Before Raphael could take a moment to process, there were reporters, paparazzi, and fans crowding him. He noticed that some of the reporters are regulars for The Dojo, always spilling gossip and rumors about his family and his father's club. If news spread in the papers that he was at a club like Galactic Girls, his father will know for sure and his reputation would be destroyed!

Casey and Slash stayed close to their friend as the cameras began to flash, making sure no one got a good shot of Raph. Other reporters began attacking the famous turtle with questions.

"Why are you here at this risqué club tonight, Mr. Hamato?!"

"When will your sister be returning to the stage?!"

"There have been speculations that your family is going bankrupt, care to comment?!"

"Are the recent rumors of your father's association with The Foot Mafia true?!"

Casey and Slash began pushing a few prying reporters and ecstatic fans out of the way, giving Raphael a split second to try and make it through the crowd. In a quick moment of panic, Slash and Casey turn to their friend and yell, "RAPH! RUN!"

And that's what he did.

Thanks to Casey and Slash, Raphael was able to squeeze past the reporters. In a desperate panic, he ran through the crowd and into the alleyway next to the side of the building to escape. Casey and Slash stayed behind, trying to stop the excited crowd from following their friend. Unfortunately, they were only able to give Raphael a few short seconds of a head start before the reporters shoved the two friends out of their way and began their chase.

In the alleyway, Raph saw an entrance into a building and without thinking, quickly went inside. As he entered he found himself in a long hallway filled with clothing racks with sparkly costumes and instrument cases, similar to the backstage hall at The Dojo.

"He went in there!" Raph heard a keen eyed reporter shout out in the alley, calling to his colleagues to join him.

Raphael knew had to hide and fast! He quickly examined his surroundings and spotted another door not too far down the hall. It must be the closet, so without hesitation, Raph ran down the hall and rushed into the room and closed the door quickly behind him and locked it. Leaning close to the door, he heard the reporters entering through the alleyway entrance of the building where he came in. He stayed quiet, listening to the reporters storming the halls on a man hunt, looking for him.

"It's gonna be awhile before they give up looking for me," Raphael thought to himself as he leaned on the door, trying to catch his breath from the tiring chase, "I just need to lay low for-"

"AHHH!" a voice suddenly screams.

Raph, panicky, turned around and was shocked to see a tall lizard girl in the closet with him. She was wrapped in a silky white and blue robe, as she clenched tightly onto the fabric to cover herself up.

"She looks familiar..."

"What the hell are you doing in my room?!" the lizard woman angrily asks, looking at him with her furious yellow eyes.

Raph's eyes quickly looked around the room, finally examining his hiding place. It was a small room with brick walls, definitely tinier than any bedroom or dressing room he has had in the past. Raphael has had bathrooms bigger than this! On one side of the room was a small vanity table filled with makeup, with a rundown lounge sofa on the other, along with a changing diverter in the back and a big clothing rack of glossy show dresses and costumes bedazzled in jewels, sequins, and feathers. That's when Raphael finally put the pieces together. He's not in some storage closet. He's in the dressing room for Mona Lisa, the burlesque dancer he saw perform tonight!

Raph's face turned bright red as he began to stutter his words in a panic, "Oh my god! I-I'm so sorry! Th-This is not what it looks like!"

"Well, to me, it looks like you were trying to sneak a peek while I'm in the middle of changing, you pervert!" she growls as she takes a perfume bottle off her vanity table and throws it at him.

Raph ducks, having the bottle miss and break against the wall, "NO! I'm not a pervert! I swear! I didn't know this was your room! I thought it was the closest!" Raph quickly explains.

She huffs, "A likely excuse. All you perverts try to make up anything just to have a quick peek," she grabs another perfume bottle and aims, "I could call security right now!"

"That's not necessary! I'm telling the truth! This is all a misunderstanding! You have to believe me!"

She looks at him curiously, but still prepared to throw the antique bottle at her intruder, "Why should I?"

Raphael thinks for a moment for a good reason. He has no money in his pocket to bribe her with, he spent his last dime on the drinks for him and his buddies earlier. So what can he do? That's when he remembered what Casey told him earlier when they were back at The Dojo.

"You can charm any doll you want by just your name alone! Once she knows who you are she's entranced and wants you!"

That's always been true. No woman has ever been able to resist his charms. Once she knows who he is, she'll happily help him with his situation and maybe even fall head over heels for him, just like every other woman he's been with before.

Raph quickly changes his attitude and gives the dancer a confident and charming smirk that he knows has worked on many other women before in the past, "Because... I am Raphael Hamato~"

Suddenly the dancer throws the second perfume bottle, harder than before. Raph ducks and lets the bottle once again shatter against the door to her dressing room.

"Hey!" Raph shouts, offended and surprised by her response.

"I don't really take kindly to Peeping Toms," she tells him smuggly, grabbing a third bottle, "So tell me, why are you in my room?!"

Before Raphael could explain anything, out in the hall he heard a voice, "I heard something! In there!"

Raph turns and looks at the door, hearing the reporters grouping together to search for him, all gathering near the door. Suddenly a strong knock on the door.

