Donnie raced alongside Leo and Raph, all three dropping to their knees at Mikey's side. The young turtle was still clutching his shoulder, his face tight with pain and his breaths coming fast and hard as red liquid seeped through his fingers. With a firm discipline honed by years of experience, Donnie pushed his fear back. He placed a steady hand on his immediate younger brother's head and stroked it gently, his voice just as steady.

"Mikey, can you hear me?"

A faint groan escaped the youngest turtle and his eyelids quivered. His voice was so pained, so raspy, so feeble, it didn't even seem like his.

"D-… Donnie…? Bros…?"

Raph took Mikey's free hand in a firm but gentle grip. He was trying to sound calm, but he couldn't hide the raw fear in his eyes, the pain in his voice.

"We're here, Mikey. We're right here with ya."

Leo gently lifted their little brother's head and shoulders, supporting him as Donnie scanned his body. Immediately visible were a few lacerations, one on his arm, the other on his plastron above his stomach, but they weren't serious enough for alarm. The genius's eyes then moved to Mikey's shoulder; the heavy bleeding was evident, but full view was still obscured by his hand.

"Mikey, I need you to move your hand," he urged. "Can you do that for me?"

The sea green turtle drew in a sharp breath, then gave a small nod and lifted his bloodstained hand. Donnie felt an icy grip of fear; the shuriken had cut deep, just under the collarbone and alarmingly close to the throat. It was probably by sheer luck that the blow wasn't lethal.

"Don?" Leo's voice was steady, but his eyes were full of fear. Donnie took a deep breath, ordering himself to stay calm as he replied.

"It's not fatal, but still not good. I'll patch it up as best I can, but we've got to get him out of here as soon as I do."

Meanwhile, Grace and Hamari had remained standing firmly in front of them, ready to defend. But none of their clanmates had made a move to attack, and Sakura gave no order.

"I urge you both, reconsider your actions," she said, her voice sterner than ever. "You have done nothing yet that cannot be forgiven. Do not betray our clan any further."

A sharp, humorless laugh came from Hamari.

"Betray? We're betraying the clan? You turned your blade on someone you accepted as an ally, someone who never once wronged you, for the sake of some petty grudge. You abandoned everything you ever taught us, that you said you believed." She tightened her grip on her sais. "You are the one who betrayed the clan… just like you betrayed your own daughter."

Sakura stood in startled silence for a moment, as if the words had rendered her speechless. Then her eyes moved to Grace.

"Grace, my daughter, you know what it means if you leave with them. You cannot return to the clan… you will be as lost to us as we will be to you. You will throw away all you have earned, all that you are. Is that truly what you want?"

Grace hesitated for only a moment.

"No, it isn't. But you taught me all my life that a true and honorable warrior does what's right, no matter what the cost. So that's exactly what I intend to do."

Hamari twirled her sais in silent agreement. Sakura's eyes widened just a little, then her face hardened again.

"This is your choice, then? To choose him over those who have supported you, who you have known and cared for your whole life? Over your family?"

There was a strange edge to her voice… something that sounded like pleading. There was pain in Grace's voice, but also a resolution that nothing would shake.

"It doesn't have to be a choice, Mother. I don't want it, but if you force me to make that choice, I will. I'm sorry… more than you can ever know. I wish I could be the daughter you wanted, but if that means that I would have to hurt someone I love, someone I know would never do that to me, I won't be that person. I can't be that person."

By now, Donnie had used his limited supply of bandages to wrap Mikey's shoulder. It was rushed work, not as neat as he'd like, but it would slow the bleeding and buy them time. Looking up, he raised his voice so Grace and Hamari would hear.

"We've got to go… I don't think we have much time!"

He saw Grace's hands tremble for a moment before they steadied, and she spoke with cool composure.

"Hamari?"

Her friend's only reply was a firm nod. With that, Leo took charge.

"Don, can you take Mikey? We'll cover you."

At Donnie's nod, the leader looked down at his youngest brother and rubbed his cheek to rouse him.

"Mikey? You with us?"

The orange-banded turtle's eyelids twitched, then parted to reveal weary, pain hazed eyes. Donnie reached out and placed a hand on his head, keeping his voice calm and encouraging.

"We've got to move, little brother. Think you can walk if you lean on me?"

The youngest turtle took a deep, tremulous breath, as if gathering his strength, then nodded.

"Th-… think so." His eyes moved past his brothers and widened, at least as much as they could. "G-Grace… what're you…"

His voice had only risen a little… Donnie had a feeling he couldn't do more than that… but the fear and worry in it was unmistakable. Daring a quick glance toward him, she gave him such a tender smile that it made Donnie's heart ache.

"Don't worry, we'll be right behind. I won't let her hurt you again… I promise."

She focused on her mother again, her expression hardening.

