Chapter 17: Operation: Breakout

As the midnight hour finally approached, with the full moon hung overhead at its highest in the pitch black sky, the four mutant turtles silently made their way into the construction site, where the Shredder had told them to meet. They weaved their way through the building equipment and around the large cranes as they made haste to the construction grounds. And though Donatello knew better than to linger and stare, he couldn't help but release a soft huff of disapproval at the state the builders had left this place in; there were still screws and tools lying about the place, left out in the cold. If he could, he would give them a piece of his mind.

They entered the emptied area one by one; Leonardo taking the lead, as usual, Michelangelo close behind him, Donatello keeping a vigil on his younger brother in case he were to touch something he wasn't supposed to (which was everything) and Raphael stayed at the rear. He turned his head to look at the red haired figure following closely behind him. Green eyes darting to the side with uncertainty for a moment, he then reached out and took her by the hand. "Hey…are you sure about this?" he asked quietly.

She nodded at him once, her eyes seemingly glowing in the darkness. "I'm ready," she said determinedly, her voice not wavering in the slightest.

Taking in a deep breath, Raph nodded back and gripped her hand tightly as they followed his brothers deeper into the site.

An open space, lit by the moonlight overhead, lay within the center of the building site – the perfect place for a battle if need be.

The turtles remained cautious and alert, should there be an ambush awaiting them. Leo peered around the corners, scanning the area until he gave his brothers the signal to move forwards. Though his demeanor remained as calm as ever, his innards were twisting nervously. His mind was telling him to abandon this mission and retreat; there was no way this was going to work, it was just too risky. But despite that urge, he knew that there was far too much at stake to even consider running away.

This plan had to work. Failure truly was not an option this time.

Behind him, Raph, Donnie and Mikey silently followed his lead. Mikey had a large blue backpack slung over his shoulders, filled with the precious retro-mutagen sample that they had frozen in ice cube trays, per Mikey's somewhat brilliant suggestion. Unfortunately for the orange turtle, he silently began to shiver, his teeth chattering together. "Dudes, it's cold out here! And this bag is cold, too!" he whispered harshly. "We're freaking reptiles, what the freak are we doing out here?!"

Raph and Leo shushed him testily. Donnie rolled his eyes, but he reached out and put a hand on Mikey's shuddering shoulder. "Don't worry, this will all be over before you know it, and then we can all go back and get warm…" he said with a smile, one that betrayed his inner feelings.

Raph turned to his taller brother, a spark of doubt within his gaze as he held onto the girls' hand a little tighter. "This is gonna work, right Don?" he asked. Though he had faith in Donnie and his brilliant intellect, he still had the feeling in his gut that something would go wrong. And more often than not, when it came to Donnie's inventions, he was right. But he tried to admit that too much.

Despite the doubt, Donnie looked straight into his older brothers' green eyes. "It will. It has to."

"We just need to play our cards right, Raph. We won't let them have her," Leo whispered, the resolve heard in his voice reflecting in his eyes. His three brothers nodded in unison at their leaders' resolve. Raph subconsciously tightened his grip on her hand again.

They drifted to the center of the site, gazing around the open space they found themselves in. Nothing stirred, but no doubt the Foot were hiding within the shadows, ready to strike out.

"…it's pretty quiet," Donnie whispered. He turned to Raph and offered his tense brother a small gapped-toothed grin. "Time to make some noise. You ready, Raph?"

Raph nodded back, and after swallowing the last of his nerves, he drew in a deep breath, preparing to break one of the most important rules of the ninja; silence.

"HEY,SHREDDER!" Raph belted out at the top of his lungs.

The others jumped in surprise with a chorus of high-pitched yelps. "Thanks, Raph! I may never have the hiccups again!" Donnie barked, giving the red turtle a hard shove. The plan was to attract the attention of the Foot, yes, but they had never expected Raph to go all out like that; Donnie swore he wouldn't be able to hear out of that ear ever again.

"Guys! Shut up!" Leo hissed loudly, giving both Raph and Donnie a hard shove as well.

