Turtlefreak121: Okay! Update! I've got a new puppy named Cash ("the Dog in Black) (huggles Cash) I WUV you, baby! Leo: I can't believe it's not illegal for people like you to take care of animals! TF121: Consider writing my venting - I'm actually a pretty mellow, funny, loving person in reality! Leo: Says you... TF121: SHUDDUP!

Thanx for the reviews, guys!

The Dark Half

Chapter Nine

By Turtlefreak121

Disclaimer: I don't ownt the TMNT.

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Leo's Yin

She turned the corner of the hallway and began to pull out her keys simotaniously with beginning her walk towards her aparment. She pulled out the key chain and pulled her right arm further right to get the groceries out her face. Her amber bangs began to stick to her forehead as it perspirated. It was awfully warm around here - it was usually cool in the hallways. She put the thought aside and continued her stride.

Yawning as she approached the door, she began to shove the key into the keyhole. Suddenly, a noise like running from behind her. In surprise, she dropped her key and turned around quickly to try and see what had startled her.

What she didn't know is that this 'stranger' had just saved her from the gun pointed just level with her forehead on the otherside of the door. Its handler flexed his fingers around the handle and trigger. His frown curled into a grotesque snarl and his muscles tensed. No matter, this just delayed things a smidget. A smidget was all - she just needed to bend over, grab her key, return it into the keyhole, unlock the door, and pull...

After a few minutes of turning her head in every direction, she let out a relieved sigh in that no one was there. Turning herself around once more, she bent over and picked up the copper key and made her way to the door again.

Shuffling her groceries once more, she pushed the key in and then turned it. The door made a comforting clicking noise and she smiled. Now that she was at home base, what could happen?

As she began to pull the door open, something flew from the shadows and knocked her to the floor as there was a large BANG! Smoke filled the hallway and there was a small hole in the wall opposite her apartment. There was a mass scream of panic and confusion from everyone in the apartment complex as the fire alarm went off due to the smoke and sprinklers sprayed everywhere.

People - thinking a gas line had exploded - ran through the hallway screaming, unable to see Leonardo and the victim he just saved through the smoke. They continued running in a frenzy as Leo stumbled up and held his hand out to the woman who was dazed.

"Ma'am, you have to get out of here!" he exclaimed as he helped her up.

She got a look at him and nearly fainted. Looking at him wide-eyed, she asked, "Who--?"

"An image from your dillusional state, now GO!" he demanded.

Not hesitating to follow his orders,the woman ran like crazy to the exit where she joined all the other worried and frightened tenants of the appartments.

Leo heard from behind him movement. Very calm, percise movement - movement that wasn't mistakable. And, though he had never met Max face to face before, he knew - this was Maxwell Earwins, his opposite, his connection.

Without turning, Leo pulled out his katana and narrowed his eyes. "Hello, Max," he spat like venom.

The chubby man blinked in surprise at first, but then he let out a growl of frustration. "YOU? I thought I made it pretty clear what would happen if you intefered, Leonardo!"

"And let me make it pretty clear what I do to people who try to harm my family, Max!" Leo growled as he spun around and got in a fighting stance.

Max looked taken back for a second. "Oh! Mikey!" he chuckled. "What? You can't take a little joke?"

Leo's entire body shook with an anger he had never known before. "Joke? JOKE!" he nearly screamed. "You call THAT a joke?"

"It's not like he's hurt from it..." Max reasoned with a sinister, almost posinous quality to it.

His grip on his katana tightening, Leo gnashed his teeth. "He BETTER not be hurt, Max!"

Now, it was Max's turn to be appauled. "What? You haven't gone home to see if you killed him or not?"

Leonardo was absolutely disgusted. "ME? After your charades, my family locked me up in my room! I got out because everyone else was looking for my brother - and I know you have something to do with it!"

The confusion on Max's face was so apparent that Leo felt a shift as to who was showing all his cards and not.

"I have no idea what you're talkin' 'bout, Hoss - but I do know that you just interfered with my business, and that's a no-no!" Max said neatly before holding up his gun.

"I can block that, Max - you know that," Leo snapped.

"Oh, I know!" he laughed as he arched forward in pain. He looked up to Leo with a minacing grin. "But...you can't block this!" he exclaimed.

Leo looked in horror as something under Max's jacket began squirming around and then disappear into his skin - more ripples followed until it looked like a dozen snakes in a bag - squirming to find their way out. At that moment, Leo wanted nothing more than to have those 'snakes' stay in their bag and away from him. Suddenly, there was a ripping noise and Leo knew there was not that option any longer.

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Splinter was at first taken back by the look-alike's request. Did he mean Leonardo's swords? The sword his sons had brought home from April's? Or...could he even mean Leonardo? The last possiblity made his throat dry and sent a paralyzing fear through his body about what this other turtle could do to his son - and what Leonardo would allow him to do in order to save his brothers and Splinter, himself. The outcome was not in their favor.

Raphael jumped to a standing position and pointed at the turtle. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MIKEY?" he demanded.

The imposter didn't bother to move. "The same I shall do to all of you if I do not have my twin returned."

Now he was doing it on purpose - to try and make Splinter slip up, do something he'd regret. It would not happen.

