I LIIIIIIIIIVE
Wild story, but basically my old laptop broke in August, I got a full-time job in august, got a new laptop late November after saving up money, but oh no! Depression is a bitch! And I have had zero drive to write or draw or anything really besides playing video games every so often.
But! I'm on new meds, and I'm going to try and get a different job that's less hours and better pay, hopefully.
Which means MORE CONTENT.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a little boring but I hope it gives a good idea of where the characters are now in their personalities (a year after season 5) and relationships.
Would love to hear what your favorite parts/interactions were!
Ch 2: The Worst of Timelines
They were in the middle of a night out when it appeared. After a delicious dinner at Murakami's, a strange, glitchy portal opened up beside their group, sucking them all in without warning.
And now, as Leo struggles to sit up from where he landed, he can only think of how nasty his family's luck is. They were actually having fun for once, since they finally had a break from crazy, life-threatening adventures for the first time in a while.
He groggily rubs his palm across his face as he drags himself up, fighting off a slight headache. The trip through the jacked-up portal left him feeling… weird, which is likely why no one else has gotten up yet. He hears a few groans near his feet, reassuring him that they're at least awake.
"Sound off, team. Is everyone alright?" His voice softly echoes throughout whatever building they're in, spurring him into forcing open his eyes. A few raised hands and scattered moans of pain give him enough of an answer. He quickly surveys the area, searching for any possible danger in the dark, spacious room.
They've landed on some new-and-improved portal-maker, it seems, like the one they destroyed years ago at TCRI.
Not good! I thought the Kraang were done for?!
Mikey, the one groaning by his feet, pushes himself up and shakes his head. "Dude, my– hrkk– stomach is doing ninja flips right now. Worse than the time I– EEK!"
Raphael's foot nudges Mikey in the side, trying to get his other leg unpinned. "Mike, shut your trap and get off my leg! It's goin' numb!"
"Shh!" Leo hisses, giving each of the two brothers a light kick of his own. He attempts to gather himself, fighting to gain back some clarity as he strings his thoughts together. "We're in a Kraang base. They could be anywhere. Ninja stealth, everyone; let's clear the area, asap."
A blur of red shoots up from the mess of tangled bodies. "What?! Kraang?! I thought we were done with those bastards!"
"Wow, O'Neil using foul language? That's rare," Karai quips, dizzily pushing herself to her feet. Her arms spread as she tries to steady her shaky legs, a snarky grin on her face as she realizes she's the first one standing. "Can't say I blame you, Princess, those uglies really had it out for you back then."
"Guys, I said–!"
"Ughhhh, I think alla those concussions are startin' to get to me," Casey groans as he rolls off of Donatello's grumbling shell. "Feels like I jus' lost a fight."
"Jones," Donnie mumbles into the metal floor. "I think it's safe to say we all feel like crud after that tumble."
Leo rolls his eyes, biting back the urge to scold them for their noise. They could be in serious danger! Granted, it doesn't feel like they're in danger, no, but he still feels like he's being watched.
He pulls his knees together to kneel, watching Mikey and Raph right themselves out of the corner of his eye. He sighs in relief as they too begin surveying the area, but his lungs seize at the sight of Mikey freezing in place, his eyes flying wide open. His awed baby blues lock themselves somewhere behind him, just over his shoulder.
Shit, Leo's eyes clamp shut as he tries to take a calming breath in. Did I even check behind me?
Slowly, Leonardo turns to face the adversary waiting for them, his right hand reaching for the hilt of a katana.
He'd been expecting a Kraang, or maybe another one of their surviving enemies, summoning his clan all at once to finish them off. Instead, he sees a bunch of scattered Kraang bodies, Karai, a guy in a mask that looks like Casey, and a turtle.
A mutant turtle.
Wielding two swords not too different from his own.
Uh oh.
"Holy chalupa! The Kraang finally figured out how to clone!" Mikey leaps to his feet, staggering from his forgotten wooziness. He catches himself on Raphael, grateful when he doesn't get shoved off. "And they're scary good, they even got Karai's armor right!"
