i cannot BEGINNNN to apologize for this awaited chapter, I'M SO SO VERY SORRY!
hopefully you guys like, there's a good amount of bianca past plot in here and fun action scenes :)
ENJOY!
TMNT: the unexpected friendship
Chapter 22: Trip Down Memory Lane
Once again the blinding blue/white light had everyone covering their eyes until they could tell it died down. Bianca moved her eyes and rubbed them tentatively to check her surroundings. Once her eyes stopped blurring, she and the gang found themselves in a small chamber in a high tech looking room. She saw a slightly familiar man with white hair and wearing a suit surrounded by small squishy squid like aliens floating on metal saucers that kept them afloat, and some with extending robotic arms at their sides. They marveled at the gang's return, and Bianca tentatively began unzipping her orange suit so she could put her hands on her tonfas, just in case they were itching to fight.
"Not this place again." Raph complained. He obviously wasn't happy to be back.
"Finally!" Someone called out in joy. "It's about time." Bianca looked over from the platform and saw someone in familiar ninja garb.
"Taiyo…?" Bianca asked, astonished. Being gone for so long, she almost forgot that Taiyo had joined them on their adventure into the TCRI building.
"You expecting someone else?" Taiyo laughed as he flashed her a cocky grin.
"We're home! Yahoo! We made it!" Mikey cheered.
"Heads up." Leo called, grabbing everyone's attention. He too got his swords ready as he looked from either side of him. Bianca finally noticed that the gang, including Honeycutt, came with stragglers. There were both Triceraton and Federation soldiers, aiming their weapons at the group. "Looks like we brought home some tag alongs."
"Rule number 1: never pick up hitchhikers." Raph growled.
"No!" Called the man Bianca spotted a moment before. "Remain stationary. Stay calm, we will return you to your native continuity."
"What is this madness?" Asked one of the Triceraton troopers. "Where are the rest of our warriors?" He looked over at the group across from them and the leader gasped. "The Fugitoid! Seize him!"
"Oh dear." Honeycutt quivered.
"Fire!" Called one of the Federation troopers on the other side of the group.
"Take cover!" Leo ordered as everyone jumped out of the way from the lasers. Raph, Mikey and Bianca hid behind part of the tele-portal machine while Donny and Leo kept Honeycutt safe from both armies.
"Sheesh do these guys ever take a day off?" Bianca sighed deeply.
"A welcome home party, you shouldn't have." Mikey joked. The tail on his suit then got vaporized. "No I mean it, you shouldn't have!" He freaked and quickly whipped out his nun chucks to get back at the Triceraton that blew off his tail.
"Deploy stasis beam." Ordered the man in the suit as some of the squid aliens floating around him took out laser pointers that started to freeze the intruders in place so they couldn't cause any more destruction. The guys were about to get into action once they saw that the firing had stopped. When they emerged from hiding, the Triceraton and Federation troopers had stopped moving.
"Huh?" Mikey scratched his head curiously. When the fighting had stopped and the invaders had all been frozen, the gang looked around at the weird aliens that they almost all forget about.
"Gr…" Raph growled at their presence when he remembered what they had done to Master Splinter. All of them were about to attack when a surprising new voice stopped everything.
"My children stop!" Out from the shadowy doorway along with two Guardians as escorts came Master Splinter.
"Master Splinter?" The group gasped.
"They are not our enemy." Master Splinter continued. The guys didn't respond as they just stared in awe to see that their sensei and father was all right.
"Master Splinter!" The guys all cheered as they all charged towards Master Splinter and began to squish him in a thousand hugs.
"My sons, it is good to see you too. Please, my spine." Master Splinter laughed as he was in need of some good air. Once the boys had released, Bianca decided it was a good time to approach.
"Good to see you, sensei." Bianca at first bowed since Master Splinter bowed as Bianca walked towards him but Bianca could no longer hold herself back as she too gave him a much needed hug.
"I am pleased to see you are all well." Master Splinter said as he patted Bianca's back comfortingly. "Here, I want you to meet some friends." Once he was out of the hug he glanced towards the Guardians that walked in with Master Splinter. "I believe you have met the guardians." The Guardians bowed. "It was they who found me after the battle with The Shredder, and who brought me here, to these benevolent beings who have saved my life." Master Splinter walked towards the guy in the suit who seemed to have been in charge of the building. "This is my good friend, Mr. Mortu. Mortu, these are my sons and their friend Bianca." The gang took a moment to take in all the information.
"Uh, thank you, for saving our sensei." Leo bowed respectfully, his brothers and Bianca following suit. "But, who are they? What are they?" He asked as he turned back towards Master Splinter.
"They call themselves, Utroms and their story is inexplicably interwoven with our own." Master Splinter explained. "The ooze that originally mutated us all was a byproduct of their experiments with this trans-mat device."
"So the chemical makeup of the ooze is caused by the inter-dimensional shift on non-essential subatomic particles." Donny summarized.
"But, where were we transported, how did we wind up back here, and what, what—ow!" Mikey was interrupted when Raph hit him over the head.
"All will be explained, but first, we have some business to take care of." Mortu explained. "Beam these intruders back to their original coordinates."
"Yes, sir." Replied one of the Utroms.
"So, these guys are friendlies?" Bianca asked as she took off the suit, she was getting quite uncomfortable in it.
"Quite." Master Splinter answered.
"This has been the weirdest date I've ever been on." Taiyo sighed as he placed an arm around Bianca's waist. "Can we do this again?"
"Date? Yeah, right." Bianca laughed dryly as she shoved him off.
"Step away from her, assassin's creed!" Came a very angry voice as the voice got closer, coming from the hallway.
"How could I forget our other guest?" Mortu pointed towards the door and out of the shadows came,
"JAMES!" Bianca ran over to him and jumped on him. She wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly, almost sending him to the ground. He didn't take a moment to hesitate as he hugged her back just as eagerly. "I'm so sorry I screwed up and ran away. And I'm so sorry I kept picking a fight with you when all you've done is protect me, you've kept me safe all this time. I can't believe how dumb I've been acting." Bianca apologized between gasps of air as she continued to cry.
"It's not your fault, squirt." James soothed. "You didn't know; I didn't want you to know." Bianca took her head off from the nook in between James' shoulders and his neck and stared at him.
"But you should've told me, then I would've been able to stop you from getting so hurt…I'm so sorry." She returned her head back to where it was to continue to cry a little bit more.
"Enough with the apologizing princess, it's okay, I'm okay." James carefully began to place Bianca back on the ground as she tried to control herself and wipe her tears away.
"That's right…I'm, we're not from here, right?" Bianca asked as she stared at him, waiting for him to nod his head. He did. Then another thought came to her mind as she thought about her acting in front of the Prime Leader of the Triceraton army. "And I'm really a, you-know-what of you-know-where, wearing that." Bianca used her finger to draw a crown around her head.
"In lack of better words, yes." James sighed. "That must've been some adventure for you."
"Well, I had some help along the way." Bianca admitted as she wiped her face. "Phoenix has been very helpful."
"Glad to see he's adjusting okay."
"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat from behind Bianca and she turned around on the spot and stared at her other family that watched the situation unfold.
"Oh, right, basic introductions: James, these are my not-so-secret friends I've been telling you about, though it seems you already knew about them before I even met them." She looked at him accusingly and James scratched the back of his head awkwardly. She turned back to the guys. "Guys, this is my brother: James." Bianca then took James' hand and walked him forward so he was facing Master Splinter. "James, this is my sensei, Master Splinter."
"No wonder why you've been approving, you've had a teacher all along." James acknowledged and then bowed respectfully. "It's an honor to meet you."
"Likewise." Master Splinter returned the bow.
"Don't I get any introductions?" Taiyo asked.
"He's Taiyo." Raph sighed. Taiyo growled for a second before he was be towered over by James.
"Oh trust me, I know who you are." James said darkly as he crossed his arms.
