A/N: Alright guys, here's the next chapter! I know it's taking me a lot longer to update, but my wrist can only take so much right now. I hope y'all love it!

Disclaimer: Insert depressing yet witty remark about how I own nothing here.

Chapter 18: Complicated Doesn't Even Begin to Describe Life Right Now.

Kaliyah was exhausted. Actually, that wasn't even a good enough adjective to use to describe just how tired she was. And not just physically tired. No, no. She was tired mentally, spiritually, physically, metaphysically, and any other 'ally' that there was. Every time she thought that she finally had the answer she was sent on another wild goose chase.

It was maddening.

They had just arrived back at the guest house. Leonardo had demanded that they all get some sleep before attempting to go back to the lair. Kallie was too tired to argue with him about it and so she drove all of them back. The car ride was silent except for the occasional sniffle from Kallie (even thought she'll vehemently deny it later). Kallie went straight to the bathroom and took a very long and very hot shower. She felt the need to wash off the stench of failure.

What was her dad thinking? Why was he sending her on this stupid mission? What in the world was he involved in? Did her mother know? And if not, why did he keep Danika in the dark? Why give this mission to Kallie? Why trust her and not her mother? How was the Foot involved in all of this? Does that mean that her dad was part of the Foot? Surely not. He's trying to keep whatever this is away from the Foot. Right?

Kaliyah sighed, allowing the water to try and de-stress her. She could feel the tension in her shoulders, her back, and her neck. She was wound tighter than rattlesnake about to strike. She could hear the boys whispering softly to one another and she knew they were discussing her. She didn't blame them. They had to be just as sick of this wild goose chase as she was. She was surprised they had put up with her for so long. Surely they were sick of her just as they were sick of the situation. Kallie let out another long suffering sigh before getting out of the shower. She didn't feel like blow drying her hair so she towel dried it before pulling into a messy bun on top of her head. She quickly dressed in a pair of gray sweats and a white long sleeve t-shirt before exiting the bathroom. Four pairs of eyes turned to her and she felt her face heat up.

"What?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Raph snorted. "Calm down Sweetness, we just wanna make sure yer okay."

Kallie rolled her eyes at him. "I'm fine."

"You look ready to pass out." Donatello supplied.

"I'm not gonna pass out," said Kallie. "I told you I'm fine."

Leo squinted at her once more before going to the recliner and pulling his Katana's in his lap to polish. Donnie was at the little table staring at his laptop. Raphael was lounging on the bed closest to the window and Mikey was on the other one. She locked eyes with the orange banded turtle and he motioned for her to come sit next to him. She obliged and he pushed on her back gently, making her lay on her stomach.

"What're you doing?" She asked.

"You look really tense." He told her as he started kneading her shoulders. Kallie released a moan and surrender to Mikey's ministrations. She heard the others chuckle.

"Oh Michelangelo, where have you been all my life?" Kallie asked.

Mikey barked out a laugh. "Just saving the world, one massage at a time."

"Please don't ever stop." Kallie replied, trying to keep her obscenely inappropriate noises to herself. Mikey had magical fingers and Kallie had never felt anything so wonderful before in her life.

"You have a lot of knots." Mike commented.

"I've been under a bit of stress." Kallie replied dryly.

"I can tell." Mike stated, moving from her shoulders to her back. Kallie sunk deeper into the mattress and allowed Michelangelo's magical, wonderful, fantastic fingers to work out the stress from her body. Of course the problems were still there, but at least physically she was feeling better. Mikey was making his way down her back when he grabbed at her ribcage, making her yelp.

"Are you okay?" Mikey asked, worry in his eyes. "Did I hurt you?"

The others were all looking at her too, concern etched across their features. All except Raphael. He looked smug, a smirk on his face as he chuckled and shook his head. Kaliyah shot him a look that screamed 'shut the hell up.'

"M'fine Mikey." She told the youngest turtle.

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking genuinely frightened.

Raph snorted and Kallie threw him another sharp look.

"She's ticklish Mike." Raph narked.

"Raph!" Kallie shouted, wanting to throw something at the red banded turtle. She quickly turned around, sitting up and facing Mike.

Mike looked confused for all of .2 seconds before a mischievous grin spread across his face.

"Don't even think about it Michelangelo." Kallie warned, using his full name to show she meant business.