Just then, bright lights flashed on all around them, illuminating the site as dozens upon dozens of Foot Bots appeared and surrounded the group, taking up battle stances as they prepared to fight. And to the turtles' surprise, several Kraang droids stationed themselves around the perimeter also, aiming their guns at the group as they buzzed to life. The turtles drew their weapons and formed a protective circle around the girl in the middle.

"Well, we're screwed…again," Raph grumbled as he skimmed his gaze across the mass amount of robots and aliens around them. "And here I thought I loved a good brawl."

"Guys! Stand your ground!" Leo commanded. Then in a hushed tone he added, "And stick to the plan…"

"Welcome, turtles," boomed a voice from up above. The mutants turned and raised their heads upwards to see the Shredder stood upon a platform that towered high above them, accompanied by two Kraang droids situated at his left and right. He glared down at them maliciously, and they returned the glare with equal ferocity.

"Shredder…" Leo growled at the very sight of the monster before them.

"Where is Mr. O'Neil?!" Donnie demanded, his teeth bared in anger. If he had dared to lay a finger on April's father, he'd go up there himself and beat the armor off of him.

Unfazed, Shredder chuckled darkly. "All in good time, Donatello," he replied coldly, "As soon as you hand over the girl to the Kraang, then no harm will come to O'Neil."

The turtles closed in around the human girl protectively. "What makes you think we'll actually believe you, Shred Head?! Your word is as good as dirt for all we care!" Raph bellowed.

Shredder raised a brow at him. "Oh? So, you do not want the girl to see her father after all?" he mocked, turning to the Kraang droid on his right as he nodded once. In response, the droid turned and grabbed a figure that was kneeling behind it. Upon being dragged out into the light, the mutants below saw that it was Kirby O'Neil, whole and unharmed, but his hands were chained together in front of him.

"April!" he cried, seeing the familiar red haired girl in the center of the turtles as he tugged ineffectually against the grip of the Kraang droid that held him.

"Dad!" she cried back, already trying to worm her way through her shield of turtles, but Mikey's hand on her shoulder stilled her.

"Hand over April O'Neil, and no harm shall come to her beloved father," Shredder commanded. The Kraang that held Kirby aimed its gun to his head and Kirby froze in terror, its finger hovering over the trigger.

Leo growled lowly, his blue eyes narrowed in restrained anger. He turned to her, staring at her with a sad, regretful gaze. She took in a deep breath and nodded to him confidently. "Do it, Leo," she whispered. "I'll be okay. Trust me."

Leonardo, despite the emotions pumping furiously through him, despite every fibre of his being telling him not to, he reluctantly moved away from her. And at his nod, his brothers did the same, their expressions written with pangs of guilt. Once the turtles had moved aside, she lowered her head and stepped forwards, walking out into the center of the space.

Three droids marched forward, taking Kirby with them despite his struggles and protests. They stopped just in front of her. Kirby looked down at his daughters' face as the Kraang undid his bonds, his own filled with sadness and shame – and then suddenly filled with shock as he looked into her eyes. "You…you…" he stuttered, completely at a loss for words.

April…she was…

She stopped him by running towards him and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face into his chest. "Don't worry. Everything will be okay," she said quietly. Kirby, still unable to speak, returned the gesture, albeit hesitantly.

The Kraang released Kirby and grabbed hold of her instead, roughly taking her by the arms as they dragged her away from him and led her away. She didn't put up a fight as she allowed them to haul her towards a black, metallic door, which slid open with a loud hiss after the droid had entered a code. Though the hall was dark she could see that it led into an underground passageway, with only one way in and one way out. She turned her head to gaze at Kirby and the turtles one last time, before the black door slid shut behind her, and then she was alone.

Kirby stared after her, watching until she disappeared through the doors, his eyes wide in disbelief. He spun around to face the turtles. "W-what…?" he began, but Mikey cut him off by taking him by the hand and gently leading him in the center of their protective circle.

