-the Dimensional Gateway-

Leonardo87 felt like an astronaut taking the first step on the moon as he stuck his foot through that portal, watching the swirling pink hologram swallow him up and bring him into a new place. After stepping through the portal, the world became the an chaotic blaze of pink for a few seconds, until - after a quick blink - he found himself staring around the Dimensional Gateway, Leonardo12 walking out ahead of him, his swords out and an aura of caution surrounding him. This was the Kraangs' territory.

With each step, Leonardo87 was more amazed with the new world around him. He put his feet on a solid surface that looked like swirling gray clouds. There was no sky, no walls, and no ground - just the dreary endlessness of gray and numerous permanent portals, their triangular pink surfaces rippling like the surface of water.

"Be careful," Leonardo87 said, watching Leonardo87 peer into the portals they passed. "Last time my brothers and I were here, we were attacked by something from Dimension X."

Upon hearing Dimension X, Leonardo87 perked up. "That's where Krang is from!" he blurted out. "The Krang from my dimension."

Leonardo12 narrowed his eyes in a thoughtful expression but didn't say anymore, remaining silent and sneaky. Leonardo87 watched the signs of unsettlement in the way Leonardo12 moved; this place was dangerous and he knew it. Leonardo87 kept his eyes away from the portals from then on - readying himself for battle at a moment's notice - and instead kept his eyes on his swords in his hands, watching the reflections of clouds move across the metal.

"I've only been to a small portion of the Dimensional Gateway," Leonardo12 said after a moment of silence. He pointed to a portal nearby. "This is the farthest I've ever gone in here, to this portal. It is your dimension."

Leonardo87 felt a tinge of longing looking at his dimension, the bright and cartoony New York buildings normal to him. But he looked away quickly, resisting temptation to go back there. If he did, abandoning all the other turtles, it could mean death for everyone in countless worlds. Everyone was needed on this team.

They walked farther along into the Dimensional Gateway, and it was now unknown territory for both Leonardos. They peered into portals - with most of them they passed they'd already visited and recruited turtles from - amazed by the seemingly endless collection of turtle dimensions that stretched out before them. They saw the destoyed Lair of the 2003 dimension, with Splinter03 sitting on a couch, his wounded leg being treated by Casey Jones and April as he watched soap operas. Then there was the 1996 dimension, a calm Japan with pink blossom trees blowing in the wind, with Splinter and Kinzo - the man the 1996 turtles had left behind - talking calmly under the shade of such a tree, as if they were completely confident that the turtles could defeat Shredder12 and save the world.

I've saved the world so many times, thought Leonardo87. Why is it so hard this time? If Kinzo and Splinter96 could see him and the rest of the team now, they would be disappointed in the lack of leadership and surplus of bitterness, plus the fact they couldn't even combine forces enough to defeat one man.

"We need Kinzo," Leonardo87 said. "We should go get him. We need anyone we can get to help us now." He turned to Leonardo12, who wasn't looking back at him, but the giant machine that towered behind them.

"Kraang!" both Leonardos shouted simultaneously, backing away.

-in the Technodrome- (after escaping the 2009 Turtles in Time: Re-shelled Dimension)

"Krang, you imbucile!" Shredder87 shouted. "You were so slow opening a portal for the Technodrome, those infernile turtles almost caught up to us!"

"So sue me!"

Shredder12 scoffed, irritated by the way Krang and Shredder87 fought like an old married couple. He pushed past them, tapping a few buttons to turn on the monitor again. Krang and Shredder87 continued to squabble, not noticing anything.

Shredder12 examined the image on the monitor, displaying the place they'd now travelled to. This dimension they had just come into looked familar, and he quickly remembered that it was the 2003 dimension. This had been the setting of a huge fight between the group of turtles - one had that nearly destroyed their Lair. He remembered injuring Splinter03 in the huge battle and was willing to bet Splinter was still in this dimension, healing. A perfect target. And Shredder12 already knew where the Lair of this dimension was; he could get there quickly.

Suddenly, there was a crash - like a hard object thudding against metal. Everyone in the Technodrome looked up to the ceiling, where it had came from. "What was that?" Krang said, but everyone remained completely silent as they waited for the noise to happen again. It never did.

"Krang, I've told you and told you," Shredder87 began,"This stupid hunk of junk is in need of repairs. I bet that crash was one of the panels falling off the Technodrome outside!"

