-Fan-Fiction Dimension-
The small group of turtles watched in horror as Shredder12 ran at them, faster and faster, metal claws extending, the shiny armor getting more intimidating as their wide-eyed faces became clearer to see in it. Yet the turtles didn't run. They stood tall, held tight to their weapons. There were 6 turtles there at the end of the corridor, but more were on their way.
"If we can just hold him off," said Leonardo87, his hands shaking as they clutched his katanas,"The others will get here. Whatever happens, keep fighting."
Michelangelo03 - still catching his breath from running here a short time ago - nodded. "This place may be fever-dream weird but we can't let him hurt it more than he already has."
Five seconds later, Shredder12 rushed into their group. He made to slice at Leonardo87 and nicked his shoulder, but not before Michelangelo96 kicked him away. Shredder12 stumbled, looking up in shock at the weaponless Michelangelo96. Michelangelo96, like an exaggerated cartoon character, stuck out his tongue at Shredder12. The menace struck, but the orange-masked turtle ducked and kicked. Shredder12 swung again, and there was a loud clang as the metal spikes scratched his shell. That was too close. Raphael12 leapt into the fight and shoved Shredder12 away.
"Foolish children, you have all only been lucky so far," Shredder12 growled, grabbing Raphael12. The turtle fought back viciously, and his sai made contact with an unarmored part of Shredder's arm. The red-masked turtle felt Shredder12's grip slip, and Raphael12 saw a blur of his brothers before he was thrown into one of the mini-worlds.
"NO!" shouted Leonardo12, who had just barely arrived to see Raphael12 soar into the mini-world. Leonardo12 charged Shredder12, with Michelangelo12 and Donatello07 following. Leonardo12 jumped into a sword-to-spike battle with Shredder, and the villain couldn't help be reminded of his battle with the wispy, fan-fiction version of Leonardo12, which had ended horribly for the turtle. But this time, Leonardo12 had help, and before Shredder12 could strike, Donatello07 jumped up and pulled his bo staff around Shredder12's throat. The villain was pulled backwards, while Michelangelo12 and others jumped forwards to attack him while his defenses were down, but Shredder12 quickly threw the bo staff over his head and kicked backwards at Donatello07. The was a painful shout and all the turtles, especially the Donatellos, grimaced and winced as Donatello07 tumbled backwards into yet another mini-world.
Leonardo13 (who had arrived with Michelangelo03) took up the fight next, his white eyes looking more menacing than ever through the blue, ghostly blur of his weapons as they moved at an unbelievable speed. As Leonardo13 spun in incredible, difficult techniques, dodging and striking - distracting Shredder - Michelangelo03 ran to fetch Donatello07 from the mini-world he'd fallen into.
Raphael12 felt like he'd become submerged in a bucket of ice water as he fell into the mini-world, but the effect quickly wore off. He pushed himself to his knees, suddenly so sore from hitting the ground - which, in a world of transparent, misty people, was still very hard.
After silently gathering his sais that he dropped, Raphael12 stood up. He looked around at the hazy mini-world he'd found himself in. It was the Lair, from his dimension. Raphael12 suddenly felt an ache of homesickness, but then he saw himself shouting at his brother Leonardo ungratefully in the hallway, and he remembered they were in the fan-fiction dimension, in need of his help.
But he stayed a little longer than he expected, entranced with watching that odd version of himself argue with Leonardo12. "Oh shut up, Leo! I hate your guts, you know that? You just act like you're so superior to me. I should be the leader, not you!"
"That's a bad idea," mumbled Raphael12, recalling when he'd been entrusted with the leadership role. It was better to leave it to the Leonardos. After that, the turtle tuned out the fight and leapt out of the mini-world, hoping to launch right back into the fight.
Donatello12 caught up with the main part of the group, and, even after running two miles without stopping to get here, he immediately rushed to relieve Leonardo12 from his stressful one-on-one fight with Shredder12.
Donatello12 leaned backwards and Shredder12's spikes swiped at where he'd been half a second before. Even before Donatello12 straightened up, Shredder12 tripped him. In a flash, Donatello87 and Michelangelo96 jumped in to fight Shredder12 away from his weakened opponent.
Just as Michelangelo07 leapt straight on and over Shredder12 to avoid an attack of his, several turtles ducked and shouted out in shock as a blur of red and green came hurling out of a nearby mini-world. It was Raphael12, who the others had forgotten to go after with the excitement of the fight and the subsequent loss of Donatello07. Raphael12 charged Shredder12 immediately, and it was like a monster had broken loose inside the turtle, as he ferociously fought Shredder12 backwards. But with one messy attempt to attack him, Shredder12 was able to send the turtle flying into a group rushing to help him.
Shredder12 had been so far pushed by Raphael12 that he was now standing directly in front of a mini-world. Just as a four-turtle group with Raphael87, Leonardo90, Leonardo07, and Michelangelo07 arrived at the scene, the crowd surged forward and Shredder12 was accidentally pushed into the mini-world during the fight. No one hesitated jumping in after him.
