-Dimension X-

Tigerclaw slashed and brutally fought his way through the vast army, making it look easy. He roared and yelled, the wild animal in him taking over. Most of the army was Kraang, the creatures he had been connected to since being a cub. They were the reason he was the monster he was.

The marching army didn't seem to end, and their machines of war and the silver of their droid suits contrasted with the red sky behind them. Tigerclaw didn't stop - miracuously tearing through all Dimension X had to offer him without breaking a sweat.

During the fight, all the Kraang received a transmission that the Kraang in the 2012 dimension had reached Turtle Prime and had reacquired the Technodrome. They didn't have time to celebrate, though, with Tigerclaw ripping them apart piece by piece.

-Turtle Prime-

Karai gasped as she saw Leonardo Prime leap into the air and slice his katana towards her face. She stumbled backwards and tripped. Leonardo continued to come after her; she kicked at his legs and sent him stumbling. That gave her time to scramble to her feet and pull out her wakizashi - a short sword. Even if she was having second doubts about if she'd be able to kill these turtles - both because of her emotions and their power - she had to defend herself now. It had just become a life-or-death situation.

She leapt over Leonardo Prime and out of nowhere felt something collide with her head. Out of her peripheal vision, she saw Michelangelo Prime in the air to her side, tongue stuck out at her and his nunchuck rebounding off her skull.

Landing very sloppily, Karai immediately had to hold up her armorered forearm to stop Donatello's bo-staff mid-swing. As the wooden stick still reverberated from the sudden impact, Karai punched the turtle in the chest and kicked him away. Now Raphael was charging her, and Leonardo from the other side. She flipped backwards and Leonardo's swords missed her by inches. After escaping the group, Karai made a run for it, shouting into the small earpiece Kraang had given her for back-up. There was no reply.

"Where has your pride gone now?" Leonardo seethed. "Only the cowardly run from a fight!"

"Who says I'm running away?" Karai panted, as a thrown sai barely missed her. "I'm just taking the fight to a new level!" She leapt upwards and grasped the windowsill of a building and pulled herself onto it, and then onto the next one, climbing the stories of the fairly tall building. She looked down and saw the turtles scaling it with much more ease, catching up and grabbing for her feet. The kunoichi increased her speed, breathing hard from fear and exhaustion. Once farther ahead, she hastily pulled out a knife and chucked it at Michelangelo Prime - the farthest up. In half a second he launched off the windowsill he was standing on and the knife missed him by a long shot. As Michelangelo started to descend, he chucked several shuriken at her. Karai felt one hit her chest armor and fall off and the rest lodged themselves in the brick only millimeters away from her head. She turned around, and with dilated, scared eyes watched as a falling Michelangelo effortlessly caught a side of the building once again and restart his chase on Karai.

She was beginning to doubt that she could kill these turtles even if she wanted to, but she wouldn't give up. Just try new tactics. She would do anything to proof herself to her father - make him look at her with a smile rather than a frown just for once and re-think replacing her role as co-leader of the Foot Clan with Tigerclaw.

-1997 dimension-

Splinter97 - a mere four feet tall, shaggy, old, and stricken - bravely stepped before Shredder12, glaring at him. The two enemies were a good distance apart, circling each other and preparing for a second attack. The first part of the fight had barely lasted a few seconds but Splinter97 had already gotten the gist of what he was up against. So had the turtles - especially Leonardo97, who was fighting against his brothers' grip to go help his master and father.

Everyone seemed to think Splinter97 had no chance against Shredder12, except Splinter himself. He looked into Shredder12's laughing face and felt his eyes narrow threateningly. Splinter charged even before he had a plan what to do. He managed to jab Shredder12 with the end of his staff repeatedly, going as fast as he could to avoid his enemy's attacks.

"Go, Splinter!" Michelangelo97 shouted from the side-lines as he wrestled Leonardo to the ground. The turtles looked a little more confident in their master as he continued to attack successfully. "Shredder, you better watch out. The rat has a stick - the ultimate weapon!" He laughed nervously.

"Well, it is!" Donatello97 said indignatedly.

Shredder finally managed to push Splinter back. The rat was slowing down, already winded. He tried to stamp the end of the staff on Shredder's foot - a truly desperate move - but Shredder12 merely moved his foot. He swung to the side with his spiky wrist cuffs and Splinter ducked. The tall staff wasn't saved though, and about a foot of it was cut off. Splinter caught the piece as it fell. He twirled his staff like a bo and again struck Shredder in the stomache, then hit Shredder in the face with the small piece. He jumped forward and kicked Shredder in the chest next, sending him stumbling away.

