A/N: Eclipse belongs to GeekyCookie1. Mara, Zane, Calista, Soren, Isabella, and Axel belongs to MariChat3.

Enjoy!

"Okay, so, trying to find a cure to save Karai definitely isn't easy, but the important things never are, right?"

"RAPHIE? RAPHIE, WAKE up." A three-year-old Briana stood next to his bed, shaking him as tears pooled in her sapphire blue eyes while biting her lower lip, as if she was trying not to cry.

The four-year-old mutant turtle tot grunted as he opened his eyes, drowsiness on his face as he pushed himself up a little to look down at his youngest sister, who looked like she was about to start crying at any minute.

"Another nightmare?" Raphael asked, a small yawn escaping from him.

Briana nodded slowly, looking up at him with watery eyes. "Can I stay with you? I'm scared and I can't go to Clipsy Cakes since she, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey have the stomach bug and daddy say to let them rest."

"Sure, little sis," Raphael said, another yawn leaving his lips as he made room for her. He knew that occasionally, Briana would get nightmares every now and then. "Come on in."

Briana smiled softly as she climbed into the bed, laying down next to her brother as he covered her with the blanket while she got comfortable.

"Raphie? You won't let anything get me... right?" Briana asked.

"No way," Raphael confirmed. "if there was something that wanted to get you, it has to go through me first."

"What about the others?"

"Them too, but mainly me."

Briana gave a small giggle before a yawn left her lips too.

"Was that what the nightmare was about?" Raphael questioned. "Something got you?"

Briana nodded. "We were playing when a scary clown appeared and grabbed me, and took me away."

"Well, no scary clown is gonna grab you when I'm here." Raphael said. "I'm always gonna protect you."

Briana then stared at him, a sad look on her eyes.

"How come I'm dead then?"

"What?"

The next thing that happened was that an now teenaged version of Raphael was standing on a field and in front of him just a few feet away was Briana being held against the woman, who held a sword against her throat.

"Don't do it!" Raphael pleaded.

"Raphie!" Briana cried out, her voice cracking because of the sobs.

"You lose, Raphael."

"NOOO!"

The woman moved her sword away from the girl's throat and just as Briana squeezed her eyes shut, the woman plunged her sword into Briana's back before pulling it out.

Raphael woke up with a gasp, sitting up in his bed while sweat ran down his forehead as he breathed heavily. He took a few deep breaths as he looked around his bedroom, trying to remind himself that it wasn't real— that it was just a dream.

But the thought of it possibly happening— of having to watch his baby sister die in front of him... for the first time in his life, he was terrified.

Unable to sleep at the moment, Raphael got out of bed and left his bedroom, moving down the hallway quietly as he slowly opened the door to another room, stepping inside to find his youngest sister herself fast asleep in her bed, a warm and soft smile on her face. And as if to remind himself that she was still breathing and not dead, he moved closer and felt his body relaxed when he saw her chest going up and down with each breath she took.

As he stared down at his sleeping baby sister, Raphael couldn't help but let memories fill his head. His baby sister has always been one of the bubbliest, kindest, smartest, and caring person he's ever known. His entire life, he's always seen Briana with the biggest smile on her face that just made it impossible for him not to smile at her and just like with Henry or Eclipse, Raphael had never ever been able to get mad at Briana— he just couldn't. And although he knew that his baby sister was naive, that just made fueled his determination to protect her because he didn't want her to see the cold and harsh reality of the world, but at the same time...

He couldn't lose her.

He just couldn't. 

"You're gonna be okay, Little Warrior," Raphael whispered, determination shown in his emerald green eyes. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise."

👑👑👑

"WAIT HERE, MY friends. For Crognard the Barbarian will destroy the rock giant alone!"

"Good luck, Crognard."

"And if Crognard does not make it back, take care of Spooch."

"Spooch is worried for friend Crognard, Spooch, Spooch."

"Yes! Crognard is the butt explosion master!" Michelangelo cheered, watching tv. "Guys, you gotta see this episode!" He turned to find no one there. "Guys?"

He walks into the lab where he finds the others arguing as he moves to stand next to Briana, who was standing there while fidgeting her fingers and biting the lower half of her lip.

"I say full frontal assault. We bash our way in. Take no prisoners!" Raphael declared.

"Remember last time? We couldn't even make it past the front door!" Leonardo reminded.

Donatello slammed shut the lid of the pizza box acting as a diagram. "All we need is better stealth! Which leads me to present my latest invention." He pointed over to where a dumpster sat alongside a trashcan and a toilet.

