Authors Notes: More to come soon, I've got way more time, expect quicker updates! (But I am due "summer work" for the Multimedia course I got onto XD So who knows?)

Disclaimer: I only own Violet and...her Kanabo part? :S

Chapter 5: A Feeling Of Enigma

I sit in anticipation of Cody's return. It takes that brat almost two hours to finally show his face, but I'm undeterred, still ready to give them a performance they won't forget anytime soon.

"How's she doing?" Cody asks Don as he walks in slowly, dumping a bag of gadgets on the table.

He smiles. "Better since her and Mikey made up"

I collapse to my knees with a groan, dipping my head downwards to conceal a smirk.

"Violet?" Don suddenly looks worried.

I grin in secret and make a fake cocoon form around myself as if I am transforming for the first time again. Inside I focus and let my Kanabo mutation take me over fully. I then thrust open the cocoon and roar out. Lucky for me it's nighttime otherwise I would have given my game away.

"This makes no sense! Her readings are the same!" Don looks over the consoles desperately. Even Cody looks worried, running to Donatello's side to aid him.

Look at me! I'm back! I feel my thoughts changing again, becoming the manical mess they were before all this drama happened that made the real me react more than the Kanabo side.

I jump up and use my claws to break the mechanism providing the laser cage. It comes clattering down loudly and the laser flickers out of existence.

"Free" I hiss at them with an evil grin. The rest of our brothers come running in after hearing all the commotion I just put on, Leo in front.

"What's going on?" he demands before seeing me, he freezes when he does though. Mikey pretends to be surprised and shocked; basically he doesn't say anything.

"I'm outta here!" I growl and run at the nearest window, diving through it and falling down at an alarming rate towards the pavement, but as a Kanabo, I land easily like I did before.

I go to crawl away but find a familiar voice stop me. "Where are you going?"

I turn to find myself facing my sensei. "I can't stay" I huff, knowing someone is probably on my trail. "How'd you know?"

"You are my daughter, I know how you think" he gives me a solemn look. "As well as the fact Michelangelo told me about you"

I hiss slightly, "You didn't tell the others did you?"

He shakes his head. "It is not my secret to share, but I understand why you didn't want them to know" His ears twitch as the sounds of someone approaching from inside become obvious. "Go" he whispers sadly "This is your path, not ours"

"Thank you Master. And don't worry, I shall never be truly lost in the darkness, I will always be part of this family" I bow to him quickly. "I will miss you" I exchange a smile.

"As will I, my child"

"If and when I find a cure for myself, I shall return" I promise him, but before I bolt away down the street, I whisper "Goodbye father"

I know I am being shadowed within seconds so I slip down an alley and stop as I find it to be a dead end. I curse and turn to face my stalker.

"What do you want?" I almost sigh, taking them by surprise.

Leo looks at me sorrowfully. "Violet…how?" He asks, clearly confused.

"I'll show you if you think you're ready for it" I smile at him, surprising him by seeming normal to him, even as a Kanabo. "Are you, dearest Onii Chan?"

He looks really upset now. "Violet, what's going on?" he questions me shakily.

I transform back to normal. "I'm sorry, my little act was fake…I've been like this since I returned with you guys" I see him pale as I speak. "In sunlight I can't transform but in shadows I can" I explain calmly.

"So…Cody was right not to trust you?" He asks suspiciously, hands lingering on grabbing his katana.

"Kind of… When I first returned, I wasn't myself, I was still badly affected by the power but now I'm fairly back to normal. I am still me, but the empathist part of me means I understand the Kanabo nature so it doesn't leave me, it's bonded to me…possibly permanently"

"There must be a way!" He shakes his head desperately, as if trying to wake up from a bad dream. "I won't leave you!"

I look away. "I'm sorry Leo, I can't remain locked in a cage, I only just survived my mind's dark abyss…"

Leo grabs my hand, trying to take control of the impossible situation. "Don't go, we can help you, we'll find a way!"

"You need to let me go Leo" I simply reply. "I have to go back to Sh'Okanabo"

"WHAT?! NO!" He sounds commanding now; the fearless leader we all know and love. "How could you even think that?"