Krang said something in return, something about Shredder87 being too cheap to fund repairing the Technodome, but Shredder12 strode straight out of the Technodrome rather than listen to the pathetic argument rage on.

The 2009 turtles clung to the panels on the exterior of the Technodrome, their fists gripped to the metal hand-holds, frowns spreading across their faces. They had ridden the Technodrome all the way from their dimension to this new one, and weren't planning on getting found out by the Shredder anytime soon, but at the time they felt was best to attack him and exact their revenge. But if they kept making noise, no doubt that someone would see them.

"Raph!" Leonardo09 hissed. "Be careful. They heard that and it made them suspicious." He looked down at the small satellite that Raphael09 had accidentally knocked off the roof onto the hard concrete ground. "They can't find us now. At the right time, we need to sneak in and ambush them, and we'll get answers as to where those Shredders came from. So be quiet!"

Shredder12 walked down the ramp as it was still lowering, and was surprised to see that the Technodrome had materialized in this dimension in the middle of a street intersection, and from the position of the sun and the baby blue sky it was obviously very early in the morning. There were a few cars and taxis in the street, blocked by the Technodrome. Inside, the normal humans were staring up at the Technodrome, their minds flashing back to that day one month ago when the city had been attacked by something very similar. Many people ran out of their cars and dashed away, but the most stubborn New Yorkers remained seated, letting the sounds of honking horns play over the timulteous screams.

The ramp finally crashed down on top of several cars and Shredder12 hopped to the ground, glaring at a driver in a red car honking at him. Shredder12 began to walk down the street between two lanes of cars, and the 2009 turtles hanging onto the Technodrome above had to slide to the other side of the sphere to stay out of Shredder12's sight.

Most people were still looking at the Technodrome, so Shredder12 went unnoticed as he lifted up a manhole cover and dropped in. He guessed inside the Technodrome Shredder87 and Krang had stopped arguing because now came the sounds of weapons being fired from the vehicle.

-2012 dimension-

Donatello12 pulled tight a bandage around Leo C's leg and then stood up straight, brushing off his hands after the long work. He turned around to see Donatello96 finishing off cleaning a few burns on Michelangelo03's wrist and said "All right, I think we've done all we can for now, guys. Let's take a break."

A few of the Donatellos joined in a high-three and walked out of the lab, carefully stepping around a few turtles sleeping off their injuries. A small smile glanced across Donatello12's face as he saw Mikey C's eyes flutter open for a moment before closing again. He'd be all right, in time.

Raphael12 , Raphael03, Raphael90, and Casey Jones12 had returned to the Lair from their skateboarding adventure in the tunnels, so, naturally, the Lair was in chaos when the Donatellos walked in. Casey Jones C and Casey Jones 12 were arguing over the television remote to decide who got to pick what to watch when they turned the television on. Raphael12 was yelling at Michelangelo12 for making a mess with the last box of pizza, and Raphael90 had pulled Casey Jones's baseball bat away from him without being noticed, examining it. "A Jose Canseco bat? Please..."

And, Splinter12 had finally been disturbed enough from meditating in the dojo to come see what was going on in the Lair. He must have gotten over the shock a few minutes ago, because now he was conversing with Splinter C.

Donatello07 came in and dropped into the empty bean bag chair, close to Michelangelo07, who was laughing as Michelangelo90 reenacted scenes from the movie Rocky. Donatello03, whose bo staff had been broken a few hours ago fighting Shredder, was given a new one from Donatello12, who always had some extras ready in case he broke one. Donatello90 went over and began to practice sparring with Raphael87. Donatello96 watched the two fight, wondering why he was the only Donatello to own a bo staff, or that none of his brothers had any sort of weapon the other turtles carried.

Donatello13 took a seat in the pit of the Lair, the center of activity, and put his chin in his hands. He tried not to stare at April12, sitting a few feet away and laughing at Michelangelo90's hilarious acting, her blue eyes twinkling and her shoulders bouncing. Donatello13 tried to keep his eyes on Michelangelo13, watching the orange-masked turtle near a fight with an angered Raphael96 over some silly subject. He then looked down at the Gravity Gauntlet hooked on his arm, wondering if there was a way to improve it so it would be more useful fighting Shredder.

"Hey."

Donatello13 looked up to see Donatello87, the turtle he got along the worst with, standing above him. Donatello87 looked awkward and uncomfortable around Donatello13, who practically hated him. "What do you want?" Donatello13 said.