"No offense, D, but you're slacking." Eclipse commented.

"What's with the mess?" Leonardo asked.

"That's my latest invention," Donatello said. "Experimental All-Terrain Urban Stealth Vehicle."

"You built a dumpster?" Henry questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the point, Hen," Donatello responded. "It's supposed to blend in perfectly. Come on, let's test it out!"

"I thought you were fixing the Turtle Mech," Leonardo said. "How's this thing gonna help us?"

"Look, if you wanna break into Shredder's lair, this baby's the thing to use, not a giant lumbering robot they can see coming from a mile away," Donatello said. "The Foot will never see us."

They exchanged glances.

"It doesn't hurt to try," Briana spoke up. "What's the worst that can happened?"

Leonardo and Henry exchange glances before sighing. "Fine, we'll try it out." Leonardo turns to Briana. "You're staying here."

"Oh, come on! Are we really doing this again? Why do I have to stay? I'm not even sick this time!" Briana argued.

"Last time, you got mind-controlled by Shredder."

"So did Raph!"

"It's just a precaution. Besides, we're not gonna be fighting anyone," Leonardo said. "It's a sheath mission." Though, really, after seeing what could possibly end up happening to her in the future, he (or the others) didn't want to risk her safety.

Seeing as how she wasn't gonna change his mind, Briana pouted as she crossed her arms over his chest. "Fine, I'll stay."

👑👑👑

"WORST INVENTION EVER."

The five mutant turtles and Boy Danger were packed into the so-called stealth vehicle topside while Eclipse coughed. "Ugh, and I thought this thing smelled bad on the outside."

"Okay, guys," Donatello began, having finished making a few adjustments. "Let's do this."

They started pedaling and the stealth vehicle started moving very slowly.

"Remember the plan," Leonardo started. "We break into Shredder's lair, steal one of the those brain worms, Donnie will reverse-engineer it, and we save Karai."

"Doesn't sound too hard." Michelangelo commented.

"Any slower and this would be in reverse." Raphael complained.

"Is it me, or is this thing getting heavier the more we peddle?" Boy Danger asked.

"Mikey, check the periscope."

"Aye, aye, captain," Michelangelo lowered the periscope and looked through it. "We got a stowaway, cap'n. He's eating a choco-log. I love choco-logs."

"What? Give me that!" Donatello took the periscope and looked through briefly before pulling down a lever, effectively getting rid of the stowaway without causing much damage.

Eventually, they finally made it to Shredder's lair and stopped just outside. "Firing sausage cannon," Raphael said, launching the cannon. A sausage fired at one of the Foot Bots that was guarding the entrance, catching their attention, along with the other two.

"Here they come, dudes, dudette." Michelangelo said as the Foot Bots ran over to the vehicle.

Eclipse pushed a button, shooting water at one of the bots and made it short-circuit.

"Here comes number two."

Boy Danger pulled a lever and knocked down the other robot. They used a saw blade to cut the legs off of the next robot, and Raphael used his sai to stab the last one as they jumped out of the vehicle.

"You see? No fuss, no muss." Donatello said, a proud grin on his face at how his invention worked.

"Now, let's head for Stockman's lab and capture a brain worm." Leonardo said. "Stealth only, ninjas."

They ran for the entrance but looked back when Michelangelo tripped over one of the robots, creating a clatter of noise. "Whoa! Sorry, sorry. I'm sorry."

Boy Danger picked the door's lock and then, they made their way through the lair silently, avoiding the Foot Bots that were patrolling. They jumped down into the circular room with the statues, hiding behind one and scanning the room.

"Almost to the lab," Leonardo said quietly, running out from the statue.

"We're gonna make it this time," Michelangelo responded quietly, only for Raphael to get shot down by a laser.

"Oh, dang!" Bebop jumped down into the room. "We got some trespassing mutants and teenager up in here." He stepped aside and Rocksteady walked into the room.

"Surprise, mutant freaks! This time we squashes your heads like the blueberries!"

Eclipse glared at Michelangelo. "You had to say something."

"Five turtles and one half-wolf versus two complete morons?" Leonardo asked as they pulled out their weapons. "We got this."

"Well, well, well." TigerClaw walked into the room, sword in hand while Jake causally strolled into the room, a smirk on his face. "I see the gathering has begun." Leonardo unsheathed his swords and locked blades with the mutant tiger while Boy Danger did the same with Jake as the others went after Bebop and Rocksteady.

