Hi everyone, thanks again for waiting. Excellent news, I've been fully vaccinated! I encourage everyone else to do the same as soon as they can, the only way we're beating this pandemic is together.
Now then, this is one particular chapter that I've been excited to write. It's where things began to diverge from the main storyline of the original Frozen movie and more into some of my own original content. With all that being said, let's get started.
Re-Enter the Foot
Night had fallen as the Turtles, Royal family, and their allies were led back to the Northuldra camp to get some rest. The Arendellian soldiers were present as well; seeing how their official queen and princess had chosen to stay with the Northuldra, they would be standing close by as well; but while the soldiers made no attempts to harm any of the people there, it did not hide their weariness of the forest's native people and choose to set up a smaller campsite far enough away from the Northuldra to not interact with them, but still close enough to keep an eye on Elsa and Anna. Despite the uneasiness felt a couple hours ago by the presence of the Turtles and other outsides, the Northuldra seemed acceptant of them considering they helped to tame two of the Spirits.
"Hey, let me ask you…" Olaf began as he and Mikey sat down around a group of kids who played around with Olaf's snow parts and Mikey's nunchucks. "How do you guys cope with the ever-increasing complex of thought that comes with maturity?" He asked as his nose was pulled off.
"Dude, kids don't need to think about that. They need to think about awesome stuff like this!" Mikey said as he stood up and began to break-dance, causing the kids around him to look with smiles, their eyes dancing in amazement as Mikey spun on his shell before making a finishing pose by standing on his hands, causing the kids to cheer and laugh.
"Ah, the blissful ignorance of youth." Olaf said in regard to the kids' cheering. He and Mikey then turned around at the sounds of more children laughing in cheering, where they saw Shinigami standing in front of another group of kids, holding out her witch hat before sending out a flock of bats straight into the air, causing the kids to look in amazement.
"Huh, didn't know you were a magician." Mikey commented as he walked up to her. "I mean, I knew you had some tricks, but not those kinds of kiddy-tricks."
"What can I say? I like kids." Shinigami shrugged with a smile.
"What about young mutant Turtles, eh?" Mikey asked as he leaned closer with big eyes, causing Shinigami to give a teasing smirk as she pushed him away.
"So, wait… you were a normal reindeer?" Ryder asked Sven as they were gathered with Kristoff, Donnie, and Casey.
"Yeah, until I got hit with this stuff called mutagen that turned me into this." Sven said as he munched down on a carrot.
"Huh, I never actually talked to a reindeer before." Ryder noted. "I mean, I have talked to them, but they never really talk back, not actually."
"I get it." Kristoff said. "Pretty crazy."
"So, this 'mutagen' is what turned you guys too?" Ryder asked Donnie. "How does that work, exactly?"
"Oh, well you see, mutation is the term that is used to describe a change in one's genetic material and…" Donnie began to explain, only for Casey to quickly cover his mouth and give a brief explanation.
"It means something weird happens to you and turns you into something pretty crazy looking." Casey said, causing Donnie to look at him with lowered-eye lids of annoyance. "Donnie, these guys live in a forest, they're not gonna understand all your science-mumbo-jumbo."
"It's not mumbo-jumbo, Casey." Donnie told him.
"No, but I do gotta agree with him on this one, Donnie." Sven said. "Best to keep it simple."
"Well, I wouldn't mind learning more about this 'science' stuff." Ryder put in. "Kinda sounds interesting."
"Just be careful, because I still don't understand half the stuff Donnie talks about." Kristoff joked, causing Sven and Casey to laugh, while Donnie just sulked.
"It's rather strange." Yelena spoke to Karai. "The concept of another world far beyond our own… we barley know of the world beyond our forest and to hear there are others…"
"Yeah, trust me, they can all get pretty weird." Karai said. "Probably enough to give you a heart attack."
"Is that a comment about my age, young lady?" Yelena questioned with a cocked eyebrow.
"No. Any normal person would freak out at the places we've been to." Karai quickly said. "And don't worry, I know to respect my elders… Grandma." Karai snuck in a jab at the end, causing Yelena to look in teasing amusement as they continued their discussion.
A bit further away from the camp, Mattias stood alongside Anna, along with Raph and April as he studied some of their weapons, particularly one of Raph's sai and April's tanto. "Hmm, I've heard of some of the weapons that are used in Eastern nations, but I can see that while they are sharp… they seem a little small."
"It's kinda what we're going for." Raph put in. "We're ninjas, we move in the shadows."
"Quick and precise." April added. "Not meant to go charging in swords' blazing."
"But don't get the wrong idea, I'll still charge in with sais and fists to knock any bad guy down a peg." Raph said with a smirk, causing Mattias to chuckle.
"I like your spirit, Raphael."
"Eh, just call me Raph."
Mattias smiled before turning to the princess. "You've made some certainly unique friends, Princess Anna."
"Tell me about it." Anna replied with a smile as she pulled both April and Raph in close. "But I love them, oddballs and all."
"This coming from the sister of a chick who can turn summer into winter at the snap of her fingers." Raph joked, resulting in the group chuckling.
"Hey, back at home, Hamila still over at Hudson's Hearth?" Mattias asked.
"She is." Anna confirmed.
"Really? She married?" Mattias asked.
"Mm-mm." Anna shook her head, causing Mattias to look in surprise.
"Oh wow, why didn't that make me feel better?"
Raph chuckled. "Hey, I get. Trust me, I do."
"Get this, his girlfriend is a newt." Anna said to Mattias, causing him to look more than a bit surprised.
"Huh, you don't say." He commented before quickly turning to Raph. "Not judging, you be with whoever you want to be."
"Gee, thanks." Raph commented, not quite amused by Anna's snickering or April's.
"You've really been stuck here for thirty years?" April asked, causing Mattias' mood to grow dim.
"Yes." This response earned sympathetic expressions from the three around him.
"Anyone else from home you miss?" Anna asked, hoping to find some way to lighten his mood a bit.
"My father." Mattias began. "He passed long before all this. He was a great man, built us a good life in Arendelle, but taught me to never take the good for granted. He'd say 'be prepared. Just when you think you've found your way, life will throw you onto a new path.'"
"That definitely sounds like something our father would say." Raph commented.
"Yeah, and that exact same thing has happened to each of us more than once." Anna said, recalling her many adventures she had with Elsa, and the many others since meeting the Turtles and their friends.
"So, what do you do if you end up getting sent on a new path?" April asked the old Lieutenant, while she knew herself what that was like, she was curious as to how he would respond.
"Don't give up." He replied. "Take it one step at a time and just do the next right thing."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Raph nodded with a smile and respect.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the campsite, Leo and Elsa sat together around a fire with a baby reindeer snuggled closely against Elsa as Honeymaren looked over the scarf given to Elsa by her late mother. She showed the pair the corner of the scarf that contained a pattern of four diamonds at the corner with a fifth diamond in the center.
