Hi everyone, thanks for your patience. Before we begin you should know that I'm skipping "Tale of Tiger Claw" for this story. Not that I didn't like that episode, I thought it was great and Alopex seemed like a cool character, but we never see her again afterwards, which is rather sad. She had a lot of potential. Considering we're not in New York or the Turtles' dimension right now, it's impossible for Alopex to crossover. But don't worry, I plan to adapt that episode in a later story that takes place after this one, but first things first.

But anyway, here we are. We are nearing the end of this story. Honestly, it's a lot shorter than I had expected, but I'm still happy with how well it's turning out and all the support it's gained.

With that being said, let's get started.

Dark Requiem

Ahtohallan, on the outside it appeared to have unchanged as Tiger Claw and the remainder of the Foot mutants continued to wait outside for their master. But so far, they had not heard or seen anything from him, and already many of them were starting to get impatient.

"Ah dang dog, how long we've been waiting here?" Bebop questioned as he paced along the ground anxiously. "Days? Weeks?"

"It's only been a day, little piggie." Rahzar growled in annoyance.

"But still, he is right." Fishface commented. "Just what in the world is he doing in there?"

"Maybe take time practicing new magic spells?" Rocksteady guessed.

Stockman-Fly flew around the area briefly to get a good look before coming back down. "Thizzz place izzzz huge! And thizzz the tip of the iceberg, literally! If he went in there to explore…and in hizzz unzzztable condition…!"

"Enough!" Tiger Claw silenced their protests. "I can smell the master; his scent is changing slightly… but he is still here."

"Can you 'smell' anything else down there, amigo?" Fishface questioned.

Tiger Claw took a few whiffs. "There are so many strange new scents here, so it is impossible for me to tell. But he is still down there."

"And you don't think this may be going a bit too far?" Fishface still questioned. "I mean… just what exactly is he planning to do?"

"Why does it sound like you're reconsidering something Xever?" Rahzar asked somewhat accusingly. "But then again, you never truly did understand the honor of the Foot clan."

"Hey! I like my job! Even when being turned into a fish, invading other dimensions, and working with aliens, I never complained! As long as I had a roof over my head and food at the table, I'm cool with getting my hands dirty." Fishface said. "But all this…? I just get this feeling that he's not even sure what he's doing anymore."

Tiger Claw said nothing, but a part of him did seem to understand where Xever was coming from. The master did recklessly inject himself with a special mix of mutagen and the ice queen's blood, something that should have been impossible, and it turned him into something unstable. Now he was playing with something they did not truly understand. It made him wonder, just what is it the master sought? What did he truly have to gain from this?

While the outside of Ahtohallan appeared unchanged, the inside was drastically different than what it was before. What seemed like a naturally frozen cave that practically breathed magic and beauty, almost feeling like a sacred temple; was now completely coated in the corrupted black ice from all over. Black icicles came out from the walls, floors, and ceilings in nearly every place. And the corruption seemed only more concentrated the deeper it went.

Within what appeared to be the center of this place, the Super Shredder sat in some form of meditative position and had been sitting here since he got to this place. As time passed, it seemed like the ice that had covered different parts of his body had begun to spread even further, almost as if he was being consumed by it. Yet, somehow, he didn't appear the least bit bothered by it, because his mind seemed to be focused on something else.

"Hello, my name is Tang Shen. It's nice to meet you."

"You are growing strong, Saki. One day, perhaps I may be as strong as you, brother."

"You are a good man, Saki. And I do care for you. But… I'm afraid my heart lies with Yoshi."

"It reminds me of the Yokai-friends we invented as children, remember Saki?"

"Daddy! Daddy! Look at this new kick I can do!"

"Daddy… what happened to Mommy…?"

"I have always been there for you, brother."

"Enough, you are brothers. Act like brothers."

"But Yoshi… Saki… please! You are brothers!"

"Please stop!"

"I want to know the truth. The truth about my mother, and Splinter."

"Oroku Saki… you were once my friend… I thought of you as my brother…"

"Tell me the truth! Splinter is my father, isn't he!"

"She was never yours!"

"You were never my father!"

So many different voices, each one he knew and remembered well. They were from people that he had once cherished, who have since turned their backs on him. It was the Hamato clan that destroyed his ancestors of the Foot and murdered his father.

But who was it that took you into their home? Fed you? Raised you?

Again he heard the voice. Ever since he began his meditation, he had heard the voice talking to him now, rather than singing. He already knew the answer to that. It was all a lie! A deception!

Did it truly mean nothing to you? You had a brother who loved you. He had nothing to do with your birth father's death.

Even if that were true, he did steal away the woman he loved. And he never truly cared for Tang Shen, only for himself.

"That is not true, brother! I have always been there for you!"

Maybe you should have listened to him. And you wouldn't have lost him.

Let him be lost! Even if he took Tang Shen, he was able to gain someone else in his life. Someone he held close to his heart. Someone he trained and cared for as an infant. Even if she wasn't his blood child, he loved her as his own.

Then why didn't you let her go? If you love someone, you must respect their wishes. You forced her to your side after learning the truth. Let her go.

Why?! To be raised with those vile Turtles! That wretched witch who is undeserving of her own power?! To be with her biological father who took her own mother away!?

"PLEASE STOP!" (A cry of pain and a slash of metal against flesh followed)

You know the truth. Maybe you should stop running from it and learn to accept it. See it for yourself.

His eyes widened as the one memory that he had buried for so long came to the surface. The memory of Tang Shen trying to stop the pointless battle between brothers, only to be cut down by the man who started the battle. Her life was ended by his hands. Not Splinter's.

"Yes…" He finally spoke. "I… I killed her. Tang Shen… her life… was taken… by me…" He seemed to spoke in a tone of acceptance. However, the ice that had spread around his body continued to spread even faster. Already his entire grotesque and mutated body was covered thoroughly in the ice, save for his head, though it quickly spread up to his neck and didn't seem to stop.

"I… I accept that. The blood of the innocent is on my hands, and not just hers. Everything I have done since then. I rebuilt the Foot, made it into a symbol for the world to fear. I sent the world onto a path of chaos the moment I sided with the Kraang. I even invaded other worlds to take the lives of innocent in the quest for power."

Already his entire face, including the twisted Kuro Kabuto, was covered in ice, save for his eyes.

"However,… I can live with that."

With that, his eyes changed from an eerie green on the left and a cyan blue on the right, to both becoming a glowing blood red.

Suddenly, the entire area of Ahtohallan began to shake, which drew the attention of the Foot mutants.

"What is happening?!" Rocksteady questioned as Bebop clung to him for support.

"An earthquake?!" Rahzar questioned.

"Don't be ridiculouzzzz! This izzz an iceberg! There'zzz no earth to shake!" Stockman-Fly buzzed.

The top of Ahtohallan began to break apart as something arose from inside. The entire outer structure of the magical frozen river was falling apart as something new took form. Rising from the broken remains appeared to be a massive Japanese monastery, made entirely out of black ice. It was larger than any other man-made structure seen in Japan, and all the more intimidating as it had large black ice-spikes along the outer walls, and even the faces of various Yokai around the corners of each roof.

When the shaking stopped, all the Foot mutants looked in complete and utter surprise.

"Okay… that happened." Fishface commented.

"What is this…?" Tiger Claw questioned, but everyone was taken by surprise as the gates at the front opened up, as if something inside was inviting them in. Nobody said anything or made a step to enter… until Tiger Claw took the first steps inside.

"Dog, you seriously going in there?!" Bebop exclaimed. "This is like a haunted house on steroids!"

"Just get in!" Rahzar gave an elbow to the back, pushing him inside and was followed by Rocksteady, Stockman-Fly, and Fishface.

The six Foot mutants made their way through the monastery, the entire internal structure made out of the exact same black ice material. And everything was made in perfect detail, down to the craftsmanship.

"This… kinda feels like the Ice Queen's palace at the top of that one mountain." Fishface commented.

"So, he make his own ice palace?" Rocksteady asked as they walked up a set of stairs toward the top of the temple. The chamber they entered was almost completely dark, with the only thing visible appearing in the center of the room was the completely frozen form of the Super Shredder, made out of the natural white and light blue ice.

"Master Shredder…!" Tiger Claw was the first to run to it, with everyone else right behind him, but he quickly noticed something was off. "Wait."

Rahzar took a few sniffs of it. "There's nothing here." He tapped the head with just a single claw, only for the head to completely fall off and shatter on the ground, revealing the entire internal structure was vacant. "It's empty."

