The story is getting to the climax! I hope you enjoy this chapter.
And just to clear something up that happens this chapter: in the 2013 TMNT video game and nearly all TMNT video games pizza is used as a power-up.
After they left the 2003 dimension and were waiting for the Trans-Dimensional Portal Stick to track Shredder the turtles explored random dimensions for a little over an hour, looking for any traces that the Shredder or the Technodrome had been there. They found themselves in the IDW dimension at first, then the 1987 dimension, but the cities didn't seem to be in chaos like they had just experienced an attack from the Technodrome.
It was in the 1987 dimension, when Raphael87 was recounting every battle he and his brothers had ever had on each street they walked on, in full detail, that the turtles were surprised to find someone lurking in the shadows near them. Half hidden by darkness, some of the turtles could see the purple mask and the short body of Donatello89 before the others did. Michelangelo90, however, walked straight into the turtle, and fell to the ground. Michelangelo12 helped his friend to his feet, all the while staring at Donatello89 like he was a ghost.
"What are you doing here?" Leonardo89 asked, surprised. Donatello89 had been assigned to stay back in the 2012 dimension and take care of the injured turtles, Raphael89 and Mikey C.
"Looking for you!" Donatello89 said in his moderately high voice, rubbing his head from the run-in with Michelangelo90. "I used the Portable Portal you left me. Kinzo told me he'd seen you guys wandering around this dimension so I came in. And thanks for the great hello, brother." He scowled, his stiff arcade-like features looking a little off in the bright, active 1987 dimension. He slapped the Portable Portal into Leonardo89's hand.
"But what about the injured guys?" Leonardo03 hissed. He looked furious. "You can't just leave them there!"
"Relax, relax!" Donatello89 said hastily, waving his arms. "You really think I'm that dumb? They were actually the ones that pursuaded me to come. Mikey woke up only a few minutes after everyone left, and Raph had been up for hours. They wanted to come after all of you, join the fight. I, of course, advised them against it, told them to consider the conditions they were in, but they practically forced me into the portal."
It was at that moment that Mikey C and Raphael89 snuck out of the shadows. Mikey C had a bandage still wrapped around his head, and his arm in a sling, but looked like he wouldn't rather be anywhere else. Raphael89 had had most of his bandages removed, but still looked pretty bad off, sharing a fine amount of bruises and cuts with the turtle beside him.
"Are you kiddin', Mike?" said Raphael C, shocked. "They said you might have gotten a concussion."
"I'll be fine. I can't do much, but I wouldn't miss the fight for the world. Which, I guess, is what we'll miss if we lose against Shredder." He shrugged with one shoulder, as if nothing was wrong. "Besides, brainiac here" - he indicated Donatello89 - "told me not to exert myself, or he'll personally break my other arm."
"He added that last part," Donatello89 added, trying to retain his serious composure but it was easy to see, even in the darkness, the small smile spreading across his face.
"No, I didn't - "
Leonardo90 interrupted. "Well, I guess you guys are coming - "
"We are warriors, dude," said Raphael89. "You can't stop us. I'm not going to be the reason we fail against Shredder. Everyone on this team is needed. So, I'm here for the ride, better or for worse, bros."
"Deep," commented Michelangelo12, giving Raphael89 a high-three.
" - then we should be off. We can't waste our time in this dimension," continued Leonardo90 as if he hadn't been interrupted. Most of the turtles, nodded with agreement. Leonardo12 watched his counterpart closely, admiring Leonardo90's ability to lead so well without distraction, and the younger Leonardo made notes for himself in his mind, trying to improve his leadership skills so he could be like the other Leonardos.
"If you guys listened to me, we'd have gone to another dimension ten minutes ago," scoffed Leonardo07. So far he hadn't been impressed by this team, and he still had a grudge against them all he couldn't reason with. He was finding it hard to forgive them for what happened to Raphael07 even though it was hardly their fault, perhaps not at all.
"Who made you leader?" snapped several Leonardos at once. Nevertheless, they did open a portal and left the peaceful 1987 dimension within a few minutes.
-in the Technodrome-
Krang manuevered the humongous Technodrome through a portal to escape the 2003 dimension. Next to him, Shredder87 stared up at the monitor screen as the video coverage changed from the burning, military-filled streets of the 2003 dimension to the 1987 dimension. This New York City seemed calm, with crowds of people walking hurriedly to their destinations on the sidewalks of a near-empty street.
But once the Technodrome took up the middle of the street and began to rumble down the road, crushed parked cars, the citizens began to panic. They cleared the sidewalks in seconds, screaming.
Inside the Technodrome, Krang was laughing happily. In his gurgly voice he shouted,"Oh, this is perfect Shredder! The infernile turtles of this dimension are gone and we have captured Splinter! It would be so easy to take over the city, right now!"