"Here, you see this?" She showed them. "You know air, fire, water, and earth…"
"The four elements of the natural world." Leo confirmed. "Pretty much every ancient culture has something that connects or originates from them."
"But look…" Honeymaren showed them the diamond at the center. "There's a fifth spirit, said to be the bridge between us and the magic of nature."
"A fifth spirit? A fifth element?" Elsa asked in partial amazement as she looked to Leo.
"Some say, that when all the elements are combined, it creates life, which is often said to be considered the fifth element." Leo had heard similar teachings from Master Splinter before. "Our master taught us that everything exists in balance and harmony with each other, even polar opposites like yin and yang."
"We've been taught stuff like that too." Honeymaren nodded. "Balance and harmony is what keeps the world together. Some say that they heard the fifth spirit call out the day the forest fell."
"My father heard it." Elsa said in realization as she shared a surprised glance with Leo. "Could that be who's calling me?"
"Maybe." Leo assumed. "Maybe it called us here to find a way to restore balance. Just wish it could have told us what exactly we needed to do."
"What? You don't like riddles or anything?" Elsa teased.
"No, riddles are fine." Leo replied. "Just not when it comes to fighting pissed off magic spirits." He joked, causing Elsa to laugh slightly as she nudged his side.
"So… the two of you, huh?" Honeymaren looked to them with a knowing expression and teasing grin. "A queen with magical powers and man-turtle. And here I thought I'd seen everything."
Both chuckled as they looked to each other. "Oh, trust me." Elsa said. "There are things out there that are way crazier."
However, this moment of levity, and all others around the campsite, came to a halt as there was a faint but large stomp that shook up the area, alerting the group.
"Earth Giants!" Honeymaren stated, causing Leo and Elsa to look with serious expressions as the baby reindeer clung closer to Elsa for safety.
"What are they doing down here?" Yelena questioned as the Northuldra immediately began to hide, with Honeymaren dousing the fire. Leo silently gestured to his brothers, sister, and friends to make like ninjas and hide, which was little trouble for most of them as stealth was their forte.
While the Northuldra hid in their tents and make-shift houses, with the Arendellian soldiers doing the same in their tent; most of the Turtles, along with Karai and Shinigami, leapt to hide in the trees, while April, Anna, and Casey dove behind one rock, with Kristoff and Sven behind another with Olaf. Elsa and Leo both hid behind a large tree that could conceal both of them as the stomping got closer and closer.
Mikey and Donnie both slightly peaked out from the branches to get a good look at one Earth Giant that came rather close to the camp. Though it wasn't the biggest thing they've seen, it was still rather intimidating.
"Dude…" Mikey whispered in awe. Donnie however got a good look at it and found himself unable to look away at the Earth Giant. He couldn't quite understand how or why, but he felt some sort of connection to it. There was no scientific explanation to it, and yet, he didn't seem bothered by that.
Elsa peaked out from her spot along with Leo to get a look at the Earth Giant as well, only for Leo to quickly pull her back right before it turned in their direction. Elsa instinctively grabbed Leo's hand as they exchanged glances, trying to keep as quiet as possible, hopping the Giant would go away soon.
Fortunately, that was the case as the Earth Giant turned around and began to make its way back north. Once it was gone, the heroes were the first to step out as April used her crystal to scan the area with her powers.
"I think it's gone." The redhead said.
"That was way too close." Kristoff breathed a sigh of relief.
Sven gave a slight snort. "But to be honest, compared to Tokka, that thing might as well be pint-sized."
"Still big enough to crush us though." Raph commented.
"Dude, that thing was so freaking metal!" Casey stated.
"Metal? It's an Earth Giant." Shinigami pointed out.
"Don't question it, trust me." Karai told her friend. "But what was it doing here?"
"I think… it was here because of us." Elsa said, causing the group to look with concern.
"Well, we did cause a bit of ruckus with Gale and Bruni a little bit ago." Anna pointed out.
"No… not just that." Elsa said as she and Leo glanced at each other. "This is only a guess but… I think the Spirits were angry before because something disrupted the balance thirty years ago."
"Balance?" Olaf asked. "Like a scale or something?"
"No, like spiritual balance." Leo tried to explain. "And we were called here to find a way to restore that balance."
"That does seem to make sense." Donnie pointed out. "There are several ancient legends and myths that depict spirits or even gods that grow angry at humans for disrupting some sort of balance that was put in place."
"And just how are we supposed to do restore balance or whatever?" Raph asked.
"Oh, by finding those three evils Grand Pabbie said and kick their butts!" Mikey said enthusiastically.
"Now you're talking!" Casey seemed on-board. "Show me these evil-guys so I can pound them into next week!"
"We don't even know what these evils are." Anna reminded them. "Only that they're supposed to symbolize deception, hunger, and hate."
"And Pabbie did say that not every evil is a person that we can just punch and be done with it." Kristoff added.
"Still would help if we knew what they were exactly." Sven said.
Leo then began to think. "Deception…" He then snapped his fingers in realization. "Remember back when we first met the Northuldra and the soldiers? They each accused the other side of attacking first."
Elsa seemed to follow her Turtle-lover's train of thought. "Both are convinced the other party is guilty, but they can't both be guilty. There has to be some kind of 'deception' behind it. If we find out what it is, and resolve it, that could check one thing off our list."
"That could work." April agreed, along with everyone else. "So, what's the plan?"
"Well first, let's get some sleep." Leo said. "Tomorrow, we'll split up and talk with everyone, learn each of their sides of the story. We'll meet up later to compare notes and work our way from there."
"Sounds like a plan." Karai nodded, along with everyone else.
"I love it when a plan comes together." Olaf said.
"Did you get that line from that one movie?" Shinigami questioned the little snowman before the group decided to pack it in for the night and get some sleep. However, Sven made a small stop when he caught whiff of an odd scent, something that came from further behind, causing him to turn around with a suspicious look on his face, almost like he was trying to spot something that was hiding in the shadows.
"Sven?" Kristoff called to him. "You coming?"
"Y… Yeah, I'm coming." Sven one final glance before turning around. However, there was indeed something watching them from the shadows with bright yellow eyes before vanishing.
Elsewhere, closer toward the entrance of the forest, as Fishface scouted the area, Tiger Claw took out a communicator and tried to relay his allies. "Stockman, do you read?"
"Yezzz, loud and clear." Stockman-Fly replied over the communication device. "What izzz your progrezzz?"
"We have entered the forest." Tiger Claw began. "However, we seem incapable of leaving. If there is another way, we will find it. Otherwise, you may have to come to us if you believe you must. But it seems the mist will part when exposed to magical essence." He said as he continued to hold a vial of Elsa's blood in his claw.
"Underztood. I will inform the Mazzzter immediately." Stockman-Fly said before hanging up just as Fishface returned.
"This is one big forest." Fishface commented. "Not sure why, but I'm getting chills. Like we're being watched from all directions."
Even Tiger Claw took a few whiffs of the air. "There is indeed something amiss in this place. I can sense it in the air." Soon, Rahzar had appeared, having leapt down from one of the trees he hopped from. "Bradford, did you find them?"
