Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine. OK, I gave a couple of them names where they didn't before but that doesn't count.

Author Note: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed and asked for more! You're the greatest. Especially want to thank Sassyblondexoxo because not only is her story the best thing on FF at the moment but she also introduced me to the Stealthy Stories forum, which is where I've been spending all my time. I'm actually not sure about the wisdom of this chapter, I wrote the preceding chapter as a one shot and although I like the stuff I have written, it took eight total deletes and I hope this is satisfactory. Let me know! Hit the review button at the end, tell me if you liked, hated, and most importantly, why you liked or hated. I can always change stuff, or leave it as a one shot. And I have left a cliffy, but hey! Gets ya reading the next chapter right?

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Ever noticed that the days when your life changes forever, you're not really expecting much?

I can count four of them in the space of fifteen months. The day I ran away from my parents' house, I hadn't been planning it. I just got sick of the shit and blew. The day I got shot, that started out like a pretty normal day too but even now I can still remember what I had for breakfast, what I talked about and with who. The day I ran away for the second time, that was pretty spur of the moment too. Hadn't known I was gonna run until I saw my fathers wallet sticking out his back pocket and realised that was the time.

The fourth time was the same, but it linked to those other times. If I hadn't run, hadn't been shot, hadn't had my life saved by a – well, a freak – the fourth time wouldn't have happened. Hell, without the first time, the others wouldn't have. Maybe my life's just out of the ordinary. I mean, I am a Purple Dragon and that's something special.

That day, I woke up late as I tend to do. The Dragons live outside the law and we do most of our business in the evening or at night. So I sleep the days away and in the winter when the sun sets early in New York, I might never see daylight. It was five thirty when I rose, took myself a shower and flipped on the TV. I planned to go out with the Dragons that night, trying to make up for the total mess we made a month or so before when one of the Turtle-freaks dropped into our party and cut through us easily – except for me. I didn't try to attack and he didn't attack me. He saved my life when I was shot and I owed him that much at least. You can bet I didn't tell the other Dragons that though. If they found out I hadn't even tried to take him down, I'd be in serious trouble. The kind of trouble that gets my head caved in for my lack of respect for my family.

My apartment must be the smallest on the planet, but I love it anyway. It consists of two rooms, one a bathroom so small that I practically have to dangle my feet in the sink when I wanna pee, the other containing everything else. Convenient in a way, if I want a midnight snack the food is about three feet from the bed, which is a foot and a half from the sofa. I took it because the landlord took it on trust that I was over eighteen and because it's on Dragon turf. Ha, the reason I never got asked to verify my age and I get to pay in cash is because it's on Dragon turf and I'm a Dragon. The privacy, the simple fact of having my own place, that always makes me feel like an independent adult.

I went over to the fridge to snag a snack for breakfast. Leftover pizza, leftover Chinese, leftover Indian, something that may once have been cheese – independence had its drawbacks and one is that I have no desire to cook or any idea where to begin. I grabbed a slice of the pizza, bought the previous evening and not gone to penicillin yet, and threw myself on the sofa. TV was the same old shit. I was watching some cartoon I've never seen before when my cell rang. One eye still on the TV, I answered it.

"H'lo?"

"We need some help here!"

That got me. Taking my mind off the TV, I realised I recognised the voice. Spike, one of the toughest Dragons there is. Why was he calling on me?

"Spike, what's going on?"

"What? It's you – shit! Wrong button! Call Dragon Face! Freak attack! We're on the corner of Second and Forty-seventh! We need some back…"

There was a noise, as if Spike had just been hit, and then the noise of an open line. Close to panicking, I disconnected and then called Dragon Face, telling him what I knew.

Dragon Face was calm but angry, and not at me. "You done good kid. We'll send 'em backup." He hung up without saying goodbye and I decided to go that way myself. I wanted to make sure the Dragons were OK, see if there was anything I could do to help.

I hurried from my apartment to Second, which was closer to me than it was to the others. I didn't know if there was anything I could do, not against the freaks that had kicked my ass so many times before, but I had to try. But when I approached the spot, there were three cop cars there already and I knew I was too late.