"That's why!" Raph then turns back to the dancer, running up to her and grabbing her arms. Shutting down his overconfident attitude, he looks at the burlesque dancer in the eyes and begs to her softly, "Please! Don't let them know I'm here."

Mona's eyes widened, seeing the fear and desperation in his bright green eyes. It wasn't how she expected him to act all of sudden. She could see it in his eyes how truly scared he was of being caught. Despite intruding into her dressing room, Mona felt some sympathy for the turtle who she knew desperately needed her help.

She sighs and nods, telling him to hide behind her diverter to be out of sight. As Raph runs to his hiding spot, Mona approaches her door and calmly opens it, seeing a small group of reporters and a few fans outside in the hall.

"Can I help you?" she asked them in a clueless tone as if she didn't just hear them banging hard on her door just seconds ago.

"Hello, ma'am. Have you seen Raphael Hamato run through here?"

"Who?" she asked.

The reporter scoffed. "You don't know Raphael Hamato?!"

Mona shrugs, not caring about how shocked and offended the small crowd was.

"He's a young fellow in his 20's," another reporter tells her. "He's the son of the late jazz star, Tang Shen, and former pianist, now entrepreneur, Hamato Yoshi!"

"And he has gorgeous green eyes, a singing voice that was blessed by heavenly angels, and a smile that could melt ice!" an obvious obsessed fan says happily with a loving sigh.

"Hmmm..." Raph hears Mona thinking aloud to them, silently begging to himself that she'll keep his cover safe, "Nope, doesn't ring a bell," Mona tells the reporters, "Famous jazz singers, like this Hamato fellow you mentioned, don't usually come to this part of town, let alone to a club like Galactic Gals."

Raph sighs in relief.

She continues, "But I do know you're trespassing, so you should leave before I call security."

The reporters and fans all confidently chuckle. "You don't scare us."

Mona Lisa smirks at them, taking their words as a challenge. She then takes a deep breath and loudly shouts, "ARMAGGON!! THESE PERVERTS ARE TRYING TO WATCH ME CHANGE!!"

Suddenly down the hall the reporters spotted the bouncer for the burlesque club, a tall shark man dressed in a full black suit with a high turtle neck sweater. The reporters shook from the sight of him as he approached, towering over them intimidatingly.

"This area is for employees and dancers only," he growled at the reporters with a crack of his knuckles.

The small group of reporters all nervously gulped as they quickly took the message. In a panic, they ran out the way they came. The backstage hallway quickly emptied, with only Mona Lisa and the bouncer.

"I believe there were a few more that went that way," Mona tells him pointing down the other direction of the hall. "They're all over the place looking for some jazz star."

He nods, "I'll search the area to make sure all these lowlifes are gone," the bouncer tells Mona. "I should also inform the boss. I'll let you know when they're all gone and it's safe to leave."

"Thank you, Armaggon," Mona playfully smiles at him as she says in a kittenish tone, "You're such a doll!"

With a blow of a kiss, she closes the door, returning to her dressing room where Raphael hid. Once Raph heard the door close he came out of his hiding spot. He and the dancer were alone once again.

"It's going to be awhile before all those reporters are escorted out," Mona tells him, back to her normal tone of voice. "So... I guess you can wait here till they're gone."

"Thanks," Raph said, feeling a wave of relief run over him.

"Don't mention it," she says as she returns to sit at her vanity table.

"No really, thanks." He says to her with a soft smile that seemed to have caught the dancer off guard.

Raphael really meant it. She saved his shell from those reporters getting him and from anyone finding out about his little outing with his friends tonight. She didn't have to. She could have and would have kicked him out. He did break into her room after all, attacking him with her perfume bottles just moments ago. He can't blame her for her reaction, yet she still helped. Raph was grateful for that.

The room grew quiet as Raph sat on Mona's rundown couch in her dressing room as he watched her in the process of removing her glossy makeup. Raph then looks at her with curiosity, "Soooo, do you really not know who I am?"

"Of course I do," Mona answers, continuing to look at herself in the mirror as she removes her makeup with a wet cloth. "All of New York knows you and your brothers. Your father's club is the best in the whole city. You're one of the most famous singers in town."

She then looks over her shoulder, giving Raphael a smug smile, "I just don't care."

Raphael was taken aback by her comment. He's never met someone who didn't care about who he was. Sure, he had a few fans who disliked him, either for his work or just who he is as a person, but in the end those people still revolved their lives around him. Then those who do love him, often when they hear his name or see his face they were at his bidding, but for her, she was different. Not just from her view of him, but her treatment and how she spoke to him as well, so calm. And rather snarky. On stage she was flirtatious, seductive, and confident, something that caught his eye, but here she's aggressive, bold, and strong minded, and Raph found that part of her far more enchanting than her false persona meant to bewitch young men like him.

"Um, listen, uh, Mona Lisa? I'm sorry about breaking in here earlier..." Raph says nervously. He could tell Mona was not interested in what he had to say, but he kept speaking.

"But if it means anything..." a shy smile appeared on his face, "I-I really enjoyed your performance tonight."

