(A/N): Yes! I am indeed still alive. XD Sorry about the late post but between writers block and homework I just haven't the time to write. I hope the long chapter makes up for it though! Thanks to all of my reviewers so far, you guys are awesome! Please enjoy! And please, tell me about any mistakes I'll fix them right away. ;-)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All TMNT characters are not my property.

Leo had begun to reconsider his words from earlier. When he was in April's apartment and it was announced that they would have to reach out to enemies to have a chance fighting the Tengu Shredder, he told himself that it would be nothing to worry about and that it would be a small price to pay if it meant saving the city. But as he followed Agent Bishop to his office that feeling had vanished and was instead replaced with anxiety and worry. Nothing about the situation he was in could be described as good. He and Karai were marched down a long hallway with guns pointed at the back of their skulls. A still unconscious April was slung of the shoulder of one of Bishop's lackeys like a sack of flour. A perfect bargaining chip if Bishop decided he wanted thing absurd in exchange for his aid in the fight against the Tengu Shredder. Had April been conscious at the moment, he's positive she would have gladly said, "I told you so".

He could not fight back against any them. The attack he made on the demon to save April left him very weak. He was exhausted and his legs ached with each step he took. He breathing was heavy and his face as beaded with sweat. Karai was in no better state than he was. She did not struggle against the iron grip her captors held her in, mainly because she did not have the strength to, either. The only bright side to the situation was that they were safe from the monsters that invaded the base. Bishop had taken them to a secure, underground hangar that appeared to be free of any blood-thirsty demons.

Karai gave Leo a sideways and in a barely audible voice muttered, "I do not trust him."

Leo snorted and laughed darkly. "And you think I do?"

"Quite back there, you two!" Bishop snapped at them. They had reached the end of the hallway and were standing behind a steel door. Bishop typed in a few things on the control panel and the door opened. He entered the room and sat down behind a large desk. He folded his arms on the table and motioned for Leo and Karai to sit in in the two chairs in front him. They were forced into obeying him when they were shoved into the chairs and held down by firm grips on their shoulders. Neither of them had the strength or stamina to resist.

The soldier that carried April entered and carelessly dropped on the floor. She grunted and her slumbering face contorted a little in pain before she became still and silent again.

"Be careful with her!" Leo said; his voice a menacing hiss that rivaled even the deadliest of snakes.

"You are in no place to be giving anyone orders around here Leonardo. Especially given the current position you are in." He glanced over at April and sneered evilly. "She could be dead right now. And if I feel that you are wasting my time with this "truce" talk, then in the next ten minutes she probably will be." Bishop said from behind his desk. His face was absent of any emotion.

Leo's eye twitched and he snarled. "You aren't going to touch her!" He said through his clenched teeth.

Bishop ignored him and turned turned to Karai to give her a lopsided smile. "Ms. Oroku, how pleasant it is to see you again. Last time I saw you here you were a helpless prisoner. Such a shame your father did not stay on this planet long enough to teach you how make a surprise trip to my headquarters without getting captured." He eyed her and laughed a little. Karai attempted to lunge at him but was forced back into her seat by two guards. She settled for simply giving him a hate filled glare.

Satisfied that he had managed to agitate both of them, Bishop sat back in his leather chair and crossed his arms. "So please, tell me more about this truce you were talking about."

"I am not sure that I want it anymore." Karai muttered to the floor. Bishop ignored her and kept his eyes on Leo as he waited for an answer.

"It's a very long story. The point is, you need our help and we need yours." Leo replied sternly.

"The three of you won't be going anywhere for a while and I haven't heard a good story in quite some time now." Bishop said as he leaned back in his chair. Leo rolled his eyes behind his mask and sighed. He told Bishop everything starting from the night he and brothers were bought to the ninjas Ninja Tribunal. Bishop did not interrupt the entire time. Instead, he sat back and listened intently. Once Leo was done, Bishop was silent and had a thoughtful look on his face.

"You must be pretty desperate coming here and asking for my help, Leonardo." He finally said.

"From the looks of it you aren't doing very well on your own either. This will benefit both of us Bishop. You don't want to help us, then fine that's our loss. But remember, it's your loss to." Leo replied.

