Edit: Sorry for the reupload, but someone told me the email notifications might not have worked well last time, since they didn't get one. And naybe that's why it got so little attention XD


Who's up for some drama?

So occasionally we get a comment saying how they don't quite remember what was going on in the fic. We don't blame you, I mean, this is a monster of a fic, and there's a ton of wonderful things and plots intertwining. That's why we're going to start doing this thing where we recap previous events relevant to the current chapter.

As always, huge thanks to our wonderful betas, Theherocomplex and Queequegg 3


Previously...

Karai had been restless ever since the Lotus mentioned their revenge on Shredder. The guys were even more worried because the future turtles implied something was going on with her.

Meanwhile, Leo had ordered Donnie and April not to bother Hachisu-no-Hana anymore about that supposed ghost, so the pair decided to keep investigating without him. That ghost turned out to be the vengeful spirit of Tang Shen, and way more than they could chew.


CHAPTER 23

Leo sat bolt upright on his futon as the last echoes of a distant racket faded. A final clang of something heavy falling resonated through the lair, and then... nothing. He waited with bated breath.

This kind of noise wasn't atypical in the lair. Things blew up all the time, literally and figuratively: a miscalculation in one of Donnie's experiments, or a rabid Raph charging after Mikey until something got in their way—like the TV set. Leo heard it every other week. What worried him was the silence that came after. No curses, no yelling or stomping about. Only Mikey's muffled snores.

A persistent banging, followed by voices, finally got him on his feet. He shot an uncertain glance at his weapons rack, still unsure of whether this was an emergency or not, as he hurried to his door. When he opened it, he met Raph's questioning eyes, peeking out from his own door across the hall. Out in the common room, someone had turned on the lights.

The Lotus clan was stirring. Leo's belly prickled with uncertainty. As the commotion persisted, and just as he was going for his swords, he heard it.

"No! Wait!"

Adrenaline rushed through him at the sound of Donnie's distress. He yanked his swords from their rack and burst into a sprint, Raph at his heels.

"Guys, wake up!" he yelled at the other doors, heart pounding and muscles tingling. He dashed through the common-room, between empty sleeping bags, a dozen horrible scenarios forming in his mind in the three seconds it took him to reach the lab. "Donnie!" He shoved through the crowd of ninjas, ready for a fight, and skid to a halt at the head of the crowd, almost tripping over a toppled toolbox.

The first thing he saw was Donnie and April, and a cool wave of relief washed over him. They were alright.

Then he had a better look, and faltered.

Puffing, whole body still in red alert, Leo paused to take in the scene. His strategic mind raced to make sense of all the loose bits of information: the lab was a disaster area—gadgets strewn about the floor, devices buzzing with static, a couple of fluorescent lamps flickering overhead—but there was no visible threat in sight. Holding each other in the middle of the lab, panting and sweaty, Donnie and April gawked at all the new arrivals. They looked extremely red-handed.

The first conclusion hit Leo like a wet slap to the face: it finally happened—they finally happened. And lured by the misleading noise, he and Raph and the rest of the Lotus had gotten front row seats to the premiere.

"What the hell?" Raph muttered, and judging by the bewildered, slightly uncomfortable look on his face, the same thought had crossed his mind.

But by the time Raph had said that, Leo already knew otherwise. Nah, that couldn't be it. The pieces didn't fit. Donnie and April looked more shaken than embarrassed. He was shivering and she, appearing paler than usual, had her arm draped protectively over him. Something had happened here, but it hadn't been anything pleasant.

And there, by a fallen chair, stood Hachisu, barefoot, dressed in her comfy black pants, tousled hair falling down her shoulders, as though she'd been dragged right out of bed.

She seemed absolutely furious: pose stiff, the muscles in her jaw twitching, black eyes frenzied and blazing like hot embers. She appeared to be downright trying to murder Donnie and April with her gaze. Leo couldn't even be sure she'd noticed anyone besides the pair in front of her.

Already nervous, he spotted the tanto in her hand. Her other fist was clenched around something he couldn't quite see, as she held it protectively behind her back.

