"Shh! Everyone get ready!" Mikey whispered excitedly. He ran to turn off the lights.

Karai stayed close to Leonardo. Even if Kobayashi's apartment had been bigger, she would have instinctively clung to him. In a sea of confusion, he was an anchor to her. Her own identity had become muddied; while Splinter had been nothing but kind to her, she still could not shake the notion that he was her enemy. She knew that she had to change her outlook, but a lifetime of lies would be hard to escape.

Leonardo, however, had always meant something different to her. Whether she considered him friend or enemy never seemed to deter him from reaching out to her. Like April had offered friendship to Karai a few days ago, Leo had extended that hand from the beginning. He had never stopped doing so, even when she had tried to kill him and his whole family repeatedly.

"I can't do this, Leo," Karai whispered. She hadn't wanted to come to the welcoming party in the first place; how could she look Kobayashi in the eye after what she had done? Leo had insisted that she come anyway, promising that it would be fun. And it had been fun, up until this point. April and Splinter showed Karai how to make rice rolls using the Tang family's secret recipe. Karai had made herself breathless blowing up countless green balloons and laughing at Michelangelo's antics. When Donnie had snapped at one of the balloons and popped it, Karai nearly cried from laughter at how he ducked into his shell like lightning.

Laughter, fun, friendship—it was like a dream where she had all of the things she always wanted. But now that Kobayashi was just about to arrive, Karai felt like she was going to vomit. She was about to see what her actions had done.

In the dark, Leo found Karai's hand and squeezed it tightly. "She's going to be happy you're here," he whispered. "Trust me."

The door opened, and Kirby wheeled Kobayashi in. Michelangelo flipped on the light.

"WELCOME HOME!" everyone shouted—but Karai couldn't find her voice. Leo ran forward with his brothers and April to greet her in a monstrous group hug. Karai drew back and stared at the floor.

"Everyone be gentle!" Kirby said, closing the door.

"What are you all doing here?" Kobayashi said, laughing. "It's broad daylight."

"We're ninjas, Auntie M," Mikey quipped. "We're silent and swift. Like a turtle do."

"Okay, that makes no sense," April said.

Karai jumped when Splinter laid a hand on her shoulder. "My daughter," he said gently, "come with me."

Daughter. It was all so unbelievable. She had never heard anyone use the word so gently before, brimming with genuine love. She did not resist as Splinter gently guided her into the cramped entryway.

"My niece," Kobayashi said, reaching out and taking Karai's hand.

Karai flinched, but finally looked up into her aunt's face. Kobayashi's injuries were extensive; Karai nearly choked.

"Hey, guys," April said, jerking her head toward the kitchen. "Why don't we go get the punch ready?"

"We already made the punch," Raphael said.

April continued jerking her head.

"Oh, that punch," Leo said, obviously getting the drift. "Let's go, guys."

"I'll go help them," Kirby said, and beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen.

Karai's insides turned to ice. She was now alone in the small entryway with her estranged father and aunt. "Kobayasi-san—I'm sorry."

"All is forgiven," Kobayashi said.

Just like that. Karai had been taught nothing but grudges and hatred, and these people forgave her just like that.

Well, Raphael still seemed on edge around her, but she was grateful that he had not accepted her as easily. It made her feel better about her own lack of trust and total forgiveness.

"You can call me Mei, or Aunt Mei, if you like," Kobayashi said. "That's what April and the boys do. Whatever makes you most comfortable."

"Thank you," Karai replied. Looking at the ugly bruises on Kobayashi's face, Karai was unsure whether she could ever be comfortable around the woman she had betrayed. A woman who had trusted her, even when she was untrustworthy. Karai couldn't hold back her tears of confusion and frustration anymore. "I don't understand. After what I did to you—how can you just—"

"I took that risk willingly, Miwa."

"My name is Karai," Karai snapped, more harshly than she meant to.

"Karai," Mei corrected herself. "Forgive me. But I knew what was going to happen. I hoped you would listen—but I knew you would not."

"Why, then? Why would you do that?"

"It was the only way to free you from that prison of lies." Mei extended her good arm for a hug.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Karai put her arms around her aunt and hugged her. "Thank you," she whispered.

Mei smiled. "Why don't you go see if they're just about done with the punch?"

Grateful for Mei's sensitivity, Karai hurried over to the cramped kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Splinter and Mei were speaking with each other quietly. "Is the punch ready?"

"Yeah, boy!" Mikey shouted. "Let's get this party started!"

As everyone migrated into the living room and dining area, Leo came up to Karai's side. "What'd I tell you?" he said quietly.

