A/N: Warning! Lots of info thrown at you in this chap. I think I did a pretty good job here, and hopefully it all makes sense. I predict three of four more chapters after this one until the end inevitably comes around.
Chapter 12
It took longer than anticipated to get the Shell Razor into the nearest underground entrance and it would take days of work before it was back in top shape. Needless to say, Donnie was a little put out, but any disappointment was thrown from the window when Jay jumped into the Commander's mech, after throwing the unconscious Commander out, and said that it might be useful in the upcoming battle. But Donnie didn't really care about that, because Donnie got a new toy robot to play with.
The excitement, however, died when they led Jay past the turnstiles and into the lair, where they were greeted by Master Splinter, his hands folded behind his back and a stern look, which only grew in intensity when he spotted the new comer. But if Jay was taken off guard by the appearance of a giant rat, he certainly didn't show it, nor did he comment.
"My sons," Splinter addressed them with that disappointed look, "it seems that, once again, you have seen fit to bring a stranger to our secret, hidden lair."
"Chill out Master Splinter," Mikey said smoothly, "he's cool. He's, like, the Guardian of the Shard and stuff."
Splinter arched and eyebrow before addressing the group as a whole. "It seems that a lot has happened in one night."
"You don't know the half of it," Raph muttered.
"Come," Splinter beckoned them towards the pit of couches, "let us sit. Then you can tell me what sort of trouble you've gotten yourselves into this time."
Jay smiled at the insinuation and followed.
Oo-oO
"And then April got gold hair and she flicked her hand and everything went black, and when we woke up, the giant robo mech was down and April was back to normal!" Mikey finished the tale with exaggerated hand motions and great sound effects.
"You have indeed had a great adventure this night," Splinter mused, shaking his head. Only these boys could get into so much trouble in so little time. They had shared their entire story; from searching the city for more Shock Rocks, to finding April who wasn't really April, to coming across Jay with April who was April, to their journey into the Mental Plane, to their ambush by the Tagoos and taking out the Commander and the mysterious voice that promised a great battle the following night.
"And it seems like I have you to thank for helping my sons," Splinter bowed his head to Jay.
"I wouldn't say that exactly," Jay replied, looking down at the Shard in his lap. "It's only because us that this is happening in the first place."
"It also seems like there is more to this story."
"Yes, quite a bit actually."
"Perhaps it would be best if you shared your story, to help us better understand the enemy we will be facing."
"What do you want to know?" Jay asked.
"Who are you?" "Who's this enemy that's coming?" "What's your favorite kind of cat?" "Where the heck is this Shard thing come from, anyway?"
"Perhaps," Master Splinter interrupted the rain of questions, "you should start at the beginning?"
"The beginning, huh?" Jay mused with a sigh. "Alright then, I guess that would be the legends."
"Story time!" Mikey whispered, tapping his feet in excitement.
"A long time ago," Jay began and the room fell silent, "there was nothing. The earth was empty and had no form. Then God said, 'Let there be Light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, so he divided the Light from Darkness."
"That's . . ." Leo ventured.
"Genesis. The creation of everything in the words of the Bible," Jay nodded. "That's how it all started. In the beginning of, pretty much everything, there were two entities; Light and Dark. Although they had their differences, Light and Dark respected each other and maintained balance across the universe as brother and sister.
"But one day, something happened. Light and Dark got into a fight that turned into a full scale battle between two all powerful beings. It was catastrophic. In the end, Dark landed a fatal blow on Light and she shattered into Seven Shards. These Shards flew far from the battle field and were lost, separated throughout the vast expanse of the universe."
"And Kape is one of these Shards?" Leo asked.
"That's right," Jay nodded. "One of the Seven Shards of Light. Each one holds a fragment of Light's original power, a fragment of her soul."
"But why would Dark do something like that?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah," Casey said, "they were supposed to be family."
