A/N: HUZAH, I have updated! Sorry for taking so long!

Also, a note to all those reading The Return of the Dark Mystic: I'm putting the story on hiatus until further notice. I'm not quitting it, I'm just having a hard time getting inspired that's all. Sorry guys!

Anyways, on with this story!

I OWN NOTHING!

Enjoy!

Chapter 45

"The best of us must sometimes eat our words."

― J.K. Rowling

With Leonardo as their guide, it wasn't long before the three turtles arrived in front of the old repair shop. By this time, the city had come alive; pedestrians were seen wandering the streets even at this early an hour, car horns blaring in the distance, birds singing as they soared through the air.

This of course was all fine and dandy; there was no chaos ripping though the city, no mutants rampaging through the streets, no ninjas prowling from a building around the block, just a normal Wednesday. In all, it was a perfect day to get out and enjoy the sun. Unless, of course, you were a giant mutant turtle, in which case being out in the open streets was a very bad thing.

Which was why Raphael stuck to the rear, keeping a cautious eye out, and keeping Michelangelo sandwiched between himself and Leo – both to keep him out of trouble and to make sure he didn't touch anything – as they approached the shop.

Speaking of the shop, Raph looked around, catching the crusted green door and the graffiti tags on the grey garage door, and he raised a brow. It didn't seem like the kind of place an army of Kraang would pick as a secret base, especially if they were holding an important prisoner.

"You sure this is the right place?" he asked Leo, who was standing in front of the green door, his shell facing them.

Leo nodded once. "I'm sure. Like I said, I've seen the Kraang come in and out of this place a few times when Shredder sent me out on patrol," he said, then he crouched down in front of the door. "And either Donnie's here, or the garage mechanic stole his lock-pick." He turned back to Raph, holding up a padlock for all to see.

Raph smirked. Yep, that was Donnie alright; when it came to picking locks, even the most complex they could come across, Hamato Donatello was the best in the business.

"Ha! So the mechanic could break into his own place?" Mikey asked sarcastically with a shake of his head, hands on his hips in feigned disappointment. "C'mon Leo, think this stuff through, dude! Let's move!"

Raph, teetering on the edge of sanity, was ready to call Mikey out yet again on his stupidity, but Leo beat him to it. Standing up, Leo stared at Michelangelo with controlled, narrowed blue eyes, and the youngest turtle shrunk backwards under his stare.

Mikey chuckled nervously. "Uh…you knew that."

Leo nodded with a grunt.

Behind them, Raph was almost impressed. Leo had managed to knock Mikey down a peg without saying anything at all; he didn't even need to hit him. Wow.

If things had been different, Raph would've invited Leo back home for dinner just for that.

"Alriiight," Mikey said, pointing at Leo, "Since you're the replacement leader and stuff for now…you say it."

With a light sigh, Leo shook his head. "Let's move," he announced, just to humor Mikey Raph supposed, sliding the door up and stepping inside the shop.

"Yeah!" Mikey crowed and punched the sky with glee. Raph followed in after Leo, smacking Mikey upside the head on his way passed, earning a pained 'ah!' from his little brother. He knew he didn't have to hit Mikey, but then he figured why not?

Rubbing the back of his sore head, Mikey pouted. "Punk," he grumbled sourly as he followed his older brothers into the old garage, remembering at the last second to slide the door shut behind him.

The urge to sneeze was fought by all three turtles as they walked through the shop; the place was so dusty that Raph was surprised there weren't literal dust bunnies hopping around – and knowing the Kraang, the possibility of said dust bunnies coming to life was very likely, so lest he tempted fate, he kept his mouth shut.

They approached an old black car sat upon a lowered forklift, and underneath that was a single Kraang droid, deactivated and vacant of any screaming trapped alien brain creatures. Moving closer to give the robot a little kick, Raph scoffed. "Pretty sure Donnie took this guy out," he said.

"How can you tell?" Leo asked.

"He looks bored to death."

"Pfft!" Leo smirked in surprise, slapping a hand over his mouth. And for reasons Raph wouldn't admit aloud, or simply couldn't bring himself to, seeing that look on Leo's face, the fact that he'd made him outright laugh over something as dumb as making fun of Donnie – alas, the poor nerd – warmed Raph's heart, even though he masked said mushy feelings with a lopsided grin instead.

"So, where's this Kraang base you were talkin' about?" Raph asked a moment later, when Leo's chuckles had subsided.

