Disclaimer: I don't own the turtles.

A/N: A couple quick points.

This is based primarily in the 2003 verse, but with some minor differences.

1. Assume the guys are in their twenties.

2. I used Shredder as my villain, so ignore the fact that he's actually died the series.

3. I didn't base the Turchan on any preexisting concepts. (At least, none that I know of.) They are completely mine and I have developed them in my own way.

I'm still working on another story at the moment, but since this one has been moving along all on its own (10 chapters already!) and WON'T leave me alone, I decided to post it now. Have fun! ;) XD

"Get your hands off me!" Raphael tried to shout, but it was more like a grumble. The Foot soldiers continued down deep into Shredder's fortress. He dangled from their hands, broken and bleeding. Barely conscious, he was tossed into a cell. The heavy barred door slammed shut with a clang. Prying his eyes open, he glared at Shredder standing just outside. "When I get outta here I'm gonna make ya pay, Shredder."

"Strong words for someone in your position." Shredder's eyes glowed sharp beneath his metal mask. "I will make you a proposition, turtle. Give me the location of the rest of your disgusting family and I will make your death short. And if you do not, I will make it last for days."

Raph was fighting to stay awake, but he was quickly losing the battle. He was lucid enough to reply though. "Go suck an egg."

Shredder's eyes narrowed in anger. "Very well, I will give you one day to consider your options. At dawn, you will begin your suffering." He turned on his heel and left. Two Foot stopped outside the heavy metal door leading to the cell to stand guard.

Raph finally allowed his eyes to close. It had to be dawn by now. Memories drifted back to him of the battle that had brought him to lay on this cold stone floor.

***Flashback***

"There's too many! We have to retreat!" Leo ordered from across the rooftop.

"What!" Raph barked back. He had to be kidding. "These guys are on our turf! We need ta teach 'em a lesson!"

"No, Raph! We're way out numbered!" Leo shouted over the clang of swords and sais. The Foot were pressing him back towards the edge and he was quickly losing ground. "We have to go now!"

Don and Mikey had backed towards their leader, but Raph continued to refuse. The sea of Foot between them began to grow as more soldiers appeared on the roof. "Come on, bro!" Mikey encouraged him.

"No! You guys can go if ya want! I've had enough of these creeps!" Raph nailed another soldier with the hilt of his sai.

"Now Raph!" Leo's cry was more urgent now.

Raph was about to give another hot-headed retort, but something struck him in the back of the head. He fell to one knee, dazed. The Foot did not give him an opportunity to recover. Another heavy blow hit him and he was swallowed in blackness.

Raph woke a few minutes later, but in those few minutes a lot had changed. He'd been separated from his brothers and was now being dumped in front of Shredder himself. His eyes widened as his heavily armored foe approached him. Being one to never back down, Raphael climbed quickly to his feet and took a defensive position. Already battle worn and tired, it didn't take long for him to be a bloody mess. Cuts, scraps, and bruises decorated his green skin. Time after time, he regained his footing, only to be slammed back down.

At last, his body refused to take his orders. He growled as Shredder approached him once more. "I ain't done yet!" But the fact that he could barely hold his sai belied his words.

Shredder smirked as he kicked Raph one more time in the side of the head. Raphael's vision blurred and the world spun out of control. "Take him to the cell."

***End of Flashback***

A pair of soft warm hands and a damp cloth were sweeping over the wounds on his body. At first, he thought they might be one of the Foot, but the notion was quickly washed away. They were too soft, too gentle. This person could not be a Foot soldier. April? But his senses told him no. The person's scent was sweeter, like spring flowers.

Raphael finally dragged his eyes open. The being above him was blurry and hidden by shadows, but nevertheless he could tell instantly that he was right. There was no way this person was Foot, they were far too small. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the blurriness away.

"You're awake." Came a soft voice. "I'm glad. You took quite a beating."

He squinted up at the girl above him. Her features were just as soft as her voice. The long blue hair was surprising, but what was more amazing were her eyes. They were a bright shade of violet. "Who are you?" The question came out gruffer than he'd meant it.

But the young woman just tilted her head and smiled. "I am a prisoner like you. My name is Vivistarbita."

"Huh, ya wanna run that one by me again." Raph lifted a hand to his aching head. He was having a hard-enough time focusing and that hadn't helped matters.

She let out a small chuckle. "Vivistarbita, but you may call me Vivi."

"Yeah, alright, Vivi." Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to sit up. It was a bit hard, but he managed. No broken bones at least.

"You really shouldn't be moving so soon." Vivi protested.

"Nah, I've had worse." Allowing the dizziness to pass, he opened his eyes. He barely suppressed the gasp. Now that he was able to see her better, he realized she was stunning. Her blue hair was streaked with different shades of blue, which only made her porcelain skin glow more. And although she was somewhat small, she was curvy in all the right places.

Vivi stared at him with concern. "Are you alright?"