-Dimension X-
Shredder87 groaned. His eyes flickered open, and slowly his hazy vision cleared and he noticed he was staring up at the ceiling of the Technodrome. But long before remembering why he had been unconcsious on the floor of the Technodrome, Shredder87 heard the strange voices echoing throughout the circular room. It definitely wasn't any voice he'd ever heard.
Ever so slowly, Shredder87 tilted his eyes to get a good look around. The room was full to bursting with strange robots, who apparently hadn't noticed yet that Shredder87 was awake. The robots were tall and shiny, some of them covered with a blue armor and some not. Their silver bodies were accentuated with pink, and Shredder87 felt his breath catch when he saw the pink blob in each and every one of their chests.
Krang. They looked like Krang!
Shredder87 was so angry and confused, he felt like jumping to his feet and destroying these invaders, but he knew he couldn't take them on. A few even had guns. He was left to wonder the connection between these things and Krang. Shredder87's partner in crime hardly ever spoke in detail about his life in Dimension X; had there been a species of creatures that looked just like him?
Looking around more, Shredder87 noticed that Splinter87 was trapped in one of Krang's abandoned inventions, and that Bebop and Rocksteady were still knocked out and piled in a corner. But where was Krang?
"The plan by Kraang to get the Technodrome back for Kraang was very smart," said one of the robots.
"All these earth units known as years Kraang have been missing their prime military vehicle. No attempts to replicate what is known as the Technodrome were as successful as what is known as the original. The thief who stole the Technodrome from Kraang must be punished."
"Yes, in the best way possible, at the right time."
"After Kraang have finished the rest of what is known as the plan. After Kraang have destroyed that repulsive human being known as Karai."
Who the heck is Karai? thought Shredder87. He fought to remain calm.
"Send word to the Kraang in the dimension of the turtles that the Technodrome has been captured," finished one of the aliens. "Then contact the human known as Shredder." As the order was being carried out, Shredder87 watched in horrified curiosity as Bebop and Rocksteady were dragged out of the room. Where in the Technodrome were they being taken?
-Fan-fiction dimension-
Shredder12 landed gracefully inside the mini-world. Walking forward and looking around, he realized he was standing on a tall rooftop of New York City, late at night, and the bright yellow city skyline had a backdrop of black speckled with white, shining stars. A few buildings away, Leonardo03 sat ghostly transparent with what looked like a different version of Karai walking up to him. Shredder12 abruptly turned as he heard others nearby drop into the world, spreading out to surround him on the rooftop. The turtles, as well as the rats and humans hidden in the mass of green, were eerily quiet, probably trying not to disturb the mini-world. Who knew how its occupants would react to them?
Just after the turtles had surrounded Shredder12, Leo C charged him, shocking even the other turtles. As the turtle took on a fight with Shredder12, gritting his teeth as he failed to make a hit while taking plenty, his teammates quickly ran into help him. Mikey C, even with his injuries, managed to tug Leo C, already bleeding profusely on his arm, away from Shredder12. Things were still ghostly silent, and the honking of horns could be heard down below as the action ensued. Even the fan-fiction versions of Leonardo03 and Karai03 didn't look up.
"He's killed someone here! I know it," hissed Leo C, struggling to get back up. Donatello03 dropped next to him and went to work taking care of Leo C's arm. Leo C watched helplessly as Shredder lead the fight to another rooftop, closer to Karai03 and Leonardo03 of the fan-fiction mini-world.
Raphael03 jumped atop Shredder, while Donatello12 dodged and struck with ease as he pushed the distracted Shredder12 towards the edge. Suddenly, the villain caught Raphael03's arm as the turtle tried to strike again. Michelangelo87 handed the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick to Raphael89 - who was too weak to battle - for safe keeping and then ran at Shredder12, swinging his nunchucks.
Raphael89, still suffering from the many injuries he'd sustained when he had fallen away from April's apartment in his dimension, watched anxiously as the fight ensued. The red-masked turtle couldn't take it anymore as he saw brother after brother get hurt. The Splinters - who would have the best chance of defeating Shredder12 were slowed by the huge crowd and Shredder12's tendency to run away when they got close. It was only by luck he managed to knock out Splinter C.
Raphael89, no longer watching the fight, looking down at the low roof right beside the one he was on. Through the darkness, Raphael89 could see the bulky, square outline similar to Leonardo03, his form outlined in white moonlight. Karai - who matched Michelangelo03's discription of her when he'd told the 1989 turtles about the previous adventure in the multi-verse that had only included the 2003, 1987, and Prime turtles.
Fan-fiction Leonardo03 had a harsh, uncaring expression on his face. One very different from the usual caring, responsible normal Leonardo03 and his counterparts wore. It was instantly obvious from the way this Leonardo03 carried himself ,and the scars all over him, that he had also lived a very different life from any other Leonardo.