"He's pulverizing him!" Raphael97 shouted excitedly, sitting up.

"...Splinter might actually win!" said Donatello97. "I never doubted it!" He pretended to have had no doubts only moments ago about his father's ability to fight Shredder.

"Evil is no match for good!" Venus de Milo beamed.

Shredder12 laughed, deep and guttural. "You turtles are all fools. I haven't even started yet. Watch as I tear apart the very thing you care most about." He jumped away from Splinter97 and stepped behind him. The rat turned and Shredder12 punched him in the face before the rat could even so much as look at him. Splinter growled as he felt the painful cut opening on his face and ducked another punch. But his staff was leveled yet again, another foot being cut off by the spikes. Splinter97 jumped into the air and slammed the remaining three-and-a-half feet of his staff over Shredder12's helmeted head. Shredder fell to his knees, groaning, and grabbed the piece of the staff he'd cut off and Splinter had let fall to the floor. As Splinter went in for another jab, Shredder turned around and blocked the staff. He slid his feet across the floor in a blur and tripped Splinter. Then he kicked him into the air. Then Shredder swung his leg up and brought it down on Splinter as the rat fell. Splinter plummeted, groaning as he hit the ground. Shredder12 looked proudly at the small portion of Splinter97's staff in his hand and then struck Splinter on the side of the face with it, hard.

Splinter was panting heavily, looking up at Shredder helplessly. Then Shredder12 stabbed the rat. It was then that Leonardo97 screamed in a shocking, deep and inhumane sound. He broke away from his brothers' grip so effortlessly now, probably from his sudden surg of adrenaline and their pure shock. He ran to the Shredder and swung his sword. The metal-covered menace was caught by surprise and hastily backed away from the swing. Leonardo97 growled at him, chasing him wildly. In the corner of his eye, the turtle saw his brothers and Venus drop by Splinter's side. Things didn't look good. Michelangelo97 looked like he wanted to cry but was determined to keep strong.

Shredder had pushed Leonardo97 into a corner. But just as he was about to swing his spikes downward and end the turtle's life, something flew straight into Shredder12, sending him crashing against the wall. The thing - a blur of orange and green - rebounded off of Shredder and landed a good distance away. Leonardo97, holding his left arm that had been painfully cut, looked up and saw the most amazing thing.

The blur of orange and green had been some otherworldly form of Michelangelo - tall and lithe, with sad eyes and a mischevious smile. But that wasn't it. Dozens of other turtles were piling into the Lair behind him. Donatellos, Michelangelos, Raphaels, and even Leoanrdos - short and pudgy, tall and frog-faced, square and serious, but all recognizable. "Woah, no wonder we knew how to get to this Lair!" said Donatello90. "It looks just like ours!"

An assortment of the new turtles noticed Splinter and ran to help, pulling him to a corner out of the action. The 1997 turtles that had been surrounding their master gaped in amazement at the new arrivals. More of the turtles swarmed Shredder, ganging up on him. The Lair became a blur of greens and the bright colors of their masks.

"Who are you?" Leonardo97 stepped out of their way. One of the turtles - a turtle about mid-height with white eyes and a long, flowing blue mask (Leo C) - came to him. The turtle's demeanor was so calm, but there was an energy that just emenated about him. It was obvious this turtle had been through it all but was still level-headed and helpful, and Leonardo97 felt instantly connected to him. "I'm you." The new Leonardo looked over Leonardo97, narrowing his eyes. Leonardo97 was tall, with a blue mask that covered the entire top half of his face. He wore a big, shiny metal pin on his chest with his initial and his shell plastron was extremely different from Leo C's simple one. "...In some insane way," added Leo C, before giving his counterpart an awkward high-three.

"Why are you here?" Leonardo97 asked.

"Because that wacko wants to kill you!" shouted another turtle - a Donatello that looked sort of similar to Donatello97 but with an odd face and a thin, wooden bo staff. Donatello90, the turtle who had spoken, pointed to Shredder12, who was currently shoving the attacking turtles off of him. Raphael96, a small anime turtle, flew over their heads as Leonardo97 watched in horror and crashed into the table. Donatello90 said,"Look, Leo, there are tons of dimensions of turtles out there. It's really complicated but we don't have time to explain. Just believe us when we say that some of us have been working non-stop with little rest to stop this maniac from destroying every dimension out there."