"You would be a fool to reject our offer Agent Bishop." Karai hissed. "The Tengu Shredder will bring nothing but destruction to everyone. Just because you are as evil as he is does not make you an exception."

Bishop pursed his lips and thought for a moment. "If I help you, my only condition is that you treat me as you would any other ally. You will not question me or anything I do and you will not argue with anything I say. Is that understood?"

Leo and Karai exchanged glances that asked the other rather or not they should trust him. Bishop noticed and stood up and began to walk over to the door. "Take all the time you need to think." He opened the door and stepped out without another word to Leo or Karai. Once he gone, Leo released a heavy sigh.

"So what should we do? Surely you do not trust him." Karai asked as she eyed the ground.

"I don't." Leo admitted. "But we didn't come all this way and get attacked to by a demon just to tell Bishop that we don't trust him. We have no choice but to accept his offer." Leo admitted in a grim tone. He glanced over at April who had yet to move since being dumped on the floor. He mentally screamed at her and told her to wake up, move, groan, something; but instead she only stayed still.

"I suppose you are right." Karai said with a sigh.

"Call him back in here and tell him out decision?" Leo offered as he glanced at the door.

Karai snorted. "Why should we? He has been listning in on us the entire time with the audio surveillance device he put on the desk when he walked out." Karai said bluntly as she motioned with her head over to Bishop's desk. To prove she was right, Bishop entered with a large grin on his face. "Nice work, Karai. I take it you to have had enough time to discuss this matter." He said innocently.

Leo narrowed his eye ridge and growled. "I don't have time for your games, Bishop. Are you with us or not?" Leo demanded as he gave Bishop what was supposed to be an intimidating glare, but due to him being so fatigue, it instead resembled the look his face wore whenever Mikey woke him at three o'clock in the morning by playing video games with the volume turned up as high as it can go.

Bishop reached into his belt and pulled out a large hunting knife. He twirled it in his hands for a few moments before he lifted it above Leo's head. Leo turned away and squeezed his eyes shut as the knife was bought down as he waited for the deadly blow that was bound to come, but never arrived. Instead, he felt blood resume its normal cycle and flow into his hands as his bonds were cut. He eyed Bishop and rubbed his sore wrists as Karai was cut free. Bishop retrieved their weapons from the soldier who confiscated them and handed them to Leo and Karai.

"I'm with you." Bishop confirmed. He almost sounded kind for a moment and when that dawned on him, his face hardened and looked at Leo and said in a vicious growl, "Just don't get used to it. Because once this is over, everything is going back to the way it was before. If anyone is going to get rid of you freaks for good, it's gonna be me. You hear me?"

Leo rubbed his raw wrists and gave Bishop a sideways look. "Loud and Clear." He said. He continued to give Bishop a cautious look when there weak moan from the other side of the room. Leo turned to see a sight that caused all of the weariness that filled him to be cast out of him by feelings joy and relief.

April moaned again and blinked her eyes several times before she finally got them open. At first she saw nothing but the dark, blurry outline of those standing around her. She pushed herself into a sitting position with her hands, and the moment she did her brain did summersaults in her aching skull and she instead slumped against the wall.

Karai, much to her surprise, released a sigh of relief when April managed regain consciousness. Their eyes met and she looked away to hide the grief on her face. It still pained her to look into those emerald orbs. They belonged to April but still reminded her so much of Chaplin. The moment his name crossed her mind all of the Tengu's haunting words and nightmares returned to her and she involuntarily shivered as the images flashed through her mind.

Leo appeared by April's side and helped to pull her to her feet. She swayed slightly when she stood and Leo slung her arm over his shoulder to support her.

April thanked him and decided she wanted take in her surroundings. She noticed that they were no longer outside the base and were instead inside of a small and blandly decorated office. Her eyes scanned the dull gray walls absent of any decorations until they finally landed on Bishop and narrowed into slits.

"Don't worry," Leo assured when he noticed her staring. "We got him on our side."

April nodded but looked far from convinced as she continued to look Bishop over with a cautious eye. "Come on, we should get back home." Leo said as he shifted April's weight on his shoulder. He turned his back and began to leave, expecting to be shot in the moment he turned around but was surprised when managed to take a few steps towards the door without Bishop killing him.

Bishop sensed his discomfort and sighed. "There is no need for you to worry Leonardo. When I make a promise I keep it."