"You do?" Taiyo asked surprised, but then composed himself to pretend like it was no big deal.
"You're the little wannabe brat who wanted to take my spot as head ninja." James began to stalk towards the assassin and Taiyo backed up slowly until he came into contact with a wall.
"Hey, can't we let bygones be bygones?" Taiyo asked nervously.
"James, if there's any consolation, he helped me locate you." Bianca piped up. James looked back as he had Taiyo pinned against the wall, holding him up by his collar. He looked back at the assassin and then turned away and dropped him and walked away.
"Watch the robes next time." Taiyo grumbled as he adjusted his collar.
"Oh, and this is our new friend, Professor Honeycutt, we ran into him on our little adventure in space." Bianca explained as she moved over to her robotic friend.
"I must apologize for my present condition, this mechanical body was a scientific mistake…" Honeycutt started to explain his tale to everyone in the room since everyone had questions in store for the metallic professor.
"So you really are friends with these guys?" James whispered so only Bianca could hear. He didn't make eye contact, as he still wanted to show respect to the professor talking. Bianca didn't respond for a moment as she smiled to herself.
"Yeah, is it that hard to believe?" She didn't make eye contact with James either. "I mean I know they look like humongous talking turtles but they're really cool humongous talking turtles, who fight crime!" James had to hold back a smile.
"You sure know how to pick them…" James sighed as he looked over at Raph and Mikey bickering about something and Raph then hitting Mikey over the head.
"And so do you mister if I'm not mistaken." Bianca mentioned accusingly as she turned towards her brother and crossed her arms. He looked a bit ashamed but apologetic as he squeezed her shoulder slightly.
"And that's how I came to be here." The Professor had finally finished his story.
"I see my sons have gotten themselves into their usual amount of trouble in the eight hours they've been gone." Master Splinter sighed.
"Wait, what!" Bianca gasped as she turned back towards the rest of the group.
"Eight hours?" Leo questioned.
"We were gone three weeks!" Raph explained.
"Perhaps I can explain." Mortu spoke up. "The contingencies of inter-dimensional travel affect not only the basic laws of three dimensional space, but the fluidity of temporal mechanics as well."
"That is so cool!" Donny gasped excitedly.
"Yeah, if it made any sense at all!" Mikey freaked out.
"What the heck is going on here?" Raph asked impatiently.
"My friends, let there be no more secrets between us." Mortu said as he began to unbutton his suit and loosen his tie.
"Uh, I'd rather him not strip." Bianca said nervously as she began to step away and hiding a bit behind her brother. Under Mortu's suit was an Utrom in his stomach.
"AH!" Everyone gasped, Mikey I think was the loudest as his sounded more like a girlish shriek.
"Follow me, we shall begin at, the beginning." Mortu said as his human mouth ceased moving and the Utrom inside the suit began to talk. He began to leave the room with some other floating Utroms trailing behind. The gang all looked at each other and chose to follow a moment later. Mortu lead them to a large techno organic room that had a dome roof and intricate devices surrounding the walls and in the center of the room.
"I've seen this movie." Mikey whispered as he began to look around nervously. "We're not, going to have anything burst out of our chest, are we?"
"Knock it off, Mikey. I don't need to be crept out more than I already am." Bianca nudged him.
"There's nothing to be scared of. The Utroms are a peaceful race." James said.
"Yeah well they didn't seem so peaceful before." Bianca grumbled.
"No one likes intruders." James pointed out.
"We came to save your butt, mister!" Bianca whirled around to snap at him.
"This is the oracle pond chamber where our race assumes it's highest state of communion." Mortu explained as he pointed to the pods surrounding each other in the center of the room.
"It's really creepy that his whole human face is just blank." Bianca mumbled.
"Shhhh, don't disrespect our hosts." James nudged her.
"Where many minds enter into oneness, by sharing life experience. Inside these pods, you will be able to share the story of our life." Mortu carried on.
"You know, I can't think of one science fiction movie where a pod has been a good thing." Mikey chimed in.
"All will be explained. Please, enter the pods." Mortu instructed. Everyone did as they were told, the boys, Master Splinter, and the Hendersons entered the pods. Taiyo circled the pods once more and crossed his arms.
"What, not enough for one more." Taiyo pouted.
"Oh, too bad." Raph mock laughed.
"Ya snooze ya lose." Mikey joked too as he and Raph fist bumped right before the doors closed over their bodies.
"Prepare yourself to become one with the sacred memories of the Utroms." Mortu explained as he started pressing buttons on a control panel. Suction cup devices in the shape of starfish were placed on everyone's head and once the machine was on, everyone's eyes slipped closed.
'WHOA!" The silence of Bianca's mind was crushed with more voices than she expected. She snapped her eyes open and found herself surrounded by her friends and family and in a new place, surrounded by energy and memories winding around them.
"Amazing!" Donny gawked. "Technically this is only happening in our minds and we're all sharing the experience simultaneously." Suddenly the atmosphere changed and the gang was somewhere new once again.
"Whoa dudes, we're on an Utrom starship." Mikey gawked as he and everyone looked around in awe. The starship looked very similar to the techno organic material that was in the lab they were in before entering the pods but the place was more spread out as they were in the cockpit of the ship with different floating Utroms doing several jobs as one was at the head of the ship.
"Your blessing, honored navigators?" The Captain of the ship turned towards the Utroms that were in a glass container filled with liquid behind him Bianca hadn't noticed until he pointed it out.
"Your course is straight and true." One said as their eyes glowed blue.
"Through the vastness of space and time." Another spoke.
"Captain, you have the blessings of –" The third one said.
"The Navigators." The three said together as all their eyes glowed blue.
"Master Splinter, your friend Mortu is the captain!" Leo explained as he took a moment to recognize his voice.
"Uhm okay, I'm not even going to ask about the brains in the jar, Mr. Mortu." Mikey approached Mortu at the head of the ship, but he didn't answer. "Mr. Mortu? Guys? Yo, blobheads!" He went over to the glass container to see if they would talk to him, but they didn't either. "Fine, be that way. Snooty Utroms."
"Mikey, this is all Utrom history, it's already happened. We're just experiencing it in our minds. It's like watching a movie in our heads." Donny explained.
"But, it all seems so real." Mikey stated. Suddenly the atmosphere around them changed back to where they originally began in a brightly light void.
"Whoa, what's happening?" Raph asked.
"If it's a movie, maybe we're cutting to the next scene." Mikey hypothesized.
"What are the Utroms doing here?" Bianca asked, as she didn't recognize the area as she watched the Utroms dismount from their ship and head towards an intricate looking castle upon a blue and green covered hill.
"Ah, now I remember this." James said to himself though loud enough for people to hear. The gang began to follow the Utroms.
"What do you mean remember?" Bianca asked him curiously. As she continued to head towards the castle, something felt weird inside of her. She looked around and felt a connection. "Wait…" Bianca had a crazy thought. "That, is that Itonami?"
"Yes." James responded. Bianca continued to look around in awe of the fantastic architecture and the clear skies decorated with constellations she's never seen before and other galaxies that only seemed mere miles away. Though there was a rising darkness on the horizon.
"It's, beautiful." She sighed as she attempted to touch the wall to the castle but her hand sadly fell through it.
"But what are they doing here?" Leo asked.
"Is, is this when everything went wrong?" Bianca gasped as they entered the large doorway into the castle. She turned towards James quickly, begging him with her eyes to be wrong as she quickly grabbed his arm in panic.
"Just watch." James mumbled, as he didn't make eye contact with her. Motru and a few other Utroms floated towards a large set of doors. two guards on either side of the doorway simply stomped their foot and the staffs they were each holding and the doors magically opened outwards so they could walk in.