Behind him, all the Lotuses seemed just as flabbergasted as Leo felt. Mikey and Karai arrived a moment later, fully armed, craning their necks and wearing expressions of cautious intrigue. In the confused silence, Leo's eyes bounced from Hachisu to the pair standing in the middle of the room. His strategic mind was stumped. He couldn't understand why it looked as though Donnie and April had just been in a fight with Hachisu-no-Hana.

"What happened?" he squawked at the wreck around them, blood still rushing in his ears from unspent adrenaline.

Donnie and April were quiet, their gazes flicking frantically about. Hachisu answered instead, and her usually stoic voice quivered with rage.

"Two of your men stole from me."

Leo's jaw dropped. "What?"

He searched Donnie, trying to lock eyes with him, because he couldn't have heard that right. It had to be a misunderstanding. But his brother's pregnant silence was pretty much all the confirmation he needed.

Hachisu lifted her hand, showing what looked like a simple wooden box. "They took this while I slept," she spat, and Leo was shocked to hear the bitterest bile in her voice.

His throat worked, not knowing what to say. After he warned them—after he ordered them not to interfere with the Lotus... This whole charade of April staying over to study, it was all to go behind his back, and he had fallen for it like an idiot. He should've known they would try something—

"You hypocrite!"

Leo's thoughts were cut short, as every head in the room turned to April. She took a wobbly step away from Donnie to confront the Lotus leader, lips pulled back in a defying snarl. Hachisu gave her a seething glare.

April, however, did not back down. Donnie reached out to her, but she shrugged his hand off and raised an accusing finger at Hachisu, her voice high and tremulous. "You have some nerve accusing us after what you did! How could you bring something like that here?"

Leo was going to ask what the hell she meant, though he could already make a pretty good guess, when Hachisu stepped forward, getting dangerously close to April.

"Shut your mouth you insolent girl, or I will have to teach you manners!" She lifted a fist, threatening to strike, and Leo's body jerked at Hachisu's blatant lack of restraint.

Donnie sprung forth, coming between the two. "Hey!"

Scared that this could lead to more fighting—hell, or a feud—Leo jumped in, raising his hands in an appeal for peace. "Hachisu-no-Hana-san, please!"

But Hachisu turned her eyes on him, and he felt as though he'd run nose-first into a concrete wall. "Leonardo-san, I came to you looking for help. But instead you and your men robbed me and embarrassed me in front of my clan." Her voice, acrid with disappointment, bored into his chest like poisoned daggers. "It seems my expectations of the Hamato clan were too high."

Leo fumbled, not knowing what to do or say, paralyzed by the sting of shame. It was a feeling he wasn't used to.

He almost missed April's low growl. "You embarrass yourself."

Very slowly, Hachisu turned.

"April!" Leo scolded on desperate reflex, but his voice lacked the strength. He tensed, because Hachisu's stance suggested she was ready to strangle April at any moment.

"What is going on?" Sensei's voice boomed. Leo wheeled around to see a line of ninjas part to make way for the tall figure.

The room was engulfed in a sudden stand-still, tense like a drawn bow, as Master Splinter stood there for a moment. His keen rat eyes soared around the lab, passing by Donnie and April and Hachisu, the tips of his ears dangling angrily from the movement.

Finally, his gaze landed on Leonardo like a slab of stone. "Leonardo?"

Leo almost cried "it wasn't my fault". If anything, he was the only sensible one there! But he swallowed his words, though they stung going down.

"I'm sorry, sensei," he stammered, at a loss. "There must have been some sort of misunderstanding." He gave Donnie an interrogating look, hoping it were true. But Donnie only pressed his lips together.

"There was no misunderstanding," Hachisu cut in, pulling her mane back into a neat ponytail, then straightening like a general. At least she wasn't pouncing at April like a panther. "Your men stole this from me while I slept. I caught them in here with it." Her voice was nearly back to normal, and she raised the box for all to see.

Splinter's harsh scrutiny lifted from Leo to fall on Donnie and April. Leo's shoulders felt a bit lighter.

"Donatello, explain."

Donnie's mouth opened and closed like a fish, and he issued a helpless look at Leo. But Leo wasn't feeling particularly sympathetic at that moment.