Mona paused, "You... watched my show?" she asked, turning around looking at Raph, surprised by his comment.

Raph nods excitedly.

"Well... I'm flattered," she smiled at him, crossing her legs and sitting elegantly but also rather relaxed with her arms crossed, "But still, I'm surprised a high class rich boy like yourself was at a place like this tonight."

"My friends dragged me here..." Raph says as he rubs the back of his neck, "I had a rough day, and they wanted to cheer me up so they brought me here."

"Hm, makes sense. Men usually come here to escape their dull lives or to look for a quick rush of thrill to forget about their personal troubles."

"Yup..." Raph nervously chuckled, "Am I was one of them tonight, heh..."

Mona slightly chuckled from his comment before turning back to her vanity table to finish removing her makeup.

Once again, it became quiet between the two performers. They could hear the commotion from outside. The bouncer, Armaggon, must've found a few more reporters snooping around looking for Raph. They could hear through the door Armaggon ordering them to leave the building, some that refused sounded like they were being taken out of the building by force, while others happily listened to his order, most likely wishing to avoid further angering the large bouncer. Mona Lisa, now finished with removing her makeup, gets up from her seat and walks up to the divider that's in her dressing room.

Looking at Raphael she says, "Listen, I know you need to hide in here, but... I-I still need to change..." she says, fidgeting with the belt that helped hold her silk robe in place. She nervously blushes, "Could you, um, just turn around for a moment? Please?"

Once again Raph's face begins to heat up, "Oh, um, yeah. S-Sure..." Still sitting on the couch, he turns facing away from the divider. Mona thanks him and goes behind the divider to change out of her robe and into her normal clothes.

"Hey," Raph heard Mona say from behind, "I'm sorry I threw a perfume bottle at you earlier... Twice."

Raph chuckles, "It's okay, I kinda deserved it. I'm sorry I walked in on you... changing." he said, embarrassed, before quickly adding, "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't see anything!"

Raph then facepalmed himself, "Why would you say that?!"

"It's fine. You're not the first," Mona tells him, "Often men try to sneak into my dressing room. They're always trying to have a peek and see more than what I gave on stage."

"That's horrible!"

He hears her sigh, "I'm used to it..."

"Doesn't your boss do anything about it?"

"As long as we make him money, my boss doesn't really care about me or the other dancers' safety. He's just a greedy old roach," Mona says annoyed before adding, "Literally..."

Raph couldn't believe what kind of business Mona Lisa was working in. At The Dojo, his father goes through so many procedures to make sure he and his brothers are safe from intruders and crazed fans. Just like earlier that night during the club's riot. His father's first action was for Slash to make sure he and his brothers were all safe backstage away from the riled up crowd, but this isn't his father's business. Mona's boss doesn't care. At least she has a bouncer who's doing his job, but still, it makes him wonder what kind of man runs this burlesque club, and why does Mona continue working for him?

Raph could question her, or berate her for her choices, but he knew that is not what she wanted to hear. From her response she gave earlier when Raph intruded into her room, she knows how to handle men like that, so all he could say was, "You're boss sounds like a real prick."

"You have no idea..." Mona finishes changing, zipping up her dress, and exits from behind the divider, "Alright, you can look now."

Raph turns around to see Mona Lisa. She was now wearing black flats with a dark blue dress that went down to her knees, with the sleeves stopping at her elbows. Her simple dress was not fancy or elegant like her costumes she had on the rack or like the ones she wore previously during her show, but Raphael still thought she looked lovely. Her skin shone under the dimmed lighting. Like it was lit from below the surface. This girl glowed even with her makeup removed.

Suddenly a strong knock at the door.

"The hall is clear, Ms Mona Lisa," the two hear the bouncer say through the door. "Those creeps are gone, but there's still a few outfront. Other than that, it's safe to leave."

"Thank you, Armaggon!" Mona says to him through the door as she hangs up her robe on the rack and grabs her coat. "Have a good night!"

They heard the bouncer's heavy footsteps slowly fade away from the door. He was gone and it was clear for Raph to leave.

"Well then," Mona says as she puts on her coat, "The reporters are gone, so you're free to leave."

"What about the reporters outside the building?" Raph asked. "The moment I leave, they'll spot me again!"

"Hmm... You're right." Mona thought for a moment then said to him, "I know a route in the back alleyway near the building to help you avoid the reporters out front. I'll help you sneak out without being caught."

Raph smiled and nodded at her offer. Mona Lisa then left her dressing room with Raphael following close behind her. They make it to the back door exit from which Raphael came through before.

"Stay close," Mona whispers to Raph, pulling him closer to her so she does not lose him in the process of their escape. "If you fall behind I'm not coming back for you and you can deal with those reporters yourself."

Raph says nothing as he nods, letting her know that he understands her. Carefully, the two performers snuck out of the burlesque club's backstage exit and left through the alleyway behind the club to avoid any other press and fans that were waiting out front.

Finally Raphael, along with the burlesque dancer, Mona Lisa, were out on the streets, safe and away from the reporters and fans who were still hopelessly confused and wondering where the young jazz star had gone.