"Of course, it is."

Without warning, the entire chamber was illuminated with an eerie blood red glow along the walls, with black ice markings taking the shapes of ninjas, samurai, and dragons, almost like a Japanese mural. Once the red light illuminated the chamber, it revealed it to be a throne room identical for an ancient Japanese emperor.

And sitting on the throne of black ice was their master. But he looked nothing like before. In fact, he looked almost exactly like he used to. He appeared to have his normal humanoid form back, complete with the same kind of armor along his arms, shoulders, chest, and legs; the only difference other than the blades appearing longer, was that it was all made entirely out of black ice. And it wasn't just the armor either, it was his skin. Every part of him was made out of the same black ice, inside and out, the armor appearing to be a part of his body as opposed to just being something he wore. He even had what appeared to be the Kuro Kabuto, in its original glory on his face, but like everything else, it was made out of black ice as well. The only thing different was his eyes. They were glowing, so much so that they couldn't see any pupils. And it was a blood red glow.

"Master…? What… what has happened to you…?" Tiger Claw asked in surprise.

"The… the zzzerum! The mutagen…!" Stockman-Fly couldn't seem to comprehend it.

"Your formula worked, Stockman." He spoke as he slowly stood from his throne and made his way toward the mutants. "The flaw was in myself. My denial of my true nature, my dismissal of who I was meant to be, my delusions that had previously shackled me, all of it. But no more. I have since abandoned it all. Ever since I rebuilt the Foot, there was this emptiness inside me. A void that needed to be filled, and yet… it felt as if there was a weight inside me that held me back. However, I mistakenly tried to fill this void with a meaningless attachment, when I should have embraced the emptiness, the darkness within, and that is exactly what I have done! Gone is the weak and delusional man known as Oroku Saki. I am death… I am destruction… I am the end… I am the omega… I am… The Shredder!"

Blades of black ice shot and stretched from his arms as he crossed them in front of himself, with the Foot mutants looking toward their master as if he had become something else. Like the human was nothing more than a chrysalis that had something else deep inside. And now it seems he has embraced that inner darkness and become something truly terrifying.

"Come my friends. It is time we end our conflict with Yoshi and his family. Once and for all."

Enchanted Forest – Northuldra camp

The people of Northuldra could feel it in the air, an unsettling feeling as the air itself became still. As the sun slowly began to set, and night would fall, there was something about this night that made everyone feel uncomfortable. They couldn't quite explain it, but they had a feeling that something bad was coming.

Meanwhile, in Donnie's tent, he had some of his own equipment set up to analyze a fragment of black ice, which he looked at through a microscope. Soon, he was joined by Raph, Mikey, Kristoff, and Anna.

"Hey Donnie, what are you doing?" Anna asked before taking a look at the fragment of black ice before looking concerned. "Isn't that…?"

"It's a piece of Shredder's black ice." Donnie confirmed. "I thought to take a sample from our last battle with him so we can hopefully find a weakness."

"That stuff was no joke." Raph commented. "When I punched those ice-ninjas, it kinda felt like I was punching solid steel."

"It tore through Elsa's own ice like it was nothing!" Mikey added. "And… it actually felt kinda hot when I touched it!"

"Freezer burn." Kristoff said. "When something gets so cold, all the air and water inside actually evaporates. It's pretty nasty."

"Elsa's magic has done some pretty crazy things, but nothing like that." Anna commented. "Maybe the mutagen mixed with it…?"

"Could be… it would explain what this stuff is." Donnie said, getting everyone's attention. "Because it's not ice."

"Not ice?" Kristoff questioned.

"Then what the heck is it?" Raph also questioned.

Donnie took another look at it through is microscope to make certain. "Ice itself is frozen water, that's Elsa's magic. This… the only way I can describe it is… frozen metal."

"Metal?" Anna asked. "How is that possible?"

"It would also make sense why Shredder's power seems stronger." Kristoff said. "Metal is stronger than ice."

"And the dude was covered head-to-toe in fancy metal armor." Mikey added.

"So, what kind of metal is it? Cause not all of them are as strong." Raph stated.

"That's right, but this is some strong stuff." Donnie said as he analyzed it. "I don't even think it's a natural metal like iron… I'm not one hundred percent sure what it is."

"What kind of armor did Shredder wear exactly?" Kristoff asked.

"Don't know about the armor, but Karai did talk about Shredder's helmet a few times. Even Splinter's talked about it." Mikey said.

"Basically, the founder of the Foot clan took all the weapons from the guys he's beaten and melted them down before forged them together into an alloy stronger than even steel." Raph added.

"So… is there something we can do to break it?" Anna asked. "Doesn't metal conduct electricity? And wouldn't it even more if it's frozen, because ice is water, and doesn't that also conduct electricity?"

"Maybe." Donnie said. "But it's not like we have access to a powerful enough generator, and I don't know if we can harness any natural lighting."

"Maybe there's a lightning spirit we can talk to." Mikey said hopefully, but nobody seemed convinced. Despite this revelation, it did not really provide them with useful answers. So, it wasn't really worth celebrating.

Meanwhile, Elsa, Leo, Casey, and Sven hung outside the tent where Master Splinter would normally reside, but April was also in there. Despite being freed from the corruptive influence of the Aeon, April's spirit needed time to recover. Splinter sought to help her through meditation and even mantras, which is what they were working on inside.

Despite the group appearing concerned, Sven seemed a little nervous, even more so than the others as he anxiously tapped his foot and rubbed his arms, something Casey noticed.

"Whoa, easy their reindeer-dude." Casey told him. "We're worried about April, too. But you gotta chill."

"It's not that." Sven said. "It's just… something doesn't feel right. At least that's what my instincts are telling me."

"Good, so it's not just me." Elsa commented, much to Leo's surprise.

"Elsa?" The eldest Ninja Turtle asked.

"When we first came to this forest, I could feel so much life and energy here." Elsa tried to explain. "It was beautiful, it was… breathtaking. But now… there's just this feeling in the air. It's… it's quiet. Deathly quiet."

"You've noticed as well?" The elder of the Northuldra walked forward to join them.

"Yelena." Leo acknowledged.

"I've lived in this forest for many years." Yelena began. "I'd say I know it better than anyone here, but something like this has never happened before. Listen closely, all of you."

The group tried to listen to whatever it was she was talking about. "I'm not hearing anything Granny."

"Exactly, and that's the problem." Yelena replied.

"She's right." Sven said. "There are no birds, no insects, or other types of wildlife. Even the air is still."

"Actually… come to think about it, we haven't seen or heard anything from the spirits since that whole mess with the Aeon crystal." Leo recalled.

"This forest has never been so quiet." Yelena said to them. "Even at night, and away from the spirits, there always the chirping of insects or the calls of bats in the air, even the rustling of wind in the trees, be it the Wind Spirit or not. Even when the mist fell, this forest was very much alive. But now…"

"It feels more like a graveyard." Elsa said with a serious expression, causing everyone to look with worry. Their attention was turned to the tent as they saw April exiting.

"April, you okay?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, doing a lot better actually." April assured. "Not quite back to one hundred percent yet, but maybe around eighty percent."

"It's better than nothing." Leo attempted to joke, which did provide some levitation a bit for the group, even as Master Splinter emerged.

"Elsa, I would like to speak with you for a moment." He requested.

"Of course, sensei." Elsa nodded as she entered the tent.

The rat master and Queen of Arendelle sat down across from each other before Elsa asked. "How are you holding up, Master Splinter? You… you went through a rough time in that last battle."

"I am recovering well, do not worry about me. Let's talk about you." Splinter said.

"About what?" She asked.

"You remember before leaving Arendelle, how you felt uncertain of where you were? Where you felt you were meant to be?" He asked.

Elsa looked to him in surprise. That was part of the conversation she had with Leo before they left for the Forest. "Did… did Leo…?"

"No, Leonardo told me nothing. He did not share that information with anybody." Splinter assured her.

"Then… how could you…?"

"Let's just say… somebody else may have been listening. And they had found a way to tell me about it." Splinter said. "But that is beside the point. What do you think of this forest? And please be honest."

"Honestly, I… I think I fell in love with it the second I set foot in it." Elsa said as a small smile fell on her face. "It's not just beautiful, the animals, the people, even the spirits. There isn't any place like this in my world. Being here feels… natural."

"Would you consider staying here?" Splinter asked.