"You must think yourselves very clever for 'exposing' me," Hachisu said venomously. "But clearly you do not know what this is. There is a reason I hide it. It must not be opened!"

"Yeah, no kidding!" April retorted. "That thing almost killed Donnie!"

Leo squinted at her words, trying to determine how much of an exaggeration that was. But he knew April well enough that her decisiveness and outrage alarmed him, compelling him to take a closer look at Donnie. His brother would still not say anything, but now Leo couldn't help notice how he was barely holding himself upright, the glint of sweat lingering on his forehead. Worried that he might be hurt bad, Leo appraised him for signs of blood or concussions, but aside from looking dead-on-his-feet, he seemed completely unharmed. There was no time for questions before Hachisu once again broke the stunned silence.

"Killed?" she echoed condescendingly, looking at April like she was crazy. But there was uncertainty in her voice. "Clearly an exaggeration. She has never hurt my men." She cast an ashamed, apologetic glance at Jiro. The old man was visibly clueless about the whole thing, as were the rest of the Lotuses.

April seemed ready to retort, but Splinter stopped her with one hand gesture to ask Hachisu himself. "In that case, may I see it?" He took a step forward, reaching out.

"No!" Both April and Donnie yelled in unison, making Leo jump. By the way in which Hachisu recoiled, they weren't the only ones who didn't want Splinter to touch that box.

"Sensei, don't! Seriously, you don't want to do that," Donnie said hurriedly, lifting a hand as though asking for a turn to speak, his mutism apparently cured. "April is telling the truth: that spirit is extremely dangerous. If-if it wasn't for the fact that I'm a young and fit turtle, in optimal cardiovascular health, I would undoubtedly be dead from heart failure." He rambled a little breathlessly, like he always did when he was nervous. He pressed his hand to his chest, wincing, and the gesture made Leo wonder if it was something else. He still couldn't see any signs of physical damage, but then what kind of damage could a ghost do to someone? "I'm pretty sure I'm alive only thanks to April." Donnie sounded sincere as he laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. April's brow knitted together and her gaze fell, looking the opposite of proud. "So… definitely don't open it," Donnie concluded quickly, a tinge of desperation in his warning.

This time, it was Hachisu's turn in the spotlight. All eyes were on her, waiting for a come-back of some kind. And Hachisu… didn't move, and only stared at Donnie through a deep frown.

"Hachisu-no-Hana-san. I believe an explanation is in order," Splinter prompted her calmly, though it sounded less like a request and more like a warning.

Hachisu shrivelled under his piercing gaze. The hand holding the box twitched, but she remained quiet, and Leo felt more and more of his respect towards the Lotus leader drain away the longer he looked at her. She didn't seem so admirable anymore, no longer filled the room with her presence. She looked small and withered, with that lost look on her face, her mouth slightly parted.

And yet Leo couldn't help clinging to the hope that there was an explanation for all this, that Hachisu didn't just consciously betray them all. Back in possession of his resolve, he didn't even look for Splinter's confirmation. He addressed her loud and clear, and made no efforts to hide his disappointment. "Hachisu-no-Hana-san. What is in that box?"

The Lotus leader's eyes flickered towards him, her face frozen in a blank expression. When she still didn't respond, he advanced, planting himself in front of her.

"We trusted you with our home. I think we deserve the truth. What is in that box, and why did you bring it here?" In his periphery, Donnie and April shifted nervously.

At last, Hachisu seemed to regain her composure, and she answered in her usual level voice. "A lost soul. I have a duty with her."

"What did it do to my brother? Why did it attack him?" Leo relented, now weary of Hachisu's secrecy.

"I don't know. We are close. She grows restless."

"Close to what?"

A beat. Hachisu's jaw clenched. "I am sorry. That is not for you to know."

Leo shook his head in disbelief. He was this close to throwing all manners out the window and calling her on her bullshit in front of their clans. He barely managed to catch himself, and took a deep breath.

"You hid an onryō from us. Why didn't you say anything?"

The irony of the situation dawned on him then as he realized, with a pang of shame, that this was exactly what Donnie and April had warned him about.

Hachisu only lowered her eyes to the floor, avoiding his. Her mask was back on.

"You put all our lives in danger! My family's lives!"