"Your Majesties, it's a great honor to be in your presence." Mortu bowed, to the best of his ability with just being a small creature. He was standing before a thrown room and up on the two chairs in front of him was the king and queen. The thrown room was decorated in red and gold with some yellows and oranges mixed in, and Bianca's eyes trailed upwards to see an stain glass mural of a shining phoenix as it was surrounded by three suns. As Bianca heard clicking of shoes on stone, she turned back towards the king and queen. They stood up and bowed themselves and then began their descent down the staircase separating them from Mortu. They were dressed elegantly and the queen's hair was bound up with many golden clips and curled around her neck gently, framing her ivory face and she had striking dark blue eyes. The king was tall and had a broad chest as he carried a scepter on his belt and a large cape enveloped his body as he walked. He had salt and pepper dark brown hair and a small beard decorating his features as piercing green eyes with small edges around his face stared at Mortu.
"Mortu, you don't have to be so polite, we've collaborated for years together in peace and prosperity." The King smiled as he approached his friend.
"I'm sorry, I'm a believer in traditions." Mortu smiled and bowed slightly once more. "Congratulations, King Bastion and Queen Raya. How's the baby?" Mortu asked.
"She'll be fine, for now anyways. But with the darkness falling, I'm worried about Bianca's safety." The queen stated with worry planted on her face as she and the king turned towards a room with a drape covering the inside. They went through and Mortu followed suit. The gang was following them to, all except Bianca.
"What?" She gasped as she stood in place. She stared at the King and Queen's retreating form and pictured their faces again and stared at them. She started to se some similarities. Her dark curly hair like the queen, her dark green eyes that dulled in comparison to the king's eyes filled with wisdom. But despite that difference, she poked her face slightly as she recalled seeing the king's dimples and thinking of her own popping out when she smiled, which she couldn't bring herself to do right then. "Mom, Dad?" Bianca slowly began to float forward and into the new room. It was a nursery with a beautiful balcony looking over the wide spread kingdom.
"It's for the best my queen, she cannot stay with us with the darkness approaching." The king sighed as he stroked the cheek of the baby in the queen's arms. The baby was wrapped in a soft green blanket. Bianca remembered never letting go of that blanket until she was six. She still had it somewhere in her room.
"You have our sincerest apologies from our entire race and The Navigators themselves." Mortu said sadly. Guards came into the room with a cage in their hands with no windows to see who could be inside, but it was rattling; the beast inside was fighting back.
"Thank you, Mortu." Queen Raya said with a broken smile on her face. Bianca could tell she was having a hard time keeping her composure as she bobbed in place quickly, in hopes to keep her baby calm.
"Guards, take him away!" King Bastion ordered rashly as he pointed at the dark shaking cage. They left the room with two other Utroms that followed Mortu into the castle.
"King Bastion!" A man in robes and carrying a large book in one hand and holding the hand of a boy in another ran into the room.
"Calder, how are you my dear friend?" King Bastion embraced the man.
"I wouldn't worry about my safety, yours is of more importance." The man named Calder said.
"Nonsense. You're giving up the same as us." Queen Raya placed her baby gently into the cradle and then embraced Calder as well.
"As I stood by you as you grew, he shall stand by your daughter." Calder presented the boy by his side, placing him in between himself and King Bastion.
"I see." King Bastion observed the boy, grabbing the boy's chin and looking into his eyes. King Bastion let go and smiled softly. Calder ruffled the boy's hair and the boy laughed. The laugh was something Bianca remembered.
"Isn't that you?" Bianca asked skeptically as she dared a look at James, but he seemed lost in another world as he was looking at the interaction between the boy and Calder, almost as if it was paining him right now.
"He's a proud one I see. Very gifted, warm-hearted." King Bastion stated to his friend Calder. "He better survive the hardships that he will no doubt face."
"Why is Dad talking to you like that?" Bianca asked as she now stared at the sullen king.
"Because he's not my father." James answered. Bianca stared at him in shock. James looked at the man named Calder sadly. "He is." James nodded his head towards Calder as the smaller James embraced his father.
"So, we're not family?" Bianca whimpered slightly as she turned to face James.
"We are family, just not biologically." James whirled around and hugged Bianca tightly, not wanting her to feel betrayed or heartbroken. "Our fathers were best friends and I was chosen to go with you and look after you, your father saved me by giving me this opportunity." Bianca didn't know how to react to the hug, but she balled her fists for a moment in James' shirt but then released as she also released a breath she was holding in and gave into James' embrace.
"You have been blessed, dear boy. Do your best. The faith of Itonami is in her hands, and for now, yours." King Bastion used his hand and knighted the small James.
"Yes, my king." James bowed on one knee.
"I hate to rush you Bastion, but we're running out of time." Mortu stated.
"Right." King Bastion looked horribly sad as he walked over to the crib, back to where Queen Raya was holding their baby. James let go of Bianca, knowing that it would be important for Bianca to see this moment. He pushed her forward gently so she was at most two feet away from the king and queen. The queen carefully placed their child into the king's cloaked. "My dear Bianca, I don't know if you'll ever grow to forgive me for sending you away from us." He brushed her cheek gently and she giggled, making a small joyous smile to appear on the king's face before a tear slowly slipped down his face and he played with some of the small hair that began to form on Bianca's small head. "But I need you to be strong for us. You will have help from our blessed guardian, but you will be face a series of journeys of your own. I just hope when you do come back…if, you come back…" He began to choke on his words as Queen Raya wiped away the king's tears that slowly slid down his cheeks. Bianca dared to take a few steps closer towards the king and queen and watched as they both looked down at the baby with love and sincerity.
"I can't stand the thought of not being able to hold her again." Queen Raya sighed as she too began to let small tears slide down her beautiful face. Bianca realized she had her mother's cheekbones.
"You will, but it'll have to take time." King Bastion comforted his queen to the best of his ability. Bianca looked up and his serious green eyes, her green eyes. "We won't feel most of it in stasis. Nobody will."
"How can we put so much responsibility onto our daughter?" Queen Raya cried, she was starting to get frantic now.
"I wouldn't if it were my decision, but we have no power here. Our baby girl will have to become a fierce warrior." King Bastion had to keep his voice from breaking. He looked so pained to give his daughter that responsibility. "It'll break my heart though, seeing her all grown up, missing out on so much of her life, and how she'll miss our on the beauty that is…was, our home."
He looked towards the mural in the baby's room that overlooked the crib. He brought his daughter over to a table and began to unwrap her from her blanket. He put her head on his shoulder and began to gently touch her back, swirling his fingers in unknown patterns. "Phoenix, take care of her. Watch over her with care and never let her feel alone." Bianca's back began to glow and the birthmark of a Phoenix on the baby's back began to show up. The baby was lulled to sleep by the incantation and soon the phoenix blurred into a small smudged birthmark on her back, which Bianca knew later would look like the phoenix that's present on her back.
The king wrapped her up again in the soft blanket and placed her into a capsule that was close to the window. Queen Raya joined him by the capsule and hooked arms with him.
"Goodbye, my child." They both said.
"But I don't want to leave you, daddy!" The gang turned their attention toward the small James and the man in robes, Calder.
"I'm sorry, son. But it's for the best. Bring us honor. Bring us hope. Bring us our future!" Calder lifted his son up and placed him in the capsule as well and lulled him to sleep with a wave of his hand as it sparkled with a shine of silver. Calder brushed some hair out of James' face and then closed the capsule and left the room in a hurry. Bianca looked up at her brother and saw James struggling with an internal conflict. She wished to comfort James but she couldn't move as she turned back towards the king and queen, her parents.
"Thank you for all your help, Mortu." Queen Raya stroked Mortu's head gently.
"If only there was more we could do to repay you for our own mistake." Mortu sighed as he closed his eyes and his face became sad.
"It's his fault this has happened, you had nothing to do with it." King Bastion argued as he tried to be comforting but everyone could tell the king was covering up extreme rage towards the captured enemy.