Fan-fiction Karai03 approached him from behind. "Erasmus," she said, barely above a whisper.
The odd Leonardo03 turned to look at her. "What is it, Karai?" He spoke with authority; he was more important than her but there was a trace of care in his voice - the two were close. Raphael89 wondered why this turtle - who was obviously Leonardo03 - was called Erasmus.
"We are preparing to depart but I sense something is troubling you," said Karai softly, her voice punctuated by an odd accent.
"Nothing is wrong, sister."
Back in the fight, Shredder12 turned to see Michelangelo87 and several others running at him, and in a flash he finished attacking Raphael03 and threw the turtle, who was unconscious even before he landed on the hard roof several yards away. Shredder12 - not at all slowed down by his heavy armor - leapt into the air just as Leonardo13 ran at him. Leonardo13 skidded to a stop at the edge of the roof, swinging his arms to rebalance himself as he got a terrifying view of the city at least fifteen stories down.
Shredder12 landed and immediately blocked Michelangelo87's nunchucks. He began to fight with the short turtle.
The conversation between the fan-fiction versions of Karai03 and Leonardo03 continued. It seemed like they were stuck in a trance, programmed not to notice the huge fight.
Karai03 hardly believed nothing was wrong with her brother Erasmus. "Then why do you sit up here on the roof alone?" She dropped and sat next to the turtle, swinging her legs over the edge, several stories above the city.
"I didn't know wanting to be alone was against the rules." Leonardo03/Erasmus didn't shift his gaze away from the bright city lights. He had a good view of the lower east side, where he would be carrying out his orders soon.
"Erasmus," said Karai03 in a surprisingly gentle voice. "You can tell me..."
Michelangelo87 was losing the one-on-one fight with Shredder12 horribly, even with support from his brothers. After what seemed like only seconds of fighting, Shredder12 blocked another attack from his nunchucks and the weapon got caught under the spikes on Shredder's metal cuffs, and when the villain swung out his arm, Michelangelo87 lost his grip and flew - all the way off the roof.
Erasmus - Leonardo03 under a different name - sighed like he suddenly hated this conversation with the girl he called sister. Somewhat stiffly, he broke and said something. "You ever feel like...something's missing? That there's more to you than you think there is? I mean, we know how you came to be, Shredder found you alone in an alley and took you in when you were young, but we don't know about me. I'm a mutant, but what's my purpose?"
Before the sorry, sympathetic expression could form on Karai03's wispy face, before she could open her mouth to reply, there was a heavy thud.
Erasmus, who had already been getting up to leave, leapt to his feet, and so did Karai. It was like they had been broken from their trance, suddenly realizing things were going on behind them. "Who's there?" Peering into the dark shadows of the rooftop, Erasmus saw a shape all to familar...a giant mutant turtle. He'd never seen another one besides himself.
The creature stood up, and Erasmus noticed his pudgy face and orange mask, the appearance of Michelangelo87. The creature looked like it didn't know what to think, being so close to the intimidating Erasmus and his sister Karai03. Erasmus snarled, "Go away," and Michelangelo87, instantly obeying, scrambled onto the other roof. Erasmus looked up and nearly lost his balance, shocked to see a huge, noisy fight that had been taking place right under his nose.
"What is going on?" Karai03 asked, mouth wide open. So many mutant turtles, like her brother! She saw one that even looked identical to him, besides their attire.
"That looks like..." Erasmus stepped forward cautiously, peering at the armored man fighting the turtles away. "Father...the Shredder!" He shouted the last part in surprise.
Shredder12, even as busy as he was with the fight, heard Erasmus. Under his helmet, the villain smirked. He had an idea, something to help him win this fight. "Yes, um, son! It is your father. Come, help me fight away our enemies!"
Even as confused as he was by Shredder's slightly different appearance and the army of mutant turtles, Erasmus quickly leapt into the fight, Karai03 right behind him.
Erasmus turned and slammed small Raphael96 away from his father. The turtle skidded across the roof on its shell, smashing the bricks on the edge of the building and grabbing a windowsill to save himself. Suddenly, several other Raphaels dropped to their knees in pain, and Erasmus strode straight up to one - who was tall and square like him - and punched him hard in the face. "What are you?"
Leonardo87, panicked, turned to Leonardo90. "What do we do?" Leonardo87, in the heat of the moment, wasn't ashamed to take orders from another Leonardo.
Leonardo90 was shocked that someone who was obviously a Leonardo would do this, even if he didn't know what was going on. The turtles couldn't kill him (maybe not even if they tried, for this turtle's skill was incredible). He was still part of the multi-verse, as important as everyone else in the mini-worlds.