"Um..." Donatello87 gulped. "I was just wondering: maybe you'd like some help with your Gravity Gauntlet. I remember suggesting some ways to improve it yesterday. It's quite an amazing device, but I know I - we - can make it even better." He smiled hopefully, trying to get Donatello13 to like him. They couldn't be at each other's throats all the time.

"What are you going at?" Donatello13 said, his dislike for Donatello87 leaking disdain into his voice.

Donatello87 dropped down to sit next Donatello13. He pointed to the circuits on the Gauntlet. "I think rather than powering this on charged energy, we could add a solar energy unit and put it...here. What do you think?"

Donatello13 looked over at Donatello87. "That just might work, but we won't be fighting much in daylight. I say we keep put the solar unit in, but keep the energy storage part so it can work during night. Maybe I could move the power storage unit closer to the anti-graviton generator for a quicker exchange, too."

"Perfect. Plus, if we make the device thinner but longer, it wouldn't interfere with your fighting as much, uh, Donnie. And maybe if we hook this wire over there instead of here - "

Donatello13 completely forgot his unreasonable hatred for Donatello87, caught up in the excitement of inventing. And, judging by the way Donatello87's eyes lit up as he got a new idea, he was too. They looked past their stark differences and found something that brought them together.

-the Dimensional Gateway-

Leonardo12 and Leonardo87 leapt out of the way as a fist came pounding against the invisible ground. "What is that?" Leonardo87 asked, pointing his sword up at the thing attacking them.

Leonardo12 ducked a punch, rolling away from the advancing machine. "It's something of the Kraangs'. My brothers and I had to fight one of these last time we were in this Gateway!" Above him, the huge machine reared up, roaring. It was a robot, tall and imposing, with a gorilla-like body, but instead of a head there was a Kraang atop it controlling its every move.

Leonardo87 ducked a kick from the machine, stabbing his sword into the foot above him and quickly pulling it out. Wires burst and crackled inside. "We passed Dimension X's portal! This must have seen us go by!" He leapt onto the robot's shoulders and made a swipe towards the glass dome protecting the Kraang but the robot punched him off. Leonardo87 screamed, tumbling down the hall of portals. His swords fell from his hands, and Leonardo87 pressed his hands to his stomache, groaning in pain. A distance away, Leonardo12, still fighting the robot, suddenly felt a twinge of pain like he'd been hit as well.

-2012 dimension-

Leonardo03 suddenly stopped sparring with Raphael90, putting a clenched fist against his chest in hopes to comfort a sudden pain. Leo C dropped to his knees, groaning. Leonardo96 shouted out what was probably a swear word in Japanese, and the rest of the Leonardos in the Lair were obviously in pain as well. Splinter12 and Splinter C looked concerned and went to help them.

Donatello12 helped Leonardo90 to his feet. He realized what this sudden pain meant. The two Leonardos in the Dimensional Gateway were in trouble. They needed help.

-the Dimensional Gateway-

The Kraang robot went after the downed Leonardo87, with Leonardo12 doing his best to keep him back. Leonardo87, watching from the floor, was amazed to see Leonardo12's dark blue eyes suddenly turn blazing white as he became engrossed in the fight. The robot fought to get past him, but Leonardo12 was suddenly fiercer and swifter. The robot made a run towards him, but Leonardo12 shouted out a battle cry and sliced the robot's arm clean off, leaving a stump of sparking and severed wires. The Kraang narrowed his green eyes and hit Leonardo12 away with his remaining hand, finally able to get to Leonardo87.

Leonardo87 stumbled towards his swords, but the robot was advancing too fast. It almost stepped on him but Leonardo87 rolled out of the way. He pulled himself to his feet and charged the robot without weapons, leaping onto it and punching the Kraang on top. The Kraang was even angrier now, trying to grasp Leonardo87 with his remaining hand, but he stubbornly stayed on. Out of nowhere, the robot spun in a fast circle, whipping Leonardo87 straight off of it. He bounced across the floor and into the portal of the 1996 anime dimension before he even realized what was happening.

"No!" Leonardo12, now alone with the robot. More Kraang were coming along in the hall of dimensions, in their regular human-sized suits and toting big guns. Leonardo12 sliced one in half immediately, evading enemy fire to make it to another. He kicked its gun from its hand and threw the robot, the Kraang popping out and crawling away. Leonardo12 turned to see the giant robot's hand flinging towards him.

