A/N -- You all know where this is going. 

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Shift the turtle 

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One day, while Indigo is out fighting crime on Sirah's streets, Shift finds himself faced with a mighty opponent...

Shift flexed his fingers experimentally, feeling the flecks of green colour writhe in anticipation just below his skin. 

"Don't worry about this guy," he called back to Raph and the rest of Indigo. "I've got him covered."

The large, burly man facing him had the audacity to laugh. "A little thing like you?" he said, shaking his head. "You cannot possibly hope to stand against the might that is my shifter. None are mightier than the animal whose hallowed shape I am graced with the ability to take on."

Shift couldn't help the delight rising in him. A shifter? He hadn't fought a shifter in forever. The feel of your skin melting, transforming as it hardened in certain areas and disappeared all together in others, it was the one thing that he, a colour who could borrow any ability in existence, was truly envious of simply because he couldn't do it more. 

The man continued. "He is untouchable, a pillar of strength among the lesser species. Nothing pierces his hardened hide as he brings down his foes with a considered blow!"

Shift's mind ran wild with possibilities. A burly man like this, surely... Shift licked his lips. A bear. Or perhaps he'd surprise him and melt into the feathers of a hawk, but he doubted it. A man of his stature was too solid, too attached to the ground to take flight. Agility didn't suit him, so cats were off the list. 

Bear, thought Shift. Definitely bear. 

"Don't suppose you wanna make things interesting," said Shift, eager to be on with it. "You know what my colour does, so how about a little one-on-one, claw to claw style?"

"Bah, my shifter has no need for claws," said the man. "But I accept your challenge, although you cannot hope to match my prowess, my oneness with the magnificent animal!" 

No claws? thought Shift. He grinned. Then I've got no idea. Sweet.

Shift stepped forward and held out his hand. "Shall we?" 

Nearby, the woman trying to fend off Raph's flurry of attacks found a lull to call out, "Bernard, don't you dare--" 

The man's head snapped back over his shoulder. "Quiet, Marlene!" He turned around to face Shift once more and took his hand. "The honour of the great beast demands I accept the challenge!"

"We don't have enough daylight for your antics today!" replied Marlene. "Just knock him out and get on with it!" She grunted as Raph's blade crashed down on hers, knocking the words from her lips. 

The burly man's green colour raced through Shift's system, infecting him with its vitality, its need to be released and morph his skin into its desired shape. Shift stepped back, barely able to contain the writhing colour within him.

He took a shaky breath, the grin never leaving his face. "Ready?" he asked the man.

"I am always ready for the great beast's command!" he roared. "Colour, take my form! Release me from these mortal bonds so I may ascend to the greatness matched by none but the great beast!"

Oh man, this is going to be good. Shift had never heard someone speak so reverently of their colour before and found himself wondering if this colour, this magnificent green colour was one of the rare mythic shifts. There were rumours, rumours of long-lost creatures that a few green colours could resurrect by allowing their colour, the essence of these mythic beasts, to infuse their bodies. Was it possible that this man that seemed about as bright as the concrete beneath their feet, was one of the mythic shifters?

Only one way to find out

Shift released himself to the swirl of colour within him, letting it take his skin and melt it as it wished. As the colour sweat from his pores to dance around his limbs, Shift held his hands up. The green flecks of colour were solidifying across his limbs, interlocking with ease to form a tough layer of dull green. 

Okay, definitely not a bear, thought Shift. But... dragon? The scales spread up his arms as his vertebrae brought him down on all fours and something heavy sprouted on his back. I can't believe this, I'm actually shifting into a dragon! Let's see Athira make fun of me now!

Shift released a gutteral roar as the colour finally spread up his neck and engulfed his head. The few lock of dark blonde that usually hung across his forehead disappeared, probably in favour of spikes or a horned brow, he decided. 

Shift closed his eyes, letting the final remnants of the shift take hold of his senses. Dragons were rumoured to have vision beyond compare, but no one knew for certain. The mythic shifters hadn't been seen for decades. 

First thing I'm going to do is look in a mirror. After I take this poser out, of course. Another thought crossed his mind. Maybe I'll take Athira with me, give her a little dragon back tour of Sirah?

Feeling the colour settle --finally-- within him, Shift opened his eyes.

He blinked. 

Confusion struck him. He'd expected to be towering over the rest of Indigo and the criminals that'd drawn them here, but instead his vision was in line with the middle of Raph's thigh, if the bastard would stop leaping around for a second. 

Shift felt his dragon hopes dying with every experimental muscle twitch.

Er... baby... dragon? he thought, trying to crane his head around enough to see the rest of him. 

A strange, pathetic croaking noise came from in front of him and with a blinding flash of clarity, Shift remembered why he'd shifted in the first place. 

He snapped--or, more accurately, very slowly but damned surely brought his head around to face the man whose colour he had so kindly allowed Shift to borrow... and Shift's dragon hopes went out faster than if the man simply would have sat on him.

Charging towards him slower the breakneck speed of a snail... was a turtle. 

Shift didn't have the will to lift what he knew to be his own tiny turtle legs up at that point. In fact, he was kind of hoping that Kione hadn't been able to defuse the bomb and that he was just seconds away from a firey doom. Or that there was a second bomb they hadn't known about. Or that there was actually a meteorite heading straight for the planet that would smush him into a thousand non-turtley pieces. 