The turtles weren't afraid of attacking Karai03, but the injuries she gained seemed to only increase Leonardo03/Erasmus's power, angering him. Together, with his sister and Shredder12, he fought the turtles away. Most of the Donatellos were out of the fight, a couple knocked out, but most occupied with taking care of injuries and pulling downed turtles away from danger.
-fan-fiction Dimension-
The rest of the group of turtles seemed to have forgotten that Donatello07 had been thrown into a multi-verse by Shredder12, for when Michelangelo03 came out of the mini-world with the purple-masked turtle he'd ran to rescue, the corridors of the fan-fiction dimension were completely empty, devoid of any sign of the battle between the turtles and Shredder12.
Michelangelo03 bit the bottom of his mouth in nerves, wondering where everyone had gone. He guessed he'd spent a bit too long retrieving Donatello07, but they had found themselves in a very amusing mini-world and had stayed to watch it. Even in this stressful situation, Michelangelo03 grinned just thinking of what he'd seen.
It had been in a foggy version of the 2012 dimension's lair. April12 had arrived, her arms laden with presents for the turtles. After greeting them, she passed out the presents on plates to the turtles, and it turned out to be some sort of pie. The 2012 turtles had loved it, shouting things like, "Woah, this stuff IS delicious!" and "I'm going back to Flavorville again!"
After exclaiming their new love for the pie, the turtles went to great lengths to guess what kind it was. All their guesses were wrong; it wasn't even upside-down pineapple pumpkin cherry blueberry banana French swirl cinnamon butter pecan pie that was secretly disguised. The turtles gave up guessing and April had announced that it was turtle pie, an O'Neil family favorite.
After an awkward silence, all four turtles shouted "WHAT?!"
Michelangelo12 had tried to spit out the pie he'd been eating and shouted, "You mean this whole time, you've been feeding us turtle guts?!"
Donatello12 had backed away from his crush and whispered. "April, how could you do this to us?" April12 had tried to explain that the pie wasn't really made out of turtles, but she was interrupted.
"TURTLE GUTS! GET IT OUT OF MY MOUTH!" shouted Michelangelo12.
"We've been eating our own kind!" exclaimed Leonardo12, who had dropped his plate on the floor. The turtles preceeded to freak out in hilarious ways, and Michelangelo03 and Donatello07, hiding behind the Space Heroes pinball machine, could barely conceal themselves as they doubled over. It had only been after the wispy, fan-fiction version of Donatello12 had shouted to his brothers, "I'm disinfecting my stomache and taste buds before this stuff digests! Who's with me?" that Donatello07 and Michelangelo03 had stumbled out out of the mini-world from where they'd been hiding in the corner, bent over in silent giggles.
They'd emerged from the hilarious scene to find the empty corridors of the fan-fiction dimension. After a few minutes of nervous searching, Donatello07 had spotted the group of turtles battling Shredder and an odd Leonardo03 look-alike in a mini-world. The two turtles wanted to go in and help, but Donatello07 had a much better idea.
He pointed to one of the many mini-worlds. "Trust me, I know a better way to help."
In the mini-world, the battle ensued, and so far Shredder12, with his new allies, was shattering their opponents. Several turtles had tried to plead with Erasmus/Leonardo03 to make him see sense and stop fighting them - for they didn't want to hurt him - but it never worked. Erasmus was practically brainwashed.
The battle was constantly punctuated with cries of pain, and when one turtle was injured, many others of his same mask color would groan in agony as well. Even those who had been untouched by Shredder12 or his new minions were suffering.
Once only a few turtles remained standing and fighting, Erasmus turned to Shredder12. "You have a great deal to explain to me, father."
"I don't need you anymore. Enough," commanded Shredder12. He shoved Erasmus away, pushing his hand to Erasmus's face. Stumbling away, Erasmus opened his mouth to retort, but didn't say anything, and haughtily retreated to the corner with Karai03, staring suspiciously at Shredder.
Suddenly, Michelangelo90 ran at Shredder12. The villain grabbed him and chucked him straight up and out of the mini-world, something he hadn't done yet. Splinter12, who had been injured during a short fight with Shredder12, attacked next. Splinter12 held his own, fighting hard and smartly attacking Shredder12's untreated leg wound and making it bleed again, but Shredder12 fled out of the mini-world to avoid the fight. Immediately everyone followed, a lot of them carrying their injured teammates.
Michelangelo90 landed outside of the mini-world, in the corridor. He looked up to see Donatello07's lithe, calm figure, next to Michelangelo03's stiff, short, and solid body. But behind them stood almost fifteen transparent turtles, and one ghostly Casey Jones12. There were two Donatello03's, looking identical and standing right next to each other, but one didn't have a bo staff and was wearing a yellow mask. It was clear from the brotherly way they acted around each other that they were from the same mini-world.
Michelangelo90 almost called out in alarm, but Donatello07 shushed him. They looked up to see Shredder12 come flying out of the portal, hastily followed by everyone else.