Leo only regarded him with a simple nod and left the room. The moment they stepped out of the room, Karai huffed.

"Surely you do not expect him to keep his word simply because he said he would! At any moment he could betray us." She hissed as she turned behind her to glare at the door. No one replied as they continued to make their way down the hall. They all knew that Karai was right, the possibility that Bishop could not be trusted was much more likely than the possibility that he could be. The only thing they could to confirm whether or not they right or wrong, was wait.

The next few minutes were silent as they exited the underground hanger. They were led back to the outside of the base where they attacked when they first arrived. The battle shell was a few meters away from them. Leo smiled in relief at the sight of the bulky vehicle that take him back to April's apartment where he would finally get some rest. Once at the Battle Shell, Leo quickly helped April inside through the back. She did not hesitate to collapse into a chair and release a heavy breath. A strand of hair fell in her face and as she brushed it away, she noticed something very off setting about it. It was gray.

She plucked the silver strand from her hair and examined with a grimace. She waved it in front of Leo's face and snarled at him. "See what you and your crazy life are doing to me!" She hissed as she angrily tossed the strand at him. Leo's eyes followed the strand to the floor of the Battle Shell and laughed as he shook his head. "Don't worry, you won't miss that one very much. I'm sure there are plenty more where that came from." He said teasingly. He winked at her and closed the door just as she began to mimic him in a childish manor. He circled the Battle Shell and was about to climb in himself but stopped when he found Karai still outside.

She stood as still as stone and stared at the ground with alert as if was expecting something horrible were about to happen. He cautiously approached her and tapped her on her shoulder. She nearly jumped out of skin when he touched her. She looked up at him with a grimace on her face before she turned away and drew her katana.

"Prepare yourself." Was as all she said. It was all she has time to saw. Before she could saw anything else or Leonardo could question her cryptic behavior, a bump appeared in the earth.

Leo stared at it questioningly as the bump appeared to pulsate; another part of the ground began to do the same thing, as did another until Leo and Karai were trapped in a semi-circle as mounds of earth around them continued throb.

From inside the Battle Shell, April rapped on the grass to get Leo's attention. He turned to find her expression puzzled as she gazed at him from the inside off the Battle Shell. She looked past him and her expression contorted into horror. She yelled something. It was hard to understand her muffled voice from inside the Battle Shell.

"She said, behind you!" Karai snapped at him from at his side.

He barely turned around in time to dodge a blade swung at his head. He dove out the way and tumbled in a rather non-ninja like fashion onto his plastron. The owner of the sword was a skeleton clad in heavy armor that caused its muscle free form sag under its weight. There were several more just like it, and if this day continued to not work in Leo's favor several more would come. Some were made of dry, bleached bone that had been picked clean, others still had a rotted layer of flesh that clung to them. They all growled and moaned as they closed in around Leo and Karai, which was strange since none of them had any of the internal organs that were necessary for speech.

Leo sighed as he once again sheathed Gunshin. He was still exhausted from his attack on the monster from earlier and had no desire or strength to fight again. He looked back at April who watched in horror from inside the Battle Shell. He gave a firm look which she easily translated into him telling her to stay inside.

"I'm really starting to hate how downhill this day is going." Leo complained aloud as he took a fighting stance. Next to him, Karai gritted her teeth and drew her katana.

"You and I both." Karai agreed. She swung at the skeleton closet to her. She caught it off guard and managed to slice off its skull. Much to her disappointment though, rather than fall to the ground defeated as she hoped it would, its headless body only swung again and made a small cut in her shoulder blade, it began to bleed but Karai was able to ignore the pain. She had after all, endured far worse.

She growled and continued to slice in her opponent's direction incessantly, but each time the only thing she managed to do any damage to was the thin air. She continued to push forward, each strike being more powerful than the last as her blade grew impatient and frustrated because it had yet to taste victory. The next time she swung her steel at the warrior there blades interlocked and she was surprised to find herself struggling as she tried to match the strength of the katana-wielding skeleton warrior. Her knees began to tremble as she was forced to lean backwards under the pressure of the demon's strength. She heard Leo shout her name in concern, before s the sound of his metal clashing against others. He heard him shout a brief order at April, telling to stay in the Battle Shell before his voice drowned in the vast sea of sounds of the battle.