Leonardo97 thought for a moment then nodded. "I believe you...I think. This is certainly not the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me. Just let me get at Shredder. I have to make him pay for what he did to my family."

"Yeah, well get in line," scoffed Leonardo07, frowning as he remembered injured Raphael07 back in his dimension.

"HEY!" shouted one of the turtles caring for Splinter97. It was Michelangelo13. "There's a girl turtle in this dimension!"

"Really?" perked up Michelangelo90, looking around wildly. "Woah, she's a babe!"

Venus de Milo bristled indignately. "No, I am shinobi!" She got up and stopped away, choosing to help the cause with fighting Shredder. She flicked her wrist and her tessen popped open in her hand. Still huffing and irritated, she added "You turtles are not so different from the ones I live with!" She rushed into the cry vying for their turns to attack.

At that moment, Leonardo96 and Donatello13 were in the front lines against Shredder. Leonardo96 was doing his best with hand-to-hand combat, having never owned a weapon, and Donatello13 was struggling to make his Gravity Gauntlet work. It would sputter and stop before it would do anything, and Donatello13 had to hastily duck Shredder's strikes as he growled at his invention to work. Leonardo96 came in front of Donatello13 to distract Shredder and struggled to keep the villain's long spikes away from his body. Suddenly, Shredder12 struck out furiously and Raphael03 barely managed jump in and save Leonardo96 from getting his neck severed. They tumbled to the side, leaning against the wall to catch their breath. Leonardo96 looked like his life had flashed before his eyes.

"I thought you hated me!" the blue-masked turtle gsaped. Raphael03 had just risked his life to save him.

"No," answered Raphael03, bristling at the pain of a small cut he'd received on his shoulder. He pushed Leonardo96 to the back of the crowd for his safety. "I, along with everyone else, just don't think you're useful. But I'd never want to see you hurt."

Just then, the first big injury of the fight came about. Leonardo13 dropped to the ground as his leg was stabbed and Shredder12 shoved him out of the way. Most of the other Leonardos groaned with him and gritted their teeth against the phantom pain. Leonardo97, new to all of this, felt it the worst. He limped over and helped pull Leonardo13 out of danger and got to work taking care of the wound. And for the first time since these new turtles had arrived, did Leonardo97 feel connected to them. He now felt like he needed to protect them as much as the turtles and Splinter of his own dimension. After all, they were all just to save him, risking everything they had for someone they didn't know.

"Thanks," said Leonardo13, smiling painfully as Leonardo97 haphazardly bandaged his leg. Leonardo97 smiled at him reassuringly.

At the other end of the Lair, Donatello96 sat up excitedly and smiled. "He's awake! He's awake!" Splinter97 had been unconcsious for a few minutes, bleeding heavily where he'd been stabbed above his hip. "You'll be okay, sensei, I promise." Splinter97 looked up at smiled weakly at him, as the other turtles around him rushed to take care of his injuries. Splinter C and Splinter12 nearby were unable to fight Shredder12 due to the pain they shared with Splinter97. The phantom pain wasn't just a weak rush of agony, like what someone gets when they watch someone else get horribly injured. No, this pain was all connected. There was no way to treat it, and was in some ways worse than the original injury - invisible, untreatable, strong, and shared with multiple people.

Suddenly, Michelangelo12 skidded across the concrete floor of the Lair on his shell, after Shredder had kicked him away. He groaned and lay still for a moment, and Splinter12 watched his son nervously. As the rat tried to get on his feet to help his son, Michelangelo13 came over and helped the small, freckled turtle to his feet. "Hey, you okay?" Michelangelo12 nodded and the two ran back into the fight together, side by side.

Splinter C looked over Splinter12 and they shared a knowing smile. "Maybe they will be a good team after all," said Splinter C thoughtfully. "They just need to look past their differences and find their true strength."

April12 jumped out of the huge crowd and onto Shredder12's shoulders. She knew as a kunoichi-in-training she'd have no chance against Shredder in a long fight, so just gave him one good kick before forcefully leaping off of his shoulders. Shredder12 grabbed for her feet as he soared away, and he would have caught them if it wasn't for Donatello12, who jumped in out of nowhere, shouting his battle cry and expertly spinning his bo staff. He was full of adrenaline and easily jabbed Shredder12 in the chest, and then pushed him against the wall. Donatello03 rushed in and took over after that, with Casey Jones C coming in to give the villain a good punch. Casey Jones12 shouted and the crowd parted for him to skate all the way up to Shredder and wack him with a baseball bat. It broke against the villain's strong armor. "Dude, not my Jose Casenco bat!"