"You're getting stronger, aren't you, Henry?" Jake taunted with a menacingly smirk on his face. "Still wanna kill me, I bet, huh? But you wouldn't dare to put your little brother at risk, would you?"

Boy Danger glared at him as their swords clashed against the other. "Shut the hell up."

"You wanna take on my sweet moves, Bebop?" Michelangelo taunted. "Bring it on!"

Bebop dodged the attacks. "Ninja, please." He shot his lasers at the mutant turtle, hitting him with one that knocked him back.

Eclipse, Raphael, and Donatello were dodging the gun that Rocksteady was firing at them, jumping onto the statue out of his reach.

"Anyone ever tell you rhinos have terrible aim?" Raphael taunted.

Then, Rocksteady started shooting rapidly at them as they quickly ducked behind the statue to avoid it.

"You just had to tick him off." Eclipse commented.

Donatello peeked out from behind the wall, throwing a shuriken at his gun that halted his shooting frenzy. Eclipse turned her head to find the three Shredder mutants that Baxter had created entering the room.

Eclipse groaned. "Great, not those freaks too."

"Guys, there's too many of them," Leonardo said. "Get out of here!"

"Retreat?" Raphael questioned.

"It's a tactical retreat." Boy Danger corrected, running to leave.

"Block the doors!" Jake ordered. "Do not let them escape!"

Just as the six of them were about to run out through the gates, Rocksteady slammed into Raphael, knocking him to the ground.

"Raph!"

Boy Danger halted mid-step, whirling around to run back and help the red masked mutant turtle to his feet, pulling him up and helping him stand.

"Mikey!" Leonardo ordered.

"Booyakasha!" Michelangelo jumped over to the pair and threw down a smoke bomb, allowing them to escape.

👑👑👑

ONCE THE SIX teens made it back to the lair, April handed an ice pack to Donatello, who held it to his head while Briana was sitting on a wooden box.

"Hold still, Raph," Briana said, wrapping a bandage around his ankle. "I think it's sprained. You're gonna have to stay off your feet for a while and heal up."

"I'll heal later," Raphael responded. "Right now, I'm down for a little sweet revenge."

"You proved your foolishness once, there is no need to prove it again." Splinter said, walking into the room.

"Sensei, we have to get one of those brain control worms," Leonardo argued. "It's the only way Donnie can create a cure for Karai."

"I appreciate the effort," Splinter said. "But you must remember your lives are just as important to me, my sons and daughters. And because of that, no missions until Raphael's leg heals."

"What!?"

"Oh, come on!"

"Not again!"

Raphael jumped to his feet. "Don't sideline the rest of the team cause I'm down, sensei!"

"I have made my decision. Rest and get well, my son." Splinter turned and walked out of the room.

Raphael sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Sorry, guys."

"Don't worry about it, Raph," Leonardo said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We can't rely on technology to get us in there."

"So, what are you proposing then?" Donatello asked while Henry narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him, already having a feeling where this was going.

"There were too many of us. I need to go alone without tech," Leonardo said. "Solo."

"Solo? Leo, have you lost your mind?" Henry questioned with a scoff.

"It's the only way to get a brain control worm."

"Do you not remember the last time when it was just me and you against Shredder, Jake, and their henchmen?" Henry sharply asked. "You got put into a coma for three months and it was the two of us against them in that fight! What the hell do you think is going to happen if it's just you? Let's just go with sensei's orders and wait for Raph's leg to heal up. Nobody's going anywhere solo, it's suicide." He gave the blue masked mutant turtle a stern look.

Leonardo sighed, nodding uncertainly and yet, Henry didn't believe him.

👑👑👑

THAT VERY NIGHT, Leonardo quietly opened the door to his bedroom and snuck his way out of the lair, unaware that he was being followed. He finally made it as he crouched down on a rooftop across from Shredder's lair. Suddenly, two familiar voices called out, "Leo!"

Startled, Leonardo nearly fell off the rooftop before regaining his balance, turning around to find Michelangelo and Briana behind him— and he was not pleased.

"Mikey, Bri, what are you two doing here?" Leonardo asked.

"Backing you up, bro." Michelangelo said.

"It's too dangerous. It's better if I go alone." Leonardo said.

"Dude, we just straight ninja'd you, son! You had no idea we were up here. I don't care what you say. I'm going. I'm here for you, dude!" Michelangelo said stubbornly.

"And before you say that I shouldn't be here, just let me say this..." But rather than said anything, Briana just gave the blue masked mutant turtle her puppy-dog eyes.

Leonardo groaned. "Oh, come on! That's not fair!" He bit his lip and tried to resisted it before he sighed. "Fine! You guys can come."

