AN: I'm sorry for the delay. I had the case of the Holidays' and New Year Blues. Overstressed from work and Christmas shopping and with how busy my job got. I will try my best to keep updating my story.

Great. Just my night. Those dudes with the fire heads are back! Alright. Let me explain what I meant. A day after meeting Merrill, my bros and I were looking up ways to be heroes; you know, get our name out there (yes, it was before Merrill dubbed us as Los Tortugas Locas). We found out someone was stealing a massive amount of paper throughout NYC. I thought it would be an easy start for us. I thought "how hard it is to catch a couple of paper thieves?"

Boy... did I put my foot in my mouth. In my defense, it would've been an easy night with an easy catch! We had the number and the manpower – scratch that, turtle power. There were just two guys! A skinny dude who could be mistaken as a zombie while his partner was as big and large as an air ballon. What's weird were their faces. I don't mean they're ugly. Okay, they were. But I wasn't talking about their looks. They had footprints marked on their faces. Their heads were on fire, and they were walking like it was not a big deal! I ain't lying!

Proof? They're right in front of us about to break into a jewelry store!

'Aw. You make it sound like they're a threat.' I glanced at Merrill who had a huge smirk. 'They don't look like they're much of a challenge. Perfect punching bag material.' His eagerness was evident even without our bond intact. He was too eager to go after them. I would've agreed if not for the panic attack he just had (I might've caused it). 'Leo. It's not a big deal. I promise.'

Are we going to talk about this after?

'...yeah... no secrets.'

I'll hold you to it, Merr.

We focused on the two criminals in which the skinny dude used his head to light the torch. 'So, what am I up against?' Merrill asked.

Well... on the bright side, there are two of them. The skinny guy may look like he'll break if he lifts a brick, but he can fold paper into living origami ninja. His friend is his muscles.

'Okay. Okay. We have both brain and brawn. I got the brawns, and you got skinny brains. With our skills, we could have this done within ten minutes, probably less if I finished early.'

I love how confident he is, but I couldn't help feeling uneasy. He wanted to let out his aggression. He picked his victims. I don't like this attitude. I think we should the others.

'I said we got this!' I flinched at his angered voice. 'Trust me. I know Light cancelled you but all you gotta do is stall until I'm done.'

So, I'm just bait? I'm guessing you have a plan involving me being bait. I frowned realizing how he saw me as a disposable pawn. It's infuriating! I thought we settled this since our fairytale adventure.

'Come on. Bear with me, Lee. It's a simple plan. I promise nothing will happen to you.'

I sighed. I already hated this plan, yet I agreed. Alright. What's this so-called plan of yours?

~Lady Ai~

My eyes widened at Merrill's plan. It was a simple bait and lure. I lure the big firehead and lead him to Merrill's trap. As the explanation goes, it's simple. Just one annoyance: why was I the bait?

'They know you. They've seen you. They've seen how you fight. They don't know me.'

I know we made up and all, but I hate you.

'Come on, Lee. You can't tap out now.' Merrill playfully pleaded. 'I need my sweet lil' damsel.'

Remind me to kill you when we finish this.

'And I can't wait for your assassination.'

I rolled my eyes as I turned around a corner. The two Foot Guys got out of the jewelry store with a metal hand display with a large red diamond ring. They only steal one ring? Seriously? I would've stolen more than that. I mean I have a huge henchman. 'Might as well use him. The big guy looked like he could steal half the store's worth plus the cash register! Also, what's with the metal hand? Was it a new display? And why did it look familiar? Get your head in the game!

'I hope you're not giving the bad guys ideas.'

I haven't started yet! I need a clear head which means stop talking to me!

'Yeah, yeah. Go do your thing, princess.'

...yeah, I'm gonna kill you later.

I casually walked out of my hiding spot. "What? The Foot Dudes are here?" I said loud enough for them to hear. "I need backup! I can't do this alone! 'Gotta get my brothers!" Not a bad performance. It's believable enough.

'It's mediocre.'

Shut up! Aren't you done with your trap? I'm about to come to you.

'Giggidy.'

"Hey, isn't he one of those turtles that stopped us?" the big guy asked, pointing at me.

"Yes", the skinny guy studied me. "Why is he alone?" It's funny how I was hearing all this with them close by. "Capture him before he calls for backup!"

I scurried off seeing the large man running my way. I took off in a run. I smirked hearing the large footsteps. I slid down the escalator rail heading for the lower floor. I jumped off and headed for the toy store. I glanced back. I saw the two Foot guys jumping off the escalator. I ran deeper past aisle upon aisle of toys. I stopped at an aisle of bicycles. An idea struck my mind. I found some skateboards. I grabbed two and immediately took off the wrapper. I placed the two boards on the floor where I suspected they were coming over. I ran off and over a corner. I peeked around just in time to see Dummy One and Dummy Two (you can guess who it was) stepped on the boards and fell. I chuckled. I knew it was petty, but it was SO worth it!

"You punk! Wait 'til I get my hands on you!" the big guy yelled, glaring daggers my way.

"You still haven't caught me!" I teased, sticking out my tongue. I dashed off ignoring the skinny foot-faced guy telling his partner to get up. A few turns later, I ended up facing a dead end in an aisle dedicated to toy dinosaurs. I faced my pursuers. They had victorious grins as they stalked over like a lion ready to pounce on a gazelle.

