It was night time when Madi and Splinter had gotten back to New York. Instead of going underground like they had done on their way out of the city, they decided to take the roof tops. It had been Madi's idea, since this was most-likely Splinter's last chance to see the sky for who-knew how long. The poor man rarely ever got out, Madi wouldn't have been surprised if he had enjoyed the trip to the pond even more than she had.

And she wouldn't have been surprised if he was even more upset about leaving than she had been. 

"Isn't it beautiful?" Madi asked as the two looked up at the stars. The tiny diamonds hovering above them glowed even brighter than they had before, like fireworks that had exploded and stuck to the atmosphere. Splinter didn't reply, deep in thought. There was something about the way he stood, the way his eyes cringed at the sides that told Madi that something was wrong. "Sensei? What's wrong?" He opened his mouth to speak, when the sound of screaming interupted him. Their eyes widened and they looked down into the alley below.

Four floors beneath them within the shadows was a girl around Madi's age wearing a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt with a denim jacket over top, her hair dark and pulled back in a long pony-tail and showing her face. The girl seemed familiar somehow, maybe it was her facial features or her dark bluish-greenish eyes. But the familiarity wasn't what concerned Madi and Splinter the most.

What concerned them were the Foot soldiers surrounding her and preparing to attack. There had to have been at least ten of them, maybe fifteen at the most, each one wielding a weapon more deadly than the next. It definitely wasn't going to be a fair fight for the teenage girl in the alley if they didn't intervene. 

"Sensei-" Madi started, but she was cut short by a quick nod, indicating that she had his blessing to do what she was about to. Relying only on the newly equipped skills she had aquired during her five months away from home, Madi lept down from her purch on the roof and landed squarely between the girl and the soldiers, her knees bent and her head facing the ground. She heard the girl let out a little squeal of shock at Madi's sudden appearance and quickly took a step back.

"Now," Madi began as she stood up straight and tall, clad in her black attire. The maniacle smirk on her lips was unmistakable, even in the darkness around them. "Are you causing this poor girl trouble? Because if you are-" she popped her knuckles and cracked her neck. "-then we're going to have some issues."

The soldiers attacked.

* * * * * * * * * *

Raph and Donnie hadn't spoken a single word to each other since the incident in Donnie's lab, which had made meals at the table with everyone a little awkward. Sure, Donnie had helped Raph out with all of hsi medical issues that had been caused during his coma, but he hadn't even looked at him, not even a glance. Of course, that had made the five months that passed especially unbarable. But Raph was good at this sort of thing- he could ignore someone for very long amounts of time. He'd done it to Mikey enough times that he was pretty much a natural at the silent treatment.

He was sparring with Leo in the dojo like he had done for the past few weeks when the first shout was heard.

Since he had gotten considerably weaker over the course of his comatic state, Leo had volunteered to help him out with that by training with him a little longer each day, sparring, just anything that would help him improve at his strength. Leo knew what Raph was going through was tough, even though he would never understand it fully. He didn't know what it was like for a brother to attempt to steal his girl, he hadn't had that issue when Em had lived with them. And he was more than thankful about that.

"Huh?" The two brothers said at the same time, their weapons locked in an intense battle of stamina that had suddenly gone slack. They waited for a second, wondering if the screaming was just Mikey losing at his video game. 

"Guys!" It was indeed Mikey, but he hadn't been shouting about his video games at all. The orange-masked turtle sprinted into the dojo as fast as a bullet, panting, with a huge grin on his face. "Guys! You'll never believe who's here!" Taking that as their cue to join the party, the two other brothers raced after Mikey out of the dojo and into the kitchen, where Lisa, Jacob, April, Mikey, Samantha, and Donnie were all crowded around the new-comers. The chattering of the lair's residence greeting the new people filled the air.

"My baby-girl is home!" Lisa shrieked with joy.

"We missed you so much." April spoke.

"Yeah, totally. April and I were going crazy without you here. Without you, Mikey's been driving us insane with his constant pizza-talk." Jacob chuckled. The crowd laughed along as well.

"It's great to have you back." Raphael heard Donnie say. 

"It's great to see you all again." 

Madi.

"M-Madi?" Raph asked softly. Everyone still heard his voice, though. They all turned around to face him and Jacob and April stepped to the side, revealing a much healthier Madi than he had seen during his coma.

She was wearing all black like an actual ninja and her hair was pulled back in a tight braid. The circles around her eyes were gone, revealing the beauty within her two blue orbs. The fabric by her arms and legs was slightly tighter, which meant that she had obviously gained some muscle while she was gone.

She was even more beautiful than he had remembered her to be.

"Wait a second-" Leo interupted and realized that Splinter hadn't just returned with Madi, but someone else as well. She was standing off to the side, slightly behind their sensei so she didn't draw too much attention to herself. But no matter how hard she could've tried, Leo would've been able to recognize her from a mile away. He could feel himself getting choked up.

"Em?"