Disclaimer: I own nothing. TMNT as well as all characters used do not belong to me.
April flushed the toilet and closed the lid before she rested her head against its cool surface. She puffed out a breath and pushed herself onto her feet.
She went over to the mirror to brush her teeth and wrinkled her nose when she saw her reflection. She looked as if she had been had been through hell and back, and after the day she had, she felt she had the right to say she had been. She had changed into a pair of yoga pants and tank top and treated herself to a long, hot shower after getting home. She moaned and placed her hand over her stomach as she felt it begin to flip around inside of her. Moments later, she found herself in the exact position she had been in when she rushed into the bathroom that morning at two o'clock AM. On her knees, and leaning over the toilet as everything she had eaten that day spewed out of her. She heard the bed creak in the guest room.
"You alright in there, babe?" Called Casey's groggy but still concerned voice from the bedroom.
April flushed again and closed the lid before she stood up and went over to the sink to brush her teeth again.
"I'm fine, Casey. Go back to sleep. It's probably just something I ate." She called back. She spit out the toothpaste in her mouth and groaned as she exited the bathroom. She went to sit on the edge of the bed and flopped onto her back with her face buried in her hands. "Ugh, that's the last time I eat left over tacos as a midnight snack." She groaned into her palms. Casey pushed himself into a sitting position and eyed April curiously. "I ate one and ain't nothing wrong with me." He said with a shrug.
"That's because your body is used to eating gross food. You managed to survive Leo's cooking once. On Thanksgiving. You have a stomach of steel." April said with a snort. Casey was quiet for a moment.
"Should I be insulted or flattered?" He inquired with true suspicion. April craned her neck to face him in the dim room and gave him a smile. "You feel however you wanna feel, Casey. While you sit there and ponder if your freak of nature stomach is a blessing or a curse, I'm gonna go get a glass of water and a little fresh air." She said as she herself back into a sitting position.
"Just get back here soon. Now that you've woke me up, I can't fall back asleep. Gonna need something to do all night." He said with an audible smirk on his face.
"Something or someone?" April asked him as she pulled sneakers onto her feet. She tried to maintain the annoyance in her voice as she also tried to suppress a smile.
"You're smart babe, I think you know." He continued in a sly tone. He scooted over to April and coiled his arms around her waist. He began to kiss her neck and shoulder and she giggled and tried to push him away, but he only tightened his grip.
"Unbelievable. The city is under attack by an ancient Japanese demon, there are monsters roaming around, a ninja who hates us is sleeping in the next room, we spent the entire day being attacked by monsters while going to our greatest foes for help and I just threw up, twice mind you. Are you really telling me that the only thing on your mind right now is sex?" April said as Casey continued to gently kiss her.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." He moaned into her neck. "Besides, I had to put with Hun. Don't I deserve a…"reward" for that?" April rolled her eyes and moved her hands to his bare stomach. She began to wiggle her fingers and Casey yelped and pushed himself away from her. "No fair! No tickling allowed! You know that!" He whined as he cocooned himself under the covers, leaving only his head exposed.
April smiled and sat back down on the bed. Casey scooted away fearfully and gave her a warning glare. April held her hands behind her back. "It's okay, I'm unarmed."
It only took a few seconds for her to realize her accidental terrible people and her lips twitched as they broke in a smile, and then a light giggle. Casey only stared back with a disappointed looks.
"That is the worse pun I have ever heard, which is saying a lot given how much we hang around Chucklehead down there. Forget it, tonight's off. You don't deserve all of this." He said as he laced her hands together and placed them behind his head. Her long hair fell down and formed a red curtain on either side of the two.
April laughed and rolled her eyes. She crawled over the him and swung leg over his side so that she straddled him and placed a hand on either side of his head. "You're bluffing." She muttered.
"Damn right I am. C'mere." Casey replied shamelessly. He pulled her down, and met her lips with a tender, but passionate kiss. They finally pulled and April smiled. She gave Casey one final peck on his forehead before she climbed off of him and began to make her way to the door.
"Hey!" Casey called after her. April stopped in the doorway and groaned but turned anyway. She looked back with a tired smile on her face.
"I love you." He said simply in a childish voice.
"I love you too Casey. But if I don't get an aspirin and some fresh air soon, this head ache is gonna drive me ballistic and I'll rip out your spine and strangle you with it." She replied sweetly.