She swallowed and grunted as she was forced down to one knee, the edge of the blade coming dangerously close to her throat. Her opponent pushed down in an expected surge of strength and the edge off his steel nicked the side off her neck. She hissed in pain as the blood from the wound began to snake down onto her shoulder. Her arms bawled in pain, they begged her to give in and just the demon finish her. At that moment, she heard dark chuckle. She wanted to look around for the source of the voice but it seemed to be coming from everywhere around her. All around her the laugh echoed eerily as she strained to protect herself.

"Why do you even still fight young one?"

The voice of the Tengu Shredder taunted her once again as she struggled. She tried to block him out, but when she did, she felt pain erupt in her head. She opened her mouth and released a silent scream. She stopped her attempts of trying to push him out and the pain subdued almost immediately.

"Foolish girl. Have I not already told you can't defeat me? Why do you even still bother? He's gone now. You have nothing left to fight for."

Karai gasped. Her mind went blank and for a moment she forgot everything. Where she was, what she was doing. Everything. An invisible hand reached inside her chest and wrapped its strong, bulky fingers around her heart before it began to squeeze it mercilessly. The inside of her grew cold. A ball of ice formed inside of her gut and began to incline slowly. Everywhere it passed inside of her; it left its cold, desolate wake. It dug its way into her chest where her heart, still not recovered from its by the attack by the cruel, invisible hand that left it broken and crushed, was not spared the wrath of the ice. It became cold and desolate was well. Finally the ice reached her mind, where it permanently settled. It began to lodge itself inside her brain and took its time as it did so. As it burrowed its way deep into her empty thoughts, Karai began to remember. She remembered that she had been on a mission. A very important mission. There had been a monster and then she made a deal. After that she left, but was attacked again. There was fighting, but then she began to lose. And that's when the voice spoke.

The voice.

"Foolish girl. Have I not already told you can't fight me? Why do you even still bother? He's gone now. You have nothing left to fight for."

Chaplin is dead.

The realization hit like a ton of bricks. He was gone. Once she realized this, she felt a new sensation inside of her. Warmth…no, not warmth. Heat. Fire. Fire blazed inside of her. It ripped through her and melted all of the ice that had formed. The depression left in its wake melted quickly, it did not stand a chance as it wasted away and was instead replaced by pure rage. The fire found her heart and revived it in its image. It did not return it to the determined, calm and focused state it was before. It was forged it and made it into hard steel that could not be penetrated. The hand returned and tried once again to crush her heart but the moment it touched the burning steel, it was scorched and forced to retreat. Finally, the fire reached her mind where the last of the ice resided. It was at this point where the fire blazed at its best. The grief and pain left her mind as the ice melted. But that was not all that left. Even when the ice had melted the fire continued to burn. It set anything that nothing to do with its rage and hate ablaze. It completely took over.

Karai opened her eyes. Funny, she never even remembered closing them. She attacked. She did not plan, she did not think, she did not even bother to look where she swung. She only attacked. She heard more soldiers rushing to her and even though she did not look, she knew was surrounded. She struck again. Harder and harder each time. Around her she heard the cries of her fallen opponents as they crumpled into piles of bones around her feet. Each time she struck, she felt her blade hit something. Never did she miss a target. Her steel cheered and grew greedy for more victory, but was disappointed when it realized that there was nothing left to defeat. Slowly, the fire began to die.

Karai looked around her; her breathing was heavy as she took in the carnage she had caused. The remains of the soldiers were scattered everywhere. Empty armor and katana where everywhere. Some of them where covered with blood, others were clean as if they had never tasted a single drop.

Karai looked down at her body and saw that she was covered with small cuts. Blood oozed from small cuts on her torso and arm. The fire in her finally flickered out completely. When she emerged from her state of rage, the pain of the cuts greeted her on her. They were small, but there were so many of them that the all of the pain from them together was enough to make her collapse.

She had expected to fall onto the dirt ground but was surprised when a strong arm caught her around her waist. She looked up and found a concerned, blurry Leonardo looking back down at her. He did not look nearly as injured as she did, except for a wound on his shoulder blade. She assumed that whoever had been attacking him, took interest in her when they noticed how easily she was tearing through their forces. He looked at her with shock evident on her face. She glanced up at the Battle Shell where April did the same. The moment Karai saw her she turned away bitterly. She could not bear look at April when she reminded her so much of Chaplin.

