Author's Notes: God, I know... it's been a while, right? I guess I kind of dropped out of the TMNT fandom and instead started reading a lot more manga... I intend to finish this fic, however, since I have many ideas for it and hopefully you'll continue to enjoy it!

No Turtles this chapter either, but there are some familiar characters again :) Also, just to clarify, the first scenes in italic explain what happened during April's captivity (see prequel "Goodbye April") and will be important for the story later on.

Enjoy!

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Her head snapped to one side.

She could feel warm blood gushing from her split lip and slowly trickling down her chin. She turned her head to face her interrogator once more and let out a short, strangled laugh.

Two days without sleep and she was starting to go mad.

"We can do this all day, Miss O'Neil," the deep and dangerous voice rumbled from across the room. "Agent Bishop gave me free reign with you."

She spat out a mouthful of blood. It was a shame her interrogator was standing so far away, behind the bright light.

"Again, what are the Turtles? Where do they live?"

Her lips curled into a smile. "I already told you."

"Aliens, costumes, the spawn of Godzilla and so on," he listed in a threatening voice. "Please, continue with your stories, Miss O'Neil. I'm sure the guards are itching to hit you again."

Several voices laughed around her, hidden within the shadows. Again, the guard circling her chair, stopped in front of her and lifted his hand.

"Wait!" she cried out and was surprised to hear how coarse her voice had become. "Okay, I'll tell you... I'll tell you what you want to know. The Turtles... they're originally from... from Vanuatu."

The guard was suddenly brushed aside as a large shadow took his place. "The Pacific?"

"Yes," she told him deadly serious, struggling to see her interrogator's face through the light shining in her face. "They're descendants from an old tribe and when they came to New York I began to study them."

A deep silence mind whirled with infinite possibilities.

"Were you acting on Stockman's orders?"

She struggled vainly against the chains keeping her shackled to the chair and groaned in pain. If only she could relieve the ache in her arms.

"Answer the question!"

"Yes, yes I was!" she barked back. "They were such a fascinating tribe really. I mean... did you know dressing up in sea turtle shells and painting their skin green was actually to protect themselves from the cold? It's one of their local -"

The force of his hand hitting her face tipped the chair over and knocked her to the ground. Her bruised shoulder violently hit the metal floor and she cried out in pain, tears falling from her eyes and mixing with her blood.

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"Miss O'Neil."

The voice was strained, but polite and even after several years of practice, April could still perceive the slight hint of a foreign accent.

"Hello, Karai."

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here uninvited and without warning," the Shredder's daughter stated coldly, glancing up sharply from behind her large office desk. "When my receptionist let me know you were here, I thought surely it was a mistake."

April sat still on the leather chair facing the desk and kept her hands folded on her lap. Her green eyes gleamed.

"Yet here I am," April announced. "However, I would be much obliged if you refrained from telling anyone about my presence in New York."

Karai's jaw seemed to clench. "And why would I be doing you any favours?"

"Because if you refuse," April stated simply, keeping her tone carefully neutral, "I might let slip to the proper authorities that the ancient artifacts you recently acquired were all, in fact, stolen."

Cold, green eyes narrowed instantly.

"I should also let you know, Karai, that if you attempt anything while I'm here, several friends of mine, who know exactly where I am, are ready to hand over incriminating evidence I have concerning you to the police if I were not to call them within the next hour."

April was a little surprised to hear her laugh in return.

"I think you have me confused with the Karai you knew so many years ago," she explained, standing up and heading to the other side of the office, towards a Japanese ceremonial tea table. "I'm President of the Saki group now. I no longer lead the Foot whether in Tokyo, New York or any other city. I've been promoted to President and in doing so the group has restrained me to head only the public side of our organisation. I no longer have anything to do with the Foot since I failed to avenge my father and dishonoured the clan."

She sat down at the table and extended her hand, inviting April to sit opposite her. "So you see, I have no intention of harming you, Miss O'Neil."

Still wary, April slowly left the metal chair and went to kneel down at the table. "Who leads the Foot then?"