"Leo, Cody was right, I went out at night…and not for runs like I said…I had to see him, my Kanabo side affects me more than it seems, all you see is a façade!" I groan.

He gets that look in his eyes. "But…he's evil!"

"Good…evil…what's the difference?" I frown in thought, weighing up the arguments of both sides in my head.

"Violet, you'd never have said that before! I don't think that's how you really feel…"

He still won't release my hand, unable to accept my decision. I feel a droplet of rain hit me and look up at the now grey sky.

"I'm sorry, but next time we meet…" I inhale slowly; "…Leonardo…it will not be as brother and sister" I shakily pull my hand away and push past him, not letting him see the tears welling in my eyes. "Goodnight, Onii Chan"

"Wait!" I can sense he is following me; I'm not going particularly fast.

I don't look back; the rain starts to pour heavily, drenching us within seconds. "Leave me be" I hiss into the evening gloom, I stop before speaking again. "I am a monster, and nothing more" I allow myself to transform to emphasize my point.

"No…" he is denying everything I say, I guess it is to be expected, and he is generally in charge as it is.

I start to walk again; he grabs my wrist, still attempting to stop me. We look at each other in silence for a few minutes, emotions portraying themselves through means other than words. As I stare into his deep hazel eyes, I sense his fears of what will happen to me. I'm sure my eyes betray everything I'm saying! I hardly believe me myself…

But even as much as I wish Leonardo can convince me to stay, he can't. I turn away as the tears that have been lingering for a while begin to escape my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I say quickly, snatching my hand away as I attempt not to even glance at him. "I have to go!"

I begin to run down the alley, pausing briefly when I reach the end and glancing back at my brother desperately for all the answers he doesn't have.

I swear I see him whisper something, but the rain is drowning out most noise so I can't really tell, as I can't read lips particularly well.

I don't let myself stay any longer. I run off into the blackness of the night, making my way aimlessly through the city, eventually slowing down to a steady pace as I really had nowhere specific to go.

"You did the right thing" My Kanabo side keeps telling me, it's so strange talking to yourself like this, I guess it's a sign I am going a little nuts as a Kanabo…

"But at what price? I've lost my family!" I cry harder, hugging myself in the cold rain. Each drop splashes me delicately, but they could be knives for all I care!

"So? Now you're free, just like you wanted"

I'm not happy; the price was too high! I don't bother to argue with myself, sighing instead. "Whatever…"

"You miss your mate, don't you?"

I chuckle darkly, resisting the urge to break stuff. "You do too"

A hesitation. "Well, he was one of the only ones that accepted this part of you, no matter what…"

"He's always there for me" I smile to myself, "And he always will be, I just need a way to fix this"

"Why? Don't you like me?" it sounds almost…sad.

I stare at my reflection in the puddles on the ground. "I do, but I can't live like this"

To me, it almost looks like my reflection answers me. "So you'd give up the power, the freedom, for your family?"

I nod determinedly. "There's no question about it!"

"Wow…you creatures are so…interesting"

I'm not sure why, but it goes quiet after that, I guess it's had its chat with me and has decided there's nothing more to say. It could also be that soon the sun will rise and I will be forced to make it retreat anyway. I let myself stay in Kanabo form as long as I can but eventually find the sun renders me powerless.

Luckily, I am near Sh'Okanabo's ship so I won't have to stay normal for long. I reach it within about six minutes at my slow pace.

"Ah, Violet, I've been expecting you" Sh'Okanabo seems in higher spirits than usual.

I can see his lackey Viral working with the computers nearby. She is still as I remember, in a red 'battle dummy' she was apparently trapped in by Cody and Don, which has long claws, long tentacle-like hair, and one blue eye on the front.

"The Time Window is almost ready, and soon we will control its power!" Sh'Okanabo continues.

I nod, trying to hide my annoyance when Viral announces it is completed.

"Then activate it!" he growls almost immediately.

She pulls a switch but something is wrong. We begin to try get away from it but it explodes into life, random portals opening around us…we've ripped time and space!

As the explosion knocks me forward, I am forced into one of the opened portals where I continue falling for a few seconds, but something stops me. Before the portal can close again, and even before I get what's going on, I am pulled back through by one of Sh'Okanabo's shadowy tentacles that grabs onto my waist quite firmly and jerks me out quickly.

