Slowly.

Carefully.

There's no way I'm getting caught this time.

Raphael stayed alert as he traveled down the corridor. Always expect the unexpected, especially when dealing with...

"HEADS UP!"

Raph looked up a second too late to avoid the orange wave that rushed towards his head.

"Michaelangelo!"

The turtle in question stepped out from behind the wall with an instant camera and snapped a picture. "Check it, it's a Raph-o-lantern!"

"How 'bout I carve you a new face, pumpkin boy?"

Just as Raphael charged, Mike stepped aside. Raphael tried to stop but the paint at his feet was slippery and he slammed right into Leonardo, who was coming to see was all the noise was about. Leo looked down at his plastron, now stained with orange, then up at his brothers in annoyance.

"Hee hee, hi Leo," Mike said cheerfully, waving the picture in the air. He looked at it and burst out laughing again.

"It's his fault!" Raphael growled, pointing to Mike.

"Clean this up," Leonardo ordered. "We need to go pick up Shadow."

"Huh?" Raph asked. "I thought she was goin' trick or treatin'."

"She is. With us. Casey got called into work at the last minute."

"What about April?"

Leo shook his head. "She's still out of town, remember?"

Raphael crossed his arms, orange paint still dripping off his beak. "Well, I ain't goin'. That's kids stuff."

Donatello came in wearing dark clothes and a long cloak that hid his turtle features. "Come off it, Raph. Do it for Shadow."

"Well..."

***

Raphael adjusted his hat and grumbled, "How did I let you talk me into this?"

Mike smiled and adjusted his pirate eye-patch. "Aww, it'll be fun, Raph."

Raph's reply was cut off when Casey opened the door. He was already dressed for work, as a bouncer in one of the city's fancier bars. He had a relieved look on his face.

"Finally! What took you?"

Leo cast a glance back towards his brothers. "There was a little mess we had to take care of."

Mike ducked past Casey into the apartment. "Where's Shadow?" he called out.

"Uncle Mike!" A five-year-old Shadow came running in from her bedroom dressed in a pretty white dress with a pair of angel wings strapped to her back. She tripped on the hem of her dress but Mike caught her and swung her around in his arms.

"There's my little princess!"

Shadow bapped Mike on the beak. "No, I'm an angel!"

Mike rubbed his beak and smiled. "My mistake."

Casey closed the door and raised an eyebrow at Raph. "And what are you supposed to be?" he asked, pulling at Raph's tattered trenchcoat.

"I'm a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle...in a trenchcoat."

Casey just rolled his eyes and looked over to Leo, dressed in a long brown robe. "I need to get going."

Leo nodded and called to Michaelangelo.

Mike lifted Shadow up unto his shoulder. "Time to get some candy!" Mike said, waving around the pillowcase he would be using,

"Yay!" Shadow cheered, waving her own candy bag, an orange canvas bag.

***

After a half-hour Raphael was getting very bored. He thought about asking the others to call it a night but Shadow looked like she still had hours of energy left. Besides she looked so happy. Even Leo, who was still cautious about being out in the open, smiled as they watched Shadow collect handfuls of sweets. They had finished Casey's apartment building and had moved on. They were lucky they were in a nice neighborhood.

They stopped in front of an old building that looked horribly out of place on the street. Shadow ran ahead but Mike held her back and suggested they go to the next house. Shadow started whining and Mike looked at Leo.

Leo stared at the house for a moment. "I don't think so."

The iron gate flew open, banging loudly against the fence. A welcoming glow appeared in the window. A jack-o-lantern.

"See?" Shadow said. "Can we go?"

Leo was still hesitant. Raphael smirked. "Sure kid."

Leo looked at Raph, then narrowed his eyes.

"What're ya worried about Leo? She's got us here. Besides, they got a pumpkin."

"Well..."

Shadow jumped away and hurried for the front door. The four Turtles followed her and waited at the bottom of the steps while she rang the doorbell, which was set unusually low, as if just for children.

The door opened slowly, silently, and low, eerie music floated out from inside. Even Shadow stepped back as a black figure became noticeable in the shadows.

"Oh no."

Kali smiled as Raph glared at her. "Hey guys." Kali was dressed as an angel as well, except where Shadow was a saintly white, Kali had opted for pure black.

Shadow smiled. "Trick Or Treat!"

Kali smiled down at her. She held out a candy bowl for Shadow. "Here ya go."

Shadow gave the icky looking hand sticking up from the center of the candy a strange look, but grabbed a handful of candy anyway. Just as she pulled her small hand away the candy bowl hand tipped forward.

"Happy Halloween!"

Shadow jumped back but managed to keep hold of her candy. Kali gave her a smile. "Looks like you got a treat and a trick."

"Oh, I don't believe you, Kali," Don frowned.

Raph chuckled. "I thought it was kinda funny."

Leo elbowed him. "I saw you jump too."

"I did not!"

"Thank you," Shadow told Kali as she went back down the steps.

"You're welcome Shadow, have fun. And guys, why don't you stop by after you drop off the kid? Then we can have some real Halloween fun."

"Sure thing," Mike called. He turned back to his brothers. "Now, don't you feel silly about not wanting to come here."

"Not really," Leo said.

"Leo's scared of her," Raph taunted. "Leo's scared of a girl."

"No, I'm wary of an insane girl. Especially one who takes that description as a compliment."

***

"Okay, that was the last place on the block. Can we go now?"

"Yeah, all right. Are you ready to go home, Shadow?"

When he got no answer Leo turned around, scanning the area. "Shadow?"

Mike jumped up from the bus stop bench he was sitting on. "Shadow? She'd gone!"

"I can see that! Where'd she go?"