"Yes." Rahzar confirmed. "The Turtles, the Queen, and all their friends have met a group of natives that live in this forest, along with soldiers of Arendelle that have been trapped here for decades."
That last comment caused Fishface to nervously eye the direction in which the wall of mist was located that separated them from the outside world. "I'm not in the mood to be trapped here."
"There is something else." Rahzar reported. "I overheard them talking about spirits, I even saw what looked like a giant made entirely out of stone. That thing looked like it was the size of our old lair back in New York, maybe even bigger."
"Natives to this forest, spirits, a giant made of stone." Tiger Claw began to think. "Clearly this is not a normal forest."
"Uh yeah. I would have guessed that from the giant wall of magic fog that's keeping us from leaving." Fishface said somewhat spitefully. "So, what's our plan?"
"There is no change." Tiger Claw said. "We will slay the Turtles and their friends for our master."
"What about the forest natives?" Rahzar questioned. "If they've lived in the same place as that stone giant, then they've found a way to not only survive but thrive. They must be tougher than they look."
"We will capture them." Tiger Claw replied. "They know more of this forest than we do, and we must learn all we can so we can understand why the master is so interested in it."
"Easier said than done." Fishface said. "There's only three of us, and a whole lot of them."
"Agreed." Tiger Claw responded. "We'll need reinforcements. And it would seem we have found some…" He said as he glanced to his right where his acute sense of smell picked up the scents of several different birds, and on his left in a nearby cave, he heard the fluttering sound of bat wings. He then reached into the compartment in his jetpack to pull out a canister of Mutagen as he chuckled with sinister intent.
The Next Morning
After some sleep and breakfast, the heroes split into groups of four to follow their plan and talk with their hosts about what might have happened in the past that caused the forest to be closed off from the rest of the world. Right now, the small group consisting of Leo, Elsa, and April walked alongside Yelena and helped her in gathering some fruit for her tribe.
"You want to know what happened thirty years ago?" She asked in minor surprise to the group.
"Yeah." Leo nodded. "If we're gonna free this forest, it makes sense to find out how exactly it was sealed off in the first place."
"We know bits and pieces from the story my father told my sister and I when we were little." Elsa explained. "But if we're able to ask around, we might get a clearer picture."
"The rest of our friends are asking the soldiers and everyone else too." April added.
"Hmm, if you believe it'll help, I'll tell you what I know." Yelena began as she picked up a full basket of fruit and walked through the woods with the trio right behind her with their baskets as well. "As you know, King Runeard, Prince Agnarr, and several other people of Arendelle were invited to the forest for a day of celebration. The King was pulled away by our previous leader to discuss something in private."
"So, you weren't the leader at the time?" Leo asked.
"No." Yelena shook her head. "My predecessor was named Foror, he was a good friend of mine back then. However, after the forest was sealed off, I learned he died." She finished before looking away in grief, causing the three to look with sympathy.
"I'm so sorry." Elsa said sincerely as she put a hand on the elderly woman's shoulder, who appreciated the gesture with a sad smile.
"What were they talking about?" April asked, getting back on track.
"Foror had told us how the waters of our land were growing weaker, and by extension, the rest of the forest." Yelena continued. "We speculated that the dam may have been connected to it."
That took the trio by surprise "But the damn was supposed to be a gift of peace from Arendelle to the Northuldra." Elsa said.
"We thought so as well." Yelena replied. "Foror sought to speak to Runeard about this after the celebration. But the fighting then broke out. I don't know how exactly it started because I was with everyone else." A look of frustration crossed her face. "Perhaps I should have been with him at the time. I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you more, but that's all I know."
Though this didn't exactly paint a clear picture for the trio, it did provide them with more information, which could only help them going further.
"Either way, this may help us. Any information we can get is good." Leo assured.
Yelena looked toward the younger turtle with a smile. "You are wise for someone your age, Leonardo."
"I had a good role model." Leo admitted with a smile.
"We all did." Elsa shared a smile with him, taking his hand, while also sharing a smile with April as well, all three silently referring to the rat master they considered a father.
Yelena however found herself looking toward the Aeon crystal that April wore around her neck. "April, if you don't mind, what exactly is that?"
April looked in surprise as she glanced down to what Yelena was referring to. "Oh, this? It's a crystal that helps me to focus my powers."
"You have magic too?" Yelena asked in surprise.
"Not quite." Elsa tried to explain. "Her powers aren't like mine, or even that of the spirits. It's more like power of the mind."
Yelena then looked closer at the crystal. "May I?"
April looked a bit unsure at the moment, but after seeing the concerning glances of Elsa and Leo, she struggled a bit to take the crystal off before handing it to Yelena who tried to sense the power within in a way that she would normally sense the spirits of the forest. She could definitely feel something within the crystal, unlike anything she ever felt before, something incredibly powerful.
"Where… where did this come from?"
"It's from this race of beings called the Aeons." Leo tried to explain in a way Yelena could understand. "Incredibly powerful creatures that could even rival the spirits, maybe even more so. We ended up saving their world this one time, and they gave us that crystal as a way of saying thanks."
"It helps to amplify my own powers, and it's come quite handy since I got it." April said in a somewhat nervous tone, not quite liking the idea of being separated from the crystal, something Elsa took notice of.
"I've never felt energy like this before." Yelena spoke in awe before handing it back to April, who took it more quickly than one normally would. "I'm not sure what kind of power that is, but I can tell that it's a lot. I would urge you to be careful with it, having too much power can be… overwhelming, and easy to lose control over."
"Well, I think I can handle it." April said with confidence. "I've had some practice and… Look out!" She immediately pushed Yelena out of the way to avoid a series of laser blasts, causing Elsa to throw up an ice barrier in front of herself and Leo, who immediately took out his bow and shot an arrow in the direction the lasers were fired in, only for said arrow to be caught by a certain someone, who leapt down from a tree to reveal himself.
"No….!" Leo looked nothing short of shocked and horrified, along with Elsa and April, while Yelena just looked shocked.
"It's been quite some time, little cubs." Tiger Claw said as he licked his chops.
"Tiger Claw?!" Leo exclaimed.
"A friend of yours?" Yelena questioned.
"Hardly." April said with a glare as she drew her tessen and tanto, while Leo did the same with his katanas.
"How are you even here?!" Elsa questioned with a heated glare of her own toward the mutant assassin. "How did you get through the mist?!"
"Your blood has had many uses for us." Tiger Claw replied as he drew his energy pistols. "But you shall not live long enough to see them." He fired his energy guns, forcing the group to divide and avoid them. Elsa was the first recover as she shot a series of magic bolts towards Tiger Claw, who used his jet-pack to avoid them before flying over the heroes to land behind the recovering Yelena, grab one of her arms and pull her toward her, while holding one of his pistols below her chin.
