"I just don't know what to think, Sensei," Leonardo says, pacing back and forth in front of Splinter. "Karai's got this idea in her head that she's going to rebuild the Foot Clan, but I can't help but feel like she's doing it for all the wrong reasons."

"Karai is a grown woman now, Leonardo," Splinter says. "Her choices are her own, whether you like it or not."

Leonardo crosses his arms over his chest, lips pursed. "I'm still worried."

A loud sigh has them both looking towards the living room, where April sits and stares at her tanto dejectedly. Splinter frowns and moves closer to her, Leonardo trailing behind.

"April, what troubles you?" Splinter asks.

"I think I'm just about ready to revoke the kunoichi title, Sensei," she says. She pulls her tanto out, just enough to see the dragon engraved near the hilt. "Maybe I need more training."

"You got your tanto back, April," Leonardo says. "You won that fight."

April exhales. "You heard Karai. She was ready to call the fight and let Shinigami just...hand the tanto back. It didn't feel like victory."

Splinter hums, then reaches down to touch her shoulder. "Come," he says. "I think it's about time I taught you an advanced move called the Dragon's Tail."

"I'll try anything."

The two of them head to the dojo, leaving Leonardo alone. He's about to join his brothers in watching cartoons when his t-phone buzzes. He checks the screen, eye-ridge lifting.

K: Leo, we need to talk.

K: Meet me at the old church. Bring Destiny.

He purses his lips, glancing at the others in the living room. His brothers are at peace, eyes on the screen, and he'd hate to pull them out of it again. This night has already felt long enough.

L: Why just the two of us?

K: I want to test the waters.

K: I know if you go, she'll want to come with you.

K: I trust her.

His eye-ridges rise higher. That's new, but he's willing to guess that their mutual friendship with Diaval has served to make them feel more understood by each other. Besides, she isn't wrong. If he leaves, Destiny will notice, and she can track him down anyway.

"Guys," Leonardo says. "I've gotta go."

Raphael looks up from the TV, eyes narrowing. "What? Why?"

He tucks his phone away, lips pursing. "Karai wants to meet up and talk. She just wants Destiny and me for now."

"Huh? Dude, why not all of us? We're a team!" Michelangelo pouts.

"I think our meeting today put her on edge," Leonardo says. "Trust me. I'll alert you guys if anything goes wrong. Can I count on you?"

"We'll be on standby," Donatello says. Raphael still seems suspicious, but he nods, and Michelangelo gives him a thumbs up.

Leonardo smiles. At least, at the end of the day, his brothers always have his back.

----------

"Have I mentioned that I hate this place?" Destiny asks as they enter the church, her ears pressed flat to her hair.

Leonardo gives her hand a squeeze. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Hey, not your fault I'm a mess," she says, the faintest hint of teasing lifting her voice.

They enter the throne room to find that Karai and Shinigami aren't poised by the throne anymore. Instead, they're seated on the lower floor, playing a game of shogi. Karai looks up when the doors open, immediately getting to her feet.

"I'm surprised everyone didn't show up," she admits.

"You asked for us. You got us," Leonardo says. His eyes narrow. "What's this about, Karai?"

She sighs, arms crossing over her chest. She's left her replica Kuro Kabuto on the throne and Leonardo appreciates it. Seeing Shredder's helmet unearths memories he'd rather stay buried.

"We didn't start off the best today," she says. Shinigami stands, abandoning the shogi board and moving to Karai's side. "That was my fault. I was hostile towards April and I shouldn't have been."

"We can let her know, if you want," Destiny says.

"I'll tell her myself," Karai says, "but thank you." She looks between the two. "I want to rebuild the Foot Clan, but I hope that the Hamatos will be our allies this time around. This city needs it."

Leonardo purses his lips. "I'm not sure about that. Not...us being allies, but the other thing. The city's been quiet ever since Shredder died."

"Except for one or two crazies," Destiny adds. "The Purple Dragons were a problem, but they've gone back into the shadows. We haven't had disturbances in months."

Karai's ruby red lips pull into a smirk. "That's not quite true," she says, almost to herself.

"What?" Destiny asks.

"Shredder's been dead for, what, two years now?" She shakes her head. "He left a power vacuum behind and, when that happens, someone's always going to try and take it for themselves." Her eyes narrow. "I'll be honest. I've been back in the city for a week or two already. I've been scoping things out and it's not looking good."