"If only that were true." Mortu said looking up at the king. Mortu bowed again. "I hope to see you again, some day." Mortu left the room in a hurry, the gang was about to follow but they saw Mortu hadn't left the castle yet; he stayed close to the door. Bianca didn't leave the room yet as she stared at King Bastion and Queen Raya holding each other closer.
"I love you, my king." Queen Raya whispered though it was quiet it was filled with passion. King Bastion gently placed his fingers under Queen Raya's chin so he could look into her dark blue eyes.
"I love you too, my dearest queen." King Bastion said lovingly. Their foreheads touched and they closed their eyes. Bianca saw that the capsule took off outside and it flew out of sight in an instant. And from the window Bianca could see dark clouds racing towards the castle coming from the other side. The rest of the kingdom looked like it was dying just from being under the darkness. There was a terrifying laugh and the castle began to grow cold.
"No…NO!" Bianca tried reaching out for the king and queen but was pulled out of the castle and was back on the ship. "I can't believe this – GAH!" Bianca fell to the ground as she cried out in pain, the fact that she had to watch her parents disappear from her was just as bad as when she was at the death beds of her adopted parents after hearing about the fire on the news. Bianca was too wrapped up in her self-pity to feel the warmth of someone encompassing her in an embrace.
"It's alright, they are not gone. They will be alright once the time comes." Came a soothing angelic voice. Bianca began to calm down until she found the situation odd.
"Wait a second…" She cleaned her face with her sleeve and looked up and her green eyes met golden fiery eyes. "Phoenix?"
"Hello, little one." Phoenix's warm hand graced Bianca's face and made the tears threatening to fall evaporate. Bianca instantly feel better as she began to fill up with Phoenix's warmth.
"Phoenix, Phoenix you're here!" Bianca tackled Phoenix into a hug. He graciously returned it and began to lift her up off the floor. "Wow, you're really here. Well I guess that makes sense this is my mind; our mind, whatever." Bianca laughed as she looked up at her faithful companion.
"Yes that is correct, I am allowed to be here viewing the memories right along side you." Phoenix smiled happily.
"It's nice to officially meet you in person, your godliness." Bianca stepped away to jokingly bow to Phoenix. Phoenix took it seriously and he got down on one knee and took Bianca's hand and kissed it lightly.
"As is it my pleasure to meet you, your highness." Phoenix said melodically as he kept his eyes closed. Everyone around them stared at their interaction and Bianca's face began to grow hot and her head was racing with panicky thoughts.
"Oh, no I was just joking around, you don't ever need to bow to me, like ever." Bianca laughed nervously as she stepped back and waved her hands up in defense. Phoenix lifted his head from the ground and stared at her oddly. "I'm never going to get used to it." Bianca scratched the back of her neck and Phoenix smiled sympathetically and rose to join her side again.
"You will have to sooner or later." He began to stroke Bianca's head gingerly. "It's your destiny." James came up behind her and clasped his hands on her shoulders. Bianca shifted in place and turned around to face her brother. Her face was blank for a moment as she stared up at her "brother". Her face relaxed and then she quickly hugged him around the neck and kissed his cheek.
"You're more of a pain than I thought you were." Bianca said as she hugged her brother again. He lifted her off the ground and hugged her back. Suddenly they were back in the fuzzy windy part of the flashbacks where nothing was happening.
"Now where are we going?" Raph asked as he and the rest of the gang looked around curiously as they realized they were in the prison with the evil Utrom that destroyed Itonami.
"These security precautions are pitiful, you will never hold me." The red Utrom chuckled evilly. Raph shifted uncomfortably as he saw Mortu faze through him and approach the containment unit the evil Utrom was in.
"We have finally recaptured you after our 100 years search. We're not about to lose the most ruthless criminal the universe has ever known." Mortu stated.
"I will escape and you will all perish, that is my promise." The evil Utrom vowed. Bianca stared at the Utrom oddly as she examined the chamber he was placed in. hearing him roar and shift around reminded her of the shaking crate that was brought to the King and Queen. Bianca began grinding her teeth as she finally realized that her planet's demise or sleep was HIS fault.
"Big talk, little slime ball." Raph huffed as he crossed his arms.
"Big talk, little slime ball." Mortu said. Raph was shocked but impressed.
"Hey, I like the way this Mortu guy thinks." Raph laughed.
"Yoo hoo! Hey there you ugly little Utrom!" Mikey teased as he made faces at the evil contained Utrom.
"Michelangelo, you should know better than to tempt fate." Master Splinter began lecturing as he approached his son.
"But Master Splinter, you're always saying that we should tell the truth. And the truth is mister creepy here is pretty ugly!" Mickey countered.
"That is not the point." Master Splinter sighed with a paw to his forehead.
"Like I said, you know how to pick them…" James sighed as he nudged Bianca jokingly, though not without getting a warning glance from Phoenix and James took a tentative step away to not get on the god's bad side.
"We didn't choose Mikey, trust me." Raph grumbled as he heard James and nudged him back to get him to relax. James was at first surprised by the turtle's actions but he gave Raph a sideways smirk as he continued to look forward.
"Hey look, they're passing close to Earth." Donny pointed out as they were transported back to the main control room of the star ship. An alarm suddenly began to blare and a new Utrom entered the room.
"Captain, the prisoner has escaped!" The Utrom announced.
"What?" Mortu gasped. He turned towards the control board and pressed a button and began to speak to someone on the other end. "Security, report!"
"The prisoner's attacking, we're—AHHH!" The line cut off after the several screams of other Utroms echoed through the control room.
"Emergency: power cut, engines are offline." One Navigator said.
"Our minds are going dark." Said another.
"Cell by cell. We are undone." The last Navigator said.
"Helm you have control of the bridge. Security detail with me, to the engine room!" Mortu ordered.
"I hope nothing bad happens to these guys, I'm kinda getting to like them." Raph said.
"Whatever happens, it's all history now, Raph." Leo stated sadly. The gang followed the group of Utroms lead by Mortu into another part of the ship as they searched for the evil Utrom.
"Careful, the prisoner is very crafty!" Mortu warned. The evil Utrom came around from the corner and was holding two sparking plugs.
"You see, I always keep my promises. Goodbye, Captain!" The evil Utrom combined the two ends together and the engine room began to explode.
"Helmsmen!" Mortu cried out as he rushed back into the control room. "Set coarse for that uncharted planet." He pointed outside towards Earth. "We are Ultrons, we are one, we shall not fail; we shall not fail!"
"It's only a movie, it's only a movie, it's only a—we're all gonna die!" Mickey began to freak as they started to set a crash landing for Earth. Once the destruction was over, the smoke cleared and the gang was half-fazed through some of the scattered remains of the Utrom ship. Mikey was the first to speak up again. "Dude…I can't believe we're in one piece." Mikey gaped as he checked himself for injuries.
"Remember, this is all a memory, an illusion." Donny noted.
"Tell that to my stomach." Mikey moaned as he held his hand to his face before lurching forward, thankfully out of sight but not without some horrible sound effects.
"Ew, gross…does that mean he puked in our heads?" Bianca asked.
"Don't take it that far!" Raph groaned as he covered his ears in disgust.
"My friends and honored Navigators, we are all safe, but the ship is ruined." Mortu announced, and the gang's attention was once again caught up in the historical events. "We are stranded on this, primitive planet, millions of light-years from our home world." The eyes of the Navigators began to glow as they spoke.
"There is not enough to salvage-"
"To repair the ship, we cannot-"
"Return to our home world?" Last navigator ended with a question that was on everybody's minds.
"No." Mortu answered glumly.
"How are they going to get home?" Mikey asked after a beat.
"Captain, there's a structure beyond the next rise." A random Utrom announced as he gestured Mortu to join the Utrom and the patrol team in the front of the group. The other Utroms began to follow and the gang decided it would be best to follow as well. Once pushing some trees away, everyone found themselves on the top of a hill looking over a very tall building that made the turtles' mouths drop.