"Do not come closer!" Tiger Claw warned, causing the heroes to glare at him. "I need the natives of this forest alive in order to tell me its secrets, but I don't necessarily need all of them alive. One or two would suffice just fine, such as this elder. But I'm nothing if not flexible." He said with a growl and a sneer, causing Leo, April, and especially Elsa to glare harder.
However, Tiger Claw looked in confusion as he heard Yelena chuckle. "You think I'm helpless just because I'm older, hmm?" She said with a grin and cocked eyebrow before stretching open of her legs over his feet, grabbing him by the side of his head with her other arm and actually throwing Tiger Claw over her shoulder. The mutant assassin was caught by such surprise that he didn't have a chance to counter Yelena's strike to his face with her staff that sent him rolling backwards.
"Whoa…" Leo said as he, Elsa, and April were more than a little surprised.
"I may be old, but when you live in a place like this for so long, you learn how to defend yourself." Yelena said with a smirk as she held her staff in a combative stance.
"Yelena, you are awesome!" April stated as she, Leo, and Elsa stood by her side to face the recovering Tiger Claw.
"Do not get overconfident." The villainous mutant said as he drew his machete blade. "You do not truly believe I came to this forest alone, do you?" He asked rhetorically before charging at the heroes.
"I can't say I know much about what happened over thirty years ago." Honeymaren said as she, Mikey, Olaf, Shinigami, and Anna were by a river, with the Northuldra girl gathering some river for her tribe. "I wasn't even born then."
"Well, yeah, we get that." Anna said. "But maybe you were told a story or something? We're thinking that if we know what happened, we can find a way to free the forest."
"That does make sense, but I don't know all that much." Honeymaren began. "We were told that the soldiers of Arendelle struck first, but we don't know exactly what happened, only that our old leader was killed along with Arendelle's king before the forest was sealed off."
"So basically, we know jack squat." Shinigami pointed out.
"No, now we know both leaders died around the same time." Olaf pointed out. "That's something."
"It's not a whole lot though. But thanks anyway." Anna said to Honeymaren as she gathered a bucket full of water before Mikey had a different question to ask.
"Okay, nothing to do with what happened thirty years ago, but what's the deal with the Seahorse?" Mikey asked.
"Seahorse?" Honeymaren questioned.
"Ya know, the horse made of water?" Mikey reminded.
"Oh, the Water Spirit." Honeymaren understood. "You mean the Nokk."
"Nokk?" Anna asked as she and Olaf shared a glance. "That's what it's called?"
"I think I've heard that name before." Shinigami said. "It was the name of a creature of Scandinavian myth, a shapeshifting spirit that lures travelers to a waterside and drowns them."
"Well, that's pretty morbid." Anna pointed out.
"Myths aren't all bright and happy like fairy tales." Shinigami told her. "In fact, even fairy tales can get pretty dark too. Just look at the Brothers' Grimm."
"Somehow, I'm not surprised you know about stuff like that." Anna looked unsurprised to the smirking Kunoichi.
"Well, I don't know about all that, but I know the Nokk doesn't lure people out just to drown them." Honeymaren explained as they all paid attention, especially Mikey. "But I do know that it's among the most mysterious of the four spirits. Some say, it even has the ability to see into one's heart."
"Oooh, does it have x-ray vision or something?" Mikey asked.
"Maybe it can tell if someone has too much cholesterol in their hearts." Olaf said. "And hey, did you know there are two types of cholesterol? There's the good kind that is taken directly to your liver, and the bad kind that clogs up your arteries which can directly lead to heart attacks."
The group just looked at Olaf with stunned expression before Honeymaren continued. "Well… I don't mean the Nokk can actually see your heart, I mean it can sense whether or not your heart is true."
"So, it's a living lie detector?" Mikey asked.
"Kinda…" Honeymaren shrugged.
"Oooh, I wanna see if my heart is true!" Mikey looked directly into the surface of the river to try and find the Nokk. "Come on Water Spirit, look into Mikey's heart! Booyakasha!"
Honeymaren couldn't help but chuckle. "'Booyakasha'? What does that even mean?" She asked the group.
"No idea." Anna smiled. "But it's fun to yell."
"I wanna see if the Nokk can look into my heart, too!" Olaf joined Mikey, staring deep into the river. "Booyakasha!"
"Are those two always like this?" Honeymaren asked Anna with an amused smile.
"Pretty much." The princess confirmed.
Shinigami shook her head with an amused smile herself as she tried to pull the pair back. "Come on, I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that. Let's just…"
Suddenly, a pair of arms reached out from the water to grab Mikey and pull him underwater, much to everyone's surprise.
"Mikey!" Anna and Olaf both screamed, while Honeymaren gasped in surprise. Shinigami was the first to dive into the water and help the orange-clad Turtle, with Anna about to do the same. However, before she even had a chance to jump in, Shinigami had quickly pulled Mikey out of the water as he coughed and tried to regain his breath.
"Mikey, are you okay?" Anna asked urgently.
"Yeah… I think so…" Mikey said in-between breaths. However, something shot out from the water and landed on the ledge above the group. While Honeymaren looked nothing short of stunned; Olaf, Mikey, and Anna gasped in surprise while Shinigami merely glared.
"Fishface?!" The turtle, princess, and showman all exclaimed at the same time.
"Long time no see, amigos." The cybernetic mutant fish said with a smirk before leaping down and going on the attack. He kicked Mikey back first and sent him flying and skidding along the edge of the river. Anna drew her sword and tried to slice at Xever, only for him to leap above the princess and deal a kick to her back as he landed, though he was forced back by the pendulum that was swung at him by Shinigami. Before he even had a chance to attack her however, he was struck in the back by something. He turned around to see none other than Honeymaren glaring at him with a wooden staff in hand, with Olaf hiding behind her.
"I don't know who or what you are, creature. But you've just made a big mistake." She stated with a determined expression.
Fishface however chuckled at the sight of the young woman. "Ah, yes." He swerved toward her and under the swing of her staff to grab her by the hand and pull her into a grip as he lowered her slightly and gave a flirtatious smirk. "Call me what you will, pretty one. I am, the most interesting fish in the world." He said while raising his eyebrows, causing Honeymaren to cringe in disgust.
However, this left him open for Mikey to appear behind him and land a solid kick in his back, sending him toward Anna who drove the handle of her sword into his gut, sending him reeling toward Shinigami who threw out her pendulum to ensnare him in the chain where she pulled him into a kick right in his jaw to knock him down, but he quickly recovered as the heroes regrouped to face him.
"What are you doing here, Fishface?! How did you even get past the mist?!" Anna demanded.
"Trade secret, princess." Xever replied. "Though I will say I drew the lucky straw here; being surrounded by three beauties." He said, referring to Anna, Shinigami, and Honeymaren. "You two, not so much." He pointed toward Mikey and Olaf, the later gasped in a hurtful tone.
"You don't think I'm pretty?" Olaf questioned in a tone indicating he was emotionally hurt.
"Well then let's pay him back and make him ugly!" Mikey stated as he was the first to charge Xever, with Anna, Honeymaren and Shinigami right behind him.