Above them, Shredder once again chuckled darkly, and they snapped their gazes back up at him. "A wise decision, turtles," he announced forebodingly, "But it will not save you now. Foot Bots! Let the games begin!"

And at their masters' command, the Foot bots leapt for the turtles without hesitation.

"Oh shell!" Donnie cursed, raising his hand to grab his Bo staff, but Leo seized his wrist before he even touched the weapon.

"Donnie! Get Mr. O'Neil out of here, now!" Leo commanded as the Foot Bots closed in on them. Leo, Mikey and Raph pulled out their weapons, forming a semi-circle around Kirby and Donnie. And Leo noticed with a muttered Japanese curse that Donnie still hadn't moved. If he didn't escape now, the game would be over and their loss would have been for nothing.

"But what about you guys?" Donnie argued, looking back and forth from Kirby, to his brothers and to the exit. "I can't just leave you guys here! You'll get pummeled–"

"Move your shell Donnie, go!" Leo ordered urgently as he pushed Donnie in the direction of the exit. "That's an order, Donatello! Move!"

Swallowing nervously, Donnie finally nodded hesitantly as he took Kirby by his bicep and hauled him onto his shell, followed by a startled yelp from the older man at the turtles' strength. With April's father securely on his back, Donnie leapt over the heads of the Foot Bots as quickly as the added weight would allow him to before they could be swarmed. Panting with effort, the purple clad turtle weaved his way through the construction site, his memory leading him back the way they had come as he burst through the exit. He quickly cast a glance behind him, and to his relief, no Foot Bots or Kraang had followed them out.

Good. The first good thing to happen all day.

Once Donnie allowed Kirby to slide off his back, they quickly ran from the site and back out onto the streets. "Come on! We need to get to Central Park!" Donnie urged as they ran side by side, surprised that the older human was able to keep up with him.

Kirby looked over to Donnie, panting lightly. "Donatello, what's going on? Why is - ?"

Donnie turned to him with his signature gap-toothed grin. "Phase One of Operation: Breakout is complete, sir!" he chuckled. "Now we're just waiting for Phase Two…"

Deep within the construction grounds lay a secret entryway into an underground facility. It appeared to be the remains of a long abandoned gold mine, however, with the Kraang now inhabiting it, they had replaced the old wooden doorways and rooms with metallic doors and highly secured prison cells. The bright yellow lights that hung limply overhead illuminated the damp, rocky walls that surrounded them.

The three Kraang droids led the young human girl down the rocky tunnels and towards a large metal door, undoubtedly being the door to a large, inescapable prison cell. Two Kraang droids stood guard at the door. "Does Kraang have the one known as 'The One' that is called April O'Neil?" one guard asked.

"Yes Kraang," the other replied, pushing the girl forwards as proof of her capture. £Kraang has retrieved the one known as April O'Neil."

The other droid standing guard nodded. "Good. Kraang can now begin the true plan which is the plan of Kraang."

"…Actually, there's been a change of plan…" the girl said. She raised her head with a smug smirk.

Despite not having human features, the Kraang droids appeared to be aghast at what they saw as they stared at her face. "Kraang. The one that is in this place is not the one that is known as April O'Neil," one Kraang exclaimed.

She laughed as she lifted a hand and tugged on her hair, ripping it straight off her head and letting the red wig fall to the floor. With her secret finally uncovered, Karai gazed up at the confused alien robots, her golden eyes glinting dangerously with immense amusement.

"Hi there," she waved slyly, watching with unhidden satisfaction as they all drew away from her in fear. "My name's Karai. I have a message for you; from me and from April O'Neil. If I ever see you try and hurt my friends again, I will kill each and every last one of you myself. And it won't be a swift death, I promise you that. Tell that to my beloved father as well. As for April's message…"

Karai drew out her kunai knife from her pocket and grinned.

"…she says 'Booyakasha Suckers'!"