Raph was shaking with anger. "OVER MY DEAD BODY!" he yelled.

"That, Raphael, would be the point," the look-alike hissed.

"THAT'S IT!" Raph yelled as he spun his sai and began to charge the imposter.

"RAPH!" Don yelled out, too late.

"Raphael!" Splinter gasped.

As his sai began to sweep sideways to plunge itself in the back of the head of the black-banded 'Leonardo', the 'twin' finally acknowledged Raph and suddenly disappeared to everyone's shock. Raph landed on his left foot and looked around for the other turtle but could not find anything.

Slowly, the turtle appeared behind Raph.

"RAPH! BEHIND YOU!" Don yelled in warning.

Before Raph could turn to look, the Leonardo look-alike leaped into the air just enough to deliver a snap kick to the back of Raph's head and sending him flying into the opposite wall where he slowly sunk to the ground in defeat.

The imposter wasn't done having fun, just yet.

Slowly, he walked towards Raph and - without even flinching at the pain - allowed a red tentacle expel itself from his shoulder and rais its end like the the head of a snake.

Bleeding from his mouth, Raph tried to push himself up - he did not know of the danger looming over him.

"RAPHAEL!" Splinter yelled as he ran at the imposter of his son.

The 'Leonardo' looked at him with raised eye ridges and began to allow the tentacle to straighten out like a sharp needle and hover over Raphael who couldn't get up.

The elderly rat stopped and backed up. What could he do? He had to save his sons - there was no doubt in that.

"I...must do as you wish," Splinter stated witha severe coldness in his eyes.

The imposter smiled.

Just like Leonardo, Splinter thought before shaking such a thought from his mind.

"I knew you would under the right...persuasion," he replied before retracting the tentacle. "I've always known how much you prize us..."

"I prize my sons which I have raised and loved for the past fifteen years," Splinter snapped harshly. "They are Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo - I have not seen the likes of you before in my life!"

"Watch it, rodent," the imposter warned as his smile faded into a rather displeased frown. "I have the winning hand in this, don't anger me and make it worse on any of your sons..." His tentacle peeped over his shoulder again - it was threatening to Splinter.

Nodding, Splinter reminded himself to watch his tongue.

"Allow my sons and I to return home - they may tend their wounds and I shall return with your sword," he offered. "I swear on my very honor to return..."

His eye ridges arched. "No...I shall come with you myself..."

Splinter bit his lip - this was exactly what he wanted to prevent. Being trapped within their own home by one of his sons' 'twins'. Not to mention, he wished to keep this turtle seperated from Leonardo. He knew mixing them would be more dangerous than this turtle already.

"Don't do it, Sensei!" Raph coughed as he pushed his torso up. "We can't let dis guy near Leo!"

The rat blinked - what to do?

"Listen, allow me to shed light on your choices," the imposter hissed. "You can leave with two of your sons and return home and take a chance at my method of babysitting - and I don't go easy, ask Michelangelo - or you can allow me to go to your home and have all of your sons safe and together as I just get what's mine!"

He was remaining vague again - Splinter couldn't stand that. But with each second ticked away another ounce of the attacker's patience, and more still, a chance of them all escaping unscaved. There was truly only one decision to make...

"Donatello, can you withstand Michelangelo's weight on your own?" the rodent asked.

Caught in confusion and fear, Don only nodded and took this as his cue to help Mikey up.

Splinter walked to the dazed Raphael and pulled one of his son's arms over his neck before pulling himself and the red-clad ninja up. He looked to the black-banded turtle.

"You wish to lead us or do you wish to follow?" Splinter asked harshly.

The turtle smirked. "Follow, I think I had best keep a careful watch on the four of you!" he said in a familiar voice.

"Please...do not do that," Splinter begged in pain as Don - carrying Mikey over his shoulders - caught up to him and Raphael. "I wish not to hear my son's voice from your lips."

The turtle laughed and then nodded forward in a commanding fashion.

Raph's fist tightened and his frown turned to a snarl. He looked evilly at the turtle. His fist slowly rose, but Splinter put his hand over his sons' and forced the fist down.

"Not now, my son..." Splinter whispered before leading his sons on what would more than likely be the longest walk in all four of their lives.

They found themselves as hostages of someone who couldn't exist.

"Leonardo's yin..." Splinter said to himself as he continued.

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Deep within the city and even farther beneath it - a rumble shook through the forgotten catacombs of a demolished building. It followed deeper and deeper into the confounds of the catacombs, through rock, steel doors, and fortress-like stalagmites and stalactites. It followed into the core of the maze of dark corridors and crevices and into an ancient chamber - hidden long ago.

After the rumbles of the earth, a cry followed - and eerie, alien noise rose to a high climax as movement became apparent throughout the fortress.

Movement... Something that had before thought to be impossible under the circumstances. And through it all, it was actually joyous! Energy seemed to be circulating around the ancient chambers and the darkness within began its absorption of it.

Feeding time had started...

"I... LIIIIVVVEEE!"

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Turtlefreak121: Well, if anyone hadn't figured out what's goin' on here, I hope that sheded some light on it... No? GOOD! You're not supposed to! Fufufufu! That would be the point of a mystery story, now wouldn't it? ;P

Please Review - it would be much appreciated (big anime eyes)