Meanwhile, the group consisting of Raph, Karai, and Casey were helping Mattias and his soldiers in gathering food as they talked to him about the past as well.
"Foror had approached King Runeard and asked to speak to him about how something was wrong with the forest." Mattias explained to the trio. "But the King said they could talk after the celebration."
"So, what did they talk about?" Karai asked.
"I don't know." Mattias replied. "He told me to watch Prince Agnarr and join the celebration. But, not long after that, the fighting started. I immediately rushed to Prince Agnarr's side. But just as King Runeard fell, the spirits attacked, and the mist was lowered, cutting us off from Arendelle. We've been here ever since."
"So, you don't even know how it all started?" Raph questioned.
"I don't have any proof." Mattias said. "But I'm willing to bet one of the Northuldra started it. We built them that dam as a gift of peace from our kingdom, and how were we repaid? We've been stuck here for more than three decades!" He exclaimed in anger before looking in remorse. "Many of my men haven't seen their families since then, children must be grown adults by now."
Raph, Karai, and Casey looked at the old soldier, along with the other Arendellian soldiers that were gathering food and supplies with their own somber expressions, with sympathy.
"That totally sucks." Casey commented.
"Hey, just kinda wondering…" Karai began as she spoke to Mattias directly. "You blame the Northuldra for what happened, why didn't you… you know, try to finish the fight? Try to get revenge and kill them?" Mattias looked to Karai in surprise before she herself realized what she had just said. "Not that you should have done that! I'm glad you didn't! It's just… anyone else… would have tired that… in fact… I might have done the same." She looked down with an ashamed expression, with Raph and Casey sharing knowing looks as they knew exactly what Karai was talking about.
Mattias gave a sigh before he spoke. "Follow me." He gestured for the trio to follow him, with the rest of the guard not far behind as well.
A short walk away that wasn't even a full minute, and the group found themselves by what appeared to be a grave site. There were at least total of twenty graves, signified by wooden crosses made from tree branches, with the largest one in the center.
"These, are all those who died since the mist fell, including our king." Mattias began as the trio listened. "When we learned we couldn't escape, many soldiers were filled with the idea of revenge, and I won't lie and say I didn't have similar thoughts myself. We did attack the Northuldra, and come to blows with them more than once, but every time we fought, the spirits would attack. Both our own, and even those on the other side, suffered casualties. Yes, I will admit the idea of revenge had crossed my mind more times than I'd care to count, but then I'd remember something my father would say. 'Anger, hatred, revenge, they may feel like they give you power and strength, but they take something else in return. Before you know it, that burning hatred is all you will ever feel.'" He looked toward the young heroes with a serious expression. "Do I blame the Northuldra for what happened? Yes, I do. Will I go on a crusade of revenge and kill every single one of them? No, never. We've lost so much already…" He gestured to his fellow soldiers who paid their respects once more for their fallen brothers and sisters in arms. "I won't sacrifice any more of my men just to pursue a vendetta that only leads to death. And, you've been in their tribe, you've seen there are children there, children who have had nothing to do with what happened so long ago. I won't lay a hand against them, and I won't put them through the same pain of losing someone close as each of us have."
Raph, Casey, and Karai each had a remorseful and sympathetic expression as they each paid their own form of respect at the graves.
"You're a good man." Karai said with a sad smile to the old lieutenant. "I'm sorry I asked such a morbid question. It's just… I've seen how far revenge can take people. How it twists them, poisons them, I'm no stranger to it myself; but all it's ever done is lead to more pain. What I'm trying to say is, I'm glad you're choosing to take the moral high ground."
"Thank you." Mattias nodded. "Do you really believe you can free this forest?"
"Absolutely." Raph confirmed.
"We've done way crazier things before." Casey added.
Mattias smiled. "Queen Elsa and Princess Anna trust you a great deal, so I will too. If there's anything you need us for, we'll help."
"Awe, isn't that sweet?"
The group looked up in shock to see a certain dog-like mutant leaping down toward them from the trees with his claws out, forcing the group to get back. The sight of such a terrifying creature caused Mattias and his men to look in genuine horror, while Raph, Karai, and Casey each looked in shock.
"Rahzar?!" Raph and Casey exclaimed.
"Hey kids, been a while." Rahzar sneered.
"How in the hell are you here, Bradford?!" Karai questioned as she drew her short sword.
"You know this thing?!" Mattias exclaimed.
"Yeah, his name is Chris Bradford, but we call him Rahzar." Raph said with a glare as he drew his tonfas. "He's bloodthirsty psycho who eats anything he doesn't like, and he doesn't like anything."
"Well, I hope he likes his teeth, cause we're about to make him swallow them!" Casey said as he pulled down his helmet and drew his hockey stick.
"You're welcome to try." Rahzar said. He then glanced at Mattias as he got up and his fellow soldiers regrouped. "Get lost, old man. Unless you wanna dig some more graves."
Mattias was already back on his feet as he and his soldiers shared glances with each other, each one of them nodding before facing the evil mutant. "We may be getting old in years, but we're still strong." He drew his sword and shield, along with his men. "Proud to serve Arendelle and her allies." He shared a brief smile with Raph, Karai, and Casey, walking up to stand by their side before facing their mutual enemy, slamming their swords against their shields in a challenging fashion.
"Ah well, more bones for us to feast on." Rahzar chuckled.
"Us?" Karai questioned. Suddenly, a series of shadows flew over them as the group of heroes looked up in shock to see a group of five mutant birds. They appeared to be humanoid with razor sharp talons, clawed and winged arms, dark blue feathers, and fanged beaks with blood red eyes before snarling and cawing at the heroes below.
"Ah sewer apples." Raph cussed.
Meanwhile; the trio of Donnie, Kristoff, and Sven were with Ryder and a large gathering of reindeer in a small clearing of the forest.
"Sorry, I really don't know anything." Ryder said to the group. "Do you guys know what happened that made the spirits so angry?" He asked the reindeer before imitating their voices.
"Nope."
"Not a clue."
"Wasn't even born then."
"Wait… you talk for them too?" Kristoff asked in a pleasant surprise.
"I do." Ryder confirmed.
"It's like you can actually hear what they're thinking!" Kristoff stated.
"Yeah! And… and you just say it!" Ryder also said.
"And then you just say it." Kristoff said in a tone indicating he had found a kindred spirit.
"Is that really true?" Donnie asked Sven. "I mean, I've read that some people can tell what their pets are thinking if they spend a long enough time with them, but I've never actually seen it."
"Oh, it's true alright." Sven confirmed. "Kristoff and I grew up together, so of course we clicked. But I don't get why you had to make my voice too low."
"It's how I heard you in my head." Kristoff said to his mutant reindeer companion. "And your voice is pretty low right now."
"Not as low as you made it out to be." Sven cracked, causing Ryder to laugh while Donnie rolled his eyes with a smirk. That is until Sven caught an odd whiff in the air, causing his levity to die down. "Guys, we got company."