Karai couldn't keep the tiny smile from forming in the corners of her mouth.

As afternoon turned into evening, Leo felt like he could hardly remember the last time he'd had so much fun or felt so lighthearted. With everything that had happened, especially Donnie's mishap, Leo had wondered whether he and his family would ever be able to experience real happiness again.

But everyone was having a good time. They ate tons of delicious food, Kirby taught them all how to play poker. Even Donnie seemed to be having a good time—as good a time as a regular turtle could have. He migrated back and forth between Raph and April, as they were the only ones who would let him eat whatever food happened to be on their plates.

Leo really marveled over the fact that Karai stayed so close to him throughout the evening. She was mostly quiet during the evening, listening, and occasionally asking questions. They were having a wonderful time until Kirby finally stood up.

"I hate to be a wet blanket, but it's past 11," Kirby said. "April has physical therapy in the morning."

April groaned. "You mean the physical therapy regimen you developed? It's not like I have a fixed appointment or anything."

"Kirby is right," Master Splinter said. "We should all get some sleep, especially since we are restarting training tomorrow."

"Oh, come on, Sensei! Since when?" Mikey cried.

"Since this morning, when I said as much at breakfast," Splinter said, with a frown.

"Oh, yeah."

"Why don't you kids go ahead?" Kirby asked. "We'll leave here in a little bit."

"Oh, I get it!" Mikey snapped. "The adults get to party and the kids have to go home early. That's so unfair!"

Kirby raised an eyebrow. "We're just going to clean up after the party and help Mei get settled for the night."

"Unless you want to stay and clean up, Michelangelo," Splinter said, with a sly grin.

Mikey staged a loud yawn. "You know what? I'm really tired."

"I can stay if you need the help, Sensei," Leo said.

Splinter flicked his eyes toward Karai, who had been sitting with her arms crossed tightly across her chest for the last several minutes. "We can manage it."

Leo suddenly realized that Karai had probably maxed out on her social capabilities an hour or more ago. He had been so busy having fun that he hadn't realized how exhausting this must have actually been for her. Especially so soon after such a major transition. "Okay. Well guys, let's go." As soon as Leo stood up, Karai was by his side.

"I'll be home in less than half an hour, April," Kirby said.

"Actually, Dad, I'm going to spend the night at the lair," April said.

"April—"

"Don't worry, Mr. O'Neil. We'll make sure she's up on time," Leo said. Even with Kirby back, Leo did not like the idea of April staying in her old apartment. For that matter, he didn't like the idea of Aunt Mei staying alone in her apartment, even if Kirby had volunteered to help her if she needed it.

Even with Shredder gone, they still had enemies—more enemies than Leo cared to count.

Kirby sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. If Master Splinter doesn't have a problem with it."

Splinter bowed his head. "Our home is your home."

"I'll bring all of the PT stuff that I got to the lair in the morning, then," Kirby said. "April, I want you to be in bed by midnight, okay?"

"Okay," April huffed. She ran over to Aunt Mei and gave her a hug. "I'll talk to you soon, Mei."

They all said their farewells for the evening, except for Karai. Raph started to say something about it, but Leo headed him off with a violent gesture. With a frown, Raph let it drop.

They stealthed their way back to the sewers; once away from the streets, they started talking.

"Can you believe my dad?" April said, balancing Donnie on her shoulder. "He acts like I wasn't somehow able to set my own sleeping schedule while he was a bat."

"At least your father lets you have friends," Karai said, a note of bitterness in her voice. "I never had anything but my training."

"Oh," April said, in a small voice. "I'm—I didn't mean..."

"So, Karai, are you gonna train with us tomorrow, then?" Mikey said.

Leo mentally slapped himself. "Mikey," he hissed.

Karai sighed and stopped in her tracks. "I don't know."

"Go ahead, guys," Leo said. "We'll be there in a minute."

"Whatever," Raph said, rolling his eyes. He grabbed Mikey by the wrist. "Come on, Mr. Tact."

April gave Leo a smile of encouragement before she followed after his brothers. "Oh, like you're any better, Raph."

In a moment, the two of them were alone.

"Karai," Leo said, putting his hands on her shoulders, "We all know-well, maybe not Mikey, but the rest of us do—how hard this is for you. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Karai sniffed. "I don't even know what I want."

"I was really glad you came to the party," Leo said. "I know it was probably uncomfortable for you. But it was really brave. You've always been really brave. I mean, you jumped a Kraang ship with nothing but a tanto."

Karai snorted. "You would underestimate the tanto. You need two full-size katanas just to get anything done at all."

