. Mikey hurried after him, holding his stomach. Don turned and started home as well. In his mind, he started to make connections. L.T. must be Leonardo Turtle! At the underground city, Cassi used a weird tone when she asked who Sydney was. Before we left for the underground city, Cassi gave him a 'watch it' look. Leo must know something about her that we don't! Why wouldn't she tell us too? By the time Don reached his room, he was furious with Cassi.

---

April pulled up in front of the school. Cassi was already waiting in front. When she spotted April, she ran over. As she opened the car door, Cassi asked, "Anything?"

April shook her head. "Sorry Cassi. I did find a couple job openings, but they want full time or eighteen year olds."

Cassi clipped on her seatbelt and ran her fingers through her ponytail. "Figures."

"You don't have that much longer. You're nearly seventeen and you graduate in a two weeks." April pointed out. Cassi nodded. This was true.

"It's kind of strange thinking about how I've lived with the boys for almost a year." Cassi said with a smile. "Next week it'll be a year."

"Do they know?"

Cassi shook her head, reading April's mind. "No, only Leo."

"What about…?" April trailed off.

Cassi shook her head. "No, none of them know about that. Just you and Sensei know, and I plan on it staying that way."

As they pulled up at the warehouse, April handed Cassi part of a newspaper.

"I picked up the classifieds for you. Good luck."

"Thanks April." Cassi waved goodbye as she entered the warehouse. She sighed contentedly as she walked over to the elevator. It's good to be home She thought as she rode it down.

"Hi guys!" Cassi exclaimed cheerfully. She received no answer. It was as if they ignored her. Raph was beating his punching bag, Don was working on something and Mike was watching TV. Leo and Splinter were elsewhere. "Christy isn't coming over tonight and…" She trailed off. It was obvious they weren't listening. "Right, I'll just go talk to a wall now."

She headed up to her room. Setting her backpack down beside her bed, she grabbed her necklace. Why were Raph, Don and Mike acting so strange? They were giving her the cold shoulder, but why? Trying to take her mind off it, she picked up the classifieds and a pen and settled down on her bed.

---

Leo looked up at the clock. Cassi should have been home by now. Although he hadn't heard anything, it was possible that she was home. He stepped out of his room and looked around. He didn't see her.

"Hey guys! Is Cassi home yet?" He called to his brothers. No answer from Raph or Mike and Don just rather shrugged. What's wrong with them? Leo wondered as he headed over to Cassi's room. Near her door, he could hear the scratching of a pen. She was home! He leaned against her doorway and rapped on the wall. She looked up instantly.

"Hey Leo." She said, breaking into a smile.

"Hey. What's up with the others?"

Cassi frowned. "You noticed it to huh? So it's not just me."

"Do you want to go out for a run or something? I don't know about you, but they're really bringing me down."

Cassi set down her newspaper and jumped up. "Yes! I do!"

The two of them headed up to the surface. The others didn't look at them as Cassi and Leo passed by. They just kept doing whatever. Cassi felt her mood dropping as she walked by. What was wrong with them? However, once she was in the elevator, her spirits rose again.

Once they had reached the streets, they ran to the nearest fire escape and climbed up. Cassi and Leo ran as fast as they could over the rooftops. Cassi had never felt more carefree than as when she was jumping from one building to another. Both had started at the same time, but Cassi quickly proved once and for all that she was faster.

---

After they had been running for nearly an hour, Cassi stopped. She was very quiet for a moment, and then she unhooked her necklace. Leo had been behind her. When he caught up, he saw her removing something from her necklace.

"Leo," She said slowly, looking very closely at the tiny object in her human hand, "does your shell cell have a tracking device in it?"

"Yeah, it does. Donny put them in, in case something happened to one of us. Why?" He asked puzzled.

The pieces were coming together in Cassi's mind. "Donny knows I had to remove the one in mine because it was interfering with some of the equipment at school," It made sense! "So he planted one on my necklace!" Cassi held out her hand to show Leo. In the palm of her hand was a tiny, green circle. "That means… Oh no!" She exclaimed.

"What? What does it mean?" Leo asked.

"Leo, they followed us. They saw us last night!"

"That would explain why they're mad at us." Leo agreed.

"What are we going to do?" Cassi moaned as she clipped on her necklace.

Leo thought a moment. "You can read minds and you sometimes pull pranks, right?" Cassi nodded. While she didn't do it often, Cassi had pulled a few pranks on them, mostly Mikey. "Well, what if we told them that last night was just one of your pranks and we knew they were there?"

Cassi sighed a defeated sigh and looked up at the cloud free sky. The sun was starting to set. "No." She said softly. "It's time to come clean. I knew this day would come, but I've been avoiding it. It's time to tell them everything."

The two of them watched as the sky turned from blue to red. The colours swirled together and glowed brightly. The sun sank down below the horizon and night once again ruled the sky.

"Are you sure?" Leo asked her. Cassi just nodded. Leo pulled out his shell cell. "I'll call and make sure that they're all home." Without warning, the phone slipped between his fingers and fell to the street below.

The two of them carefully and quietly made their way down to the alley. Leo quickly ducked out while Cassi waited in the alley. When he came back, he grabbed the fire escape to climb back up.

"That was close!"

Cassi giggled. "Yes it wa--" She stopped. When Leo had grabbed the fire escape, it had banged against a poorly hung flowerbox and knocked it down. It was going to hit him! "Leo! Look out!" Cassi cried as she pushed him out of the way. She didn't have time to duck. The flowerbox, which was made of hard clay, hit her on the back of her head and knocked her to the ground. The box shattered, sending pieces flying.

