Hey, guys! I'm back! I'm still alive! So sorry this took so long, so I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 8: The War For Dimension X
Mona Lisa gave a low, subtle growl as she stood by Sal Commander. Never in a millennia would she ever had even considered asking these vile creatures for help. But then again, with the threat of the Triceratons, they would need as many allies as they could get. They knew they couldn't go to the Republic, as they didn't seem to have any intention of entering this war unless forced, even if some of them were sympathetic to their cause such as the Jedi.
"We share a mutual enemy." Sal Commander began before he pressed a small button on his wrist gauntlet, displaying a hologram of the Triceraton symbol. "The Triceratons are formidable, and should they acquire the Heart of Darkness, they could potentially destroy and conquer the entire universe! They are not unbeatable, however. If we were to combine the forces of our two races and perhaps get the Republic on our side, we could eradicate them from the galaxy."
"You'll find it valuable to have great warriors like the Salamandrians on your side." Mona Lisa stated, stepping forward. "You will also find it beneficial to have the Republic protecting you as well."
"WHAT?! ARE YOU PEOPLE CRAZY?!" Kraang Sub-Prime shouted on his hovercraft. "We Kraang invade other planets for one reason! To get away from the Triceratons! Not fight 'em!"
The two Salamandrians, with the permission of their superiors, had traveled to Dimension X to seek out the aid of the Kraang, not just for having a shared foe of the Triceraton Empire, but for also being the ones to use the Heart of Darkness on the Triceraton Homeworld during their war, so it only seemed logical forge an alliance at this meeting, which was why Sub-Prime was being escorted by several Kraang droids and even a few Bio-Droids. However, due to Sub-Prime's reaction to the proposal, an alliance seemed unlikely.
"By avoiding the fight, you bring dishonor to your species!" Mona Lisa growled, drawing her sword and holding it at Sub-Prime's face.
"'Cause that's the Kraang's main concern, 'honor'. Puh-lease!" Sub-Prime remarked sarcastically, brushing Mona's sword aside with his tentacle. "Have you seen the Triceratons?! Those guys are huge! My advice, sister, get as far away from them as possible and find a nice planet to mutate."
Mona Lisa snarled angrily, but Sal Commander placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. "You disgust me you soft, pink coward!" She said furiously.
Sub-Prime put a tentacle to his scarred lips. "Hmm, I wonder if I can live with that." He mockingly pondered. "Why yes! I think I can!" He then turned and began to hover away.
Of course, the two Salamandrians knew what to expect when it came to the Kraang. The Kraang themselves were always deceitful and cowardly, but that didn't make Mona Lisa any less angry.
"Come, Y'Gythgba, we'll find others." Sal Commander said reassuringly.
"Perhaps we could try request aid from the Republic once more." Mona Lisa suggested. "Or we could ally ourselves with the Turtles again."
At the very mention of the Turtles, Sub-Prime's eyes widened before he immediately turned around in anger. "What?!" He exclaimed. "An ally of the Turtles is an enemy of the Kraang!"
Immediately, all the Kraang droids and Bio-Droids aimed their blasters at the Salamandrian warriors. Mona and Sal also drew their swords and blasters as they got ready to fight back. However, any chance of victory for them fell when several Kraang scout ships surrounded them.
"So I have this incredible place where you guys can all hang out and talk about honor and courage and stuff." Kraang Sub-Prime said, smirking evilly. "It's called 'my dungeon'!"
He then laughed gleefully as Mona Lisa and Sal Commander growled, laying their weapons on the ground and putting their hands over their heads in surrender.
The Ulixius hovered in orbit around the forest moon of Endor as the stealth shuttle detached itself from the main ship. The Turtles each hand their space suits on as the Fugitoid piloted the shuttle.
"Okay, focus guys, this stuff is basic." Donnie attempted to explain.
"Donnie, are you seriously trying to explain black holes to us, including Mikey of all people?" Raph questioned in a rhetorically joking tone. "It's a waste of time!"
"Whatever, I can do science stuff." Mikey stated. "I'm great at dancing 'the robot'."
"The robot dance isn't science, Mikey." Leo told him.
"It is when I do it." Mikey smirked as he began to dance the robot while in his chair. "Beep-bop, boop-bop-beep-bop."
"Speaking as a droid, that's actually pretty good." Honeycutt complimented.
"Black holes suck in everything." Donnie explained. "Not even light can escape a black hole's gravitational singularity."
"Why not?" Mikey questioned, still doing the robot.
"Because their infinitely dense." The purple clad turtle answered.
"So they're just like you, Mikey." Raph remarked.
The whole crew, including Mikey himself, laughed at that. "Good one." Fugitoid said, chuckling.
"I don't get it." Mikey said, completely clueless, and causing the others to roll their eyes.
"We don't even really need to know all the complicated sciency stuff about it." Raph stated. "Since we're gonna get the other pieces of the Black Hole generator, we won't have to worry about seeing another one."
"But we only have the one we stole from the Triceraton Mothership." Donnie said. "And we only found them in the first place because we tracked them. I doubt they'll make the same mistake with the other pieces."
"Which is why we're going to Dimension X." Leo stated. "To see the Utrom and hopefully get them to tell us where the next two pieces are."
"So, Fugi-dude, why do you think the Oolong will help us?" Mikey asked, mispronouncing Utrom.
"Utrom, Michelangelo." Fugitoid corrected. "And I believe they will help us because the Utrom were the ones who originally seperated the Black Hole generator and scattered the fragments across the galaxy to keep them safe." Fugitoid replied. "And they might know where the Triceratons that left the Empire are hiding."
"I'm still a little skeptical on this, though." Leo stated.
"Why, bro?" Mikey questioned. "There are good Triceratons out there. In fact, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for Zeno."
"I'm not doubting that." Leo replied. "It's just... just because they left the Triceraton Empire that doesn't mean they'll automatically be willing to help us. For all we know, they might have just given up fighting all together, maybe even become pacifists."
"'Pacifist Triceratons'." Raph repeated in disbelief. "Never thought I'd hear those two words go together."
"Well we won't know until we try." Honeycutt said. "With the threat we face, we will need all the help we can gather."