Casey's face frowned as he pictured April's threat in his head and shuddered. "Sorry, sweetheart. Carry on."
"Thank you." April said, she laughed and shook her head as she left the room. She traveled down the dark hallway to the kitchen where she fixed the glass of water she promised herself. She sipped the cool liquid from the glass as she entered the living room. She grabbed a black leather jacket from the coat rack that Casey had gave her when they started dating. It belonged to him and was therefore much too large for her. Her arms were not long enough to stick out the sleeves and she could probably fit another person inside if they were the exact same size as her. She pushed the sleeves back so her hands stuck out and grabbed her glass of water. She went over to the window where she climbed out onto the fire escape and ascended onto the roof. She sipped her water and enjoyed the silence. The only thing the city had to offer her that she would gladly accept.
As she sipped her glass water she heard something that caused her to look over the edge of the roof. It was a jingling sound, like a bell. The kind her shop made whenever someone opened or closed the door. She continued to peer over the edge of the roof to see who else was up at the moment and why they were leaving her apartment. When they finally emerged from the shop, her fingers went numb and she dropped the glass of water.
She watched as Karai left the building. Dressed in her own clothes and armed with a single katana. She turned around and closed the door gently, in attempt to keep the bell from sounding again. Once the door was closed to she started down the sidewalk and did her best to keep quiet as she walked.
April felt her jaw tighten as she watched her walk-off. She still had not forgiven her for strange behavior earlier. She was not able to get past how she had gotten so angry all off a sudden and managed to single-handedly take down several of the Skeleton warriors all on her own when before, she could barely stand against one. Even Leo had problems holding his own against them. What April was even more curious about was what had set Karai off in the first place. One minute she was struggling for her life and the next, she let out a horrible cry and began to effortlessly power through the attackers.
Now she was mysteriously leaving in the middle of night all on her without anyone knowing.
April shook her head in disgust.
Rather than alert the others or call after Karai to stop her she goes over the fire escape and climbs down. She goes past the window that will take back into her home and continues to descend until she is in the alley next to her building. She peeked around the corner and continued to watch as Karai strode down the sidewalk at a quick pace. Once she was at a safe enough distance, April stepped out from the alley and began to follow her. She would occasionally duck into an alley whenever Karai turned around after hearing April accidentally kick a can. As she walked, April accidentally stepped in a puddle causing a loud splash. She barely made it into the alley and avoided Karai's gaze.
She sighed in relief when Karai turned around and walked away again, this time a little faster; but April managed to keep up well enough. After following her for an hour April still had no idea where Karai was going, and she was sure that Karai did not know either. Every once and a while she would stop as she was lost or reconsidering what she was doing, but then she would clench her fist and continue walking. This happened about five times.
She sighed and duck into an alley to take a break. She leaned against a defaced wall and groaned into her palms.
She knew that what she was doing was stupid, wreck less, thoughtless and brash but she was not able to contain her curiosity, a trait that had proven to result in nothing but disaster in her past.
She wanted to learn her lesson, she wanted to learn to stay put and mind her own business but her hunger for the answers to questioned that burned inside her was too powerful for her to ever hold herself back. She promised herself she would only follow Karai for a little while and head straight back to tell the others. She did not dare, ask herself "What could possibly go wrong?" seeing as how irony never worked in her favor.
"Oh, screw this." She said to herself. She decided she had been impetuous enough for one night and readied herself to head back.
Once she turned and was about to head back to her building, but before she could, a foot connected with her chest and knocked her onto the damp, cement. The same foot held her in place as a blade was pointed at her throat. She looked up and found that she was completely at Karai's mercy.
"Give me one reason why I should not kill you and leave you to rot in this alley." She said an eerily calm voice. She pushed her foot down a little tighter on April's chest, causing her to gasp.
"Well for one, I was going back anyway. And two, you would have hell to pay if you did." April shot back. She managed to keep all the fear out of her voice and looked Karai square in the eye.
Karai sighed and stepped off April. April stood to her feet and brushed herself off. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and stared at Karai. "So, are just going to…not explain why you stole my clothes and bolted or are you going to tell me that it is, "none of my concern"".
"Look, I am in no mood to-
"No, Karai! You see I do not care what mood you are in. Ever since this "temporary partnership" started, you've done nothing but keep secrets from us. You want me to get off your back and trust you so badly, but you want to lurk around like a shadow all the time? How can you expect us to trust you if you keep acting like this?"