"What the hell are you three THINKING!?"

The three of them turned around to find Henry and Eclipse walking over. Though, Henry didn't look too happy with the three of them.

"Henry? Clips?" Briana asked, blinking. "Did everyone follow us?"

"Nah, just us," Eclipse said. "But that's cause Leo was gonna go regardless of what Henry said."

"Leonardo, I swear..." Henry said, glaring at him. "Do you have a freaking death wish or something!? You just can't wait for Raph to heal up, like sensei said, can you?"

"We have to get one of those brain control worms, Henry," Leonardo said. "It's the only way to save Karai."

"You know, I should be dragging you back to the lair because this is crazy and dangerous, but we're already here and just to avoid you sneaking out again, let's just go." Henry said.

He moved past them and leapt to the rooftop of Shredder's lair with the others following. Leonardo tied a rope to the roof and dropped down the other end into the throne room and they slid down it to land on the walkway. Silently, they made their way through the room to the door where FishFace was asleep in the water while Razar was asleep on the walkway.

Leonardo, Henry, Eclipse, and Briana managed to sneak past the sleeping mutants without an issue but Michelangelo tripped over Razar and fell to the floor, only for the mutant dog to wrap an arm around him, pinning him down. Henry and Leonardo carefully lifted Razar's arm, allowing Michelangelo to scramble out of reach.

They made it to the lab without incident and jumped down to the floor, Michelangelo spotting the brain worms. "There they are." As Leonardo, Henry, Eclipse, and Michelangelo walked over to the brain control worms, Briana walked over to the computer in the lab and started typing, but stopped when the name of a file caught her attention.

Detective Axel Carson.

Briana blinked before reaching into her belt and pulling out a USB as she plugged it in, downloading the file. Once it was down, she took it out and placed it back into her belt before deleting all of the information that the computer had on it.

"Caught ya, suckers!" Bebop snapped, making himself visible as they spun around to face him and Rocksteady, who had his gun. "I've been losing a lot of beauty sleep cause of you!"

"Da!" Rocksteady agreed. "Shredder making us keep the eye out 24/7. Is no fun! Is boring!"

"Easy, you two," Henry began as he lifted his hands. "Look, we're putting our hands up."

"I say we make the turtle borscht!" Rocksteady said, momentarily activating the flamethrower he held.

Bebop grinned. "Best idea I heard all day. Do your dealio, Steranko."

Rocksteady glanced back at the vat of mutagen. "Wait. I thinking maybe mutagen soup instead."

"I love that idea, G."

While the two mutants laughed, the three mutant turtles, Briana, and Henry glanced at each other with worried looks.

👑👑👑

"THE SAVIOR, MARA Sparks is here," Mara said with a smirk as she entered the lair alongside Casey, Zane, and Calista. "Along with her sidekicks."

"Sidekicks?" Casey questioned, offended by it. "I ain't no sidekick."

"Bri, Henry, Leo, Clips, and Mikey are gone and they're not picking up their T-phones." Kaz informed.

"We better check it out. I'll lead the team—"

Raphael pushed Casey to the side. "We know where they went. Shredder's lair."

Splinter walked into the room. "You are going nowhere, Raphael. Where are your brothers and sisters?"

Everyone looked around while Donatello laughed awkwardly. "That's a good question, sensei."

👑👑👑

THE MUTANT WARTHOG laughed at the five teens, who were inside a cage hanging above the mutagen vat. "You five are gonna one freaky five-headed mutant. I can't wait to see this."

"What, you just wanna a freaky five-headed mutant?" Henry retorted, hiding his hands behind his back. "That's boring! Why not throw more stuff in the mutagen? Create a super mutant!"

"Hmm, I like that idea. Let's add something to spice up the mix. Like shrimpy over there."

Henry glanced back at the Shredder mutants, before turning back to the two mutants in front of them. "Why not add more?"

"Henry, what are you doing?" Michelangelo asked quietly.

Henry looked at them and motioned to his hands that he kept hidden behind him, only for Leonardo, Michelangelo, Eclipse, and Briana to look down at his hands to find that his fingernails had turned into his claws.

"Maybe up ante?" Rocksteady said. "We make turtle, wolf, princess, shrimp, crab, and lobster mutant!"

Bebop took the lid off of a can of sardines, holding it out for the Shredder mutants. "Come here, little buddies. It's dinner time, freaks!" He threw the can into the vat and the three mutants dove in after it.