That caused Elsa's smile to fade as she looked away in partial shame. "That thought did cross my mind a few times. But… that would mean leaving Arendelle. I'd be running from my responsibilities, my people. Last time I did that, it did not work out for anybody."

"What makes you think you have to choose between the two?" Splinter asked with a knowing smile, catching Elsa's attention. "You speak of Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest as if they are separate, but that is not the case. Currently, they may be divided, but they are not separate. Just as other countries and lands of the world are connected with each other, the Enchanted Forest and Arendelle are connected with one another as well."

"You're also forgetting the huge wall of mist that prevents anyone from entering or leaving." Elsa pointed out.

"It allowed you, my sons, and all our friends to enter, did it not?" Splinter replied. "Why is that you think?"

"We… we were sent here on a mission. A mission to free the forest." Elsa answered.

"Correct." Splinter confirmed. "But what does that mean exactly? You would lift the wall of mist, but what happens after that?" Elsa didn't seem to have an answer right away. "Elsa, the forest has been separated because the people of Arendelle and Northuldra were fighting each other. However, you and your sister are descended from both; your father was Arendellian royalty, while your mother was Northuldra. You two are proof that both can come together, and I believe that may be the key to freeing this forest as well as finding what you are seeking."

"So… basically you are saying I could still be Queen of Arendelle and live in this forest?" Elsa asked.

"Perhaps." Splinter said somewhat cryptically with a grin, stroking his thin beard. "But that is up to you. However, if there is one piece of wisdom that I can impart on you that will remain with you forever, remember that no matter what path you choose, what choices you make, you are not alone. Even if those you knew have already passed on, they will always be with you, in here." He placed his hand over her heart with a smile.

Elsa looked toward him in confusion, an odd feeling forming in her chest at the tone he was speaking. "Master Splinter… is… is there something you're not telling us?"

"Guys!" Leo quickly entered the tent and showed his T-Phone. "I just got a text from Karai and the Mutanimals! They've run into trouble!"

"Then let us make haste!" Splinter stated before standing up and leaving the tent, with Elsa quick to follow. They met up with the other Turtles, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, Casey, April, and even Yelena before heading out of the campsite. However, Elsa couldn't help but shake that odd feeling she got when Splinter spoke to her.

'The way he was talking… why did it feel like he was saying goodbye?'

Five Minutes Earlier

The group consisting of Karai, Shinigami, Olaf, the Mutanimals, Metalhead, Mattias and his fellow Arendellian soldiers had arrived at the very same spot where the heroes first faced the Super Shredder, as well as found Agnarr and Iduna's ship. Once they made up the hill, they saw the signs of the battle, such as the various spikes of black ice, and the debris of the Arendellian ship.

Olaf and Karai had somber expressions upon seeing it, given they were here when it all happened. However, Mattias and his soldiers had expressions of utter grief.

"Their ship was here… All this time… we… we never knew." Mattias muttered. "Why didn't we…? We could have..."

"Nothing can be done now." Karai said in a consolation-like tone. "We need to stay focused on the mission."

"Of course." Mattias said before taking a deep breath to focus his mind back on their objective. "This is exactly where you found the ship?"

"Yes, right here." Karai confirmed.

"If this vessel was washed over from the Dark Sea, then based on the topographical features of the area, the shore must be only slightly further north." Rockwell deduced as Pigeon Pete took to the air to try and see for himself.

"It's kinda hard to see with all this fog in the air, and it's really getting dark." Pete reported. "But I do smell plenty of salt water."

"We've searched every inch of this forest, but no sign of that crazy akuma." Shinigami commented.

"Crazy… what?" Mattias asked, not sure what the word 'akuma' meant.

"It means 'devil'.' Leatherhead translated.

"Oh, I see. Yes, that would describe him quite accurately." Mattias said with narrowed eyes.

"If he's not in the forest… then the only place he'd likely be is…" Slash began.

"Ahtohallan." Karai finished.

"You mean that fancy magic river?" Mondo asked.

"The supposed river that holds answers of the past." Mattias commented.

"It's real though." Olaf said. "Elsa said that's where she's being called too. But with everything that's happened till now… fighting the Super Shredder… April being possessed…"

"It does seem like a lot." Pigeon Pete seemed to agree.

"If Shredder's at Ahtohallan, he's gonna do everything he can to try and take whatever power that place has for himself. If he hasn't already." Slash said.

"But crossing the Dark Sea is supposed to be treacherous." Mattias told them. "Nobody's ever done it before."

"Well considering we got an ice queen that can fly and conjure an army of dragons, I'd say we can cross it." Shinigami commented.

"We should get in contact with all our allies and formulate a plan of attack." Leatherhead deduced.

"My thoughts exactly." Slash said. "We can get the drop on him for once!"

Rockwell however felt a presence through his psychic powers. "Everyone, we are not alone! Somebody else is here!"

Immediately everyone went on guard as Mattias and his men drew their swords and shields, Karai drew her own blade while Shinigami pulled out her weapons, Slash drew his mace, and Metalhead readied his weapons. Everybody else took their own combat stances as they all grouped together to keep their eyes peeled in all directions.

"Metalhead, Rockwell, let us know if you pick up anything!" Karai told them as she kept her own senses peeled.

"It's… It's moving very fast… it's all around us!" Rockwell reported.

Metalhead tried to get a lock himself, but his scanners seemed unable to pick up any biological lifeform readings. However, he was able to detect movement around him, there was something out there, but he couldn't detect any body heat or organic life signs.

Already, people were starting to get nervous, particularly Pete, the Arendellian soldiers, and especially Olaf as he hid behind a growling Leatherhead.

Rockwell's eyes widened as he detected the incoming attack. "MOVE!" He and everyone else dodged in various directions just in time as a long trail of black ice spikes, now in actuality frozen metal, shot their direction. They all looked in the direction where the attack came from and were surprised at what they saw.

The transformed form of the Shredder glared its glowing red eyes at them as he set his sights on his formerly adoptive daughter. "Karai!"

"Whoa… is that bucket head?!" Mondo questioned. "I thought he was all grossed out and bulky!"

"Looks like he's gone through another transformation." Slash deduced. "Kinda looks like how he used to be."

"It doesn't matter what he looks like, he has to be stopped!" Mattias exclaimed as he took command of his men. "Attack!" He and the Arendellian soldiers charged forward alongside Leatherhead and Slash.

"Olaf, text Leo and the others and tell them what's happening!" Karai tossed the snowman her T-phone.

"You got it." Olaf nodded as he saw Karai charging forward as well.

Leatherhead attempted to roar and tackle the transformed Shredder, only for him to move with insane speeds around him and slash at his back with his extended black ice bladed gauntlet, causing him to roar in pain as he felt not only the cut but the freezer-burn after effect. Shredder then leapt into the air to deliver a double kick on Leatherhead's fresh wound and knock him down.

Mattias and his men quickly surrounded him, keeping their shields up and their swords pointed outward, but Shredder didn't appear the least bit impressed as he suddenly extended his bladed-gauntlets to about twelve feet in length to knock back two men before spinning like a top to slash and rip through their shields and knock them down, all the while shooting out icicles of black ice in all directions, forcing them to flee, though several soldiers did get struck in the shoulders and legs; even Mattias was struck in the back of his right leg and left shoulder, causing him to yell in pain as he fell over.

Slash came in next to land a successful hit with his mace to knock him back, but he quickly recovered and was forced on the defensive as Karai and Shinigami threw a multitude of shurikens and kunai his way, while Rockwell telekinetically lifted rocks, boulders, and even chunks of black ice before throwing them at Shredder as well. Even Metalhead added to it with rapid-fire energy blasts from his arms.

However, the transformed Shredder ran at such speeds that he was easily able to avoid all those attacks, not a single one making its mark, and gunning straight for Metalhead first, slicing past him to sever his arms as well as his head before the robot fell apart completely. He then leapt toward hovering Rockwell to slice off his helmet and in one fell swoop, grabbed him by the face, giving him freezer-burn upon contact and slamming him onto the ground as he landed. Pigeon Pete and Mondo Gecko attempted to charge at him from both sides like a pincer attack, but Shredder simply shot both his arms out in their directions to encompass both in a black blizzard and trap them in black ice, almost as if they were frozen in the frozen metal itself.

Slash attacked with his mace, but Shredder parried it with his gauntlets before quickly maneuvering around him to his back and stomping his foot to send several spikes of frozen metal into Slash from behind. Though his shell did protect him, the force of the impact sent him flying through the air before smacking hard on the ground.