-the 1996 Dimension-

Kinzo and Splinter were startled to see a portal open up in the middle of the peaceful clearing, and equally surprised to see a turtle drop out of it, falling to the ground in a heap about a hundred yards away from them. Kinzo and Splinter immediately ran to him, fearing the worst because the turtle hadn't yet moved from where he'd landed.

Splinter96 had thought that this had been his own son from his dimension, but when he came up to the the turtle he realized it was Leonardo87. The 1987 turtles looked very similar to the 1996 turtles, the only physical difference being the clothing they wore.

"Leonardo-san," Splinter96 said, rolling Leonardo87 over to look him in the eyes. The turtle coughed and sat up, looking around for his swords that weren't there, but left behind in the Dimensional Gateway. "Are you okay?"

"Where am I?" Leonardo87 asked, rubbing his head. He stood up and looked to the portal hanging five feet in the air above him. "Oh..." He realized he'd fallen through a portal during the fight.

"What happened to you?" Kinzo asked, at first in Japanese but he realized his mistake and repeated himself in English. "I thought you were off fighting Shredder!"

"I am, don't worry," Leonardo87 said. He stood straight and readjusted himself. "Just got a little sidetracked, that's all."

"There's something you're not telling me," said Splinter96, scowling. "You look injured and exhausted. Did you get lost in this dimension somehow during a fight?" He leaned over his cane and looked Leonardo87 hard in the eyes. Leonardo87 had the same expression Leonardo96 did when he was feeling guilty about lying.

"Uhm, yes, you are correct, Master Splinter," Leonardo87 said after a little hesitation, bowing respectfully. "I was in a battle in the Dimensional Gateway. I really must get back."

There was a shout and Leonardo87 and the others looked up to see Leonardo12's foot stick through the portal, before disappearing. Leonardo12 must be losing the fight, cornered against the 1996 portal. After a few seconds, Leonardo12 came out of the portal all at once, hitting the ground. The gorilla-like robot followed quickly, but before it even landed on the ground Leonardo87 leapt into the air and kicked it. The robot landed on a nearby tree, knocking off several branches and setting the beautiful pink blossoms on them aflutter.

"Leonardo," Splinter96 said, addressing them both. "You are injured. Allow me and Kinzo to fight this monster back into the portal. Seek refuge for now." The rat dropped his frail posture and held up his cane, ready for battle.

Leonardo87 gulped, not wanting to leave the two to fight alone. Leonardo87 felt the same connection with Splinter96 as he did with his own Splinter, so losing him would be like losing his own father. But he obeyed orders and pulled a frail Leonardo12 under the shade of another tree. "You fought bravely. I did not expect that from you."

"Thanks, I guess," Leonardo12 breathed. He smiled lightly, glad at least one Leonardo him as a serious ninja now.

"Sayonara, bakemono!" Kinzo shouted, punching every inch of the robot he could reach, not caring as its giant fists ripped feriociously at his clothes, tearing the black fabric.

The monster made it past Kinzo and lunged for the resting Leonardos, but Splinter96 jumped out of nowhere, shouting "Get away from my sons!" He used his walking staff to hit the robot, propelling it backwards with surprising force. Kinzo came up to it again and kicked it in the air, high enough to send it through the portal it came from. Splinter and Kinzo jumped through the portal after it, and Leonardo12 and Leonardo87 jumped up and followed them as quickly as they could.

Inside the Dimensional Gateway, even more normal Kraang droids had come to the fight, and Kinzo and Splinter dodged their fire with agility, not backing down on their attack of the robot monster.

Leonardo87 found his swords abandoned on the floor and held them up to his sides, charging into the midst of Kraang. "None of these should make it away from here alive!" he shouted. "They can't get to Dimension X with information on where we are!" Leonardo12 fought beside him, hiding his pain in his eagerness to fight.

"Hiya!" Leonardo12 shouted, slicing a Kraang's legs at the knees and kicking the brain-like blob right out of the chest cavity. "There are too many of them!" He dodged a shot from one of their guns. "We can't take them all down."

Kinzo had finally knocked down the giant gorilla robot, standing atop it and catching his breath. Splinter96 helped him hold it down.

"Hey!"