As the mutant rhino and warthog high-five, the vat started glowing as something large slammed into the cage, making it swing wildly. They all grabbed onto the sides to prevent themselves from falling while Henry started to pick the lock with his claws.

Bebop panicked. "You messed up big time, Steranko. I blame you. It was a stupid idea!" He ran out, Rocksteady following.

Henry felt the mechanisms in the lock shift as he threw the door open. "Come on!" They all jumped out and landed on the platform. "Let's go!"

The five of them took off out of the lair and onto the street, only for the huge mutant that Bebop and Rocksteady had created to burst out of the ground, roaring.

"It's some kind of Mega-Shredder!" Michelangelo said.

"Yeah, well, it's hideous." Eclipse commented.

👑👑👑

"IS IT A blob thing from outer space or a product of science gone awry? Nobody knows, but one thing is certain; stay in indoors and stay tuned for more on this edition of Grody to the Max."

"Is it just me, or does something about that monster look kind of familiar?" Casey asked as he and the others were watching tv.

"A little." Zane agreed.

"We have to do something, now." Raphael said.

Everyone turned to look at Splinter, who sighed deeply. "Go. Find your brothers and sisters. Save the city."

"Great, now we're cleaning up their mess." Calista mumbled underneath her breath so that nobody heard her— and since Henry wasn't there, this time, she was in the safe zone.

They all got to their feet as they ran towards for the entrance, stopping when Raphael yelped.

"Raph, with your leg, are you up for this?" April asked.

"If I gotta walk on my hands, we are taking that thing down." Raphael said.

Donatello thought for a moment. "Hm. Maybe we can use something else to help you walk."

👑👑👑

"WE GOT TO distract it away from the people!" Leonardo said, he and the others were hiding in the shadows as they watched the mega-mutant chase the civilians on the street.

They ducked when a car crashed into the road beside them and ran out to meet the mutant. "You're going down, Mega Shredder!" Michelangelo called as they used their grappling hooks to climb up the mutant alongside Briana, hitting the mutant with his nunchucks. "Yeah, boy!"

Briana unsheathed her katana blade and sliced it at the mutant. But then, Henry's ears pricked at her startled yelp and by the time that he, and the three mutant turtles, looked back just to find the mega-mutant tossing Briana into its mouth.

"BRIANA!" Henry, Eclipse, and Michelangelo yelled.

"NO!" Leonardo yelled. He drew his other katana and ran at the mutant, using his grappling hook to swing around and up, jumping between the mutant's limbs as he attacked with his katanas while Michelangelo hit it with his nunchucks and Eclipse sliced through its face with her kamas, making the mutant hit himself in the face.

Henry used his own grappling hook to swing down near the road, snatching Briana's grappling hook and using it to propel him back towards the mutant, throwing a handful of shurikens at it before he fell. He used both grapples to swing away, only for the mutant to grab ahold of him.

Something exploded on the mutant's back, making it fall and release the teenaged boy. He rolled to a stop on the pavement and pushed himself up before looking towards to what attacked the mutant.

"What the—"

April, Raphael, Donatello, Kaz, Mara, Zane, Casey, and Calista sat in the Turtle Mech as it jumped down onto the street.

"Yes!" Casey cheered. "Way more awesome than video games."

The mega-mutant got back onto its feet, turning its attention to the mech. Henry shot out a grappling hook and swung himself away from the mutant to avoid getting crushed underneath its feet.

"Readying more explosives. FIRE!" Donatello called out. Kaz threw a lever forward and a barrel launches at the mutant, exploding in its face.

Henry landed on a nearby rooftop safety alongside the three other mutant turtles. He and the three mutant turtles frowned when he glanced down at the grappling hook in his other hand that Briana's name engraved on it.

👑👑👑

A GROAN LEFT her lips as Briana woke up to find herself inside the mega-mutant's stomach. She couldn't help but let out a startled yelp and jumped to her feet upon noticing some sort of a large worm swimming in its stomach acid.

She let out a small shriek as she was flung around on the monster's insides while the mega-mutant shook from the outside. "Ah! Okay, I need something to hold on to."

But when she tried to grab onto something, Briana froze as her eyes widened when she saw that it was a giant worm as she gulped. "That's not what I meant." She gave a nervous laugh. "So, uh, buddy, mind giving me a lift?"

Suddenly, just as the giant worm went to try to throw her against the wall, she yelped and held on tighter to the worm. "A simple no would've worked!" She called out.

As Briana held on tighter, she glanced up at where she came falling down when the mega-mutant had thrown her into its mouth before using one hand to reach into her belt and take out her kunai knife.