"You'll never out run me Kaliyah." Mikey retorted, wiggling his fingers threateningly. Kallie squinted at him before doing what any normal person would do when met with a teenage mutant ninja turtle wielding tickling hands of doom.

She booked it.

Kallie tried to scramble off the bed but of course Michelangelo was too damn fast for her and he caught her ankle easily before pulling her back towards him on the bed and digging his fingers into her sides. Kaliyah immediately burst into laughter.

"Stop!" Kallie gasped out between giggles.

"Never!" Mikey cackled evilly, tickling her rib cage. Leo couldn't help but smile at the sight of his little brother tickling the snot out of Kallie. He had never heard Kallie laugh like that before. She chuckled here and there, but this was full on helpless laughter; bright and unrestrained. It was a nice sound and the oldest turtle couldn't help but think she should laugh like that more often.

"Plehehehehease! Stahahahap!" Kallie begged as Mike continued tickling her ribs.

"Give the girl a break Mikey, she kinda needs to breathe." Raphael commented, a grin on his face.

"So childish." Donatello commented, but he too was grinning.

"Don't make me start on you Donnie!" Mike threatened, pointing a finger at the purple banded turtle. This gave Kallie a breather and she sucked in as much oxygen as she could before letting out a peal of laughter as Mikey went back to work on her ribs.

"Nohoho! M-Mikey!" Kallie pleaded. She couldn't form more than one word at a time since she was laughing to hard. She was trying to swat away his hands, but she never really was coordinated when she was being tickled. Granted, it'd been quite a few years since she was tickled but it looked as if some things never change.

Finally the orange banded turtle had mercy and he stopped his attack, leaning back and grinning like a fool down at her.

"I…hate you…" Kallie panted, a helpless smile on her face.

"Feel better?" Mike asked, ignoring her previous statement.

"My ribs hurt," Kallie whined. "That was torture."

Raph scoffed. "That ain't torture. Let Leo get a hold of ya and then you'll know torture."

Leo rolled his eyes, but a smug smirk graced his features. "I'm pretty sure you're exaggerating."

It was Donnie's turn to scoff. "You had me ticklish in places I normally wasn't ticklish!"

"What? That's not true," said Leo. "You're just ticklish everywhere."

"Donnie's got a point," Mikey added. "Dude, you had me in hysterics just by squeezing my knee."

"That's a common ticklish spot." Leo defended. "I'm sure Kallie's ticklish there as well."

Kallie brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "Don't you dare!" She cried as Mikey reached for her knee. The boys laughed and Kallie found herself smiling at them as well even as she playfully (somewhat, given the torture she just endured) punched Mikey in the shoulder.

"What was that for?" She demanded, a grin still on her face.

Mikey shrugged. "Just thought you could use a laugh."

Kallie rolled her eyes but then got a good look at Mikey and she saw genuine care in his baby blue eyes. Kallie smiled brightly at him then. "Thanks Mikey."

Mikey grinned back at her, his face shining with gratitude before he schooled his features into a slightly arrogant look and saying, "I'm the tickle king, all ya gotta do is ask and I'll be more than happy to make you laugh!"

Kallie's eyes widened in mock horror. "I don't think I'll be asking for that any time soon."

"Yeah, and besides," said Donnie. "We all know Leo is the tickling king."

"Damn straight." Muttered Leo.

Kallie let out a playful gasp. "Doth mine ears deceive me? Did Mr. I Never Do Anything So Fear Me really just curse?"

Leonardo looked at her before rolling his eyes and closing them once more, a smile playing on his lips. "I'm the oldest; I can do what I want."

Kallie was loving this. Leo was being snarky and she couldn't think of anything greater. After the stress of the past evening it felt great to laugh and to genuinely enjoy herself and her new friends. She loved this lighter and more playful side of Leo. She mentally gave herself a pat on the back, thinking that it was because of her previous rant gave him the push to chill out a little bit.

"Actually, I'm the oldest and I can do what I want."

Leo opened his eyes to look at her, the playful gleam still there. "Oh yeah, when's your birthday?"

"August 27th."

"Ha, I am older." Leo replied smugly. "My birthday is February 25th."

"What?!" Kallie asked indignantly. "No way!"

Don nodded with a smile. "It's true. I was able to pinpoint months and years but we all got to choose our own day."

