NOT QUITE HUMAN
Part Six: To the Rescue
"Urhm…wha…what happened?" Donatello murmured softly as he slowly opened his eyes. Not recognizing his surroundings right away, Donatello slowly sat up and carefully looked around as he rubbed his head, which was throbbing with pain. He soon realized that he was in some sort of prison cell with bars of electricity.
"Oh, no!" Donatello gasped when he saw the two Foot Soldiers standing guard on either side of the cell. "I'm in the Techno-Drome? When did that happen? The last thing I remember was trying to free Rowen and his friends from that force field bubble that Shredder trapped them in…Shredder! He must have knocked me out when my back was turned! Figures that he would sink so low as to strike a turtle in the back!"
Just then, Donatello heard footsteps slowly approaching. He warily stood up as the footsteps grew even closer.
"So, you're finally awake, Donatello," Shredder remarked nonchalantly as he approached Donatello's cell, along with Rocksteady and Bebop.
"We got us a turtle! We got us a turtle!" Bebop and Rocksteady exclaimed simultaneously in a singsong tone as they danced around Shredder in a circle. Shredder growled under his breath out of irritation as he glared angrily at the two mutants, who immediately cut their celebration short.
"Whatever you want with me, Shredder, you can just forget it! There's no way I'm doing anything for you!" Donatello announced defiantly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Actually, I don't need you to do anything. You're just bait," Shredder revealed.
"You seriously think you're gonna trap my brothers again, Shred-Head? We've outsmarted you and your mutant lackeys countless times before, in case you've forgotten," Donatello pointed out sarcastically.
"I'm not interested in those repulsive reptiles this time. It's your new human friends I'm interested in," Shredder announced.
"What do you want with them?" Donatello asked a bit suspiciously.
"Your friends have something that I want: the five mythical armors of the Ronin Warriors," Shredder revealed.
"Your helmet must be on too tight, Shredder!" Donatello retorted. "It's called a myth for a reason, because it's not real!"
"That armor is real, Donatello. If you were awake at the time, you would have witnessed the live demonstration for yourself," Shredder announced with a sinister laugh. "Once those boys come down here looking for you, I'll finally have the power to take over the world!"
"What makes you think they even know where the Techno-Drome is, Shredder?" Donatello asked.
"You have a good point there, Donatello. I'm sure those brothers of yours will help them out. If not, I'll give them a personal invitation," Shredder confessed with a hint of venom. "Come on, you two! We've got work to do!"
"Right away, Master Shredder!" Rocksteady agreed as he and Bebop followed Shredder down the hall…
"So, what's the deal, Rowen? You got that thing working yet?" Ryo asked curiously. The five Ronin Warriors, who were still in their sub-armor, and the three remaining Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were in Donatello's workshop, where Rowen was working on the interdimensional portal generator.
"I'm doing the best I can, Ryo. This circuitry is extremely complex," Rowen explained as he picked up a pair of pliers and stuck them inside an open compartment.
"What's going on in here?" Splinter asked curiously as he walked into Donatello's workshop. He gasped slightly out of surprise when he saw the five teenage human boys wearing Japanese-style metal sub-armor.
"What's going on? Where's Donatello?" Splinter asked.
"Well, to make a long story short, Sensei: Old Shred-Head's after these guys because of their magic armors, and he snatched Donatello just to get to them," Raphael explained.
"Magic armors? What do you mean by that, Raphael?" Splinter asked curiously.
"You see that armor they're wearing now, Master Splinter? They call themselves the Ronin Warriors," Leonardo replied.
"Ronin Warriors? I remember that legend quite well, but now I see for myself that it's no mere legend," Splinter admitted.
"We're very sorry about all of this, Splinter," Sage solemnly apologized as he looked down at the ground. "Shredder ambushed us in the sewers and kidnapped Donatello, and all because he wanted our armor."
"Do not blame yourself, Sage," Splinter replied as he placed both of his bony clawed paws on Sage's shoulders. "The Shredder is indeed a ruthless man, but we have defeated him before on many occasions, so do not worry yourself over this, Sage."
"Well, I've done all I can," Rowen announced as he closed the compartment he was working on and stood up. "Here we go, guys. Keep your fingers crossed."