It may have seemed like the turtles were winning, but that wasn't so true. Many were injured, and nearly half the team was focused on helping the hurt, particularly Splinter97. Shredder12 felt like he could go on for hours, like every punch and kick to his face gave him extra energy to defeat these nuisances. He roared,"You turtles are no match for me!"

For quite a while, the fight continued as it was - a few turtles would fight Shredder then step back for others to get their chance. Very little progress was made in the fight, though. It seemed as soon as anyone got a good hit on Shredder, the villain would rebute by injuring one of their own. The Lair was littered with injured, but those who weren't off too bad refused to stop fighting. The Leonardos began to argue about what to do.

"We should split up the remaining turtles into two groups and take turns attacking and helping the injured," whispered Leonardo07. He was debating in the back of the crowd with several other Leonardos.

"No way," said Leonardo90, glaring at Leonardo07. "Assign all of the Donatellos to help the injured and the rest of us can take care of Shredder."

"That didn't work any of the past five-thousand times we did it!" shouted Leonardo13 from his nearby position on the floor where Leonardo97 was bandaging his hurt leg. Leonardo97 was keeping silent so far, curiously analyzing the other Leonardos.

"I think we should issue a surprise attack. Have some turtles sneak up on the Shredder from behind, but for that we'd have to move him out of the corner..." pondered Leonardo87.

Leonardo12 tentively raised his hand. "How about we split up all the turtles and have each Leonardo command the turtles from his dimension? We work better with the turtles we're familar with, guys." Everyone ignored him, as Leonardo03 began to force his idea on the group.

Suddenly, Shredder12 made a big move. He leapt straight over most of the huge crowd and landed in the middle of the Lair. He broke into a sprint, the shocked faces of the turtles behind him glinting in his silvery armor. Everyone soon realized he was charging for the group of Splinters - probably hoping to finish off Splinter97 while the other Splinters were weak. Shredder was picking his was through the injured turtles scattered across the Lair, but anyone that was treating the injured that stood up to fight Shredder were effortlessly shoved away.

Finally, Donatello87 caught up to Shredder12, as the villain was closing in on Splinter97. The short turtle, with a groan, leapt as far as he could and caught Shredder12's left leg. Desperate, wild-eyed, he held on with all his strength, and Shredder12 just continued to trudge forward. Then, Donatello03 grabbed Shredder12's other leg, giving a relieved Donatello87 a wink. Now Shredder was annoyed, leaning down to attack the two. But then Leonardo12 came in out of nowhere and threw out his swords, halting the swing of Shredder12's spikes. The angry villain growled and struck at him and a fight began between the two as Shredder12 trudged onwards. More turtles continued to pile up, grabbing Shredder on the legs and arms, slowing him down. Leonardo13 leapt to his feet the second Leonardo97 finished bandaging his leg, and so did Leonardo97, to help hold Shredder back.

Leonardo12 gasped as one of his swords was sent flying and skittering away. Shredder then punched him in the face and knocked him out. The turtle was sent flying into the table near the couch, practically demolishing it in a cloud of dust. Some of the turtles shouted and tightened their grip on Shredder12's arms.

Shredder12 finally couldn't move an inch more, and the turtles quickly ran to face him in front, glaring at him and making a very deep and solid wall between the villain and the three Splinters.

Venus de Milo ran towards Shredder. She hadn't even begun to show him her true power and was determined to do so. She leapt into the air, practically soaring, and concentrated deeply on using her magical abilities. The world around her seemed to drift away and all she saw before her was Shredder. She tuned in on him, focusing her powers, and suddenly Shredder growled in pain -true unbearable pain. He fell to his knees and Venus continued to walk towards him, serenely and quietly. She suddenly felt very strong - having been too weak to completely destroy the Shredder of her dimension she'd make sure this one, who had threatened her family, wouldn't live.

Shredder12 hadn't experienced something as painful as this since the day Tang Shen died. When all the emotions inside him came roaring to the surface as he watched the woman stolen from him perish in what was meant as an attack on Hamato. It had also been the day Shredder had burned half his face in the flames of his enemy's house, as a painful reminder of what his former friend had done to him.

That little wisp of a thought, quick and mingled with panic from the pain, motivated Shredder. He stood up again. Venus, surprised, used a new tactic. Her tessen flashed into her hand but Shredder - adrenaline rushing through him - hit it straight out of her hand and sent it soaring away. She growled and narrowed her eyes and when Shredder12 punched at her with his spiked wrists, she stepped to the side and found her neck surrounded on both sides by the two spikes, pressing tight against her skin. She grabbed his metal-covered arm and concentrated harder, and felt energy leaving her body with her magical attack. Green lightning shot up his arm and coursed throughout his body. Shredder12 shouted and kicked her back.