Suddenly, his right arm was ensnared by Shinigami's chain with Karai performing a similar action with her stretched serpent-arms on his left arm. Though she felt the freezer-burn upon contact with his skin, she wouldn't let go. The recovered Leatherhead rushed to tackle him to the ground, allowing them both to let go. However, before Leatherhead could attempt to attack him while he was done, multiple black ice spikes shot up from around the downed Shredder to slice all over Leatherhead's body and knock him back, allowing Shredder to grab him with one hand at his chest and left him with an insane amount of strength before throwing him away and into several dead trees.

As he tried to pull out the black ice spikes from Mattias and the soldiers, Olaf could only look in absolute horror as all his friends had fallen so quickly. All save for Karai and Shinigami who circled him from both sides.

"So, you're living in the past again?" Karai commented upon seeing the Shredder's transformed state looked almost exactly like his original form. "You think that makes you more of a man than Splinter? You really are delusional."

"That monstrous form you saw me as before was nothing more than a chrysalis. And old coat of skin that I had shed." Shredder told her. "This is the end result of my newfound power. Mutagen and ice magic alone was unstable, but only I had the will strong enough to not only endure the mixture but combine it into the power that it was always meant to be. I am no longer a rabid beast who deludes himself. This is who I am!"

"Yeah, can we skip the whole super villain monologue and get back to the action?" Shinigami questioned.

"Congratulations." Karai said sarcastically with a glare. "So, you gonna try to convince me to come back to you? Try and brainwash me again?"

"No." Shredder shook his head with finality evident in his voice. "As I said, I no longer delude myself. You are not my daughter, you are that of Hamato Yoshi and Tang Shen, that is your choice. A choice that will cost you your life, just as it cost your mother's when I cut her down."

That caused something to ignite inside Karai. He actually admitted that he was the one who murdered her mother. No more attempts at denial, yet at the same time, there was no regret whatsoever in his voice. That caused her blood to boil as she instantly transformed into her serpent form and shot at Shredder in rage with Shinigami right beside her.

However, he was prepared even for this, his black ice blades extending as he quickly sliced at the lunging Karai, cutting her across her body as she slid across the ground in a heap before slicing at Shinigami. As she flew back, Shredder grabbed her by the leg and slammed her back onto the ground before throwing her away. He then slowly walked over to the downed Karai as she had turned back into her humanoid form before he grabbed her and lifted her into the air, and then slammed her back onto his raised knee, causing her to yell out in pain before throwing her away.

He took a moment to observe the battle around him, all his enemies laid beaten on the ground, either unconscious, immobilized, or in a great deal of pain, but no casualties. Perhaps he wasn't too used to this form yet, no matter. He was still ready for his final confrontation with Splinter.

Shredder then turned with a glare towards Olaf, who had tried to run towards the downed Karai. One look in his glowing red eyes made the little snowman tremble with terror.

"When they ask what happened here, tell them who exactly it was." Shredder told him. "Tell Hamato Yoshi that our quarrel ends tonight." He then sped away, heading in the south-western direction, leaving a frightened and speechless snowman where he stood.

It didn't take long for the group consisting of Splinter, the Turtles, Elsa, Anna, April, Casey, Kristoff, Sven, and Yelena to arrive onto the scene where they could only observe in shock at what had happened. More black ice was scattered in all directions as Mattias, and his weakened soldiers helped the injured Leatherhead and Slash to his feet while Rockwell gathered Metalheads parts.

"Oh no…!" Anna gasped as they immediately ran to help everyone.

April channeled her psychic powers onto a single point in the black ice that had kept Mondo Gecko frozen, causing it to crack under the concentrated pressure. Elsa added onto that with her own magic, seeping through the cracks and allowing her own ice to spread throughout the inside of the frozen metal before expanding it and causing it to explode, freeing Mondo. They then repeated the process with Pigeon Pete.

Most of the Turtles, Casey, Kristoff, and Sven helped everyone else with Yelena helping Mattias to stand on his own feet; while Anna, Leo, and Splinter ran to the only remaining downed and bleeding person.

"Karai!" Leo exclaimed.

"Miwa!" Splinter also shouted as the they were at her side with Shinigami and Olaf doing what they can to cover her wounds.

"She's lost a lot of blood… and she's not breathing…" Shinigami looked with a desperate plea in her eyes. "Help her!"

Leo immediately tried to perform CPR to get her heart beating, and even performed mouth-to-mouth. But when it didn't seem like it was going to work, a familiar whistle was heard along the air as a certain spirit arrived.

"Gale…!" Olaf recognized the Wind Spirit as it blew itself directly into Karai's mouth and began to circulate throughout her body. Leo them immediately performed CPR again to help the air and blood pump again.

Suddenly, Karai's eyes shot open with a cough, Gale expelling itself from her body her mouth as she tried to regain her breath, while still barley conscious.

"Karai!" Anna wasted no time in hugging her along with Shinigami, with Splinter, Leo, Olaf, and everyone else around them looking more than a little relieved.

Shinigami looked toward the Wind Spirit, only visible by a small cluster of leaves around it. "Thank you… Gale." The Wind Spirit gave a whistle of acknowledgment before blowing away.

"What happened?!" Leo questioned.

"Shredder happened." The injured Mattias said with a grunt and a glare.

"Super Shredder's back?!" Mikey questioned.

"He's not the Super Shredder anymore." Shinigami said. "He's changed again… this time something worse."

"Worse than that walking pile of muscles and blades?!" Kristoff questioned. "What could possibly be worse than that?!"

"He… He looks like how he used to." Olaf tried to explain. "Only… it looks like… he's made entirely out of that black ice stuff. Inside and out." That caused everyone to look in surprise as Olaf looked toward the grievously injured and barley conscious Karai. "He… He admitted he murdered Karai's mother… and tried to kill her too. He…. He raised her… and still… tried to… kill her…"

Olaf had to say it again, as if his mind could barely process what he had just spoken. Even in his child-like mind, he knew the Shredder was a horrible and evil person. But… for someone to actually try and take the life of a child they raised. Even if they are adopted, a parent should love their child. But to actually want to kill them…?!

Suddenly, Anna pulled Olaf into a comforting embrace. It was as if she could sense his troublesome thoughts that he couldn't make sense of and tried to give him what comfort she could.

"He's much faster and stronger now. If you thought he'd abandoned his humanity before… he's lost whatever little shred of it that he had left." Shinigami said with a glare. "He wants us all dead."

"There are two trails here." Yelena felt the ground as she had tried to pick up the direction their enemy went off into. "One has five different sets of footprints, none of them human. The other is only one set, and they're heading off in opposite directions."

It didn't take a genius to know who went which way. "Elsa, Raphael, Casey, April, and Slash will come with me." Splinter began to instruct, taking note of who was still capable of fighting. "Leonardo, you will lead Donatello, Michelangelo, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, Leatherhead, and Yelena in the other direction. Move as fast as you can. Shinigami, Olaf, help the others get Karai and all those most injured back to the camp and have the Northuldra heal them."

"Sensei, that's not a good idea." Leo tried to protest. "We shouldn't split up like this."

"He's right, Master Splinter." Elsa agreed. "The two of us together barley stood a chance against Shredder before, and if he's even stronger now… we would have a better chance taking him down with all of us together."

"This is not up for discussion." Splinter ended the argument with finality clear in his voice before looking to his eldest son. "Leonardo, remember what I said before you embarked on this journey." He pointed toward his son's heart to remind him. "From your heart!"

Leo and Elsa exchanged concerned glances, neither of them agreed with this plan, but given the circumstances, they might have to take such a risk.

"Be careful." Elsa told him with worry.

"You to." Leo nodded.

"Elsa…" Anna quickly made her way toward her sister. "Just…. Just come back. All of you."

"I promise." Elsa nodded, exchanging a brief hug with her younger sister before reaching out to hold Leo's hand one last time. The two looked into each other's eyes for a brief moment before going off in opposite directions. Elsa ran to catch up with Splinter, Raph, Casey, Slash, and April; while Leo and Anna went off to lead Yelena, Mikey, Donnie, Leatherhead, Kristoff, and Sven the other way, while everyone else made their way back to the Northuldra camp, carrying the most grievously injured.

Leo and Anna's group soon made their way toward a more condensed area filled with several dead trees, all next to a large river over a cliffside on the east side of the area. Yelena felt the ground for a moment.