"Plus, going to visit the Utrom means we get to go back to Dimension X!" Mikey cheered. "Whoo-hoo! And I get to be smart again!"
"Let's not get too excited, Mikey." Leo advised. "Remember, we're only five or six months in the past, meaning the Kraang are probably still around."
"Eh, I'm sure we can handle it." Raph said nonchalantly.
"I still feel bad about leaving April and Casey behind on the ship to guard the fragment." Donnie said sympathetically. "They seemed pretty mad about it."
"Nah, I'm sure they're over it by now." Mikey dismissed.
Meanwhile back on the main shuttle, April sat in her station as she stuck her face in a magazine out of boredom while Casey angrily slammed his hockey stick into the ground repeatedly.
Of course, they knew it was important that they stay in order to guard the Black Hole piece, but that didn't mean they were happy about it.
"Projecting the portal!" Honeycutt announced as he activated the shuttle's built-in portal projector. A small projector-like device then popped out from below the shuttle and shot out a ray that created a small rift in front of the shuttle.
The group could only watch in suspense as the shuttle flew the portal and entered the strange environment of Dimension X. The inky blackness of space was now replaced by a near-disturbing pink void with seemingly several stars in the distance. The entire area was filled with large metallic asteroids that were covered in crystal-like trees.
The shuttle hovered down and landed on one of metal asteroids before the group got out and observed their new surroundings.
"Yes! Back in Dimension X!" Mikey cheered, laughing a bit.
Raph sighed as he put a hand to his helmet. "Am I the only one who's not excited to be back here?" He asked dryly.
Leo and Donnie both shook their heads as they too were less than thrilled to be back in this strange reality.
"Hello, Scatterpillar!" Mikey greeted as a pair of odd living spheres flew by them. He then walked up to a crystal tree. "How's it goin' little squeebles?" He asked joyfully to several small slug-like creatures.
The group quickly turned around at the sound of a roar to see a giant worm-like creature, other wise known as a Kraathatragon Worm, flying straight for them, jaws wide open.
"Hey there, Giant Kraang Worm." Mikey cheerfully greeted, waving his hand while everyone else screamed and clung to each other.
Just then, an even larger creature, a giant rock-like worm, suddenly appeared and nabbed the Kraathatragon in it's jaws before flying away.
"Ah yes, bros." Mikey sighed happily. "The circle of life."
"I hate Dimension X more than I hate space!" Raph growled, causing the others to roll their eyes. Was there anything Raph didn't hate?
"Join the club." Donnie dryly stated. "But the sooner we find the Utrom, the sooner we leave." He then turned towards Honeycutt. "Professor, where do we go?"
The Fugitoid remained silent before he blinked. "Oh! Me? Yes, right." He then shook his head as his eyes began to glitch. "Um, according to my scanners, the Utrom are... uh... this way." He then turned around only to smack right into a crystal tree, causing to fall on his back.
"You okay, Professor?" Leo asked as he tried to help him up.
"No-not exactly." Fugitoid replied as he continued to glitch out. "Dimension X is currently muh-messing with my scaaa-sca-scanners."
"Can you fix him, Donnie?" Raph asked, turning to his smart brother.
"If I tried, I'd risk exposing his organic brain to Dimension X's toxic environment and end up accidentally killing him." Donnie replied. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid theres nothing I can do."
"Well I got your answer right here, dog!" Mikey said eagerly before he threw down a smoke bomb that encompassed him in a thick cloud of purple smoke. As the smoke dissipated, he now wore two purple straps on his chest carrying crystals as well on his belt along with a makeshift oxygen converter. His arms were tied with severed Kraang tentacles and he appeared to have a helmet that looked strangely like a Kraang skull.
Raph put a hand to his helmet as he closed his eyes. "Calm down, Raph. You knew this was coming." He muttered to himself, taking in slow deep breaths.
"That's right, bros! Savage Mikey returns ya'll!" Mikey, now Savage Mikey, cheered.
"Don't worry! Savage Mikey's got this, dude!" Savage Mikey said before he grabbed a squeeble and used it like a grappling hook to get on top of one of the crystal trees. "Follow me!"
The group looked to each and simply shrugged before they began to follow the savage orange clad turtle. They sort of knew this was coming, but seeing Mikey actually being smart would still take some getting used to.
However as they went, they failed to notice a small, silver pod follow them.
After catching up, Savage Mikey continued to swing and jump from one spot to another like a wild monkey while the others tried to follow. It wasn't actually that hard as the outlandish physics of Dimension X made it surprisingly easy to traverse the void.
"Dimension X tip number twenty-three," Savage Mikey began as he landed on a metal asteroid, "never put a mushro-pod between your toes, it could try to eat them! I learned that one the hard way."
"Mikey, why would we put anything from Dimension X between our toes?" Donnie questioned irritably.
The group continued to bound across the seemingly endless field of metal asteroids before Savage Mikey suddenly came to a stop. Leo, Donnie, and Raph didn't have much time to react to this as they fell into a small pile.
"Mikey, why'd you stop?!" Leo angrily questioned as they got up while the Fugitoid caught up with them.
"Because we're here." Mikey stated, gesturing behind him, towards apparently nothing.
"What?" Raph said as the others looked around in confusion. "But there's nothing here!"
"Exactly, Raph! That's the point!" Savage Mikey replied as-a-matter-of-factly. "You know for ninjas, I'm surprised you guys didn't catch on already." He then bent down and picked up a random rock before he threw it into the apparent void, only for the rock to suddenly go through a seemingly invisible wall.
"A cloaking dome!" Honeycutt exclaimed in realization. "Brilliant!"
Without a word, Savage Mikey back-flipped into the dome, disappearing behind the cloaked force-field. The others quickly followed, jumping through the invisible dome and clumsily landing in a small pile on a large metallic asteroid.
As they got up, they couldn't help but admire the base. The headquarters itself was a large dome-shaped structure with several blue highlights on it and a few spikes coming out of it.
"Whoa. Now that's a headquarters!" Donnie admired, considering it was almost twice the size of any Kraang base they had seen so far.
However, as they admired the base, several droids suddenly uncloaked themselves from around the group, their blasters armed and ready. They looked almost identical to the Kraang, except their outer shells were white instead of blue, and they're highlights were a light cyan color as opposed to neon pink.