He stared back, stumbling over his words. "Uh…um…yeah…you…I…I'm Raphael, but my brothers call me Raph."

She smiled at his comment as he began examining their cell. "You have brothers?"

"Yeah." He answered absently as he stood and inspected the bars.

"I have an elder sister. I miss her very much."

At the sadness in her tone, Raph turned back to look at her. As he suspected unshed tears sparkled in her eyes as she looked away. He cleared his throat. "Do ya know how long I was out?"

She looked up at a place on the wall where the sunlight from a tiny window shone. "About three hours."

His eyes widened slightly and then he frowned. His family was probably going nuts right now trying to find him. He looked back at the bars. Their cell was pretty solid. They were surrounded on three sides by thick concrete walls. The fourth wall of bars were at least six inches thick and the massive hinge looked like it was made to keep an elephant in. Even if he put all his weight into it and was at full strength -which he wasn't- he'd never get through it barehanded. Even the window that let in the bit of sunlight was outside the cell.

He glanced at Vivi standing a few feet behind him. Why would they keep her in this cell? It's not like she can do any damage to anyone.

She turned and walked back to a far corner to settle on the floor. There was no furniture in the room, not even a blanket. Only a bucket, an empty water bottle and few rags were present. With a heavy sigh, he went to settle on the floor not far from her. They sat in silence for a long moment. "Could I ask ya a question?"

Vivi looked up. "No, I'm not human. I'm a Turchan – a shapeshifter."

Raph's mouth hung open for a moment. Well, that explained why she hadn't seemed frightened of him at all. "If you're a shapeshifter, why ain't ya escaped already?"

She held out her hands to display two golden gauntlets. "I am trapped. These gauntlets are magical. They prevent me from changing."

Raphael frowned. "Have ya tried takin' 'em off?"

"I can't, only the human that placed them on me can remove them."

"And let me guess, that'd be Shredder." She gave a small nod. Raph growled a little, glaring through the bars at the place he'd last seen his enemy. Frowning, he looked back at his cellmate. "Vivi, how long have ya been here?"

She folded her arms atop her knees and rested her chin on them. "Honestly, I'm not sure anymore. I stopped counting after two months."

"Two months!" Raph's brow furrowed. "What's that creep keepin' ya here for anyways?"

"He wants me to tell him where the rest of my people are." Her eyes narrowed. "But I will never betray them. There are too few of us as it is." She sighed. "But, I'm afraid I'm not as entertaining as I was when he first found me."

"What do ya mean?"

She shook her head slowly. "He said If I don't become useful soon, he'd kill me. Today could very well be my last day." Vivi had long ago accepted that outcome. She would never turn over the last of her kind to be used by this monster.

"Hey, don't talk like that. He's just tryin' to mess with your head." Raph frowned at her and she met his caramel eyes.

Vivi felt a warmth blossom in her chest at the amount of true concern he had for her. She gave him a small smile. "How did you end up here? You look like you can handle yourself."

Raph frowned, leaning his head back. "I shouldn't be. I shoulda listened to Leo. There were way too many of 'em. But I had to be the hot-head. Thought I could take 'em on all by myself…" He grumbled.

Vivi frowned, her gaze falling to the floor. "Then we are surely two of a kind. I didn't listen either. My sister and I had an argument while we were out at dinner. I stormed out and…" She looked down at the golden bracelets once more. "I ended up like this." She gave a small mirthless chuckle. "The strange thing is I can't even remember what the argument was about now." Her eyes shown with sadness as she lifted them towards the small window. "All we have are each other and we can't seem to agree on anything."

Raph let out a sigh. "Sounds like me and Leo." He turned his head to look at her again and the guilt and despair in her violet eyes tugged at his heart. "Look, my brothers are gonna find me. They're gonna rescue me. When they come ya can just come with us."

"I do hope they come for you, Raphael. You don't deserve to be here."

"Neither do you!" He reached across the space between them to set a large hand on one of her small arms. "Don't give up. I'm here now and I'm gonna do anything it takes to get ya outta here."

There was so much conviction in his voice and determination in his eyes, that she dared to hope. And it surprised her. That feeling had died in her a long time ago. She smiled again, a little brighter this time. She placed a hand on top of his where it still rested on her arm. "Then I won't give up." Raph blushed as her violet eyes swept over him. Slowly he withdrew his hand, instantly regretting the lack of contact.

Through the day the two talked, telling each other about their families and their lives. Raphael had never been very chatty. He preferred to keep his thoughts to himself most of the time. But with Vivi, not once did he feel uncomfortable. Their conversations flowed so naturally that the time passed far quicker than either had expected and the sun began to set. The cell began to grow dark as the only light source they'd had all day began to disappear.

Vivi shivered and Raph frowned at her. "Ya cold?"

"Yes." She admitted softly. "My kind don't deal well with the cold."