"The trail ends here." The Northuldra elder said as she stood up and held her staff close.

"They gotta be here somewhere." Kristoff stated as the group moved slowly across and around the trees.

Sven took a moment to sniff the air. "Yeah, they're here alright. I can smell them."

"Yo! You saying we stank, deer-boy!? That's just rude!" Bebop's voice echoed through the area, putting everyone on guard. "For that, we gonna kick your asses, fools!" A series of energy-mohawk projectiles and purple laser were fired out of nowhere, causing the group to split apart and avoid getting caught up in the ensuing blasts.

Suddenly, Leatherhead was rammed into the side by a charging Rocksteady. Though the mutant alligator recovered quickly enough, despite his previous injuries, to face his enemy.

"Coward! Attack me from behind, will you?!" Leatherhead growled as Rocksteady beat his chest before roaring a challenge. The two large mutants charged and grappled with one another.

"Leatherhead!" Anna and Mikey were the first to try and come to his aid, only for Bebop to suddenly appear in front of them. He gave a whistle before delivering a roundhouse kick to knock them both back.

The others turned their attention to see Tiger Claw, Fishface, Rahzar, and Stockman-Fly appear around Bebop to face the heroes.

"This is your swan song, amigos." Fishface said as he brandished his large balisword. "Tonight, you all fall!"

In response, Leo, Donnie, Mikey, Anna, Kristoff, and Yelena drew their respective weapons while Sven raised his fists before they charged to clash with their enemies.

Meanwhile, Splinter led Elsa, Raph, Slash, April, and Casey toward a familiar mountain range that they all recognized.

"This is where we faced each other before." Splinter stated.

Elsa noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "Guys, look." She directed their attention toward the base of one of the smaller mountains, where there was a large and perfectly crafted set of stairs made out of black ice, leading to the very top of the small mountain.

"He's expecting us." Raph stated.

"Then let's not keep him waiting!" Slash said eagerly as the group wasted no time in running up the stairs.

It wasn't that long of a climb as the group made their way to the top, with Casey and April being the last as they took a minute to catch their breath.

"So… why couldn't we just fly up…?" Casey asked. "At least me and April….."

"Feels like my legs… are disconnected from my body…" April said in a similar state of exhaustion.

However, Splinter had no answer to give as he and Raph looked in shock at what stood before them, while Elsa and Slash looked more confused. It appeared to be the outside of a Japanese dojo, made entirely out of the same frozen metal material as the stairs they climbed. It was constructed in perfect detail in such a short amount of time.

"What is this place?" Elsa asked, not recognizing it.

"It's… it's the old Hamato clan dojo…!" Raph replied, remembering when he and his brothers time-traveled to Japan before Splinter mutated.

Splinter was rendered speechless at the sight of it. Though he knew it wasn't the same place, the likeness was so identical it brought all his memories back. This was his home. It was the place where he trained to learn ninjitsu from his father, the same place he and Oroku Saki were raised. There were many good memories here, including where he proposed to Tang Shen. However, this was also a place of trauma and tragedy. He still remembered the roaring flames, the clash of steel as his brother-turned-enemy tried to murder him here, and where he lost his wife and believed to have lost his child.

"How fitting." A familiar voice spoke from inside as the doors opened, putting everyone on guard as the Shredder stepped outside. "This is where our quarrel began, Hamato. It only seemed right that it end here as well."

While Slash glared at his transformed appearance, everyone else looked in surprise. Somehow, this state of his was even more terrifying than his previous form as the Super Shredder. The body and armor being made entirely out of black ice, resembling his old human self, was intimidating enough; but the soulless and glowing red eyes were what made it truly terrifying.

"And what have you done to obtain this transformation?" Splinter asked, narrowing his eyes at his enemy.

"I have done the one thing that nobody else here has ever done." He directed his gaze toward Elsa. "I have been to Ahtohallan."

That caused Elsa to gasp, her pupils shrinking. "What…?"

"The entity that called me there had shown me everything." Shredder continued. "It wiped away the delusions I had placed on myself. I have accepted what has happened in the past. Though it was unintentional, I did kill Tang Shen. I raised her daughter as my own, though I would lie to her about her mother's death, I did come to care for her. I created an empire of fear and terror, allied with the Kraang knowing they would send the human race on a path to oblivion, focusing solely on my revenge and nothing else. I even went so far as to strip my adoptive daughter's free will to make her my own again. That entity showed me all of it. Perhaps it called he to this place, to Ahtohallan, to help me repent, to show me the error of my ways, perhaps even a form of atonement. However… Even upon acceptance of my past and my actions, I do not seek atonement. There is a reason why my mutated form was unstable, why I could not properly control it. It is the same reason your power is weaker compared to my own." He spoke to Elsa specifically.

"And what is that?" She questioned with narrowed eyes.

"My weakness, the same one each of you share, is my humanity." Shredder revealed, much to everyone's shock. "Or to be more specific, the ability to feel emotions such as joy, peace, compassion, empathy, even love. You could say it is the metaphorical heart of a sentient being. All this time, my heart had been holding me back, corrupted by my own delusions. In order to properly control this power, to become what I was always meant to be, I have discarded everything that made the man Oroku Saki. That man is dead, faded away. Now and forever, I am the Shredder! I am the harbinger of your death! Only one thing remains now that ties me to my past humanity." He pointed toward the glaring rat master. "You, Hamato Yoshi."

"You… you actually abandoned… your humanity…? Your own heart?!" Elsa exclaimed in absolute shock. Just when she thinks Oroku Saki couldn't sink any lower or horrify her, he continues to surprise her.

"He's not joking around." April said, reaching out with her psychic abilities. "I… I don't sense any humanity in him at all. His entire being… it's made out of that same frozen metal stuff. There's no heart, no blood… I… I can't even sense his spirit anymore! He's just… empty. Nothing… other than a need… to kill."

"One person's dying here, and it's not any of us!" Raph stated as he drew his sais, with Slash pulling out his mace, April drawing her tessen and tanto, Casey pulling out a baseball bat and hockey stick, and even Elsa generated an ice-katana in her hand.

Splinter glared at the monster that stood before him, the one he truly knew was no longer the brother who grew up alongside hi. "If you trolly feel you have liberated yourself, Shredder… then allow me to sever the only thing of you that remains: your life!" He drew his blade from his cane, wielding the sheath like a second weapon as both enemies exchanged glares.

Both Splinter and Shredder charged directly at each other, clashing metal once again and engaging in a furious combat. Splinter swung his blade and sheath with such speed, it almost seemed a blur. However, Shredder was quick to lock his black ice-blades with Splinter's weapon before his claws extended, slicing the sheath, and batting away the blade before slicing at Splinter to knock him back.

Before he had the chance to charge forward, the ground beneath Shredder froze over as Elsa casted her magic all around the area and created two large ice-arms from the ground to grab Shredder by his own arms and spread them apart. Raph, Slash, April, and Casey tried to charge him while he seemed immobilized. However, that was far from the case as he easily shattered the arms, multiple curved blades, and spikes of black ice shooting from his arms before pointing them forward to stretch and extend them even further toward his charging enemies. April immediately used her psychic powers to pull herself and everyone back as Elsa quickly rose an ice-wall to try and block the attack, but it was shattered by Shredder's blades before he pulled them back.

Splinter quickly rushed Shredder, extending his fingers forward as they hit Shredder in the chest, stopping less than an inch before an invisible force sent Shredder flying. Though he quickly extended long black ice-spikes from his feet to halt his flight, while also extending his gauntlets to drive them into the ground to stop himself entirely. Elsa tried to press forward on that, blasting him with a powerful blizzard that appeared to be freezing over his entire body, but he simply flexed his arms to cast several spikes of black ice that not only blew away Elsa's blizzard, but even knocked her back. He then zoomed at her in insane speeds to bring his claws down toward her, which she could just barley block with her ice-katana, even when pressed against the ground.

"It's a pity to know how much you hold yourself back." Shredder told her. "Abandon your love for your friends and family, discard your humanity, and you can become something far greater than what you are now."

"Do you ever stop talking!?" Elsa exclaimed before she pressed her hands onto the ground to create a large ice-pillar around her and shot it straight up to send Shredder flying into the air. However, as he fell back down, he waved his hand to create a similar pillar of black ice to break his fall before leaping back down to the ground.