"Cassi! Are you alright?" He asked helping her to her feet.

"Peachy." She replied sarcastically while rubbing her head. "It had to fall from the top floor, didn't it? I'm fine Leo, really." She assured him. Cassi put her hands out to help regain her balance. The one she had been rubbing her head with was covered in scarlet blood. It was beginning to run down the back of her neck.

"I'm going to call for help." Leo decided trying to stay calm.

"I can make it home Leo. I'm fine…" Her last words slurred as she stumbled backwards. She fell back, hitting her head again, on the fire escape. Now, Leo was sure that her injury was serious.

"Take off your necklace and I'll call for an ambulance."

"N-no," She whispered, "If they do a blood test, my DNA will come up as a turtle or a g--" She couldn't finish her sentence. Cassi had fainted. Leo knew she was right, but he also knew she needed help, fast. Who ever knew a flowerbox could be so dangerous?

---

"I feel bad about this, guys." Mike admitted.

Raph continued to beat upon his punching bag. "Why Mikey? They ignored us."

Don also looked upset. "They didn't ignore us Raph; they just didn't tell us everything. We should have tried talking to them." Mike's Shell cell beeped. He took it out and opened it.

"If it's Cassi or Leo, don't answer it!" Raph instructed. Mikey was reading the screen and was growing more upset by the moment. The other two guessed he had gotten a text message.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" Mike pointed out, panicking. "Cassi and Leo left to get away from us, and now look what's happened!" He tossed the phone to Don, who read:

HELP. THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT. CASSI IS BADLY HURT AND IS UNCONSCIOUS. BRING A FIRST AID KIT AND COME QUICK. CASSI IS GETTING WORSE. LEO

Don looked up. "Mike, get Master Splinter. Raph go start the battle shell and get a first aid kit. I'll track them and see where they are." The others nodded and ran off.

Mikey ran as fast as he could to Splinter's room. If Cassi was as bad as it sounded, they probably didn't have a lot of time. He reached the door and nearly slid right by it. He opened it and looked at the rat but couldn't speak because he was out of breath.

"Michelangelo! What is wrong?" Master Splinter asked.

"Cassi and Leo…something happened….Cassi is badly hurt." He choked out.

"Cassiopeia." The rodent whispered. The two of them hadn't spoken since the day they had the argument. "Come, we must go now!"

Back at his computer, Don was hooking up his tracking device and trying to locate Cassi and Leo. When he had their location, he sent a message back to them. The turtle quickly ran up to the battle shell.

---

"Help is coming." Leo read aloud. "Hang on, Cassi. They're coming." She was fading in and out of consciousness. She was awake now.

"I hope they bring an ice pack." She moaned, trying to sit up. Leo knelt by her and put his arm around her to help her sit up. The gash in her head was still bleeding. He pressed her hand firmly on top of it to try to stop the bleeding somewhat. So far, the cloth on her glove was just soaking up the blood but not stopping it.

"I think you'll need more than an ice pack." Leo pointed out. He was acting calm so he wouldn't upset Cassi, but he was frantic inside.She suddenly went limp in his arms. Hurry up, he pleaded in his mind.

---

April heard a loud knock at her door. Who could it be at this time? The redhead wondered as she opened the door. She saw a very worried looking Donatello.

"Hi Don."

"April, we've got to hurry! Do you know first aid?" He asked breathlessly.

April looked surprised. "Well, I know the basic first aid." The words were barely out of her mouth when Don grabbed her wrist and began to run out.

"We have to hurry!" He sounded panicky.

"Wait just a minute Donatello! What is going on?"

Don sighed. "Leo and Cassi went out for a run. A short while ago we received this message. Don took out Mikey's phone and handed it to April. As she read the message all the colour drained from her face.

"How? What happened? Is Cassi okay?"

Don shrugged. "This is all we know." April flicked the light switch and turned off her lights.

"Let's go!" April ran out to the truck with Don.

---

Leo scanned the streets looking for any signs of the battle shell. Nothing. What's taking them so long? They should have been here by now! Where were they?

"Leo," Cassi said softly, "calm down." Leo was relieved that she was awake again.

"I am." He replied, looking at her head. It was still bleeding.

"No you're not. Just relax. Everything will be fine."

Leo smiled. "I should be saying that to you." Cassi managed a small smile.

"Yeah? Well, you're not, are you?" Leo couldn't help but laugh.

A pair of headlights interrupted them. They finally had gotten there to help! The others had Casey with them too. Leo helped Cassi to her feet. She was unsteady, but with Leo's help, she made it to the doors. The others helped her in. Everyone was uneasy when they saw Cassi's blood on Leo's arm and the blood still running down her neck. Leo hopped in and Don started driving.

"What happened?" April asked, examining Cassi's head. "This is quite serious."

"A flower box….it fell…and hit me…" Cassi's words trailing off as she began to lose consciousness.

"This has been happening for a while. She usually wakes up in two to three minutes." Leo explained.

April looked more worried than ever. "Her injury is quite serious. It could be fatal. In fact…" She trailed off, not wanting to say the last part.

Leo, like the others, felt his heart racing. "What?" He asked trying to stay calm. April's expression was grave. There was bad news coming.

"I'm not a doctor, but I do know that if she survives this, it'll be a miracle."