Hachisu snarled. "It was safe until you decided to interfere."

"Hachisu-no-Hana-san," Splinter cut in, silencing both of them. "I hope you understand we cannot tolerate a thing like this in our home. That box must go. Immediately. I cannot have it endanger my family."

There was hardly a moment's pause before Hachisu tilted her head courteously. "Do not worry, Hamato-sensei. My clan and I will leave before sunrise," she said, and Leo was deeply let down to still hear pride in her voice.

Before he could protest, she turned to leave, her soft footsteps barely breaking the silence. Leo stared after her, sick with disillusion, even after she and her clan were gone from the room.

"Uh…" he heard Mikey mutter. Leo had almost forgotten he was there, just like he'd forgotten Karai and Raph. The three of them stood to one side looking hesitant, as though they weren't sure they should be there.

After all that, Leo expected Donnie and April to get the scolding of their lives. But sensei only frowned, his eyes closed, like he was deep in thought. Splinter pinched between his eyes and emitted a barely audible groan, leaving Leo to wonder if his head hurt.

"Donatello, are you injured?" he said, looking up with a slight wince.

"N-no. No, I'm alright, sensei," Donnie replied, not entirely convincing, though he did look a bit healthier.

"Then I expect you in the dojo in fifteen minutes for training."

Donnie's tired expression suddenly stiffened, and he threw his arms out. "What? But—"

"Dojo. Fifteen minutes," Splinter repeated. "Leonardo, you will join us."

Leo blinked slowly at the floor; he hadn't expected any different.

"Raphael, Michelangelo, Karai. To bed. Now."

The emphasis was so strong that nobody questioned it. Even Karai obeyed at once, and all three made to leave looking very confused and very concerned. They might go to bed, but Leo knew they wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.

Maybe Mikey...

"Sensei, it was my fault, not Donnie's," April protested as they left in procession.

"That's not true—" Donnie started, but was quickly cut off.

"It was my idea to go after that thing. And I was the one to open the box," April insisted. It was almost as though not being punished bothered her. She closed her mouth at Splinter's look.

"Do not worry, April. I have not forgotten about you."

She relaxed visibly after that. Leo could swear he saw a fleeting shadow of a fatherly smile flash across Splinter's harsh features.

"I expect you in the dojo tomorrow, after school. Now sleep."

She sighed. "Hai, sensei."

And then Splinter blithely turned away and walked out, leaving behind a dreary stillness. Leo's mind took the perfect opportunity to play back a cringe-worthy montage of the day's events.

He thought his morning had started out bad—that stupid eyeliner had lasted to evening, like Karai had promised—but now the Lotus was leaving, their bond with the Hamato clan all but shattered, because of his stubborn brother. He knew in the back of his mind it was also Hachisu's fault, but right now he could only think about how Donnie had disregarded him. He felt like a fool, his chest tight from all the shame and anger brewing inside. Not to mention, he was just dying for what promised to be a two-hour warm-up to their normal morning routine.

"Great. Fantastic," he groused at the empty entrance. The sounds of tapping and clicking reminded him Donnie and April were there, and he turned around. "What were you guys thinking?"

Donnie lifted his eyes from his T-phone, and he and April both countered with an indignant look. Of course.

"Are you really going to give us crap? After we almost bought it?" Donnie exclaimed, apparently feeling much better.

"That's exactly why I'm going to 'give you crap'!" Leo retorted, disbelieving. "You went behind my back, after I asked you not to mess with the Lotus, and you almost got yourselves killed in the process!"

"What?" April yelped. "We tried to get you in! You're the one who wouldn't listen to us! We couldn't just sit around, there was an onryō in the lair!"

"You had no proof of that!"

"We had solid clues!" Donnie said loftily. "And it turns out we were right!"

"That's not the point! I gave you an order, and you—" The words caught in his throat, thorny and unfamiliar, but Leo forced them through. They came out raspy and sharp. "—you wiped your ass with it!" Donnie seemed taken aback, but at least he had his attention. "I'm your leader. That means, as your leader, I take responsibility for all of you jerks!"