Back out on the surface, the building site was in chaos. Leo, Raph and Mikey were having trouble with the Foot Bots again, due to the fact that there were far more robots leaping at them than before; it seemed as though Shredder had manufactured more of them for his so-called army, and also added new features. Now they had multiple arms that dispensed a variety of deadly weapons, which they were not hesitant to unleash upon the turtles as they ducked and rolled to the ground to avoid being impaled or sliced in two.

Not only that, but the Kraang droids had joined the melee as they fired their laser guns at them continuously. The three turtles groaned in agitation. Apparently the Foot Bots weren't enough for them.

"I forgot these guys could predict your moves!" Raph growled as he impaled the head of another Foot Bot with the tips of his Sais, throwing it over his shoulder just as another came out him with a spiked weapon. "Ah crud!" he cursed, stumbling out of the way before the mace could come crashing down on his head.

Leo grunted as he sliced and stabbed at the Foot Bots surrounding him, followed by a downward slash through two Kraang robots, watching as the alien brains slithered and screamed away in fear. "I just hope she's okay!" he called out, "I still can't believe it worked though!"

"She'll be fine, Romeo, just focus!" Raph snapped across the battle field, ripping a Kraang droids' head off its body with a wrench of his Sai. "And I can't believe I have to tell you, of all people, to do that!"

Leo growled in agitation, but couldn't help but agree with his temperamental brother somewhat as he shook the thoughts from his mind for the time being and focused solely on the battle. He needed to have more faith in her abilities as a highly trained kunoichi. He sometimes forgot, to his shame, that she could be stronger than him if pushed to the limit – a few arguments and a few nasty bruises had taught him that much.

But he couldn't let his own feelings distract him. They had a mission to complete, and a city to save. And more importantly, he had his brothers to watch over. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of what had happened just the other day…

Mikey, as usual, was practically dancing around the Foot Bots and Kraang droids as he evaded every strike and every laser blast they sent his way. "Booyakasha!" he laughed as he spun his kusarigama chain and wrapped around several Foot Bots. Tightening his grip on the chain, he dragged them along as he spun around on the spot, and then released them as they went flying into a wall of Kraang, smashing both the droids and robotic ninjas to pieces as the alien brains skittered away.

"Nice one, Mikey!" Raph praised with a grin. At this rate, the Foot and the Kraang would be wiped out completely, and then they could get out of this crazy joint and meet up with Donnie at Central Park. For once, Raph mused, the fates seemed to be working in their favor.

Mikey grinned back and sent his older brother a thumbs up. "Like A Turtle Do!"

"Mikey, be careful with that bag! We need it for Dogpound and Fishface, remember?!" Leo warned as he ducked under a sword swipe from a Foot Bot and struck down another Kraang, though he did come to realize that there were far fewer robots left after Mikey's little stunt, which was a good sign. The sooner they were out of here, the better.

Mikey shrugged. "Sorry, Leo!" he called back, spinning his nunchaku in front of him as more Kraang came his way. This was going smoother than they thought it would! They had Kirby back, and after they defeated these bots and went after Karai, they were home free…

…wait a second…no, they weren't. Something wasn't right.

It was then that a horrible thought hit Mikey, and he swiftly dodged another Foot Bot before taking it down with a flick of his kusarigama blade. "Uh, Leo? I have a question!" he called apprehensively, a sense of dread forming within the pit of his stomach.

Leo stabbed through two Foot Bots out the remaining dozen. "Can it wait?" he called back.

"Not really! Y'know how Shredder wanted us to fight Dogpound and Fishface?"

Leo quirked a brow. "…Yeah?"

"Well, then…where are they? Why are we fighting these guys instead of them?"

Leo nearly faltered as what Mikey said began to sink in. Come to think of it, why were they fighting the robots instead of the mutants? They all knew that Shredder would make them face off with them even if they did hand April over. Was he planning on fighting them himself? But he hadn't moved an inch from where he stood on the platform. Or was he simply –

And suddenly, as if a bomb had dropped in the water, Leonardo's heart missed a beat as the realization hit him full force. His eyes going wide and his blood running cold, he turned over to Raph, who had the same stricken expression written on his features as he finished off the last of the Foot Bots.