"No one remembers why, or how the fight started," Jay continued, "not even Light. Or, at least, that's what Base tells me. But what I do know, is that when Dark realized what he had done, he ran. Again, no one knows where he went or what he's been doing ever since then. Some say that he seeks his sister's Shards, searching the universe for any sign of them and trying to fix the wrong that he has done and restore balance again. On the other hand, some say that he has hidden himself away and is grieving over the loss of his sister by his own hand. Some say that he has long since given into this grief and is no longer part of this realm. In any case, no one has heard from Dark for a long, long time. But one thing is for certain, Dark regrets what he did.
"Although this may be what happened, this is the truth, the legends that spread have warped the facts as time passed. They now say that had Dark began to lust for more power and turned against Light, that their battle was the result of Dark trying to destroy his sister and steal her power for himself. They believe that even now, Dark searches for the Shards, not to help his sister, but to gain her power, rid the universe of her influence and take control of everything."
"That's horrible," April muttered.
"But if the seven Shards of Light come together once again, Light will return and balance will be restored. As far as I'm aware, three of seven Shards have been recovered and the fragments of Light within have joined together into the one we now refer to as Light. Although her power is less than half of what it used to be, it will continue to grow as more Shards are reunited.
"The legends have spread far and wide, touching many planets with tales of the power that the Shards contain. Because of these stories, corrupt, power hungry people have come forward, yearning for the power that the Shards could give them. One such person is Kentoki. He is the one who we spoke to after defeating the Commander."
"So, this Kentoki," Leo said, "he's the one who we'll be fighting against tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Jay said, staring at the Shard resting in his lap. "I have come across him a few times in the past. He's powerful, and I've never truly been able to defeat him by myself. You see, Kentoki is a war lord from a distant planet whose social system is built on strength and power, of which Kentoki once found himself on top of. He ruled the planet mercilessly. He lives for battle and gained his position by conquering any who would stand in his way.
"He had also heard the tales of the Shards of Light, but brushed them off as mere folklore. If only he had kept these beliefs, we would have been spared of all this trouble."
"What happened?" April asked.
"One day, long ago," Jay started again, "a worker dug up a strange rock in one of the mines. This rock was said to contain veins that glowed red and emanated a strange power."
"Sound familiar," Raph nudged Leo who shushed him.
"As the worker touched the rock, he gained the power to move objects and conjure whips of red light. The worker embraced his newfound power and begun to rampage, slaughtering many before Kentoki himself was forced to destroy him. That was when Kentoki first laid his eyes on the First Shard of Light. That was the moment when he truly believed the legends.
"Kentoki's greed only grew when he felt the power of the Shard for himself, but the fragment of Light encased in that Shard recognized Kentoki as evil, and blocked herself from his influence. Kentoki was enraged when he couldn't harness the Shard's power and set out to extract it any way he could, most methods involved trying to rip the Shard from the rock causing untold agony to the fragmented soul inside.
"In her suffering, the First Shard called out in a voice with no sound, begging someone to save her from this monster. It was not far off that someone heard the Shard's call. A young soldier in Kentoki's army, who didn't entirely believe in Kentoki's way of ruling, soon found himself breaking into his lord's vaults and stealing away the Shard. Together, they fled the planet and the first Guardian was found."
"And that was you?" Leo asked. "That's how you became a Guardian?"
Jay looked surprised at the question before smiling to himself, chuckling a little. "No, that wasn't me. That was the story of how Gengi became the Guardian of the Red Shard, the First Shard. Kape here is the Yellow and Third Shard."
"They're color coded?" Raph scoffed.
"Well think about it," Jay said. "What happens when you break apart white light?"
"You get a rainbow," Donnie answered as it clicked together in his mind. "So when Light shattered, she broke apart into the seven colours of the rainbow. Seven colours, seven Shards."
"Exactly," Jay nodded.
"Hold on," Raph interrupted, "we're assuming that all you Guardians have never met before, right?"