Leo sighed and looked around at the carnage surrounding him. He tore his eyes away from it and instead focused on getting Karai back to the Battle Shell. "Can you walk?" Leo asked her in a quiet tone. Even though he had no idea what was going through Karai's head at the moment and the grief she experienced, his voice was still ridden with genuine sympathy and kindness as he spoke to her.

The truth was that Karai was very well capable of walking on her own. She had no major injury that prevented her from doing so. Yet, her feet were like lead when she tried to move them. They did not want her to leave. They wanted her to stay in that exact spot. She wanted to forget the Tengu Shredder, forget the important mission, forget the threat against the world right now. She wanted to stay in that exact spot. As the Tengu said, she no longer had anything to fight for. So why move? Why not just stay there and wait until this chaos had passed? She had failed Chaplin; nothing else mattered.

She gave a simple shake of her head. "No." She said. She was surprised at how bitter and tired she sounded when she spoke. Her voice was bleak and despondent. Leo did not say another word and lifted her into her arms. He carried her to the back of the Battle Shell. April opened the door for him and stood back as he placed Karai inside the van. Karai mumbled a thank you and scooted as far as she could and buried her head in the corner where she hugged herself tightly.

April turned to Leo, her face ashen and her lips parted. She looked outside and her eyes wandered over the remains of the soldiers. She turned back to Leo and sighed. "What…what was that? She didn't even notice all the cuts and…that scream. I could hear it from in here." She said in a low voice. Despite her low tone, Karai still hear her but at the moment did not care.

Leo leaned against the back of the Battle Shell and shrugged. "I dunno, she just…snapped all of a sudden. One second she could barely hold her own and next thing I know she's taken down twelve of them single handedly. She never missed a target…not one."

April turned her gaze to Karai again who still sat with her head in the corner, concealed from anyone else.

"We should probably get out of here." Leo said to get April's attention. He nodded her and asked, "How's your head?" April groaned and placed a hand on her forehead.

"Just an extreme migraine. Nothing a nap and some pills won't fix." She said as she leaned back in her seat. Leo nodded and was about to shut the backdoors when April stopped him. She noticed the cut on his shoulder that he thought he could hide from her and she pounced on him. "What's that?" She demanded as she began to examine the cut. Leo made the foolish mistake of glancing at Karai by accident and April noticed. "She did it when she went crazy didn't she?" She whispered sharply.

She tried to get a good look at the wound but Leo caught her hands with his own and pushed her away. "April relax, it just a little knick. I'll live." He said in an exasperated tone. He was in no mood to be mothered right now but he was at least glad that April was apparently back to her regular self.

"Just a knick? Leo it's four inches long and from her! Now let me see it!" She hissed. She tried to free her wrists from Leo's grip. She pulled as hard as she could but given that she was already no match for Leo's strength and was still weak from her concussion, she made no such prevail. She continued to strain, and even had to resort to placing her foot against the wall of the Battle Shell. All the while, Leo stood there with a tired look on his face as he watched April continue to free herself from him. Finally, she gave up and collapsed onto her backside. He gave a sideways look and narrowed his eyes. "You done?" He asked flatly.

April pouted and nodded. Leo chuckled and patted her should sympathetically. "Look, it was an accident okay? She didn't mean it she was just in the heat in the of the moment. I'll get this taken care of. You really think Don's gonna let me sneak past him with this?" Leo said as he pointed to his shoulder.

April snorted. "You can't sneak a paper cut past that boy." She said with a roll of her eyes. Leo laughed until he noticed her serious expression. He deadpanned and his arms dropped to his side. "He really forced you to let him fix your paper cut?"

April shrugged and gave Leo a smile. "Apparently some paper is coated with bleach which can be very toxic if it enters in your bloodstream, no matter how small the amount." April said mocking Donatello's condescending voice. Leo laughed again and shook his head. "Well thank God he was there for you that day April, we could've lost you." He said sarcastically. The two shared another laugh before Leo became serious. "Which reminds me, what the hell were you thinking earlier? You almost got yourself killed April! Pull a stunt like that again you can forget about ever going on another mission if you live through whatever, idiotic thing you do next. You got that!?"