"This is, Japan." Leo gasped.
"11th century Feudal Japan from the look of it." Donny observed as he and hos brothers stepped forward to marvel at the origin of the ninja.
"I've got one word: wow." Raph said as he crossed his arms in contempt.
"To actually be there, to see the birth place of Bushido, and Ninjutsu." Leo ventured forward to get a better look at the wondrous sight. Not far from where the group was, there was someone practicing Ninjutsu.
"Hey guys, check me out." Mikey ran over excitedly as he faced the practicing warrior. "I'm in a samurai movie!" Mikey took out his nun chucks and got into a fighting stance. "Your blade cannot touch the mighty Ronan, Michelangelo-san. I am the storming sea, I am the breaking wind." Mikey quoted in a deeper voice as he pretended to fend off the warrior only to have his sword fade right through Mikey's nun chucks.
"Michelangelo, show some respect!" Splinter scorned.
"Aw…sorry, sensei." Mikey apologized. Mikey was about to walk back to his family and friends until he spotted something sitting in the ground that got his stomach grumbling. "Well I'm definitely going to respect his breakfast." He rushed over and tried attacking the food with his greedy hands but they fazed right through the rice balls. "Huh?" Mikey looked down in confusion but nonetheless attempted to pick up the food again; Mikey continued to do this to no end.
"There is some lesson here somewhere, but I'm enjoying this too much to think of it." Splinter sighed as the rest of the turtles laughed at Mikey's expense. A little ways away Phoenix, Bianca and James were watching the turtles.
"Now I see why you stuck around with them, they are amusing." Phoenix mused. They began to notice the Utroms were heading back to the crash sight and everyone began to follow.
"Hey, they're more than that." Bianca rolled her eyes as she walked with James and Phoenix near the front of the line.
"So then what are they?" James asked.
"Well for one they saved my life, we get along, they're awesome ninja fighting superstars, they're funny, the list goes on." Bianca smiled as she stared at them. Once they reached the crash sight again, a group of Utroms the gang could only assume was the engineering crew began to discuss what their plan of action was. When they concluded, they reported to Mortu.
"In brief, Captain, we conclude that technology on this planet is too primitive to build a flying vehicle, let alone an interstellar ship or a hyper space trans-mat device. The technology simply does not exist." One of the Utrom engineers concluded.
"Not yet, but we can wait." Mortu said with determination and none of the other Utroms went against his word.
"Okay, reality check: how long do these guys live?" Mikey asked. "They're going to wait centuries until they can build themselves a way home?"
"I believe that is exactly what they do." Splinter stated simply. Time begins to pass by and the gang watches patiently as the engineer Utroms begin to experiment with some of the remaining parts that survived the crash.
"From our technology that we've been able to salvage from the crash, I give you: the exo-suit!" A random Utrom, the leader of the group, took off the cloth from the invention and revealed a robot skeleton with an empty space in the middle. "With the proper covering, this suit will allow us to move among these humans undetected." The leading engineer placed himself in the exo-suit and began to operate it, demonstrating how it worked, though not without difficulty.
"So that's how they came to develop these robot bodies, amazing." Donny gaped. "Too bad they didn't share that kind of technology with the people back then, they would've been gods and would've sped up our entire technological process."
"True." Bianca nodded.
"I believe a field test, whoa, ugh, is in order." The leading engineer had his fellow engineers dress the exo-suit in robes they made themselves and placed a bowl shaped hat, very traditional for the time, to cover the robot's face from sight. The gang followed as the Utrom began to maneuver through the crowd of Japanese farmers who lived in the area while other Utroms watched concealed inside bushes lining he road. The Utrom in the exo-suit began to learn the mannerisms of the time and began to fit in rather well.
"EEP!" Mikey shrieked as a person fazed right through him, forgetting that he wasn't really experiencing the world as the Utroms were.
"Good memory, Mikey." Raph mocked as everyone besides Phoenix laughed at Mikey's expense.
"Satisfactory, most satisfactory. Test run, concluded, first outing a complete success." The Utrom announced to himself as he began to walk back into the forest to process his experiment to the other Utroms. Unfortunately the Utrom was so excited by his success he failed to see a wire by his feet.
"What?" The Utrom heard something click amongst the trees and tried to prepare for what was to come, but unfortunately couldn't.
"It's a trap!" Donny called out as he noticed trunks of trees were set up to swing down when the rope was tripped.
"Look out!" Leo warned but to no avail.
"Ah!" The Utrom fell to the ground and was forced out of the exo-suit from the log's impact. There was a deep chuckle coming from a bush, and once the person revealed themselves, the Utrom gasped. "You!"
"What a wonderful toy." A familiar red Utrom cackled as he approached the exo-suit. "I want to play."
"It's that evil Utrom." Mikey gasped. "I was kind of hoping he didn't survive that crash."
"I know this happened a long time ago, but I'm getting mad right now!" Raph growled as he unhooked his sais. His brothers had a similar idea as they all ran forward to strike one at a time but all fazing through the upright exo-suit.
"Well, that was useless." Donny panted as he and his brothers began to sheath their weapons once more.
"What'd you expect, for the whole solid thing to start working all of a sudden?" Bianca sighed, she too was angry but knew from before back when she saw her birth parents that there was no use trying. Suddenly the world around them vanishes and there back in the swirling vortex of the oracle.
"Now what?" Raph asked impatiently.
"Time's passing." Donny stated. He then turned back to see the Utroms working on new exo-skeletons. "A lot of time." The Utroms were busy at work when suddenly smoke bombs exploded and disrupted the Utrom's works.
"What's happening?" Raph asked. Ninjas, all armed, were rushing about, causing mayhem, and then froze as through the fire jumped out what was presumed their leader, dressed in an awfully familiar armored outfit.
"Not here too!" Bianca yelled as she stared at the armored man furiously, fists flaring to life with energy she could feel also spawning from Phoenix.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Mikey asked frantically.
"It looks kind of like the Shredder." Leo stated, almost not believing what he was seeing.
"Kind of too much like the Shredder." Raph added.
"But it can't be…" Donny dragged out.
"Ninjas: attack! Destroy them all!" The man that looked like the Shredder announced as the ninjas jumped into action and started tearing the exo-skeletons apart.
"Well he sounds a little too much like the Shredder." Bianca stated as her hands flared with more heat.
"There is nothing we can do right now." Phoenix said in an omnipotent way, grasping Bianca's shoulder warningly.
"I know…it's just not fair!" Bianca whined as she slouched over herself and hugged her torso.
"Whatever happens here, they definitely overcame it later." James reminded Bianca, though that still didn't make her feel any better. She's too angry to focus on what's real and what isn't at this point. Meanwhile, the Utroms were trying to pile up on the look-alike-Shredder, and it seemed to have worked for a moment before Shredder threw them off like they were made of plastic.
"What is the meaning of this? We mean you no harm." Mortu pleaded while in an exo-suit of his own. The armored man said nothing as he kicked Mortu farther back into the bamboo, and continuing to deliver quick blows to the neck and chest area. It didn't take long until Mortu was unfortunately forced to the ground. "We come in peace!"
"But you will go in pieces!" Shredder seethed. The look-alike was about to stomp the living lights out of Mortu, but thankfully Mortu was able to roll over and get away from the Shredder. The gang continued to look around in distraught, hating that they could only watch as time went on.
"This can't be our Shredder, this was 700 years ago. It must be the Shredder's ancestor or something." Donny hypothesized though flustered by the uncanny similarities. The Shredder wannabe suddenly turned around and faced the gang, though they knew that the wannabe couldn't see the group. Mikey being Mikey decided to approach anyway.
"Mikey, get back. Don't get too close to him." Leo warned.
"Eh, don't sweat it Leo, like you told me, this isn't real remember?" Mikey reminded as he casually walked through the "Shredder" and from behind proceeded to stick his tongue out and tease the hologram. "Hey, ugly!" As the others just watched tentatively, there was a flash of light and suddenly everything seemed to feel, differently somehow.