"Hey! We aren't clones!" The metal-masked Casey barks, pointing a hockey stick at the now frantically sobering group. "'Sides, how do we know you're not Kraang clones?" His aim shifts to point at April, his stance puffed up and threatening. "You even have Kraang Prime's little helper with you! That's more evidence than I need to kick your lousy hides!"
"Woah woah woah, hold the phone! All of you!" Donatello stumbles off the platform, catching himself on his hands as he hurriedly crawls over to the control panel. "Mikey, calm down, I don't think they're clones. And Casey, neither are we– though I'll assume you need more proof than that."
"Uh, duh. There's no way I'm trustin' a word you say, clones."
Leo forces himself to stand, his fingers itching to hold something he can protect them all with. He trusts Donnie's words, but these three can still pose a danger to them.
Especially Karai and the turtle. At first glance, he thought it was Donnie, considering the mutant's height compared to the two humans, but with the lower half of his face covered by a black mask, and his eyes and head covered by a cowl, the only real hint he has are the twin blades strapped to his back.
Hopefully I don't wind up fighting some version of myself tonight…
He draws his swords, making the other Karai and Casey flinch, but the turtle only takes a small step forward, obviously eyeing his weapons. Leo goes on the defensive, slowly inching his way towards the now standing, but wobbly, Donatello.
"We aren't here to hurt anyone," He speaks with authority, hoping that it may intimidate them enough to not try and start a battle. They were in no shape to fight. "We're just going to see where we are, and then head back home. Simple as that, no need to fight about it."
"Uhhh, there may be a slight problem with that, Leo," Donnie's voice comes out tight, his shoulders pulled taut as he bites back a frustrated shout. "Because it seems as though somebody destroyed this one," He turns to give the other Casey a pointed glare. "I wonder who."
Casey sniffs and pulls up his mask, revealing a devious, gap-toothed grin underneath. "Bingo! Ya think I'm gonna let the Kraang go and use that thing? Psh, bet you're sad you can't use it anymore, huh?"
"Oh for the love of–!" Leo scowls as his arms go slack, cursing their luck. "Fine! Fine. Okay. How can we convince you we aren't Kraang?"
"You don't need to."
Leo tenses at the sound of a new voice. Well, an old voice, actually.
One that he and his family only ever hear in their dreams and memories nowadays.
Or maybe he's mistaken. Maybe he's remembering it wrong. His voice had leveled out when he was 16, but Tigerclaw damaged his throat soon after. He didn't have that voice for very long, so maybe–
"I trust you." The hooded ninja states confidently, his voice just barely muffled behind his mask.
Yeah, there's no doubt about it. It's definitely him.
"Yoshio, for my sake," The other Karai nudges the turtle's shoulder and crosses her arms. "May I ask why you're trusting them so easily? That's pretty out of character for you."
He's silent for a long moment, and Leo wonders if he's second guessing himself, or just doing it to mess with everyone. Hell, he can feel the entire room hold their breath.
Yoshio starts walking towards him, calmly stepping over fallen Kraang as he nears. "Because," He steadily replies, stopping mere feet from Leo's tense form. He continues to stare at the drawn blades, paying no mind to the leader in blue as he reaches for his mask and hood. "Those are my father's katana."
Leo hears his family gasp from behind him as "Yoshio" finally reveals his face, and he can't help but feel slightly faint at the sight of his alternate self.
Nothing could have prepared them for the just the sheer amount of scars on his face, the most horrifying one looking almost identical to–
"Holy shit, dude! You look like Shredder!" Mikey's awed words break the awkward silence… by adding an entirely new layer of awkwardness.
"Mikey!" Many of the group scold in unison as Leo flinches at the insensitive comment. Insert foot in mouth, Mikey, jeez!
But to their surprise, Yoshio only laughs, genuine and light. "Yeah, that sounds like Mikey, alright," He gives Leo a tired smile and places his hands on his hips, his grin spreading wider when Leo silently sheathes his swords in return. "Sorry about all that– we're in the middle of a war, and… losing, so you can't really blame us for being too careful."
