May paced back and forth nervously. She was waiting for Donnie.

Hurry up, already! She thought helplessly.

May could feel Leo watching her. She gnashed her teeth. For once, couldn't he take his distrustful glare and shove it?

She couldn't trust any of Raphael's brothers, especially not Leonardo. He seemed like he had a big ego, and like being "leader" of their little team somehow made his head swell. Donatello was mostly quiet, but he was too smart, and May had long since kept from associating with people smarter than her. Mikey wasn't bad. He was actually nice. He was actually kind of stupid, but at least he had a good heart. May couldn't see him double-crossing anybody. He also seemed to be Raphael's favourite punching bag, but that was Raphael's business. If he wanted to push his little brother around, then who was May to say anything about it?

After what felt like forever, Donnie came out of his lab. May watched him, waiting.

"Raph's gonna be fine." Donnie told her. "You can go see him if you want."

May didn't need to be told twice. She walked into Donnie's lab, where Raphael was laying on a large table, still unconscious, with stitches in his side. May sat on the chair next to him. She folded her arms on the table and lay her head on them, watching Raphael. She was so tired... She hadn't been able to sleep well lately, with the stress of worrying about Raphael's health constantly and with the looming threat of the Purple Dragons, whoever they were and whatever they wanted with her.

May was so tired that she hadn't even noticed Leo following her into Donnie's lab, until he coughed. May gritted her teeth. She didn't like the blue masked turtle at all, but that was fine because obviously he didn't like her either.

Raphael groaned, snapping May from her thoughts. She looked up at him. He was slowly waking up.

"Raphael?" May whispered.

He turned his head toward her and slowly opened his eyes. "May-?"

"Hi."

"H-hi..."

"How you feeling, bro?" Leo asked.

Raphael sat up slowly, groaning. "Like I got stabbed in the side with a katana." He looked around. "How long have I been out?"

"Several hours?" May guessed.

Raphael grunted, then sighed. "Thanks, May. For saving our shells. Even though I told you to stay put."

May shrugged. "Whatever." She wasn't used to anybody thanking her for anything. How was she supposed to respond?

Leo squinted at May, then left the room, patting Raphael on the shoulder on his way out. May watched him leave, wondering what he was thinking. Obviously, he was still distrustful of May, but she had just saved their lives.

Raphael noticed May watch Leo. "Don't worry about him. He's just being a jerk."

"No, it's okay..." May sighed. "I get it. He can't trust me and I can't trust him, and that's just how it is."

At Casey's grandmother's old cabin, April sat at the kitchen table, holding a mug of coffee. She was worried.

It had been only a couple days since Donnie had uncovered the threat about the Purple Dragons. They were hunting her daughter... but why? They were a fairly well-known gang that operated in the seediest parts of town. April thought May had never been in that gang.

Of course, she couldn't be sure... Her relationship with her daughter hadn't been the most open. She tried to understand why May acted out and stole and did the things she did, but somehow her efforts just seemed to push the troubled teenager further away.

Casey walked into the kitchen. He sat next to April and hugged her shoulder wordlessly. He was worried, too. She could tell. No matter how often Casey and May fought and argued, April knew Casey just wanted the best for their daughter, too.

Perhaps the Purple Dragons threat ran deeper than either of them knew. After all, May never told them anything, and certainly wouldn't specify what her new gang buddies were like to her parents. April sighed, confused, when the phone rang. It was Leo.

Every evening, Leo would call them and catch them up on how May was and what was going on in New York. It was the only piece of calm that April got, the only thing that assured her she was doing the right thing.

As usual, Leo caught them up on May. He sounded sad today, and when April asked why, he broke down in tears.

"Splinter's gone. Shredder- he-"

April gasped. Casey wrapped his arms around her in comfort. Splinter and the turtles had been like family to April, ever since she'd learned about their existence. The news was hard to swallow.

"I- That's it, I'm coming back to New York-"

"No!" Leo gasped. "No... Your apartment... I went back to check things out... It's not safe. The Purple Dragons know you aren't home. They're searching the city for you two and May... It's safer if you stay there..."

April bit her lip. It was hard to hear Leo so... distraught.

"Okay, Leo..." She sighed. "Then I... I'll talk to you tomorrow..."

"Yeah, bye."

April hung up the phone and leaned into Casey's embrace, crying. She could only hope that Raph could keep May safe...