"The Kraang?!" Raph exclaimed, reaching for his laser sais.
"No, wait! Look at their suits!" Savage Mikey pointed out. "Their similar and yet different."
"Then these must be Utrom." Leo said as they readied themselves for battle.
But just as they were ready to fight their way out, a familiar Utrom suddenly uncloaked carrying a large bazooka-like weapon. This Utrom instead wearing a human disguise with a black suit and sunglasses.
"Who are you?!" The lead Utrom demanded. "How did you find our secret base?! And why did you throw a rock at my head?!" He then held up the pebble that Mikey had thrown in earlier.
"That was my fault! Sorry." Savage Mikey apologized, smiling sheepishly.
"It's Bishop!" Leo voiced in surprise. "But how come he doesn't recognize us?"
"We're in the past, remember?" Donnie reminded him. "He hasn't met us yet."
Honeycutt, sensing the growing tension between them, quickly stepped forward. "Bishop! Good to see you, old friend!" He said as he held up robotic his hand with his index and pinky fingers extended. Bishop seemed a bit surprised before he before he returned the same gesture. The two then touched their index and pinky fingers together before turning their hands and finishing with a fist bump.
"Professor Honeycutt, good to see you!" Bishop greeted with a smile, recognizing his old friend. "Despite your... strange robotic body and your very large head."
"Thank you, I think." Fugitoid said. "But I need the attention of the full Utrom council, please." He then said seriously.
"Anything for you, Zayton." Bishop replied before gesturing to the entrance of the Utrom base. "Right this way."
As Bishop lead the Turtles and Honeycutt into the Utrom base, Leo, Donnie, and Raph had taken off their space suits in exchange for a three special neck-collar devices that would enable them to breathe normally while Mikey still kept his savage gear on.
"Dudes, those neck-breathing-thingies you got on are cool." Mikey said to his brothers.
"Then why don't you have one?" Donnie asked him.
Mikey simply shrugged. "I like being Savage Mikey."
"Guys, sshh!" Leo shushed them as they entered a large meeting chamber that was lit with light blue lights, and at the center of the room was a large table with three other figures waiting for them.
"Professor and Turtles," Bishop announced, "allow me to present to you the Sacred High Council of the Utrom. Pawn, Rook, Queen, and King."
Pawn was a simple Utrom with a regular Utrom body, only his strangely had a French mustache attached to his robotic face. Rook's robotic body resembled that of a teenage girl with blue hair, pale near-white skin, and grayish-whitish clothes along with white glasses. Queen's outer body had the appearance of a middle-aged woman with white clothes and hair. King's body had mostly the same appearance as Bishop, only his body looked older with grey hair, a small beard, and a white suit. However, what was truly strange was that not only were the Council members named after chess pieces, but they were also missing the knight.
"Whoa. Rook and Queen look just like Irma and Miss Campbell." Mikey whispered to the others, who nodded in agreement.
Queen stood up from her chair. "The High Council acknowledges the arrival of the Professor and the Turtles."
Fugitoid was the first to bow respectfully before the Turtles bowed with him. "Thank you for having an audience with us." Honeycutt thanked as they sat down on a set of chairs that appeared beneath them. "Great Utrom Council, these Turtles are protectors of Earth. They have battled against the Kraang and are worthy of your aid."
"The Utrom are already aware of these mutants and all the good they have done for the planet Earth." King replied, much to the Turtles' surprise as Bishop sat down in his chair.
"So why didn't help us before?" Raph questioned. "They've been on our planet for millions of years and nearly mutated it twice! Where were you when that all happened?"
"Because Earthlings cannot always be trusted, you are an irrational species." Rook stated, adjusting her glasses.
"Well, your not wrong in that sense." Leo spoke up, remembering certain people like Chris Bradford, Dr. Falco, and even the Shredder. "But there are good people out there."
"We do not doubt that, for we have seen a sense of nobleness in humanity." King acknowledged. "And as such, you deserve to know the truth about the Utrom."
He then pressed a button on the table and a small projector opened up at the center of the table, displaying a three-dimensional hologram for the group to see.
"For millions of nextons, the Utrom all had free will and individual personalities. We were a peaceful race," Queen began as the hologram displayed an image of the Utrom living in peace on their home of Dimension X before the image shifted to a rather suspicious looking Utrom holding a canister of mutagen in his tentacles. "but then, one day, an Utrom scientist by the name of Kraang discovered the mutagen of the Kraathatrogon worm. After much experimentation, Kraang tested it on himself, creating Kraang Prime and becoming deranged and insane in the process." She continued as the hologram shifted to an image of Kraang Prime commanding hundreds of Kraang soldiers. "Using his newly gained psychic powers, he overcame the minds of millions of Utrom, turning them into slave copies of himself! And so the Kraang were born."
The hologram then faded as the group looked in surprise and even sympathy. The Kraang were never truly hostile, the real evil was Kraang Prime who brainwashed millions of his own kind into becoming his own mindless drones.
"That does explain their hive mind." Donnie stated. "And we're truly sorry for what happened to your species."
"You have nothing to apologize for." Queen assured. "If anything, we should apologize for not dealing with Prime sooner."
"There were many Utrom that resisted Prime's control. But now less than one hundred exist." Bishop said, much to the group's shock and alarm.
"What happened to your race is a great tragedy," Honeycutt told the council, "but perhaps you can help us avoid another one. The Triceratons are after the pieces of the Black Hole generator and will stop at nothing to find them all. We were able to acquire one of the pieces of the Black Hole generator, but we need the others if we are to save Earth."
The Utrom Council was not expecting to hear those words at all. "You found one of the pieces?!" King questioned in shock as Pawn's body began to glitch up before falling out of his seat out of pure alarm.
"No one should have such destructive power!" Rook stated. "We took great pains to hide them in the safest parts of the galaxy!"
"'Safest'?!" Leo repeated, standing up from his chair. "The first piece corrupted the entire race of Aeons! In fact, the entire planet itself was just as corrupt!"
"What?!" Bishop questioned.
"How can this be?!" King said.
"Impossible!" Queen stated.
"No way!" Rook exclaimed.
"Sacreb-b-b-bleu!" Pawn glitched.