"That's right," Jay said.
"Then how is it you know his back story if you've never met the guy? How do you know what really happened?"
"That would be thanks to the Index," Jay replied.
"Index?" April said. "You mean the thing that answered the questions I asked in my head?"
"That would be it," Jay replied. "The Index is one of the things that links each Shard to each other. It's basically a collection of all the knowledge that each Shard, and before that, the knowledge that Light has gathered throughout her life."
"So then, you're the Guardian of the Third Shard," Leo said. "What does that mean exactly?"
"Each Shard has a Guardian," Jay said, "one who will protect her and keep her safe from the chaos Light comes to reunite all seven Shards. I don't know how the Guardians are chosen, but once you are, you're stuck with your Shard until Light shows up. It's not easy, that's for sure. No matter where we go, there's always someone or something trying to steal the Shard. She's like a magnet for trouble."
"Like what happed with the Creep," Mikey said.
"You're right," Donnie said. "The Creep was more fixated on getting the Shard than draining us of our mutagen this time."
"Thank goodness for that," Raph mumbled.
"Usually," Jay continued, "they aren't too difficult to deal with. The powers bestowed to the Guardian by the Shard are usually more than enough to discourage such people from trying anything."
"Like your zappy powers?" Casey asked.
"Za—Yeah, sure," Jay said, frowning at his choice of words. "They're handy, but if the Guardian is away from the Shard for too long, these powers begin to weaken and fade. A little incentive to stay close. Actually, it's one of the reasons I didn't confront you sooner. We were apart for too long, and I was unsure whether I'd be able to hold my own if it came down to a fight."
"It seems that you have been through many difficult trials for one so young," Master Splinter spoke up.
"I'm not as young as I look. In fact, originally, I wasn't even human," Jay admitted. That got everyone's attention. "I used to be called Marrow Fog and lived on a planet called Deltra Prone, where the Hunthians are the dominant species, in the year 10,628 AD."
"So you're like an alien?" Mikey wondered.
"Is that why you didn't freak out when you saw us?" Leo asked. "You're used to seeing aliens?"
"I suppose I've seen my fair share of odd creatures over the years," Jay pondered. "You guys really aren't all that odd looking."
"If you're from some other planet," Raph said. "Why do you look human?"
Jay sighed and inspected himself. "It seems that passing through the Hyper Vacuum has changed me in more ways than I thought possible."
"Hyper Vacuum?"
"Wait wait, go back a bit," Donnie said, holding up his hands. "When you say the year 10-thousand-something AD, do you mean to say that your . . ."
"From the future, yes. About eight thousands years, as far as I can tell."
"How is that possible?" Donnie wondered.
"That has to do with the Hyper Vacuum as well," Jay said. "You see; the Hyper Vacuum is one of the few phenomena of the universe that still remain a mystery. It's a giant, swirling pool of energy and chaos that is said to connect everything in the universe; galaxies, dimensions, time . . . even souls. Very little is known about the Hyper Vacuum's true nature or how it works, and I wasn't entirely sure what would happen after I passed through, or if I'd even survive the journey."
"Then why risk it?"
"Kentoki had me cornered and I couldn't let him get the Shard. It's my duty as a Guardian to keep her safe. I had no other way of escaping, of getting away from Kentoki, except to jump into the Hyper Vacuum and pray that I didn't get separated from Kape."
"So what happened?"
"Heh," Jay chuckled a little. "You know, it's funny, because I'm not exactly sure. Maybe the Vacuum made me human, maybe I connected with some human kid's soul, maybe I've always been human. What I do know is that I've traveled billions of light years and jumped eight thousand years into the past.