Venus stumbled a few feet, quickly brainstorming what to do next. Leonardo87 and Raphael90 charged in to fight Shredder but they were no match for him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw April12 surging forward. The red-headed girl stopped in front of Shredder and lunged with her tessen - a slim silver one with the Hamato clan symbol - and then she turned, kicked Shredder, and attacked with another tessen - this one Venus's that had flown away. April12 dropped back and let Raphael90 and Leonardo87 take charge again, and then threw Venus's tessen back to her and smiled as she charged back in to the fight.

"Raphael, get back!" Leonardo90 yelled to his brother. "We're going to barricade the Splinters so Shredder can't get through!"

"NO!" Leonardo87 shouted as he fought. As his sword clanged against the villain's metal armor, he growled,"We are going to all attack Shredder at once!" Leonardo87 angrily pointed at his brothers, who were helping with the injured, and commanded them to attack Shredder. They obeyed instantly.

Leonardo07 stomped forward and grabbed Donatello87 by the arm before he made it to the Shredder. "Think, guys! We need all the Donatellos to help the injured. They know more about first-aid than all of us combined." He ducked as Raphael90 flew over his head.

Donatello97 was fighting Shredder as most of the Leonardos fought themselves. Shredder12 sent his wooden bo staff soaring across the Lair and he was left weaponless. Donatello03 shouted,"CATCH!" and thew his wooden bo to the turtle. Donatello97 continued to fight with the new weapon as Donatello03 picked up the metal one to use.

"Make up your minds, guys!" Leonardo97 shouted, watching in horror after turtle after turtle fell. "Agree to something now! We don't have all day!" Michelangelo97 slid across the Lair after being kicked and skittered to a stop and Leonardo97's feet. The blue-masked turtle couldn't put what he was feeling into words.

Leonardo97 looked up from Michelangelo97, groaning and immobile at his feet, and up to Shredder12. The villain was getting closer to him. Leonardo97 tightened his grip on his one sword. I have to do something. All these turtles I don't know are fighting for me. If they had only cared about saving Turtle Prime they would have waited for the Shredder there instead of chasing him through the multi-verse. And with that, Leonardo97 ran forward.

- in Dimension X -

Kraang after Kraang after Kraang - too mant to count - crumbled and fell by Tigerclaw's sword. He was charging through the vast army, hardly suffering a scratch. He had been battling the Kraang for months, maybe even years, and knew all too well what to expect from them. He could stop their move before they even did it. After knocking one over, he finished off the Kraang inside and took its gun. He turned and continued on with his new weapon. He was determined to make it back to his home dimension, even though he had no idea how.

During the war, as Tigerclaw was gaining the upperhand, all the Kraang received a transmission: Leatherhead had escaped again. He was killing Kraang as well, at the facility where the portals were and threats were held in captivity.

-Turtle Prime-

Karai had made it onto the roof of the tall building. Her breath was sharp and cut into her like a knife but she couldn't stop. She deflected a sai flying towards her face, and then a bo staff to her side. She punched at Leonardo Prime but he dodged effortlessly.

She hadn't even made one hit on them. She had been doing a good job defending herself so far but she was tired and sore and these turtles seemed like they could go on for days. They interrogated her as they ducked and jumped and sliced, barely focusing on the fight.

"Who are you?" "What dimension are you from?" "Are you the only one coming here?" "Have you visited any other dimensions?"

Karai ignored all their questions. She finally made a hit, a kick to Raphael Prime. He acted like he barely felt in and continued to fight, growling at her. "Where." He kicked at her. "Are. You - " a punch right to her face. "From?" A slash with his sai, that Karai flipped away from. She didn't speak, didn't say a word as she watched the turtles run at her.

"ANSWER US!" Leonardo Prime shouted. He soared through the cool night air and slammed his sword downward. She fell over in her haste to dodge it and kicked the sword out of her enemy's hand. She jumped to her feet just in time to block Michelangelo's nunchucks.

"Fine! I am Karai!" she shouted. She grabbed the sword she'd kicked out of Leonardo's hands and charged at Donatello with it. "And I am Shredder's daughter!"

"Karai? Karai is Shredder's daughter?" Michelangelo Prime asked, confused.