They all went in separate directions, calling for the little girl. They all came back a few minutes later empty handed.

Mike began to chew on his fingernails. "Aw man, Casey's gonna KILL me!"

Raphael smacked the back of his head, knocking his red and white bandanna off. "Nice to know you're so worried about Shadow!"

Mike straightened his bandanna. "Sorry, it's just..."

"Look!"
Don was down the street, and had found something. A piece of candy.

Mike picked it up and looked it over carefully. "It's a gumball."

Leo smacked his forehead. "I don't think that's what Don meant Mike."

"See, there's more," Don pointed out. "I think there's a hole in her bag."

Raph grabbed Don's shoulder. "Wait, what if it's some other kid's candy. Or a..."

"Trap?" Leo finished. "Then we really need to follow it. Come on."

They headed into the alley, with Mike falling behind a little.

"Mike, what are you doing?" Leo hissed.

Mike dropped a mini Hershey bar into his bag. "Well, if this is Shadow's candy, I was thought I should collect it, so she can have it back."

"And if it isn't?"

"We can always use more."

Leo groaned and Raph gave him a look that said 'Hey, I didn't even want to come in the first place.'

The ninja foursome continued to follow the trail of candy as it traveled behind the buildings they had just visited. They followed it to where the trail suddenly stopped, in a dark, empty alley.

"Um, okay, that's weird," Mike said as they stood back to back over the last piece of candy, a Tootsie Roll.

They tensed, ready for anything that might jump out of the surroundings. They squinted into the darkness, hoping to catch something that was illuminated by the nearly dark moon, strained to hear a sound, but it was eerily quiet, like the entire city had frozen.

***

Mike closed his eyes against the sudden bright light and when he opened them again he was no longer in that empty alley. He was in the sewers, the full moon shining through a grate above his head.

"Who's there?" he called out. He heard his echo return and sighed. He reached beneath his vest and pulled out his nunchaku.

A sudden movement caught his attention and he dove to the left just in time to avoid the hit. He rolled and stood facing his opponent. The shadowy figure raised its weapon, a scythe taller than itself, and charged again. Mike flipped back and watched in surprise as the blade tore right through a pipe, which started to leak.

Mike whirled his nunchaku and started delivering his own attacks, none of which managed to land.

"Who are you?" he yelled, his voice echoing throughout the tunnels. "Shredder? The Rat King?"

"None of the above," the shadow replied, a single voice, no echo. The scythe was swung again and Mike ducked out of reflex before realizing that it wasn't even close to hitting him. It did, however, hit its mark. The leaking pipe, which burst and shot a solid stream of water straight at Michaelangelo. He was thrown back and hit the wall hard. As he rubbed his aching head the shadow approached and swung...

***

Don pulled his palms away from his eyes and looked around. He was in a vacant lot. Several old cars and weeds made up a bulk of the topography. He pulled his bo from beneath his cape and stood at the ready.

"Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael," he called out, hoping his family was nearby to help him.

"They can't hear you."

Don circled around, trying to find the owner of the voice. It came from a figure standing on one of the rusted cars.

"Who are you?" he demanded, gripping his bo. He hated fighting but he would defend himself.

The shadow gripped its scythe and leapt up. He lost it in the dark sky, but saw it again as it passed over the full moon. Using that, he was able to figure out where it would land. Or at least where it should have landed. He was ready but it never came.

"What the..."

"Nice try."

Don whirled around. The next thing he saw was the butt of the scythe coming towards his face...

***

Raphael pulled his sai and blinked away the spots from the light. It was now dark again. He shivered as a cool fog rolled in at ankle height. He backed up and bumped into something. He turned and sank his sai into stone.

"A tombstone. I'm in a god-damn graveyard."

"Fitting, no?"

Raphael attacked in the direction of the voice in hopes of hitting the speaker. "Come out where I can hit you!"

The shadow reformed itself behind the turtle and raised its weapon. Raphael turned and caught the handle in the prongs on his sai, pulling them to the side. The move was supposed to disarm his opponent but they somehow kept their grip on the scythe and disarmed Raphael of his own weapons!

"Damn it!" He tried punching, and it only angered him more when nothing landed.

He finally stopped and pulled back. He tried looking for the figure but it blended in perfectly with the shadowy surroundings. "Two can play at that game," he said to himself as he moved into the darkness with ninja stealth.

This didn't help him find his opponent, but he hoped it stopped that freaky shadow thing from finding him, at least until he wanted to be found.

Raphael never saw the blow coming and found himself face down in the dirt. He looked up at the scythe wielding shadow and rolled away as the blade sank into the dirt. However, in the thick fog he neglected to notice the empty grave, until he rolled in.

He stood and looked up at the figure above him, framed perfectly by the full moon. The ground was a good foot above him and if he jumped he could make it. He jumped but was thrown back by a face full of dirt. He spat it out and raised his arms as more flew down upon him...

***

Leo opened his eyes and stared out over the rooftop. This is familiar, he thought. He pulled out his katana as he realized the location.

It can't be...no...it can't...

He spun around and sliced through thin air. Huh? I could have sworn...

He attacked again. Nothing.

This is getting ridiculous.

He stood perfectly still. He turned slowly and saw a human-like shadow silhouetted against the full moon.

He crossed his swords in front of him. "This isn't real," he announced.

"Are you so sure?" the shadow replied.

Leo stood his ground as the shadow raised its scythe and charged forward. Leo ducked his head into his shell to avoid being decapitated and followed up with a kick to his opponents knees. But his opponent was no longer there and this surprised him so much that he lost his concentration for a moment and stumbled. He caught a flash out of the corner of his eye and turned to see the scythe heading towards his neck...

***

Part two...

TMNT Library