Shredder12 skidded to a stop, looking uncharacteristically surprised and frightened at the sight of so many more turtles to fight. He no longer had Erasmus and Karai03 at his side and his leg was bleeding again. Almost instinctively, Shredder12 tapped the earpiece directly under his helmet and called out,"Kraang!"
The fan-fiction turtles charged, along with the solid turtles that had emerged from the mini-world behind him. Just as Shredder12 dodged the first attack - a strike from a wispy Leonardo03's swords - the Kraang replied.
"Kraang are what is known as busy right now. What is the man known as Shredder in need of?"
Shredder12 looked up and was shocked to see the Technodrome he had been running towards - the thing he'd only strayed a mile away from - was gone. Nowhere in sight. Shredder12 couldn't run to it to escape and the villain felt anger boil to the surface at the thought of losing something so useful. He was pulled from his angry thoughts as the yellow-masked fan-fiction Donatello03 ran at him and challenged him in hand-to-hand combat.
"Get me out of this dimension, quick!" he growled at the Kraang as he fought. He grabbed the fan-fiction turtle's wrist and thrust out his clawed hand but Donatello03 nimbly dodged it, kicked Shredder12 and escaped his grasp, and then flipped backwards to escape. The other fan-fiction Donatello03, armed with his bo staff, charged next, and more turtles followed, ganging up on Shredder12. "Do it, Kraang!" The Shredder was getting desperate.
"Your desire known as a wish is what is known as Kraang's command. Within three time units known as minutes, a portal will appear for the man known as Shredder."
"I don't have three minutes, Kraang!" Shredder12 partially defended himself from an attack coming from several turtles at once, but bit his lip as he felt one of the weapons strike his weakened leg.
But there was no reply.
-2012 dimension-
"Kraang, what is going on?" Karai asked cautiously. She took a nervous step forward, towards the mass of alien robots around the monitor, feeling her fingers clutch tighter around the picture of her mother in her pocket. The robots were going even slower at analyzing the source DNA than they had promised to be, and most of the robots were excitedly huddled around the controls.
Abruptly, the monitor screen of coverage of the inside of that Technodrome (Karai was standing too far away to notice her father was no longer in the video coverage, or that the Technodrome was full of Kraang) to just the percentage bar, seemingly forever stuck on ninety-eight percent. Suddenly, the whole room was eerily quiet. The crowd split and one of the robots that had been in the front walked through.
The robot, identical to all the others, strode straight up to Karai. Cold, dead, robotic eyes peering into her suspicious hazel ones. "Nothing is taking place that Karai does not have knowledge of, Karai."
Karai frowned. "I don't believe you," she said defiantely. Turning to all the others in the crowded top floor of TCRI, Karai stood tall and said, "Enough stalling, all of you. Get to me to Turtle Prime, as soon as possible. Or...my father - no, I - will punish you. Severely."
As Karai pulled up a seat on the far side of the control panel and in a forced nonchalant manner swung her legs up on the table, one of the Kraang looked from Karai to another of the robots, their alien green eyes making contact. Without words, one knew what the other was communicating.
"Not yet, Kraang," said one, his words hidden from Karai by all the loud talking from the other Kraang. "The plan must go as planned."
-Fan-fiction dimension-
Shredder12 struck turtle after turtle, adrenaline rushing through him. But he was too weak, too outnumbered. He had to hold the turtles off until Kraang opened a portal for him. He kicked and punched Leonardo96, unbalancing the turtle and sending him tumbling into a mini-world.
Michelangelo12 came up from behind, hitting Shredder with his nunchucks, then holding out his weapon for wispy fan-fiction Donatello03 to jump on them and be launched into the air. Donatello03 flipped over the Shredder, striking out with his bo staff. Shredder12 caught it on the final, painful strike and threw the turtle, amazingly, into the fan-fiction mini-world Donatello03 had come from.
Leonardo96 groaned and picked himself up in the mini-world he'd tumbled into. His eyes widened when he saw a misty Leonardo12, bleeding profusely, especially on his shoulders, lying in a dark sewer tunnel. But he wasn't alone; his brothers were beginning to take care of his wounds.
"It's lucky we found you quickly," said fan-fiction Donatello12, cleaning one deep gash on his brother.
Leonardo12, paler than even the other fan-fiction turtles, looked up and actually smiled when he saw Leonardo96. He seemed to know exactly was going on, like this had happened before. "Go," the fan-fiction turtle said weakly, "Get Shredder. Make him pay. I couldn't, but you can."
Leonardo96 nodded and leapt out of the mini-world. He joined his brothers - from his dimension or not - in fighting Shredder12 with renewed motivation.
A fan-fiction Michelangelo87 and normal Donatello90 fought Shredder12 backwards until the villain stumbled into a crowd of turtles ready to attack him. Instantly, Raphael03 struck, then Casey Jones12. Casey Jones12 then kicked Shredder12, sending him stumbling towards Casey Jones C, who hit him away to Leonardo96.