"Thanks Master" I say quickly as he dumps me back on the floor of his ship.

But Sh'Okanabo doesn't say anything else to me. He just gets more furious as the situation gets worse. "I shall destroy it!"

Viral blocks his path. "No Master, not until it's stabilised! It could destroy all time and space!"

"Big deal" I mutter as I pout. "Like it hasn't already"

But all three of us jump as a voice declares, "Look at what we have here!" I don't dare to turn around; I recognize that voice far too much to dare to look. It's Raph! He continues talking, but I try to ignore him.

"Step away from the machine Sh'Okanabo!" Leo orders, this makes me wince, I can't face him, especially after what I said to him!

Viral points somewhere behind me, but I still refuse to look. "Master, the boy!" I assume that's Cody then.

"Can you stop this?" Sh'Okanabo asks in defeat.

"If you promise not to eat my brains, yeah I can help you"

I smirk to myself. "No guarantees…"

I hear a commotion behind me as another window opens, and soon, everyone but Don and Cody are fighting someone. I merely stare at nothing, only noticing Viral flee when Cody asks her something, but that's pretty much it.

I watch with vague interest as Cody opens a window as everything stabilises. It's our time…more precisely, our home. He yells at the guys to go through, and then I hear Mikey's question, it makes a chill run down my spine.

"What about Violet?" I can see them all rushing towards it.

"We can't take her back the way she is," Don points out.

I regain the anger towards Cody as I realise he's made me lose my family more than I had already! He's the root of all my problems! Him and his stupid invention designed to spy on us or something. Sh'Okanabo and me move towards him.

"Revenge…" I hiss, exasperated with him.

"With your friends gone, you and your secrets will be mine!" I watch my Master get even closer, me following his lead.

Out of nowhere, my brothers jump between Cody and us. Leo and Mikey right in front of me. I catch Mikey's glance, it's longing for me, but as soon as I make eye contact with Leo, I regret it.

"What? We were gonna leave you palling around with Sh'Okanabo? I don't think so" Mikey grabs Cody's hand and runs, pulling him to safety.

Leo merely watches me, training all his focus on my movements. I remain frozen on the spot, unable to do anything under his glare. I break contact and look down.

"Violet…" I shake my head to silence him; he ignores it. "…Don't lose control"

What? Why did he say that to me? I look back up and catch his gaze, his eyes tell me everything. He trusts me, he knows I can make the right decisions and finally understands why I left, possibly seeing why I must stay with Sh'Okanabo…But at the same time, he doesn't want to let me go, he feels I'm not ready to go. He promised me he'd never leave my side and would always be there to help me with my problems, which is what is unnerving him. He wants to say everything to keep me but he needn't, I can read the expression and his emotions. He feels he's standing in the way…

I give him a half smile so he knows I understand, also so Sh'Okanabo doesn't see it. "Thank you," I mouth at him then turn to watch them fleeing as he runs past me.

"NO! He's the key to the machine" Sh'Okanabo goes for Cody again.

"Ugly, you don't have a machine!" Raph throws a sai at it, causing it to explode.

As they all escape its fury, I turn desperately to Sh'Okanabo. "Master? What can we do?"

I can feel the flames lick my skin, my Kanabo form the only protection right now.

"We must leave, the sunlight is too powerful" he gestures to the ships windows which now have sunlight pouring in them. I notice why he's so anxious; the fire is destroying some of the gene seeds, thus weakening him.

He quickly pilots the ship, flying up, out of the Earth's accursed light and straight to the dark side of the moon! While he does this, I had to put out all the fire so the ship would survive the journey. Even now, I can't help but gaze up at the Earth, wondering which members of my family miss me and even whether they all know the whole truth now…

Sh'Okanabo beckons me over to where he and Viral are; though, Viral is still working on part of the ship. "We've managed to save the ship…" he growls to me, obviously annoyed with my brothers. "But the day of awakening shall come! As will your ascension"

I recoil. "My ascension?"

I receive a grin. "You will be able to become a full Kanabo on the day of awakening. Instead of being the resilient drone you are, you could become a full Kanabo, and with your power, possibly a queen"

"That will be permanent" My Kanabo side points out to me. I want to say 'Not now' but I can't help but listen to it. "React or he'll think you're against him!"