"Leo…" Raph breathed, "You don't think…"

"…I do think," Leo said grimly.

Shredder wasn't testing them, nor did he have any intention of fighting them at all. He was stalling them.

Seething in rage, Raphael spun on his heel and glared up ferociously at the ninja master. "Shredder you dirty liar! You said you wouldn't send them out if we came!" Raph bellowed.

Above them, Shredder only laughed sinisterly. "Sorry, but there has been a change of plans," he announced smugly. "Surely your rodent of a master has told you that deception is the ninja's most powerful weapon…and it was far too easy to fool you creatures into even thinking I would keep my word! And now that you have so foolishly given your precious human friend to the Kraang, believing you could save her and leave here unscathed, you truly have fallen into my trap!" Shredder laughed again triumphantly. "You will never make it out of here alive. All has gone according to my plans."

Raph growled like feral animal, the only thing keeping him back from charging after Shredder and tearing him apart limb from limb was Leo's restraining grip on his shoulder. Standing beside his enraged brother, Mikey paled and his hands trembled in fear. He knew that Dogpound and Fishface were headed for Central Park…but so were Donnie and Mr. O'Neil…and Casey and April. If the two of them got to that park before they did…

Leonardo however, after releasing Raph in trusting that he wasn't going to go ballistic anytime soon, folded his arms over his chest as he grinned. "Actually," he announced smugly, "there's been another change of plans. Did you really think we would give our sister to the Kraang just like that?"

Shredder narrowed his eyes in confusion. What was the turtle talking about?

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard before the metal door exploded outwards as splintered wood and brick flew everywhere from where the three Kraang droids had last been seen taking 'April' to their underground facility. As a slim figure leapt out from the wreckage, she flicked her short hair back and planted a hand on her hip in a smug fashion as she glanced up at Shredder. "Hello, father. Good to see you again," she sneered, tossing aside the Kraang laser gun she had used to blast the door open.

Shredder's eyes went wide and aghast as the dust cleared. "What?! Karai?!" he exclaimed angrily. The turtles had played him; they had disguised and delivered Karai instead of the O'Neil girl as a decoy. How had he been fooled so easily, and by his own treacherous daughter at that?!

Pumping his fist in the air and letting out a whoop, Mikey grinned as Karai made her dramatic entrance. "Way to go, sister!" he crowed.

Sending the girl a quick thumbs up in praise, Raph sneered up at Shredder, his arms folded over his chest in a smug fashion. "So, what was that about deception, Shred-Head?" he mocked.

Blinking once in surprise, Leo stared in amazement as the kunoichi stood triumphantly before them all. She had managed to escape the hands of advanced aliens from another dimension, all by herself, and then blasted the door open with one of their own guns. It appeared she really didn't need his help after all.

She was so awesome!

"I love you!" he said dreamily as he grinned like fool.

At the blue clad turtles' 'declaration', Karai smirked in response.

However, Shredder wasn't pleased in the least as he roared out in anger, and then he leapt down into the arena as he drew his blades. "You will not make a fool out of me again! You will perish by my hands, all of you! And then Splinter will finally suffer!" he bellowed, and launched himself at Karai with killing intent.

Karai was too late to react, her eyes going wide as the Shredder loomed over her.

But instead of metal, she was greeted with a hard shell as Raph suddenly leapt before her and blocked Shredders' blades with his Sais, pushing against him will all the force he could muster, making sure he stayed well away from the female ninja. "Sorry, Bucket-Head, but we've got a city to save!" he growled as he forced the Shredder backwards with a strong push. Without warning, he pulled out a small pellet from his belt and smacked it on the ground. Purple smoke filled the air, blinding Shredder for a moment, and as it began to fade, the three turtles and the kunoichi had vanished from sight.

Shredder narrowed his eyes in anger, but it was quickly replaced with a low, wicked chuckle.

