[voice; action]

[seriouslytwisted]

[voice]

[Exploring and ninja-ing around is turning up a whole lot of dead ends and questions with no answers, so now Raphael is going to try his last resort.

Conversing with strangers.

Making sure he has his voice only function on (pretending that little SNAFU with it in his earlier conversation didn't happen) he reluctantly addresses his fellow...strand-ees.]


Okay, seriously. How many of you people actually buy that "you are in the in-between" story?

[the mystic new-age voice for the quote helps set the atmosphere, yes it is necessary]

---

[action]

[Before this post, Raphael will be swimming around in the Water Sector, trying to keep as hidden as possible but needing to surface to breathe and also sneak back up onto the docks occasionally when he can't cross sections in water. He's a stealthy little bugger, so the average Joe might miss him, but anybody with serious training or extra-sharp senses might find him.

...or you might catch him when he's losing his temper and angrily kicking over a barrel after talking to yet another tree-hugging native yokel, whatever.]

Comments

[meanandgreen]

[Raph gestures with his sai, calling back to the kid with a sneer.]

Yeah, you better run.

[What that accomplishes, exactly... he has no idea, but he sure told him.]

[duelkatana]

[Tossing yet another look at his brother. Don't do him any favors, Raph.]

[The younger version's put away his sai, at least, which means the main crisis is averted. Leo puts away his Raph Stand Down voice and quickly breaks away from his brother to take a few steps forward.]

Hey, wait a second - this is all just some stupid misunderstanding!

[seriouslytwisted]

[Oh dear.

Raph turns, shoves past Leo and reaches up (ARGH WHY IS HE TALLER UGH AND HE'S BIGGER ALSO UNFAIR) to jab a finger at Raphael's plastron.]

Just try me, you blimp. I'll wipe the floor with you!

[meanandgreen]

[WHAT DID HE JUST SAY!?

Okay, yep. Kid's gonna die.

And yeah, he's totally bigger and way scarier than you, you little insect. Raph is more than happy to tower over him, even if it's by a few inches. The feeling is as freakin' awesome as it is unfamiliar as he snarls right in the guy's stupid face.]

In your dreams, you puny little twirp.

[Hey, at least they put the weapons away... for now.]

[duelkatana]

[...weapons still away?]

[...]

[Good. That's all he's gonna bother to hope for at this point.]

Raphael, meet Raphael. [Leo, meet nightmare.]

[seriouslytwisted]

[That kick was enough to put Raph's guard up; this other version of him has a lot of power.

...not that it deters him at all from running at Raphael like a bat out of hell, or from opening the fight with a duck and uppercut move to take advantage of his smaller stature.]

[meanandgreen]

[Raph blocks and parries away from that uppercut, going to kick him hard in the bridge with one smooth movement. The kid might be smaller, but he's faster too, and he obviously well-trained. Not like any identity thieving, bonehead kedan he's ever seen. Finally he's starting to think a little more about what's happening here. This kid is not a kedan. He can't be. Not with moves like that. So that means...

No.

No way!]

You're callin' him Raphael? Have you lost your nut!? You know this's gotta be some sort of trick!

[duelkatana]

Well, what do you want to call him, then? He's got your dazzling personality!

[Leo is just standing back and letting this happen now because as long as you're not killing each other he is 500% done already]

[seriouslytwisted]

STOP TALKING ABOUT ME LIKE I'M NOT HERE!

[ARGHSOKVJSLFKS HE HATES YOU OLD PEOPLE

Raph only barely manages to roll out of the way of the kick; his older self is slightly slower, but SHIT he's strong and he's a lot more skilled and he felt Raphael's foot scrape over his carapace. -BUT WHO CARES IF HE'S STRONGER OR BETTER

RAPH WILL JUST HAVE TO

GET REALLY GOOD IN THE SPAN OF A FEW SECONDS

His feet scuff across the ground as he tries to grab hold of some traction so he can throw himself back at Raphael. Doesn't even occur to him to try anything but a direct attack; he's definitely not the seasoned warriors these older versions are.

Or maybe he's just a hot-headed little brat, there's that too.]

[meanandgreen]

[Bad idea. Raph's ready for him this time. The next move he tries to make, Raph just goes in for a throw. No holds barred. The kid needs to stay down so he can figure out what the hell is going on, already!]

[duelkatana]

[Just watching with his hands on his hips. DO WHATEVER.]

[seriouslytwisted]

[YUP IT WORKS.

Other-Raphael gets a damn good grip on Raph's belt and the rough lip of his shell; hoists him up like he weighs nothing and slams him back down so hard that everything in his body rattles.

Yyyyeah he's not getting up for a minute.]

[meanandgreen]

[Okay, good. Maybe now we can have a little civilized conversation around here. With the imposter on the ground, he turns to Leo, an eerie calm taking over his body language.]

All right. Now that we've made our introductions, somebody mind tellin' me what the heck is GOING ON!?

[...Or we can keep screaming like children. That works too.]

[duelkatana]

[All done here?]

