Another day, another training session. Despite most of the lair residents thinking that Destiny should spend another day resting, they find themselves seated on the sidelines with Destiny standing in the dead centre of the dojo, fists raised as she faces off against her opponent. There's a glint in her eye, but whether it's based off confidence or cockiness is debatable.

"Don't go easy on me, I've got this," she says, bouncing from foot to foot as she flashes a wide smirk.

April rests one hand on her hip as her eyebrow arches. "Are you sure?"

"I can't even feel it anymore," Destiny insists, rolling her bandaged shoulder. Her tail lashes. "Try me."

April's eyes spark and her hand travels to her belt, brushing over her tessen. Destiny unfurls her fingers only to clench them again, repeating the action a few times. The turtles cast quick glances to each other, then at the girls just in time to see Destiny stutter in her shoulder stretches, a brief wince flitting across her face. Leonardo takes a breath but Donatello's hand clamps over his mouth as the three brothers shake their head at him.

Splinter's gaze pans between the girls for a second before he sucks in a quick breath. "Hajime!" he barks.

April whips her tessen out with a swish and Destiny's uchigatana blade flashes in the light. They lunge with a shout, Destiny going right for a swing. April blocks it, sweeping the blade to one side while she twists the other way and sweeps her leg towards Destiny's face. The wolf mutant tumbles backwards to escape, going head over heels before coming out perched on her haunches with her sword blade aimed out behind her. She grins, tightens her grip and, crouching low to the ground, lunges in yet again.

April hops over the attempted blow and somersaults away, wobbling on the follow-through but sticking it. As Destiny whirls around, teeth gritted and sword held beneath her glaring eyes, April flings her tessen. It spins through the air, capturing Destiny's attention for a split second. In that brief second, April flings a set of kunai at her and Destiny just narrowly flings her sword up in time. The knives hit the weapon in three different spots, two on the curve of the blade and one on the hilt. Destiny lets out a sharp gasp as the sword clatters from her hands and, in another second, April's foot meets her chest and knocks her onto her back.

"Yame!" Splinter commands.

April offers her hand down to Destiny and she takes it, allowing the help needed to haul her back to her feet. Destiny winces and grips her injured shoulder as her ears flatten, earning a worried side glance from April.

"Are you alright?"

"I've been slacking. My muscles hate me."

"Seiza," Splinter says, gesturing to the spots before him. The girls immediately understand the command to kneel down and do so before their Sensei. He bows his head slightly. "Well done, April. You have put those lessons on misdirection to work."

"Thank you, Sensei," April says.

"Destiny," Splinter starts.

"I'm just rusty because I've been off training lately," she says, hardly missing a beat. "If—"

"A ninja does not make excuses for a loss," Splinter retorts, raising his voice just enough to silence her. When she bows her head towards the floor, Splinter looks to the turtles. "Can any of you tell me what Destiny could improve on?"

Thoughtful looks flood their expressions in synch. Michelangelo hums low in his throat and pokes his tongue out while Raphael crosses his arms and furrows his brow. Donatello starts mumbling to himself as his pupils swivel back and forth in his head. Leonardo is the only one who seems resolute.

"Focus?" he suggests.

"In part," Splinter says. "Care to elaborate?"

Again, the blue-masked turtle falls silent. "Uh...well, she let herself get distracted by April's tessen rather easily instead of staying focused on her opponent."

Destiny's ears flatten against her sweaty curls even further and she clenches her hands against her thighs. April glances at her again and risks bumping her lightly, shoulder to shoulder, but the wolf doesn't spare even a smile. Her face is blazing with frustration, disappointment.

"That is a good start, Leonardo," Splinter says. He looks to his female students. "Destiny, it seems that you are still relying on brute strength to win your battles."

Her head snaps up to him, a sense of desperation making her eyes glisten. "I didn't use my wolf this time, though. Just like you asked!"

"This has nothing to do with your wolf, while...I do appreciate the lack of pouncing this time," he says. Knowing nods come from the turtles, each one fully aware of what it's like to be pinned by a giant animal during a routine spar. "You rush into things. You are always the first to attack in a sparring match, never even pausing to see what your opponent may do. This leaves you unprepared for the possibility that the enemy has a trick up their sleeve, like April's use of the kunai."

"I—"

"Getting defensive will not change a thing," he says firmly, making her pout her bottom lip out. "In the end, you are relying on strength, not cunning or stealth. Hitting your enemy really hard will not win every battle."

"It helps," she mumbles, making Raphael snort with laughter.