Honeycutt, sensing the growing tension within the council, stood up from his chair. "Great Utrom Council, I have a plan to destroy the generator once and for all! But it requires your aid." He said.
"Impossible!" Pawn stated, getting back into his chair. "Zee Heart of Darkness cannot be destroyed!"
"Utrom!" King spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "We must discuss this urgent news."
Several minutes went by as the five members of the Utrom council huddled together to discuss what their next move would be as the Turtles and Professor Honeycutt sat at the table waiting for their response.
The discussion then appeared to end as they turned back to the group. "The High Council has reached a final decision." Queen announced.
"Great!" Leo smiled as everyone else held their hopes high.
"We're officially opening discussions on aiding you on your mission." King said. "The debate shall last for the next one hundred nextons."
This decision did not sit well at all the group as they reeled in shock and a bit of anger. "What?!" Raph exclaimed, shooting up from his chair. "But we need your help now! Not one-hundred whatever-ons from now!"
Leo also stood up from his chair. "High Council, please," He said, trying to sound more diplomatic, but unable to hide the desperation in his voice, "We understand you have a certain process, but this can't wait! We've come from the future, six months in the future. And the Triceratons do find all of the pieces and destroy the Earth! We saw it happen!"
"And it won't stop there!" Donnie added, standing up from his chair as well. "With the generator, they'll have the power to destroy anyone who gets in their way! It's not just Earth, but the whole universe is at stake!"
The entire High Council was taken aback by this news. "The Triceratons find all of the pieces?!" Bishop questioned. "Are you certain of this?!"
The whole group nodded their heads in confirmation.
"It is not just the Black Hole Generator either." Honeycutt added. "We have also heard of a group of Triceratons that have defected from the Empire that may be potential allies. Surely you may know where to find them."
The Utrom Council looked to each other, seeming a little hesitant on what to do as they took in this information.
"Oolog!" Mikey spoke up (mispronouncing Utrom again), standing on the table. "That Black Hole thingy is the only chance we have! You've gotta help us!" He then got on his knees. "Pleeeeaaasssse!" He pleaded, giving his best puppy-dog eyes.
The Utrom Council looked upon the group and they could see the desperation in their eyes. They could tell that they wouldn't take this route if they had no other choice. After all, it was thanks to the Turtles and their allies that the Kraang were beaten back and the Utrom had a chance at survival. Perhaps they did deserve this after all they had endured.
"Perhaps we can-" Queen was suddenly interrupted as multiple triangular Kraang portals opened up all around the chamber. The Turtles were immediately on guard, drawing their weapons as several Kraang droids exited the portals with readied blasters.
And coming out from one of the portals was none other than Kraang Subprime himself. "So the long-hidden Utrom base revealed to us by none other than those miserable Turtles. How awesome has Kraang Subprime's day gotten?!" He cackled before the other Kraang droids immediately opened fire.
As the other three turtles went around slashing and bashing every Kraang in sight, Mikey lunged forward with his kusarigama, giving his titular 'savage yell' while flailing his weapons around, slashing every Kraang in his sight.
"Enough with the savage yells!" Raph shouted as he tackled a Kraang, stabbing it with his sais.
"Don't diss my sweet yell before you try it!" Mikey replied.
Meanwhile, Kraang Subprime leaped on top of the table, right above Queen as he aimed his arm-blaster at her. But King quickly came in, grabbing Subprime's arm and throwing him over his shoulder, causing Subprime to crash into a couple of Kraang droids.
However, as Subprime got up, he was quickly kicked aside by Bishop. "How I have waited for this, Subprime!" He stated, glaring at Subprime as he glared back.
"You stole my body!" Rook said, charging towards Subprime. "It was my creation!" She then lunged for Subprime, but the Kraang second-in-command extended his right hand to catch her by the face.
"Aw, my heart bleeds for ya." Kraang Subprime said sarcastically before using Rook's body as a club to bash King aside before throwing Rook at the incoming Bishop.
Pawn found himself cornered by a Bio-Droid, but Queen was quick to come to his aid as she jumped onto a nearby wall before leaping forward and kicking the Bio-Droid, knocking it off it's feet. However, before she could react, Subprime shot an electrical charge from his blaster arm at her, causing Queen's body to short-circuit.
Queen's body collapsed to the ground, sparking and twitching as she crawled out in her natural Utrom body. She tried to crawl away, but Subprime quickly grabbed her by the tentacles before she could escape.
"Let me go, Subprime!" She said as she was lifted into the air.
"Queen!" King shouted, getting up.
"So long, morons!" Subprime cackled as he activated another portal. "I'll be taking this as a parting gift!" He then ran through the portal, taking Queen with him along with his remaining Kraang droids.
"Let's go dudes!" Mikey said, kicking down a Bio-Droid before running into the portal, followed by Raph. Leo and Donnie also tried to follow, but the portal closed before they could enter.
"No!" Leo cried.
"Mikey! Raph!" Donnie exclaimed.
Back at the Kraang's Sub-Command Center, Kraang Subprime stepped out of the portal with the remainder of his soldiers while carrying Queen in his arms.
"I think you'll like our accommodations, your majesty." Subprime gloated smugly. "And by 'like', I mean you will totally hate!" Subprime laughed, not noticing Raph and Mikey as they came tumbling out through the portal just as it closed behind them.
Hearing the disturbance, one of the Kraang droids was about to turn around to investigate. Seeing this, Mikey quickly grabbed Raph and hid around the corner of the hallway as the Kraang droid looked around before turning back.
Once they believed Subprime was out of ear-shot, the two turtles peeked out from around the corner. "Thanks, bro." Raph said before he ran down the hallway. "Come on, stay close."
Mikey nodded before following his hot-tempered brother down the hallway. The two silently ran down the metal corridor, making several turns before coming to a stop at a prison hall, having completely the Subprime's trail.
"Where'd they go?" Mikey questioned as he looked around, even peeking into some of the prison cells, only to find nothing.
Raph gave a groan of irritation. "How did we lose them already?!" He questioned, throwing his arms up in frustration.
"I would know such fury anywhere." A familiar voice said from one of the cells. The two turtles looked over to the cell and were surprised to see an all to familiar face on the other side. "Raphael!" Mona Lisa said, peering through the glass window of the cell door.