"Huh?" Leonardo12 looked up to see who had talked. He broke out into a smile when he saw a turmoil of turtles running towards the fight. It had been Michelangelo12 who had shouted, running at the front of the group. He knocked a Kraang's head off with his nunchaku. "Booyahkasha!"

"Booyah-ka-what?" Michelangelo87 said, staring at Michelangelo12 with cartoonishly wide eyes. He recovered from his shock and gave Michelangelo12 a thumbs-up. "Dude, that sounds cool, whatever it was. Mondo bizarro!" He turned to a Kraang and knocked it down, shouting "Cowabunga!"

"Cowabunga?" Michelangelo12 said. "Hmm..."

Now that the Kraang droids were occupied with all of the turtles, Leonardo12 walked onto the giant robot, pointing his sword directly at the face of the Kraang in the suit, and the creature went cross-eyed trying to keep the tip in view. Leonardo87 followed his new friend and glared at the Kraang with the same intimidating expression. The creature's eyes suddenly diverted away from Leonardo12's sword and landed on Leonardo87. He seemed oddly interested in the turtle, as though he'd seem him before.

"Why is it looking at me?" Leonardo87 asked. Leonardo12 shrugged.

"It is the turtle known as Leonardo, who is the turtle who fought the Kraathatrogon," spoke the Kraang, still fixated on Leonardo87. The blue-masked turtle backed away, startled.

"The what?"

"A Kraathatrogon?" Leonardo12's eyes became huge. "A Kraang worm? You fought one? How?"

"Oh...that worm..." Leonardo87 said. "Yes, my brothers and I fought one a few weeks ago. It came out of nowhere and started attacking civilians, so we came into fight it. I think we killed it, but I'm not sure it was completely gone; Something happened after we killed the worm, but it's all a blur. I don't remember what happened. I think something knocked my brothers and I out, but I remember waking up and Michelangelo dragging us off to eat pizza, thinking we'd won the battle."

"Why did you never mention that?" Leonardo12 said, his expression manic. "Something came out of the Kraang worm, too?" By the look on his face, he knew what it had been.

Leonardo87 replied, "I never thought it was important. My brothers and I fight things like that practically on a daily basis." He shrugged it off nervously, avoiding Leonardo12's heated glare.

"That must be where the worm went," Donatello12 said, speaking of the 1987 dimension. "The worm that came towards the portal with April and Casey when I reversed the portal's polarity. I had thought it went back to Dimension X, but it must have made it to your dimension instead!" He swept his bo staff across the ground, tripping several Kraang droids and then attacking them.

Leonardo12 frowned, turning back to the Kraang in the gorilla robot. "How did you know that this Leo fought the Kraang worm. How were any Kraang in that dimension to see it happen?" The Kraang took a while to answer, probably thinking over what and what not to say, all the while glancing between Leonardo87 and the sword in its face.

"The Kraathatrogon is what is known as a valuable resource to Kraang. Kraang searched for the missing Kraathatrogon after the turtle known as Donatello sent it through the portal. It was found dead sooner rather than later in a dimension new to the Kraang. Kraang also saw those who are known as the turtles inhabiting this dimension and also found turtles in other dimensions near to this single dimension in the Dimensional Gateway. With this information, Kraang formed the theory of a multi-verse of those known as the turtles."

"What does that mean?" Michelangelo07 asked.

Donatello12 nearby rolled his eyes. "It means that the Kraang searched the dimensions for the missing Kraang worm and found it in that dimension, but they also saw those turtles" - he pointed to Leonardo87 - "and that lead them to discover the multi-verse! There are so many dimensions in this Dimensional Gateway, I'm sure the Kraang haven't explored them all in detail, which made the multi-verse a surprise!"

"Okay, brainiac, we get it! Save ya lecture for later!" Raphael03 shouted, at the same time he pushed Donnie C away from a shot making its way towards his head.

"Tell us more, you ugly Krangy thingy!" Kinzo shouted, slapping the brain-like creature in the face. This creature looked just like the brain thing Kinzo remembered attacking him with Shredder a few days ago. "Talk! Talk! Talk! Taidan!" He continued to slap it. Leonardo12 struggled to retain a serious expression, laughing inside. When the Kraang didn't talk, he pressed the sword closer to its face.

"Kraang told the man known as Shredder about the multi-verse."

"We know that!" Leonardo12 shouted. He sighed. "This Kraang is useless. He's out of important information." He brought his sword down and the Kraang was silenced mid-scream.