'No need to worry,' he told himself, 'they will soon find out that there is much more in store for them…'

Meanwhile, Donatello and Kirby O'Neil ran quickly through the thick bushes and trees that covered Central Park. Luckily, despite it frequently being occupied by humans both day and night, there were many shadows and thick trees and bushes in which they could hide and avoid being spotted or draw unwanted attention, which the purple clad turtle was very grateful for. But as they neared the center of the park, they became aware that there was a lot of music and voices resonating through the night-time air. Quirking a curious brow as he shared an equally bemused look with Kirby, Donnie drew to a halt as he poked his head out from one bush and scanned the area, which to his surprise, was lit brightly with many mulch-coloured blinking decorations. There appeared to be some kind of celebration going on as happy voices and familiar music filled the air, as well as the sweet aromas of sweet foods and drinks.

A memory clicked inside Donnie's head like a light bulb, and he let out a tiny gasp of realization. "Of course. It's Christmas Eve tonight…with everything that had happened we'd all completely forgotten about it…even Mikey forgot about it," Donnie whispered to the human at his left. "And now they're all having this great big party out here. Well, it's a good thing Dogpound and Fishface aren't coming out. All these people would have been killed for sure…"

His rambling was interrupted as Kirby tapped him on the shoulder. "Uh, Donatello? I don't think you need to hide anymore," Kirby said. When Donnie gave him a questioning look, he pointed over to a largely crowded area. Donnie followed his finger, and he spotted over a dozen people dressed in various wacky costumes, most of them not even directly related to the festive season.

The purple clad turtle blinked once. "Oh. Okay then…"

Donnie's heart sped up with dread. This would be a perfect opportunity to go out and look for April and Casey, whom he was sure had to be in the midst of that party, without being suspected of a thing. But there were absolutely no places to hide in case someone caught him out, no shadows to blend into…he would be completely exposed to the eyes of the humans. He'd never done this sort of thing before, not even on Halloween despite how tempting it always seemed to be (especially to his brothers) and he was positively certain he would get caught. Besides, who could possibly wear a costume so realistic anyway?

But even so, he had to find out where April and Casey were. If he was going to reunite the girl of his dreams with her father, just this once, he had to bend the rules a little bit. He had to reveal himself.

With his decision made, Donnie took in a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart, and slowly let it out with a soft sigh. "Alright, sir," Donnie said, "Here we go…"

Finally, Donnie stepped out of the bushes with Kirby in tow as they walked straight into the festivities.

As soon as they entered the bustling assembly of humans, Donnie instantly gained several strange looks as he and Kirby weaved their way through the crowd in search for April. He felt anxieties rise and nearly hit the boiling point as more and more people began to stare at him. This was a very bad idea. He shouldn't have come out here. Maybe he should just take Kirby back into the bushes and figure out a different and less revealing solution in order to –

"Dude! Check out this guy's costume!" one person yelled as he pointed at him, startling the wits out of the young turtle as he jumped with a yelp.

"Yeah, it looks so real!" laughed another.

"Neat threads, dude!"

"I love this place!"

Donnie blushed deeply in embarrassment at the dozens of compliments he was receiving. "U-uh…t-thank you…" he stuttered shyly, and Kirby patted his shoulder reassuringly with a bearded smile as they continued through the festival. He'd never received this much attention from anyone but his family before, and it was terrifying. But at the same time, it was actually quite exciting. He guessed that now he knew how Mikey always felt about wanting to meet new people and make new friends all the time. Though Donnie was nowhere near the 'social butterfly' that his younger brother was, but the attention was…

…well, to put it mildly, it was nice.

"Donnie! We're over here! Donnie!" a familiar voice cried out over the noise of the crowd.

Blinking out of his thoughts, Donnie looked over the heads of the crowd to see April and Casey waving their hands in the air. He beamed; thank goodness! He thought he was going to melt with embarrassment out here. "April! Casey!" Donnie called back as he weaved his way through the throng, holding Kirby's arm as to not lose him in the flood of humans.