"NO!" shouted Splinter87. He gathered all his strength and fought against Rocksteady's hold, and managed to get an arm free.
"Shut up, Hamato," said Shredder87, angrily kicking the rat on the leg. Shredder87 seemed to be pondering his options, wondering if it was actually possible he could finally conquer New York, and wanted things quiet while he thought. Suddenly, his happy expression dropped, sliding straight off his face, as he remembered Shredder12. He looked over to see the menace fighting against Bebop's grip, and winning.
"But what will we do with him?" Shredder87 asked, pointing to his counterpart. "He's insane."
"Throw him on the street. We can run him over," Krang said.
Shredder87 growled in frustration. "I'm serious, Krang! We've got to do something about him. This Shredder doesn't know his place; he wants to make every dimension pay for what his Splinter did to him. He has the potential to destroy the multi-verse, and ultimately, us!"
"I'm serious, too," retorted Krang, becoming haughty. "Kill him." He folded his arms and stared at Shredder87, as if daring him to do it.
Shredder87 eyes widened. He obviously hadn't considered that. Slowly, he turned to look at Shredder12, wondering how he would kill the man. If push came to shove, Shredder87 could take on Shredder12, but his counterpart was so much bigger and determined to make others pay so much that practically nothing - not even a wounded leg and a dysfunctional band of turtles - could stop him.
Shredder12, wrestling feriously against Rocksteady's steady hold, glared at his counterpart. The look was so powerful it was as if Shredder12 was willing Shredder87 to die, right there in front of him. Shredder12 hated the shorter version of himself, for taking him away from Splinter03 right as he was on the edge of destroying him. The man was so angry; he wanted to crush things and kill everyone. He wanted to shout at Shredder87 to stop staring at him, stop imagining him dead. And Shredder12 was just about to do just that, when a small noise stopped him.
It was static, rustling and annoying, that grew louder and louder. No one was reacting to the sound - it seemed only Shredder12 could hear it. And just as a voice - tinny and choppy - broke through the white noise, saying "The man known as the Shredder - " did Shredder12 remember the earpiece hooked to his ear under his helmet. The man suddenly sat up straighter, amazed that the Kraang were communicating with him again after over a day of silence. It was even a miracle that the earpiece had remained undamaged enough to function.
Shredder12 didn't know what to do. He couldn't reply to the Kraang speaking, or the others would suspect something. But, as if his mind had been read, the Kraang said,"Do not speak. Kraang has information for the man known as Shredder. It is important - "
"Gee, boss!" shouted Rocksteady, unwittingly covering the Kraang's voice in Shredder12's ear for a few seconds. "Dis Shredder is tough. Can I let go a' him now?"
Under his metal helmet, Shredder felt a devilish grin spread across his lips, listening to what the Kraang told him. The aliens were willing to help him again. They said, if Shredder12 would just do everything they told him too, they would get him to another dimension. He was so elated that he didn't wonder what was in it for the Kraang if he did everything they said.
"Shredder must take over what is known as the Technodrome. Do not kill the other life forms inside. Open up a portal to the dimension that looks like - "
"Shredder!" gurgled Krang, the one in the Technodrome. He angrily thrashed with his pink appendages as he added,"Did you hear that?" His purple eyes scanned the interior of the Technodrome.
"Hear what, Krang?" said Shredder87 loudly, narrowing his eyes at the brain-like alien. The man had been gleefully imagining Shredder12 dead with a noose around his neck but the alien had broken his daydream.
"It was like a crash! Coming from inside the walls, I believe. Over by that reporter, April O'Neil, near the roof!"
April O'Neil seemed to have heard the noise as well, for she was screaming louder than ever. Half of her believed the noise was from the turtles coming to rescue her, breaking through the walls themselves, but the other half imagined something much more worse. Nothing had been going for her these past few days, so why would her luck switch now? She imagined the worst possible thing inside those thick, metal walls.
Shredder87 listened closely, but the sound never came again. "You're hearing things, Krang. Or maybe we just hit a bird and it made that noise..."
"You always say that!" Krang shouted. "What if it was the turtles?" He stepped away from the controls towards Shredder87, looking like he wanted to strangle him. "You never listen to me!"
"Attack the others in the Technodrome..." said the Kraang in Shredder12's ear.
"I listen to you! When you actually make sense!" shouted Shredder87, folding his arms. He completely forgot about Shredder12.
"...but do not kill them, especially the one known as Krang - "
"Oh yeah? They why don't you believe me now? I think there is something hiding in the Technodrome, my Technodrome!" whined Krang, his voice high and irritating.
" - Get to the dimension Kraang have told you about, Shredder, and do it..."
Shredder12 smiled, watching as the room broke into chaos while he listened calmly to the Kraang. This was his chance to get back on track.
"Now!" finished the Kraang.