"What's that? Thank you for saving your life? Oh no problem, anytime." April shot back.

"No! Not anytime. This is exactly why I wanted I wanted you to stay in the van when we got here. I'm serious April. Don't do that again." Leo said as he placed a hand on her arm. April smiled and held her hands up in surrender. "Sure thing, boss." She said with a salute.

Leo scoffed and slammed the door in her face to make his point. He climbed into the Battle Shell and drove off. As it had been when they entered, the Battle Shell was silent as they drove. They had drove for about half an hour.

April spent the majority of that time staring at Karai's unreadable face. She had finally emerged from her corner and instead stared expressionlessly at the wall of the Battle Shell. In front of the van, Leo had busied himself with a conversation with Mikey. He had called to check up on his brothers and was upset to learn that they too had been attacked. The call was only meant to last a few minutes but Leo stayed on. He was desperate to take his mind off what had transpired with Karai earlier. So desperate that he asked Mikey to tell him all about what it was like to fight with Justice Force. Leo understood none of what Mikey said. Some of his speech was too fast to understand while the rest of it was not even definable words. Only sound effects of what Mikey could recall.

"And then Silver Sentry was all like, "You will wreak havoc here no more, evil dragon creature!" Then Chrysalis was all like, "PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FT!" And then Nobody was all like, "BOOM! POW! SMACK!" And then Metal Head was all like, "CLANG! CLANG CLANG! And then Tsunami was all like, "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!" OOH! And theeeeeeeeeeen-"

The entire time, Leo would listen with a content smile on his face as Mikey continued to ramble on. Leo could have hung up and his brother would still continue to reenact the battle through poorly done onomatopoeia.

Meanwhile, April on the other hand attempted to strike a conversation with Karai. She scooted down some until the two were a few inches away and drummed her fingers on the seat awkwardly. She undid her hair from its braid and began to mindless play with her long, scarlet strands. Finally, she spoke.

"So," She started nervously. "What was that all about? You know the whole, fit of…whatever back there?"

Karai regarded her only with a grimace before she turned away again. But of course, April was not deterred.

"It just seemed so sudden and out of the blue. It was almost as if you were a completely different person, like you were taken over by something." April continued as she stared thoughtfully at her feet. The Battle Shell remained silent as Karai once again refused to respond.

April sighed, becoming frustrated. She was not used to this. Usually whenever she saw one of the guys acting weird and tried to force them into talking it would always work. She was not used to this much resiliency, not even from Raphael.

"Well whatever happened, try not to do it again. If you lose control like that again you could hurt someone, you damn near yourself killed out there and-"

"I do not wish to talk about this at the moment. Especially not with you. What happened is in the past now and is none of your concern. So I would appreciate it if you leave the subject alone, as well as me." Karai snapped fiercely. Her eyes were bloodshot and ferocious as she glared at April hatefully. April pressed her tongue against the inside of her cheek dropped her head.

"You see that's where you're wrong." April stated in a dark tone. "While you were having your little "fit of rage" you hurt Leo."

Karai looked up at this and frowned. She wanted to say she did not care but she would by telling a total, bold face lie to herself.

"If it hurts one of them. One of my brothers, then yeah it's my business. Tell me what happened out there, Karai." April mumbled. She made sure to keep her voice low so that Leo, who was still on the phone, would not hear her as she spoke. She tightened her jaw and leaned away from Karai. "Remember that promise I made you earlier?" She said in a nonchalant voice.

"Look," Karai started. She worked up enough courage to look at April. "I am sorry that I hurt Leonardo by accident, truly I am. But as of now I do not want to discuss that matter. Something else far more important is on my mind and I wish to be left alone if that is not too much to ask."

April opened her mouth the respond but stopped. Something felt wrong. Out of nowhere, bile rushed up her throat and she knew she would not be able to hold it back. She leaped out of her seat with her hand hovering over her mouth and tapped Leo on the arm.

"Pull over!" She demanded.