"So when is everyone's birthday?" Kaliyah asked.

"Leo's is February 25th, Raph's is May 25th, mine is August 25th, and Mikey's is October 25th." Don told her.

"Why all on the 25th?" Kallie asked.

Donatello shrugged. "I dunno…we all just decided that the 25th was a good day."

Kallie thought it was perhaps the sweetest thing she'd ever heard.

"So we'll sleep and then head back for the lair around 7am. Then go from there. Get a plan of action and find that Christmas present." Leo stated, capturing the attention of everyone in the room.

Kallie had been wracking her brains all night trying to figure out what the present was. Her father had died seven years ago...he never gave her anything for Christmas since then of course but then...what...

Kallie jumped to her feet, running to her duffle bag and ripping it open. She knew the turtles were probably looking at her like she was crazy, but she didn't care. Finally she found her jeans and pulled out what she was searching for.

"This is it!" She cried, holding open a necklace.

Four heads turned to look at her.

"A necklace?" Donnie asked.

"It's a locket that showed up at our doorstep on Christmas. We had no idea where it came from but it was gorgeous and I decided to keep it," said Kallie. "It became a joke between my mom and I because it never opened so we guessed that I had some kind of secret admirer who was too scared to show me what he looked like."

"You think this is what he meant?" Leo asked.

"It has to be! He hasn't given me a Christmas present in years. I was 16 when I got this; four years ago."

"It's worth a shot." Mikey said.

"I don't know how to open it though." Kallie told them. "I've never been able to even get it to budge."

"Let me try." Raph said, flipping a Sai into his hand and taking the locket. Raph tried a few times, but couldn't seem to open it either. He passed it off to Leo who tried and then passed it to Don who also could not open it.

"Let me try." Mikey said. The orange banded turtle was handed the locket and after looking at it carefully, tongue sticking out comically, he pushed down and it popped open.

"How did you do that?!" Kallie asked.

Mikey shrugged. "I've got the magic touch." He handed her the locket and Kallie ripped it open.

Inside was a picture of her dad with her and her mom. It was a tiny and older picture. Kallie must've been around 11 when it was taken. She didn't really remember the picture, but they all looked happy. Kaliyah smiled fondly before looking at the other side and finding a small piece of paper. She plucked it out and read out loud, " 43.1547° N, 77.6158° W"

"Where is that Donnie?" Leo asked.

Donatello instantly grabbed for his laptop and clicked typed the cooridinates in. "Rochester New York."

"How far away is that?" Mike asked.

"About two and a half hours." Don answered.

"Where in Rochester is he wanting me to go though?" Kallie asked. Raph grabbed the little piece of paper and turned it to the back. On the back held two words, 'Mount Hope.'

"Mount Hope?" Raph asked aloud.

"What's that?" Kallie asked.

"It's a cemetery." Don replied.

"A cemetery?" Kallie repeated. "What could possibly be at a cemetery?"

"Dead people?" Mikey offered.

Kallie rolled her eyes. "Really? I had no idea."

Mikey laughed at that.

"You ready?" Leo asked suddenly, looking right at Kallie.

"For what?"

"Well, do you want to finish this or not?"

Kallie's eyes widened and a smile spread across her face. "You mean now?" She asked.

Leo laughed gently. "No not now. You still need to sleep, we all do actually. But we'll go straight to Rochester instead of stopping back at the lair."

"Really?!" Kallie asked, completely surprised.

"Really." Leo replied. Kallie squealed and shot off the bed and into Leo, her arms wrapping around the turtle.. The leader let out an 'oof' as he stumbled slightly, before he wrapped his arms around her as well.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Leo pressed a gentle kiss on top of her head. "You're welcome."

OoOoOoO

The drive to Rochester was definitely quieter than the drive to Ft. Drum had been. Kallie turned on one of her Regina Spektor CDs and turned it up loud, trying to distract herself from the overwhelming task ahead of her and the turtles. They were already in Rochester, a few minutes away from the cemetery when it happened. She wasn't really paying too much attention until Mikey shouted her name.

"KALLIE!"

Kallie looked up and saw that there were tons of people standing in the middle of the road. And not just any people.

Foot ninjas.