Donnie's lip curled. "I'm nobody's responsibility! I'm my own responsibility! What, I can't make conscious decisions? Look, we screwed up, but—"

"Yes you did, and guess what, now it's all on me!" Leo cried, unable to help himself.

"Is that all that matters to you?" Donnie said accusingly. "Is looking good in front of Hachisu more important than us?"

Leo stepped up to him, and faced him dead on, which was difficult given he got taller every time he looked at him. "Don't you dare suggest such a thing, Donnie." He shoved his finger at Donnie's plastron. "Ever."

April swept his hand away. "I already said it was my fault earlier, what more do you want?"

"April, that was the ghost. It was not your fault," Donnie insisted. As usual, he saved all his charm for April. April, as usual, rejected it.

"Yes, it was! What good are my powers if I can be influenced so easily."

"You still don't get it!" Leo cut in before they could deviate further from the subject. Whatever was going on with April would have to be logged away for later. They needed to understand. "Whoever's fault it was, I have to be held accountable for whatever happens. If something had happened to you, Donnie, I… I would never forgive myself."

Donnie huffed, doing a little eye-roll, and Leo waited for his retort. However it never came. April shook her head, biting her lips, then cast her eyes downwards.

"If I'm going to lead this team, I need your trust. I need you to respect my decisions."

Donnie shrugged at him. "Being leader doesn't make you infallible," he said matter-of-factly. "You're not always going to be right."

Leo stood his ground, gritting his teeth. "This might come as a slight shock, Donatello, but neither are you."

The words had tumbled out of him like a landslide, impossible to stop. Donnie looked floored for about one second, then his face tightened. Leo held his glare in silence, though his chest constricted. He could see April in his periphery, standing very still.

Without warning, Donnie shoved something at Leo, and he almost reacted defensively, thinking he would hit him. It was just a T-Phone.

Leo asked curtly, "What's this?"

"That's your proof," Donnie replied drily, arms crossed, as Leo took in the contents of the picture. It was grainy as hell, like it had been magnified, but he could kind of make out a red stone with swirly shapes carved into it.

He let out a quiet gasp. "Is… is this what I think it is?"

"The Chinese red pendant the future turtles warned us about," April confirmed.

"Red Agatha, probably from the Qing period. And that's not all." Donnie uncrossed his arms and his voice turned into a murmur. "Leo, it was Tang Shen."

Leo perked up, convinced he had to have heard that wrong. "What?"

Donnie repeated solemnly, "It was Tang Shen. Splinter's dead wife came out of that little pendant, and attacked us." He put a hand on his chest again, giving himself a little rub.

Leo looked at his brother, then at the photo of the red pendant, and at April, who was standing by waiting with the same ominous expression. "Tang Sh…" He threw a glance over his shoulder to the exit. It was still ajar. He hurried over to check for eavesdroppers, and quickly slid it shut. "Wh… Is this true? How do you know this?" he demanded, leaning closer to speak in a low voice.

"I saw her death," April said first, her voice quivering, and her pale eyes became clouded. "I saw Shredder murdering her."

"And I saw her," Donnie chimed in, grabbing something from the floor: his tablet. He wiped off some dirt and tapped it a few times. "She said 'Yoshi'. There were three long gashes on her torso." He turned the screen towards Leo, and his stomach lurched.

It was a photo taken from above, by that camera hanging in the corner over their heads. It showed a blurry figure in white pinning Donnie down against the wall. April was on the floor near them, writhing, hands on her head.

"That was Tang Shen." Donnie's words were leaden with certainty. He reached for the T-Phone still in Leo's hands, and slid to the side several times. Skimming through different views of the same pendant, he stopped when the wooden box appeared. Though Hachisu had shown it to the room, Leo hadn't been able to see it clearly before. In the picture he could study all the engravings in perfect detail.

"These are protective spells… Ofuda," he said wonderingly, gazing at the ancient Japanese kanji.

"The entire box is like, a mystical containment unit," Donnie affirmed. "Hachisu must have engraved the box herself."

"That's probably the only reason she and the rest of the Lotus seem mostly unaffected," April added.

Leo nodded silently, and wished for the first time that he'd been in on the plan so he could've witnessed for himself. But then… He gave an inward chuckle, because on second thought, never mind, he didn't want to experience that at all. Monsters and aliens are one hell of a thing already, but where do you begin to confront an onryō?