"We patrol all the time," Leonardo retorts. "We haven't noticed anything."

"Then you're not looking hard enough," Karai says. "The criminal underworld is coming back. The Purple Dragons have definitely...lost some power, but they're still there, and that's not the only gang with their eyes on the prize."

"Slow down," Leonardo says, lifting one hand. "So, what you're saying is that people are coming in to take what Shredder left behind?"

"Exactly, and I want your help stamping it back down," she says. She glances at Shinigami, smirking, then back at Leonardo and Destiny. "Tiger Claw's back in the city."

Destiny inhales sharply. "I'm guessing it's not just him?"

"No. Emery, Bradford, and Xever were with him. I didn't see Steranko or Zeck, but I'm betting they're with him too," Karai says. "They've been laying low, staying out of the spotlight, lulling you into a false sense of security. I see now that it worked."

Leonardo's teeth grind together for a second, hands clenching into fists, and he can hear Destiny's sharp breaths at his side. If this is true, and he believes it is, then they could be in a lot of trouble. The peace they worked so hard for, threatened? He won't allow it.

"Shini and I are going to go after Shredder's assets," Karai says. "He left them in safehouses around the city and, as far as I know, no one's taken them back yet."

"And you want our help?" Destiny asks.

"If you're up for it. Shini and I are heading down to AMAS tonight. It's a martial arts store acting as a front for an illegal weapons shed, and if I know Tiger Claw, he's going to go for that first. We're going to destroy it before he can get his hands on it."

"Or," Shinigami says, finally, "his paws."

"Tonight?" Leonardo repeats. "You just found out that he's back and you're already planning an attack? This is too soon."

"If we wait, Tiger Claw will get the upper-hand, Leo," Karai retorts. "We hit him now and we hit him hard."

Leonardo shakes his head. "I can't give you an answer. Not right now," he says. "I need to talk to my team, tell them what's going on. We need time to think."

"You don't have any time left, Leo," she says, her tone getting colder. "This peace was an illusion, can't you see that?"

"Don't try anything, Karai," he says, firm. He turns away, motioning for Destiny to follow him. "I'll contact you later. We'll work something out."

Destiny takes a second to follow, her gaze on the floor, face pinched in thought. They leave without looking back and only once they're outside does Destiny take a deep breath. They head up to the rooftops, heading back home.

"Do you think it's true?" Destiny asks as they go.

He looks at her, amazed that she can somehow look unsure yet stoic at the same time. "I don't know, Des, but I have no reason not to believe her," he says. "We need to have a team meeting."

"Isn't helping her better than letting her do this on her own?" she asks.

He slows to a stop and she lands beside him as he purses his lips. "It is, but...I think she's doing this out of revenge or some sense of personal redemption. I can't support vengeance. It'll just bring her pain."

Destiny stays quiet after that.

----------

Karai should've guessed that it wasn't going to be easy.

They got into AMAS and split off to put the explosives in place. Everything was going smoothly until Tiger Claw showed up, flanked by Bradford and Xever, and a battle ensued. They could have gotten out if Tiger Claw hadn't captured Shinigami. They could have gotten away if the sight of Shinigami with a blade to her throat didn't make Karai feel sick to her stomach, if it wasn't the perfect thing to use against her to make her surrender.

The Shredder always taught her to hide her emotions, to fake and deceive and lie, but all it did was hurt the people she truly cared about. Diaval forgave her, but he's always been too forgiving of those who hurt him. She did it to Shinigami and it's why they lost contact so many years ago. Now, Karai has made a promise to herself to spend every moment she can proving to Shini that she didn't make a mistake when she let Karai back into her life.

Now, they're dangling from the ceiling by their wrists, her shoulders are starting to ache, Shinigami won't wake up, and three of her old teammates stand before her. Her only hope now, if she doesn't get out of this herself, is that Leonardo gets her message.

Shredder is dead and yet their loyalty to him lives on. It makes Karai sick.

"What should we do with them?" Xever asks.

"I vote eating them," Bradford growls, pinching Shinigami's cheeks in his skeletal claws. "You can never go wrong with eating them."

"No, we wait for their friends," Tiger Claw snarls. "Karai called the turtles minutes ago."

"You knew all along?" Karai snaps, still thrashing against her bindings.