Leo sighs in relief, thankful that his family won't wind up in a battle tonight. Wait, did he say losing?
"You're losing your fight with the Kraang? How come?"
"Yeah!" Mikey chimes in on Leo's right, making him jump. "We lost New York to them once, but we got it back! How come you haven't?"
But it's Karai who answers him, a slight bite to her tone, "Because we haven't just lost New York, we've lost most of the world," She rolls her eyes at their shocked expressions, jealous that they seem to have already defeated the persistent pink aliens. "And it's all thanks to Miss Redhead over there– er, her counterpart, I guess."
"Alright, everyone," Donnie cuts into the conversation, finally stable enough to walk his way towards the slowly growing group. "As much as I'd love to chat in the middle of a Kraang base in some alternate dimension, I'd rather we went somewhere more secure than this," Donatello turns to Yoshio, gesturing to the contraption behind him. "Are there any other portals like this, perchance?"
Yoshio shakes his head, "Nope, sorry. We had no idea what this thing was until the portal appeared, and this is our last mission for the night," He turns back to Leonardo, motioning to the other Casey. "We need to take him home, and then return to our home to touch base with Master Shredder and my brothers."
"Woah, hey, time out!" Raphael quickly joins the fray, shoving his way past his gawking brothers. "You're with the Shredder?! What about Master Splinter?"
That name makes the two Foot ninjas give each other a glance. "Uhhhhh, who?" Yoshio questions, cocking his head to the side.
Karai walks up to them all, Casey and April following close behind. "Uh, Master Splinter? Hamato Yoshi? Our father?"
The other Karai scoffs, "What do you mean our father?"
Leo hears someone choke from behind him, his mouth running dry as her question throws the room into a deafening silence.
Mikey once again breaks the quiet, but this time, his voice is nearly a whisper, "Dudes, I think we should help them out."
"I agree," April replies, moving to stand next to Leo. She leans in close to whisper to him, "They may not show it, but they're terrified, and lost," She turns to her friends, speaking up a little louder. "I know it might suck to have to fight the Kraang again, but at least we know their weak spots. Heck, maybe we can try and find the Utrom again– if they're still around, that is."
"Who said we even want your help, Red?" The other Casey sneers, turning up his nose at the group.
Casey and Donnie scowl, but Yoshio scolds his friend before they get the chance to defend her.
"Shut it, Casey," Yoshio hisses. "If they've defeated the Kraang before, then we have a way better chance of winning this war–," He looks back at the other team. "And with the end of this war, my family can finally live in peace, and as far away from Shredder as possible."
"Wait, so," Raphael crosses his arms as he squints at his brother's counterpart. "You don't even want to work with the Shredder? What's stoppin' ya from leavin'?"
Yoshio rolls his eyes with a sigh, "You honestly thought me, a Hamato, would work with the Foot on purpose? Because I–,"
"–will be continuing this conversation elsewhere! Can we all, please, stop talking for a moment and talk about our dimensional differences somewhere else?" Donnie finally cracks, his posture rigid as he looks at everyone in the room. "With our luck, the Kraang you just took out may have called for backup, and we are not in any state to fight a whole brigade right now!"
Leo winces, finally understanding why Donatello wanted to leave so badly. "Sorry, Donnie, you're right. We should go," He says, then turns to his alternate self. "Yoshio, was it? Lead the way, we'll be close behind."
Yoshio stares at him for a moment before pulling up his mask and hood. "Alright then, but a word of warning; don't stray too far from the path we take. We're in Kraang territory, and if we don't follow Do- uh, Toshiro's designated safe zones, then we risk mind control from your little friend there," He nods his head towards April, then pointedly glares at Mikey and Casey. "And I'm going to say that again for you two; don't stray from the path, and stay completely silent, understood?"
The two nod hesitantly, thankfully unwilling to argue with their supposed 'leader' in strange territory. Yoshio motions for them to follow as they all turn to leave the warehouse, leaving behind many unanswered questions.