The turtle finally reached the two humans, and he couldn't help but snicker at Kirby's reaction as he saw what his daughter was wearing. April was dressed in Karai's punkish style clothing; a black, leather jacket with spiked shoulder blades, blue jeans that were ripped at the knees and black boots. She'd let her red hair out of its usual ponytail to make her look like she actually fit this type of style, but unfortunately she looked a bit like a poser. Yellow suited her much better, but Karai was currently wearing her clothes elsewhere.

"Dad!" April cried as she saw her father by Donnie's side, healthy and whole. With tears stinging her eyes, she immediately ran and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face into his chest as he held her back with equal strength and love. "Oh dad, I can't believe it! You're okay!"

Casey and Donnie watched the exchange with warm smiles, and Casey reached out to pat the mutant terrapin on the shoulder in wordless praise. The gesture was returned with a gap-toothed grin. It was good to see April happy and reunited with her dad once again.

After enough time had passed, April finally drew away from her father and turned to face Donnie. "You guys…you did it! You saved my dad!" she beamed as she ran over and hugged the purple banded turtle tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck. He was caught off guard, and his heart thumped hard against his chest, but his long green arms wrapped around her smaller frame in an instant.

Still grinning, April then drew back far enough to cup his face with her hands to place a kiss on his cheek. But he'd accidentally turned his head at the last second, thinking that she was going to release him, so instead her lips planted firmly on his own.

His entire body going as stiff as his staff and his eyes going wider than he thought was possible, Donnie let out a tiny squeak as he froze on the spot, his lips tingling from the kiss as she drew away a moment later.

Casey let out a choked cry of jealousy, his eyes nearly popping out of his sockets at the sight. Kirby chuckled, for April had not even realized what she had done. "Thank you so much, Donnie!" she chimed. "You guys are the best!"

But her gratitude went through deaf ears, for Donnie was too entranced to pay attention. "…so…awesome…" Donnie breathed in a daze, lifting a shaking hand to his lips. He couldn't believe it. He got a kiss! He had finally gotten a kiss from April O'Neil! All his dreams had come true! This was the best day!

Filled with joy he had never experienced in his fifteen years of life on this earth, Donnie suddenly raised his fists and punched the sky. "I LOOOOVE BEING A TURTLE!!" he screamed gloriously at the top of his lungs. The rest of the crowd, thinking it was some kind of act that was part of the festivities, began to cheer and laugh along.

However, everything grew deathly silent as a loud roar, like that of a mighty beast, echoed through the night, sending a chill running down their spines. All heads turned to the entrance of the park as the sounds of thunderous footsteps coming closer and closer.

Donnie paled, his earlier celebratory smile wiped clean off his face as his eyes went wide with fear. "Oh no…" he breathed, reaching out to grip April's shoulder. "Not here…not now…"

Casey gulped. "Aw man," he whimpered.

Suddenly, Dogpound crashed into the park, roaring deafeningly and thrashing his enlarged fists wildly, destroying anything and everything that was in his path – that included stands, tables, trees, anything. The massive crowd began to panic, knowing fully well that this was not a part of the festivities, and the people ran and screamed for their lives, forgetting about their belongings as they scattered from the scene.

"WHERE ARE YOU, TURTLES?! WE'RE COMING FOR YOU!" Dogpound bellowed in rage, his massive fists ploughing mercilessly through the festival as his dark, bloodthirsty gaze sought out the mutant turtles.

Narrowing his eyes, Donnie unsheathed his Bo staff and stood protectively in front of Kirby and April. however, April remained undeterred as she stepped out from behind Donnie and took out her fan, flick it open as she held it out in front of her. Casey pulled his hockey mask back over his face and took out his hockey stick. "I thought Shredder said they weren't gonna attack!" Casey barked as Dogpound caught sight of them. The over-sized canine grinned maniacally as he neared them, cracking his knuckles as he chuckled.

Donnie growled, glaring up at Dogpound as he prepared himself for a brawl. "I hate it when a change of plans comes together like this…"

A/N: Smooth Donatello! But, uh oh, here comes trouble? Can things possibly get any worse?

Of course they can!