The red clad turtle gave an audible gasp as hearts formed in his eyes. "Mona... Lisa...?" He breathed.
Mikey looked back and forth between them before a smirk came onto his face. "Oh, Raphie, it's your girlfr-" Mikey didn't get the chance to finish as Raph zoomed past him and began stabbing the lock panel with his sai.
"Dude, keep it down! They'll hear you!" Mikey hissed as he tried to ease his brother.
Thankfully, Mikey managed to calm Raph down as the door finally slid open.
"What are you doing here?" Raph questioned breathlessly. "I thought I'd never see you again!"
Mona Lisa smiled before picking him up and began to deliver a 'nose-kiss', much to Raph's delight.
Mikey, however, was not amused by this as he quickly got between them. "C'mon, people, no time for kissy-face!" He stated. "We're on a mission to rescue the Utrom queen, remember?"
"Utrom queen?!" Sal Commander questioned stepping forward. "The Utrom and the Kraang are one and the same!"
"We thought they could be trusted, but instead they turned on us." Mona Lisa added.
Mikey quickly looked to the right and just barely made out the shadows of incoming Kraang patrol guards that were coming around the corner. "Hide!" He hissed as he pushed them all into the back of the holding cell and closing the door behind them. The group remained silent until the patrol droids passed by.
"The Kraang and the Utrom aren't the same, Sal Commander." Mikey tried to explain. "The Kraang are all just slaves to Kraang Prime. The Utrom are the good guys. Trust me on that!" He then turned away from the window. "Besides, we only work with the good guys." He stated, planting his hands on his hips.
"Good Kraang?" Sal Commander questioned with skepticism. "You expect us to believe such a thing?"
"We tried to trust the Kraang and it landed us in prison." Mona stated. "How can we trust the Utrom?"
Deciding not to ask why they would even think of going to the Kraang in the first place, Raph stepped forward, his face soft and yet almost pleading. "I was skeptical at first too, Mona." Raph told her. "But the Utrom helped us. They even warned us about the Triceratons in the first place."
Mona Lisa and Sal Commander glanced towards each other, questionably expressions of their faces. Their friends did make some valid points, but they were still a bit skeptical about the whole thing.
Meanwhile, in the main interrogation room of the sub-command center, Queen was tied down to a small table with her tentacles strapped down, making her unable to move. Two Kraang guards stood by her as guards, standing like solid statues.
"You pathetic Utrom are nearly extinct, while we Kraang are totally awesome!" Kraang Subprime gloated as he floated around her on his hover pod. "Have I mentioned that your tiara is lame and not awesome?" He questioned, gesturing to the small silver tiara on Queen's squishy head. "Because it is!"
Queen, however, put on a bold face. "My forces are on their way as we speak!" She said in defiance. "They will rescue me and destroy your little hiding place!"
"Ooh, look at you. You got real serious, didn't ya?" Subprime mocked. "Whatever! Like we're scared of a few measly Utrom." He then hovered to the two Kraang guards. "You idiots stay on look-out, ya got me? No one gets in, no one gets out."
"Affirmative, Kraang Subprime. That which is known as the look-out Kraang will stay." One of the guards replied.
Subprime then turned back to Queen, looming over her like an ominous shadow. "Now, Queeny, you're gonna start spilling your Utrom secrets! Understand?!" He threatened, taking out an electric baton and activating it, holding the sparking prod just inches from her face.
Queen's bold demenor quickly began to falter as the feeling of dread set in.
Back at the Utrom Base, the remaining High Council was still discussing things out while Leo, Donnie, and Fugitoid were growing rather impatient.
"I move we initiate Parliamentary Procedure 43-269!" Rook stated.
"Are you guys serious, right now?!" Leo questioned, marching over to them. "Your queen was just kidnapped and two of our brothers are missing! No more discussions! We need action!"
"No discussion." King stated, his voice firm. "Parliamentary Procedure 43-296 is all out war!"
Bishop then turned to one of the chamber entrances. "Utrom, prepare!" Bishop ordered.
With that declaration, the doors to the chamber slid open as about a dozen Utrom droids entered the chamber.
"Whoa! Now we're talking! Yeah!" Leo exclaimed as he looked at the small battalion in amazement. He then turned to the Utrom council. "So where's the rest of them?"
Bishop raised a hand to his mouth, giving a not-so-subtle cough, indicating that this was all they had. This immediately began to worry the group as Fugitoid walked over to the Utrom Council.
"Now might be a good time to tell us where the Black Hole generator fragments are located." He requested. "Just in case... you know... something happens."
"Fight by our side, survive this siege, and we shall see." King stated, sounding almost ominous.
Back at the Kraang's Sub-Command Center, Sal Commander waited for the coast to be clear as he peered out the window through the cell they were in.
"So, are you guys gonna help us save the Queen or what?" Mikey asked, stepping forward.
"As I said, we shall not aid the Kraang!" Sal Commander stated stubbornly.
"And as I've said, the Utrom are not like the Kraang!" Mikey retorted, losing his patience. He then took in a deep breath. "You don't trust them, we get that. But the Kraang are evil, and the Utrom aren't!"
Raph then turned towards Mona, his face soft and almost pleading. "Mona, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?"
Mona's face softened as well as she looked away a bit before she nodded.
"Then trust us when we say that these are good Kraang." Raph said, almost begging. "Please."
Mona gazed at her love, she could see the desperation in his eyes. It almost made her heart ache. She wanted to believe him, but was still a little skeptical. However, she knew that even if she didn't have feelings for Raph, he and his friends had earned her respect. "I doubted them before, Commander, even when you insisted otherwise. But now I trust Raphael with my life." She said, a slight smile on her lips. "I believe him." She said, placing a hand on Raph's shoulder.
Raph and Mikey smiled back in response. They then looked to Sal Commander with looks of expectation. The Commander knew he had some justified mistrust of the Kraang, but he trusted the Turtles and their companions. If they say that the Utrom are different, then perhaps they are. So, with a reluctant sigh, Sal Commander nodded.
"Yeah, boy!" Mikey cheered, but then he turned to see Raph and Mona engaging in 'kissy-nose' again, much to their annoyance.
"What's with you two?" He questioned, but the two simply ignored him, causing Mikey and Sal to simultaneously face-palm.