"Man," Raph nudges Leo's arm, his voice low and teasing. "Having two Leos around is gonna be like having twice the orders, eh? Sure you won't get jealous, Order Guy?"
Leonardo shoots him a look, moving forward with the rest of the group. "I'm sure I can handle a few orders just fine. It could be worse."
Raphael snickers as he walks next to him, giving the eldest a loose shrug. "Yeah, at least he ain't yellin' 'Turtle Power'."
Leo scrunches his snout to smother a snort, making Raph cough to hide a laugh. Leo finally lets out a quiet chuckle, nudging his brother right back.
He appreciates Raph's attempt to calm his nerves, because if he's being completely honest with himself?
He feels like a nervous wreck already.
The Hamato Clan follow the vigilante trio into a worn-down apartment–
and are shocked to see people living in it, waving their hellos to the three heroes as they pass through the lobby. Survivors, they guess.
"Heyooooo, how's my favorite turtle bro? Tell Sora he totally nailed the sauce this time," A teenager rolls up next to their group on his skateboard, slowing as he notices the strange family following behind. "Woah, dude! Are these your brothers? You finally brought them over? So cool!"
"Mondo?" Michelangelo's incredulous whisper is barely heard as CJ, Mikey's current nickname for Casey's counterpart, groans in annoyance.
"Jason, get outta here, you can't come up tonight."
"Awww, why not? I'm curious! Did you totally kick butt today? Man, I wish my parents would let me join you guys!"
His excited rambling is brought to a halt as Karai #2 stops his skateboard completely, catching him by the collar single-handedly as she towers over him. "Kid, do I need to remind you why you aren't able to join in the first place?"
The young man growls, swatting at the grip on his shirt. "Don't call me kid! I'm not that much younger than you!"
Karai drops him, giving him a sly smirk. "Sure thing, Kid."
"Grrr, stop that! Yoshio! Tell Karai to stop teasing!"
But the hooded ninja only shakes his head, softly laughing. His voice is gentle when he speaks, "Sorry, Jason, tonight's not a good night to hang out. We've got some serious stuff to go over, and you know our rules."
The teenager pouts, "Yeah, yeah, secret ninja stuff. I know."
"Yep," Yoshio pats him on the shoulder reassuredly. "I'll be sure to tell Sora you enjoyed his cooking. Now, do I need to tell your mom you're skateboarding in the lobby again?"
Jason cringes as he quickly grabs his skateboard and hugs it. "No… Snitch," He grumbles and turns away from the group, throwing up a single peace sign. "Tell me about it another time then, dudes, I'm gonna go skate in the pool. Ciao!"
"Dude…" Mikey whispers excitedly as they all watch Jason skate away. "Mondo is gonna freak when he hears about this!"
Yoshio turns to face them as they continue walking towards the stairwell. "Do you know him?"
Mikey scuttles forward, brushing past his brothers to land just behind his other brother. "Yeah!" He remains by Yoshio's side as they enter the stairwell, unable to contain his amazement over the whole situation. "Except he mutated into a gecko and joined the Mighty Mutanimals."
CJ shakes his head, muttering to himself, "Heh, Mighty Mutanimals?"
But Yoshio's awed question steals the group's attention. "You know other mutants?"
"Oh, totally! There are tons!" Mikey plows on with his story of their mutant friends back home, giddy over finally being able to share his fantastic stories with people who weren't there. "There's my buddy Leatherhead, he's a mutant alligator, my pet Ice Cream Kitty, Tigerclaw, Fishface, Bebop, Rocksteady, Pigeon Pete, and oh man Slash- he's Raph's mutated pet turtle, who went all crazy and beat up me and D, and, dude, Raph went head-to-head with this guy, right? He's like- twice our size! And he won!"
Raphael barks a laugh, "Right! And the entire time I was fighting him, Leo was off having teatime with some kid!"