Still wary of the cops, just in case they recognised me as a runaway or a suspect in an earlier Dragon incident (and of course, I'm both), I hesitated. Stood in front of a fried chicken shop, I assessed the situation. There were cops swarming everywhere and I could see Spike being shoved into one of the cars, his hands cuffed behind his back. The cop who had hold of him was the same cop who had been in to my hospital room after I was shot, questioning me about my connection with the Dragons. The guy who knew my real name, where my parents were.

The cop turned slightly, as if he were looking in my direction. I acted immediately and mostly out of fear, ducking into an alley and praying he hadn't seen me. But that didn't help my dread. I didn't want to be sent back there again, not today, not ever again…

There was a dumpster in the alley, a fire escape above it. Without stopping to think, I pulled myself atop the dumpster and found I could just about reach the fire escape if I jumped. That was the hardest part, what with my injured arm and all, but I managed it, panic giving me strength. I managed to get to the top of the ladder just as the cop came walking past, glancing curiously down the alley and continuing on. He had seen me and obviously thought he remembered me, but he didn't know where I'd gone. That suited me fine. I made myself comfortable on the roof, determined to wait out the cops before I made my way home.

That was when I heard the noise from behind me.

I whirled around, thinking maybe it was a bird or just a random sound from the building below. I couldn't see anything. I had to be imagining things. No one was creeping up on me. That was just ridiculous. I tried to settle down again but now I was on edge. I was straining to hear what was happening but with all the noise and excitement from the street, it was hard.

"You…"

I made a high noise in my throat and spun again. Again I saw nothing. The day had gone to darkness and the roof was full of shadows, impenetrable darkness. I strained to see what, if anything was behind me. And then I saw the movement, from near the chimney that had long since been rendered obsolete. A figure emerging from the shadow it cast, a figure that hadn't even seemed to be there a second ago.

"Blue!"

He walked slowly toward me and I could tell something wasn't right with him. He was usually so full of energy but at that moment he seemed tired, slow. At least his swords were safely put away. I wasn't gonna get skewered right away, but at the same time I was afraid. Blue didn't seem so well but I knew he could still get the drop on me if I made a move against him.

Blue staggered a few more paces toward me then dropped to his knees. The vantage point gave me a view of his head, where there was a nasty lump growing. Of course, I didn't know how freaks responded to that kind of thing, but from the way he was acting it seemed it was as bad for them as it was for us.

"Blue…" I went to him, knelt down beside him to show I wasn't a threat. "What happened?"

"Dragon managed…hit me."

I groaned my frustration out loud. The one thing I should never forget is that I am a Purple Dragon. I owe a loyalty to my family and they owed a big time payback to the freak for all the insults and injuries him and his kind had inflicted on us. I knew what I should do. I should call Dragon Face and tell him there was an injured Turtle-man on the roof, let him deal with the payback and receive some kudos for the whole thing. That would be smart. That would be what a Dragon should do.

But…this freak saved my life. He didn't have to, could have left me to bleed to death on the floor of the warehouse, but he didn't. And much as I tried to tell myself that I had already repaid my debt to him when I didn't try to attack him the last time we met, I knew that was bullshit. The Dragons have a code of honour. We protect those who protect us. OK, so he never protected me but he saved my life. Maybe that means something too. And although it would mean lying to the Dragons, I couldn't leave him there. The cops were everywhere, he hardly seemed to know where he was and there was no sign of the other Turtle-men. No one else was going to help him.

Snaking my hand beneath his armpit and around his – shell? – I helped him to his feet. "Come on Blue. We can't stay here too long."

"Where…"

"My place. You don't have to worry; I ain't gonna call on the Dragons. Come on." I took off my baseball cap and shoved it on his head, then took off my jacket and gave it to him. It wasn't that long and showed his legs to anyone who cared to look closely enough, but I thought it would do as long as we stayed as far out of sight as possible. He looked strange but less conspicuous than a green man with swords strapped to a shell would be.

He was disoriented, but he still seemed to know a lot about the whole disappearing thing. I was almost seen a whole lot of times and that usually wouldn't bug me but when you're taking an enemy of the family to your place, you should not be noticed. Fortunately, it was as if he had a sixth sense, pulling me into the shadows whenever someone was going to cross our path. It was slow going, but we got to my apartment by making our way through alleys and quietest streets. I was terrified. I kept imagining what would happen if any of the Dragons saw me with Blue, what they would say…or worse, if they saw me and didn't confront me immediately, let me think I'd got away with it and then turn up at my door, asking questions I couldn't answer. That would be the end of me. I spent the whole trip home asking myself what the hell I thought I was doing, putting myself in danger just because of some imagined debt I had to a freak?

