TW: ideation of suicide. This is your only warning. Know your limits.

The ache in Shelby's muscles was deep and diffuse. As she came to consciousness, she could feel the cold floor under her body, contrasted by the warmth of a blanket laid over her back. Her face scrunched as she stirred, using her elbows to prop herself up. The blinding lights of the lab caused her eyes to squint immediately upon opening them. This scenario has played out before. Except this time, she could feel something heavy and cold wrapped around her ankle.

She forced herself to sit up, her head spinning as she threw the blanket off her legs, revealing a thicken, heavy chain connected to the cement walls and clamped around her ankle. When she moved her leg, it felt like she was dragging a small child along with it. Her brows furrowed and she yank her leg again to test the studiness of the connection to the wall, and yelped immediately after as the chain pulled her ankle away from her leg with a pop. She grabbed her ankle, tears forming out of reflex as she tried to think of why the turtles would have put something like this on her.

That's when Shelby remembered.

The rise and fall of her chest quickened as she thought about the turn of events. Her brain had stopped processing all forms of information, but her memory of the events remained, though fuzzy and scattered. She remembered a voice speaking in her head, and suddenly she was attacking the turtles. She covered her mouth to stifle her crying, her body beginning to shiver with pent up emotion. Her worst fear was happening. The Shredder had taken over her mind, and now the turtles were paying the price. 

Suddenly, the lab door opened, and Shelby scrambled to cover herself with the blanket as she watched Monica step in. When Monica saw Shelby was awake, she quickly shut the door and ran towards her. Shelby almost snapped to get lost as she wrapped the blanket tighter around her body, but then she spotted the clothes Monica was holding against her chest. 

"We have to hurry, we don't have much time." Monica whispered, setting the clothes by Shelby. Then she whipped a key out of her pocket. "Show me the cuff." Shelby obliged, pulling up the blanket to reveal her chained ankle. Within seconds, Monica had her unlocked from the chain.

Shelby watched her hestiately. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked.

"Shh!" Monica hissed. "Get dressed quickly and quietly. I'll be waiting outside the door." With that, she stood up and jogged towards the door, closely it quietly behind her.

Shelby stared at the door, dumbfounded, her head not only pounding, but whirling with confusion. She didn't know what was happening, and she was mentally torn on if she should even go anywhere after what just happened, but the urgency in Monica's voice told her she should probably listen. She dropped the blanket and pulled on the clothing quickly, adjusting how it sat on her as she made her way to the door. Walking made her head spin but she pressed on, carefully pushing open the door and stepping out.

Casey and Monica were waiting for her, and as soon as Casey made eye contact with her, he put his index finger to his lips, before gesturing towards the dojo. When Shelby took a moment to concentrate, she could hear Splinter, Donnie, and April talking to one another, as well as the groans and moans of the other three brothers. Shelby swore she could hear a whimper from Mikey, and she let out a small whine in response.

"Shelby- what part of quiet do you not understand?" Casey demanded in a harsh whisper.

"I'm sorry- it just slipped out." Shelby answered in a whisper as well, but her voice was feeble and drained.

"It doesn't matter." Monica said, ushering Shelby back inside the lab, and Casey followed suit. "We're taking my car out of the city. April's distracting the others while Casey helps us launch to the street, but we still have to move quickly. 

"You have a car?" Shelby muttered.

"Yeah, remember all that inheritance I told you about? You were a bit too occupied with your own issues to catch up with what I spent it on." She stated, grabbing her keys out of her pocket and running towards the garage end of the lab. Sure enough, there was a silver car parked next to the ShellRaiser.

Shelby's heart was beating rapidly as she looked at Casey. She was torn on whether this was the right decision. She thought about what Raph said before everything went south- that her leaving would likely end up with her returning to the Foot. A knot formed in Shelby's stomach at the very thought. But then her hands ached and she remembered the vise-like grip she had had on Mikey's throat, and her jaw clenched as she remembered the feeling of her teeth sinking into Leo's skin. There was just no plausible way she could stay without hurting the others. 

