The city was too familiar they didn't have any problem finding the closest manhole to go to the lair. But they had a small problem getting inside the sewers. The incredible nasty smell hit them the moment Leo opened it.

"Eww. What is this? I remember sewers smell bad but not this bad." Mikey complained while climbing down. Leo didn't voice his opinion and silently agreed. Once they were in the tunnel, he sensed something was off. There was too much debris, and there were so many old footprints on the muddy floor. Someone was certainly in here. Leo thought the idea of people walking around the sewers was weird. It was like they escaped something from the surface.

"There's something… someone here."

"Human?" Mikey gulped, not too fond to meet one after seeing the murderous scene.

"I think so. Just be careful."

In the next tunnel, they found strange fog. The sewers were attacked by fungus before, but this was different. The fog of thick spores was floating in the air, painting the surroundings like a B-grade horror movie.

"Umm, what is this yellow fog?"

Leo frowned, his instinct told him not to breathe it. It was a good thing he reminded everyone to bring a breathing unit before they started the mission. "Bring out your filtration unit."

"Oh yeah, because if we inhale it we will become zombieeee." Mikey made lightly of the situation as always, though he brought out the unit. "Hmm, brain, braaain, delicioussss."

"Quit it, Mikey. This is not a game."

"Okay, okay." Mikey hummed, "So Leo, how much do you know about zombies?"

"Mikey, I begin to think you want to meet one if you keep talking about it."

Mikey's expression was priceless, but he regained his composure quickly.

"But we have to be prepared before meeting an unexpected enemy. Don't you like to be prepared?"

Leo chuckled. To be honest, he didn't know much about cartoons except the Space Heroes show. Mikey took it as a sign for him to continue.

"Zombies are sluggish, they cannot run fast. And they liiiike braaaains very much." Mikey spoke with a dramatic voice, grinning at his big brother. But it took more than that to scare Leo. He was Fearless Leader, after all. So he continued, "The first rule of surviving in zombie world is do not let them bite you, ever. Or you'll turn into one of them."

"You got that from comic books?"

"Yup, and The Walking Dead series."

Leo was going to ask what it was when he saw a human shape in front of him. He stood still, grabbing Mikey's arm. His eyes were dead serious as he knew humans in sewers usually mean grave danger.

That human was making a strange sound, and suddenly he ran in their direction.

"What the-!?"

Leo's katana was already in his hand, he swung the blade in front of him so that person would back away. But he didn't stop, he was getting closer and growled. Leo didn't have a choice but to slash his flailing arms. The closer look at human's state startled him.

The half of his head was gone, replaced by some kind of giant sea flower. The skin was jagged and yellowish, and it smelled like a decayed animal.

They were stunned, too shocked to comprehend the sight before them. This thing was definitely not a mutant.

Mikey screamed like his worst nightmare comes true.

Leo noticed at the last minute that this creature didn't come alone, there were three creatures running at them. Their speeds were obviously faster than the average human. Leo made a decision in split second. He slashed its throat, killing it instantly. Then he took Mikey's hand and ran.

"You said they are slow!"

Mikey blinked several times until he realized Leo was talking to him. Oh, now he admits zombies are real!

"Well, they're obviously not zombies then!" Mikey shouted back. "They don't even have heads. Maybe they don't need brains."

"Never mind. Just run faster!"

With their mutant strengths, both turtles could outrun them easily. Leo began to slow down and look behind his back, panting. Mikey tried to calm himself, taking a deep breath.

"What's that noise? They are… clicking?"

Leo heard it too. He remembered that creature made that sound before running to them like it used the sound to locate them. The clicking sound was coming closer, Mikey made a high-pitch scream, again. Leo resisted an urge to roll his eyes and took Mikey's hand.

"We have to escape silently, Mikey! Or else they'll hear you and keep coming!"

"Do you mean tactical stealth retreat? Is that even a strategy!?"

"Just be quiet! Quick! Hide in the shadows."

They had been hiding in the shadows all the time and it became our habit. It was easy for them. One minute and they already on the pipes above the zombies. Leo clapped his hand over Mikey's mouth just in case. The three creatures staggered past by without noticing them. After a few minutes, Leo released him, looking around for the new path to the lair.

"This way. It may take some time but we can still reach home."

Home, Mikey thought, that sounds nice. I hope zombies are not waiting for us there.


At least Mikey wasn't wrong. There were no zombies in the place that was supposed to be the lair, but there was also nothing here. This place had no resemblance to their home. It looked like a typically abandoned train station.

His heart sank. Leo seemed to share his sadness as well.

"So… no our counterparts in this world?"

"Maybe," Leo sighed. "We still can check April's apartment, though."

Mikey nodded. But from what they saw on the surface, he didn't believe his friends were here either.

"Well, on the bright side, that means no Shredder in this world too," Leo said hopefully.

"But the Kraang is here, right?"

"I don't know," His big brother shut his eyes, thinking. Mikey thought he looked like he was ten years older. "We have to check out for them. That's our chance to get back to our world."

They were silent for a moment. Leo was thinking again, he knew it. Mikey looked into the tunnel behind and thought about those monsters in the sewers.

"You know, if Donnie's here he would figure out something about that mushie."

Leo blinked. "Mushie- what?"

"Well, their heads are mushrooms, and I bet zombies are their relatives."

His brother shook his head, muttering something about 'only you would think mushrooms are on their heads.'

"Do you think it sounds too cute for them? I'm thinking about Creeper-"

"How is your leg?" Leo asked out of the blue. Mikey gulped.

"I-err—It's fine?"

Leo crossed his arms and gave him a look. He sighed, looking down at his left ankle. It was cut when they were running from Mushies. The tunnel was dark and full of junks, and he too panicked to care what he stepped on. He didn't even feel it at first, so it wasn't like he tried to hide it from Leo.

"It's not that bad. I think the bleeding has almost stopped."

Leo leaned closer to inspect his wound, taking out a spare bandage from his shell and wrapping it around his ankle.

"You need a stitch. This is just temporary."

Mikey visibly shuddered. Oh man, I will get sewed up by Leo. But I don't want it 'cause it means needles. I hate needles. Because this dimension is horrible they don't even have a 24-hour pharmacy store. Shell, I don't know if medicines exist here or not. Why is everything so messed up? I don't want to stay anymore. Can I have Donnie now? At least he knows what to do when I freak out.

Leo interrupted his thought by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get back to the surface. I don't want to stay here when it's dark outside."

Mikey nodded and complained loudly. "Man, the alternate dimension without turtles? This is not cool at all."

His brother didn't scold him this time, he guessed Leo's mind was already far away like he usually did when they were in space.

They walked side by side into the shadows. Mikey looked back at their non-exist home for the last time. He sighed and held Leo's hand tightly.

He was surprised when he felt Leo squeezed his hand back as if his big brother wanted to remind him that he was not alone.


Author's note: Thank you for reading!