Karai bit the inside of her cheek and looked away.
"At this point, I have every right to an explanation and you know it. Now, answer me. What are you doing out here?" April crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as she impatiently awaited an answer.
Karai rolled her eyes and sighed. "I have no time for this." She said in a frustrated voice. She walked away but April only followed her as she stormed off. She walked by Karai's side and was ignored as she glared at her.
"Can you at least tell me where you're going?" April asked after they had walked about a block.
"I'm going to…confront someone. It is very personal." She said simply. She had hoped that she had given a good enough reason to get her to leave alone. April looked away ran her hand through her frizzy hair. She continued to do so as she walked. A clear sign to those who had known her for a while that she was nervous. She kept her eyes focused on a gum wrapper that drifted through the gentle breeze.
"You know, you're in trouble when the others find out about this." April said as she continued to stare at the wrapper. She almost laughed in spite of herself at how childish she sounded.
"Then go back and tell everyone of what I have done. That way, I will be forced to leave and you will not have to worry about me anymore." Karai said. Her voice bitter and harsh.
"My goal was never to get you kicked out the group. In case you've forgotten we kind of need you. My goal was keep you in check and make sure you didn't try to pull anything. And right now, what you're doing is not really earning you that many trust points from me." April said. She stepped in front of Karai and cut her off so that she could look her in the eye as she spoke.
Karai's lips were in a tight line and her fist were clenched. She trembled a little as she spoke.
"Maybe, it's so hard for you to trust me because you won't give me a chance!" She shouted.
April laughed and sputtered. She blinked several times as her mouth opened and closed silently over and over again. "Won't give you a chance? Won't give you a chance! We've given you several chances, Karai! We gave a chance when we first met you! We gave you the chance to be on our side when you had the perfect opportunity to! We gave you a chance when we tried to keep you from getting involved with another one the Shredder's genocidal crimes!"
"Watch your tongue, while you still have it!" Karai snapped at April.
"Then…you help him beat the four of them so badly and to the point where the only way they can take him down and stop is to blow themselves up! Do you any idea, how it felt to see that explosion with them in there and think they were dead because you were too thick-headed to listen them and do anything about it!" April swallowed and shook her head. Tears filled her eyes as her gaze fell to the ground.
"And let's not forget the time you invaded their home and destroyed it. You let Leo come from Japan after three months to find his family gone and his home destroyed. You are heartless, Karai! You are nothing more than a heartless, puppet that always did what she was told no matter what consequences others would have to face because of your choices. And all because you wanted to please that monster you called a father!"
Karai said nothing as April stood before. Her face as red as her hair as tears of fury fell down her cheeks. "After everything you did then…after all the times you said we should trust you, only to have to you prove yourself and us wrong." April's eyes met with Karai's. The emerald orbs that were usually kind, soft and comforting were now as cold and hard as an ice shard so that they matched her tone. "Give me one reason…just one reason why we should trust you now. Don't pretend I have I reason to act like this, because you know damn well that I have that right. You know what you've done, and know the affect it had on us. So don't try pull that, "I deserve your trust" garbage because you know you don't."
April swallowed and took a step forward so she was standing right next to Karai, who was frozen. Her face was unreadable. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was still in a tight line. She stared straight ahead of her and did not acknowledge April in any way.
April sighed. "Do whatever you want." She said in a low grim tone to her feet. She hugged Casey's jacket tighter around her and walked away. Karai stayed put, but spoke.
"You do not have any idea what kind of pressure I was under."
"Oroku Saki...the Foot Clan…is all I have ever known for all my life. You have to realize that I only did those because he was my father to me! He raised me! He took me in when my parents abandon me for…who knows what reason! He was good to me! Good to me in ways you never know!" Karai said. Her voice got louder as she spoke and cracked with every other word. She turned to face April who was a few yards behind her.
"Do you think that I was the "bad guy", the "villain" that I made every choice I did heartlessly? With no struggle or reluctance whatsoever? Do you think it was easy for me to what I did? Easy for me to make those promises to them that I knew I would never be able to keep? It did bother me, April! Until you have been in my place…until you have experienced what I have experienced and made the choices I had to, do not judge me! It was never simple! It was never easy! It was always difficult! Easy for me to choose between to people I swore something to? I loved Saki as my father and he loved me as his daughter, I could have never betrayed or hurt him."