Ryo, Sage, Cye, Kento, Splinter, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael all held their breath in anticipation as Rowen entered the coordinates and flipped a switch on the portal generator. The generator started making some strange noises as a swirling pink-and-blue vortex appeared on the large flat screen.
"All right! Way to go, dude!" Michelangelo cheered loudly as he patted Rowen on the shoulder.
"Now, let's go get our bro back from that old Tin Grin!" Raphael announced as he started to head for the portal.
"Wait, Raphael!" Leonardo shouted as he held his arm up, blocking his brother's path.
"What are you stopping me for, Leonardo?" Raphael asked a bit suspiciously.
"Look!" Leonardo announced as he pointed at the portal, which was becoming full of static, like a television set that had gone on the fritz.
"I'm sorry, guys. I warned you that I wasn't an expert at this," Rowen replied solemnly as he closed his eyes.
"Take it easy, Rowen. You did your best," Cye tried to convince Rowen as he placed a reassuring hand on the blue-haired teen's shoulder.
"Yeah, we'll find a way to the Techno-Drome, with or without the portal generator," Sage added.
"I think I know what the problem is with this thing," Kento announced as he walked over to the portal generator.
"And what's that, Kento?" Ryo asked curiously.
"I'll just do what I do whenever my TV goes on the fritz!" Kento admitted as he raised a clenched fist, preparing to strike the top of the flat screen. Before he could bring his fist down, Cye quickly ran to Kento's side and grabbed his arm.
"Hey, Cye! What's the big idea?" Kento complained.
"Kento, this isn't your crummy old television! It's a sensitive piece of equipment!" Cye explained as Michelangelo joined them. "You can't just whack something and expect it to be fixed just like…"
To Cye's surprise, Michelangelo brought his clenched fist down hard on top of the flat screen. A few moments later, the static completely faded away and the swirling pink-and-blue vortex appeared again, just as clear as it was before.
"All fixed, dudes!" Michelangelo announced as he gave Cye and Kento a thumbs up.
"Uhh…you were saying, Cye?" Kento remarked smugly as Cye stared at Michelangelo with a completely dumbfounded look in his green eyes.
"I…I can't believe he just did that!" Cye slowly stuttered out of shock.
"So, this portal should take us inside the Techno-Drome. Is that right?" Rowen asked curiously.
"Yeah, it should…" Leonardo reluctantly admitted.
"Hold on! What do you mean by that?" Sage asked a bit suspiciously.
"Well…it's been a while since we used the interdimensional portal generator to teleport to the Techno-Drome," Leonardo explained. "If the Techno-Drome has moved at all since then, we could end up outside of the Techno-Drome."
"Hey, that's no big deal. With our armor, we'll have no problem busting into the Techno-Drome!" Kento confessed.
"There's one more thing we forgot to mention about the Techno-Drome: it's located in the center of the Earth!" Raphael revealed. "So, basically, the Techno-Drome's right in the middle of a huge pool of lava! If the three of us fall in, we're as good as turtle soup!"
"Pool of lava, huh?" Ryo muttered thoughtfully. "Then, I should be the first to go."
"Why you, Ryo?" Leonardo asked curiously.
"My armor is the Wildfire, Leonardo. It gets its power from heat," Ryo explained. "My armor was even created inside an active volcano. If this portal does lead into the lava pool, my armor would protect me."
"That makes sense," Leonardo admitted.
"You might want to stand back. I'll have to transform into my full armor," Ryo warned the three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
"Okay, if you say so, dude," Michelangelo agreed as he, Leonardo, and Raphael stepped back a few feet.
"Armor of Wildfire! DAO JIN!" Ryo shouted.
"Whoa!" Leonardo and Raphael gasped slowly in awe when they saw the full red-and-white battle armor that Ryo was now wearing, which included a pair of katanas carried in twin blue sheaths attached diagonally to the back of his armor.
"Dude, that's so cool!" Michelangelo exclaimed loudly. "Can I get one, too? I want an orange-and-green one with spikes all over it, and humungous horns on the helmet, and…"
"Michelangelo!" Leonardo and Raphael shouted simultaneously.
"Sorry, bad timing," Michelangelo replied as he chuckled a bit sheepishly.
"All right, here I go," Ryo announced as he started to walk towards the portal.