Slash was able to score a hit on Shredder's side with his mace before charging again, but the Shredder ducked underneath the next swing before slicing upward with his claws, with enough force that sent Slash flying upwards. Shredder then grabbed him by his foot and slammed Slash face-first onto the ground before spinning himself around and used his enhanced strength to throw Slash into the black ice dojo, causing it to cave in upon impact.

Shredder was then struck by several explosive pucks, courtesy of Casey Jones as he scatted along Elsa's ice, using his hockey stick to puck several more explosive pucks directly at Shredder.

"Goongala!" Casey exclaimed as one puck struck Shredder's face, exploding in the process. But when the smoke faded, Shredder was completely unaffected. But the smoke itself was only a distraction as Raph rushed him to land a successful knee into Shredder's face, who then went on the attack with his extended arm blades, forcing Raph to parry with his sais as Elsa and Casey came at him from behind, striking their ice-katana and hockey stick respectively, but both shattered once they impacted his black ice body. He then threw out his arms to knock all three of them back before slamming his fists onto the ground to shoot out dozens of frozen metal spikes from the ground, forcing the heroes back.

Shredder rushed around his ice-spikes at breakneck speeds, gunning for Raph first, grabbing him by the face and causing him freezer burn on contact before slamming him into the ground and stomping repeatedly on his chest, each stomp causing Raph's ribs to crack. Before he had a chance to completely shatter the Raph's entire ribcage with another stomp, a blizzard shot from Elsa encompassed both Shredder's feet in ice before she blew a small whirlwind to slide Raph to safety along the frozen ground just as Shredder escaped his predicament. He tried to move toward Elsa next, only for Casey to try and get to him again, but Shredder saw it coming as he grabbed Casey by his face and threw him off the mountain completely.

"Casey!" April tried to reach out and grab him with her telekinetic powers, which slowed his descent before Elsa created a make-shift ice sled underneath Casey, allowing him to slide down the mountain and not risk a fatality.

Once he was safe. April used her telekinetic powers to pull up several rocks, as well as debris of ice and frozen metal and threw them at Shredder, though he quickly zoomed toward her, maneuvering past each object with his inhumane speed and tried to slice at her, but she saw his movements ahead of time with her psychic powers and drew her tanto to block the claw strike, and used her tessen to slice toward his eyes, but he quickly grabbed her by the wrist, causing her freezer burn as well before lifting her up to punch her across the face, followed by a kick to the chest to send her rolling across the ground.

Splinter then rushed Shredder, slicing at him with his blade while sliding past him to throw a series of kunai, which bounced off his black ice body. Though with Shredder focused on Splinter, it gave Elsa a chance to fly up behind him with her ice wings and throw both her hands out to shoot a multitude of icicles like a gatling gun, forcing him to turn towards her and block it by creating a shield made of frozen metal, allowing Splinter to strike him from behind with multiple airborne kicks, knocking him off balance and allowing Elsa to fly in, forming a large ice-gauntlet in her right hand to deliver a punch to his face. Though the gauntlet shattered upon impact, the force did knock him back and allowed Splinter to come in with multiple jabs around his body before delivering an axe-kick to his right shoulder and knock him to the ground.

He got up to see both Elsa and Splinter standing firm, ready to continue the fight. It was clear that unlike their previous encounter, they were ready for him, despite his transformed state. However, they still had that one weakness that was easy to exploit.

Shredder shot his arms out in two separate directions, sending a series of black ice-spikes shooting from the ground and straight toward the downed Raph and April. Acting quickly, Elsa flew towards April while casting a giant and thick ice-wall to halt Shredder's attack. Though she grabbed April in time, shredder's black ice-spikes shattered Elsa's wall. She maneuvered herself so her wings took the impact, but the force sent both her and April rolling across the ground.

At the same time, Splinter moved towards his downed son as quickly as he could, pushing Raph out of the way just in time while he took the impact. The force of the black ice-spikes knocked Splinter away, while also slicing him across his body, and even impaling him in the shoulder. He fell to the ground in a heap and tried to pick himself up, despite the frozen metal spike in his left shoulder.

"As I have told you, your emotions and care for your loved ones is a weakness." Shredder told Splinter as he approached him. "I have discarded my humanity and have become the embodiment of death itself!"

Splinter growled as he tore the frozen metal spike from his shoulder and turned to face the Shredder again, holding his blade before rushing at him with a battle cry.

Meanwhile; back with Leo's team, they continued to clash in a brutal battle of their own against the mutant forces of the Foot. Leo parried his katanas against the machete-blade of Tiger Claw before the mutant assassin kicked him back. Tiger Claw tried to bring his blade down on Leo, but Kristoff quickly drew his hatchet to block Tiger Claw's strike before pulling up on it to knock the blade out of Tiger Claw's hands and sliced at him with his secondary hatchet. However, Tiger Claw grabbed both of Kristoff's arms before kicking him in the stomach to knock him down. This however left him open for Sven to ram him with a charge and his antlers, knocking him back. Sven then tore off a large branch from an old tree and tried to bring it down on Tiger Claw like a club, but Tiger Claw leapt over the strike. As he flipped over, he grabbed Sven by his antlers and drove both his feet into Sven's back to knock him down.

Leatherhead continued to grapple against Rocksteady before the mutant alligator ducked to grab Rocksteady under his arms and lift him over his head to flip him down onto the ground. He tried to bring his tail down on him, but Rocksteady rolled out of the way before getting back up to draw his hammer and smash Leatherhead across the face. He tried to bring it down onto him again, but Leatherhead caught the hammer in his hand before turning to Rocksteady with a glare, roaring into his face before pouncing at him.

Mikey gave chase to Stockman-Fly, leaping from tree-branch to tree-branch while Stockman-Fly tried to keep his distance, spitting at him with his acidic spit. Mikey was able to find cover by hiding behind several thick branches before returning fire with a pair of shurikens, which struck Stockman-Fly in his wings and sent him crashing to the ground.

Donnie was in a similar predicament, standing at the canopy of a tree to spin his staff and parry the strikes from Fisfhace's balisword before the mutant fish leapt into the air to try and bring his metallic foot toward Donnie, which he avoided by leaping toward the ground just as Fishface's attack caved in the entire canopy.

"Yo, you ladies want to get funky fresh with me? Yoo-hoo!" Bebop sung as he danced around the sword and staff strikes from Anna and Yelena respectively. He slid back a bit before shooting lasers in their direction, which Anna responded by tackling Yelena to the ground and avoid them. However, this also left Anna open for Rahzar to rush her, which she tried to defend herself against by bringing up her sword and swing instinctively at him, which Rahzar caught with his claws. Yelena tried to get up and provide aid for Anna, only to get kicked in the back by Bebop.

As Anna tried to push her sword against Rahzar, he used his superior strength to rip the sword from her grasp and smack her down. He then pinned her to the ground with his claws before snarling at her with a sneer.

"I think this meal is long overdue." Rahzar was ready to rip her throat out with his fangs, but Leatherhead quickly rushed and pounced Rahzar, tackling him into the nearby river. Using his natural aquatic abilities to his advantage, Leatherhead swam to the very bottom of the river, keeping Rahzar pinned as he struggled for oxygen. However, it wasn't long before he completely run out and went limp.

Leatherhead pulled away from the lifeless body of Rahzar, formerly known as Chris Bradford, but noticed something approaching in the water. He recognized the horse-shaped figure of the Water Spirit known as Neptune. Both figures made eye-contact as the Water Spirit ducked it's horse-like form under Rahzar's body, carrying him on its back before swimming away.

Anna quickly ran towards the edge of the river as she saw the mutant alligator emerge. "Leatherhead! Is… is he…?"

"Bradford is no longer among the living." Leatherhead told her.

That took Anna by surprise. She honestly didn't know what to feel about that. While she knew deep down that Rahzar was an evil being, having tried to kill her as well as her friends and family multiple times, hearing that he was actually dead made her feel something she'd never thought she'd feel. Was it grief over somebody's death? Or relief that a dangerous enemy could no longer threaten them? Maybe a mixture of both?

Before she could dwell on these thoughts any further, Anna and Leatherhead's attention was turned back toward the battle as they saw Tiger Claw, Fishface, Bebop, Rocksteady, and Stockman-Fly running away.

"They're leaving!" Donnie exclaimed.

"Guys, we did it! We beat them!" Mikey said victoriously.

However, Tiger Claw briefly turned back with an evil smile before disappearing with his comrades. This caused a sinking feeling to form in Leo's stomach.