When we got to my apartment block, my doubts intensified. How the hell was I going to get him in? There was always some one on the stairs, in and out of each others apartments, just hanging around. Not all of them were Dragons but several of them were and not all of them would be at the meeting tonight or out on jobs. In the end I made him wait in the alley beside the apartment block and went in myself through the front. I almost screamed when one of the other Dragons exited just as I was walking in.

"You OK?" He looked at me strangely. "You look terrible. Did you go out without a jacket in this weather?"

I took a deep breath and tried to act normal, not jumpy and worried. "I got a call from Spike. They got taken down tonight."

"Shit. The freaks?"

"Think so. Cops were cuffin 'em when I got there. Think I might skip the meeting tonight. Don't feel so good."

"I'm not surprised. It's about a zillion degrees below." He shook his head in wonder. "Spike. Thought he was too smart to get caught."

"Me too." I waved a goodbye and hurried up the stairs to my apartment. When I got in, I double-locked the doors and put on the chain before leaning against it and giving a huge sigh. So far, so good. But it wasn't over yet. I went over to the window and opened it wide, going out onto the fire escape and looking around. I couldn't see Blue anywhere and for a moment I thought he'd gone. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved. That was short lived though, I saw a blur of movement and knew he was making his way up the fire escape. It should have been impossible to hide on a ladder, but it was hard to make him out. I was impressed. As confused as he seemed to be, he still knew how to mask his presence.

I helped him through the window and glanced around my tiny apartment in despair. Oh lord; I didn't know what to do with him. I owed him for saving my life, but who knew it could be so complicated? In the end, I steered him toward the sofa and made him sit down.

"Uh…" I hadn't thought this far ahead. He sprawled on the seat, letting his head hang back and his eyes close. I had no idea how to proceed from here. "Don't suppose you know what to do with a concussion, do ya?"

He sniggered, still not opening his eyes. "My brother usually deals with all that. I don't think you're supposed to go to sleep and you stay out of the dojo for a few days."

"What the hell is a dojo?" I ran a hand through my hair and thought back to other incidents when the Dragons had been injured. "Uh…if you puke, you get sent to the doctors. And I guess I should check your pupils to see if they're dilated. Except you don't have any."

"Yeah, I do." He pulled his mask off and opened his eyes. He did have pupils too. When they wear the masks, it looks like they have nothing but whites. That's freaky, but knowing it's an illusion is kind of a comfort. I looked at his eyes, but since I didn't have a clue what I was looking for, I decided it must be alright.

It was the first time I had ever seen one of them in the light, in a non-battle situation, and I couldn't help trying to make as many observations as I could. He was male, that much proved by the voice. I had no idea how old he might be, but piecing together earlier conversations I figured he might be about my age, or maybe just naïve. He was both muscled and scarred, suggesting he trained hard and that he was used to fighting. The last one didn't make me comfortable, let me tell you.

"I think you're alright." I tried to sound reassuring. "You know who and where you are?"

"Sure." He blinked, looking sleepy. "But I feel weird. I don't feel like I can move. Or if I do, it's like walking through treacle."

"Shit Blue! You can't stay here!" I spoke aloud without meaning to.

Blue let his eyes close again. "Why? Coz the Dragons won't understand?"

"Exactly! You're an enemy and I should be turning you in, not hiding you."

"Leonardo."

"What?"

"My name isn't Blue. It's Leonardo, or Leo."

"What…oh, I see." I gave the freak in front of me another look. He had a name and he had mentioned his brothers, presumably the other freaks. Perhaps it was to make me feel sorry for him…for it. "What does your name matter? Shit, why didn't I think this through? What am I gonna do?"

"Contact my brothers. They'll come over and we'll be out of your hair."

"Oh, great!" I laughed in what I hoped was a sarcastic way. "Are you listed in the phone book? Turtles R us? Or should I just look under Leo?"

He moved his hands, reaching into his belt for something and coming up empty handed. "I lost my shell-cell when I was fighting the Dragons. It must be in the alley."