Down below, the turtles had destroyed most of the Kraang already. None of the Kraang could make it out of this fight alive, bringing important information to the others in Dimension X or the 2012 dimension about the location of the turtles. The turtles who had a chance of saving the multi-verse. The remaining droids began to dash away, knowing the fight was lost.

"Oh, I just love it when they run!" Raphael87 said to the wall more than anyone else. He gave chase, stabbing his sai through one droid. Casey Jones C smashed one into oblivion. Donatello07 took two others out, giving Raph C and high-three when he took out the last one, violently stabbing the Kraang inside the suit.

After all the Kraang were dead, the turtles hid the evidence of the fight - the broken droids and destroyed gorilla robot - by pushing it into a dimension that looked like a barren wasteland. Any Kraang that came down this hall in the future would not know the turtles had had a fight here or had even been here. "We should get back to my dimension before any more things from Dimension X attack us," Leonardo12 said. "We can send a few turtles into the Dimensional Gateway later when things have cooled down, so we can recruit more to fight Shredder."

As the turtles walked away towards the 2012 dimension, the 1996 turtles gave Splinter96 a hug, saying goodbye, not knowing if they would ever see him again. It was a sad, crushing thought. Part of them just wanted to go back to peaceful Japan with Splinter and live their lives, free from the groups of other turtles that had no respect for them.

"I have an idea," said Kinzo, and everyone turned to look at him. "Why don't Splinter and I stay in the Dimensional Gateway and prevent any Kraang from moving between dimensions? We could get information from them and it would halt any of that important information from being transported from Dimension X to the Kraang in their dimension" - the 2012 turtles'.

"Great idea," Leo C said, smiling. "That would be helpful." He waved to Kinzo and Splinter96 as the group of turtles walked back to the 2012 dimension.

"I can't believe Kinzo came up with that plan!" whispered Raphael96 to his brother Michelangelo. He remembered Kinzo being a bumbling ninja, but maybe fighting to save the multi-verse had brought out the best in him.

"I guess we'll need to make more room in the lab," Donatello12 mumbled. "We've got a couple more injuries to take care of. Nothing serious though." He watched Casey Jones12 limp and saw Raphael03 trying to take care of a small gash on his arm, trying to put pressure on it. It was no surprise that their pain was echoed in Casey Jones C and all the other Raphaels, respectively, gritting their teeth and shutting their eyes tight against the uncurable phantom pain.

-2003 dimension-

Krang smiled like the maniacal world-conquerer he was as he fired weapons - a mix of huge missiles and lasers and bombs - at the army tanks that were surrounded the Technodrome, hardly making a scratch on its nearly impenetrable metal skin. Yet the floor still shook with every shot that hit the vehicle, knocking the people inside back and forth.

This was all just a distraction. With the giant Technodrome back in the 2003 dimension after a month, no one would notice Shredder12 looking for the injured Splinter in the sewers. All the army and all of the news crews were fixated on the Technodrome sitting still in the middle of a street intersection.

Shredder87 leaned against the wall, adjusting himself every time he was knocked to the side. His arms were folded, his eyes scowling past the wall as if to the world beyond it. His thoughts went back to that fateful day a month ago, when he'd felt death gripping him as Utrom Shredder nearly killed the Turtle Primes. That couldn't happen again. Shredder12 couldn't be successful.

But the Shredder was one step closer to winning now. Down in the sewers, he'd found the Lair. He stood in the shadows, watching April03 and Casey Jones03 take care of Splinter and his injured leg. They had no idea Shredder was there, planning his attack, biding his time.

-2012 Dimension-

A single Kraang tapped away at a keyboard, its keys a bright white and melded into the computer screen, and filled with letters of a language unknown. After the Kraang finished typing, the progress bar on the monitor got smaller once again, shrunk into the corner like the video coverage of Shredder had once been - ironic, because now the video coverage took up so much of the screen every wrinkle on Krang's face was visible in full detail. Karai cringed at that, with her blood thumping in anger at the Kraang at ignoring her and not explaining anything.

Who was this one single Kraang who sat in the thing called the Technodrome? Why did he look slightly different from the rest of the Kraang race, a little more blob like, with lavender eyes rather that piercing green. All the Kraang in the TCRI building top floor stared at the Technodrome on the screen like children glued to the television watching their favorite program. Some of the Kraang left - actually, a large chunk of them - and Karai wondered where they were going as she listened to the elevator slide down the shaft.

