I clasped my hands tightly behind my back, squaring my shoulder and straightening my back in an attempt to look as stiff as Karai usually did. I jutted my chin out and up, feeling like an absolute idiot and praying I didn't look too much like one.

I walked like that towards the room Sacks was in, purposefully taking long, heavy steps. Though I was wearing old sneakers and not high-heeled boots so I didn't sound very professional like Karai did.

This shitty plan is gonna get me fucking killed, I thought ruefully, pushing the door open and saying loudly, "Mister Sacks."

He whirled around with his gun raised and his eyes glaring, but confused.

I willed the fear from my face and continued. "The test subjects are on the roof."

He narrowed his eyes at me and adjusted his grip on the pistol. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded.

"Sir?" I asked, tilting my head and feigning confusion.

"I said, who are you?" He repeated seethingly. "Aren't you the, uh...the friend? The stupid friend of the specimens?"

The stupid friend. I fought the urge to punch him and kept a neutral tone of voice. "It seems Sensei Shredder never told you of me," I said with a slight smile akin to Karai's.

"No, it seems he didn't," he growled. "So please, enlighten me."

I nodded briskly. "Sensei Shredder had me eliminate the girl who befriended the test subjects and pose as her to earn their trust. I allowed a tracker to be placed in me one night that could lead your man to the specimens' lair. When the fourth specimen was not captured, I brought him to your estate to be contained. Unfortunately, they managed to escape so I brought them here for Sensei Shredder to eliminate them. They are on the roof right now. I can lead a team to contain them and bring them back to the estate if you'd like, sir."

His expression seemed to say he didn't entirely believe me. "You threw a knife at my soldiers and I," he pointed out, not lowering his gun in the lightest.

I masked my grimace with a pleasant smile. "Yes. But I did not kill him. If I did not harm anyone the subjects would suspect something. The big red one is extremely wary." At least that's not a lie. "If I did not help them, he would not trust me and I couldn't have brought him to your estate, then here. The same reason why I had to defend them when the lair was attacked. I do regret it, but it was necessary." His gun was still raised, so I kept talking. "I apologize for the secrecy, sir. But the reason Sensei Shredder regretted to inform you of my role is because you needed to believe I was their ally as much as they did. Otherwise, I might have been compromised."

"Hmm." He watched me closely and I willed myself to remain steady and stone-faced.

Look like Karai. Act like Karai. Look like Karai. Act like Karai.

Sacks relaxed and lowered his gun with a grim expression.

"Alright. But I don't quite trust you enough to take a team up their to contain the specimens. So you can stay here until Sensei Shredder returns." He turned back to the machine, setting his pistol down and watching a small canister fill with green liquid. "And make sure those stupid turtles don't come in here," he ordered as an afterthought.

I nodded, unclasping my hands and letting them hang at my sides. "Of course sir. Is there anything else I can do?"

Eric Sacks turned his gaze from the machine to me, his eyes flicking downward momentarily when I placed my hands in my pocket. Though he quickly disregarded the action to be as casual as any. "No," he shook his head. "You've done quite a wonderful job so far. Thank you, miss...?" He trailed off, raising his eyebrows expectantly for my name.

I smirked and pulled my hands from my pocket, a cloth clasped tightly in my fist. "Raiya fucking Carter."

Sacks cursed and lunged for his gun but I swiped it away with one hand while using the other to press the chloroform-soaked cloth to his mouth and nose. He stumbled backward and I quickly grabbed his fighting arms, doing my best to ignore the protest in my right arm. It wasn't long before his struggling weakened and he finally slackened. I let him fall to the floor in an ungraceful heap, grinning like a madwoman and breathing heavily from the rush.

"Fuck yeah!" I cried, flipping off the unconscious billionaire. "Fuck you! Good luck getting rich now, asshat!" I spun to grab the mutagen and rush out, but I figured he'd probably wake up soon and try to kill me. So I found a thick extension cord and tied his arms and legs together with that. I considered securing the cloth over his nose, but I figured if it could knock a person out in such a short amount of time, I must not be very good to breathe it in for a long time. So I put it back in my pocket, silently thanking whichever turtle had put it in there after rescuing me back at the estate.

The machine had stopped working and the canister was full of bright green mutagen, so I assumed it'd extracted all of it from the blood, but I still used a big microscope to smash the blood canister open and shatter the glass of the machine, hopefully rendering it useless. I grabbed the mutagen canister from the machine but noticed there was still some residual green liquid in the tubes. I grinned and searched for a syringe.

••• 影の秘密 •••

ding!

The elevator doors slid open and I took a step out before freezing in horror.