"What the?" Raph looked around and then noticed his sais were gone from his belt.
"Our weapons, they've disappeared!" Leo gasped. Things got worse when Shredder turned around and noticed Mikey from behind him, still teasing him.
"What?" Shredder roared. Though he didn't seem to understand what was happening, he nonetheless slashed out at Mikey, sending him several yards back, hitting his head against a rock. He was out cold from then.
"Mikey!" Bianca shrieked.
"Oh, no." Raph was the first to run after his brother, everyone else hot on his heels. Raph bent down and tried snapping Mikey awake, but nothing seemed to work.
"Michelangelo!" Splinter cried as he too knelt by his son. Everyone crowded around Mikey, everyone pretty worried.
"Curious." Shredder mused to himself, though loud enough to get Bianca's attention as she turned around. "Capture those, strange creatures, they may prove useful. No matter the cost."
"You're not getting near them, you hear me!" Bianca roared, as she quickly got into a fighting stance.
"I would not hold your breath over it." Shredder laughed manically as his ninja army approached.
"Michelangelo needs help! He's badly hurt." Splinter stated as he tried not to break down, having one of his son's in such a condition was not something to take lightly.
"Someone must've altered the program on us." Donny stated.
"Whatever! We're in it up to our necks!" Leo yelled. "This reality isn't virtual anymore." Everyone but Mikey and Master Splinter made a protective wall and stood their ground, ready for anything.
"My son, can you hear me? Michelangelo!" Splinter asked desperately.
"Steady guys, this is about to get ugly!" Leo warned. The ninjas attacked as their master commanded and gave it their all. They had the advantage for a few moments as they still had their weapons, but the gang was still crafty enough to maneuver around that obstacle and overcome their foes.
"This shouldn't be happening, this is supposed to be virtual reality." Donny stated, baffled, as he flipped over some ninjas and having them collide into each other. "They're not supposed to see us, let alone attack us!" while Donny was trying to figure out what was happening, he just caught sign of another ninja throwing shurikens his way. Donny skillfully avoided being sliced but didn't notice how the shurikens also sliced through the bamboo behind him. Comically they chopped bamboo all fell on Donny's head and made him moan in unexpected pain.
"How'd that feel?" Bianca asked as she helped get the bamboo off gingerly.
"Pretty real." Donny admitted as he rested his arms on his thighs.
"Then this is all pretty real then, huh." Bianca stated, as she ridged a brow at Donny. She suddenly flipped over his back and began attacking some oncoming ninjas with only her fists, trying to save her fire when necessary. Not too far away Raph was taking on his own group of ninjas. He managed to twist one of their arms and grab the ninja from behind.
"Come on ladies, let's dance." Raph cocked as he used his human shield and his sword-wielding arm to strike back against the other ninjas. He easily disarmed the other ninjas, threw his shield into the mass and then kicked them all down. Bianca as she watched her friends and family battle it out saw that the weapons were becoming a problem. She stood in a clearing near all the turtles and had Phoenix and James on her right and left.
"Get behind me!" Bianca she ordered, calling out to the rest of the group.
"You insane?" Leo asked, yelling over the clash of swords.
"No, I'm just the one person that doesn't require a weapon!" Bianca stated as she easily took out a ninjas with a few close punching action and then blasting fire into his chest, sending him off like a rocket.
"Neither do we." Leo countered as he took down two ninjas.
"But it probably helps that I have these." Bianca light her fists on fire to prove a point. "Doesn't it?" She quirked as she burnt some bamboo tips and sent them the ninjas' ways.
"I'll stay behind her." Donny stated as he darted behind Bianca.
"Wouldn't hurt." Raph admitted as he followed his brother's lead.
"Alright, Phoenix." Bianca cocked her head up towards her fiery friend and gave him a smirk. "You feeling fired up?"
"I was wondering when you were going to say that." Phoenix smiled back all-knowingly.
"Let's do this." Bianca stated as Phoenix turned into magic gold fire and returned to Biana's body, causing her to glow gold for a moment but then reverting back. However, her flamed fists did get stronger. "James, be a good boy and watch how it's done." She grinned.
"By all means." James bowed jokingly. Bianca had a good twenty guys in front of her but she knew she could take it. Ever since Bianca came back from the Triceraton home world where she was trapped for a good few weeks duking it out against skyscraper tall monsters, this was going to be a piece of cake. She charged forward and gathered up all the new abilities she was able to learn from Trax and also from other gladiators and used her fire to spice things up. Bianca made fire whips and began slashing every way and gathering people together in clumps, ignoring the fact that she was burning them and threw them in every direction, also making a domino effect. For her last move, she flipped in the air and then slammed her fists as hard as she could into the ground, causing fiery geysers to shoot up and blow all the ninjas back, knocking them all out.
"Whoa, when did you get so good?" Raph gawked, as everyone else did as well. Bianca turned back to the gang and smiled internally at how they looked baffled at her new skills.
"That's what happens when you're stuck in the arena for almost two weeks straight, you improve. It also didn't help that I was a girl." Bianca added as she placed a hand on her hip. There was a rustle in the bamboo and suddenly more ninjas appeared. "Great, reinforcements."
"Leonardo, it's time to become one with the shadows." Splinter stated.
"Guys, time to disappear!" Leo yelled as he jump kicked a ninja back. "Raph, you grab Mikey and head for the bamboo." Raph nodded and rushed over to Mikey. "Don, Bianca, you're with me."
"James, follow them, protect Mikey." Bianca said as she turned to James, grabbing the hem of his sleeve.
"But-"
"Please!" Bianca begged as she interrupted James' arguments. He sighed and then went towards Mikey and helped him to his feet along with Raph. Master Splinter was about to go after Mikey and James but stayed back to chop up some bamboo.
"My sons, catch!" Master Splinter calls out, kicking the makeshift weapons towards the fight.
"Uh oh, here comes the Shredder's great-great-grand pappy." Leo warned as the Shredder came stalking over.
"These guys may not be real, but they mean business." Donny stated as he did his best to block the oncoming swords with his makeshift bamboo bo staff. When the ninjas were stating to become too much for their bamboo weapons, they all exchange looks and mentally agree on a plan.
"Let's go!" Bianca shouted out, as she is the first to flee into the trees with help from a rocket fire lift under her feet.
"Agreed." Donny and Leo muse and they follow suit. They wait in silence until the ninjas lose their trail. The three of them were chilling cautiously in the bamboo.
"Don, go find the others, make sure they're okay. Bianca and I will go follow mister personality for a bit. We'll catch up." Leo spoke up after a while. Donny nods his head and jumps off the bamboo tree he was on and goes in search for the rest of his family and James.
"Where do you think they went?" Bianca asked quietly as she and Leo also got off the bamboo trees, but continued to stick to the shadows.
"Just follow the trail." Leo said without looking back at her.
"What trail?" She cocked a brow at him and he pushed some bamboo out of the way to reveal a bunch of burnt and chopped down bamboo trees. "Oh, the trail of destruction, lovely."
"You afraid?" Leo cooed, trying to lighten the mood slightly from the intensity of the fight they just endured.
"Course not…I'm just tired of the Shredder always popping out of nowhere." Bianca answered defensively.
"When we get home, we'll hopefully get some peace." Leo hoped.
"I doubt it." Bianca laughed dryly. "You'll find a way to make new enemies."
"Hey. We don't make enemies." Leo countered.
"Oh right I forgot, they find you." Bianca laughed.
"Shhhh." Leo pushed a large green finger over Bianca's mouth and held her other arm stiffly. Her eyes bugged but suddenly Leo calmed down and pointed upwards with the hand that was on Bianca's mouth. They scale the bamboo silently and peer over to a light coming from the break in the trees. "Look."