That's why there ain't a blanket or nothin' in this cell. He growled as he realized this was just another way to torture her. His gut twisted at the thought of her being subjected to this night after night. "Come here." He opened his arms and motioned to her to sit beside him. She hesitated only a moment, before moving to the space next to him. Raph immediately wrapped both arms around her. He rubbed at her arms and legs as her thin body trembled. "Better?" She gave a small nod, her cheeks pink.

They sat quietly as the room became darker and darker. "Raphael, may I ask you a question? It may sound a bit strange."

"Sure."

"Is this form appealing?" Vivi looked down at her hands with a frown. "It is my natural form, the one I was born with. But I don't normally spend this much time in it. I have to change my appearance in order to move among the humans."

Raph had been a little shocked by the question and so he silently listened while she explained her reason for asking. He gently cupped her cheek to turn her head to meet his eyes. In the near pitch black, both their eyes shimmered. "It is." Even in the darkness he could tell she was smiling and he couldn't prevent his own from spreading across his mouth.

Vivi snuggled back against him with a soft thank you, and he let out an almost inaudible sigh. After a few long minutes of silence, she spoke again. "Thank you, Raphael, for making this day so…pleasant. Well, as pleasant as being locked in a cell by a lunatic can be." She felt Raph chuckle a little beside her and she smiled feeling that warmth again in her chest. "These hours with you have been very special. And if tomorrow will be my last day, then at least I was able to spend my last hours with someone that understands me."

Raph felt his cheeks burn. That had to be the best compliment he'd ever received and also the saddest thing he'd ever heard. He gave her a tight squeeze. "Stop that. I told ya we're gettin' outta here – the both of us."

Despite the certainty in his voice, she was not so sure. She did appreciate the sentiment though and leaned up to place a soft kiss of gratitude on the corner of his mouth. A shiver ran through his entire body. She touched his cheek gently, remembering the bruises. Violet met caramel in the darkness. "Why does it feel like I've known you my entire life?" She asked softly, wishing that it had been true. It was cruel to finally meet someone that understood her so well, only to die so soon after.

Raph shifted a bit, resting his cheek in her hair. "I don't know." He sighed again. "But I do know exactly what ya mean." It was strange meeting Vivi. It was like meeting a stronger, yet gentler version of himself. She had a short temper as well. But instead of showing her anger loudly and sometimes physically like he did, she instead sought solitude until the anger subsided. This was actually how she'd been captured. She'd stormed out of the dinner with her sister into a dark alleyway. Occupied with her own thoughts, the Foot had caught her off guard. Before she could even react or change forms, Shredder had stepped from the shadows and slammed the gauntlets on her wrists.

Vivi sat up and turned to face Raph. He watched her shadow intently. Leaning forward, she cupped his face in her hands a moment before her lips touched his in a true kiss. He couldn't resist her – not that he wanted to. His arms came up to wrap around her and pull her close. The moment her lips parted, he had to taste her. Their tongues touched and every nerve ending his body was set on fire. She tasted as sweet as she smelled. Vivi seemed to experience the same shockwave as she let out a small gasp.

With every moment the kiss became more passionate. She shifted straddling his hips as her hands gently caressed his shoulders, neck, and head, ever aware of his injuries. Raph finally broke away when he felt dampness on her cheeks. He took a moment to catch his breath. "Vivi?" What had happened? Why was she crying?

She rested her forehead against his, her breathing ragged. "Raph, if it was anyone else I would never ask this…" Her body gave a small tremble as she fell silent. Her heart pounded in her chest with anxiety. What am I doing! He'd never agree with my death looming over us at any time.

Raph's large fingers played with her blue locks. "What is it, Doll? What can I do ta make ya happy?"

She took a deep breath, holding on to him tight. "Raph, would you make my night as special as the day?" It took Raphael a long moment to realize what she was asking. His heart thundered in his chest. This beautiful creature in his arms couldn't be asking that? Could she? He wasn't entirely sure how to respond.

I didn't think so. But it was worth a try. She sighed resting her head on his shoulder. "It's alright. I understand. This is fine too."

"No!" He gripped her shoulders, pulling her back to look at him. She appeared a bit hurt by his continued silence. His tone softened. "No, it ain't fine. I wanna. But I want ya to promise me somethin' first." She waited patiently for him to finish. "I want ya to promise me that you're gonna fight Shredder with all ya got, that ya won't go down quietly."

That incredible warmth was back in her chest and she finally knew what to call it. It was love. In less than a day she'd fallen for this rough-around-the-edges, stubborn, and wonderful turtle. How could she deny him such a simple request? "I promise."

***See AO3 for deleted scene***

She dressed in silence and he coaxed her to lay beside him on the hard floor. Her eyes glowed as she met his. "Raphael, I…"

He smiled stroking her cheek. "I know. Me too." A large smile crossed her lips. He pulled her close, her back to his plastron. Then he curled around her, sheltering her from the cold dark cell.

A/N: XD If you don't want to read it on AO3, just let your imagination roam as free as it can... Review please!