Chewing on his bottom lip in thought, Leo scanned the empty garage, folding his arms over his chest. "Uh…I do know that it's underground –"

"Well duh."

"– shut up. But I don't know how to get down there. Maybe there's a secret door, or a hidden passage somewhere. We just have to –"

Leo stopped abruptly, eyes widening and body stiffening. He then pinned Raph with a look that was nervous – or dare he say worried – and asked slowly, "Raphael, where's Michelangelo?"

At that, Raph froze as well, green eyes popping out of their sockets. They'd been so busy talking that they'd forgotten the most important thing; to keep an eye on Mikey. There was no telling what would happen or what the kid would do when no one was watching him. And said thoughts made Raphael realize just how much they all – even Leo – seemed to unconsciously baby him.

"Hey guys!"

Both turtles started as the sound of a car engine revving up loudly inside the shop. They whirled around to find the aforementioned orange clad turtle leaning through the window of one of the cars waving at them, a wide grin plastered across his freckled face. "Check out my ride!" Mikey crowed, hopping back inside the car and switching the headlights on, nearly blinding his older brothers gawking at him from below as they shielded their eyes with their hands.

How Mikey had managed to even turn the car on, they had no idea. Raph was suddenly afraid of what other dastardly things his baby brother could achieve when no one was watching him. And they'd thought Donnie was bad when they were kids.

"WOOO!" Mikey cheered, moments before his foot accidentally stomped on the gas pedal, and he let out a shrill cry as the car lurched forwards.

"CRAP!" Raph and Leo squawked in terror before leaping out of the way, diving to the floor with their arms thrown over their heads as the car crashed headfirst to the floor at an angle. The vehicle tilted backwards, and the rear end slammed onto a control panel, which sparked with electricity before the forklift beside it, along with the red car sat upon it, all but disappeared from sight, falling into a dark abyss below.

From where they lay on the floor across from each other, Leo and Raph shared a blank look. What in the heck?

Climbing to their feet, they hurried over to where the car had fallen, only to find it wasn't a regular hole; it was a tunnel, lined with metal walls that gave off a florescent, and familiar, purple glow.

"The hidden passageway! You found it!" Leo gasped, cracking a rare smile as he shook his head in mild disbelief. "Nice one, Michelangelo."

Still inside the ruined car, perfectly safe and unharmed despite the crash – which would've seriously injured or even killed any other person, and Raph shivered at the thought of it – Mikey grinned. "Oh, yeah, thanks Leo!" he chimed, "And –"

"Do not say 'I meant to do that'," Raph interjected, crossing his arms and sending Mikey a flat look. Ordinarily, as he watched Mikey wilt and hunch his shoulders with a frown, Raph would've felt a twinge in his chest for putting that look on his face. However, the stunt he'd pulled had both irritated and frightened the crap out of him, so he ignored said twinge.

Leo rolled his eyes at their exchange. "Buona dolore," he sighed, bringing a hand to massage his temples in exasperation. "Voi due siete deficienti."*

A silence hung over the garage as both Raph and Mikey stared at Leo, before sliding stricken glances to each other. Did…did Leo just say something in Italian? When and how had he learned to speak freaking Italian in the last twelve years spent with the Foot Clan? When would anyone have the time to learn more than two languages in a clan run by the Shredder?

Better yet, had he just said something rude about them?!

The blue scarfed turtle shook his head, turning back to his dumbfounded brothers and immediately deciding to dismiss their expressions. "Well, let's not waste any more time here," he said. "The longer we sit around, the less chance we have at finding Donatello and April's father. Let's move!" With that, Leo leapt down into the tunnel, grabbing hold of a support beam and sliding down the rest of the way. Raph was soon to follow, and after Mikey unbuckled his seat-belt and dismounted the destroyed car, he leapt after his brothers.

On the way down, Raph looked over at Leo. "So," he said casually, "you speak Italian."

Leo blinked and looked at him. "Huh?"

"Before, when Mikey totalled the car, you said something in Italian." He shrugged with a half-smile, "Didn't know you knew Italian; that's kinda neat."

Leo blinked again. "You…you guys heard me talking to myself?"

"…you were talking to yourself, in a completely different language other than English or Japanese? Who actually does that?"

Leo shrugged. "It happens."

Raph shook his head. His brother had more confusing layers on him than an onion, and honestly, Raph was kinda tired.