"It feels like it happened so long ago, but the memory is still so fresh in my mind. It was like, as soon as I jumped into the Vacuum, I was born again. I have a life on Earth as a human; my mother gave birth to me, I grew up, got a sister, went to school, lived the life of a normal human boy. But I always knew. Somehow I never forgot a single thing. I always knew I was a Guardian. I knew who was searching for us. I knew how to fight, how to defend myself and Kape. I knew that Kape was nearby and safe, but that it wouldn't last, because I knew Kape was only safe as long as she remained dormant."
"But then we found her," Leo said. "We dug her up."
"And then the chaos started to close in," Jay sighed, "as it always does. And now here we are, faced with defending against one of the most powerful and fearsome monsters in the universe."
"What can you tell us about him," Leo asked, his mind already plotting out possible attack strategies. "How do we fight against him?"
"In all honesty," Jay said, turning to him. "You guys don't stand a chance. He's a warlord that left the planet he conquered in search of more power. He'd been fighting to the death his whole life. Strength is the only thing that matters to him. Seeing as how we had that much trouble taking on a single Tagoo Commander, none of us would last a minute against Kentoki. He's a monster."
"Well that's reassuring," Raph rolled his eyes.
"What about the mech we got?" Donnie asked. "That's got to be able to do something, right?"
"Against Kentoki?" Jay said skeptically. "Not a chance. You'd be lucky is you're able to take on another Commander."
"What do you propose we do then?" Leo asked, crossing his arms in frustration.
"Kentoki will most definitely bring more Tagoos. You seem to capable of handling them, so you guys can concentrate of taking out the minions."
"Meaning you won't be joining us?" Donnie asked.
"Meaning," Jay clarified, "That me and April won't be joining you."
"Me?" April asked in surprise.
"Well, you, Hyper and Kape merged together." The others passed looks around between themselves.
"You mean, like, freaky golden April?" Mikey asked.
"Yes," Jay said. "Only the full power of a Shard will stand a chance against Kentoki. But in order for Kape to wield her power, she needs to merge with a compatible vessel and use the body as a conduit. In fact, it was Kape trying to merge with April that allowed Hyper to steal a fragment of the Shard's power in the first place."
"What do you mean?" April asked, remembering the day when she first touched the weird rock that seemed to call out to her.
"The process of merging is delicate," Jay explained. "It's usually accomplished with the Guardian guiding the Shard into the compatible's mind where they merge and join together. This is similar to what April and Hyper have managed to do, but to a lesser extent. Kape is able to take control of the body and harness Light's power. But when the merge is attempted without a Guardian, the Shard becomes vulnerable to attacks like the one carried out by Hyper." He paused and glanced down at the Shard that had started glowing again, before muttering, "I don't care about the odds, it still happened." The Shard's glow flickered before dimming again.
"Alright," Leo said, getting them back on track. "So after merging, April will be able to take on Kentoki?"
"Guardian and Shard fighting together as one is a force to be reckoned with. You all draw the Tagoos fire while we deal with Kentoki. One way or another, this all ends tomorrow, and there's no way in hell that Kentoki is getting his hands on my Shard."
Oo-oO
"I know, I know," Jay said. "I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, but I lost track of time. I told you I was hanging out with some friends . . . I'm letting you know now. And I'm spending the night . . . It's fine, mom . . . Yeah, they're good people . . . From school, we're in calculus and biology together . . . Thanks, mom . . . I'll come home tomorrow morning, but we made plans to go hang out some more . . . Yeah, I know . . . Yes . . . Yes . . . Mom! . . . I know, I love you too . . . I'll see you tomorrow. Bye"
He hung up the phone and sunk to the ground, his back against the old subway tunnel and the Shard in his lap. It was late, and the others were getting some rest.
So you've got a family again, Kape said in his mind.
"Yeah," Jay said, aloud. "Pretty sure I mentioned that earlier."
Show me, Kape urged.
Jay closed his eyes and cupped the Shard with his hands. He focussed and sent his thoughts and memories into the Shard. He showed her his mother and father, loving and supportive, his little sister, annoying and adorable and impossible to ignore. He showed memories of his life on Earth, of the friends he never truly connected with, the girls who tried to talk to him, and the feeling that this wasn't going to last forever. He knew that the Shard would awaken one day and this life would cease to exist.
