Okay, *clears throat* *falls on hands and knees* Please forgive me for not updating! Geez, it's been waaaaaaayyyyyy too long. So, so, so sorry about that.
Anyways... Oh! Just in case any of you read Stripes of the Past as well, I'm taking it down temporarily. I did some research, and Fallyn's swords are actually called o-dachi, not nodachi, so there's that. I'm also not happy with a couple things, so I'm just taking the whole thing down. Not to worry, I WILL get it back up again... assuming I can get some time off from the battleaxe- I mean Mom.

Before I forget... THANK YOU TO ALL! This story now has 14 followers and 13 favoriters! AAAHHH! I love you guys! You're awesome! Alright, now with that out of the way... enjoy!

Chapter 4

Splinter grunted as Shredder threw him into the ground. Just as he looked up at what he thought would be his death, a flash of yellow came into his vision. April jumped up onto the grate and slammed a sai into Shredder's power bank. "You stupid little girl!"

"April!" Splinter jumped up, wrapping his tail around the girl's waist. He flung her back into a room. She gasped in pain as she made contact with the cement.

Standing, April limped her way over to a table. She rested against the wood. As her eyes lifted, her heart dropped. Splinter had locked them out of the dojo.

~ *.* ~

Taigā jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the grate. 'That was way too close.' Thankfully, she was on the same side as Splinter. Her heart stopped beating momentarily when she heard the guys yelling for him. Leo reached through the metal bars.

"Sensei! Dad! Dad! What are you – What are you doing!?"

"Run! Hide!" Shredder jumped across the gap, grabbing Splinter by the back of his kimono. "Save yourselves!" He threw the rat across the dojo.

Shredder threw Splinter up into the lights, breaking them. Taigā snuck around behind Shredder, insuring that the metal monster's back was always to her. She stopped short when her foot hit something. Looking down, she saw an AK-47. Crouching, she smiled when the magazine was loaded with real ammunition, not tranquilizers. 'He might be impervious to blades, but let's see how he holds up against bullets.'

Looking back up again, she saw Shredder pick up a now unconscious Splinter. Putting the katana down, Taigā trained the gun on Shredder's head. "Children, drop your weapons. Or your… father… will die."

"Might want to rethink that!" Everyone whirled to face Taigā. Leo's eyes widened when he saw her holding a gun. Though no one could see, Shredder's eyes widened as well. The girl stepped down from the rubble, keeping the barrel level with the man's head.

Shredder chuckled. "You don't scare me, little girl. Those guns are filled with tranquilizers."

"And how do you know I didn't change them out for real bullets?" The armor stiffened. Taigā smirked. "Now… put the rat down. Gently." Shredder chuckled again, the sound reverberating in his helmet.

"You're bluffing." Faster than he could blink, Taigā shifted the gun, shot Shredder's right shoulder, and returned the barrel to his eye level. Shredder cried out in pain as the bullet went clean through his armor, lodging in his shoulder. Leo jumped at the shot, staring in a mixture of horror and admiration at the girl.

'She's… trying to save Splinter.' His heart fluttered. 'You are amazing, Taigā.'

"Next one goes through your head." Behind the mask, Shredder's eyes widened, though in fear and pain this time, instead of surprise. With pain still rippling through his nervous system, he set Splinter down, being sure to keep his eyes on his new opponent. Evidently, she was satisfied with the way he lowered the rat, because her stance relaxed minutely. He smiled.

'Bad move, little girl.'

The ninja master stood up, flinging his knives at her. To say he was surprised when she dodged all of them without effort would be an understatement. She retaliated by shooting his armor. He outright laughed this time when none made contact. "You missed!"

"Did I?" When Shredder tried recalling the blades, they didn't move.

'She shot through the magnets!' "You will pay for your insolence!" he snarled. Running at her, Shredder fell on hand-to-hand combat. He had no intention of letting this girl live for wounding him, but, at the same time, he was seriously contemplating recruiting her when she fought back. 'With certain… improvements… she could be a valuable soldier.' While she was busy, his subordinates electrocuted the turtles, knocking them out.

Taigā noticed. She growled, roundhouse kicking Shredder in the shoulder... the same one she had shot. A howl of pain ripped from his throat. The Foot whipped around at their master's plight.

"SHOOT HER!" She flipped out of the way of the darts. When she landed, Shredder struck, hitting her over the head. Her eyes rolled back as she dropped. He smiled as he threw her over his left shoulder. As they walked out, he noticed that he had one less mutant quarry than he had originally come for. "Where's the fourth?"

The Foot solider next to him looked up. "He's dead."

"Destroy this place." As soon as they were out of range, they blew up the sewer home. Once they were out in the streets, Shredder noticed it had started to rain. He chuckled to himself. Pulling the deadweight off his shoulder, he carried her by the sash of the kimono. Her arms dragged along the ground, her hair cascading around her head.

Leo noticed. He couldn't do anything for Taigā, on the account of being electrocuted and weaponless. Except pray. Pray that she would be alright. He mentally winced when her limp body was thrown into the truck.

Inside, Karai looked down at the unconscious girl. "What use is she to us?" Shredder slowly exhaled, calming his breathing, before he spoke.

"Testing."