Queen glared defiantly at the hovering Kraang Subprime as he gripped the electric prod in his mechanical claw. "Alright, Queen." Subprime snarled. "Your gonna tell me everything you know about the Black Hole generator!"
"Never!" Queen retorted without hesitation. "I'll never tell!"
Kraang Subprime growled. "Then it's time for a little torture!"
However, before Subprime could even do anything, Mikey suddenly came in with a round-house kick to knock the hovering Subprime away while Raph stabbed one of guarding Kraang droids in the head.
"I can't believe I'm saving a Kraang!" Sal Commander said as he ripped the head off of another Kraang guard and tossing it aside before tearing off Queen's restraints. He then gently picked up Queen and placed her on his shoulder.
"It's the four of us against one of you, Subprime!" Raph stated as he twirled his sais in his hands while Mona aimed her blaster at him.
"Ooh, oh! I'm so scared! Look at me, I'm trembling! I'm quivering!" Subprime said sarcastically as he pressed a button on his prosthetic tentacle. Once he pressed it, a large hole slid open at the center of the room, where a massive hulking creature that looked like a two-headed metal dragon climbed into the room.
"Not really." Subprime grinned as he hovered up to the robotic dragon. "'Cause I've got me a Draco-Droid!"
Said Draco-Droid gave a loud roar at the group before shooting purple lightning from it's mouths, forcing the group to scatter. Sal Commander rushed forward and jumped onto one of the Draco-Droid's heads, causing to the thrash around wildly and keeping it distracted while Mona ran around the room firing her wrist-mounted blaster at it.
Mikey meanwhile, ran around the huge metallic monstrosity as he threw several of his explosive crystal shards at it's hull. However, the make-shift grenades barely left a dent in the metal. Raph then jumped on top of the Draco-Droid's second head as he tried to stab it with his sais, however, they barely left a scratch.
Sal Commander was forced to jump off of the head he was hanging on due to the Draco-Droid's furious thrashing while the left head tried shook Raph off before firing more lightning at him. As the right head snarled at Sal, getting ready to lunge at him, Mikey immediately leapt in front as a savage yell erupted from his throat, miraculously distorting the robotic-creature. However, the left head quickly grabbed Raph's leg in it's jaws before flinging him into Mikey, stopping the screeching. Mona slashed at the mechanical monstrosity with her sword, only for it to smack her into the group.
"I've always wanted to see a turtle get eaten by a Draco-Droid." Subprime said sadistically as the group found themselves backed into a small corner of the room while the Draco-Droid loomed over them.
However, before anyone could do anything, a large beam of cyan energy blasted through the wall and hitting both Subprime and the Draco-Droid in the side, sending them crashing into the wall.
The group was rather startled and confused as they looked over to a large, smoldering, gaping hole in the hole on the other side of the room. They then ran up to hole and peered outside and nearly gasped as down below them was at least two hundred armed Utrom, including Bishop, Rook, Pawn, and even King, accompanied by a few large tanks. But it wasn't just them, Leo, Donnie, and Fugitoid were down there with them.
"Hey guys!" Leo called out with a smile, giving a thumbs up. "Need a little help?!"
"Utrom...?" Sal questioned in surprise before a small smile came to his face. Never in his life had he been so happy to be wrong.
"I knew my Utrom would find us!" Queen said in joy.
"That's right!" Mikey stated. "You can always trust a turtle and the good Kraang to pull through!"
Meanwhile, Kraang Subprime was able to collect himself as the Draco-Droid recovered as well. "Draco-Droid, do what you do best!" He ordered.
The Draco-Droid activated it's jet-like wings, hovering into the air before blasting purple lightning from both of it's mouths, causing a massive explosion as it flew out, while also blasting the five of them out and sending them falling.
Raph quickly whipped out his grappling hook and fired it at the top of the Sub-command center. He quickly caught Mona in his arms as he swung her and himself to safety. Sal Commander, however, continued to fall with Queen on his back. Thankfully, Mikey, who had already used a squeeble to swing himself, pulled out a second one to catch Sal before he and Queen hit the ground, allowing them to crash into the side of an Utrom canon. Luckily, a pair of Utrom droids helped Sal up and took Queen before carrying her to safety.
With nothing else needed to be said, several Kraang droids and Bio-Droids came swarming out from the base, along with several flying Kraang, all firing their blasters.
"ATTACK!" King declared as the entire Utrom battalion, along with Leo and Donnie, charged forward, firing back at the incoming Kraang. Honeycutt, Bishop and Rook fired their own blasters at several nearby Kraang droids as they hung near the ends of the battle-field with the rest of the battalion. Leo charged forward, swords blazing, cutting down every Kraang droid in his sights while Donnie jumped up on top of a Bio-Droid and impaled it with his naginata blade. Pulling his staff out of the destroyed Bio-Droid, Donnie quickly spun around and bashed aside a trio of Kraang droids with his staff.
Mona swung her tail to knock down one Kraang droid before blasting another with her wrist-mounted laser while Raph impaled another with his sais. Mikey ensnared two Kraang droids with his squeebles and slammed them into each other. Two other tried to ambush him from behind, but Sal Commander quickly grabbed the two Kraang by the heads and bashed them together.
"Nice work, Sal!" Mikey complimented before he flipped towards some other Kraang. "BOOYAKASHA!"
Sal couldn't hold back the amused smile that across his lips. "Booyakasha indeed, Michelangelo." He said before charging at a group of Kraang.
Meanwhile, Kraang Subprime has managed to quickly get to his personal massive robotic exoskeleton as he looked out of the hole in the wall, he peered down to see the horrible state most of his forces were in. The Utrom had far more fire power than they were expecting and were currently decimating the Kraang with the aid of the Turtles. Even the Bio-Droids were having trouble fighting back as they each of them were either cut down by the Turtles are blasted by the Utrom.
"This has gotta be the most pathetic sight ever." Subprime muttered to himself before being blasted in the back by Bishop, who had climbed up to the hole along with King, sending Subprime falling out off the ledge. Luckily for him, he was able to catch himself along a long spike just below him. Subprime growled in anger and glared at the two Utrom high councilors as they came charging towards him.