Do you wish that you'd never found me? Kape asked, feeling responsible for her Guardian's loneliness.
"Sometimes I think about what would have happened if I didn't," Jay confessed. "But I have never regretted pulling you out of the river."
What about Selpa? Do you miss her?
Jay was quiet a moment before answering, "Every day."
Is that why you wouldn't go out with those other girls?
"How can I look at another woman when she's is thousands of light years away?"
Because you're probably never going to see her again.
"Doesn't mean I'll stop loving her."
And the other Guardians? Do you think their looking for us?
"I'm sure they are. But I don't know if they know even where to start. The Hyper Vacuum sent us far into the past, into a secluded galaxy that is hard pressed to find."
So what hope is there that Light will come?
"Don't you believe in your sisters? Don't you believe in yourself?"
I believe they'll find us. I'm just not sure if I can believe they will find us before it's too late. You're fooling yourself if you think that me merging with April will be enough to take on Kentoki. Maybe if you had some of your gear, but not like this. You talk a good game, but we don't stand a chance. It's why we've always ran in the past. We're not strong enough to fight that Monster.
"But we're not alone now," Jay consoled her. "We have help."
You really think they can help? They're a bunch of kids! You do know that Kentoki will bring more than one battalion, right? I say a minimum of three. That's fifteen squadrons and three Commanders in mechs. Admit it, this is hopeless.
"Don't sell these guys short. I believe Leonardo has a plan that could help deal with the Tagoos, and the others are more than capable of taking out a few dozen—"
Hundred.
"—a few hundred Tagoos. You know, they've taken on the Kraang before. There were a lot of them too."
Oo, nasty little buggars.
"Right? We can trust them, so we need to make sure that they can trust us."
What do we do?
"First," Jay said standing up again, "we see what we're up against."
Oo-oO
"What are you guys doing?" Leo asked the next morning as he walked into Donnie's lab to see Jay seated at Don's computer with Donnie standing behind him. The Shard was sitting beside the machine with what looked like a cable duck-taped to it.
"Hacking into satellites," Jay replied as he tapped away at the computer. "The ones the government likes to say don't exist." Donnie barely gave Leo a glance before his eyes were glued to the screen again, trying to follow the rush of numbers and code dancing across the screen.
"We can do that?" Leo asked rounding the desk to take a look for himself.
"Well, Kape can," Jay said. "We hooked her up to Don's computer and let her loose in the network. She's feeding us information on all incoming signals from space."
"What's that supposed to do?" Leo asked.
"Hopefully give us an idea of the size of army that Kentoki is bringing with him," Jay replied as smiled as a screen popped up. "Here we go," Jay sat back and inspected the map. "This green dot here is Earth," Jay pointed to the center of the screen. "These other dots are the planets in our solar system," Jay indicated the other colour dots on the screen. "But zooming out more, you can see these blips here," he indicated a couple of triangles that blinked and constantly traveled closer to the green dot at the center of the screen, "these are gonna be Kentoki's ships. Looks like five ships. One would be Kentoki's private cruiser and the other four would house a battalion each. That's four battalions." Jay huffed out a breath and racked a hand through his hair.
"I take it that's bad," Leo grimaced.
"Last night we faced one battalion," Jay said, his eyes following the blips on the screen. "And that was spread out over the night. This will be four battalions at once. That's four Commanders and twenty squadrons, that's about three hundred Tagoos!"
"How are we supposed to fight off that many?!" Donnie exclaimed.
"If only we had an army of our own here in New York," Jay said as he tried to work out a strategy.
"Hold on," Leo said with a mischievous grin. "Maybe we do."
A/N: Leo's got a plan. It's gonna be epic and you should leave a review, helps me write faster.