Suddenly, all the normal reindeer in the area became agitated and even fearful. "Whoa, hey, calm down guys." Ryder tried to get them to calm down, only to have them all run away from the scene, leaving the group alone as they came together in a circle. "What's going on?"
"Something's coming, and I don't think it's coming." Sven said as they all saw shadows fly over them at quick pace. Donnie and Kristoff shared glances as they drew their respective weapons, Sven raised his fists, and even the nervous Ryder picked up a tree branch, which he held like a makeshift staff.
"Okay, everyone keep calm." Donnie said. "Whatever this is, I'm sure we can handle it."
Right as he said that however, something dropped down in front of them. It appeared to be a large, humanoid bat. It was almost completely black with talons on its feet, razor sharp claws on its winged-arms, and white pupilless eyes as it snarled at them. It was soon joined by almost twenty more that dropped from the skies and surrounded the group.
"Uh Ryder… what are these things?" Kristoff asked.
"No idea!" The frightened Northuldra exclaimed. "Never seen creatures like these before!"
Sven took a few more whiffs before his eyes widened. "They're mutants!"
"What?! How can you tell?!" Donnie exclaimed.
"I can smell mutagen inside them!" Sven confirmed.
"But… but how?! We didn't have any mutagen when we came here!" Kristoff exclaimed.
"I don't think we were the ones who mutated them." Donnie said as all the mutant bats screeched before lunging at the group. Donnie spun his staff, striking the stone-axe end to the head of one mutant bat to knock it down before rushing and going on the attack. Kristoff drew a pair of dual hatchets as he swung at two bats that attempted to fly at him, only for them to swerve around him before coming back at faster speeds to slash their claws at him and knock him down.
Sven grabbed one by its foot before slamming it down onto another and throwing that one away. Three mutant bats flew at him and tried to swarm and overwhelm him, but Sven flexed his arms to push them back. Ryder, however, found himself pressed against a tree as he kept one mutant bat back by pressing his staff underneath the neck of that mutant, even as it continued to snarl and bite at him. Fortunately, salvation came in the form of Donnie as he pole-vaulted and delivered a kick to knock the mutant away before helping Ryder to his feet, the pair quickly coming back-to-back as several more mutant bats flew around them in predatory fashion.
"So, obviously this is my first-time fighting mutants! Got any ideas?!" Ryder nervously asked the purple-clad Turtle by his side.
"Stay close, keep your weapon up, and don't let them bite your head off!" Donnie replied before attacking.
Elsa brought her ice-katana up to block the machete strike from Tiger Claw before they clashed their respective weapons with April and Leo coming in from behind; the former using her tesen and tanto, while the later had his dual katanas. But Tiger Claw saw it coming and spun around Elsa to deliver a kick and knock her down toward April, with Leo leaping over them to slash his blades at him. But Tiger Claw was quick to catch Leo by his shell and slam him down onto the ground. Yelena tried to rush Tiger Claw and thrust her staff at him, but Tiger Claw easily parried it and delivered a palm strike to her chest and knock her back. April then slashed her tanto at him, which he parried with his machete before she sent a psychic wave to knock him back right as she threw her tessen, but Tiger Claw used his machete to bat it away before April called it back telekinetically.
Tiger Claw was then forced on the defensive as Elsa sent a series of ice-bolts his way, freezing the ground near him and shooting ice-spikes from the frozen ground at him, but Tiger Claw used his jetpack to fly above the attack and land on a tree branch, where he drew his pistols and engaged in a firefight with the Ice Queen. April provided some assistance by blasting a series of psychic waves toward Tiger Claw, who leapt from tree branch to tree branch to avoid the blasts of psychic powers and magic before shooting toward the pair with his jetpack at incredible speeds, grabbing both of them by their faces and slamming them down onto the ground. However, he gave a cry in pain as an arrow struck his side, curtesy of Leo, who shot another arrow at him from his bow, but Tiger Claw used his laser pistol to shoot the arrow before returning fire at Leo, who rolled and ducked to provide cover for Yelena as she came at Tiger Claw from his blindside and strike him in his face with her staff, leaving him open for April to deliver the Dragon Tail move to his chest and allowing Elsa to slide her way in with a large ice-block coating her right fist which she used to punch his face and knock him down.
However, even as all four of them grouped together, Tiger Claw picked himself up and smirked. "Excellent. I was worried that you had grown complacent during our absence, even this elder is a capable fighter. I'm sure the Master will be pleased to know you haven't lost your skills, little ones."
"Master?" Yelena questioned while Leo, Elsa, and April exchanged surprised glances as they narrowed their eyes at the mutant assassin in front of them.
"So, he is alive." Elsa glared.
"Indeed, and he is closer than you might think." Tiger Claw said before he used his jetpack to soar over then and prepared to fire his pistols at the group, only for a powerful gust of wind to blow him back and slam him hard on the ground. "What?! Who in…?!" However, he looked in surprise to see a raging tornado form behind the heroes as they parted a bit to clear a path for the twister.
"Tiger Claw, meet our new friend, the Wind Spirit. Gale, Tiger Claw." Leo smirked as Gale in his tornado form shot at Tiger Claw, quickly pulling him into his twister form before shooting him out, causing him to crash through the tree. However, he was quick to get up with a roar as he fired his energy pistols at Gale, which only seemed to anger him even more as he pulled several pieces of rock and wood from the ground around him to fire back at Tiger Claw, who used his own agility and jetpack to avoid the onslaught and keep shooting.
"Is everyone alright?" Elsa asked as they regrouped.
"I think so." April confirmed.
"Who is this 'master' he mentioned?" Yelena questioned.
"Someone very bad." Leo said. "But we don't have time to talk about that right now. We gotta find everyone else."
April had already begun to reach out with her own psychic powers. "Guys… Tiger Claw's not alone. Bradford and Xever, and a whole bunch of other mutants are here too!"
"Goongala!" Casey called out as he slammed his hockey stick in the face of one bird-mutant to knock it down, all while helping the Arendellian soldiers in fighting off the other bird-mutants. But the soldiers appeared to be on the defensive, never having faced monsters like these before. They tried to slash at them with their swords, only for the bird-mutants to fly and avoid the strikes, lashing out with their talons, forcing them to use their shields defensively.
The only female soldier found herself pinned on the ground as a bird-mutant proved too strong for her, keeping her pinned by pressing its talons against her shield and body. It tried to peck at her face with its beak, but she avoided the first two. It was about to come in for a third when Raph suddenly appeared at its side to impale its head with one of his sais, killing it before kicking the corpse away as he helped the soldier up.
"Thank you." She smiled.
"Don't thank me yet, we're not done." Raph stated as they went back into the fight.
Karai slashed her short blade at Rahzar, who swerved around it before lashing out with his claws, which she avoided by leaping over and behind him. But before she could strike, Rahzar quickly turned around to snap his jaws at her, forcing Karai back before she pounced and sliced at her, scratching her side, and causing her to wince in pain, leaving her open for Rahzar to pin her to the ground and hold her tight.