His opponent, burly turtle man, had advanced another two agonisingly slow paces towards him. His head was raised defiantly, mouth open to reveal the slight beak on his upper lip... no doubt for wreaking havoc upon lettuce leaves or the dreaded carrot sticks. 

Shift stared at the third foot as it was lifted off the ground. He followed its arc through the air and wondered if someone had activated some kind of slow motion to make this moment of humiliation last even longer. The foot crashed into the ground below as the burly turtle man lurched forward and started moving his fourth foot, finally having completed a full rotation of stumpy little legs. 

Shift shook his head. Someone needed to set this guy's head on straight. "Really? A turtle? THIS is your great beast of mystic and wonder? THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Or, that's what he would have said if it'd come out as anything more than a wailing croak. 

Shift sat down on his haunches, feeling the thick shell on his back crunch against the ground. 

Why? he asked himself. Why me? Why no dragon? Universe, why do you do this to me? Why?

A shadow appeared beside him. Shift was almost too afraid to look. 

"I have to say, this is the most interesting truce I've ever called," said Marlene. 

"I can't argue with you there," said Raph's voice. "How do you tell which one's Shift and which one's Bernard?" 

A female, too tall for Shift's head to crane up and see clucked her tongue. "This one's Bernard," said Marlene's voice, the shadow of her finger falling over the charging turtle. "He always has the dark stripe across his shell." 

"So this handsome devil over here," said Athira. Shift felt a light touch on his back. "Must be Shift."

Maybe if I bite her, she'll get mad enough and just kill me, thought Shift. 

"I thought turtles were smaller?" asked Zoe as Bernard advanced another step towards Shift. 

"The usual kind are," said Marlene. "But Bernard here doesn't shift into any regular turtle, oh no. He shifts into 'the legendary galapagos tortoise', or so he keeps telling us. Also known as the slowest, heaviest and most lethargic of all turtles and tortoise anywhere." 

Shift gave up and let his head hit the ground. "Kill me now," he croaked.

The two groups glanced at each other. No one seemed to have any idea what he was trying to imply... except Athira.

Who, with the first words out of her mouth, was most definitely not going to help this situation along in his favour. 

"Two legendary turtles," she mused, tapping her fingers across his shell. "We could have fun with this. How long does your friend usually stay shifted, Marlene?"

"About two days, usually..."

The reply took Shift's dignity, dressed it in a frilly pink tutu and pushed it out on a worldwide stage to the dubstep version of 'Barbie Girl'.

"...but I think that's more because he refuses to shift back. Shortest I've seen is seven hours."

Seven. God. Damned. Hours. How the hell was he supposed to hold the weight of his shell for at least another seven hours? He was going to die in about seven minutes!

"Why even go on?" he croaked to himself, head languid on the cement. Maybe if he just sat here long enough, his misery could just be crushed by a giant turtle foot about three hours from now when he reached him. 

"What'd you have in mind?" asked Raph. "Since these two obviously love their turtles so much, I'm willing to hear this out."

Athira moved away with the rest of the group, her voice out of reach from Shift's limited hearing as the other turtle continued to bear down on him at an agonisingly slow pace. At this rate, Shift was starting to suspect Kione had been successful in diffusing the bomb. He was also starting to wonder if he'd fry to death on the road before Bernard reached him. 

Footsteps behind him, and he felt Athira's colour wrap around him, lifting him off the ground as his stumps flailed beneath him. To his surprise, she took Bernard with him --much to Turtle Man's displeasure if the grunting was anything to go by -- and put them both down a moment later about five metres apart, facing each other. 

Athira looked to Raph, amusement playing across her face. "Raph, will you do the honours?"

Raph grinned and flexed his fingers. "Welcome all, to the first ever Turtle Games!"

Oh god. Oh please god no.

The red colour splashed out around Shift, wobbling like jelly as Raph pulled it into various shapes around him. Things that vaguely resembled trees, bushes, logs and even an indescript tower or two spawned across the ground, turning Shift's world into a jungle of red colour -- literally. 

"Each contestant, while in their turtle form, will attempt to hunt down the other and place this dagger," said Raph as a small red pin sticker materialised on the ground in front of Shift, "into the other turtles shell! Please note that no turtles will be harmed in the process, as once the dagger makes contact it will disappear. First turtle to do so wins!" 

Wins what? thought Shift, looking at the dagger and wondering how he was supposed to hold it without fingers. Their dignity back? Because I'm pretty sure that's gone forever. 

"Uh, Raph?" said Athira. "Stripe the turtle is saying that his--sorry-- the honour of the great beast demands he win without the assistance of a lesser colour. Oh, and that honour will be prize enough for his shifter."

"Whatever he says," said Raph. 

Maybe if I just sit here...

"And although I think this form suits him rather well," continued Athira. "If Shift wins, I'll be glad to help him shift out of his natural form a little earlier than would happen otherwise."

Suddenly, Shift felt the urge to pulverise his opponent into tiny little turtley pieces. 

I gotta think like a turtle. I must be the turtle!

"All right then, if that's sorted," said Raph. "Turtles, take your marks!" 

Shift chomped down on the handle of the dagger, taking a good chunk of colour-formed dirt with it. 

"Hunt!" 

There was no way Shift was going to lose. His turtle was weaponised and ready to lumber to victory.

Very,

            very,

                         slowly. 

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A/N - *Runs away giggling like an idiot* THIS WAS AMUSING TO ME WHATEVER. 

I love you all <3