"His name is of no importance," Karai told her, offering April a small tea bowl, which she refused. "The clan call him the Dark Ninja. He was another pupil of my father's. The group chose him to lead the Foot in New York and to restore their honour."

She then proceeded to scoop out tea powder from a small wooden box and into the small bowl. Its colour and smell looked familiar to April and she instantly recognised the flavour.

Apple and cinnamon. Interesting...

"But I sense that you are not here to ask me questions about the Foot," Karai added, looking up from her preparation; her eyes scanning April's face.

"You're right," April admitted, holding her gaze. "I'm here to ask you about the Turtles."

Karai didn't bat an eye.

"What about them?" she asked, looking away again as she carefully picked up the tea pot by the handle and poured the simmering water into her bowl.

"Have you seen them? Has the Foot had any run-ins with them these past few months?"

Karai's mouth curved into a smile. "You're looking for them."

"Yes."

"And why would I help you?"

April knew Karai would eventually ask her that very question and she also knew that threats would no longer help her at this point. Taking a deep breath, she answered. "Because one day, a long time ago, you came into my store looking for Leonardo and I passed on your message. I was hoping you would return the favour today and let me know if you've seen them."

"No, I have not," she replied blandly. "But the Foot Ninja have."

Immediately, April felt herself sit up and pay closer attention.

"They disappeared for a while. Many among the clan speculated that they had died, but more than a year ago now, Foot ninja were attacked while on a mission. I did not hear about it directly of course, but it was rumoured that they were attacked by shadows. They never saw their enemies, only dark shapes moving among the shadows, which struck them down. Over the course of the year, several more reports of monsters hiding in the shadows reached me and although no one wanted to say it, I knew that they had returned. However, they never show their faces anymore, never go out in broad daylight and the Foot still has not been able to track them down. They carefully plan their attacks in advance and strike efficiently, but quickly and avoid any direct confrontation."

April's breath caught in her throat, but she fought to keep her voice steady. "Are you sure it's them?"

Karai sipped her tea slowly, before glancing up at her again. "About a month ago, a Foot ninja swore his attacker had green skin. Barely two weeks back, a gang in the Bronx claimed they'd been attacked by men with shells on their backs. They have become sloppy and they have been seen – so yes, I am sure."

So the Turtles were still in New York.

April felt a wave of relief wash over her, but then thought back about what Karai had just said. They had become sloppy, started to let themselves be seen again? It sounded so strange to hear that they had been negligent. Surely Leo would never allow that. They were always so careful, so cautious. She quickly realised that for the Turtles to bypass stealth, either it was a deliberate choice or else, something was wrong.

April suddenly noticed Karai's green eyes were still fixed on her face.

"Something about you is different," she spoke up again, looking at her thoughtfully. "I am not talking about your hair, of course. There is something in your eyes, something I have not seen in myself for a very long time."

April didn't respond, but shifted nervously. She didn't like the way Karai was peering at her, as though she was gazing into her very soul. It was unsettling, especially since April still didn't trust her.

"You are filled with anger and hurt," Karai continued with a faint inner brilliance to her eyes that unnerved her. "A dangerous mix to any warrior. Anger will only take you so far, Miss O'Neil."

April suddenly wanted to leave and yet, she couldn't seem to rip her gaze from Karai's.

"You are on a dark path, believe me I know. Resentment silently fuels your rage and your thirst for vengeance... Well, no one could blame you, Miss O'Neil. We all heard about your kidnapping —"

This time, April stood up. "That's quite enough, Karai. I don't need any lessons from you. Your thirst for vengeance nearly destroyed the Turtles!"

"But still it wasn't enough and it continued to destroy everything around me and nearly cost me my life."

"You're wrong, you don't know anything about me," April told her shortly, turning away to leave. She walked across the office towards the door, but paused before opening it.

Looking over her shoulder, she noticed Karai staring at her from afar and her green eyes, usually devoid of emotion, showed something that April had never wanted from anyone, especially not from the Shredder's daughter.

Pity.

"Until next time," April finally hissed and then quickly walked out.