Oh no, I thought.

"It must still be there. If you could get it…"

"Blue, are you insane? There are cops all over the place; I told one of the Dragons I was ill and it'd mean leaving you here, in my apartment, going through my stuff…"

"Leo. Not Blue. I told you." He pulled his head up with an effort. "I give you my word of honour that I won't go through your things. I just…I need to get home. I can't do that without my shell-cell. Can you find it for me?"

What could I do? I needed him out of my apartment, away from me, this night forgotten. This was me paying back my debt and getting back to my life, one where the Turtle-men dropped in and kicked our asses, not expected shelter. I had to get him out of here and if going back was my only option, then I'd have to go back.

"I come back and catch anything out of place…" I gave my warning as I swung my legs over the fire escape. Then I thought of something else. "And if those other Turtle-men hurt me…"

Leo opened his eyes and looked at me, giving me a weak grin. "I promise, I'll tell my brothers how you helped me and they won't hurt you."

"They better not," I grumbled, going out of the fire escape. I'm not a vanishing artist like Blue but I thought it would be easier than meeting some one on the stairs and telling a lie. This way, I might never have left the building. I didn't need the Dragons knowing anything about tonight, save that I went out to see if I could help Spike and the others without my jacket and got a cold.

It was easier getting back to the alley without Blue, because although I looked like a thug, I didn't look like a freak. The occasional funny look, accompanied by purses and wallets clutched tighter, was all that I attracted. By the time I got to the alley, the cops were gone and I could slope in unnoticed.

For a few minutes, I couldn't see the damn phone. I searched the gutter, the corners, the floor…there was nothing. With a sigh, I leant against a wall and tried to see how it might have gone down.

Blue jumps down into the alley, swords out, shell-cell tucked into his belt. He was outnumbered, but he fought well, slashing at the Dragons, barely noticing when a deflected blow to his side knocked his phone flying…

I thought about where Blue might have been when that happened. I imagined not too far from where he began, when the Dragons were fresh and not tired, trying to guess the trajectory. If he was here, it must have flown upwards and hit the wall just about here…

In the gloom, I saw something. Picking it up, I knew I was right, the green shell design giving it away. This was the cell that Blue – Leo – had been talking about. This was the way I could get him out of my apartment.

I debated using it right then. Just saying, "Hey, your brother's OK. Can you pick him up at this address?" In the end, I decided to take it back. Leo could talk and let them know he wasn't hurt and I could maybe get him away from there before he was aware enough to realise where it was that I lived.

I had the weirdest feeling that I was being watched. It made me hurry to get home, up the fire escape and into my apartment. Leo wasn't where I'd left him, but I could hear the gurgling noise from the bathroom that suggested the sink was running and he was having a wash. I wondered if I should wait and then decided not to. He had been a mess before he went into the bathroom and by the time his brothers got to where I had planned as a drop off point, he might even have forgotten where I lived. Good stuff.

I played with the shell-cell a little, trying to work out how it worked – then it began making noises and I heard it ringing on the other end. I was hoping for Purple, who had seemed kind, or even Orange who had hurt me before, but during a fight and had helped Blue to help me. Please not Red. Red seemed like a bastard. Please not Red…

"Leo?"

Shit. Red.

"Uh, no, but he's OK! Don't panic…"

"Purple Dragon scum! Where's my brother?"

"The thing is, uh, I…can't I talk to one of your brothers?"

"You're gonna be SO sorry, ya damn…"

I leaned against the still-open window frame and sighed. "Look, Red, I ain't gonna hurt him, I just wanna find somewhere I can leave him so you can pick…"

The space behind me suddenly erupted.

One moment my head had been resting on the window frame, nothing against my back because the window was open, the space just below my butt against the sill. The next, I was flying forward, the shell-cell out of my reach, my brain still trying to catch up enough to yell.

I managed to turn mid-fall, so I landed on my side instead of my stomach and managed to turn mostly to my back before a tremendous weight pressed on my chest, almost smothering me. Before I could utter a sound, a hand clamped across my mouth, bearing down cruelly, almost choking me. I could feel something sharp sticking against my throat and I just knew it was a knife, knew that I had been seen, knew that the Dragons knew that I had betrayed them and now I was going to pay the price…