Kallie slammed on the brakes, the van swerving slightly before coming to a screeching halt. Raph turned to look at Kallie, "I know ya never listen to a word I say, but please stay in the van." And then the four turtles were clambering out of the vehicle. Kallie was a little stunned, her heart pounding but she soon followed them.

The brothers were standing defensively, weapons out and ready to strike. Raph cast Kaliyah a sideways glance as she made her way to his side.

"What happened to staying in the van?" The red banded turtle asked.

"What happened to you knowing I never listen to a word you say?" She countered. Raphael rolled his eyes.

"Be prepared guys." Leo stated firmly. The ninjas were just eyeing each other. Kallie was scared, but there was no way she was going to let the four of them charge into battle without her.

Finally, after about two minutes of just staring, a Foot ninja stepped forward. Raphael growled and took a step forward. Leonardo blocked him with a sword. "Hold on."

Raph turned and looked at Leo, his expression angry and confused.

"We do not wish to fight you turtles." The ninja stated.

Mikey scoffed before whispering, "That's cuz they know we'll kick their ass."

"What do you want?" Leo asked loudly.

"Her." The ninja replied, pointing at Kallie.

Raph growled louder, bringing a hand to Kallie's elbow and pushing her behind him. "Ain't gonna happen."

"What do you want with her?" Leo asked.

Kallie had to stand on her tiptoes in order to see what was going on, Raph was a couple of inches taller than her, the Foot ninja tilted his head to the side and although his mask was covering his face Kallie knew he was squinting his eyes at the five of them.

"That is not your concern." He responded.

"The hell it isn't." Donatello snarled. Kallie looked at the purple banded turtle, shocked at the fierceness of his statement. The normally gentle turtle had a look of pure, unadulterated rage on his face. Kallie glanced at Mikey next and saw he too wore the same look of rage.

"She is the key." The Foot ninja said suddenly.

"The key?" Leo asked. "The key to what?"

"To everything." He replied simply.

"Cryptic much?" Raph asked with a roll of his eyes. Kallie was getting fed up with this and wanted to demand some answers. She took a deep breath and decided to use some of the training she'd been getting lately; so she hit the back of Raphael's knee making him drop and she slid underneath his arm, running in front of the guys but still distancing herself from the army of ninja's in front of her.

"Kallie! No!" Leo yelled.

"What do you mean I'm the 'key to everything?'" She demanded.

"Did your father tell you nothing?" The ninja asked.

Kallie's stomach dropped, but she steeled herself and looked coldly at the ninja. "What do you know about my father?"

"A lot more than you do it seems," said the Foot ninja. "Come with us Kaliyah and all the answers you've been searching for will be revealed."

"They'll be revealed to you as well and I don't think I want that to happen."

"This is so much bigger than you, you silly girl."

"What does this have to do with my father?" Kallie demanded.

"If you do not come willingly, we will take you," the Foot ninja said, a bit of irritation in his voice. "Not now, but soon. And we will slay everyone who stands in the way." He added, looking pointedly at the turtles.

"You goons have been trying that for years and we're still standing." Michelangelo said with a twist of his weapons.

"You've been warned. You have 8 hours Key," the ninja said, staring at Kallie. "Choose wisely Key." And with that he started walking away, his posse with him. He stopped suddenly though, turning to look back. "Karai says hi by the way Michelangelo."

Mikey inhaled sharply at those words and Kallie turned to look at him, the color drained from his face and he was shaking slightly. His older brothers all snarled dangerously, Raphael actually barrelling forward to obviously stomp the ninja into the ground, but Kaliyah stepped in front of him, putting her hands against his plastron.

"Raph no."

"Move." He told her, his chest heaving.

"Just leave it. He's trying to mess with our heads." She told him. "Don't let him get to you."

"He'll pay for what he said to my little brother." Raph growled.

"Stop Raph, I mean it. Let's just go!" She pleaded. He made a move to step around her and she jumped in front of him again. "Raphael!"

That stopped him. He looked down at her, his angry face turning to one of amusement. "Did ya just full name me?"

The blonde girl smiled at him before schooling her features into a scowl. "Well something had to get through that thick skull of yours!"

Raph shook his head and put his weapons away before placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it, the two of them making their way back towards the others.

"You okay little brother?" Leonardo asked a clearly shaken Mike.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He told them, trying for an easy smile.