"Wait a second, Ryo," Leonardo interrupted as he took his Turtle Com out of his belt and handed it to Ryo. "Use this to keep in touch with us after you go through the portal."
"All right, Leonardo," Ryo agreed as he picked up the Turtle Com from Leonardo's hand. He took in a deep breath before stepping into the portal, disappearing into the swirling void out of his friends' view…
Meanwhile, just a short distance outside of the Techno-Drome, a swirling pink-and-blue vortex appeared about twenty feet above a massive pool of lava.
"I'm almost there…" Ryo muttered to himself as he continued walking towards the light coming from the other side of the portal. When he reached the opening, Ryo found himself suspended high above a huge pool of red-hot lava that was surrounded by several tall columns of jagged rock. The towering stalagmites around the lava pool seemed to radiate a soft orange glow from the liquid magma.
"Whoa! It's a good thing I went first," Ryo muttered to himself as he jumped out of the portal and landed in the lava, which went all the way up to his waist.
"Whoa…" Ryo gasped slowly when he turned around and his tiger blue eyes first saw the Techno-Drome. He was stunned by the immense size of the giant white spherical tank sitting in front of him.
"Is that a…an eyeball?" Ryo muttered curiously to himself when he noticed the huge steel encased eyeball that was perched on the very top of the Techno-Drome. "That is really weird-looking."
Just then, Ryo was a bit startled when he heard a beeping noise coming from his hand. He realized that the beeping was coming from the Turtle Com that Leonardo had given him earlier. Ryo opened up the Turtle Com and saw Leonardo's face on the miniature screen.
"Hey, Leonardo. What's up?" Ryo asked curiously.
"Did you make it to the Techno-Drome, Ryo?" Leonardo asked.
"In a way, yeah, I did," Ryo replied.
"Well, what's the deal, Ryo? Can we go through the portal or not?" Raphael asked sarcastically.
"Unless you want to take a twenty-foot swan dive into a pool of red-hot lava, I don't think so, Raphael," Ryo retorted dryly as he waded through the lava and climbed up onto a flat patch of rock that wasn't covered by the molten rock.
"Then how are we supposed to get inside this Techno-Drome, Ryo?" Kento asked sarcastically.
"Hold on, I got an idea," Ryo revealed as he looked up at a stalagmite that was very tall and very thick.
"That should be long enough to reach the portal," Ryo muttered thoughtfully as he backed away a few feet from the stalagmite.
"Ryo, what's going on?" Leonardo asked curiously.
"Just hang on a minute, Leonardo. I'm gonna make a bridge to the portal for you guys," Ryo explained as he carefully placed the Turtle Com down on the rocks. He studied the base of the stalagmite for a few moments before withdrawing his katanas and joining them together at the handles.
I just need to focus my attack on the base of the stalagmite. One clean cut will knock that thing over into the lava and create a bridge for everyone, Ryo thought to himself as he closed his eyes and held his katanas above his head.
"FLARE UP NOW!"
Ryo's attack struck the base of the stalagmite just as planned, causing it to teeter and fall back into the pool of lava with a resounding splash.
"All right! It worked!" Ryo exclaimed when he saw that half of the stalagmite's length was floating above the surface of the lava and it reached the open portal lingering overhead, just as he had hoped. Ryo picked up the Turtle Com and announced, "I just made a bridge for you guys, so you can cross the lava with no problem. Just watch your step before getting out of the portal."
"You got it, Ryo," Leonardo agreed before turning off the connection. Ryo closed the Turtle Com and looked up at the portal high above the pool of lava. The first person he saw at the portal opening was Sage, who was now in his full green-and-white battle armor.
"Whoa! You weren't kidding, Ryo!" Sage gasped when he noticed how far down the pool of lava was.
"Come on, Sage! Take the plunge!" Ryo shouted up to Sage.
"Coming down, Ryo!" Sage announced as he leapt out of the portal and landed right on the stalagmite. As Sage started to cross the stalagmite bridge that Ryo created, Raphael was the next to reach the portal.
"Bonsai!" Raphael shouted as he leapt out of the portal, did a somersault in midair, and landed just a few feet behind Sage, who was halfway across the stalagmite bridge.
"Raphael, you gotta be more careful!" Leonardo shouted from the portal opening up in the air, who was soon joined by Cye and Kento in their full battle armor. "You could have been turtle soup!"