Both Destiny and Raphael wince as Splinter cuffs them over the head. "I am serious!" he repeats. "You sparred with April today to show that size and physical strength is not everything. From now on, you will work harder on listening to your surroundings and focusing in on your opponent. You must learn to notice the small things."

Destiny exhales heavily. "Hai, Sensei."

"Now, enough picking on Destiny," he states. "My sons, why is it that none of you knew what exactly Destiny could improve on?"

"You've never asked us to do that before, Sensei," Donatello says immediately.

"I have now. If you four will one day train ninjas of your own, you must be able to teach more than basic skills. You must be aware of what needs improvement," he says. "From now on, if you are not involved in a sparring match, I want you to observe what the participants do in each fight: why they win, why they lose."

"Hai, Sensei."

"Last, but not least," Splinter continues, again resting his attention on April. "While evasion and defensive play worked today, do not be afraid to go on the offensive."

"Does it help if I say that I didn't want to hurt Des' shoulder?" April asks with a tiny, timid smile.

"In this instance, yes, but in a real fight that is not the case. Also, work on your tumbling. You were hesitant and it made you unstable."

"Hai."

"Yasume," Splinter says with a final nod and a gesture to the sidelines. The command to rest is eagerly taken by the girls and they settle in while Splinter pairs up the turtles for sparring.

Once completed, Splinter offers a few more pointers before dismissing the session. He walks off to his room and shuts the door behind him, leaving the teens alone. They linger on the dojo floor, settled in a loose circle. Destiny does some arm stretches, cringing slightly when she cracks her neck.

"Splinter seems more touchy lately," she comments.

"He wants us to be at our best, that's all," Leonardo says. "I've been keeping him updated on the Shredder plan, so..." He shrugs and lets out a long breath. "He's probably just worried."

"You really think your plan will work?" Raphael asks.

"Shredder's been pretty inconspicuous as of late," Donatello adds. "I mean, there's been the usual gang related stuff and we've seen his goons around the city, but otherwise? Maybe we don't need to attack..."

"If Shredder isn't trying to kill us, that means he's planning something. We can't assume that we're safe until he's dead," Leonardo says. He crosses his arms over his chest. "If that's not it, I think he's still looking for Karai."

"Karai's been AWOL for weeks, dude," Michelangelo says, scratching at his wrist absentmindedly. "If she doesn't want to be found, then she won't be found...right?"

"Tell that to Shredder," April mumbles.

No one says a word for a few seconds. Leonardo unfurls his arms from their position across his plastron and gives his head a quick shake. "Let's hit the showers. After that, I'm calling a team meeting about this Shredder business."

"DIBS!" Michelangelo hollers. Raphael and Destiny make a break for the door, but the orange-masked turtle is already sprinting at top speed. There's consistent shouting about wasting hot water and other accusations from outside.

Leonardo sighs and goes after them. Donatello stops to gather their fallen weapons, bringing them back to the rack. As he puts them away, someone clears their throat behind him and he startles, whirling around to face them. April steps back, hands raised, then cracks a tiny smile.

"Sorry," she says.

"No, uh...my bad," he replies, rubbing the back of his neck. "I forgot you were there."

She folds her hands behind her back and rolls onto the balls of her feet, then back. "Would you mind sticking around for a bit? I could use a little one-on-one time and hey, maybe you could practice that observation thing."

He glances at the door and then, with a tiny unsure nod, he says, "Sure, I've got time."

They move to the centre of the dojo and settle into a fighting stance. They start to spar lightly, focusing more on practicing skills than actually winning the fight. Donatello says very little except for commenting on April's execution of a move or to suggest another exercise. For the time being, she doesn't force a conversation either. However, that ends soon enough.

"Donnie, can we talk?" she asks.

His arm stills from where she keeps it braced against her wrist in a blocked position. He pulls away slowly and exhales, taking a moment to roll his shoulders and crack his neck. "About what?" he asks, already dreading the answer.

"Life," she says. His eyes widen slightly and she purses her lips. "We haven't really spoken properly to each other since I started dating Casey and, honestly, I miss you." She pulls her hair out of her ponytail and shakes it out, starting to methodically comb it back into her regular hairstyle. "It used to be different."

"Yeah, it was," he agrees. "But you've changed, I've changed...lots has changed. That's the way it goes."

"I'll keep it simple, just to start," she says with a tiny smile, finally dropping her hands from her hair. "How have you been lately?"

"I've been better," he admits. Her face softens and he scuffs the ground with his foot before wandering towards the dojo tree. "If you want the truth, I...I can't stop thinking about Sarina," he continues. "I think I'm okay for a second and then...there she is again."