Kallie looked at her companions and guilt washed over her. Mikey was worried because of her. He had to relive a terrible memory because of her. Leo and the others had to listen to ridicule and risk their lives because of her. They could get hurt. Hell, Mikey had already taken a ninja death star in the leg for her. That was all her fault and if they got hurt again it would be all her fault as well. She sure as hell couldn't protect them, she had just started getting decent at weapons training but she still didn't have a weapon of her own yet. They had sacrificed so much for her. They gave up part of their home for her to live in, they gave up their own daily routines in order to help her feel more at home, they gave up their normal patrols to look after her and her mom, they gave up so much of their time to help her learn how to defend herself, and so many other things. And how did she repay them? By throwing them in the middle of some unknown battle between her dad and the Foot. She couldn't let this continue. They had given up so much and she had returned so little to them. It was a wonder they were still with her since she obviously had nothing to give back to them. And she wouldn't let anything hurt them again. Ever. There was one thing she could do, one thing she could give to them that would keep them safe.

She would turn herself in.

"C'mon Kallie, we're only a few minutes away from the cemetery, if we hurry we'll be able to figure this all out before the Foot do." Mikey said as the four of them made their way back to the van. Kallie didn't move though.

"Kallie?" Mikey called again.

"I can't." Kallie croaked out, her throat feeling suddenly tight as her emotions overtook her.

"What do you mean?" Don asked.

"I mean I can't. We only have 8 hours until the Foot strike again guys," said Kallie, tears threatening to pour from her face. "We're being followed for sure and the only way to keep you guys safe is for me to go with them."

"What?" All four of them demanded at the same time.

"Kallie, that's nuts!" Mike cried.

"There's no way they can take us down Kallie." Donnie added.

"Yer not goin' with them." Raph stated firmly.

"You can't stop me." She told him, smiling sadly.

"The hell I can't!" Raph snarled.

"Kallie, you can't just give yourself up to them!" Leo told her.

"And I can't let you guys get hurt because of me!" Kallie shouted. "You guys have sacrificed so much for me and I'm done! I'm not letting it happen anymore alright?! Not when I haven't done anything to deserve your kindness!"

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked, exasperated.

"You guys have done nothing but give and give and give! And I've done nothing to deserve it! All I've done is disrupt y'alls lives in every way possible!"

"That's not true..." Donnie tried.

"It is true!" Kallie interrupted. "I've got Mikey hurt, Donnie staying up at all hours of the night trying to keep an eye on anyone who may know me Raph and Leo pulling double training sessions so I'm not completely useless! Not to mention all of y'all are going on patrols twice as much as usual to also keep an eye out for my mom! And what do you guys get out of it huh?"

"Why do you think everyone is out to get something from you?" Mikey suddenly yelled. The outburst shocked everyone, including Kallie who opened her mouth to say something but abruptly closed it as Mikey made his way towards her, grabbing her shoulders. "Do you really think that little of yourself?" He asked, giving her a little shake. "Do you really think that little of us? Did it ever occur to you that maybe we just like you? That maybe we're really just your friends and that we genuinely want to help? Or are you really that dumb?"

Kallie looked up into Mikey's blue eyes and saw his frustration. She hadn't meant it like that, she didn't think little of them, in fact she thought the world of the four turtles.

"Mikey...I didn't...I'm..."

He brought a finger underneath her chin and tipped her head up to look at him. "Hey, like it or not, you're family now."

Kallie couldn't hold the tears back. They poured down her face as she wrapped her arms around Mikey, hugging him tightly.

"I'm just n-not used t-to this okay?"

Mikey patted her head. "I know, but you're gonna have to get over it. You're a Hamato now." The others had joined to the other two and all agreed with Mike. He pulled back and smiled down at her. "Now, if you try to give yourself up to them I will hogtie you and lock you in a closet understand?"

Kallie laughed at that. "Yes sir."

"Good soldier." Mikey saluted.

"Alright, enough chick flick crap," said Raphael. "Let's get to the cemetery."

Kallie followed the four of them back into the van and they made their way back towards the cemetery. Kaliyah was truly grateful for what they all just said to her, and it made her feel so good and actually part of the family. And she knew that they would do anything to keep her safe, because she was family.

They were her family too.

And she would protect her family, even if it meant making them very angry. Because she would do anything for her family.

Anything.