Things are going to start getting REAL interesting in this chapter. For those new to this story, welcome! Thank you for giving me the motivation to keep writing it! For those that have been hanging on since chapter one, sorry for all the waiting! Hopefully this will make it up to you!

Phoenix knelt motionless at the foot of the bed. Nearly a month had passed since her last encounter with the youngest two turtles and she hadn't seen them since. Her master had ordered her to increase activity but didn't tell her why. She imagined he wanted to try and force them into another confrontation. The goody goody turtles surely couldn't stand by and watch place after place be robbed. But they had. Now she waited for his next orders.

After three or four hours of kneeling quietly, the double doors behind her opened and the Asian beauty walked in. Phoenix's fists tightened on her knees. It was the only movement she dared to make. She knew this girl was their master's favorite. No matter what Phoenix did, she would never equal her adopted sister in their master's eyes.

"Karai."

"Hello, Father." Karai didn't kneel. She never did. Phoenix knew she had been with their Master since she was a baby, making Karai much closer to his real daughter than she could ever hope to be.

"I have a mission for the both of you."

Phoenix's head shot up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Karai smile. They had not worked together for years. Always it was when Phoenix had messed up bad enough to need Karai's help. Was that the reason this time? Had she blown the mission?

"We are ready to move on to the next phase. So, girls, listen closely."

The moon was nearly full, with an almost imperceptible sliver still dark. Phoenix jumped from rooftop to rooftop, running as fast as she could. She couldn't see or hear the other girl following her, but she knew Karai was out there, watching her. Outwardly, Phoenix seemed calm. If she had been down on the street, any one would have thought she was just out for a night time run. Inwardly, she was angry. She hated this mission. She hated relying on Karai to do a job that she should have been able to do herself.

Phoenix stopped in the middle of an apartment complex's roof, spinning a quick kick behind her. Karai jumped back easily from the kick, a smile on her face. Phoenix frowned.

"That was sloppy and slow, Sister." Karai teased.

"I didn't want to hurt you too much, Sister." Phoenix said, stepping back and taking a seemingly relaxed position. "Just wanted to let you know that I heard you coming. Maybe you should lay off the cookies a bit."

Karai's posture tightened at the jab Phoenix made at her weight. The Japanese girl was always careful about her physical condition and even though it wasn't true, any comment suggestion she was out of shape usually hit home.

"A cookie here or there does no harm. At least I can still wear a bikini in the summer." Karai's vicious grin showed Phoenix that she did intend her comment to hurt.

Both girls stared each other down for several moments, unmoving, not talking. Suddenly, as if a spring had been released, both girls lunged toward each other. It was a flurry of punches and kicks, each girl alternately attacking and defending. It went on for several minutes. Each kick, each punch either blocked or dodged. It was looking like a stalemate when both girls jumped back from each other. Silently, Karai drew a katana from its sheath across her back.

Phoenix let her breath out slowly, drawing her fighting fans. Karai had the longer reach with her sword and that worried Phoenix. She was a fraction faster than Karai but also had nearly six years less training. It was a fight Phoenix would give anything to avoid but it had been a long time coming. Since the day Phoenix had been brought home, there had been friction between the two girls, each vying for the attention of their adopted father. There was no avoiding this now, better to just get it out of the way and get on with the mission.

Karai smiled before she moved, shooting forward with her katana at her side, sweeping up and at an angle at Phoenix. It was a move that made Phoenix jump back to avoid being cut. Karai was relentless, attack after attack forcing Phoenix from one corner of the roof to the other. Phoenix knew that if she didn't start attacking back Karai would just get more and more aggressive and that would be it for Phoenix. Seeing an opening in Karai's defense, she dropped down low and swept out with her leg. Karai jumped up to avoid the kick and Phoenix took advantage of that, attacking up with both fans.

There was only time for Phoenix to glance at the cut on her adopted sister's leg before Karai was right back on the attack with renewed vigor. She wasn't talking or teasing Phoenix like she always did during their training which only showed Phoenix just how serious she was about this particular fight. She was starting to think that the other girl wasn't just blowing off steam.

