The Search

Written by: Arhinn and Galaxya

Summary: Somebody important to Raph has run away, and he is determined to find her.

Disclaimer: The TMNT universe and its occupants are not ours, unless created by us.

A.N.:

Galaxya: I don't have any words left to say! The story stole them all!

Arhinn: Ok, here is chapter two. I know it isn't much, but at least it is a LOT more then the first chapter, right? . When you're not a natural born writer, it is hard to come up with an effective story! Please let me know if you see any major problems grammar and/or spelling wise. Oh yes, as for the mob member, ignore his grammar. He is meant to be like that. Also with Raph, a few of his words are of course slang'ish … (and yes, I know that isn't a word).

I hope you guys enjoy this installment.

To the reviewers:

Pacphys- Heh, we'll answer that soon enough. I guess we should've selected mystery as one of the genres. Thanx for reviewing!

Chapter 1

Raph searched another alley for his lost companion. "If anything happens to her, I could nevah forgive myself," he sighed as he came to the end of the alley, finding nothing.

Raph froze when he heard the tiny pitter-pattering of running feet. Ducking behind a large dumpster, Raph listened as the sound came closer. Whoever was running had obviously been doing so for some time now. The person stopped for a few moments to catch their breath. Raph listened as the person's breathing slowed and became more controlled and hard to hear. Raph concentrated, listening carefully, attempting to pin-point the location of the person in the alley. Whoever this person was, he or she was very good at being stealthy.

Raph's concentration was broken when the sound of heavier footsteps running down the same alley, echoed off the walls of the buildings on either side of the small side-street. Hearing this, the person who had entered the alley first quickly and quietly ran over to a dumpster and jumped in, closing the lid gently. Raph chuckled silently. "Of course they would choose to hide in the dumpster I was hiding behind," he thought.

The heavy footsteps drew closer, and then came to a stop near the dumpster. Raph listened as several of the people standing in the alley, stood, gasping for air. Raph just shook his head. These guys wouldn't be a problem should he have to 'take care' of them.

Soon the mob leader spoke up. "You knows yous can't hide forever kid," he yelled. "It's only a matter of time before we finds you."

Raph peered around the edge of the dumpster and watched as the leader signaled his men to spread out and start searching the alley. "Great," Raph thought. "Just great."

"Find that little brat!" ordered the leader.

Raph sighed and placed his hands on his sais." These guys never learn do they?" he asked himself.

Stepping out with his sais in hand, Raph smirked. "Is it just me, or does that tie keep getting' uglier and uglier?"

The mob leader stumbled backwards a few steps with a look of shock written all over his face. He stuttered, "Oh n…no! Not yous again!" He glanced around quickly, noticing a few of his men standing nearby, staring at the intruder. "Wells! What are you guys waiting for? Get him!"

The men standing behind their leader rushed forward suddenly, intent on taking down the uninvited guest. Raph growled and dropped into a defensive position, sais pointed outwards. "I don't got time for this!" he muttered.

The first person to reach Raph soon regretted it. As soon as he was within arms length of Raphael, he found himself flying into a nearby trashcan. The loud bang of the trashcan hitting the brick wall startled the stunned man and he stood up quickly, swaying slightly. "Man that guy's strong," he thought to himself as he prepared to attack again.

Raph glanced quickly to the right, noticing that the man he just threw into a trashcan was standing up, getting ready to attack again. "Perhaps you guys aren't as bad at this as I thought," he said as he deflected another lame excuse for an attack. One of the attackers let out an angered cry as he charged for Raphael. Raph smirked and simply stepped aside, letting the man crash into the brick wall behind him. "Then again…"

The mob leader let out a frustrated growl, and turned to escape back to the safety of the lit street and fellow humans. Suddenly he found himself standing face to face with the turtle. He stumbled backwards in an attempt to escape, only to trip over a small, wooden crate and land on his back. He looked up at the red banded turtle who was now standing over him with arms crossed.

"W..what are yous gonna do to me?" stuttered the man. Raphael just stared at him, fully aware that not knowing what was going to happen to one's self was far more torturous than knowing what was going to happen. He allowed a small, devilish grin to cross his face. The man squirmed.

"Hey Weasel, you down there man?" called somebody from the end of the alley. The man lying on the ground glanced in the direction of the voice. Raphael noticed this and couldn't resist. "Weasel huh? Ya, that's about right." The man glared in response. Raph chuckled. "So, what should I do with ya?" Raphael let the question work its way into the man's psyche. He always enjoyed playing these mind games. After a few more moments he stepped back, allowing the man to escape. Weasel of course took the opportunity as soon as it was presented to him, and bolted out of the alley as fast as he could. Raph just laughed as he watched the pathetic little man flee.

Now that they were taken care of, he could continue on his search. He hated being interrupted while on a mission. Interruptions were a waste of time, and time was something that was too precious to lose, especially now.

As Raph stood watching Weasel's retreating form, the person who was hiding in the dumpster, quietly slipped out and crouched down behind him. Watching the turtle from behind, the unknown person considered their next move. Deciding on a course of action, the silhouetted person leapt forward, tackling an unsuspecting Raphael, who only yelped in surprise.

"What the ...?"

To be continued …