"It pains me how far you have fallen, Knight." King said, addressing Subprime by his former Utrom name as he jumped to avoid a slash from one of Subprime's buzz-saws before he delivered multiple airborne kicks to Subprime's head unit.
"That name means nothing to me!" Subprime shouted, enraged at being called his former name as he batted King aside, knocking him off the edge. "I am now Kraang Subprime!" He stated as he attacked Bishop, forcing him to block his attacks with his bazooka. After Bishop parried another buzz-saw attack, Subprime quickly punched Bishop across the face, sending him tumbling across the spike.
Subprime laughed as he loomed over Bishop, ready to deliver the final blow when Bishop suddenly held up his bazooka and blasted Subprime's robotic head off. Subprime staggered back before he managed to balance himself. He growled as he whipped out both of his buzz-saws before lunging forward as Bishop readied his bazooka.
Down below, things were not looking quite well for the Utrom as more Kraang just kept coming, and they were starting to get overwhelmed. An explosion from a Kraang rocket launcher knocked over a massive Utrom laser-canon. More Kraang were soon in the area and began firing on the Utrom, frocing them to take cover.
Honeycutt, Pawn, and Rook quickly took cover behind a downed Utrom laser canon as they kept their heads down to keep from being shot. "Uh, this might not seem like a good time... but about those Black Hole generator fragments?" Fugitoid spoke up, trying to speak up over the incredibly loud blaster fire.
"This may be our last stand." Pawn replied, his robotic voice dripping with dread and despair. "If this really is the end, then I suppose I must tell you, Professor. The next piece of the generator is-" He was cut off when a random blaster bolt hit him in the head, blowing it clean off.
"Oh, that's always the way, isn't it?!" Fugitoid exclaimed in frustration as Rook's Utrom body crawled out.
Rook placed a hand on Honeycutt's shoulder. "Rest assured, Professor," She said. "We will prevail in this battle!" She then stood up, her blaster ready. "For now, let us fight!"
Honeycutt gave a silent heavy sigh. "Yes, let us fight!" He then stood up with Rook as he pulled out a set of duel blaster pistols from his wrists before they charged forward with the rest of the Utrom, guns literally blazing.
Elsewhere, Raph and Mona jumped off of a high ledge on the Kraang base, landing on the Draco-Droids back, Raph landing on the left head and Mona landing on the right wing. The right head turned towards Raph, trying to blast him lightning, but luckily he managed to narrowly avoid it. Mona jumped from the wing she had landed on and fired at it's mouth with her wrist-mounted blaster before grabbing it's neck, flipping into the air and landing on it's head.
"You've learned some new moves since I last saw you." Raph complimented her as the Draco-Droid flew upside down, trying to shake them off.
"I could teach them to you if you want, one-on-one." Mona offered flirtatiously as the Dracro-Droid flew upwards.
"I would love that!" Raph said dreamily, hearts in his eyes. However, he was quickly pulled back to reality when the Draco-Droid suddenly shook him off it's head. Thankfully, Raph drove his sais into the mechanical monster's wing before he could fall off.
As he steadied himself, he noticed several flying Kraang droids on the Draco-Droid's left flank. The kraang droids then opened fire, forcing Raph to duck down.
Elsewhere, Bishop leapt forward and tackled Subprime off of the ledge, sending them falling down into a forest of crystal trees. The two landed on a small crystal tree, shattering it to pieces as they landed hard on the ground.
Bishop's human disguise was torn and tattered, revealing parts of his droid body underneath. Kraang Subprime was no better as parts of his exoskeleton was sparking with electricity. Bishop quickly picked up his bazooka as Subprime charged at him, raising his buzz-saws over his head and bringing them down, forcing Bishop to block them with his bazooka.
"You were our greatest hero!" Bishop said, his voice full of betrayal and a trace of anguish. "You were a true brother!"
"Oh, for the love of Kraang!" Subprime said in exasperation, having had heard enough as he pushed Bishop backwards, forcing the bazooka out of his hands as he backed up towards the edge of the metal asteroid. "Everyone hates complete subservience to Kraang Prime until they try it." He said, his arm morphing into a blaster canon as he aimed it at Bishop.
"YOU ARE A TRAITOR, SUBPRIME!" Bishop shouted in anger, rushing forward and grabbing one of the crystal tree shards from the ground. He then used it like a club as he swung it at Subprime's blaster arm, knocking it to the side before treacherous Utrom could get a shot off. "And you will meet a traitor's end." He stated, flipping over Subprime and jabbing the now unstable crystal in the back of Subprime's foot, keeping him in place.
Subprime struggled to pull his foot loose, but to no avail as the crystal exploded. The entire metal asteroid shook as a loud 'BANG' filled the air, followed by a large cloud of black and pink smoke.
Bishop picked up his sun glasses which had fallen off during the fight and put them back on as the dust settled and the smoke cleared with Subprime being no where in sight.
Back in the air, Raph did his best to fight off the flying Kraang droids as three of them landed on the other wing. The Kraang droids then fired it's blaster at him, forcing the red clad turtle barely dodge before he spun around and impaled another flying Kraang coming towards him with his sais. He then flung the limp Kraang droid body towards the other Kraang, knocking down two of them and sending them off the Draco-Droid's back. The third Kraang then lunged towards him, but Raph quickly grabbed it, spun it around and then flung it over the edge.
"I can't hold on much longer!" Mona said, struggling to hold on to the Draco-Droid's head as Raph grabbed an incoming Kraang droid and jammed it's head into one of the wing turbines. The turbine sparked and fizzled before it suddenly exploded, blasting Raph off of the wing and sending falling onto the roof of the Sub-Command center. As Raph got up, he looked up to see Mona yelp as she could barely hold onto the damaged Draco-Droid as it spiraled out of control.
"Mona!" Raph exclaimed.
Mona gritted her teeth and griped the Draco-Droid's head with all her might as it tried to stabilize itself. However, as it flew, it failed to move out of the way of a large metallic structure as it severed one of it's wings, causing an explosion that sent Mona flying.
Raph quickly jumped from ledge-to-ledge, running as fast as he could until he reached the edge of the metal asteroid. He then leapt off of the edge, jumping as he could towards the falling Mona Lisa, his hand outstretched.