"Do you take me for a fool?" Tiger Claw demands. He snatches her phone, glancing at the text on screen before he crushes it in his grip. "There is no help for you."

"Why even do this?" she snaps. "Shredder is dead! You could live your own lives now, but I guess once you're a villain, you stay a villain."

"You've still got a mouth on you, girl," Xever retorts, raising his fist at her.

"Oh, no?"

Now's her chance. She releases the hidden blade in her shoe and swings, kicking high enough to slice the rope, and drops onto a pile of spears. She launches back at Xever, foot aimed.

"¡Ay, caramba!" he yelps before she kicks him into the far wall.

"Clever girl," Tiger Claw says, unsheathing his claws, "but cleverness will only get you so far!"

She leaps backwards as he swipes at her, again and again evading the blows, until her back hits the wall. She grabs the nearest spear and throws it up, trying to block, but he snaps it in half and shoves her back into the concrete.

She barely has time to roll away before his paw smashes where her head used to be, cracking the concrete. He snarls and she readies for another attack, aiming both halves of the broken spear.

It's not easy, but she wouldn't expect it to be. Tiger Claw is gigantic and powerful, armed with weapons unnatural and natural alike. Karai ducks in, landing blows and strikes as much as she can, but he shakes them off like they're paper cuts.

All it takes is one good swipe to knock her back down, saved from worse injury by her armour. He approaches and she desperately throws shuriken, each one glancing off him like they're paper airplanes.

He snatches her by the arm and lifts her into the air again, leaving her to kick and struggle in his iron grip.

"I always thought you were a spoiled, petulant child," he snarls, aiming his giant machete at her. "This world will not mourn you when you're gone!"

"Yo, Tiger Claw!"

A shuriken bounces off his hand and in the same moment, Karai jabs her hand into his remaining eye. Tiger Claw roars in pain and Karai rolls back to the stack of crates, where the turtles, Destiny, and April perch in attack position.

"Always gotta wait until the last minute, huh?" Karai asks.

"Tiger Claw, so it's true. You're back," Leonardo says, aiming his katana at the Foot soldiers. "We thought you left town after we defeated your master."

"We'll never leave, not until the will of the Shredder has been carried out," Tiger Claw snarls.

"Team, take 'em down!" Leonardo orders.

No one has to be told twice.

Michelangelo cuts Shinigami down just as she comes to. She sticks the landing and frees her hands from the bindings, laughing in triumph as her and Michelangelo take on Rahzar. Destiny joins them once it becomes clear that the mutant has them overpowered.

Donatello and April tag-team against Fishface, with Donatello attacking at close range while April sends her tessen in to land strikes in between. Fishface keeps up, knocking Donatello back and going after April with a wide, fishy smile.

It takes the combined efforts of Raphael, Leonardo, and Karai to take on Tiger Claw. They may still train, but they're out of practice when it comes to fighting the Foot, and it seems like Tiger Claw has only gotten stronger.

"Your nine lives are running low, Tiger Claw!" Raphael taunts as he runs in to attack.

Tiger Claw knocks Karai aside, grabs Leonardo by the shell, and uses him to club Raphael. Karai heaves, letting her mutation take form as her skin grows pale and scaly. Her eyes turn green as her fangs sharpen, arms and hands forming into snakes.

Transforming hurts, it always does, but a little bit of pain isn't enough to stop her. She whirls around as Tiger Claw pins Leonardo to the wall, sinking punch after punch into the turtle's stomach. With a half-hiss, half-scream, she wraps one snakelike arm around Tiger Claw's neck, the other on his arm, piggybacking him from behind.

He roars, dropping Leonardo to the floor as she hisses and screeches at him. He rams her body into the wall, but she refuses to let go. If she can just get one or two good bites—

He smashes her into a stack of crates and this time, she loses her grip. He notices, taking hold of her arms and throwing her as hard as he can back the way she came. She drops into a limp heap next to Leonardo.

"You are beaten," Tiger Claw says, gun aimed at Leonardo. "Your shells will hang on our walls as—"

He doesn't get to finish. A smoke bomb flies out of nowhere, nailing Tiger Claw in the face, and April dives in, spinning and delivering a brutal kick right to his groin. He lets out a pathetic meow, legs clamping together as he falls to his knees.