With a sudden burst of energy, Shredder12 burst from Rocksteady's grasp, shocking the mutant so much he didn't react until the villain was halfway to the control panel. As the rhino pointed to Shredder12 and shouted to his master, Shredder12 increased his speed. His footsteps were heavy and rebounded throughout the circular room. Shredder87 broke off of his argument with Krang and planted himself between his counterpart and the control panel, but Shredder12 shoved him over with renewed strength.
He slammed at the buttons, yelling at the machine to process his commands quickly. Bebop came at him and Shredder sliced at him and then threw him at the wall, knocking him out. He next sent an unconscious Rocksteady sliding into the wall on the other side, past a Shredder87 who seemed to tired, injured, and shocked to challenge Shredder12 again.
"No! No, no, no!" Krang screamed. His hands spun and suddenly sharp blades replaced the red gloves on his robotic body. He ran at Shredder, swinging his arm down like a sword. Swiftly, Shredder12 spun around, blocking the move with his metal wrist armor. He kicked at the robot feet, tripping Kraang, and then as the alien fell, Shredder12 sliced off the robot hand that had attacked him as easily as if it were made of snow.
Krang fell out of his body, hitting the ground with such force that he was knocked out instantly. Shredder12 wanted to kill him, but the Kraang had specifically told him not to. He hated taking orders from the likes of the Kraang, but it was the only path he saw in front of him that lead to success. He stepped over to Shredder87 on the ground and with one fell swipe knocked the bewildered man unconscious.
He turned back to the control panel, pulling up the portal to the dimension the Kraang had told him of, but as he did he saw Splinter87 in the corner of his mind, free from the mutants who had been restraining him. Shredder12 watched him, and the rat stared right back, both of them planning an attack.
Cautiously, Shredder12 navigated the Technodrome into the portal. And as the vehicle travelled to the new dimension, Shredder12 turned to Splinter. He approached the rat, and Splinter - remembering what this villain had already done to him - backed up in fear, taking a step back for each one Shredder took. Unwittingly, he allowed Shredder12 to push him into a cylindrical, closet-sized room that appeared to have once been something, an unfunctioning invention that Kraang had abandoned. Before Splinter even knew what was going on, Shredder12 slammed the door on him. Splinter instantly tried to break out, but the door, clear like glass, did not break. The rat was trapped.
Shredder12, smiling, turned to look back at the monitor. At first, he couldn't believe his eyes. Slowly, unbelieving, his spoke to the Kraang on his earpiece. "I'm there."
-2013 TMNT: Out of the Shadows dimension-
The turtles walked out of a portal into the 2013 dimension. Leonardo13 quickly began to look around, scanning the skyline. Over the the low roofs of the nearby buildings, there was a brilliant view of a rare New York blue sky and a blazing yellow sun, he didn't see a single glimpse of the huge Technodrome. "Coast looks clear, guys."
"Good," Michelangelo13 said, relieved. Beside him Donatello13 looked around happily at the version of New York he knew so well. He breathed deeply, as if he'd been stuck underwater in every other dimension and he could only truly breath in his own.
"Well, is there anything we need here, before we leave?" Leonardo12 said, rocking on his heels nervously. He felt childish, trying to compete for the leader spot, when most of the turtles here - besides the 1987 and 1989 turtles - towered over him.
"Definitely, shorty," said Raphael13, gruffly. He stalked off down the street, sidling along in the shadows even though no one was around. A couple minutes later, he returned, his arms stretched over three pizza boxes. They were all pristine - a clean white - and so was the pizza inside. The pizza stood out against the shadows, almost shining.
"Can't feed all of us," said Raphael13,"But it's all I could find in this area."
Donatello87 remembered, from the last time he'd visited the 2013 dimension, the strange way these turtles could find clean, full boxes of pizza in the most random places. He also remembered with a start the way eating this pizza seemed to restore someone's energy, make them feel like they could do anything.
Some of the other turtles remembered that, too, and made sure the injured turtles got the first slices. Mikey C lit up on his first bite, feeling energy surge through him. Raphael89 became even more enthusiastic to chase down Shredder, despite his injuries. Leonardo87 became so rejuvenated he felt the pain of his black eye like a dull ache, similar to the way he could constantly feel the pain of the other Leonardos; Casey Jones12 stopped limping, and many others felt stronger than they had in hours. After the injured people and turtles got their share of pizza, the others shoved and pushed to the front of the line.
Michelangelo12 gobbled up his pizza slice next to his friends Mikey C and Michelangelo03. He finished quickly. "Wow, I feel awesome! It's like, um - "
"A power-up in a videogame!" Michelangelo03 blurted.
"I'm going to have to study this!" Donnie C exclaimed, holding his half-finished slice delicately as he looked it over. "So weird."
Leonardo03 looked down at the three empty boxes and folded his arms. "So, any ideas on what dimension we should go to next? We seem to be done here."