He couldn't help think about what this meant. For them. For Splinter. For Karai... What it could do to them, if they knew this.

Tang Shen: an onryō. An evil, vengeful spirit.

"Do any of the others know about this? Does Splinter know?" he asked quietly.

"No," Donnie replied, then quickly added, "and I don't think he should."

"No," Leo agreed right away. Thoughtfully he looked back towards the lab doors, hot concern stewing in his belly. Striding over to the door he opened it just enough to peek through. Hachisu and her men were already packing. Karai was nowhere to be seen, supposedly in her room. Splinter must already be waiting for them in the dojo. He told Donnie and April, "Don't mention this to anyone."

They nodded, and then they all fell into a heavy silence.

"This is all so messed up," Leo said at length, shuffling over to pick up a toppled stool, and slumped onto it. "And now Hachisu's leaving with the pendant. So we don't even get to know why she would be carrying around the spirit of Tang Shen! And why of all places she would have to bring it here. It couldn't have been on purpose, could it?"

Donnie let out a sour chuckle, looking exhausted. "Well, I'm glad it's gone. I've had enough ghost-hunting to last me a lifetime."

But Leo's conscience stirred, restless. "Shouldn't we do something? About Tang Shen?"

"Leo, that pendant is dangerous." April's eyes drifted to the floor, glossy and haunted. "It affected me, it… She was so angry, so sad." She embraced herself as if she was cold, and Donnie wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "It's probably safer this way," she concluded, and Leo couldn't help notice her looking much more at ease under the gentle weight of Donnie's arm.

"We should at least try to talk to Hachisu again. Do you think she knew about Tang Shen?" Leo asked tentatively, not wanting to force April. She'd had enough for one night, she didn't need an interrogation.

"I'm not sure. What little she said was true, I could tell. I believe she was really surprised when she heard it tried to kill us. Onryō latch onto a person that could carry out their revenge for them, so maybe Hachisu's only a servant. She may not have a choice. Anyway, it's actually a good thing she didn't say anything else in front of sensei."

"Yeah," Donnie said. "Who knows what could've happened if the ghost had gotten to Splinter?"

"Or Karai," April added glumly.

If Leo had had any hair, it would have stood on end. He didn't want to know what would happen. He didn't even want to think about what would happen.

He didn't want to, and yet his gut churned with the unsettling certainty that they would find out, soon.

The T-phone in Leo's hand beeped, and Donnie quickly took his arm away from April to snatch it from him. Leo knew what it meant before Donnie's confirmation, and the timing couldn't have been better.

"Guess who," Donnie said, wiggling the phone in front of him. Leo was a little surprised to detect a hint of cynicism. It was a much different attitude than last time.

Leo stood up and followed Donnie and April to the computer.

"Damnit, the power supply is fried," Donnie grumbled after a few attempts at rebooting, and started digging in a drawer.

"Uh… should we get the others?" April stammered while Donnie feverishly fiddled around in computer guts.

Leo pondered for a bit before replying. "No. We're going to ask future us about this. They have a lot to explain."

"The guys won't like that we didn't wait for them," she sing-songed as she distractedly watched Donnie rip a part from the CPU and replace it with another from his drawer, mumbling the usual techy stuff to himself.

"We need answers now," Leo replied. "And I don't want the others to know yet, much less Splinter or Karai. Best to play it safe."

"There!" Donnie announced, and threw himself on his chair, letting out a relieved "phew" when the screen came on. A few clicks later, the infamous chat box opened, and the first words manifested on the screen.

Duzmachines: You there?

Donnie side-glanced at Leo and April as if to warn them that he was going for it. Leo leaned in over his shoulder.

Allofdisnbrainz: Hey. We have a couple of questions to ask you.

Duzmachines: No questions, remember, we talked about this. We just wanted to tell you when and where to meet us.

Allofdisnbrainz: It's about that red pendant. We found it. Why didn't you tell us it had the ghost of Tang Shen inside it?

A few seconds passed. A minute. Donnie looked questioningly at Leo, like he might have some advice.