"Sixty-nine percent," she whispered to herself, hugging her arms tight to her chest. Thirty-one percent more and all this confusion would be over, along with the Turtle Primes lives. But she wondered if siding with the Kraang to take out the turtles was actually the good decision she had believed it to be at the beginning.

-the Dimensional Gateway-

Thirty Kraang marched out of the 2012 portal, their shiny silver suits all identical and their round pink eyes vague yet intimidating. Kinzo and Splinter96 stared at them as they came in, dodging the enemy fire. The Kraang headed towards the 2003 Dimension, and Kinzo and Splinter attacked, defending the dimension.

"Why are they going here?" Kinzo wondered aloud, between heavy breaths and battle cries. His eyes became wild and he pushed a droid to the ground, taking the Kraang outside of the suit and throwing it the length of the hall of dimensions, until it became a speck of pink and then disappeared.

Splinter and Kinzo fought as best they could, with only one weapon - a cane - between them. They didn't know why they Kraang were determined to go into the 2003 dimension (having no idea that was where the Technodrome was situated) but they did know they had to keep Kraang from travelling between dimensions, for multiple reasons.

Kinzo stood over a pile of emptied and broken droids, his chest heaving against the ripped black fabric, watching Splinter fight the last five Kraang. The rat was nothing more than a blur, his cane coming down on the robots when they least expected it, knocking them down or to the side or into another droid. Kinzo kneeled over and plucked a gun from the cold metal hands of a disabled robot and used it to shoot down two of the remaining Kraang. Splinter eventually took out two more. Kinzo leapt across the hall and pinned the last droid against the murky gray floor. "Why are you here?" His menacing eyes, wild from the adrelaline of battle, met the calculating green of the alien's.

"The human will receive no answers from Kraang." The alien sounded dead set on his decision, and welcomed the blast from his own gun that killed him.

Kinzo looked up from the dead Kraang, to Splinter. "Wareware wa katsu koto wa dekimasen."

We can't win.

-2003 dimension-

Splinter smiled up at April, adjusting his wounded foot on the sofa. She smiled back, insisting that he'd be better in no time. Casey Jones flipped through the television channels, watching hockey games while Splinter's favorite soap opera was on a commercial break.

"I hope the turtles are okay fighting Shredder," April said to Casey Jones. "You said you tried to call their Shell Cell and they didn't pick up?"

"Just static. They must have broken them in a fight or something, or dropped them, or maybe we don't get service in other dimensions, I don't know." In a sudden bout of anger, Casey Jones threw the remote onto the sofa, standing up and pacing impatiently. "We have no way to know if they are beating Shredder, April. No way ta know if the multi-verse is falling apart right now and we'll be dead in five minutes! Man, I wish I was out there fighting Shredder. I'd show him who's da boss." He folded his arms and unfolded them, looking down sadly at Splinter and the bandages around his foot.

"Shredder will pay for what he did to you, Splinter," he grumbled, changing the channel back to the soap opera.

"Are you so sure?"

The voice seemed to come from the walls themselves. It was deep and rumbling and the source was undeterminable. It enveloped the Lair like cold during winter, and just the same sent goose bumps racing up everyones' arms.

"Prepare to face the Shredder!" shouted the voice again, deeper than the lava beneath the earth's crust.

"April!" Casey Jones shouted. "Take Splinter away from here! I'll show this creep not to mess with Casey Jones!" He ran forward, towards the shadowy corner of the Lair, pulling out his hockey stick and putting his mask over his face. "Goongala!"

This chapter was published on May 31, 2014 - the last day of the month TMNT turned thirty years old. This is an amazing accomplishment. Every year TMNT gets bigger and bigger. Yes, there are ups and downs - such as the Next Mutation show - but TMNT fans have learned as much as any other fandom to take the good with the bad, and the good definitely outnumbers the bad.

TMNT came into my life not too long ago but it has made a major impact on me. Sometime near the end of 2012 I watched the first thing I had ever seen from TMNT - the 2012 episode "Never Say Xever". Watching it again, I have seen how perfect of an episode and have no questions as to why that one episode instantly made me a die-hard fan. I may not have an amazing story about how TMNT came into my life, but in no way does that make me less dedicated to this franchise. It has changed my life in so many ways (I'll elaborate on this on future chapter footnotes). I'm so glad I decided to watch that silly TMNT show that day less than two years ago.