"So, this is gonna hurt but... I really need to get out of here." Briana pushed the knife into the worm and pulled up, directing the worm up through what she was assuming was the throat to get back up.

Once she got to where she needed, Briana leapt off the worm and landed on the ground. "Okay, this is disgusting but..." she looked towards the mega-mutant's teeth and pulled out her katana blade. "Time to get out of here."

👑👑👑

THE MEGA-MUTANT shot out its tongue, attacking the Turtle Mech as the others tried to pull it back.

"Whoa! Arming missile launchers!" Raphael yelled, slamming his fist into a button as he repeatedly kicked away the face of the tongue.

Another barrel was launched at the mega-mutant that exploded in its face.

"Incoming!" Zane shouted, noticing the mutant running at them.

Calista kicked the tongue out of the way and the Turtle Mech rolled out of the way.

"Hey, gappy, how do we stop that thing?" Mara questioned. "What do we do?"

"I don't know!" Donatello responded. "Press more buttons!"

The mega-mutant kicked the Turtle Mech up, slamming its tail and sending it crashing into a building. The mega-mutant picked up the Turtle Mech.

"Get this thing moving! Now!" Casey shouted as the mega-mutant hovered the mech over its mouth, its tongue attacking again.

"Let's see how he likes a hot mouth." Kaz pressed a button and the Turtle Mech shot flames at the inside of the mouth, the mega-mutant quickly throwing the Turtle Mech onto the pavement. It slid to a stop and the mega-mutant coddled its tongue before putting out the fire on its head.

Donatello felt his eyes widened as a look of realization crossed over his face. "Guys, it's the tongue! The brain is the tongue!"

"I'm on it."

Leonardo took Briana's grappling hook from Henry and swung his way over to the mega-mutant, wrapping one of the grapples around the tongue and sending it crashing onto the pavement with him on its back. The Turtle Mech shot out its hand, using it as a grappling hook as it pulled to the mega-mutant, kicking it in the face.

The tongue broke free from the rope, Eclipse and Michelangelo jumped and got on top of the Turtle Mech while Henry swung by, using his grappling hook and grabbed Leonardo, pulling him out of the way.

"Now it's worse." April said.

The mega-mutant started running after the Turtle Mech.

"How do we stop this thing?" Eclipse questioned.

The tongue slammed into the Turtle Mech, both Eclipse and Michelangelo managed to stay on top of the mech. Then, the tongue grabbed Leonardo, pulling him back away from the others. The Turtle Mech grabbed him, trying to pull him back away from the tongue, though it refused to release him and started pulling the mech with him.

Suddenly, the teeth on one of the upper mouths started to break, catching everyone's attention. The teeth shattered, revealing Briana standing there with her katana blade in her hand. "Finally!"

"Briana!" Leonardo, Henry, Eclipse, and Michelangelo shouted, relieved.

With her grip on the katana blade tightly, Briana jumped down, slicing through the tongue as both Briana and Leonardo fell to the ground, the tongue quickly dying and leaving the mega-mutant without a brain.

"Now's our chance to finish this thing," Raphael said. "FIRE!"

The Turtle Mech launched another barrel into the mega-mutant's mouth that the mutant swallowed. The barrel then exploded along with the mutant as the others that were inside of the mech cheered while Eclipse, Michelangelo, and Henry ran over to Leonardo and Briana, each one of them tackling Briana into a hug.

"And we even managed to capture a brain worm," Leonardo said, fist-bumping Briana once they had pulled away from the hug. "Not a bad day after all."

👑👑👑

WITH THE MEGA-mutant being destroyed, everyone was back in the lair and out in the main room, hanging out. The only ones that weren't within the main room were Briana and Zane, who were inside the lab since Briana had wanted to show Zane what she found. She pulled out the USB from her belt and held it up in front of them.

"They had a file on my dad?" Zane asked.

Briana nodded. "Yep. I downloaded it before I deleted everything that they had on their computers." She turned to him, clearly waiting for his permission to plug the USB in. "I know I downloaded it cause it's your dad and all, but... are you sure you wanna see what's on here? I don't know if it's good or bad."

Zane didn't said anything for a while, thinking for a while before he sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure. Maybe there's something on there that will help us."

Briana nodded, turning to the computer and plugging the USB in. She moved the mouse and clicked on where the USB popped up on the screen, finding two downloads inside of it.

"There's two videos," Briana said before turning her head to Zane. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Briana then clicked on the first video and the two watched as it started playing.