April placed a hand on Karai's shoulder. "Karai…stop telling yourself that. It's not doing you any good. Saki…" She paused as her wrenched and turned to as ice. She contemplated if she should speak the next few words, she almost did; but true to her style, she forced herself to say them.
"He never thought of you as a daughter, Karai. He used you, he manipulated you. He placed you in danger, carved out a path for you that you obviously aren't meant to follow. He lied to you your entire life about who he is. That's not a father Karai."
April stepped closer to Karai. Tears had dried on her face, but her eyes and cheeks were still red. She looked Karai over with the one emotion she thought she would never feel the woman, which continued to return whenever they spoke. Sympathy. Karai looked as if she believed every word she had spoken. That Oroku Saki was her father. That he cared for her. That he loved her, when it was obvious to everyone that he was nothing more than a prized pawn he knew would win him many battles. She had been led to believe that the life she lived was her destined path. That it was all she had when in reality, when it was nothing more than a web of lies spun by a venomous spider that she had been trapped in her entire life.
And Karai knew it but would never, not even with her last breath, admit that she did. And if she was not allowed to speak it, neither could anyone else.
What occurred in the following moments happened so fast that either of the women had been asked to recall them, they would be unable to do with words.
Karai gritted her teeth, and had not noticed her hand had moved to the hilt of her sword until she felt the leather if it pressed tightly against her palm. In a move movement of impossible speed and precision she pulled the sword out of its scabbard and swung it April direction.
April dove out the blades path instinctively and silently thanked Master Splinter for the lessons he had taught her on evasion. Without them, she was sure that she would have been on the writhing on pain as the life bled out of her. Before she could celebrate and praise herself for saving her own life, she had to dodge yet another slice of Karai's steel which she continued to slash in her direction.
April recognized the behavior.
It had been what had occurred the other day at Bishop's base when had went into a frenzy and taken out all the skeletal demons. But there was a difference, while then she had to satisfy her rage, she now attacked to out of sorrow. Sorrow she could express in no other way besides a meaningless attack she could not prevent herself from doing. She was a puppet of her own misery. The misery that cultivated from many roots. Too many roots. The fall of her empire. The annexation of her home. The loss of the only person she could ever call her friend. They all came together and told her that bloodshed was the only way they would leave her.
Therefore, she listened.
April ducked and avoided another swipe of the sword as Karai advanced. She did not try to speak to Karai and calm her down. A moment wasted trying to cease the attack verbally would be the one would cost her her life.
April swiftly maneuvered sideways as a strike intended for her head instead sliced a battered stop sign in half. April began to grow tired. She knew she could not dodge forever. Karai was a very seasoned warrior while April was still only a student. Eventually, Karai would find a way to land a hit on April's flesh.
The next time Karai swung at her, April caught her hands in the tightest grip she could manage. "Karai, you need to stop! You won't accomplish anything by killing me!"
Karai countered with a kick to April's stomach that forced her to release her. April stumbled backwards into a light pole. The cold, steel collided with April's injured head. Stars and black dots danced in front in front of her and clouded her already blurry vision even more. She clutched her head and gasped sharply as she fell to ground. This moment, unlike like other seemed to happen in slow motion.
April could very easily re-call how she fell to the pavement. It would be impossible to forget the way her head took another blow when it bounced off the curb of the sidewalk before it, along with the rest her body became an almost motionless heap on the cement.
In pain, defeated and vulnerable and as good as dead.
April tried to get her bearings and stand but did not get as far as attempting to lift her head before she was forced back down onto her back. The stars and dots slowly faded away, as if to allow her to get a good look at the last thing she would ever see. She puffed out slow, cautious breaths that stirred the hair that rested on her face.
From above her, Karai gazed down at the woman who lay at her feet. Locks of her long hair were fanned out around her. It blended it with the river of blood that snaked from the re-opened wound on her head. Every few seconds she would wince from the pain, but would tighten her jaw to hold back the whimper she would never give Karai the privilege of hearing.
April swallowed and spared her arm a little of her strength so that she could brush her hair out of her face and get a better look at Karai. Her eyes gleamed with hatred as she glowered at her.
April did not dare move. She stayed completely still, her breathes were heavy and rapid as she waited for Karai's next move.
Karai did nothing. She only stared back. She uncurled her fingers from around her hilt and let it fall to the ground. Her expression was blank as she stood there and looked down April. She closed her eyes and sighed before she turned her back.