The older turtles reached the bottom of the tunnel first, landing with a bounce off the red car and onto smooth, solid stone floors. With narrowed eyes, the two cast cautious gazes about them, hands twitching at their sides ready to grab their weapons. The winding stone paths before them were clear of any guards, and if the silence told them anything it was that no alarms had been set off to alert the Kraang of their presence.

Good. They still had time to find Donnie and get out before the pink blobs came out to play.

With a less than graceful tumble, Mikey flipped off the hood of the car and landed next to Raph, facing the wrong direction. Blinking in confusion, Mikey quickly turned himself around, smiling sheepishly at his older brothers, who were staring at him blankly. Leo rolled his eyes again – at this rate they'd become stuck looking at the ceiling – and started swiftly down the narrow hallway. Raph hung back to point two fingers at Mikey in an 'I've got my eye on you' gesture before following Leo. Whatever silent taunt Mikey sent him from behind went ignored.

"You do have a plan to find Donnie, right 'Fearless Leader'?" Raph whispered to Leo as they rounded a corner, sticking to the darkest side of the hallways and avoiding the lights shining overhead. "Cause if you haven't already noticed, this place is a literal maze."

Without a hitch in his stride, Leo growled. "First of all, don't call me 'Fearless Leader'," he muttered sternly. "And second, Donatello must've left behind a trail or clues for us to follow, maybe empty Kraang bots like the one in the garage up there. Since it's all we've got, I suggest we go with that for now. So keep an eye out."

Raph shrugged; the plan wasn't solid, but it was good enough for now. "Right, gotcha," he said. "You get all that, Mikey?"

At the back, Mikey nodded. "Sure did, bro; follow the Donnie Trail!"

At that, Raph couldn't help but smirk fondly at his little brother. Of course Mikey would make such an intense situation seem like some kind of game, but if that's what helped him to remember and focus, Raph was kinda okay with that.

"Speaking of the droid," Leo said, casting what Raph could only assume was a half-smile. "I take it that Donatello isn't the best at following the 'leave no trace' ninja rule, is he?"

Raph grinned with a chuckle. "Yeah, Donnie's like that sometimes; too focused on too many things at a time to remember to clean up after himself once the job's done. More often than not it all ends up with an explosion."

His smile widening ever so slightly, Leo raised a brow. "Is that so?"

Mikey giggled. "Yeah! Sometimes he's so zoned out, he leaves stuff like hammers in the fridge, or a pizza under the sink – ooh, Raph, remember that one time he accidentally put that Snickers bar in the toaster thinking it was bread –"

"And when it popped out Splinter thought it was a poop?" Raph fought back a cackle at the memory. "Yeah, that was awesome."

In front, having listened to their entire conversation, and his smile now replaced with a look as flat as a wooden board, Leo sighed heavily. "Eu vou morrer," he grumbled under his breath, but loud enough for his followers to hear him. "Esses idiotas vão me matar." *

Again, Mikey and Raph stared, wide eyed and bewildered.

"Dude, was that Portuguese?" Mikey asked.

"…yes."

"You're fluent in English, Japanese, Italian and Portuguese?" Raph muttered. "Seriously, how many languages can you speak?!"

Leo suddenly smirked again, only this time is was less fond and more teasing. "I'm also currently learning how to speak 'Hot-headed Jerk', so I can understand you better, Raphael."

For that, Raph slugged him on the shoulder, and had to shush Mikey when the kid started laughing.

Sure enough, as the turtle trio rounded another corner and approached a wide door at the end of the hallway, they quickly noticed a lone Kraang droid, its midsection barren of any alien creatures, slumped against the wall. Raph took one look at it, and almost cracked another grin. Yep, Donnie had definitely been here, if the intact robot wasn't already a big clue. Looks like the 'Follow Donnie's Trail' game had worked after all.

"He must've gone through this door," Raph said, moving over to the metal barrier. Before anyone could stop him, the red clad turtle began pulling on the side of the door to wrench it open, but to no avail. He did the same on the other side of the door, and then crouched down to try and lift it upwards like they did the garage door. Still, the thing wouldn't budge.

Leo and Mikey watched as Raph's temper finally snapped as he whipped his Sai from his belt. Flames of anger seemed to dance about him as he lifted his Sai with a shout of frustration, ready to bring it down on the door to impale it – and why he thought that would work, neither of them could comprehend.

After sharing a brief look with Mikey – who only shrugged with a bored expression as if to say 'same crap as always' – Leo groaned, resisting the urge to slap a hand against his face. Thus far, this so-called 'team-up' was as migraine-inducing as working with Xever and Bradford. And that was saying something.