Leo groaned impatiently. "Keep insisting."

Allofdisnbrainz: You could've saved us a lot of trouble if you'd simply told us!

Duzmachines: We didn't know.

Allofdisnbrainz: What do you mean you didn't know? You knew it was dangerous, or else why would you have mentioned it?

Duzmachines: We didn't know it was Tang Shen. But now everything makes sense.

Allofdisnbrainz: What makes sense?

Duzmachines: Is everyone okay?

Leo gripped the seat's back rest. "Keep asking, keep asking!"

"I only have six fingers, Leo!"

Allofdisnbrainz: Yeah. By the skin of our noses! That pendant almost killed us!

What makes sense?

Duzmachines: We'll talk when we get there.

"Don't let them hang up!" Leo urged, shaking the seat rest.

Allofdisnbrainz: No!

We're not going along with this anymore until you give us something.

How do you expect us to trust you if we only get clipped answers from you? We need the truth. Why exactly are you coming?

The answer took so long, Leo feared they'd already hung up. Donnie slouched over to type again when the next chunk of message appeared. They must have thought this one through a lot.

Duzmachines: We know. We know it sounds all kinds of suspicious, but you have to trust us. We have a plan, but for it to work we need things to happen a certain way, and we have no way of ensuring that if we tell you too much beforehand. There's no telling how much more we've already changed just by getting in contact with you. Does self-fulfilling prophecy ring a bell? Please, it's better if you just don't ask questions. We'll tell you what you need to know. No more, no less. Anything else could have unforeseeable consequences in your timeline. This is very important. Don't ask us about the future. You know it's for the best.

Before Donnie was done reading the text aloud, another line appeared.

Duzmachines: How's Karai?

Leo's heart skipped a beat. There it was again, Karai's name. Donnie twisted his neck to give Leo a look that perfectly mirrored his own concerns.

Allofdisnbrainz: We're a little worried about her. She's been edgy ever since these Lotus people came with talks of killing Shredder. She wants to go with them.

Duzmachines: Good, it's okay.

"How is that okay?!" April cried suddenly right by Leo's ear, making him jump.

Duzmachines: Just let her be. Don't try to stop her, it will only make things worse. And don't tell Splinter what you saw. Whatever happens, Splinter must not know about Tang Shen. Keep that pendant away from him.

Leo nodded to himself, casting another glance towards the door. They were way ahead of them on that one: soon the pendant would be out of their hair, whether they wanted it or not.

He almost didn't notice Donnie typing until he hit send: clack!

Allofdisnbrainz: You knew all this would happen.

Duzmachines: Not all of it, unfortunately. Don't worry, everything will be fine. We're coming to help. But you have to trust us. We'll tell you everything once we're there, we promise.

Leo's throat tightened in utter frustration. His hands hurt from gripping the back rest. Feeling entirely useless in this situation, he straightened up, letting his fingers slip off the chair in defeat. They all looked at each other, then gave a collective sigh.

Allofdisnbrainz: Alright.

Duzmachines: We have to go, so take notes. East River baseball fields, Thursday 4:35am. The coordinates are 40.719849, -73.973824.

Once there, we'll have radio communication. The portal is operational?

Allofdisnbrainz: Yes.

Donnie practically punched the enter key.

Duzmachines: I knew it would be. See you real soon : )

And with that, the chat went dead, their last remaining words mocking them with their infuriating lack of information. Leo shot the emoji a suspicious glare. That smiley was highly unsatisfactory. It looked dead-eyed.

"Well, that's that, I suppose," Donnie said, leaning back. "So... do we trust them? Are we still doing this?" he probed in a small voice, and Leo could tell from his hopeful, apologetic eyes that he wanted the answer to be yes after all.

Without thinking, both Donnie and Leo turned to look at April. She stared back and shrugged. "Its a chat. I can't get much from a bunch of pixels," she protested, motioning at the screen.

"I mean… they have a point, I suppose," Donnie said slowly. "Time travel's messy and unpredictable. We know they're not frauds: the fact that they knew about the red pendant before we even met Hachisu is further proof of that."

April thoughtfully propped her back against the table. "There may be much more to this, and we're not going to know what, unless we go through with it."