"What makes you so sure that he can find Princess Briana when none of us can?" Isabella questioned the man in front of her, who stood at the desk behind the computer.

"Because, Isabella," Soren responded, not looking up from the computer. "He's a specialist when it comes to tracking things down. He's never lost a case of his before."

"Right, so, what did you tell him exactly? Cause you can't tell him about why we really want her."

"Relax, would you, Sparks?" Soren said, finally looking up from the computer. "I gave him a sob story of how I wanted to bring her back home to her family, but I needed help to find her."

Isabella scoffed. "And he fell for it?" She shook her head before speaking up again. "What happens if he finds out the truth?"

"Nothing, because he won't," Soren said sharply as he turned towards the door. "Now, stop talking about it."

Isabella rolled her eyes as she looked towards the door, watching as Axel stepped into the lab.

"Detective Carson," Soren greeted as he walked over to him, handing him a wad of cash. "You'll get the other half when you deliver Princess Briana to us."

Isabella raised an eyebrow at the detective. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Trust me," Axel said, taking the cash from Soren before turning around and started to walk out. "I can handle this."

"Good luck, Detective Carson."

Briana frowns lightly as the video comes to an end. "This doesn't make any sense."

"What doesn't make sense? The Foot paid him to deliver you to them, and he..." Zane trailed off for a minute, a frown on his face as if he was taking it in. "He was gonna do it."

Ever since he was a kid, Zane has always looked up to his father and admired him, wanting nothing more than to be an amazing detective like his father was. Every time his father came home from work, Zane would want nothing more than to spend time with him but then, the divorce between his parents happened and since he had been too young to understand why they separated, Zane held it against his father and refused to go stay with his father despite Axel's attempts at getting his son to stay with him for the weekend.

Zane had shunned his father out from his life when the divorce happened and now, he was starting to wonder if he ever knew who his father was.

"But if he was gonna do it, why didn't he?" Briana questioned. "We have his file. He did find me but he didn't hand me over, like he said he would."

"You think there's a chance he found out the truth?" Zane asked.

"It's the only theory that makes sense," Briana said. "And it'll explain why they have him in the dungeon. He knows where the lair is— he knows where I am and he won't tell them." The mouse hovers over the second video as she looks at Zane. "Ready?"

Zane released a deep breath. "Ready."

Once again, Briana clicked on the second video and the two watched as it played.

"You lied to me," Axel stated as he stormed into the lab, a glare on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You lied to me about why you really wanted Princess Briana."

"I'm afraid I don't know—"

"I know about the prophecy. I know about how Princess Briana is a vessel to Unagami," Axel cut the man off firmly. "I overheard you talking to Shredder and Jake."

Soren narrowed his eyes at him, threateningly. "You're letting your emotions cloud your judgement, detective."

"She's a kid!" Axel shouted at him. "She's not a weapon that Shredder can use for his own advantage!"

"She's not a kid, detective," Soren said sharply. "A child with that much power as Princess Briana is not a child, it's a weapon— a monster. And you'd do best to remember what your job is."

Axel scoffed. "I only agreed to help you find her because you told me that you were gonna bring her back home to her parents. I'm not telling you where she is, just for you or Shredder or Jake to turn her into a weapon."

"Last chance, Detective Carson," Soren warned seriously, stepping closer to him. "Either tell me where Princess Briana is or you can spend the rest of your life in the dungeon."

"I'm not saying anything to you." Axel stated seriously, glaring at the man in front of him.

"Fine then."

Soren motioned to the two Foot Bots that were in the lab with him.

"Take Detective Carson here to the dungeon and lock him in a cell. I'll see if Jake is able to cast a spell over it to keep his cell hidden."

As the video comes to an end, both Briana and Zane stare at the computer screen for a while until Briana spoke up. "Now, we know for sure that Karai was telling me the truth. He's still in the dungeon, and I know which cell he's in."

"Yeah, but it'd be impossible to break into the dungeon this time," Zane reminded. "After this, Shredder and Jake are no doubt going to have that place guarded like a fortress."

Briana couldn't help but smirk a bit. "Well then, it's a good thing I don't like to give up." She then turned to her friend, a determined look on her face. "I said, I was gonna bring your dad back and that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

She smiled brightly at her friend.

"I'm gonna break your dad out of Shredder's dungeon."

👑👑👑

"OKAY, SO I did a ton of research the last few nights after you texted me."

Piper was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching as Kyle was scrolling through various websites on his laptop before throwing the ton of papers he had printed out onto the bed next to her.