Debris was falling down from the top of the spire like rain, and the turtles were impossibly trying to support the base of it to keep it from falling and the toxins from spreading upon impact. My breath caught in my throat when Shredder approached Leonardo and launched a fist into his stomach. But still, that stubborn turtle didn't move from his place and instead took the beating. The spire swayed dangerously with a loud groan of protesting metal. I have to do something.

I rushed to the helicopter, grabbing the capped syringe from my pocket and tossing it into the passenger seat before spinning back toward the turtles, my mind racing for a solution. They could probably hold it if Shredder would leave them the hell alone.

I gulped and stepped away from the helicopter, toward the edge of the roof. "Hey, dickhead!" I yelled. Shredder turned his head slowly, his gaze landing on me. Now that I had his attention, I lifted the mutagen canister with a wave. "What happens if I drop this?" I asked, suspending it over the edge of the roof with a wicked grin despite my fearful, racing heart.

Shredder growled and took another step away from Leo. The turtles were all staring at me, and I refused to meet their gazes because I knew they were worried about me and angry that I didn't do what Leo told me to. Instead, I focused on the monstrous, robot samurai that was approaching me with blades drawn, probably with intentions to kill me.

Thankfully—or unthankfully, I couldn't decide right then—I didn't get much of a chance to think about it because the spire had released a particularly loud groan and had begun falling toward me. Of fucking course.

One of the brothers yelled my name but I didn't need a warning to know I had to get the hell out of the way. Avoiding the rainfall of debris, I clutched the mutagen to myself and rolled to the side, removing myself from the spire's path. But before I could even get to my feet, a cold metal fist connected with my cheek, the spikes across the knuckles cutting sharply into my skin. The force of the blow sent me crumpling to the ground with a cry of pain. Blood streamed down my face but I didn't release my hold on the canister.

"Give me the mutagen, girl," Shredder ordered, leaning over my curled up body. I slipped a kunai from my belt, praising myself for remembering to grab it on the way out of the laboratory.

"Fuck you," I hissed, and whipped the knife at the eyehole in his mask. He lifted an arm to deflect it while I used his diverted attention to kick his legs out from under him. As much as I wanted to see him fall on his ass, I scrambled to my feet as soon as I could and ran. I only got a few steps before Shredder had grabbed my foot and I fell forward onto my stomach.

"Give it to me," he growled, crawling toward me.

"Raiya, move!" When I heard the familiar voice yell my name, I didn't hesitate to obey and I kicked Shredder in the face before rolling right off the edge of the roof, narrowly avoiding getting crushed by a section of metal framework from the falling spire.

"NO!" The samurai cried, throwing himself off the roof after me. The spire crashed down onto the building across from it, keeping it suspended in the air between the two buildings. Protruding white bars lined the edge of the spire, and I was falling right toward them. I tucked the mutagen into my hoodie pocket, praying it wouldn't fall out, and braced myself. My body jarred from the impact and my bad shoulder screamed from the force it took to stop myself from falling while holding on. Shredder fell into the spire as well, and—having thrown himself with more force off the roof—grabbed a bar several feet ahead of the one I held desperately on to. I tried pulling myself up before he could attack me again, first lifting my left arm up and over the bar, then hauling my right up. Shredder swung his legs, gaining momentum to jump one bar closer to me. Shit.

I reached one hand down and took the mutagen from my hoodie pocket. "Come any closer and I'll drop this," I threatened, holding it as far from him as I could. That sure made him pause.

"Give me that canister, little girl," he said, reaching a hand out to the next bar.

"Don't fucking move," I ordered, straining my left arm to keep myself up. I heard Mikey call my name, but I didn't take my eyes off Shredder. I knew he'd take any chance he could to get the mutagen. And he sure as hell wouldn't hesitate to take me out to do so.

"Raiya!" This time, it was Raphael's voice. I glanced up, finding him and his brother's sprinting toward me along the body of the spire. Realizing my mistake too late, I looked back in time to see Shredder lunge at me through the air.

AN: Cliff hangerrr haha not sorry. So I think the name of this chapter is officially my favourite lol

TWO FREAKING CHAPTERS IN ONE FREAKING DAY MIRACLES ARE POSSIBLE

So I forgot to ask the last chapter, what kind of weapon should Raiya have in TSR? I'm thinking either twin steel tessens or a kabutowari with a removable aikuchi disguised in the hilt. I'm kinda leaning towards tessens cuz she's gonna be doing stealth missions and stuff and tessens can hide under dresses. Anyways, lemme know what you guys think! Are there any other weapons I should consider?

Thank you guys for the reviews! Please leave me some more because they make me very happy! :)