The fights going on elsewhere stop. Destiny, in full wolf form, has Rahzar pinned beneath her, Michelangelo seated on her shoulders and Shinigami's kusarigama chain wrapped around Rahzar's neck. Donatello has Fishface in a chokehold.

"Woah, right in the fur patch!" Donatello says. Rahzar and Fishface both wince in sympathy.

"BOOYAKASHA!" Michelangelo hollers, letting another smoke bomb fly. This one fills the area with purple smoke and when it clears, the Hamatos and their allies have disappeared.

"I hate when they do that," Rahzar groans.

Outside, Karai smirks to herself as an explosion rocks the building at their backs.

----------

Back in the lair, everyone gathers in the kitchen. There's mixed feelings everywhere, from shock at Tiger Claw's resurgence to pride at a battle won. Sarina stands with Donatello, fretting to him under her breath as she checks him for bruising. He lets her, returning her mutterings with his own comforting ones. Leonardo and Destiny sit next to each other, his head on her shoulder as she traces aimless patterns on his thigh. Raphael roots through the fridge while Michelangelo grabs Ice Cream Kitty from the freezer.

"April," Karai says, making the redhead look up from her tanto. Karai and Shinigami both bow, faces towards the floor. "Shini and I want to apologize." They straighten up as she adds, "Sorry about earlier."

It's short, simple, but it helps make April feel better. She reaches out her hand and Karai takes it, clasping their hands together and giving a single, firm shake.

"Miwa," Splinter says as he enters.

"Father," Karai returns, releasing April's hand.

She moves closer to Splinter, not meeting his eyes, and his ears flatten a little. "Leonardo mentioned that you spoke with him and Destiny today. Would you care to share what that was?"

Leonardo and Destiny purse their lips in sync and Karai keeps her head bowed. She exhales, then turns enough so that she can easily look at everyone.

"I asked them if all of you would ally with me," she says. "Now, I see that that was selfish. All of you have fought hard for your peace. You were the ones who took down the Shredder." Her eyes flit to Leonardo and for a second, she reveals a grateful smile. "I won't ask you to join me in this war. I'm sorry."

"Dude..." Michelangelo whispers.

"Miwa," Splinter says, making her look at him. "We are your family. Let us help you."

"I'm sorry, father," she repeats, "but this is something I have to do. I have to rectify all the wrong deeds that Shredder has done my own way." She places one fist on her heart, resolute.

"I fear that this is your way of seeking vengeance," Splinter says. "You have anger within you, but you cannot let it control you."

"I know," she says, again bowing her head. "Don't worry, father, I'll make you proud of me. Soon."

She moves past him, leaving the kitchen, and Shinigami follows her out. Splinter closes his eyes.

"I am already proud of you, my daughter," he murmurs. When he opens his eyes, he focuses on April. "April, you have proven yourself a true kunoichi," he says. "I always knew you had the dragon's spirit, and apparently, the dragon's tail as well."

"It's all thanks to you, Sensei," she says. She pauses, then hugs Splinter tightly, making him smile before returning it.

"So, what does this mean?" Raphael asks. "Tiger Claw's back and it looks like the rest of the Foot is with him."

Leonardo lifts his head from Destiny's shoulder, eyes narrowing. "Karai told me that our peace was an illusion. I think we're about to get a good, strong dose of reality."

"What do you suggest we do?" Sarina asks.

"We have to be diligent," Leonardo says. "Hopefully, we can find some old allies to help us. Mikey, Raph, have either of you made contact with the Mutanimals lately?"

"Nah," Raphael says. "Last I heard, they left the city to try and expand their horizons."

"I totally bet we could get them back here," Michelangelo says. His eyes sparkle. "It'd be amazing to see Leatherhead again!"

"The Mutanimals..." Sarina echoes. "I don't believe I've met them."

"No, you haven't," Donatello says. "They...kind of keep to themselves, but they're friends of ours."

"A friend of yours is a friend of mine, Donatello."

"Whatever is happening, it seems the peace we've fostered is crumbling again. It's time to defend it, my sons and daughters," Splinter says.

No one can muster anything more than a solemn, "Hai, Sensei."

As everyone starts to leave the kitchen, Destiny feels her t-phone vibrate. She checks the screen, eyes widening.

K: You up for helping us out?

K: I'll make it worth your while.