"Well, well, well. One little turtle all alone", the skinny man grinned. "This should be an easy night. With you captured, the turtles will come to your rescue. And that's where we will end the turtles!"

I leaned against a shelf with my palm on my forehead. "Oh, no! I'm trapped! I can't escape! You are the most cunning and most devious villains I've ever met! Will someone help me?" I cracked an eye open. Merrill... that's your cue... I cleared my throat. "I said: will SOMEONE help me?" Merrill, enough with your jokes! That's your cue, jackass! "I SAID WILL SOMEONE HELP ME?!" I felt my head sweating seeing nothing happening. "Um... uh... listen... about the skateboards..."

The large man cracked his knuckles. "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this."

"Try not to break too many bones. We need him alive", the skinny guy said. I gulped watching his partner come closer. I pushed myself more onto the shelf. MERRILL?! Where the fuck are you?!

A large hand was drawing closer and closer. I closed my eyes waiting for him to grab me.

"Doom!" I blinked. We looked around. "Doom!" The one who said it was a stuffed T-Rex repeatedly spoke the phrase. Then, an electronic dinosaur said it too. After, a few other toys started saying it. One after another they said the same thing: "DOOM!"

"What is this trickery? Is this your doing, turtle?" the skinny guy accused me.

The large man started to panic. "The toy store is haunted! I knew it was creepy at night! What with those beady, soulless eyes!" I couldn't blame him. Talking dinosaur toys yelling "DOOM!" is terrifying. I had one talking toy experience. I'm not planning on keeping a roster.

His skinny partner grabbed him and dragged him down to his level. "Don't be ridiculous! This was all planned! Grab the turtle!"

Before he had the chance to grab me, the toys' eyes glowed, and jumped onto the two villains. They jumped and hit and bit on the bad guys. I blinked. Just when I was about to leave, a giant shadow engulfed the duo. I blinked again. That was weird...

"You like?" I jumped and turned around to see Merrill casually leaning against the shelf. He gave me a cheeky smirk and continued, "I was just as surprised as you were. Who knew shadows could possess inanimate objects? Pretty cool, huh?" my friend walked over to the bulging mass covered in darkness. "Bad guys secure. Item saved. I call this a mission accomplished. Let's regroup with the gang."

It was all too easy. I'm all for an easy break, but the way Merrill handled it unsettled me. "Can we talk about what we went through?" I asked.

Merrill looked over. "About what?" he asked back, innocently.

I huffed. "Let's start with the panic attack where the closet we were in was covered in darkness... which I admit, I might play a small part in it. But I saw something... I think I saw a memory-"

"Lee. We just made up. I don't want to go down that road again."

"You said we would talk about this after."

Merrill reached his arms over his head and cupped his hands behind his neck. "After can mean anything", he said walking over to the discarded item.

"Merrill!" I yelled. "I don't want to fight with you, either. I just want to understand. We've known each other for two months and I feel like you know more about me than I know about you. I want this relationship, or whatever we have, to work. And it's like you're not putting in the same effort as I am."

My friend didn't bother to look at me. "Leo... secrets stay hidden for a reason. I would rather have mine sealed shut than have anyone snooping around." He bent down to pick up the metal hand with the red gem ring left in the same finger.

I huffed. "It's still not fair. I told you some of my secrets. We're married, for pizza's sake! Yes, I agree with Alex! We're married! And like it or not, we need to work on your communication! Don't like it? Well, kiss my ass!" He became quiet. Over my rant, I didn't realize he stood up holding the metal hand display. "Merrill?" No response. "Hello! I'm talking to you!" Still nothing. I was getting deja vu chills. It's like the time Merrill was controlled by Stockboy. No. It was something else. I walked over to my friend who held the metal hand display. On closer inspection, Merrill's eyes were blank. Was he offline? I mean, he's like part robot. And if he was controlled, he would've responded. I gave him a hard shake. "Merrill, hello! I'm talking to you!" Again, nothing. This was getting unnerving. My focus went to the ring. Maybe that's why those footheads wanted the ring. It must have mystical powers.

I touched the metal hand. I hissed feeling a burning sting on my hand. What was that? The energy it gave off sent chills down my spine. It reminded me of the time I first encountered Dark Merrill. No. It was darker; more sinister. Evil.

The dark entrapment began to disperse. Oh no. With Merrill out of commission, he's not focused enough on his trap. I harshly shook my dazed friend. "Merrill! Wake up! Your trap is disappearing! Merrill!" He still hadn't said a word. I glared at the strange object. The ring was responsible for his behavior. I slapped the metal hand away despite it stinging me.

The moment the hand was out of my friend's reach, Merrill shook his head. "Wha... what happened?"

"You blanked out on me", I explained. "I kept calling you, but you didn't answer. I think the ring had mystic energy."

Merrill blinked. "The ring made me black out? Was I drugged? Roofied?"

I sighed. At least his personality is still intact.

"A human with a turtle?" We looked over to see the two guys standing. The big guy already had the metal hand in his grasp while the bony, flamehead studied Merrill. "How interesting."

I'm certain we're not going to see the skating finals anytime soon.