As she thought about the other girl's motives for this fight, she lost focus for a moment. It was long enough for Karai to take a swipe at her stomach with her katana. Phoenix tried to dodge back but didn't react fast enough. Pain shot through her body and she quickly blocked it out. There wasn't time to assess the damage the blade had done since Karai kept up the attack, but the way her stomach and side were now warm and wet, she was bleeding quite a bit.

Phoenix couldn't risk wasting energy now. She fought defensively, using Karai's own momentum to push her attacks aside. It was a technique that both girls knew and it wasn't long before Karai started fighting against it. She increased her attack rate, no longer making precisely aimed attacks but focusing only on the speed. It forced Phoenix to retreat quicker, no longer able to guess where the other girl's blade was going to go.

Karai started to smile and it unnerved Phoenix. If she was cutting even that small amount away from her concentration, she must think she was winning. By the wetness running down her side, hip, and thigh, Phoenix was starting to believe she was. When her foot hit the cover to a ventilation shaft she hadn't noticed, she knew it was over.

The blade shined in the moonlight as it came at Phoenix's face. She didn't have time to avoid the blow completely but managed to push it just inches off its mark. The pain didn't hit immediately as the blade sliced the left side of her face, barely missing her eye. Before she could react, the blade came back with a deep gash to her upper left arm that was followed by a hard kick to her stomach. Pain exploded in her already damaged mid-section as she stumbled back to the edge of the roof.

"Karai, please." She choked out. "This has gone far enough. You risk Father's plan!" She was grasping at straws, trying desperately to find room to escape.

"You honestly think he needs you?" Karai laughed. "I can easily finish the mission on my own. The one called Leonardo will talk to me."

Phoenix blocked as Karai continued the attack. She tried several times to move herself away from the edge of the roof, but Karai was relentless. It wasn't long before the other girl's katana hit Phoenix hilt first in the jaw. The blow made her skull rattle and left her open for Karai's next attack; a punch to the throat.

Choking and dizzy, Phoenix had just enough time to see Karai smile before another kick to her stomach sent her over the edge of the building. Her fans flew from her hands and, flailing, she tried frantically to find something to grab onto or slow her descent. Her wrist slammed into the metal railing of the fire escape and she screamed as something shattered.

It seemed like forever before her body came to a sudden, painfully jolting stop, sending the air rushing from her lungs and pain spiking through her whole body. There was a moment of Karai staring down at her from the building's roof, the stench of garbage, and then finally, darkness.

Donatello waited around the building's corner, out of sight until he was sure Karai had gone. Silently, bo staff drawn and ready, he crept to the dumpster's edge and peered in. Prepared for the worst, he sighed with relief when he immediately saw that Phoenix was still breathing.

With her white garb it was easy for him to see the large red stain on her stomach that spread down over her hip and thigh. There was also a smaller stain on her tenugui around her mouth.

"I can't just leave you here." He said, scratching the back of his head. "But I can't take you to the lair. Raph would freak." With a quick look around, he hooked his staff back to his shell and carefully lifted Phoenix from the dumpster.

He almost dropped her when she moaned and opened her eyes. They seemed glassy and unfocused and after only a moment, her eyelids fluttered closed again. Donnie sighed with relief and adjusted his hold on the surprisingly light girl in his arms. Vaguely he realized he should be thinking of her as a potential enemy, but all he could think of was the fact that she was just a young girl who seriously needed his help.

"Alright. I sure hope April is going to be okay with this." With another look around, Donatello was down the alley and around the corner.

Karai smiled with satisfaction at what she saw through the binoculars. The turtle she had seen right before her attack on her sister had just left with Phoenix in his arms. She had been worried as the other girl fell that she had loosened the reign on her emotions too much and had jeopardized the mission. The turtles would look after her little sister though, she knew. Their honor and conscious would demand they not turn away someone so badly injured.

Once again, the mission was left in the hands of the less experienced ninja. Karai didn't like it, but she knew Phoenix would do anything she could to please their father. With one last look in the direction the turtle had gone, Karai left to report what had happened.