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It had been a week since April had settled into her new flat and started working again. Her new job was interesting enough and she had quickly learned how to balance work, sleep and her nightly patrols.

She'd been out three times already and since her meeting with Taz, she hadn't seen or learnt much about the Turtles, the various street gangs or the Foot. She realised all three concentrated more around the dockland areas, but had refused to head there until she was properly acquainted again with New York City buildings and rooftops.

No use heading out for danger if she couldn't make a proper retreat.

However, what unnerved her the most about her nightly patrols was being caught, followed home or worse - having her identity revealed. In order to keep herself safe, she had picked up the habit of always using different routes back to her flat and often took a long detour if she thought she was being followed.

After her encounter with Karai, however, precautionary measures were the last thing on her mind as she realised that the Turtles were still in New York City.

And they were still fighting crime - therefore, if April could find where street gangs and the Foot operated, she was bound to find them again.

Slipping out of her flat from the balcony, April headed for the rooftop. Running and hopping from roof to roof, she quickly made her way through the more residential areas of the city towards gang territories and the docks.

Stopping briefly at a highpoint to catch her breath and survey the streets beneath her, she tugged slightly at her black cap, readjusting it on her head and quickly realising she'd need to find proper patrol clothes and a mask soon if she continued this way.

Ignoring the shouts mingled with the sound of traffic on the main street below, she made her way instead towards the backalleys. She wasn't far from where she'd met Taz that first night. Passing by the same street, she made her way past it and decided from there to head out towards Hell's Kitchen.

She stopped suddenly, keeping to the shadows as she noticed a group of street thugs below, trying to steal a car. Shaking her head, she decided they weren't worth the trouble, however, as she meant to leave she spotted dark hair along with a familiar tatoo.

MO-16.

"Ryan, what the fuck are ya doing?" Taz yelled, keeping a lookout across the street. "Hurry up so we can get the hell outta here!"

Smiling to herself, April jumped down from the rooftops, silently keeping to the shadows.

"Stealing cars now, huh?" she spoke up from behind.

She watched as Taz suddenly tensed up before spinning around, his hand jumping for something in the back of his torn jeans.

His gun.

Stepping forward and into the street light, April smirked at how easily she'd scared him and waved as he caught sight of her.

"Shit," he cursed, relaxing slightly. "It's you."

However, she realised, he still kept a hand on his gun.

"You're not here to stop us or anything, are ya?" he added, his tone clearly suspicious as he eyed warily the katana strapped to her back.

"No, I'm here to talk," April explained, still keeping her distance since he clearly didn't trust her yet.

"Good," he told her, finally letting go of his gun and crossing the street towards his friends, motioning for her to follow. Seeing no other option, she followed him across, watching the neighbourhood around her with a trained eye for any suspicious shadows.

There were none. This street was dead silent except for Taz and his friends.

"So what d'ya want?" he finally asked her, checking up on his friends' progress.

They looked up as she approached, but said nothing, continuing with their work. April noticed that they had successfully opened the car door without activating the alarm and were now trying to break the steering lock before hotwiring it.

Clearly Taz was in charge and if he didn't have a problem with her presence, then neither would they.

"I want to speak with your leader," she told him flat out and wasn't surprised when all three guys stopped what they were doing and sneered at her.

She returned their stares with narrowed eyes, looking set and determined.

"And why d'ya wanna meet Darren?" Taz finally spoke up, leaning against the car with crossing his arms over his chest. "You thinkin' of joining?"

He winked at her while the other two scoffed at his words, laughing softly before returning their attention to the car. They clearly didn't think she was capable of joining their gang.

"I don't want to join," April hissed back at him, clearly irritated. "I just want to talk. I'm looking for someone – actually several someones and I want to know if he may have heard anything."

As soon as she finished talking, she noticed a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye. Someone was watching them from the rooftops behind.

Taz didn't seem to notice. "It ain't that easy, lady —"

"Anna," she cut him off, keeping her senses on alert for any other attackers around them.

"Anna," he echoed, smirking at her. "The boss don't trust nobody who ain't part of da crew. If ya wanna speak wit' him, you'll have ta do somethin' for us first."