"One, don't do that again." Bianca hissed as she tried adjusting herself comfortingly on the bendy bamboo branch. "Second, what does Shredder the first want with a smith?"
"Swords smith, is it finished?" Shredder asked impatiently as three men from a smith shed/hut bowed in unison at the Shredder.
"Hai, tomo-sama, I made the blade just as you requested." The man kneeled and unwrapped the fabric to reveal the blade. "The metal, it's amazing. I have never seen it's like before."
"Nor will you ever again." Shredder growled as he picked up the blade and placed it in a hilt he had carried in his belt. "Let's just say the metal fell from the heavens. Just as the ninjas are said to be decedents from goblins, behold, the goblin sword, the sword of Tengu."
"No way! Now?" Bianca gasped but quickly covered her mouth in case she was too loud.
"And now, for your payment." Shredder stated darkly. He shot the sword's mystical power at the men who were sent through the weak structure of the shop. "The sword is perfect! With it, my enemies will not be able to hide!" Shredder laughed evilly. "I will find them and I will destroy them!" He stormed off triumphantly with his small group of ninja lackeys.
"Are we sure he's not our Shredder?" Bianca asked timidly.
"It can't be, this is almost a thousand years ago." Leo stated, but he looked like he doubted his own words.
"True…but they seem way to similar for my liking." Bianca shivered.
"I know how you feel." Leo sighed as he began to slide down the bamboo tree. "Come on, let's head back."
"Okay." Bianca nodded as she soon joined him, walking slightly behind him. They stayed in relative silence for a few moments. While Leo was thinking about the safety of his family, Bianca had other worrying thoughts troubling her. "Hey Leo, do you think I'm weird?" She asked slowly. She stopped walking and she looked at her feet.
"Weird? Of course not." Leo stated as he too stopped walking. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, with everything that we saw earlier…" Bianca drew out as she tentatively placed a hand behind her shoulder, indicating the birthmark on her back of Phoenix and the vision of her family. Leo walked up to her cautiously.
"It still doesn't all make sense to me, but what I saw does explain why you have such a gift." Leo mused.
"A gift?" Bianca looked appalled by his answer and turned away from him. "I don't know…things seem way more complicated right now." Bianca hugged herself tightly; she felt awfully cold all of a sudden despite the rushing heat Phoenix was providing her. "I feel like I have so much responsibility, so much I have to face…for them." Bianca choked out the last part.
"Hey, I know you, you'll know what to do when the time comes. Trust me, okay?" Leo turned Bianca around to face him and he stared at her until she finally made eye contact with him. After staring for what felt like a whole minute passing, Bianca closed her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Okay." Bianca surrendered as she quickly walked beside him and linked arms with him. Leo rubbed the arm Bianca had woven in with his to give her some sense of comfort. It didn't take them too long thanks to Bianca's senses to find the rest of the gang, surrounding Mikey protectively.
"How's Mikey?" Leo asked hesitantly as he and Bianca unhooked arms but stuck close to each other.
"We must be careful, Michelangelo is not well, and I fear that in this dream world if we believe that we have died, then we will truly die." Splinter sighed.
"Where have you been?" James asked worriedly as he rushed over to give Bianca a tight hug, making Leo back off slightly.
"Sorry we were a little busy watching horrifying history being made." Bianca stated as she rolled her eyes inwardly but returned the hug nonetheless.
"Being careful won't be easy, that guy that looks like the Shredder, he just invented the sword of Tengu!" Leo announced loudly and a bit frantically to the group.
"This is not good." Splinter mused as he continued to look at Mikey's damaged body with unease. Then something dawned on Bianca as she unraveled herself from James' embrace and sat with the group to conjure up an old memory.
"That's weird." Bianca mused as she rested her elbows on her crossed legs.
"What?" Donny asked as he leaned slightly closer to her.
"The Shredder we know told me once that it was his sword." Bianca stated.
"So?" Raph asked. "That means that it was passed down to him, right?"
"No, he said it was of his own creation." Bianca specified.
"That's impossible. He must've been delusional as he always was." Raph scuffed.
"Probably trying to sound all the more powerful to ensure his control." Leo stated as he placed a hand on Bianca's shoulder, trying to ensure her not to worry. Bianca looked up and smiled at him, placing her hand on top of his as he sat down next to her.
"Master Splinter…" Mikey groaned, coming to for a moment. "Is it, time to eat?"
"Stupid Mikey…even when down all he can think about is food." Bianca shook her head in disbelief as she crawled over to him and rubbed his head gingerly. He leaned slightly into her touch and she smiled a weak smile.
"Ah!" Came a scream from not too far off that again made everyone on edge.
"You guys hear that?" Donny asked as he stood up, removing his bo staff from his shell strap.
"A fight in the forest." Splinter stated as he listened carefully with his rat ears.
"Over the hill, to the north." Leo said as he could hear the clash of swords from that direction.
"Go, investigate." Splinter stated firmly. "I will stay and look after your brother."
"I'm coming with you this time." James stood up and grabbed Bianca's shoulder gently.
"James, you sure? You just got out of recovery, I don't want to almost lose you again." Bianca asked warily as she looked up at him.
"I'll be fine. Besides, what kind of guardian would I be if I didn't look after you?" James stated as he pushed out his chest slightly. Bianca laughed lightly at that and nudged him in the side with her elbow.
"You know you're my brother, no matter what right?" Bianca asked as she turned around and started walking ahead, though she looked back at James quickly.
"I'm glad to hear you still think that." James smiled genuinely.
"Leave us alone!" said an elderly man as he protected his cart and what was most likely his grandson.
"Stay back!" said what was presumed to be his daughter or granddaughter as she held a double bladed staff as foot ninjas surrounded them.
"You know I'm really starting to hate these old school foot ninjas as much as I hate the modern day versions." Raph mumbled as he cracked his knuckles.
"She's good, I like her." Donny commented with a smile as he observed the girl fighting back and managing to hold her own.
"What do you say we lend a hand?" Leo suggested as he unsheathed his swords but before they could give their position away, James stuck out a strong long arm and stopped everyone.
"Wait." James halted everyone as he could see more people arriving on the horizon. A new group of ninjas dressed in dark blue appeared with medallions around their necks and began to protect the people.
"Who are they supposed to be?" Bianca asked as she observed their fighting style. It was gentler and more complex than the Foot's movements.
"All sorts of bozos are coming to this party." Raph breathed exasperated at just sitting on the sidelines.
"A few too many, look!" Leo called as more Foot ninjas appeared from the trees and began to overwhelm the newcomers in blue and the one girl fighter.
"They're definitely going to need our help now." James announced.
"Let's." Bianca smiled as the group spontaneously appeared from hiding right in time to fend off a large scale attack the Foot ninjas were about to make. Leo and Donny used their makeshift weapons from before made by Master Splinter while James and Bianca used their fists and occasional fire (by Bianca). Raph got the idea to get a pair of bamboo branches for himself to replace his sais but he was quickly out of bamboo after fighting off two ninjas on his own. With the stubs left in his hand, he tossed them aside and dusted off his hands before saying,
"Looks like I'm doing this the old fashioned way." Raph grinned as he delivered a huge round house kick to the ninjas surrounding him.
"Ninja turtles kick serious ninja but even in ancient Japan." Donny cheered as he was proud of himself and the rest of the gang for making the Foot clan run off like usual.
"Stay away goblins and you vile demons!" The old man cried as he gathered his grandson in the undamaged cart and called on the dark blue ninjas. "Save us, save us from the green kappa. Goblins! Goblins!"
"Somehow, I don't think we're going to get the thank you we deserve." Leo sighed as he stood, waiting to see if he and the gang were going to be in another fight.
"Come! We must go!" The old man said but the girl stayed behind for a moment to bow out of respect before running off to follow her family. The dark blue ninjas stood ready with their weapons but didn't make a move to attack yet.