Moving swiftly, Leo caught Raph firmly by the wrist before he could bring his weapon down upon the impenetrable door. The red turtle's head whipped around, green eyes narrowed and glaring, yet Leo only frowned, raising a brow. "Okay," he said slowly, "rather than using brute force and blind unmotivated rage, why don't we use our brains for a second, and think about what Donnie would have done to get through this door."

Wrenching his wrist from Leo's grip, Raph turned away and folded his arms across his chest in a manner Leo could identify as embarrassment over his earlier outburst. Leo almost scoffed; served him right.

Behind them, Mikey was grinning. "Leo, that's exactly what I was gonna say!" he chimed. Then he gasped in wonder as he drew up close to the older turtle, too close for Leo's liking, and stared up at him. "Dude, are we, like, in sync or something? Because Donnie told us once that babies who're twins or triplets and stuff have some kinda psychic connection to each other and I think that's why – mph!"

With a tight smile and narrowed eyes filled with restrained irritation, Leo grabbed Mikey by the face, covering his mouth and squishing his freckled cheeks together, his grip tight enough to keep Mikey from going anywhere. Neither turtle moved or spoke for what felt like hours, until Leo drew in a patient breath.

"Michelangelo," he began, his tone light and patient yet laced with warning that was best heeded lest one wanted to lose a limb. "Shut up."

Baby blues blinking rapidly, Mikey sensed the oncoming danger, and did his best to nod. "Okay," he said, though it sounded more like 'okiee' due to his cheeks being squished together, and ow did it hurt.

Leo nodded back. "Now, like I said to Raph, try thinking of how Donnie would've gotten through the door, okay?"

"Okiee," Mikey said again, and rubbed some feeling back into his cheeks once Leo let him go. Right, no more time for jokes; time to get serious. Serious time.

Tapping a finger against his chin, Mikey hummed to himself in thought. How did Donnie manage to get through the door? Had he hacked into the Kraang's computers through his T-Phone? No, that would've taken him too long, and he would've eventually been caught. Had he slipped through when the guard wasn't looking? Nah, otherwise the droid wouldn't be –

Wait. The droid.

Grinning, Mikey faced his brothers and snapped his fingers. "I got it!"

And moments later, the turtles put Mikey's ingenious plan into action…

…by picking up the droid – with Mikey and Leo each taking an arm whilst Raph held the legs – and butting its head against the door repeatedly like a battering-ram. Mikey had insisted that was what Donnie must have done to get through, and with little else they could do, Leo and Raph had complied.

But after the fourth failed attempt, Leo made a face. "…this isn't right," he droned. "I feel like an idiot."

"Do you have any better ideas, Fearless?" Raph grunted as they hit the door a fifth time, and a sixth.

Leo's grip tightened on the robotic arm, and he swore he could feel the metal cracking under his palm as he sent a dangerous glare at Raph. "I thought I told you not to call me that –!"

High-pitched alarms blared loudly, ringing throughout the underground complex, and the turtles froze, wide eyed as they shared a startled glance, letting the droid slip from their hands and clatter to the floor. Had they done that? Had hitting the door triggered the alarms? Or had Donnie been discovered?

Either way, one thing was certain; they were all in trouble.

"Boy, Donnie's idea was terrible!" Mikey cried over the screeching alarms, hands plastered against his ears to block out the noise.

At that, Raph and Leo shared a long-suffering look.

"Can I strangle him?" Leo asked.

Raph stared, and held up a Sai. "Sure," he shrugged casually, "if you want me to stab the nonsense outta you."

"Maldición." *

"SPANISH?!"

"Are you really that surprised?"

When the alarms began to ring, Donatello was certain at first that he'd somehow set them off, and he had every reason to believe as such. He'd broken into a heavily guarded Kraang facility and had freed a very important prisoner after all, so he was bound to be spotted eventually.

However, as he and Kirby ran down the maze of stone hallways – with Donnie not yet willing to admit he had no idea where they were going anymore – he thought back to just a few minutes ago, when they'd been ambushed by that…thing, and connected the dots to what he and the middle-aged man were seeing now.

They'd started to notice that there were quite a few empty robot bodies littered about, most of them with their arms and legs ripped off or their robotic skulls caved inwards by a vicious blow. They would've dismissed the sights…if it hadn't been for the splatter of Kraang blood on the walls beside several of the droids they'd passed, and a single Kraang tentacle still squirming on the floor.