"Oh no… We didn't beat them! This… This was all a distraction to split us up!" The blue-clad Turtle stated.

"Splinter! Elsa!" Kristoff exclaimed as Anna's and everyone else's faces became filled with worry.

"We gotta go help them!" Anna shouted.

"We're too far away! We'll never get back to them on foot!" Yelena stated.

Sven however heard some familiar sounds approaching them, as well as picked up a few familiar scents. "We don't have to go on foot."

The rest of the group heard the sounds of multiple galloping footsteps as they saw a small herd of reindeer rushing through the dead trees and quickly coming to a stop before the group. Each of the reindeer looked at them with serious expressions before the one at the lead gestured with his head to get on. It was as if their instincts were telling them what the situation was.

"Come on! We need to move! Now!" Leo ordered as they all mounted which ever reindeer was closest. Sven got on his hands and feet and allowed Kristoff to climb onto his back before the herd took off. Even Leatherhead got on his hands and feet and ran after the herd as fast as he could as well.

Meanwhile, back at the mountaintop, while Slash laid barley conscious, with Raph struggling to pick himself up as well, even Elsa found herself in a similar state as she tried to help up April; they could only watch as Splinter and Shredder continued to engage each other in their brutal confrontation.

Splinter slashed from every which way with his blade, trying to stay on his toes and come at his enemy from all directions so he wouldn't give Shredder a chance to lock on and counterattack. Despite Shredder's drastic increase in power, Splinter knew that his enemy was still not fully used to the transformation yet and tried to turn it to his advantage. He used not only his skills as a ninjutsu grandmaster, but even his abilities as a mutant rat to his advantage. However, Shredder's now enhanced speed and strength due to his transformation made him quick enough to anticipate Splinter, block each and every one of his strikes. Even if one strike did make contact, Shredder's entire body was made out of the black frozen metal, so it did not appear to do much damage. Even as Splinter struck the same spot repeatedly, he didn't even crack the surface.

Shredder slashed with his extended right claw, but Splinter ducked underneath the swing before leaping over to land behind, but Shredder turned around just as quickly to block the thrust of Splinter's blade before stomping onto the ground to shoot several ice spikes from the ground around him. Though Splinter leapt back to avoid the worst of it, he was still cut all over, causing more blood to spill as he landed. Despite being weakened, bleeding all over, and almost out of breath, Hamato Yoshi would not yield.

He rushed Shredder again, swinging his blade, which Shredder blocked, but Splinter quickly used his free hand to jab at Shredder's glowing red eyes. This briefly blocked Shredder's vision, which Splinter took advantage of as he leapt to deliver multiple kicks to the face. Shredder, having just regained his sight, created multiple curved black ice blades from his right arm sliced at Splinter; cutting him all over his left side, but Splinter pushed past the pain and delivered the hilt of his blade to the back of Shredder's neck, knocking him off balance even more. Splinter delivered another finger-thrust to his back, the same invisible force from before sending Shredder flying into a pillar of black ice that he formed before.

Once he made a crashing impact, Shredder turned around in time to see Splinter rushing him again to deliver the exact same attack straight to the center of his chest. The same exact force sent Shredder back against the pillar as Splinter delivered another finger-thrust with his other hand, followed by another, and another, and another, and another, all in the exact same spot over and over and over again.

Elsa weakly held the conscious April as she saw what Splinter was trying to do. 'He's focusing all his attacks on one spot… maybe enough force and pressure… could break through his defenses…' Even after the twentieth thrust, Splinter gave a roar as he delivered one final finger-thrust in the same spot. The force of the impact actually recoiled and sent Splinter flying back this time. Though he landed on his feet, Splinter quickly fell to his knees as he had lost a lot of blood already, his fatigue was setting in, and all those attacks took a lot out of him.

'But he can't keep this up forever…' Elsa thought with worry. 'We have to…' She tried to set April down and help, but Elsa keeled over a bit as she too had expended a great deal of her stamina in the fight.

As Splinter attempted to pull himself up, he noticed Shredder doing the same before looking at the spot where he struck repeatedly, to see that a crack had formed. It was somewhat small, but it was still there.

'He is not invincible… even the strongest of metals will break under enough pressure!' Splinter thought to himself as he steeled himself yet again. He picked up his blade and prepared a stance, preparing to channel the same kind of power he did with his finger-thrusts into a sword strike that could hopefully pierce through Shredder's outer shell.

Sven and the reindeer herd ran as fast as they could through the forest, with Leatherhead barley able to keep up in the back. Kristoff held onto Sven while Leo rode the lead reindeer, Anna, Mikey, Donnie, and Yelena on the backs as several others.

"We're almost there!" Mikey could see the small mountaintop, where they could barely make out the figures at the summit.

"Come on Sven, punch it!" Kristoff told him as the mutant reindeer tried to pick up the pace, with the herd following his lead as well.

"Please, please, please, please, please don't let us be too late!" Anna prayed.

Master Splinter rushed Shredder again, but right as he was about to thrust his blade, Shredder swerved out of the way just in time as he generated a set of curved frozen metal blades from his arm.

*SLASH!*

With a sudden upward slash with his claws, Splinter's right arm, which held the sword, had been completely severed at the elbow. Splinter gave a sudden cry in agony at the loss of his limb before Shredder attacked, a large cluster of frozen metal glades generated around his arm as he punched Splinter and sent him crashing into what was left of the black ice dojo.

"SPLINTER!" Elsa called out in shock as Shredder went on the attack. He thrusted both his arms forward to send a cluster of black ice spikes from the ground at Splinter, the force sending him crashing even deeper into the dojo. But Shredder zoomed in there as quickly, picked Splinter up by his throat to punch him repeatedly across his face before throwing him back outside.

"Be certain to give my regards to Tang Shen in the afterlife… brother." Shredder told him as he moved closer. But even weakened, and missing an arm, Splinter picked up his blade yet again and slowly stood to his feet to face his former brother one more time.

"Come Saki. Let us end this madness." Splinter told him.

Shredder rushed Splinter once more, dozens of curved black ice blades grew all around his arms, ready to end Hamato Yoshi once and for all. However, right as Shredder swung, Splinter channeled another thrust strike into his blade, right as he ducked under the swing and delivered a thrusting sword strike into the crack on Shredder's chest. The impact caused Splinter's blade to shatter, with the force of the strike sending Shredder flying over the edge and seemingly down the mountainside.

Splinter fell to his hand and knees in exhaustion, his stamina spent as he tried to recover.

"Yes!" Raph exclaimed as he and Slash limped toward him, helping each other stand with Elsa and April doing the same, all four of them looking toward Splinter with smiles. "You did it sensei!" Raph praised as everyone else laughed in victory.

"My family…" Splinter breathed in relief.

The herd of reindeer and the heroes that rode them made it to the bottom of the black ice stairs and quickly dismounted. Leo took out his telescope to see what was going on up there, but what he saw made him scream in horror.

April's smile quickly faded as she felt something through her psychic abilities. "Oh no… Splinter…!"

Master Splinter tried to turn around and catch her warning, but…

*PIERCE!*

Shredder had quickly recovered and rushed Splinter, impaling him with a pair of curved and extended black ice blades from his arms.

"MASTER SPLINTER!" Elsa screamed with Anna and Slash.

"FATHER!" Raph also screamed.

Splinter gasped, blood oozing from not just his wound, but his mouth too. He could already feel his vision fading, his breath coming to a halt, and all feeling in his body slowly ending as Shredder lifted him into the air with his blades.

"And now… Hamato Yoshi… DIES!"

Shredder threw him off the edge of the mountain, causing him to fall down the steps of black ice he had made. It was a horror show, time appeared to have slowed down for all of them; Elsa, Raph, April, and Slash up top; Leo, Anna, Mikey, Donnie, Kristoff, Sven, Leatherhead, and Yelena from the bottom. They could all watch in absolute horror and dread as Splinter's body fell, bouncing off the steps as he fell closer to the bottom.

Before he could fall much farther though, Casey came in, swinging with his grappling hook to catch Splinter's body before falling toward the ground. Casey made sure to angle himself so that he took the brunt of it. Though they were close enough to the ground that Casey wouldn't sustain any serious injuries, and he did indeed take the brunt of the impact, it didn't matter at this point.

Yoshi's eyes slowly began to close as he felt his life fade from his body. His vision became cloudy as the last thing his mortal eyes ever saw was the horrified faces of most of his family as they gathered around him, shouting his name just before his eyes closed forever.