Leo sputters at the accusation, "I was trying to get back that canister of mutagen! I had to stop her from drinking it somehow, so I played along until I could snag it," He crosses his arms and shakes his head low. "And I was trying so hard to convince her I was imaginary- didn't work after you two destroyed her bedroom."
"Hey, at least there weren't any casualties! Could've been a lot worse."
"Yeah, like that chimera," Donnie shivers. "Pretty sure I lost consciousness for a bit when I saw all those skeletons."
Leo whips around from his spot on the staircase, "Skeletons?! That thing ate people?!"
Casey scoffs, "Dude, it was trying to eat us, what did you think it was trying to do? Take us home and raise us as its own?"
Leo shoots him a half-hearted glare, "If you remember, I was a little more focused on saving you guys with a cannibalistic, blind friend while I had a lame leg. I had a lot more on my mind besides any possible casualties from the locals."
"Christ, what kind of adventures have you guys been on?!" CJ looks back at them as they climb, his eyes wide with shock.
"Too many, if I'm honest."
"Dude, the coolest adventures! I saved the universe from a demon last year!"
"Yeah, and I infiltrated the mafia once. Jealous?"
"You what?! And here I thought being half snake would be the craziest thing here."
"The world got sucked into a blackhole. That sucked, and no, Fearless, that pun was not intentional."
"I'm a telepath that's half Kraang. I got mind controlled by an alien."
"We've traveled through different dimensions and through time, more than once."
"Hold up! Rewind!" Karai #2 cuts them off, halting their entry through the top floor's door. "You're half snake? The Earth got sucked into a black hole? Dimensions?! What sort of trickery is this?"
The group eye each other awkwardly, spurring Mikey to pipe up again, "Well, yeah. I mean, we're technically not in our dimension right now, right? You see, the Kraang are able to cross dimensions. That's what those pink portals are."
"Well said, Mikey," April praises. "We're telling the truth. I don't know how much you know about this world's April but-" She raises her hand and opens the door in front of Yoshio, and with a flick of her finger, knocks down the door stopper. "Telekinesis is pretty cool, if I'm honest." She chuckles.
Casey snickers at their gaping mouths. "I'm startin' to wonder just what kind of adventures you guys have been on. Don't deal with sci-fi shit all that much, huh?"
Yoshio visibly tenses, stiffly making his way through the hallway door. "We should hurry, I'm on a curfew."
CJ rolls his eyes at his friend, "Then why'd you walk me up here? I don't need to be dropped off every time, ya know."
"I know that, I just want to make a real plan in a safe area. And outside isn't safe," Yoshio hisses, motioning his arm towards CJ's apartment. "Now let's get to planning!"
CJ scoffs and starts jogging to his door, playfully shoving Yoshio's shoulder as he passes him. Karai follows suit and picks up her pace, waving her hand for the group to quickly follow.
Leo leans close to Donnie to whisper as they get an okay distance away from Yoshio, "Geez, have I ever been pushy like that?"
"You used to, yeah. I can recall quite a few instances when you first started leading the group, it's part of why we didn't like listening to you back then," Donnie replies bluntly, but at the look of concern on Leo's face, he continues, "We were teenagers, and it was our first time being a team. You haven't been pushy like that in a long time, believe me."
Leo sighs in relief as they come to a stop behind CJ as he begins unlocking the door, "That's good to hear. Then, how old do you think they are?"
Donnie raises a brow at him. "You realize we can just ask them that, right? What's with the whispering?"
"I-I don't know, it feels weird to ask! I feel like I should know already!" Leo explains.
"Casey and I are 21, Yoshio and his brothers are 20, from what they know at least. What about you guys?" This world's Karai nonchalantly replies to their not-so-secret question.
Leo's face heats up as Donnie softly glares at him and sighs, "Me, my brothers, and Karai are, technically, 21, and Casey and April are 22. We got an extra half a year from time travel and probably another half from spending an extended amount of time in Dimension X- you know what I'll explain all that another time. I'm too tired for this conversation. Michael! You're on answer duty."