The thing – now dubbed by Donnie as the Newtralizer – was the only one that could have wreaked this much havoc on the other alien creatures. It had been picking off the Kraang – and eating them – one by one, blasting things to bits and destroying everything and everyone in its path in a state of blind rage or hunger.

So it was safe to assume that he'd been the one to alert the Kraang, not Donnie. And now, not only did they have to worry about getting caught by the Kraang, but now they had an alien newt psycho to avoid, lest they wanted to be eviscerated, or eaten.

Jeez, this was supposed to be a rescue mission, not a race against time or a life or death chase! How could Donnie's day possibly get any –?

Oh you have got to be kidding me!

Apparently, Donnie's sense of direction and overall judgement was intent on failing him today as he and Kirby turned a corner only to be stopped by three armed Kraang droids blocking their path, none of them looking very pleased to see the two of them.

"Other way!" Donnie said to Kirby, and the balding man readily nodded.

But just as they prepared to make a break for it, something else, bigger, stronger, and far more foreboding than three droids blocked their only means of escape.

Donnie gasped. It was the Newtralizer. Again.

Bathed in florescent light, Donnie could see just how heavily armed this creature was, how its amber eyes were narrowed to slits, how its jagged teeth were bared into a vicious snarl, and how – as if it wasn't terrifying enough just by its sheer size, both in height and muscle mass – the orange spots on its chest resembled a skull. A freaking skull. Perhaps 'The Punisher' was a better name for this comic book monster.

Donnie gulped hard. "Okaayyy…maybe this solo-mission wasn't such a good idea." At his side, Kirby nodded again. Good to know they shared the same ideas.

The Newtralizer hissed through his fangs as he brought up his arms, the blasters on his wrists lighting up with a whirr. Behind Donnie and Kirby, the Kraang lifted their blasters, high-pitched whines emanating from the machines as they prepared to open fire.

Wasting no time – and seriously not in the mood to get blasted to bits – Donnie grabbed Kirby's hand. "Come on!" he cried, pulling the man out of the line of fire and into one of the empty cells, and shutting the door behind them. With the two of them out of danger for the time being, Donnie leaned against the door and heaved out a sigh of relief. That was too close. Now all they had to do was wait until either the Kraang or the Newtralizer left the vicinity or killed each other, and then they could focus on finding a way out of this hellhole of a maze –

"You are aware this is a detention center?"

Donnie looked up at Kirby, noticing the man was giving him a worried look. "Huh?"

Kirby gestured the small room. "You just locked us in a cell."

Donnie's face dropped.

"A-Affirmative," he sighed, fighting the urge to smack himself. He'd forgotten that the doors automatically locked once they were shut, and could only be opened from the outside. Great.

Biting his lip, Donnie turned to the door. "Um…I think I can get us out –"

The Newtralizer's glaring eye suddenly filled the glass window from the other side of the door, a loud snarl hissing through his fangs.

"GYAAAAAAAAAH –EVENTUALLY!" Donnie screamed in terror, backing up against the other wall with Kirby at his side. Yep. This solo mission had definitely been a terrible, terrible idea. No points for Donatello this time.

And not for the first time, Donnie wished that Raph and Mikey were here…

The mechanical humming of two Kraang sentries ricocheted off the walls of the sewer tunnels, easily scaring off the rats and other vermin that happened to cross their paths as the robots marched onwards, blasters held at the ready. They appeared to be searching for something – well, they had to be, for what other reason would anyone have to be down in the sewers of New York City? – and though it was clear they had no idea where they were going, they pressed on, not stopping for anything, be it the rats or roaches that crawled underfoot or even the flooded sewage paths, not even bothering to look up.

Which was lucky when April swung herself down from the pipes overhead, landing soundlessly on her feet, as the Kraang marched away.

Her eyes squinting in the dark, April turned her head left and right, straining her ears to listen to every sound, every drop of water, every pitter-patter of rodent feet scurrying along the concrete grounds.

The sounds she'd heard back in the dojo – the whispered voices, the ringing, whatever they were – had lead her all the way out into the tunnels. She was pretty certain she'd strayed far away from the lair now, too far to be safe from the Kraang sentries should they happen upon her wandering through the tunnels on her own…but she had to follow them, find out what it was that had drawn her out.

She didn't know why she had to find it, or even if it was an 'it' that she was following. But a part of her was screaming at her to track it down anyways, no matter how hard she'd tried to ignore it and turn back at first.