"Combo!" Casey Jones12 shouted, high-fiving Casey Jones C exuberantly. They seemed to forget their previous hatred for each other in the heat of action.
Leonardo96 fought honorably, but wasn't quick enough to dodge Shredder12's punch. The turtle didn't cry out, but Raphael03 leapt in to take the rest of the battle. "I'll do the rest, rooky."
Leonardo96 glared at Raphael03, and didn't look away even as Donatello13 rushed past him towards Shredder12, turning on his Gravity Gauntlet as he ran.
Donatello13 held out his device strapped to his arm, and though it was still not done being updated, the device managed to pull Shredder12 into the air. It pounded him harshly on the ground one time and brought him up again, before the device faltered, and Shredder12 fell on a group of unprepared turtles. Shredder12 came down quick, striking at everyone he could reach. There was a great groan that echoed out for all the Michelangelos, as Michelangelo07 was struck by Shredder's spikes and was quickly saved by Raphael90.
Michelanglo90 leapt out of a mini-world he'd been knocked into during the fight (one where he had seen two humans that acted very similar to Leonardo12 and Michelangelo12 and wore blue and orange) and helped his brother Raphael90 fight Shredder12. "Dude, let the expert do this!" He hit Shredder12 with his nunchucks, but was shoved away rather quickly. Splinter12 was rushing up to meet Shredder now.
Shredder12, leaping away from his approaching enemy, escaped into a mini-world. It was a 2012 mini-world with very young-looking Donatello12 and Michelangelo12. Donatello was being forced to watch SpongeBob by his brother and was angrily pointing out all the scientific flaws ("And seriously!? How can there be a RAINBOW underwater!?"), to which Michelangelo12 would reply "It's a cartoon! Anything's possible in cartoons!" Shredder12, impatient for revenge, lunged for the small, unsuspecting turtles, but not a second too soon a few turtles leapt silently into the mini-world and shoved Shredder12 back out. In the corridor again, Shredder12 struck at the turtles, but they flipped away and more turtles came up to take their place in the fight. The team, for once, was working like a well-oiled machine.
Shredder12 then saw Raphael89 - still too weak to fight - holding the Trans-Dimensional Portal Stick. Perfect! Shredder could use that to get away. The villain lunged for the unprepared turtle, knocking him over. Raphael89 shouted in surprise and let go of the device, sending it skidding down the corridor. Shredder12 ran for it, but was halted by an unexpected kick to the face from Splinter12. Shredder12 relunctantly stopped to defend himself from his nemesis, and as he fought, the Kraang spoke in his earpiece.
"The portal is ready."
Instantly, a portal silently slid open a short distance away, blending in just enough with the mini-worlds that none of his enemies noticed it. Shredder12 jumped away from Splinter12 and into the portal, which slid shut immediately after swallowing him up.
Leonardo89 wasn't aware of the pounding of his feet, and of the others behind him, or of the sharpness of his breath due to the taxing fight, only of the fact that Shredder12 was getting away. But even before the turtle (pure adrenaline pushing him in front, as his shortness and choppy arcade-like movements were no help) and his brothers even came close to Shredder and his portal, it snapped closed and disappeared off the face of the earth, taking Shredder with it.
Angrily, Leonardo89 realized it was no use running at Shredder when the villain had gone seconds ago, and skidded to a stop - teetering unbalanced on the threshold of a mini-world. Some turtles ran over and helped Raphael89 - who had been knocked down when Shredder went for the Trans-Dimensional Portal Stick to his feet and Leonardo89 forgot all his anger and felt sorry for his red-masked brother. Raphael89 gingerly got to his feet with help, all the while rubbing his head where it had hit the floor, but he seemed okay for the most part.
A few turtles had gone after the Trans-Dimensional Portal Stick that had skidded a good distance away only seconds after Shredder had left. Scouring the corridors, they found it in a couple minutes, grateful it hadn't gone into a mini-world.
"Well, what now?" Leonardo90 asked glumly, for once empty of ideas. The group had congregated, many of them being supported by their brothers. Those who had been knocked unconscious had woken up by now. It was extremely lucky the worst injury had been a couple gashes on arms, such as Michelangelo07's.
Michelangelo87 looked down at the Portal Stick that had been once again put in his arms. There was a crack running down the side of it and the glass in the flashlight part was on the verge of cracking, but it still managed to produce flickering images of dimensions. But the light on the side that indicated the tracking of Shredder12 gradually flickered and died.
Donatello87 and Donatello03 - now the closest of friends - were determined to remain stoic. But inside they were mourning the hopeless destruction of what was probably their greatest invention, and the project that had solidified their friendship over a month ago. Finally, Donatello03 said, "I don't think we can use the Portal Stick right now. The portals it produces don't look stable enough. They might not get us where they should."