He kicked off from the car, suddenly closing the distance between them. April's attention quickly snapped back to him as she watched him stand before her, a malicious hint in his dark brown eyes.

"Or ya could do somethin' for me."

He gave her the dirtiest smile April had ever seen and she couldn't help but look away, hoping he wouldn't notice the sudden blush on her cheeks. She mentally kicked herself for behaving like a twelve-year old around a street punk, but it seemed his good looks and attitude were getting to her against her better judgement.

However, it seemed he knew better than to try and touch her.

"I saved your life," she reminded him and noticed how much taller he was than her as she tilted her head back to look at him again.

"Never asked ya to," he retorted rather arrogantly.

"Well, how about you answer me this," April said quickly, noticing the moving shadows around them suddenly increase in numbers and feeling a sudden thrill bubble inside her. "This street isn't part of your territory, is it?"

His posture became rigid, and yet he remained silent.

"So I'm guessing who ever this street belongs to won't be too happy to find out you guys are stealing cars from them," she continued slyly.

This time, her words caused him to look up sharply around him, his head snapping from one side to the next.

April's lips slowly curled into a smile. "Have you noticed them yet?"

Before he could say anything, the engine behind them suddenly roared to life causing him to jump.

However, before any of them could move, black shadows swiftly jumped down from the rooftops and suddenly encircled them.

Foot Ninja.

Instantly, April was on defense mode, pulling out her katana with one hand and quickly scanning the enemy around.

She counted six of them.

Taz had pulled out his gun as well and was shouting orders to his friends. "Just take the car and get the fuck outta here."

They didn't need to be told twice and revving the engine to life, they sped out into the street, narrowly missing a Foot Ninja, who did nothing to stop them.

They obviously weren't after the car. They were after Taz.

"Think that car's more important than your life?" April asked, eyeing him over her shoulder and readying herself for the oncoming attack.

"Darren'll kill me if I don't get it to him tonight," he answered, backing up towards her as the Foot Ninja continued to circle them in. "'Sides, I ain't gonna let them get me that easily."

April scoffed, knowing full well that a simple gun wouldn't help him against highly-trained Ninja.

"How about we make a deal?" April whispered, holding her katana in front her, waiting at any moment for an attack.

She heard Taz shuffle closer behind her. "I'm listenin'."

"I take care of the Foot ninja and then you have to take me to your leader."

"Done."

Instantly, his gun fired a shot at the nearest ninja, launching the first attack, and then everything began to move at once.

Despite April's readiness, her stomach still flipped violently at the sight of three ninja launching themselves at her.

Training kicking in at the last second, she jumped out of their way, throwing a round kick at the first ninja, while slicing the second across the front, catching him off guard. She continued to parry and slice through the enemy, ignoring the multiple hits and slashes she received in return.

April quickly realised the Foot's style hadn't changed. They were still fast, quiet and deadly. However, this time, she had no Turtles to defend her, no Raph, Leo or Casey to kill the enemy when she couldn't.

She was alone and no matter what she thought about taking a life, the fight against the Foot could end no other way – it was kill or be killed.

Catching her breath quickly, April noticed Taz standing further back, on the other side of the street and holding up his own against a ninja. A shadow suddenly crept up from behind and she parried just in time, her blade hissing against the enemy's.

Kicking him out of the way, her sword came down at him again and this time, the ninja didn't stand up again. He didn't even make a sound.

Two down, four to go.

Panting hard, April spun around quickly, watching as the three closest ninja to her suddenly attacked as one. She avoided their blades as best as she could, defending endlessly, but still felt a foot connect with her side. Stifling a cry, she recovered immediately, taking a step back before launching another round of attacks.

Within minutes, another opponent was on the ground and she continued to strike hard, slicing left and right as the other two continued their combined attack. Twisting her body out of harm's way, a gun shot was suddenly heard ahead and April glimpsed a Foot ninja silently fall to the ground.