"What? Why? Mikey hold, on I gotta go I-…yes Silver Sentry is awesome now I really need to-….because April asked me to pull over!...I don't know what's wrong with her! Hang up and let me pull over and I might find out. I….okay, okay, I will. Bye." Leo hung up and set the phone down. He almost asked April why she needed him to pull over but noticed that her face was slightly green. He immediately pulled over and before he even came to a complete stop, April darted out of the van and over to the side of the rode. She fell onto her hands and knees and began to vomit violently into a ditch. Leo rushed to her side and pulled her hair back. He began to rub her back and whisper comforting words as she continued to throw up. Even Karai, who just seconds ago had been ready to punch April in the face, left the Battle Shell and watched April from a distance with slight concern, or curiosity to put it in her words.

April heaved one last time and after that, nothing else happened. She sat there on her hands and knees breathing heavily. Leo gagged at the stench of the vomit.

"You all done?" He asked April. April nodded and Leo helped her to her feet.

"Where did that come from?" Leo asked her as he continued to walk her to back to the Battle Shell.

"It was probably just a side effect from the concussion." April said weakly as Leo lifted her into the back of the Battle Shell.

"You gonna be okay for the rest of the ride?" Leo offered. April shook her head and declined.

"We can go ahead, we aren't that far from the city." April replied as she collapsed into her seat. Leo hesitated before he nodded and stepped away so Karai could climb inside. Once they were both in Leo closed the door. Once it was closed he leaned against it and slapped his forehead with both hands.

"Never again will Leonardo Hamato travel with two women all on his own." Leo muttered to himself as he stormed off towards the front the Battle Shell yet again and drove off. This time, they made it back to April's apartment without any setbacks. They were the last ones to arrive and the room released a collective sigh of relief when they walked in. The moment April set foot in the Antique Shop; Casey crushed her in a giant hug. He planted a big kiss on her forehead and squeezed her tighter. "Thank God you two okay, we were worried sick, what took you so long?"

The three exchanged glances until Leo finally cleared his throat and spoke. "We got held up at the Base by another sneak attack, but don't worry we're fine."

Don's eyes landed on Leo's cut and he scoffed. "Yeah, right. C'mon, you know the drill. Get your shell upstairs." Don said. Leo rolled his eyes and slumped over to the stairs, followed by the remaining occupants of the room. Once everyone was upstairs, Don went to work on Leo's shoulder. Everyone explained how their mission had gone; apparently, they all had been attacked while they went to speak with their wanted recruits. They all took turns explaining what happened. Don and Mikey had to face some kind of dragon, Raph and Casey were occupied with gargoyle like creatures and Master Splinter and Ancient One had to deal with Hebi's forces who were apparently now under the Tengu Shredder's command.

When it was Leo's turn to talk and he got to the part about April getting her concussion; Don, Raph, Mikey and Casey all mercilessly scolded her before they went on about how they were she was alive, right before they scolded her again.

Don gave April some aspirin and ordered her to go bed. She of course obeyed and left the room. She disappeared down the hall with Casey, who had been sent by Don to make sure she goes directly to bed and stays there. Once she was gone Don turned Karai, before he could even offer to help her she held a hand to stop a hand to stop him. "There is no need to tend to my injuries. I can assure, I feel better than I look."

"Okay. Whatever you say." He said with a small smile. Karai nodded in thanks left, disappearing into April's bedroom.

Once she was gone, Raphael burst out laughing along with Mikey and Leo.

"You little pussy!" He said through laughs as he shoved Don playfully. When Don looked confused, Raph took the time to explain. "Had that have been one of us you would've been on our asses, but you just let Karai walk off?"

"Yeah," Leo said deciding join in. "Why didn't you go helicopter mom on her?"

Don narrowed his eyes at his brothers. He opened his mouth in repeated attempts to retort but nothing ever came out. Finally he stood up and huffed. "Shut up!" He whined in a childlike manner before he stomped off. His brothers followed him, teasing him the entire time.

Master Splinter and Ancient One were now the only ones who remained in the room. Master Splinter sighed and shook his head. Ancient One turned to him and gave him a comforting smile. "Be happy Splinter-san, we have all achieved a great victory today. I am just glad that Karai and Ms. O'Neil returned from their mission. Though I must say, I would to have seen a…a….what do the young people say? Aah, yes! Cat fight. That would have been fun to see, yes?"