"Look, we were only trying to help." Leo chided as he put away his makeshift swords.
"We don't want to fight you." Donny said slowly as he waved a finger at them.
"Although I like fighting, what I don't like is being trapped in this Utrom videogame." Raph grumbled as he cracked his knuckles.
"The Utrom?" One man asked, surprised at the mention of the name. This picked up everyone's attention as everyone calmed down momentarily to observe the dark blue ninjas more carefully.
"How do these strange kappa know of the Utroms?" The other with a scar on his face asked.
"That's it, that's where I've seen that medallion before, on the guardians!" Leo stated happily. "Our friends here must be an early incarnation of the Guardians." Leo explained to the gang. "You work for the Utrom, right? Well look, we're on the same side."
"We need to talk to the Utrom. We're stuck in this place like them and maybe they can help us." Donny pleaded. "Can you take us to them?" The old Guardians didn't answer as they just stared at them sternly.
"Uh, is there suddenly a language barrier?" Bianca groaned to herself, as she was getting slightly impatient.
"Can you at least let them know that we need to see them?" Leo asked hopefully. The two guardians exchanged a look and then came to the same conclusion.
"We will tell them." Said the not scar face guy.
"Wait!" Donny rushed forward as the guardians were making a move to run off. "But how will we find you?"
"If our masters agree to an audience, they will find you." Scar face guy said and then they both disappeared.
"Well that fills me up with hope." Bianca sighed after a beat sarcastically.
"Come on, let's get back to Mikey and sensei." Leo suggested and the group didn't argue as they headed back to their temporary base. They were surprised when returning to see Master Splinter and Mikey sitting up right and enjoying a large display of assorted types of sushi.
"Welcome back bros, and not bros!" Mikey cheered. "Anyone up for sushi!"
"Hey, you're okay!" Bianca cheered as she hugged him around the neck gingerly, not wanting to push it but Mikey smiled anyway and patted Bianca's head like a dog.
"Aw, Mikey you bum. I'm glad you're okay." Raph walked over and gave Mikey a soft noogie before sitting down next to him.
"Mikey uh, you know not a molecule of that food is real, it's all apart of this illusion?" Donny asked warily.
"Yeah I know, but right now it's real enough for me." Mikey said with half his mouth full.
"That is it!" Splinter exclaimed suddenly.
"Hm?" Mikey tilted his head.
"The answer, it is-" Before Splinter could continue, the guardians from before appeared before them. The group got up slowly from their seated position and waited patiently. Through the bamboo came a clothed exo-skeleton with a hat on his head. He began to disrobe slowly.
"Greetings, I am Mortu." Mortu introduced himself, when finally revealed from under the robe. He gave a small bow that everyone mimicked back at him respectfully.
"Mister Mortu, you're just the, man, we need to see." Leo hesitated. From there the gang invited Mortu and his fellow guardians to sit down as they began their lengthy tale. "It was at that point the pods story, became real. So you see Mister Mortu, we're trapped in this virtual reality and we can't get out."
"I do see; it's an interesting phenomenon. You have much knowledge of our ways, but your knowledge of the Shredder is incomplete." Mortu explained. "You should know that the Shredder is one of-" There was a noise from the bamboo around them and ancient Foot clan members appeared and surrounded the group.
"Can we ever be left alone to have a conversation?" Bianca huffed. Then all became deathly quiet, as the Shredder emerged last from the dark trees.
"How fortuitous that I should find you here, Mortu." The Shredder's ancestor mused. "Now I get to display the true powers of the sword of Tengu for your amusement and for your demise." Shredder unsheathes the sword and blasts a bright energy at Mortu and the exo-skeleton began to short-circuit.
"AH!" Mortu screamed as the suit began to electrocute him.
"It's gonna blow!" James hollered as Mortu quickly got out of the exo-skeleton while everyone backed up a safe distance from the robot before it did indeed explode.
"Master Splinter, are you alright?" Leo asked gingerly as he hovered over his master protectively. When Bianca saw that Splinter was partially injured, she shot up from the ground and charged at Shredder with fiery fists.
"Watch it, freak!" Bianca roared as she slammed her fist into the ground, just missing Shredder's head.
"This, this is impossible! Are you some sort of demon? No, you can't be…how can you be here?" Shredder gasped as he stared at her, in an appalled nature from what Bianca could tell.
"How can I be here?" She looked back at Mortu. "I wasn't ready for him to have a question for me." Shredder grabs hold of Bianca's collar and lifts her into the air. "GAH!"
"You insolent beings. You always stand in my way, but not this time!" Shredder was about to strike Bianca with the sword of Tengu but suddenly it disappeared. "What!" Shredder roared as he soon dropped Bianca on the ground and looked around frantically. "Where is the sword of Tengu? What have you done?" He bent down dangerously at Bianca, ready to strike at any moment.
"I didn't do anything, swear! Though I'm not upset with the results." Bianca waved her arms frantically.
"It's right here!" Leo shouted. Bianca and Shredder both turned around to face Leo and suddenly, without being burned, saw he was holding the sword of Tengu.
"Whoa! How'd Leo do that?" Mikey asked as he scratched his noggin.
"You want it back?" Leo called out, ready to strike as the sword filled up with immense power. Bianca saw the look in Leo's eyes and with the energy she had left she rocketed into the sky and landed far away as Leo let out a burst of mystical energy straight at Shredder and his Foot ninjas. Without hesitation this time, Leo swung the sword again and nailed the rest of the foot ninjas, sending them everywhere so they couldn't help their master.
"NO!" This century's Shredder roared in defeat as Leo aimed a third strike at Shredder, shooting him through many bamboo trees, completely out of sight. Everyone gaped at the power Leo possessed with the sword of Tengu, especially Bianca as she was very close to the target in the first place, but she wasn't afraid. She was grateful and her heart was beating loudly in her ears as she panted slightly from the rush.
"Bianca, are you okay?" Leo quickly rushed over to Bianca, tossing the sword aside and helping her up to her feet. She was slightly off balanced as she put a lot of energy into her attacks and escape from Shredder from her utter rage but looked at Leo and gawked for a moment in relief before sputtering,
"Y-Yeah, I'll be fine. God I'm really starting to hate this place. Can we leave?" Leo smiled at Bianca as he placed a protective arm around her as he brought her closer to his body and Bianca didn't hesitate to lean on him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Neo-I mean, Leo." Donny cheered and slapped a hand on Leo's shoulder, startling Bianca slightly and causing her to take a step back from Leo but nonetheless smile.
"Way to go, bro!" Mikey cheered as well.
"Your actions demonstrate the veracity of what you say." Mortu stated as he and the two guardians approached the gang. Mortu took something from a pocket no doubt from his robe and handed it to Leo. "Take this, it should help you return safely to where you belong."
"But if we're stuck in a videogame, how can you give us anything that can affect the real world? I-we-you-ugh…my brain hurts." Mikey groaned as he had to stop thinking about the virtual reality too much and rubbed his temples gingerly.
"If this world is an virtual projection created by our technology, then we Utroms have encoded an internal fail safe that can be activated by using the virtual reset device, which you now possess." Mortu explained.
"Here we go, I hope." Leo prayed as he pressed the top of the black cube and suddenly the swirly yellow and white vortex from before began to envelop the group, giving the gang a sense of relief, knowing finally they could go home.
"Goodbye and thank you." Splinter waved kindly to Mortu and the guaridans.
"See you in a few hundred years." Raph smirked. Before they were completely gone, Leo remembered that right before the Shredder arrived and started the fight that Mortu was going to say something very important it seemed.
"Wait, what was it you were trying to tell us about the Shredder before?" Leo asked over the roar of the vortex.
"The Shredder is an-" The failsafe kicked in and the virtual world was shut down before the past Mortu could finish his explanation.
phew! took a lot out of me - please review and fave and tell me what you think
also i have a poll i made about coupling for this story, tell me what you think!