"Oh, come on—you know that two blades are just an extension of each other!" Leo shook his head. "What I'm trying to say is that you've never been afraid to define your own path before. Don't be afraid to define it now."

Karai narrowed her eyes. "And if I decide to follow in Shredder's footsteps and destroy all of you for killing him?"

Leo's stomach plummeted. Mentally, he prepared himself to grab his weapons. "That would be your choice. I couldn't stop you from making it."

Suddenly, Karai burst out laughing. "You should see your face!"

Leo exhaled with relief. "That was not nice."

Karai threw her arms around Leo and gave him a huge hug. "Thanks, Leo."

Leo's face grew hot as he returned her embrace. "You're welcome."

The two of them walked back to the lair, where Raph and Mikey both sat on the couch already, reading comic books.

"Come on, guys," Leo said, annoyed. "We've got training at five in the morning."

"Yeah, but Splinter's not coming home," Raph said. "Aunt Mei texted April. Apparently he's staying there to make sure that she's safe."

"Oh, good. Honestly, I was worried about her being there alone."

"I'm not," Raph said. "Shredder is gone. Who else would be after her?"

Before Leo could say anything, Karai spoke up. "Just because Shredder is gone doesn't mean the Foot Clan is. Eventually, they are going to figure out that Shredder is dead and they will come after you."

"Oh yeah?" Raph snapped. "And who's going to tell them? You?"

Karai folded her arms. "Bradford is an idiot, but he's not a total moron. He'll put two and two together. He was Shredder's personal protege. He's not going to just let this go."

April walked out into the den with a toothbrush in her mouth. "Do you think he knows that you're alive?" she asked, just barely intelligible over the mouth of toothpaste.

"Not yet," Karai said. "But if I go back, I can convince him that I was held captive by Splinter. Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't sent anyone after us. Baxter Stockman probably still has your location on record somewhere; obviously Bradford hasn't figured that out yet. If I don't go back and sabotage that—we're sunk. "

Leo's heart sank. He hadn't even thought about any of that, but he couldn't stand the idea of Karai going back to the Foot. "Karai, you can't."

"Who else is going to do it?" Karai snapped. "Besides, if I don't go back, I can't get in touch with the Kraang for you, to help Donnie."

"We can find another way!" Leo said. "Aunt Mei and Mr. O'Neil have been working with Donnie's research—as a backup plan. There's a way we can do this where you don't have to go back to the Foot!"

"You told me to define my own path, Leo," Karai said. "This is what I want."

Raph scowled. "How do we know you're not just going to double cross us, huh?"

Karai started shaking. "Shredder told me he didn't love me. That he never had. He was going to kill me, just like he killed my mother. Do you really think I'm going to actually help his filthy clan?"

Raph hung his head. "Sorry, Karai. I didn't—it's just, so much has changed."

"I know," Karai said. She shook her head. "But the Foot hasn't changed. Blood feuds between clans don't just go away when a clan leader dies. If Splinter were dead, would you guys give up on taking down the Shredder?"

"No, we wouldn't," Leo said. His heart felt like it was going to burst, but he knew Karai was right.

"Dudes, it's been like three days," Mikey said, pulling out his signature panicked expression. "Rahzar could be on his way now."

"Who?" Karai asked.

"Bradford," Leo explained. "Mikey—well, he names stuff."

"Like a turtle do!"

"I've wasted too much time," Karai said. "I need to go. Tonight."

"Tonight?" April gurgled, her mouth still full of toothpaste.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow? I mean, at least until Splinter gets back?" Leo protested.

Karai sighed. "I've already talked this over with Splinter. He's just been waiting for me to make a decision. I've decided."

Leo drew a deep breath. "You'll have our support, Karai. The minute you need us."

Suddenly, Raph grinned and jumped up from the couch. "All right! We're gonna take down what's left of the stinking Foot from the inside!"

"Booyakasha!" shouted Mikey, jumping up and standing on the couch. "We're gonna destroy their sole! Get it? Get it?"

"We get it, Mikey," snapped Raph.

Karai covered up a smile.

"Take down the Foot and find a cure for Donnie," Leo said, feeling more confident by the second. "Team? Let's do this."

"Awww yeah!" crowed Mikey. "High three!" Leo, Raph, and Mikey slapped hands together, but then Mikey looked over at Karai. "Come on, sis! Fives are allowed too!"

Karai raised an eyebrow. "Pass."

"Whatever, dudette," Mikey said, with a shrug.

"I should get ready," Karai said.

"We need to make some plans," Leo said.

"Agreed."