Mikey gasps as everyone enters CJ's apartment, "Me? What an honor! So, one time, I got trapped in Dimension-X, all alone, for 3 months—"
"And no making up stories! It was 3 hours at most, we came in right after you!" Raph cuts him off with a light bop on the head. "Don't make me take up the mantle."
"Aw, you're no fun," Mikey playfully whines, dramatically draping himself across CJ's run-down couch.
"Save room for all of us, please," Leonardo begs, the night finally catching up to him as his knee worsens with every step he takes. He needs a break.
And maybe an ice pack.
"Will do!" Mikey grins, politely sitting up to make room for the eldest.
"Oh, you're finally home, and with guests," A soft clang draws their eyes to the kitchen, where a young teen, maybe 15, sits munching on leftover spaghetti on the counter, reading an old comic book. She glances at her brother's larger than usual entourage for a mere second. "'Sup, I'm Angel."
"Ey! What'd I say about bare feet on the counter?" Casey scolds the teen, but she only rolls her eyes.
"I've been wearing my house shoes, chill, bro," She waves her fork to the group, without looking up from her book. "Rule number one, don't go into my room! You'll know which one it is. Off limits," She finally looks at them, her brown eyes scanning the newcomers.
She pauses only for a moment on Casey, then looks back down at her comic, unfazed. "Rule number two, clean up after yourselves. I'm not your maid. And rule number three," She swings her feet and hops off the counter. She grabs her bowl and book as she slips on her shoes, steadily walking towards the bedrooms. "Don't be too loud, there are kiddos sleeping next door. Byeeee."
CJ sighs as his sister shuts her door behind her. He languidly drops his armor and weapons to the floor and kicks the pile to the side. "Don't mind her, she's a moody teenager in an apocalypse– what else can you expect?"
"Stop acting like she's moody, babe, she acts better than you sometimes," Karai #2 teases.
That makes Casey stop in his tracks. "Wait, 'babe'? Are you two a thing?!"
Karai and CJ glance at each other and shrug. "Uh, sort of?"
"As much as you can be in the apocalypse," Yoshio kneels on the floor next to Leo's spot on the couch. "Can't really go on romantic dates or anything when you're scavenging for resources and dodging alien brains and a, apparently, telepathic- half Kraang you said? How does that even happen? My brain is coming up with terrible images for that."
"Not like that! My family line has been experimented on by them since before I was born! I just got… unlucky," April grimaces.
"Yeah, psychic powers sure are unlucky," CJ mumbles sarcastically.
"They killed my mom when I was six and made a monster clone of her that tried to eat me and my friends. Yeah, I feel unlucky sometimes," April bites back, crossing her arms.
"Oh, shit, sorry!" CJ holds his arms out apologetically. "I-I mean, I kinda wish I had powers like that, but- so I- I um- sorry."
"You're forgiven, but only because you have the face of one of my boyfriends," April harrumphs, moving to go sit next to Donatello lying sprawled on the floor. "How are you feeling, Donnie?"
"I'm fighting to stay awake. We need to figure out a plan, pronto," Donnie throws his hand in the air and waves it towards Leo. "Oh dear leader, please get to planning. You're good at that."
"Sure, yeah, I'd love to," Leo yawns as he tries to massage his knee through his padding. "So, uh, Yoshio…"
Yoshio turns himself slightly to face Leonardo better, "You sound like you have a plan already."
Leo blinks in surprise, "Yeah, actually. I was thinking we could infiltrate the Foot clan with you all. We could pretend we're from a dimension similar to yours, ruled by Shredder, and that we know how to defeat the Kraang. Then, after we take out the Kraang, when he least suspects it, take him out for good."
Most of the group voice their approval immediately, except for one.
"Now hold on, this is my father we're talking about here!" Karai #2 scolds them incredulously. "I will blow your operation to bits if you dare lay a finger on him!"
"Oooooh, right, she doesn't know," Mikey whispers loudly.
"What don't I know?" She hisses, glancing around at everyone expectantly.