Michelangelo87 nodded and pulled the Portable Portal out of the spot where he stored his nunchucks. The device was a last resort, a second chance. The turtles had abandoned using it in favor of the Portal Stick because the Kraang had a chance to attack them while they were in the Dimensional Gateway. It had already happened once, to Leonardo87 and Leonardo12.
A few of the fan-fiction turtles that had helped in the fight, eager to help the cause after Michelangelo07 had explained everything to them, almost immediately walked into the portal, but instead of going in, they were rebounded away from it. Angry and feeling dejected they turned to the Leonardos. "Looks like we can't help. For some reason we can't go through the portal," said fan-fiction Michelangelo03.
"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this dimension is so different from all the others," suggested Leonardo13. "I'm really sorry. But you guys were super helpful. A lot of us probably would have come out way worse in that fight if you guys didn't help. Thank you." He bowed respectfully (while Raphael03 behind him, muttered "Splinter junior") and sadly watched as the fan-fiction turtles shuffled away to their own mini-worlds. This had probably been the only time they'd ever left them.
Leonardo03 squared his shoulders, and the rest of the group did the same, as if feeling the new hope course through him spread to them, growing against all odds. The Leonardos nodded all in agreement as he said, "Well, then, let's go."
-Dimensional Gateway-
Kinzo was still reeling in disbelief from the shock of seeing the huge Technodrome, followed by a near army of Kraang, trudge through the Dimensional Gateway. Kinzo and Splinter96 had hid behind two different portals, but one of the Kraang in the back of the march noticed Kinzo and the ninja - exhausted to the core from fighting for over a day in the Dimensional Gateway - was knocked out. He wasn't awake to see what Dimension the army had entered and after he had come to, his hear skipped a beat when he discovered that Splinter96 was gone. Not a trace of where he'd disappeared to.
That had been several minutes ago, and Kinzo was still running around in panic, shouting for his master. That was when Shredder12 stepped out of a portal nearby. Kinzo stopped in his tracks, freezing. He was still dizzy and tired - no way he'd be able to hold up in a fight against the villain, as if he ever could.
Shredder12 looked to him, his eyebrows arching. The ninja, clothed in black clothes ripped from fighting the Kraang, looked familar. "Are you a ninja of the FOOT, in one of these dimensions?"
"Uh...yes. Hai...Hi, master."
"If you see the turtles here, tell them nothing of where I went." The villain began to step towards a portal. Kinzo's eyes widened. What now? He couldn't let Shredder go in, giving him a good chance of destroying innocent turtles.
"NO! I can't let you!" The ninja leapt for the Shredder.
Shredder12, more prepared for surprises than anyone, flipped around before Kinzo even leapt at him. The small, lithe ninja was met with a sharp kick from Oroku Saki. As he was flung back up, Kinzo flipped twice, drawing out shuriken and expertly throwing them at his nemesis.
The shuriken were blocked easily by Shredder12. More annoyed than angry, like he was trying to swat a fly, Shredder attacked again. He leapt into the air, meeting with Kinzo, who, compared with Shredder12's almost superhuman quickness, seemed to have been falling forever. Shredder12 brought down his leg directly onto Kinzo's chest.
Time froze for a few seconds. Then Kinzo bit his lip as he felt the pain, and then the adrenaline of soaring downwards and then the abrupt end of it once he smacked the ground. The ninja - having trained with Splinter96 for years - had been no match for Shredder12.
The villain landed, spared one glance at the ninja, and then walked into the portal. The fight had barely even been a fight, only consuming fifteen seconds at most. Kinzo only survived by pretending to be dead, groaning only once after hitting the ground and then going still. Shredder12, as unhinged and greedy for turtle blood as he was, didn't investigate if his enemy was really dead and left quickly. Kinzo watched him go, and then his vision blurred and he drifted off to unconsciousness yet again.
Two minutes later, Kinzo felt a hard slap to his face. "Kinzo, wake up!" There was another.
Slowly, groggily, he opened his eyes. Before him stood a group of very blurry figures, like splotches of different shades of green. In his peripheral vision, there were even more. His head ached terribly (as well as most of his body) and his mind worked at the pace of a snail, but he finally realized what was going on. "Turtles...that you?"
There was a familar voice - Donatello96. "Nani ga okotta?" Raphael03 shouted at him to speak English, so Donatello96 repeated his question so the others could understand it. "What happened?"
"Shredder..." Kinzo slowly recalled the Kraang as well. "And the Kraang. I don't know where they went, but..." He lifted his arm and pointed at the portal Shredder12 had left to.
Leonardo96 nodded. He was looking unusually grim, none of his characteristic cartooniness around. Things were getting more serious than ever, especially now that Shredder12 had managed to kill a fan-fiction turtle, as he'd been told Shredder12 had announced. Arms folded, Leonardo96 said, "Anything else?"