[Okay then. Leo steps forward, staring down at his brother's doppelganger - he looks dazed, but not particularly injured. With a thoughtful grimace, he crouches down, getting ready to stop the younger Raph just in case he decides to spring back up.]

Good question. I fished him out of the canal a little while ago. [Pause.] Raph...I think he really is you.

[seriouslytwisted]

[YOU STARTED IT RAPHAEL.

Raph groans and rolls onto all fours. That hurt.]

I'm not...not him, [he snarls, glaring up at them both. He lost, and he lost so quick. He's humiliated, and that just makes him angrier.] I'm myself.

[meanandgreen]

And that. [He points to the turtle, the...whatever... on the ground.] Is not me!

So what are you, a kedan? Some kind of clone!? Talk!

[This whole thing is starting to sound like one of Mikey's wackjob scifi movies, and it's making his head spin. He can take the whole dimension hopping thing. He can handle a zombie invasion. But this is a whole 'nother ballgame.

If the kid really is an imposter, he did a pretty shoddy job. He might have the gear and some good acting, but he doesn't really look like him otherwise. He's too small, too young, and the face is all wrong. The kid's got scars where he has none, and is missing quite a few of them to boot. They didn't even get the shade of green right.]

[duelkatana]

Settle down, Raph! [Pointed at his brother, because they're finally in a position to talk and they will talk, dammit.]

[Leo pinches the bridge of his snout and gives a quiet sigh. The look he sends the younger Raph is nothing if not apologetic.] Look. I don't know what's going on, but we're never going to find out if we're at each other's throats. Let's just start from the beginning. [AGAIN.]

[seriouslytwisted]

[Sorry Leo, Raph's hardly listening. He's too busy glaring up at his other-self, fists clenching against the ground before he shoves himself up and throws a punch at Raphael again. His strikes are sloppy now, with anger and something else that cuts a little deeper.]

[meanandgreen]

[SETTLE DOWN!? There's a guy walking around pretending to be him and Leo expects him to settle down!? When the kid comes at him again he is just so done. He blocks that punch and throws a roundhouse punch of his own right at the jerk's head.]

That ain't talkin', wackbag!

[duelkatana]

[ooc; big Raph is god-modded here with his mun's permission!]

[That. Is. It.]

ENOUGH!

[Leonardo takes Raphael's punch. Rather, he deflects it, his hand coming up and redirecting Raph's fist to go sailing harmlessly over his shoulder. The momentum of Raph's own swing unbalances him for a split second, which Leo uses to follow up with a roundhouse kick to his shell that sends a couple hundred pounds of turtle flying - straight in the other Raph's direction.]

Both of you, KNOCK IT OFF!

[seriouslytwisted]

[Raph takes that couple hundred pounds of turtle right to the face and hits the ground hard for the third time in the last ten minutes and this time, he's pinned under a guy much heavier than he is.]

Get offa me, [he wheezes, shoving at Raphael.]

[meanandgreen]

[His vision skips as he hits the ground, landing on top of the other turtle in a heap. It knocks him for a loop, but it only takes a second for him to recover, glaring into Raph's eyes and shoving off him with a growl.

When he gets to his feet, he doesn't make another move, just stands there glowering. At least Leo's intervention seems to have knocked some sense into him. And as much as he wants to be mad at his brother for that move, there is way too much going on right now.

He'll get him back for it later. You can count on it.]

I'll knock it off if he quits comin' at me!

[duelkatana]

You grabbed him, Raph! And you - [here he turns to the younger one] - I swore on my honor that I wouldn't attack you, and you repay me by attacking my brother when the fight's already over? Do either of you even care about what's going on, or are you just going to spend all day beating each other's faces in?!

[He hasn't been this angry in a while - not since even before he came here. Maybe there's just something about the magic of two Raphaels that can drive him up an especially high wall, or maybe he's been clamping down on his frustrations for too long now, or maybe who cares because he is done with this.]

[seriouslytwisted]

[What Leo's saying makes sense, and it's something that Splinter might say -only with more restraint and somewhat more eloquently- but Leo is the one saying it. It just makes Raph burn with shame, like he's the bad guy here.

...but he is. Leo swore on his honor; he freaking kneeled down to Raphael and promised not to start anything, and then Raphael ignored that gesture and fought anyway when he could've just let things go. His stupid, stupid temper has done it again.

Clenching his fists, Raphael turns his face down and closes his eyes. It's the closest he can get to an apology, especially with that other Raphael here.]

[meanandgreen]

[This Raphael, however, has no regrets. He did what he had to do. So what if he freaked out a little? There's still the matter of this guy is out parading around pretending to be him. He will NOT just sit back and let that happen.

He crosses his arms over his chest, still scowling. That's about as cowed by Leo's bitching as he's gonna get.]

I'm still not gettin' any answers, here. I tried askin' questions. It ain't my fault all he wants to do is fight.

[Yep, totally trying to pass the blame, here. At least he's not yelling. That's a step in a positive direction.]

But since you two seem like such great pals, why don't you enlighten me as to who this poser really is?

[So not talking to you, other Raph. He's happy to keep talking like the kid's not even here. Unless he's glowering at him. That's the only acknowledgement he gets.]