The boys and April all turn to Karai, the look on her face almost pitiful. "Listen," She begins, wary about how to explain such a thing to another version of herself. "You might not believe me, because trust me, I didn't believe it for a long time either, but… Oroku Saki isn't our father. Hamato Yoshi was."
"I'm going to stop you there, because you're right! I don't believe you. Just because you were probably raised by that Hamato Yoshi in your dimension, doesn't mean he isn't a murderer!"
"I wasn't raised by him; I was raised by Shredder! He stole us away after trying to kill our father, but struck Tang-shen down instead. If I had our family photo on me, you'd believe me… Our name was Miwa, before Shredder kidnapped us," Karai turns to Yoshio. "Did he kidnap you, too?"
Yoshio avoids her gaze, a harsh laugh muffled through his mask. "Kidnapped and enslaved, more like it."
"Enough! You have to be lying! I… I gave up everything to stand by him! He loves me!" Her voice borders on the edge of hysterical, a far different reaction to when their Karai found out.
But her tirade is interrupted by the cries of a child from a neighboring room.
Angel's door swings open, her face set in a deep scowl. "I told you to keep it down! The kids next door were sleeping!"
"Shut up! I'm dealing with way more important shit than some kids' sleep!" She shrieks.
Angel flinches and glares at CJ. "And you call me moody," She huffs, then slams her door shut.
Donnie nudges April, "You should probably work your mind magic right about now," He whispers.
She nods and swiftly stands up, closing the distance between her and the other Karai in a few steps. This was the perfect chance to show everyone how well she's honed the psychological aspect of her powers.
"What are y-?!" Karai starts, but goes silent as April rests her hands on each side of her head.
"I want you to look me in the eyes. I want you to see and hear my sincerity. We are telling you the truth, even if it's something you don't want to believe. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but Shredder must be stopped. He is evil, we've seen and experienced it firsthand. But remember, we have to play it cool. This is going to be a long mission, and you need to keep the act up until the Kraang are finished. Do you understand?"
They stare at each other for a long moment as the room waits with bated breath.
Karai takes a deep breath as she calms, a confused look on her face. "What are you doing?"
April softly smiles, "Letting you feel my emotions. Is it working?"
"Are you feeling… Worried?"
"Pretty much, yeah. I was worried about how you'd feel learning this."
Karai's face drops as April releases her head. "I see…" She turns to her other self, feeling apologetic all of a sudden. "Sorry for… Freaking out like that. I just… I don't really know how to feel right now."
"Listen, you have every right to feel angry, betrayed, confused, I get it. But please, don't make the same mistake I did. I still regret it," Karai assures her calmly. "I tried to get revenge by myself and got caught, then mutated, then mind controlled. Not saying all that would happen to you, but it could turn out worse if we try to defeat Shredder before the Kraang. We'd have no back up! We need to work together on this, and with two of everyone? I think we have a really good chance at taking down our enemies way faster than we did alone."
"Yeah! Positivity!" Mikey cheers. "Let's kick some Kraang butt- AGAIN! I can show 'em my new masta ninja moves."
Ignoring Mikey's overly enthusiastic behavior, Karai continues, "We're the same person, even if our lives haven't been the exact same. Trust us on this, we want to help."
"I think you should listen to them, Karai," Yoshio chimes in. "They seem genuine, and honestly? I don't find it hard to believe that we're siblings. You've always been more honorable than him."
"I almost forgot you were there, how on Earth are you so calm about all of this?!" Raphael asks from his spot on the arm of the sofa.
"Why am I calm learning that Karai is actually my supposedly dead half-sister? Ha!" Yoshio stands up, clapping his hands together. "I don't think you realize how great this is for me- she's my best friend with a beast of a 'father' that has kept me and my brothers as his literal slaves for well over a decade after murdering our father, and now I find out that he's not actually her father and we're siblings! We're finally on the same side!" He strides over to Karai and clasps his hand on her shoulder, his final words deep, threatening. "When this is all over, let's make that bastard pay."