"Tell me about her," April says, catching up to him. "Everything."

"You want to know?"

"I owe her that much."

He smiles a little and nods, settling down on the ground. April flops down next to him, sprawling out on her back and folding her arms behind her head. Donatello tells her about the visit to TCRI with Destiny and about how odd Sarina acted when she first arrived. He talks about how intrigued she was by simple actions like holding hands and it makes April laugh. He feels better when she laughs, like he's been deprived of it for a long time. She urges him to tell her more and he does.

Eventually, they're swapping stories about everything that's gone on in their lives since before everything changed. April talks about how Casey tried to teach her how to skate and about how much she sucked for a while. Donatello tells her about how Leonardo broke the toaster for the hundredth time and how he's considering adding a safety feature that prohibits him from using it. The tales continue for a very long time, jumping around between topics like a pinball in its machine.

"Hey," she says when they finally stop the rapid fire talking, her tone gaining a more somber tone. She pushes herself up, crossing her legs and gripping her feet as her eyes meet his. "I wasn't fair to you, Donnie. I was conflicted, confused, and I know that that's not an excuse—"

"April," he interrupts, holding up his hand for a split second. "It's okay. We don't have to talk about this."

"But I need to make sure you understand something," she says. She moves a little closer to him. "I'm not all that great at making friends or being normal, I know that now. You and Casey were—uh...are, some of my best friends, and the thing that freaked me out is that I liked both of you for different reasons."

"April—"

"My point is, I didn't handle my feelings in the best way and I ended up hurting you. I thought I could figure it out without hurting anyone but that was silly of me." she says. "I have a lot of growing up to do. So..." She takes a deep breath. "What I'm trying to get at here is that I'm sorry for dragging you along, Donnie."

She shuts her eyes, as if bracing herself. Donatello watches her for a second before reaching over and resting his hand on her leg, making her slowly crack her eyelids open.

"I forgive you," he says with a small smile. "I mean, I haven't been the poster child for acting normal around a crush either, right?" That makes her laugh. He squeezes her knee gently before releasing her, reaching his hand up to his neck. "I'm...actually not too upset about it anymore, not since Sarina kissed—" He stops dead as his entire face turns red.

April's eyes widen and her hand flies to her mouth. "She kissed you?!" she repeats.

"Ssh!" he stammers, waving his hands at her rapidly. "My brothers don't know! They'll never let me hear the end of it."

"Donatello, you absolute ladies' man," she laughs, reaching over to poke his plastron.

"Hey, stop! I'm ticklish!" he insists, starting to laugh as she keeps poking at him.

"What? Like...here?" She pokes him in a certain spot and he curls into himself, rolling onto his shell with a startled laugh-cry. "Or here?"

"April!"

"I know your weakness now!"

He grabs her hands and forces her away from him as he catches his breath, tingling with laughter. She grins at him and sits back, letting out a small sigh, and he releases her hands and rolls back to a seated position. They don't need to say much else.

"I missed being your friend," he admits.

"Same," she agrees. Her phone beeps and she checks it, frowning. "Oh, I have to get going. Dad needs me home."

"That's fine, I'll—" A trilling noise reaches them from outside, like an alien phone call. Donatello's eyes widen and he lurches to his feet, face going slack. "The communication orb," he says.

"That's what that is?" April asks, getting to her feet.

He's already running towards his lab, ignoring the confused looks of his brothers and Destiny as he races past. He throws the door open and immediately sets his sights on the pearl white orb, now glowing with patterns of purple circles. He races to his computer and sits down, starting to type rapidly as the message is translated. It pops up once it's complete and the orb goes silent.

"Turtles, Sarina is scheduled for dimensional transport in less than twenty-four hours. She wishes to tell you that after that time frame has closed, she will most likely never see any of you again and that this is goodbye. Sincerely, a friend," it reads.

Donatello's heart pounds and he scrolls through the translated message, searching for the sender, but nothing comes up. As he stands up, the lab doors slide open and the inquiring faces of his family and April appear.

"Donnie, what is it?" Leonardo asks.

"Are the Kraang back?" Raphael demands.

He shakes his head. "No, not that," he says. "Sarina is going to be taken to Dimension X soon and if we don't stop it, we'll never see her again."

"So what do we do?" Michelangelo asks.

Destiny bristles slightly. "We go save her, that's what." She immediately looks at Leonardo. "Right, team leader?"

He nods. "Team meeting, now."