Feeling a smile tug at her lips, she jumped high in the air, kicking one of her attackers in the face and landing swiftly on the other's shoulders, crushing him to the ground. As the first one started lifting himself up again, she threw a shuriken straight for his neck, before striking at the base of the head with the hilt of her katana the ninja lying beneath her.

April remained still at few seconds, her chest heaving quickly as she fought to catch her breath. She quickly made sure all the ninja were down and couldn't help but notice that three of them were probably dead.

"Damn," she heard a quiet voice mutter from behind and quickly spun around to see Taz staring at her from afar.

He stepped forward, staring down at the unconscious bodies and corpses laying about in the street.

"Didn't think you had it in ya," he finally told her, his dark eyes scanning her face intently as she stood up, wiping off the blood dripping from her blade. "You okay?"

She caught him staring at a deep cut in her thigh. "I'm fine."

She wasn't really. The cut in her thigh was nothing she hadn't seen before. What really bothered her were the corpses on the groud. Her hands had started to shake badly, but she pushed all thoughts of remorse and guilt to the back of her mind as a car suddenly screeched in the distance and a large black van appeared at the top of the street.

"Finally," Taz muttered under his breath and gestured towards the car, running to meet up with it. "Come on, we've gotta get outta here before more o'them arrive."

She followed, realising she had no other choice since she needed to calm down and rest a little before attempting to make the trip back to her flat. Taz arrived at the car first, shouting a few orders to the driver in front before opening the backdoor and telling April to get in.

Once inside the van, she remained quiet, keeping her hands out of view tuckied inside her pockets while listening to the conversation between the two gang members.

"Take us to Darren, I hafta tell him what happened wit' the Foot," Taz ordered, leaning forward on his seat.

"No can do," the driver quickly told him, taking a sharp turn down the street and towards the docks.

Taz realised where they were heading and immediately frowned. "Where the hell are you going?"

"Just doing what the boss told me to," the driver answered coldly, looking quickly over his shoulder and April noticed that he seemed slightly younger than Taz. "Zac and his crew were taking care of stuff on the docks and ran into trouble. Seems they were attacked by some ninja or something. I've been sent out with others to get 'em. Just made a small detour to pick you up."

She suddenly caught him staring at her in the rear mirror.

"Who's the chick?"

"A friend," Taz answered in a firm tone and the driver instantly looked at the road again. "Did the Foot attack them too?"

"Dunno," the younger one answered. "Couldn't get a proper look at 'em, although Zac swears his attacker had green skin. Thinks it mighta been a gang tat."

April's heart skipped a beat.

Green skin? She knew it was a long-shot, but she help herself from hoping it was the Turtles.

"We're here."

The van came to a stop by the docks and immediately April got out of the vehicle, the previous fight with the Foot far from her mind as she looked left and right for any sign of the Turtles.

There was none. The attacked gang members sat huddled about a container, tending to various injuries, while others helped them back to the cars.

April left Taz's side to explore the area, looking around the fight scene for any clues of the Turtles. She caught sight of weapon marks on the ground and on several warehouses around but none that she could identify.

"Anna, you should get outta here," Taz told her, appearing behind her and handing her out a card. "Here, take this. Meet me in two days at this address at 10pm sharp. Darren'll be there."

April nodded, taking the card in her hand.

"If ya need a ride, Kit will take ya wherever ya want," he continued, signalling to the driver in the dark van they'd come with.

Slipping the card safely into her back pocket, April slowly crept back into the shadows. "I can take care of myself, kiddo."

"Yeah, I know," she heard him say as she silently climbed up the nearby warehouse, eager to head back to her flat. "And thanks."

She turned and watched from above for a while the street gang regroup and tend to their own, wondering if it really had been the Turtles who had attacked them that night and whether they were still close by.

Thinking back to the small card inside her pocket, April felt satisfied. The evening hadn't been a total waste after all. She was one step closer to the Turtles and in two days she'd be sure to ask their leader for more information.

With that thought in mind, April smiled into the night and headed back for the city, refusing to let thoughts of fallen enemy ninja plague her mind.

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The Turtles will make an entrance soon, I promise! Thanks for still reading my fic and please leave a review :)