Hello fellow fans of anthropomorphized animals! Sorry, had to do that, Sir Malachi is just too CUTE!

Anyways, I have to apologize. FF was being incredibly stupid and refused to let me change what category this story was listed under. But it's all better now.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for, Chapter 9!

Fay lay on her bed, which was little more than a cot with red bed sheets, and doodled in a notebook. She wielded the fat crayons with expertise as she scribbled across the paper, swapping quickly from green to blue to red to purple to orange to gray to brown to pink and back to gray again. She glanced up at the picture she had tacked on her corkboard. Two black eyes looked at her, one surrounded by a ring of brown.

"I wish I had more than basic shades." Fay thought aloud, "Then I could've drawn a better portrait of you, Dellie."

The bunny grunted and rolled over in her litter box, obviously missing the soft grass she was accustomed too. Fay laughed and slipped her a tiny carrot. Delilah hopped over and stole the carrot from between her fingers, eliciting another happy turtle laugh.

"Fay?" Stockman called.

"Oh, yeah. I'm supposed to be really upset and remorseful and all that." Fay thought, "About hurting Dogpound and Fishface." As if on cue, guilty grief struck her and she shoved her head into her red pillow, groaning loudly.

"Oh, Fay!" Baxter said, rushing into the door, "You sound sick. And I just heard you laughing. Are you delirious? I bet there's some residual chemical in here that's messing with your mind…"

"No no…I'm okay…I don't think there are drugs in the walls or anything…" Fay murmured, hoping she sounded more exhausted than drugged. Sure, having a recycled mutagen-warping lab as her bedroom wasn't the most comforting thing, but when you're a mutant, most things in your life seem to be centered on survival instead of comfort.

"Good. I couldn't have one of my strongest experiments…" Stockman began, quickly realizing his fatal mistake, "I mean, one of my lovely daughters, getting sick."

But Fay had heard enough. Her worst fears were true. Not that she hadn't known they were, but it still hurt for them to be ripped out and exposed in such a glaringly obvious way. "We aren't your daughters!" she mentally shouted at him, "We're your mutants! Your weapons! And nothing more! You'd stop caring about us the second we lost use to you! I just know it!"

Baxter stared at her in shock and confusion. "Fay…do you really think that?" he asked calmly, rattled by her perception.

She bit her lip to keep from snapping, "What are you, some kind of mind-reader?"

"Oh, shoot." She thought silently, "Did I say that out loud?" She shrugged to herself. "That kind of felt…good. Like I got something off my shell."

"Fay? Are you going to answer me?" Stockman asked crankily.

"Well, I can't just stop halfway." She thought brazenly and Leonara-like.

"Yes, I am going to answer you, and no, I do not think that." Fay retorted. She waited to see the look of utter befuddlement pass over Baxter's face before continuing. "I know that." Fay declared, changing Stockman's expression to anger, "It's easy to see. When I told you I was a pacifist, you got angry. Angrier than any normal person would if they found out their child didn't like fighting. Most parents would be HAPPY their daughter disliked violence, because it meant she would try her best to stay out of harm's way."

Baxter tried to interrupt, probably to say that he DID want her out of harm's way, but she cried, "I'M NOT DONE YET!" He shrunk back. "As I was saying, most parents would be happy to have a pacifistic daughter who wouldn't fight and maybe help world peace or something. But YOU on the other hand, HATED it, because it meant one of your four deadliest weapons was out of commission. Then I got angry and defeated, unwittingly I might add, Dogpound and Fishface, and passed out. When I woke up and you explained it to me, you were happy as can be, because there was a chance, just a chance, that I wasn't a failure." Fay ranted.

"I was not happy! I was upset!" Stockman began.

"Maybe, but not because I 'compromised myself' or any of that bull. If anything, it was because I fainted before I could finish them off!" the brunette yelled, "Now I've realized what I've done and I hate it and you wish Leonara would've just shut her mouth because then I wouldn't be wallowing in my misery. Because if I'm wallowing in my misery, it means I don't want to fight. Not that I would anyway, because I'm a stupid PACIFIST."

Fay breathed and Baxter opened his mouth, but she shot him a Raph-tastic death glare, complete with animated flame eyes. "Now, I bet you'll turn me in to some government facility, because I'm no use to you anymore!" she shouted, her eyes slowly turning pure white, "Or, better yet, you'll give me to our enemy, the evil 'turtles'! And y'know what?! I would LOVE that!"