I smirk. "Alright…sounds good to me" I want to slap myself for my answer though. "What do we need to do?"

"We shall take over Moon Base Bishop!" He outlines his plans to me briefly for after we've finished repairing the ship.

As I crawl away to go about my task, my Kanabo voice speaks again. "So I'm guessing you have a plan?" I glance my reflection in the ship's windows.

"I'm working on it" I mutter lamely.

My reflection rolls its eyes. "Okay, you don't want to become full Kanabo, I get that…but you don't have a clue what you're going to do?"

I sigh. "Nope…I've got nothing. Do you?"

"Umm…the thing about that is…" We exchange a grin. "Fine, I'll admit it's a harder task than one would expect, but…"

"My brothers will come, I can guarantee that" I say worriedly.

My Kanabo reflection looks uneasy. "And then what? They'll be turned the moment they set foot in the base once you and Sh'Okanabo take over!"

I bite my lip, "I have to go through with it though, if I don't, I'll probably perish"

"Probably?" My shadowy likeness gives me a stern look. "It's more like he will kill you"

I start to walk down the corridor, almost feeling as if I'm walking alongside my Kanabo part. "All the more reason to not defy his orders" I freeze in my steps then blushing, I ask myself "What was my job again?"

I don't know why, but even though we repaired the ship, Sh'Okanabo allows me some time to rest. He merely says, "We have a big job ahead of us" when I ask why. I think it's more to do with his strength, quite a few gene seeds were destroyed and he is bound to them.

I sit in a small, secluded area of the ship, letting myself meditate steadily, controlling my breathing, ignoring everything else. Even my Kanabo side seems to be trying to aid me in this task, giving me peace and also meditating with me. It's almost as if I'm sitting next to myself, both parts in harmony with the other, creating a flow of energy to follow.

"Mikey…" I whisper in my mind, trying desperately to connect to him.

I wait in silence, about to give up when I hear him. "Violet!"

Happiness: music to my ears.

"I didn't think I'd get to see you again" I open my eyes and shift to face him; I've successfully reached our connection, our world.

"Me neither" I admit to him. "I guess I just felt a bit upset from what happened"

"You're telling me! Now I can't be with my beautiful flower"

I flush. "Oh Mikey! I really miss my knight in shining armour too"

We hug, the Kanabo bit almost purring again, but remaining silent.

"So where are you?" He asks eventually.

I smirk, "You're not gonna believe me…"

"Trust me, right now I'd believe anything"

I wink at him, "The moon" I see his saddened look, "I know, so close…yet so far" I rub his face gently "So, did Leo tell the others?"

I receive a nod. "He also told us not to fight you"

"What?"

"I'm guessing whatever you said to him was exactly what you wanted everyone to understand before"

I smile and hug Mikey tighter. "Tell him I'm thankful he understood" I clear my throat quickly. "I'll try to keep in control Mikey, but without you…that could be hard, every time I've lost it has been when you're not present"

"I noticed" He winks back at me. "But I'm sure you can Babe"

"Thanks, but I don't think you entirely comprehend me," I sigh as he gives me a puzzled look. "Mikey, I can almost feel the old me fading, I could lose control at any moment!"

"Nah, you won't," he grins, "I bet even if you were permanently stuck like that, you'd never forget who you were!"

So naïve, yet, at the same time, I feel he is telling the truth.

"Hurry up! Sh'Okanabo will find you any minute!" My Kanabo self suddenly appears beside me and tries to pull me away from Mikey. I can see he can't see it though as he doesn't react.

"I'm sorry Mikey, I have to go" I look down.

He looks sad but accepts it. "Okay, I hope you know what you're doing" he frowns.

"Yeah right!"

"Do you?" I ask playfully and by the embarrassed look, I know his answer is no. "Don't worry, I'll be fine"

"Or so we all hope"

"Oh shut up!" I say to my other half, throwing a glare towards her, worrying Mikey.

"Um, Violet? Who are you talking to?"

I turn back to him. "Just tell him. Trust me, it's the easiest answer"

I look at him nervously. "Well, you know how you said you'd believe anything?"

He nods.

"Well…"