"Splinter is missing. I think the Kraang took him." Kinzo pushed himself up on his elbows, scrutinizing the turtles, wondering if they knew anything of the rat's whereabouts.
"What?" Michelangelo96 gasped. He looked to his brothers, all equally as shocked. Leonardo12 stepped forward to finish the conversation, as Leonardo96 had fallen into a terrified silence.
"Thank you, Kinzo. We've got to go now. But I'll let you know that we found you knocked out and a few Donnies took care of a few injuries you had. You have a twisted ankle and a few cuts and bruises."
"That's all?" Kinzo almost chuckled. He supposed he was the luckiest man alive, to survive a fight with the very Shredder that had been destroying the turtles at every turn, with his most serious injury just a twisted ankle. "Shredder must have been going easy on me."
"You fought bravely," admonished Leonardo12 in a stiff voice, trying to emanate his hero Captain Ryan. The other Leonardos, who had noticed Leonardo12's forced attempts at being a serious leader, rolled their eyes. But they had noticed improvement in him even in the view hours they'd been together. They had even begun to respect him a little.
Kinzo turned to the shocked 1996 anime turtles. "I really hope you find Splinter. I have a feeling he's not dead."
Donatello96 and his brothers bowed respectfully. "KĊunwoinoru, Kinzo-san."
"For the last time!" shouted Raphael03, "Speak English!" Already some turtles were heading into the portal Kinzo had said Shredder12 had entered, rolling their eyes at Raphael03.
Donatello90 smiled a bit smugly. "I know what he said." He turned to Donatello96. "Sorry, but I don't think Kinzo will be able to find any hot dogs around here."
"I said 'good luck'!" snapped Donatello96, a bit insulted.
Raphael87 pointed over his shoulder to Donatello90 and once again said to know one in particular. "Man, we're dealing with a real mind here!"
Splinter C chuckled lightly at the conversation, but said, "Come, my sons. There is no time to waste," and lead the stranglers into the strange new dimension. Shredder12 already had so much of a head start.
Kinzo, anything but a quitter, stood up. He ankle hurt so bad, but the Donatellos had done a good job with it. He decided to continue looking for Splinter96. He assumed everyone had wanted him to go back to the 1996 dimension, but there was no way Kinzo was done helping the turtles.
Reviews are very welcome! Let me know what you think. I had tons of fun with this chapter, but it was hard to stay on task when I wanted so badly to reference all the stories I could, whether or not it would advance the story. Did I do all right on that?
The first story I referenced in this chapter - when Raphael12 saw himself fighting with Leonardo12 - was the incredible "Out of the Ordinary" by BubblyShell22, chapter 2. Go check it out; it's a very fun read. Next was "I, Erasmus" by EmbersArmy, a great story which I am ashamed to have not read all the way through (I've got to make time for that). The story that Michelangelo03 and Donatello07 were in was "Turtle Pie" one of my favorite stories, written by Donnie's Kunoichi (I wanted to put a lot more of the story in it, but it was distracting from the story I was telling and felt like spoiling and stealing, so go check out the story for the full thing). The yellow-masked Donatello03 is a reference to the very obscure story "Multi-Donity" which was one of the first TMNT fan-fictions I ever read, and definitely my favorite. It is written by Donnie-o and the author unfortunetly didn't finish it, uploading a total of four beautiful chapters from 2007 to mid-2013. The brief mention of a story Michelangelo90 saw - "one where he had seen two humans that acted very similar to Leonardo12 and Michelangelo12 and wore blue and orange", was the human AU story (one of the few I've read) called "Leveled, written by Marine Amber. The turtle-tot story with Donatello12 pointing out all the flaws in SpongeBob was the sadorable "Why Donnie Hates Cartoons" by Danish Pastries. The mini-world Leonardo96 falls into is once again my story "Confusion", continuing what happened in this story last chapter. The previous chapter of this story has been updated with a list of stories referenced in that chapter, if you'd like to check it out.
Again, I'd like to thank these amazing authors for their great stories and to let them know if they have any problem whatsoever to let me know and I can either edit the way I wrote their story in or find a way to take it out of my story completely. One story I really wanted to put in here but wasn't able to was my second favorite TMNT story "Late Night Convos" ,a pretty old one-shot by Melty94 that was unfortunately deleted from the site. A great story has been lost.
While not official, I think fan-fiction would still have a place in the multi-verse. The stories told by fans are no more real than the stories produced by comic book writers or TV show writers, and can be just as serious and full as depth as official iterations, or as silly and/or stupid. While thousands of stories can go completely unnoticed, they are not worthless. Somedays, I just like to skim through the TMNT fan-fiction, on pages 456 or some other random number and read stories long-forgotten and give them reviews. The authors of those stories usually haven't been on in this site for years but maybe it will make them smile to see a review for that dusty story in their e-mail box, so many years later. Maybe they are still fans, maybe they aren't.