"Go. We'll follow."

Mikey kept his eyes on her, occasionally flicking to Hamari as well, fearful and reluctant.

"It's okay, Mikey," Leo said, his voice gentle. "She'll be fine… they both will, we'll make sure of it. Right now, we've got to get you somewhere safe so we can take care of those injuries."

"B-but… I c-can't… I should h-help…"

The last word broke off as Mikey stiffened, letting out another weak groan through clenched teeth as his hand moved to the crudely bandaged stab wound.

"Can that crazy talk, ya bonehead!" Raph snapped, a familiar infuriated look on his face. "You're in no shape t' fight, an' ya know that! It's bad enough dealin' with Fearless' hero complex without gettin' that junk from you! All you're gonna do is let us handle th' fighting and get 'cha the shell outta here, ya hear me?!"

Mikey's heavy-lidded eyes moved to him, and Donnie knew he was seeing the deep fear and vulnerability behind the anger. His gaze softened, and with a quiet sigh, he nodded.

"Alright then, we're on the move," Leo said, shifting to let Donnie move into place. As carefully as he could, the genius turtle lifted the arm on Mikey's uninjured side over his shoulders and slid his free hand under his other arm.

"Okay, brace yourself, this'll hurt. One, two, three."

He heard Mikey stifle another pained groan as his brothers lifted him to his feet, swaying unsteadily.

"You okay?" Donnie asked. A hoarse grunting sound escaped Mikey's throat, which Donnie recognized as a chuckle.

"S-still here n' kickin'… f' that c-counts."

Despite the gravity of the situation, his brothers couldn't suppress a twinge of amusement. Leave it to Mikey to laugh and crack a joke when he could barely stand.

"It counts," Donnie replied. "Ready?"

"R-ready," Mikey rasped. At that, Leo and Raph drew their weapons and positioned themselves in front of their younger brothers, muscles taut and ready to spring into action at first provocation. Donnie began walking Mikey away, trying to move as quickly as possible while keeping his brother steady. Mikey didn't say a word of complaint, but his breathing was more strained than before, and he was leaning heavily on Donnie; the genius tried not to think of how weak he clearly was.

"Doing good, Mikey…" he murmured. "Easy…"

He didn't want to risk diverting his attention, but Donnie was still on edge, listening for the Gawa ninjas to make their move. Much to his surprise, all he heard was the shuffling feet of his older brothers, along with Grace and Hamari's.

Why aren't they attacking?

Soon they had left the alley, sticking to the shadows as they moved and on alert for any late-night city dwellers as well as attackers. Leo's low, urgent voice broke the silence.

"Grace, Hamari, any reason they wouldn't come after us?"

"I don't know," Grace replied in the same tone. "Unless Sen-… my mother doesn't want to attack two of her own."

"Hmm, maybe," Hamari muttered. "But I'm not willing to press our luck. We should try to get somewhere they're not likely to find us if they start searching."

"Don't think th' lair's an option."

Raph's voice was half a growl, but Donnie knew he was the kind of mad he got when he was scared and trying not to show it. But he was right… even if they called April to drive them, the lair was at least a few hours away, and Mikey needed proper treatment far sooner than that. That thought was confirmed when he felt his younger brother sag a little in his grip, letting out another faint groan.

"Our friend April's place isn't far from here," he said. "No one in your clan knows that… they won't look there."

"Then that's our best bet," Leo said. "Let's stop here and I'll call her… hopefully she can get the van over."

Donnie gave a nod, then turned into a nearby alley as the others followed. He scanned the space, then guided his wounded brother to the side of the building and carefully set him down so he was propped against it.

"Don't worry, Mikey… we'll get you fixed up soon."

Before Mikey could say anything, Grace had rushed over and knelt on his other side. She looked even more terrified than Donnie felt, clearly struggling not to lose control as she cupped his brother's face in her hands.

"Mikey…" Her voice was hoarse and racked with guilt, tears sliding down her face. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know, I swear I didn't know…"

Mikey's eyes opened about halfway, and he lifted the hand of his uninjured shoulder to brush tears from her cheek.

"I-I know… y' didn't," he murmured. "You… t-trusted her… it's… o-okay…"

His hand started to tremble with effort, and Donnie reached over to push it down.

"Okay, don't strain yourself any more, save your strength."

His brother's eyes moved to him.

"Sorry… I j-just… just w-wanted t'…"

Raph's rough voice cut in.

"Ya heard Doctor Don, motor mouth… quit yer yappin' an' take it easy."

Donnie couldn't help but smirk. Good old hothead Raph… resorting to insults to express concern. He saw the corners of Mikey's mouth quirk up and knew he was thinking the same thing. He glanced at Grace, wondering if she was surprised Mikey could smile at all like this. But her own watery smile quickly proved him wrong.