But now the sounds had grown silent. There was nothing for her to follow anymore. How could she listen for –?

'Close your eyes and listen for my movement. Listen for the silence…'

April's eyes widened. Yes, she could listen for the silence – the sounds that others failed to hear, too distracted by the sounds already clouding their senses to really listen…

Drawing in a deep breath, April closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Listen to the silence," she whispered aloud. "Listen deeply…"

Soon, to April's surprise, the sounds of the sewers filtered into nothingness. The dripping, the squeaks, even the faint blaring of car horns above faded away, leaving April lost in the silence…

Until she heard it. The ringing, the whispers, coming from deep within the tunnels, calling her, pulling her in one direction –

April opened her eyes and lifted her head. "That way!"

April turned into the next tunnel on her right, and kept on running. She was so focused on not losing the 'trail' she'd picked up, too focused on not getting spotted by the roaming Kraang that could easily pop out of the shadows and grab her, that she almost ran passed a narrow tunnel on her left. She quickly backpedalled; the sounds were coming from down there.

She entered a wide open space, a drainage tunnel she mused, skidding to a stop. It was just as damp and slippery as the rest of the sewers, and just as foul smelling, if not worse, with all the bags of garbage down below where she stood. Still, despite the smell, she found herself smiling; this was where the Hamato's dragged their garbage at the end of the day – a task usually left for the boys to carry out – and she couldn't help but notice how neatly they'd arranged the piles. Even the pizza boxes were stacked tidily.

Huh. Perhaps the boys weren't complete cavemen after all. Or, in their case, cave-turtles. Well, they technically were since they lived in the sewers, but it wasn't really a cave they lived in, and they were much more civilized than the stereotypical –

Her thoughts were interrupted when the ringing started again. This time it was much louder, clearer, almost – if she had to describe it – desperate. April frowned. Whatever this thing was, it was somewhere in that pile of garbage…and it wanted to be found.

Leaping down into the pit, April rushed forwards – somehow already knowing exactly where this thing was – and knelt down in front of a mound of stacked Chinese takeout boxes, quickly shoving them out of the way. The noises were louder now, almost deafening, as she dug her way through the trash. She was getting close now, so close that it ached, it burned –

She froze, staring down at a crystal clear orb the size of her head, if not bigger, sitting untouched and unsoiled underneath the heaps of waste. It was so clear, her widened eyes filled with wonder and confusion stared right back at her. Was this the thing that had been calling out to her all this time? Hesitantly, April reached out.

The moment her hands touched the orb, the ringing stopped. And suddenly the silence was too loud, leaving her feeling exposed, vulnerable nearly. However, her question had been answered; this orb thing was what had lead her all the way out here. But what was it supposed to be? Why – or how – had it called out to her? And perhaps more importantly…

Why was she the only one who could hear it?

She was yet again torn out of her thoughts when a voice pierced the silence, making her jump in surprise.

"The Kraang Communication device Kraang searches for is activated in this vicinity."

Aw sewer apples, the Kraang!

Her heart in her throat as the robotic footsteps came closer and closer, April grabbed the orb – holy cow was it lighter than she'd thought – and scurried behind the nearest pipe, her back pressed against the unpleasantly slimy surface, and held her breath.

The footsteps stopped. April squeezed her eyes shut, holding the orb close to her chest, praying that they hadn't seen her.

Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease –

"Kraang is that which they call idiotic," she heard one of the droids say as they headed off in the other direction, and if not for the sigh of relief that heaved its way out of her, April would've laughed.

Now safe for the time being, April gazed back down at the device on her lap, a brow raised. The Kraang had called it a 'communication device'. But how exactly could they communicate through a crystal ball? Were the Kraang physic and could predict the future or something? And why had it called out to her instead of the Kraang, its creators?

Something was up. And if it was linked to the Kraang, it had to be linked to April, too.

Standing up, April narrowed her eyes. She had to get this back to the lair, let Donnie analyze it when he and the others returned – hopefully with her father, safe and sound – and perhaps then her questions would be answered.

And speaking of questions…

April blinked hard, turning to stare blankly at her surroundings.

"…where the heck am I?"

*Good grief. You two are morons.

*I will die. These idiots will kill me.

*Damn it.

A/N: Well well well, things are heating up now, guys! Hope you enjoyed that, and more are on the way!

Next Chapter: The turtles have to fight as one to defeat the Newtralizer, Mikey is betrayed yet again, and the O'Neil family are in for one teary reunion. However, not all is at it seems...