"I like you, Karai." Rahzar said with a sneer. "Let me finish you quick. Tiger Claw might not make things so easy for ya."
"So, he's here too?" Karai questioned before glaring at her former comrade. "Well, both of you can go to hell!"
"Suit yourself." However, before Rahzar could even strike, he was rammed in the side by Mattias' with his shield, knocking him off Karai. Rahzar quickly rolled to his feet as he faced the old lieutenant. "That was a big mistake, old man. And I'm about to make it your last."
"Take your best shot." Mattias challenged as he held his sword and shield close before charging Rahzar.
Mattias used his shield to block Rahzar's claw strikes before pressing forward with his shield to knock the mutant back and slashing at his side with his sword, getting a good hit on the evil mutant before Mattias followed with another sword strike, but Rahzar caught his arm and hauled him over his shoulder, and before he even contacted the ground, Rahzar delivered a kick to his chest to send him rolling across the ground. Rahzar attempted to pounce on him, but Mattias quickly brought up his shield to slam the side into Rahzar's face and knock him down. The lieutenant attempted to strike him down with his sword while he was down, but Rahzar quickly recovered and slashed at his face, causing Mattias to yell in pain as he could already feel the blood coming down from his face right as Rahzar grabbed him by the back and slammed him down onto the ground before pulling him up.
"You got some good moves there." Rahzar admitted. "I would have loved to have faced you in your prime. Unfortunately for you, old man, that time is long gone." He brandished his claws. "Time to join the rest of your men."
"You first!" Raph suddenly came in with a leaping kick to Rahzar's face, sending him straight toward Karai who delivered a roundhouse to knock him down. Raph quickly helped the injured Mattias up. "You, okay?"
"I'll live…" He groaned as Raph felt his chest. Aside from the bleeding marks on his face, he could tell that at least three of his ribs were broken, fortunately his lungs weren't punctured so nothing was fatal, yet. Karai fell back closer to Raph and Mattias as she kept her blade on her with Rahzar ready to pounce them.
However, before he had the chance, a wall of pink fire suddenly appeared in front of him. "What the?!" HE questioned as the flames began to circle around him, trapping him while also appearing in bursts around the area, helping Casey and the remaining soldiers to fend off the remaining bird mutants.
Raph then smirked as he saw the flaming little salamander that was the Fire Spirit on a rock. "Thanks, Bruni." In response, the Fire Spirit named Bruni looked toward the red-clad Turtle with a smile before charging himself up with more flames and leaping into the scuffle.
Anna and Honeymaren tried to come at Fishface in the form of a pincer attack, only for the mutant fish to perform a hand-stance and spin his metallic feet out to knock both girls back. He quickly recovered to leap and avoid the pendulum swings from Shinigami, along with the kama strikes from Mikey as he leapt at him from behind. But Fishface leapt into the air to meet Mikey and slam his metal feet down to knock Mikey closer to the water with a splash.
When he landed on the ground, he found himself ensnared by the chain of the pendulum from Shinigami, who pulled him in with the intent on slicing him with her crescent-shaped blades. However, Fishface was prepared as he used his metallic feet to kick himself in the air and over Shinigami, pulling her along with him as she still held the chain that Fishface used against her before slipping out of it to land a kick in her chest and knock her down. Honeymaren attempted to strike from behind with her staff, but Fishface swerved around and bit down into her shoulder, causing her to scream in pain before kicking her towards the charging Anna, who caught her.
"What did you do to her?!" Anna exclaimed as Honeymaren appeared to lose consciousness from the venom now flowing in her veins.
"Oh, don't worry, that type of venom is only a paralysis. She won't die, I'd hate to kill such a pretty face, and the same goes for you princess." Fishface smirked.
"You're a real creep, you know that right?" Anna glared as she gently set Honeymaren down.
"Eh, I've been called worse." Fishface said before he charged Anna, who charged back at him in return with her sword.
Olaf quickly ran to Mikey's side and helped him up. "Mikey, are you okay?" The snowman asked with concern.
"I think my shell was knocked a little loose…." Mikey groaned only to look in surprise as he saw a horse-like face in the water staring back at him. "Dude, Olaf."
Olaf gasped as he saw the Water Spirit as well. "It's the Nokk!"
"We so gotta come up with a better name for him." Mikey said before he found himself in a staring contest with the Water Spirit. He looked into its glowing eyes, almost entranced. Even though it appeared they were silent, the two might as well have been having a conversation in their minds. It was almost like the Water Spirit was trying to tell Mikey something, and he understood.
"April!" Mikey tried to call to his friend, hopping she could hear him with her powers. "Can you hear me?! Say something with your mind powers!"
"Mikey, I hear you!" April contacted him through her telepathy.
"Oh, I hear you too, April!" Olaf waved as he appeared to be hearing her as well, probably from being so close to Mikey.
"Listen, you, Leo, and Elsa are with Yelena, right? Well ask her what the biggest body of water is in this forest and wear it is!" Mikey called to her.
"Hang on a second…" After a few seconds April came back with an answer. "She says there's a large waterfall west from where we are! Hang on, I'll send you the location!"
"Oh wow… this is so cool!" Olaf said. "It's almost like there's a map in my head!"
"Got it! You rock April!" Mikey told her. "Tell everyone else to meet us there! I got an idea!"
"Alright!" April acknowledged before cutting off her telepathic link.
Fishface had managed to knock Anna down with a kick before spinning his feet around to parry the strikes from the crescent-blades wielded by Shinigami before leaping up to a rock and prepared to jump up again to deliver a devastating strike. However, before he had the chance, Mikey suddenly appeared to deliver a flying double kick to Fishface's side and knock him down.
"Come on ladies!" Mikey called to Anna and Shinigami. "Grab Honeymaren and follow me!"
"What?! Why?!" Shinigami questioned.
"Mikey has a plan!" Olaf stated. "We're gonna meet everyone by this big waterfall!"
"Alright, fine with me!" Anna accepted, knowing she could trust Mikey as she picked up the unconscious and paralyzed Honeymaren and followed Mikey along with Shinigami, who picked up Olaf in her arms, as the group ran from the scene as Fishface recovered.
"Oh no you don't!" Fishface gave pursuit of his prey, thinking they were retreating.
Donnie spun his staff again as he struck down one bat-mutant with the stone-axe blade before shooting his weapon backwards, extending the naginata blade from the other end as it impaled and killed a bat-mutant that tried to attack him from behind. He quickly brought his staff up to block the talon and clawed strikes from two more bat-mutants that tried to attack him from above.
Kristoff and Ryder were both together as well as they tried to fend off the bat-mutants that attempted to swarm them. While Kristoff seemed able to hold his own, the inexperienced Ryder was another story as a claw strike from one bat-mutant knocked him down. Kristoff attempted to help him, only for two bat-mutants to pin him to the ground with their talons. Fortunately, Sven came charging in on his hands and feet at incredible speeds to use his antlers to ram all the bat-mutants off them.