Master Splinter narrowed his eyes at Ancient One. "No." He said bluntly. He stood up and stretched before heading towards the basement. "Come old friend, we must rest. We had a long day you and I."

"Indeed we did Splinter-san." Ancient One agreed. He sounded as if his mouth were full. Master Splinter turned to find him munching on a chocolate bar that must have materialized out of thin air.

"I know I will regret asking this, but where were you keeping that?" Master Splinter asked as he gave the round man a puzzled look. Ancient One chuckled and took Splinter under his arm as they walked off. "No, no, no; Splinter-san. I never tell anyone about where I keep my secret treats."

Master Splinter eyed the Ancient One's pudgy form and shuddered. "I take back my earlier question, I do not believe I wish to know, old friend." He turned to Ancient One and found that he started on yet another chocolate bar. Master Splinter stared with a deadpanned expression and Ancient One blinked innocently.

"What?" He asked as he cocked his head sideways.

Master Splinter sighed and walked off. "Nothing old friend…it is…nothing." He said as he descended down the stairs. Ancient One shrugged and followed behind him, as he munched happily on his chocolate bar.

Karai sat on the foot of April's bed and stared at the floor. Her face was expressionless and her mind was blank. She was surprised by herself. Once she was finally behind closed doors, she had expected to find herself weeping hysterically over Chaplin's death, but at the moment she wanted to do nothing more than sit there. She was too tired to make tears make tears, and no desire whatsoever to cry. She was not depressed, or desolate, or morose with Chaplin gone. She felt exactly as she should at the moment, alone. Chaplin had been all she had left and she failed him. Now she was gone, and had no one.

"Did my news from earlier upset you, child?" The Tengu's voice stung in her head like fire ants as it taunted her. He laughed as she clenched the comforter on the bed and bit her bottom lip.

"And to think…there is no one else to blame but yourself." He continued.

Karai began to shake, as silent tears born from her eyes fell down her cheek. Her jaw tightened, as the Tengu continued to relentlessly condescend her.

"You are a failure Karai! All you life you have done nothing but fail!"

Karai growled, she felt the fire from earlier ignite inside of her again. She stood on her feet and strode over to April's closet. She threw the door open and yanked a black flannel shirt, a pair of black jeans and a pair of knee high, flat, leather boots. She tore away the rest of her suit. It was useless to her now, being torn in so many places. She exchanged the suit for the clothes she had just taken from April's closet.

"You fail everyone! You failed your clan!"

Karai showed no reaction to his words. She yanked the shirt over her head and forced the buttons into their designated holes. She yanked the pants on before pulled the boots on as well. She strode over to April's drawer and scanned the surface until she found the hairband she had been looking for. She pulled her black hair back into a short a ponytail. As she was about to walk away something caught her eyes.

On April's dresser was a framed picture of her and Casey. She snatched the picture up and stared at it hatefully. In the photo, Casey and April stood in front of a beautiful, crystal blue lake. The skies were clear with large, white clouds and the sun shinned brightly. Casey wore a simple black t-shirt, cargo shorts and sneakers. He flashed a wide, grin off to the camera. His blue eyes twinkled with glee. Held so tightly in his arms that Karai wondered how she was even able to breathe, was April. She had on a yellow, floral patterned sundress that stopped a few inches above her knees. A large pair of sunglasses rested on her head. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Casey's neck, as she smiled beautifully at the camera. In the background, Michelangelo crept up on the two of them with a bucket of water in his hands and a mischievous look on his face, as the oblivious couple posed for their picture.

Karai's hand shook as she held the picture the picture.

"Never will you have a life like that." The Tengu Shredder teased with a hint of disgust in his voice. "The one person you could have had that with is gone, and all because you failed to come to his rescue."

Karai slammed the picture down on the dresser, unable to look at it any longer. She stormed over to the bed and grabbed her katana scabbard. Enough was enough.

"You are right." She said to the empty, dark room. She knew that the Tengu was not there with her physically and therefore verbal communication was pointless, but did not care. She hoped that perhaps this way, she would make more clear.

"I did fail to save Chaplin." She said quietly. She unsheathed her sword a few inches and looked at the reflection of her fierce, dark eyes in the blade. "But, know this Tengu." She shoved her sword back into her scabbard and slung it over her shoulder. "I will not fail, to avenge him."