Stockman looked appalled. "Good." Fay thought with a snarl, "I was going for appalled."

"The TURTLES, however evil they may be, CARE about me! About my well-being! And I care about theirs! Do you want to know where my ponytail holder is right now? It's around Mikey's ankle, sopping up blood." Fay declares boldly, "I bet if you abandoned me, they'd take me in. Sure, they wouldn't trust me at first. I'd have to prove myself. Maybe lead a strike against you and my sisters, or formally relinquish you as my family…"

"STOP!" Baxter cried, "You're not running away!"

"Well, why not?" Fay asked, "It's not like I'm an important asset. I'm not the best fighter, that's Mika. I'm not the smart one, that's Mika. I'm not the clever one, that's Lea. I'm not the goofy one, that's Elle. I won't fight, and even when I will, I'm the worst fighter. Anything I could devise Mika could devise a better one. I'm no good at being a silly pick-me-up that's all sunshine and rainbows. And all my plans are stupid and indecent compared to Leonara's. Sure, trying to look mean when guarding Mikey wasn't genius, but I probably would've tried to reason with them and get us all stabbed. I never would've thought of tripping to capture someone. Instead of angering Dogpound, I probably would've just asked him politely to come with me and gotten beaten to death."

"You come up with good plans." Stockman muttered.

"Really? Like…" She wracked her brain for a stupid-sounding plan to prove her point, "Baiting the turtles with something they find precious?" Mentally, she laughed. That was exactly what Lea had done by taking Mikey. And look how that turned out.

But Baxter seemed determined to make her happy. He got a faraway look on his face, like he was actually considering the stupid idea. "Precious…" he muttered to himself, "Pizza? No, that won't work. Skateboards? No, how would we steal their skateboards? And if we left a random one, they'd probably just try to take it back to its owner or something. The stupid goody two-shoes. Two-feet?"

He shook his head. "Gotta think of something…" he whispered, his eyes lighting up, "Or someone…" Stockman glanced to Fay, who recoiled in horror when she realized he was debating using her as bait. "No no. She's probably lying about her connection with Orangey. Let's see. Who do the turtles find important? Yoshi? Nah, if Shredder can't find him how could I? Doesn't the one have a pet? Again, now how would I find it?" He tapped his chin, closing his eyes thoughtfully. They rocketed open. "Got it." He decreed.

Baxter ran out of the room like a madman. "No don't!" Fay begged. She had no idea who he planned to capture, or how, but she hated the idea. Hated the idea that she had betrayed her only friend, and now would most likely have to face him, AGAIN. Fay had let down her family before, but never had she let down a friend. She'd never had one to let down.

"Oh, yeah! How could I forget?" Stockman exclaimed, rushing back in. A spark of hope shot through Fay, and she opened her mouth with plans to persuade him against his idea. He stopped her by saying, "I got you another pony band and some more athletic tape." He dropped the wraps and dashed out again.

Fay whimpered at the closed door. Her eyes drifted to her picture. The hair-colored crayons still lay on it, unused. Without it, the only thing that showed it was Fay's siblings and not Raph's was Lea's cerulean jacket.

"Oh, Delilah." Fay moaned, falling forward on her bed. Her head crumpled the paper. She whined, "What am I going to do?!" A tear slipped out of her eyes and landed on the paper. A circular wet spot landed on the corner of a turtle's eye. She looked at it, and covered Lea with her hand, along with her jacket. The turtles look like the originals instead of Fay's clone family. Now Mikey was crying too.

Line

Mikey strolled into the main lair of the room, happily humming a tune that sounded suspiciously like the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song. Raph looked up from his comic book to glare at him. "Aren't you going to take off that stupid girl's ponytail?" he asked.

Mikey waved his banded ankle in his brother's face, snatching it away before he could tear the red wrap off. "Nope!" Mikey cheered. Raph growled.

"Just leave him, Raph." Leo decreed, peeling his eyes off SMRFF to shoot him a look, "If he wants to keep your clone's headband, he can."

"Oh, like you did with Karai's knife?" Raph asked.

"That was different!" Leo said.

"How?" Raph asked, grinning.

Leo protested, "She saved my life!"

"She threw a knife at your head!" Raph retorted.

"NEAR my head!" Leo shouted.