"NNNOOOOO!" Leo screamed as he, Mikey, Donnie, Anna, Kristoff and Sven gathered around his body. Their eyes filled with horror and desperation, praying this was all a nightmare and it wasn't real. "Father…! Father…!"

Back at the top, Shredder gave a brief chuckle as he knew his mortal enemy was no more. "He died as a warrior; I suppose that is a fitting end for him." Shredder said with a hint of respect in his voice, not enough to morn though. "Victory is finally mine."

Suddenly, a powerful blizzard began to form all around his body as he turned around to see Elsa controlling it. The Queen of Arendelle glaring at the monster in front of her with as much hate as she could possibly muster. She made the blizzard even stronger as the breezing winds blew so hard that it lifted Shredder off his feet. With a hateful and agonizing scream, Elsa threw the blizzard, and by extension, Shredder into the nearest mountain. She then fired countless bolts of pure magic all over the mountain, giving rage-induced grunts and yells as she broke the mountain apart, causing a landslide that had caught Shredder and dragged him down toward the ground and what she could hope was the most pain inducing end that he deserved.

"Burn in Hell…. Monster…" Elsa muttered hatefully before conjuring an ice dragon for Raph, April, and Slash to mount as she generated her ice-wings to fly down toward the surface as fast as she could with her friends right behind her.

Everyone had gathered around him. Elsa's ice wings vanished, as did the ice dragon her friends rode on. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven; they all gathered closest to Master Splinter's body while April, Casey, Slash, Leatherhead, and Yelena hung back slightly, along with all the gathered reindeer. It was like the Heart of Darkness all over again, only this time, there was no turning back time and saving him. None of them wanted to believe it, but they all knew the truth. Hamato Yoshi, also known as Master Splinter, was gone.

"No… Please…!" Leo muttered.

Tears flowed down each of their cheeks as they mourned the father and friend they had come to know for so long. To Slash and Leatherhead, Hamato Yoshi was a dependable comrade and a good friend with a will of steel and a heart of gold. In a world that would show them only pain and prejudice, he showed them kindness and compassion.

Yelena didn't know Splinter all that personally, at least compared to everyone else here. But even in their short time together, she got along quite well with him. She knew that despite his strange appearance, he was a good man, a wise leader, and an excellent father. She could only hope that his spirit would find peace. Even all the reindeer that gathered around lowered their heads, some even gave mournful moans of their own.

April's tears fell even as Casey tried to wrap his arm around her in comfort. Casey remembered being afraid of Splinter upon their first meeting but would soon come to see him as the wise and badass hero that he always one. Casey had always looked up to Splinter, making this all the more painful. April would never forget the man who taught her ninjutsu. Whenever she was lost, or was unable to go home, Master Splinter would always welcome her to his, making her feel so welcomed. He was her teacher, her friend, a second father.

Donatello remembered Splinter observing his studies. While Splinter wasn't as scientific as his son, that did not stop him from giving advice from time-to-time, which Donatello always took to consideration and to heart, some of his advice actually helped give him scientific breakthroughs. Splinter not only encouraged him to pursue his quest for knowledge but to also keep an open mind of new possibilities, as well as following your heart with your mind.

"Papa…" Michelangelo cried, remembering the strict yet caring father who showed him how to be serious. Even if he was strict, even Mikey knew it was out of love and compassion. And more than once did Splinter sit down beside him and watch cartoons on the television. That made the experience all the better for the youngest of the Ninja Turtles.

Anna openly cried as the teary-eyed Kristoff pulled her into an embrace, while she cried into his shoulder. Sven pulled them both into a hug of his own as he too cried. For each of them, Splinter was like a second father. Kristoff remembered all the advice Hamato Yoshi gave him, including his intent to propose to Anna, but that seemed unimportant right now. Anna felt as if she had lost another parent all over again, the pain of losing her birth parents was still fresh and this only seemed to add onto it. She truly loved Master Splinter as a second father and remembered all the teachings he gave her, and she would never forget them.

Raphael closed his eyes so tightly, trying desperately not to let the tears flow, but they were too strong as they leaked from his eyelids. Out of all his brothers, Splinter was the strictest with him. And while at times it seemed like he was too harsh and it felt like he didn't care, Raph knew in his heart that Splinter did indeed care about him. All those lectures and harsh lessons were to help Raph manage his temper, which he was able to do. Master Splinter was not only the strongest warrior he ever met, but he was also the best father one could ask for. One he would not trade away for anything. And now, he desperately wanted him back.

"God no… not again… not again…." Elsa sobbed. Much like her sister, Elsa saw Hamato Yoshi as a second father. He remembered his words of wisdom fondly, how she was who she chose to be and not what others made her. His advice with meditation helped her to better wield her own powers, and he treated her no different than any other normal person, despite their clear differences. They were truly kindred spirits, one that Elsa made a strong connection to. She loved Hamato Yoshi as much as she loved her own parents. She remembered telling him that she didn't want to lose another father, and yet that was exactly what happened.

Leonardo remembered fist being handed his katanas. When he was just a small boy, he saw the loving and encouraging smile on his father's face. Leo always tried to live up to his father's expectations as best as he could. Master Splinter always saw the best in Leonardo, even when he felt he wasn't good enough, or when he was too overconfident in his skills. But no matter what, he always made Splinter proud. He remembered the advice Master Splinter gave him before entering the forest…

"Leonardo, if I can impart one piece of wisdom that will remain with you forever; remember, giving guidance to your brothers and friends does not come from here. It comes from here. Always keep those you love closest to you, do not ever let them go."

Leonardo and Elsa looked toward each other briefly before wrapping their arms around each other, letting their grief and devastation flow out as they tried to comfort one another as best they could.

However, despite the clear heartbreak felt by each of them, they all knew this was not a place to mourn. So, with heavy hearts, Leonardo, Elsa, Raphael, Anna, Michelangelo, and Donatello all picked up Hamato Yoshi's body and slowly walked away from the area. April, Casey, Kristoff, Sven, Slash, Leatherhead, Yelena, and all the reindeer followed with them, the reindeer herd sticking close to provide comfort as well as protection as they all made their way back to the Northuldra camp.

When they were all gone, the pile of rocks and boulders that had clustered together at the bottom of the mountain from the recent landslide began to shift and move. A large patch of black ice began to form near the top as several rocks were blown away, revealing a rising hand made entirely out of black frozen metal, which clenched into a fist as a pair of curved blades grew out.

Done.

So… yeah. Hamato Yoshi, also known as Master Splinter, has fallen. I'm sure there are some of you that wanted me to spare him. A part of me did consider it, but I ultimately decided not to. It is sad, I actually cried when the canon episode aired. But, it was also a necessary loss as the Turtles, and now the rest of the Frozen cast, will have to learn and grow without him. Death comes to all eventually, it's sad but true. But just because they are no longer living does not mean they are gone forever. Hamato Yoshi will always be remembered, and as long as his children and students continue to follow his teachings and fight with honor, protecting the weak and innocent, his legacy will live on.

(Oh, and Chris Bradford/Rahzar is dead as well. Having been drowned by Leatherhead, with the Water Spirit/Neptune taking his body to bury into the depths of the Dark Sea, never to be seen again)

But the Shredder is not done yet. He has completely taken over Ahtohallan, turning it into a fortress of black ice (frozen metal), kind of a dark version of Elsa's ice palace from the first movie. This has even begun to impact the Enchanted Forest as it starting to feel less 'alive' than before. I even had him undergo another transformation, one that resembles his previous human form, only his body and armor are merged together and made entirely out of the black ice/frozen metal substance. I wanted to make this circumstance stand out from the Super Shredder form of the canon series, given Shredder mixed mutagen and Elsa's ice magic to get this power, it would only make sense. And since magic is involved, I thought that if Elsa's own magic is centered around the emotion of love, I thought it fitting that Shredder's power is centered around hate, or rather his acceptance of his inner demons and the embrace of the dark and empty feeling of hatred inside. In his words, he has discarded what little humanity he has left, metaphorically and literally and become a literal heartless monster.

How will our heroes bounce back after such a devastating loss? The next chapter won't go straight into the rematch against Shredder like in the canon Season 4 finale, I have something very special in mind that should give the audience plenty of answers, especially in regard to the fifth spirit. We are nearing the end here, and I thank you all again for your support and patience. Until the next update, please stay healthy and sane out there. I love you guys.