Leaving would allow the turtles relief from her condition. Maybe in that time, Donatello could come up with a cure or Leo would come up with a more stable solution than her being chained to a wall. Leaving allowed for possibilities. Staying already proved to be far too dangerous. "Will you tell them I'm sorry?" She whispered to Casey. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to hide the tears forming, but instead they just spilled out faster. "Tell them thank you for everything they've done for me. And tell them no matter what happens, they're my family and- and I love them." She sniffed, breaking eye contact as she wiped her eyes. "And that goes for you too, Casey."

Suddenly, she found herself engulfed in Casey's arms and pulled tightly against his chest. She automatically followed suit, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder. She took a deep breath, taking in his scent- sweat and rubber. "Stay safe out there, Shelby. I know you'll come back to us." 

Shelby held on tighter. For the first time since they met, she yearned for him to call her Small Fry. As if that nickname would make all her problems disappear. "Thank you for everything, Casey." She went up on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Especially for being the brother I needed."

Casey smiled as Shelby pulled away, wiping one of his eyes. "Alright, alright, get out of here before you make me cry for real."

Shelby nodded, turning and running to Monica's car. She closed the door quickly, looking to Monica. She looked like she was in deep concentration, watching the garage door in front of them, her fingers clenched around the key in the ignition. Suddenly, the garage door began opening, and when it did, Monica started the engine. When it roared to life, Shelby realized the strategy behind Monica waiting until the door was opening- all of this noise was definitely alerting the turtles. She put the car into drive and as soon as the door was open wide enough Monica slammed on the accelerator, taking off into the subway tunnel. Within seconds, they had tripped Donnie's trap door that sent them up onto the streets, and Monica turned into the nearest mainstreet, blending in with the traffic.

Shelby took a deep breath, her chest aching. She felt a deep sadness weighing on her chest, but at the same time, she had woke up barely 5 minutes ago. Everything happened so fast, she hardly had time to process her true emotions. "Do you think they'll follow us?"

Monica shook her head. "No. Leo and Mikey are in rough shape, and Raph's banged up too. They're in no condition to follow us."

Shelby's heart sank and her lips quivered at that news. She wanted to ask if Monica thought Mikey would be okay, but she wasn't sure if she could live with herself if she heard the answer. Terrible scenarios began running rampant in Shelby's head, and for a second she thought it might be worth convincing Monica to get out of the car so Shelby could drive it off the Manhattan Bridge.

Monica glanced at Shelby, looking her up and down. Her raw-sienna eyes looked Shelby up and dow, seeming to recognize where her train-of-thought was going without a word to confirm it. "They'll be okay. Donnie will take care of them."

Shelby shook her head, bring her knees to her chest and burying her face in them. "This is unforgivable."

"Maybe. And yet? I'm positive they will. Well-" She narrowed her eyes. "Raph's iffy."

Shelby let out a strained chuckle. "What's new?"

Both of them shared a quick laugh which brought Shelby to sit up straighter. That's when Monica handed Shelby her phone. "Here, you're in charge of telling me what the GPS wants me to do."

Shelby stared at the screen, her brows furrowing slightly. "Where are we going?"

"Up state. April gave me the address to her farmhouse." Monica explained. "Let's just hope the boys don't convince her to drive them up there."

Silence fell onto the girls. There was an unspoken understanding that, even if April did give away their location, it would probably be too late. That's when Shelby glanced at Monica, a woman whom she had only known for a short while, willing do drive out with Shelby and her deteriorating mind. "You're very brave. And kind. I'm glad I didn't kill you in Philadelphia."

That made Monica burst out laughing. "Thanks, Shelby. You sure now how to make a girl feel good."

Shelby shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a natural conversationalist."

____________________

Sorry if the chapter flow was funky. The goal was for it to feel fast-paced because everything in this chapter was happening in the span of around 10 minutes from start to finish, but I realize that can be a bit off putting to a reader. I hope you still enjoyed!

Also, just a reminder that my fanfic does not follow the canon timeline so the turtles have never been to April's farmhouse in this series. Just to clear up any confusion!