The four's focus was on the argument, so they didn't notice when their anime pixilated and turned black. They also didn't notice when the man on screen declared, "Alright, you're good to go Leonara! Now stand right here…you don't want them to see her at first…that's it, you got it."

"I'm not a baby, Dad!" she shouted, clapping her hands over her mouth when she realized she called him Dad.

In answer, Stockman looked to Fay. She stared at the floor, refusing to look up. "Theoretically, we are apiece a reduced amount of a month matured currently." Mika stated.

"Everyone just SHUT UP!" Lea yelled, drawing the other turtles' attention.

"Leo? Is that your clone on our TV?" Raph asked. Leo nodded. "Thought so." Raph decreed.

"Hello, you despicable two-legged terrapins!" Leonara proclaimed with mock enthusiasm.

"Don't we have four legs?" Donnie muttered.

"I think you know what we want." Lea stated.

"'We' is a relative term." Fay mumbled, loud enough for the four to hear but soft enough for Lea to ignore.

Lea grinned evilly. "We want a rematch. And I have a feeling we're going to get it." She stepped back and to the side. The four boys gasped. Hanging upside down, dangling from a pole, and tied in a heap of rope, was April O'Neil.

"Yep." Lea decreed, singing the statement teasingly, "We've got your girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Donnie defended before he realized she couldn't hear him.

"And I HIGHLY suggest you come here and get her." Leonara stated, "Otherwise…" She drew the flat of her short blade across her neck and made a ripping sound. The black-haired girl laughed. She waltzed up a stepstool to reach the rope hanging April, and stabbed a kunai through it. April squealed in horror, her bangs dangling only inches away from some unseen horror beneath her.

Lea giggled and flicked the thin blade, making the rope fray more. "You want it?" she asked, "Come and get it." She waited a few seconds before dropping the grin. "Alright, Mick, how do I shut off the camera?"

"The scarlet badge will root power failure en route to the apparatus." Mika answered.

Lea snorted and shouted, "TRANSLATION!"

Fay, still sitting on a crate and staring at her feet, looked up and murmured dejectedly, "Red button."

"Thanks Fay." Lea said.

"Not welcome." Fay replied.

Lea pressed a button on the side of the screen, but instead of shutting it off, it inverted the colors. Mikey screamed and jumped, causing Raph to slap him.

"Alright then." Lea proclaimed, stepping away from the camera. With the colors inverted, her skin was eggplant purple and her irises were a rusty red. The whites and pupils had switched colors, and her jacket was an orangey burgundy. Her hair was shock white with coppery streaks, and her tan athletic tape was sky blue. "Mika and I are going to guard the door, watch for them and all that." She decreed, "If you two can't handle a tied-up human, then you are the lamest of lame."

She beckoned Mika, who now had dark blue hair and scarf, along with fuchsia skin, and said, "Come now, Mrs. Roboto." Mika glared at her with her rusty eyes and followed.

Fay, with sky blue hair, violet eyes, and teal earrings, glanced up from the ground and met eyes with the azure-haired copper-haired April. She looked over to Elle, with indigo hair and olive hat, and nodded brusquely.

Fay glanced over her shoulder at something and nervously murmured, "Elle?"

"Yeah, Fay-Ray?" Elle replied, grinning at her newly-thought-up nickname. Her black teeth looked horrible next to her radiant purple skin and teal mouth.

"I…I think I see…something…over there…" Fay whispered worriedly, curling up on her aqua crate-seat. She pointed shakily off to the corner. "Can…can you go…check…please? After…Dogpound…and Fishface…" She trailed off, hiding her guilty face behind her elbow. Oh, how she hated manipulating naïve little Elle.

"Sure, Fay Ray! No problemo!" Elle answered, scampering off with her staves drawn, "Come out come out wherever you are…"

Fay watched her leave before dashing to the camera. She hid her mouth behind her hand and hissed, "I'll be quick. We're in an abandoned warehouse on the corner of 42nd and Walton. In the back, there's a barb wire fence clearing. You'll see the big CAT crane back there."

She shot a look behind her nervously before continuing. She whispered, "If you hurry, I can untie April and get her back there so you can help her away. Keep her away from her apartment for awhile; we know where it is."

Fay's expression turned serious. "You're going to have to trust me." She decreed, "Over and out." She hit a button, and the camera blinked off.

AHM fans, I'm trying! I started writing a novel, and that's been distracting me, plus finals soon and Achievement Test earlier. I WILL meet the deadline though! I WILL!