Leo didn't even find it in himself to play Devil's advocate on that. "Alright." He nodded, more to give himself strength than anything. "We go through with it. We go meet these guys and… hear what they have to say, at least."

"I'll note down the coordinates," Donnie said right away, getting to work on his phone.

"We're going to have to tell the guys about this," April said, and waved a hand at the computer screen. She didn't mean the coordinates. "They're going to find out anyway."

Leo dreaded the moment, but she was right. How they were going to do that without Karai or Splinter finding out too was the real question.

"We'll tell Mikey and Raph in the morning," he concluded. "We should go, Splinter's waiting. We can clean this up later. April, you'd better get some sleep."

"Yeah, right," she retorted bitterly, like sleeping was the most ludicrous concept she'd heard that day.

Donnie started towards the exit first. "Better do as he says, April. That sounded like an order."

Leo looked at him. His brother had sounded casual, almost jokey, but he avoided Leo's eyes as he walked past him. Leo felt anger light anew, and let it slide only because he was too tired for more drama. That went for April as well, who was giving Leo an awkward glance. If she was still angry as well, Leo couldn't decide.

"What are you gonna tell Splinter?" she asked under her breath.

He shrugged downheartedly. "Anything except Shen being a vengeful spirit." Then he followed Donnie towards the dojo.


Karai barely heard the footsteps leave the lab through the other exit, and even then she didn't move. Rage clotted in her chest into a hot fist, taking up precious air-space. Breathing heavily, she lingered by the garage door, staring at the train tracks that got lost in the darkness of the tunnel before her.

Shredder's debt was even greater than she'd realized. Because of him, her mother never found rest. Because of him! This is all he'd ever been, only pain and nightmares, to himself and all those unfortunate enough to have stood in his shadow. And instead of helping her bring peace to Tang Shen, her so-called 'family' had tried to hide this information from her, like she was a child!

Completely adrift in her own oppressive thoughts, she was unaware of the passage of time until she registered the thuds and grunts of Leo's and Donnie's work-out.

She reached a conclusion. Her gullet constricted, knowing this was her only choice—knowing, as little as she liked it, there was only one person now that would support her. She picked herself up as heftily if she'd been sitting on that dank ground for days, and snuck back in the lair.

She found Hachisu at the far end of the Lotus camp, already packing and isolated from the others. She shot a vacant glare in the direction of the dojo before bowing. "Forgive me, Hachisu-no-Hana-san. I must speak with you."

Hachisu turned above her, and Karai felt her eyes drill through the top of her head. "Please tell Hamato Yoshi there is nothing more to talk about," she replied soberly, and kept folding her mat.

Where are you keeping her? Karai snarled inwardly with a covert once-over, but slapped the thought down. There would be time for that.

"I'm not here for him. I'm here on my own."

This time Hachisu stopped, and Karai took the silence to mean she was listening.

"I don't hope to change my father's mind. That is why I ask that you let me go with you, to kill Oroku Saki," Karai continued, fighting to keep her turmoil under the surface and her voice steady.

She risked a peek, and saw Hachisu regarding her quietly, her face inscrutable. Then she turned her back to Karai. "You should honor your sensei's decision. A ninja must stand with her clan. But if Hamato Yoshi should change his mind..." Hachisu rummaged in her bag until she pulled out a pamphlet of some kind. It turned out to be a map of Manhattan, the kind you got free from tourist information booths. She drew a circle between two subway stations east of Chinatown. "We will be here."

Karai straightened and accepted the map. Then, with another bow, she turned away.

On her walk back to her room, she couldn't help look over her shoulder towards the dojo. As she gazed at the silhouettes punching the air behind the paper screens, she felt hollow, a void left behind by the hope that she could still belong after all—that even in the lie that was her life, there was still someone she could count on. Even that hope had turned out to be a lie.

And yet, a part of her still held onto that lifeline's tattered remains, the smallest cry for help ecchoing through the empty, dilapidated rooms of her heart. A small part of her resisted...

She tore her eyes away, folding the map into a tiny piece, hiding it in her pocket, and slipped back into her room, feeling more alone than ever.


Hnngngn, amirite?

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