"You guys doing okay!?" Sven questioned as he helped the pair up.
"Surviving." Kristoff said as he was back on his feet.
"Guys, I just got a message from April!" Donnie said as he leapt back toward them. "She wants us all to meet at this large waterfall that's less than a kilometer west from our location!"
"I know what she's talking about." Ryder knew that waterfall. "Come on, I'll lead you there!" He gestured for the group to follow him, which they did with the remaining bat-mutants in hot pursuit.
Leo and April ran through the trees with Elsa flying above them on her ice-wings while also carrying Yelena, Gale also appeared to be on their sides, though it was rather hard to see a gust of wind. The group soon found they were joined on the right by the other group consisting of Raph, Karai, and Casey; the former two were carrying the injured Mattias over their shoulders and supporting him, with Bruni perched on Raph's shoulder, while the other four Arendellian soldiers weren't far behind them. On the left, came the group consisting of Donnie, Kristoff, Sven, and Ryder. There was no need to talk as this was all apparently part of Mikey's plan which he had yet to share with them, but any plan was better than no plan at this point.
"Dudes! Dudes over here!" They heard Mikey's voice as they came out past the trees to see Mikey, Shinigami, Olaf, and Anna waving toward them, with Anna carrying the unconscious Honeymaren in her arms. They were at the intended destination with a river right behind them, and a sixty-foot tall cliff on their left side with a large and powerful waterfall flowing down into the river.
"Honeymaren!" Ryder exclaimed at seeing his sister like this, he quickly ran toward them with Elsa setting down Yelena, who also ran to check on her. "What happened?!"
"She's paralyzed, but she'll live." Anna quickly informed.
"Which is more than can be said for the rest of you!" They heard Rahzar's voice as he leapt from the cliffside near the waterfall to land in the water, along with the three-surviving bird-mutants, which were later joined by Fishface from the other side of the river, the remaining ten bat-mutants that hovered down from the air, and Tiger Claw who descended via his jetpack.
Most of the heroes present drew their respective weapons and took necessary combative stances as they readied for a massive brawl.
"Why are you always attacking us!?" Elsa exclaimed to the band of evil mutants. "After everything that's happened, why can't you just let this vendetta of yours go?!"
"We will never stop until you and Splinter are put to rest!" Tiger Claw exclaimed back. "You and anyone else who dares to ally with you!"
"Well too bad for you." Mikey smirked. "Cause we got some big friends!" He pointed toward the waterfall.
"What are you…?!" Rahzar questioned as he, Fishface, and Tiger Claw glanced up and toward the side at the raging waterfall, only for them, and all the heroes, to look in absolute shock and/or amazement at the sight of the massive horse face made entirely out of water glaring down at the group of evil mutants.
"The Nokk…" Yelena breathed in amazement.
"Eh… is that waterfall glaring at us… with the face of a horse?" Fishface questioned in a perplexed tone of voice.
"Oh no…" Tiger Claw's eyelids lowered, having a good idea what was coming next.
"Get em Neptune!" Mikey called out.
The Water Spirit gave a powerful and mighty neigh before it sent out a tidal wave from the waterfall, straight toward the evil mutants as they tried to run or fly away; only for every single one of them to get swept up into the wave. All the bird and bat mutants, along with Rahzar, Fishface, and Tiger Claw, were pulled into the wave of rushing water and sent hurtling down the river, unable to pull themselves out or straighten themselves in the raging current, until they were gone and completely out of sight.
"Booyakasha!" Anna, Olaf, and Mikey shouted triumphantly as they exchanged at three-way high-five.
"Are… are… they gone?" The injured Mattias questioned.
"Those birds and bats, probably." Karai replied.
"But those other three have survived way worse." Raph said with a grimace.
"How the heck did they even get into the forest?" Donnie questioned. "It shouldn't be possible!"
"Tiger Claw said they had my blood." Elsa said with a grimace. "Maybe that's how. But… that's not even the worst of it." She shared a concerning glance with Leo as the blue-clad Turtle spoke gravely.
"Shredder's alive."
That caused nearly all the heroes to gasp in shock and even fear.
"No…" Anna muttered while everyone else looked to each other, silently wondering what they're next move should be.
"We should get back to the campsite." Leo began. "Looks like Honeymaren and Mattias could use some medical attention."
"I'll help escort them back." Yelena volunteered as she walked toward the Arendellian soldiers. "Please, allow us to help assist your lieutenant." The soldiers looked to each other wearily, unsure of how to respond.
"Do as she says." Anna told them. "Consider that an order, cause right now we've got bigger things to worry about."
With that, everyone helped each other as Yelena guided the large group back toward the Northuldra camp where those who needed it could get the necessary help. Most of the Turtles and their allies were already joining them, Mikey quickly made his way to the river where the Nokk fully revealed itself to the orange-clad Turtle.
"Thanks for the help, Neptune." Mikey patted the Water Spirit on its head. "We owe ya, big time."
"You're calling it Neptune?" Leo asked with a slight smirk as he and Elsa were the only ones left besides Mikey.
"Well Donnie said the water-horse was supposed to be Poseidon, and aren't Poseidon and Neptune the same guy?" Mikey asked.
"Huh, surprisingly, you're right Mikey." Elsa attempted a joke, despite the graveness of their situation, which seemed to work slightly. She then walked toward the Nokk as it directed its attention toward her. "Thank you."
The Water Spirit nodded slightly before melting away in the river and vanishing. Mikey then turned around to head back to the campsite with everyone else. "You guys coming?"
"We'll catch up, you go on ahead." Leo told his youngest brother, who nodded in understanding before leaving.
Leo and Elsa were both alone as they gazed into the river to see their reflections. But despite having this moment to themselves, neither of them could find any joy or comfort in this particular moment.
"So, he's alive after all…" Elsa began. "I mean… we suspected it but… to actually confirm it… it's…" She sighed, not able to find the right words. But Leo still understood as he put an arm around her for comfort, which she accepted as she leaned in close to him. "We'll make it through this. Right, Leo?"
"Yeah, we will." Leo said, trying to sound as confident as possible. "We've made it through before in similar situations, we'll do it again."
Despite that fact being completely true, it did little to deter the new gravity of their current situation as there was no denying that their mission in the Enchanted Forest had just got a whole lot more complicated. And both of them had sinking feeling that things were about to take a turn for the worst very soon.
Done.
So, the Turtles and Frozen crew have had their first re-encounter with the Foot, along with some random mutants. The Northuldra and Arendellian soldiers were able to provide some help, but even they didn't make it out unscathed, with the heroes managing to pull off a win thanks to the help from three of the spirits (and Mikey has now named the Water Spirit "Neptune". I know his official name is The Nokk, but 'Neptune' sounds like a name that Mikey would come up with. Plus, it was something that my friend Amaya-chan07 and I both agreed on and I like it)
But their victory seems rather hallow as the heroes now know Shredder is alive and that has made their situation much graver and more complicated. What's in store next for our heroes? Find out next time on Frozen Turtles.
Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.