"Relax, Leonardo. Get over it!" Raphael shouted back as he and Sage reached the rocky patch of land, where Ryo was waiting for them.
"He is so reckless!" Leonardo grumbled disapprovingly under his breath as he jumped down and landed on the stalagmite bridge.
"Come on, Kento," Cye announced as he dove out of the portal and landed effortlessly on the floating stalagmite.
"Right behind ya, Cye!" Kento boasted as he jumped out of the portal. "Whoa!" he stuttered as he nearly lost his balance when he landed on the stalagmite bridge.
"You all right, Kento?" Cye asked curiously as he looked back at his friend.
"I'm okay, Cye," Kento replied as he regained his composure and started to cross the stalagmite bridge.
"Nice one, dude! I give you a nine for the dive, but I'll have to give you a six for the landing!" Michelangelo commented jokingly.
"I'd like to see you do better, dude!" Kento remarked loudly.
"Stop clowning around, Michelangelo, and get your shell down here!" Raphael retorted sarcastically.
"Keep your shell on, dude! Cowabunga!" Michelangelo shouted as he jumped out of the portal and landed on the stalagmite bridge, followed shortly by Rowen in his full dark blue-and-white armor.
"Wow! That's incredible!" Rowen gasped as he gazed up at the Techno-Drome.
"Hey, if there's time left, Rowen, we'll give you the free tour. Now, come on!" Michelangelo announced.
"So, what's the plan? How are we getting inside?" Kento asked curiously as Michelangelo and Rowen joined the others.
"Normally, we'd use our grappling hooks to climb on top of the Techno-Drome and find a way inside, but the Shredder's probably expecting that," Leonardo muttered thoughtfully.
"We could always make a door," Ryo suggested.
"Uhh…in case you haven't noticed, Ryo, this is a humongous tank we're dealing with here," Raphael remarked. "The tank armor's gotta be at least a few feet thick."
"I know that, Raphael. But, with our armor, we'll have no problem busting into that place, no matter how thick that tank armor is," Ryo pointed out.
"Go ahead, Kento. Make your move," Sage announced.
"Hey, no sweat, guys!" Kento admitted boastfully as he ran over to the side of the Techno-Drome, followed by Ryo, Sage, Cye, Rowen, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
"I think it's time to see if anybody's home!" Kento announced as he placed both hands on the tank and pulled back as hard as he could.
"Whoa…" Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo gasped slowly out of astonishment as they watched Kento effortlessly tear off a small section of the Techno-Drome's thick metal tank armor, leaving a hole just big enough for them to enter the Techno-Drome.
"That was pretty awesome, dude!" Michelangelo openly confessed.
"Like I said, Michelangelo, no sweat!" Kento boasted.
"Come on, guys. We have to find Donatello," Rowen announced as he cautiously stepped into the Techno-Drome through the opening that Kento had just created.
"Rowen's right, let's go," Leonardo added as he entered the Techno-Drome after Rowen, followed by Ryo, Sage, Kento, Cye, Raphael, and Michelangelo…
"Shredder! Get in here now!" Krang shouted, who was in the main control room of the Techno-Drome.
"What is it now, Krang?" Shredder asked wearily as he walked into the main control room, followed by his two mutant lackeys, Bebop and Rocksteady.
"We have intruders in the Techno-Drome!" Krang announced as he pointed up at the monitor.
"Well, what do you know?" Shredder asked nonchalantly when he saw that the intruders were none other than the five boys and the three remaining Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Seeing the boys in their full battle armor confirmed Shredder's original suspicions about them.
"So, do you believe me now, Krang?" Shredder asked a bit arrogantly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Perhaps you are right about these boys, Shredder," Krang muttered thoughtfully as he carefully studied the monitor. "The sensors are detecting a strange energy source from those armors that they're wearing, but…"
"But what, Krang?" Shredder prodded with a hint of frustration in his voice.
"How can you be so sure that those armors are as powerful as you claim they are, Shredder?" Krang asked doubtfully.
"So, you want a demonstration, do you, Krang?" Shredder asked. "Trust me; you're going to get a demonstration like you've never seen before!"
"You had better, Shredder," Krang muttered out loud as Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady left the control room…TO BE CONTINUED