From behind her, April grabbed hold of the pole and pulled herself to her feet. Her head swam and throbbed when she moved but she was too busy being confused by Karai's actions to pay it much mind. She considered still going after Karai, even after what had just happened, but at same time thought it would be best for both of them if she turned back. It was obvious what the sensible choice, and what the brash and foolish choice was. Yet still, she was torn.
Eventually she made her choice. She turned around and began to go in the direction from which she had come.
Karai listened as her footsteps faded away; she turned and watched as her figure walked away slowly. She sighed and reached down to gather her katana but as she went to pick it up, she noticed something. On the ground, she saw a shadow. A shadow of something, long, dark and sharp that loomed directly over her.
Her eyes widened and she shouted a curse in Japanese. This caught the attention of April who whipped her head at the sound just to watch as Karai swung her sword to block a strike from another blade would have impaled her had her pace been not as quick.
Karai was forced to her knees as she struggled not to crumple under the weight of her opponent. She looked upwards and was finally able to get a look at him. Once she caught a glimpse, the shock that rushed through her caused her too briefly cease restraint.
The Metal Foot Mystic. The deadly, powerful blades he wielded were his own arms which he had willed to form a deadly weapon.
In that split-second it took for Karai to realize to realize this, her opponent attacked. He swept her feet from beneath her and she collapsed onto her back, he held her down with his foot on her chest laughed sinisterly.
He then raised his arms above Karai's trapped form and prepared to plunge them into her flesh. But before he was able to, something collided with his face and caught him by surprise. He looked upwards with snarl in the direction the object came from and his eyes landed on April.
"You foolish mortal! You dare interfere in my affairs? For this, you pay with every drop of blood in your pathetic body!" He hissed.
He began to advance towards her, and in the process unwittingly released Karai from his hold. His mistake, and Karai's advantage were short lived however when morphed one of blade shaped arms back into a regular limb. He grabbed her by her hair before she could attack and threw her off to side, and onto the other side of the street.
Karai rocketed backwards and did not stop until she went straight through the glass window of a shop where she landed on a display platform. Her limp legs still stuck out the window and she lay there motionless as glass fell from the top of the window and rained down onto her.
"Karai!" April shouted after her. She took off in Karai's direction, determined to reach her but just before she could, the Mystic appeared before her and blocked her from Karai. She began to walk backwards, only to have him take a step closer each time.
"Well, well, well what have we here?" He said in a wickedly pleasant voice as he advanced on her.
April continued to back away until she hit the curb and stumbled. She fell to ground and frantically scooted away from the Mystic as he stalked closer her with a smile that implied he enjoyed the situation April was in much more than he should have. Eventually, as she always happens to in situations like these, April came to a dead end.
April was trapped with no way of escape. She could of course run away. With or without Karai, but either way, she would not get very far. Not that she was able to reach Karai anyway. Fighting back was completely out of the question and calling for help was as well. So instead, she settled on staying put in hope that the universe would be in her favor and the Mystic would let her live for whatever reason. But of course, she had no such luck.
He reached down and snatched her up by her neck and slammed her against a thick glass window where he held her in place, his grip was so tight that she was not even been able to struggle against it. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly and turned her head away from him as she prepared for whatever he had in store for her.
He formed a blade with free hand and raised it above her head as he prepared to finish her off. The Mystic glanced at her face. His eyes lingered longer than he intended for them to as his brow creased. Finally he smiled as if a light bulb clicked in his head. He released April and she fell to ground in a heap. Her hand on her throat as she gasped for her.
"There has been a change of plans, human." He stated. He raised his foot above April's head and grinned. "You will be coming with me."
Before April could question this sudden change of plans, the foot was bought down and connected with her head. Stars and black dots made their long-overdue return to her vision. April's head lolled to the side and she watched as a blurry hand came down towards her. She felt herself be hefted off the ground before she came back to rest on something. Her arms and legs dangled freely and something secured her tightly by her waist that prevented her moving much, not that she would have to do much movement anyway. There was a slight thud next to her and she willed herself to look the direction of the sound.
The last thing she saw before the blackness overcame was the sight of Karai's severely scared face and bloodied face. Her eyes did not have time to express any emotion before the darkness over took her completely.
(A/N): DUN! DUN! DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! Lol, corny I know but it seemed like a good way to end this. Anyways, PLEASE review! All feedback is welcomed except for flames! Thanks for reading! I apologize for any mistakes in this. Please PM me about any I will fix them.