He reached out his hand as far as he could and Mona reached out for his. Everything now seemed to be in slow motion as they flew towards each other. They could reach each other, they knew it!
Unfortunately, their hands just slipped by each other, missing each other as Mona continued to fall. Raph, however, had a back-up plan as he pulled out squeeble he had borrowed from Mikey and launched it's elongated towards Mona, catching her and reeling her in just as they crashed into the wall of the Sub-Command center.
The two then sat up, trying to catch their breath. "Heh, maybe Dimension X isn't so bad." Raph commented, trying to add a bit of humor, resulting in Mona smiling at him.
Meanwhile, Leo and King quickly joined Bishop, who was still at the edge where Kraang Subprime had met his supposed demise. "Are you alright my friend?" King inquired.
"Yes." Bishop replied.
Leo looked around a bit. "Where's Subprime?"
"Gone." Bishop said. "Kraang Subprime is finally defeated." He then turned to walk but stumbled a bit.
"Easy now." Leo said as he and King helped Bishop stay on his feet.
"Come, Bishop. You need medical attention." King told him.
However, they didn't get very far as heard the sound of whooshing behind them, followed by an all-too-familiar cackle. They turned around in honest surprise to see Kraang Subprime was still very much alive, although his exoskeleton was heavily damaged and even missing an arm, standing on a hovering scout ship.
"I may be a traitor, but at least I'm not a loser with a totally stupid face!" Subprime cackled as six flying Kraang droids landed next to him.
Leo drew both of his katanas and took a stance while King readied his blaster. However, before another fight could even break out, there was a strange noise that sounded like burning metal. The noise started to get louder and louder as the Kraang droids looked to the right and reeled in shock before flying away.
Confused Subprime turned to see the damaged and out-of-control Draco-Droid heading right for him.
"Aww, give me a Kraanging break." He whined before the Draco-Droid slammed into the scout ship, sending it crashing into the Sub-Command center and causing the entire base to collapse.
With the rallied forces of the Turtles and the Utrom, the Kraang knew they had no other choice but to fall back.
"Kraang! Initiate that which is known as retreat!" One Kraang cried as they tried to flee, while also taking an unconscious Kraang Subprime with them. Several unlucky Kraang were gunned down while the lucky ones managed to make it to the scout ships. While some of the ships managed to successfully get away, others were quickly shot down by the Utrom's laser canons before they could get very far.
With most of the Kraangs forces destroyed and what remained of them retreating, the battle was finally officially over.
"UTROM! UTROM! UTROM!" The Utrom all cheered in victory.
Rook, a newly rebuilt Pawn, and several Utrom soldiers began to escort many captured Kraang droids who had been unlucky enough to be left behind led to several transport ships where they would be freed of the Kraang's influence.
"I must admit, I was wrong about your species." Sal Commander said to Queen as they all gathered together. "There are indeed good Kraang in the ten dimensions."
"You mean Utrom." Donnie corrected.
"Whatever." Sal replied with a slight grumble.
"See? Told ya." Mikey said, playfully nudging his arm with his shoulder.
"Indeed you have." Sal nodded with a small amused smile.
"And I have seen unparalleled bravery today." Queen proudly said to the group. "We are in your debt."
"So does this mean...?" Honeycutt began to ask.
"Indeed it does." King confirmed. "Bishop?"
The aforementioned Utrom stepped forward, pulling out a holoprojector from his suit which displayed a map of the galaxy. On it were three specific points that indicated three different planets.
"You will find the second piece of the Black Hole generator on the ocean planet of Mon Cala. The final fragment is on the volcanic planet Mustafar." Bishop informed. "Also, the Triceraton defectors have settled on the planet Sorgan."
"Triceraton defectors?" Sal Commander asked as the hologram deactivated.
"Basically a bunch of Triceratons that were against the current empire's ideals, so they left." Donnie briefly explained.
Sal Commander put a hand to his chin. "Hmm, seeing how it is possible for there to be good Kraang, I suppose we can't rule out the possibility of good Triceratons as well."
"See what good it is to keep an open mind, Sal?" Mikey asked teasingly, getting an eye-roll from Sal.
"Thank you for your help, Utrom." Leo said to King, Queen, and Bishop. "We're gonna make sure that weapon is finally destroyed, once and for all."
"You shall not be alone either." Sal Commander stated. "Y'Gythgba and I shall return to our home planet and inform our superiors of the situation." He then turned to the Leo, Donnie and Mikey. "Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, from this point forward, you can count the Salamandrians as your allies."
"Thank you, Commander." Leo nodded. "We're gonna need all the help we can get in this fight."
Meanwhile, the Utrom had helped retrieve the Salamandrian fighter from the Kraang holding facility as Mona Lisa made some adjustments to it to see that Kraang hadn't damaged it. As she worked, Raph nervously walked up to her, rubbing his hand.
"So, uh... Mona..." Raph stuttered hesitantly as Mona turned towards him. "Once this whole mess with the Triceratons is finally over... you maybe wanna go out some time?"
"Go out where? To space?" Mona asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion. Raph looked away, averting his eyes from her in slight disappointment. However, Mona slipped her tail underneath his chin, lifting his head up to her as she smiled sweetly at him. "I'll go with you anywhere, Raphael." She said kindly, giving her titular Salamandrian growl.
Almost unbeknownst to them, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey all gathered to see it as Mikey and Donnie had teasing smiles while Leo simply looked confused.
"I totally get mutants and humans, but... alien lizards?" Leo wondered aloud.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, bro." Donnie said with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"So why is it you still haven't hooked up with April yet?" Leo teased with a smirk, causing the purple clad turtle to lower his eye-lids with a minor blush.
"What are you waiting for?" Mikey called in a teasing voice. "Now's the time for kissy-nose!"
Raph turned and glared at his brothers, his eyes practically on fire as he stepped towards them. However, before he could even get the chance to beat them senseless, Mona wrapped her tail around his waist and pulled him close before bending over and meeting his nose with her's in a soft kiss. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey couldn't help but look on in hilarity as Raph smiled dreamily.
Done. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and sorry it took so long as I have a pretty busy life right now. Oh and with the coronavirus, stay safe guys. See you later!
P.S, I always wondered why there was never an Utrom king, so I added him in there as well.