"Clearly," Piper said, a small teasingly tone in her voice as she almost laughed at her friend. "You didn't have to do all of this."

"I know, but..." Kyle gave a small shrug as he offered a small smile to her. "You deserved to know what you are."

Piper blinked, staring at him with a surprise look on her face before she smiled softly at him. Though, she could've swore that her heart skipped a beat. "Thank you."

The moment that he saw her smile, Kyle felt his cheeks flushed bright red as he shyly rubbed the back of his neck. "It... it was nothing."

Piper couldn't help but give a small giggle as for some reason, she couldn't help but find his sudden shyness cute. "So, what did you find out?"

Kyle spun in his chair again, facing his laptop again as he scrolled through one of the websites. "Right, okay, so," he started. "A Kitsune is a supernatural species of Japanese fox spirits that are referred as simply "foxes." He continued. "It says that all Kitsune possess a multitude of supernatural abilities such as enhanced strength, speed, and agility— or reflexes, accelerated healing, and a production of Foxfire."

"Foxfire? What's that?"

Kyle reads from the bright screen of his laptop. "Uh, it says that it's a supernatural power possessed by Kitsune that allows them to create magical energy that can manifest in the form of fire or lightning, though it depends on the type of Kitsune that's using it. According to the legend, a Kitsune creates Foxfire by rubbing their tails together, but it's not completely accurate since supposedly, a Kitsune can sometimes manifest either fire or lightning before they get their first tail— but that may depend on the type of Kitsune. But I mean, overall, there's not a lot on them except that they're pretty mischievous creatures that have existed for at least a thousand years."

Piper gave a small sigh, pulling out her phone as she stared down at her mother's contact. "I'm gonna have to ask my mom, am I?"

"I think so," Kyle said as he walked over and sat down next to her. "If you're not ready, you don't have to."

"I know, but I need answers." Piper admitted.

Kyle then rested a hand on his friend's shoulder reassuringly. "I'm here if you need me."

Piper gave him a soft smile. "Thank you."

In that one moment, her eyes made eye contact with his dark brown eyes as the two were locked in a gaze. It only lasted a few seconds before Kyle realized and pulled his hand back, a light blush creeping up his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly.

Piper glanced back down at her phone, exiting out of her mother's contact before clicking on Henry's contact.

"But I have to tell Henry first."

👑👑👑

HENRY WASN'T SURE what to make of the cryptic message he got from his sister, asking him to meet her at home but he wasn't surprised to find that his parents weren't home. He opened the front door as he walked inside, finding Piper sitting on the couch and for the first time in his life, he has never seen her as nervous as she was right there and then. He closed the door behind him and cautiously walked over to her.

"Hey, Pipes," Henry greeted his little sister. "What's wrong?"

"I..." Piper trailed off for a second before she took a deep breath and kept going. "I need you to tell me what you see."

"What are you talking about?"

"When David was here, he told your dad to look at me with his eyes— that he'd see the same thing he saw around me," Piper explained.

Henry didn't move for a second before he closed his eyes and when he reopened them, his hazel-brown eyes started glowing yellow. However, confusion grew on his face as his wolf vision allowed him to see an orange aura around Piper in the form of a fox.

"You see it too, don't you?" Piper asked.

"It looks like a fox."

"I know." Piper pulled out her phone and held it out for him to take. "I took a picture of myself." She lets her brother take the photo after his eyes changed back to normal. "I can only see it when I take a picture of myself using the flash."

And like she said, in the photo of Piper was the same orange aura around her in the form of a fox.

"I don't think you're the only one mom lied too." Piper said softly, fidgeting with her fingers nervously.

At those words, Henry couldn't help but frown lightly as he handed the phone back to her. The thought of his mother lying to Piper— the same thing that Kris had done to him, it made his blood boil inside of him.

"Pipes, hey," Henry said as he sat down next to her. "We'll ask mom about this when she gets home, okay?"

"What if she tries to lie?"

"I won't let her," Henry said firmly. "If she is lying, I won't let her lie to you— not anymore. We'll figure this out, okay? I promise."

Piper nodded and as if it was on cue, the front door opened and Henry stood up at the same time that Piper turned her head towards the door to find Kris entering the house. The older woman stopped when she spotted them looking at her— Piper looked nervous while Henry looked upset with his arms crossed over his chest. She stepped into the house and closed the door behind her.

Kris went to said something, but Henry held up one hand and stopped her before she could get a word out.

"We need to talk."

"Getting a brain worm to make a cure for Karai wasn't easy, but we managed to do it in the end. But the hard things aren't quite over just yet."