"Dude," said Michelangelo89,"I think we've gone to every dimension there is!"
"No way!" retorted Leonardo03. "Did you not see how many dimensions were in the Gateway? You can't see the end!"
"We don't need everyone!" said Leonardo07. "Remember what I said? Quality over quantity! We need to establish our selves as a close-knit team, not an army. With our current numbers, we could easily defeat Shredder. But we need a leader. The obvious choice is - "
"Me!" shouted several Leonardos at once, as well as Raphael03 and a couple Michelangelos.
Before an argument could break out, Michelangelo87's deep voice rang out, catching everyone's attention. "Dudes! The Portal Stick's getting mondo bizarro!"
Sure enough, the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick was acting up. A light on the side was blinking repeatedly, bathing Michelangelo87's arm in red for seconds at a time. Before Michelangelo87 could do anything, and just as the others had registered what was going on, a light blasted out of the flashlight end of the device. Turtles leapt out of the way, narrowly missed by the light, which turned out to be a portal spreading across the side of a building like water.
"What is that?" asked Raphael96, startled. Lots of turtles were rubbing their eyes, disbelieving. Several Donatellos cautiously approached the portal, their eyes wide.
"It's a dimension...I think," said Leonardo03. He was as shocked as everyone.
"Got to be where Shredder is," added Leonardo13. "Come on, guys, let's go." He strode towards the portal, but no one followed. Realizing he was alone, Leonardo13 faltered in front of the portal and didn't go in, instead choosing to stare at the bizarre world inside it.
Raph C approached Splinter C. "Sensei, what do think we should do?"
Splinter C looked like he thought this nervous hesitation was a waste of time. "This dimension may seem odd, but - unless that device is wrong - it has got to be where Shredder has ran to. I can see why this dimension would appeal to him."
"No way the Portal Stick is wrong," said Donatello87. "We did our best on it. How can nine Donatellos get it wrong?"
"All right, then," said Leonardo03, swallowing, looking up at the portal with nervous eyes. He drew out his swords, feeling more confident with his weapons ready. "Let's go guys." He took a hesitant step forward, but as soon as he did he saw Casey Jones C and a lot of turtles - including injured turtles Raphael89 and Mikey C - rush past him. Michelangelo12 shouted an excited "Booyahkasha!" as he was swallowed by the portal.
As he ran into the odd image of the new dimension, Raphael03 turned around - not even bothering to stop - and called to his brother Leonardo03. "Come on, Fearless!"
Leonardo03 couldn't help but smile. He started to walk towards the portal, one of the last to go. "Don't call me that, Raph."
"Oh, sorry...Splinter Junior."
"I can feel it, we are close," mumbled Splinter C as he walked into the portal behind Leonardo03. Splinter12 nodded, agreeing. They were the last into the portal, except for Michelangelo87. The orange-masked turtle turned off the portal and leapt through it before it closed, leaving the 2013 dimension with no evidence that they had been there but a few empty pizza boxes.
-2012 dimension-
"The man known as Shredder should be pleased the new dimension Kraang have directed him to," said one of the robots, the brain-like alien in the chest smiling, a contrast to the stiff expression of the robot head. It watched Shredder travel through the new dimension, the man laughing evilly as he imagined all he could do now.
"This is exceptional for Kraang," said another of the aliens. "The man known as Shredder will have no reason not to trust Kraang after this."
All of the Kraang in the room were happy, knowing what would happen if things continued down the path they had just set up. They began to talk excitedly of their plans, but stopped as soon as they heard the "beep" of the elevator. They turned as one to see Karai, looking haughty, step out of it, glaring at them all. She had on her brown leather jacket with spikes on the shoulders, her favorite thing to wear when she wandered the city.
Karai, in the back of her mind, suspected something was up with the Kraang - that they were planning something behind her back. She didn't trust them to obey her as easily now that her father was lost to the dimensions and was having her doubts about her plan to get to Turtle Prime now, but tried to remind the Kraang of her fearsome power. She stood tall again, glaring at them all as if they had each done her a great, personal wrong. "What's the status?"
"Ninety-six point five percent of the Source DNA of those known as the 'turtles' has been analyzed. Kraang believes that the last three percent could take longer than what was previously expected. Karai should still be in what is known as Turtle Prime within three hours."
Karai shrugged. It seemed like she didn't care as much anymore. Inside her pocket, she fingered the only picture she had of her mother. She wondered what her mother would do in this situation; Karai felt a little lost. "That sounds great, I guess."
"Those known as the turtles will fall," one of the hundreds of Kraang said, supposedly reassuring her that she could do this. Karai nodded, completely oblivious to the other plans of the Kraang. One of the many things she didn't know was that the Kraang had been purposely slowing down the analyzation of the source DNA, to give their plans more time to pan out.