"Why are you here?" Donatello asked, smiling at the fact she had finally chosen to talk. "How do you know about the multi-verse?"

"The Kraang in my world are masters of dimensional travel, and they discovered the multi-verse and told me destroying the Turtle Primes will destroy...every turtle!" She hastily shoved her guilty thoughts about Leonardo12 out of her mind. "So I am here to kill all of you (hey, stop laughing at me!) And I will make my father proud!"

Donatello Prime smirked. "What makes you so sure you can beat us? After all, I am the one who killed the Shredder of my world. Threw him straight off a roof." He shoved Karai over to the edge and let her lean over the side, screaming, while he held onto her. He smiled at her frightened expression.

"Let that go, Donatello!" Michelangelo yelled. "We all destroyed Shredder. You just had the final move!"

Karai gulped.

-in the Technodrome-

Splinter87 watched from behind the glass as all the Kraang emptied out of the control room. He had no idea where they were going but was glad to be alone finally. The rat turned around to face the invention he'd been studying for the past while, almost since Shredder12 had trapped him. And he had finally figured out what the invention did.

It was perfect. He just needed to wait for the right time to use it.

Shredder87 opened his eyes tentively and studied the room he found himself in. It was one of the smaller rooms of the Technodrome. A lot of Kraang were crowded into it, ignoring Shredder87 who was simply slumped against the wall. There was a dusty, small monitor against the opposite wall, one Krang barely used in favor of the big one in the control room. It was then that Shredder87 saw that Krang was in the room, his fake body cuffed and chained. He was sat on the floor in front of Bebop and Rocksteady, who were also struggling against their bonds. It was obvious Krang was terrified.

"How did you find me?" he asked the Kraang. "All these years I've had the Technodrome!" His voice was even more guttural and bubbly that usual in his nervousness.

"Krang defied the rules of Kraang Prime repeatedly," spoke one Kraang who had a gun pointed straight at Krang. "But Kraang Prime tolerated it. Krang was a great general who defeated our enemies in many wars long ago. But after Krang lost the most important war of all to the primitive lifeforms known as the Utroms, it was what is known as 'the last straw' for Kraang Prime."

"Blah, blah, blah!" Krang said, regaining some of his old impatience. "Get to the good part!"

"- Kraang Prime sent the army of Dimension X to capture Krang or destoy Krang, whichever was easiest. But Krang, being smarter than the average Krang and having great knowledge about the other dimensions in a time when no other Krang did, escaped in the prized Technodrome into a dimension, never to be seen again. Or so Kraang thought. Kraang dedicated a long time to finding Krang and the Technodrome."

"Aww, you made that story so boring!" Krang grumbled. "It would be better if you'd let me tell it...By the way, who replaced me as general of the Dimension X army? Been harder conquering worlds after I stole most of your Rock Soldiers?"

"...Kraang thought the Rock Soldiers eroded away...That is another crime Krang must pay for, then."

"Oh, yay! So when I am I paying for all this? Do you take cash?" Krang snickered. "Obviously you would have done it already if you had any intent to kill me."

"No, Kraang will destroy Krang. Just at the right time."

-in the walls of the Technodrome-

"I think the control room below us is empty!" said Donatello09 excited. "I haven't heard anything for at least ten minutes. Now would probably be the best time to sneak in."

"Good!" cheered Michelangelo09. "Over a day in this cramped space with no food. They better have pizza in this hunk of junk!" He watched as Leonardo09 cut through the wall with his sword, going slowly to make sure no one heard him.

Finally, he cut three sides of a square and pushed the metal down like a flap. The 2009 turtles peered into the control room. "Woah!" Stealthily, Raphael09 began to climb down the wall. His brothers followed. They looked confusedly at a woman who looked like April hanging from the ceiling, asleep.

"Man, that must suck being tied up there!" Michelangelo09 whispered as he dropped to the ground. "She must have been the one screaming non-stop."

"I wonder if she can still feel her arms, the way she's been tied up for so long," pondered Donatello09. He snuck across the room, leaning so low the ends of his purple belt slid across the floor. He found himself at the control panel, which was huge and complicated. "I'll figure this thing out so we can make a quick escape after defeating Shredder."

"K, Don," said Leonardo09, nodding. He looked around at the vast room and his white eyes grew wide when he saw Splinter87 trapped behind the glass. The rat put a finger to his mouth, signaling Leonardo09 not to shout out in surprise. Splinter mouthed "I have a plan."

-1997 dimension-

Leonardo97 leapt over Michelangelo97 lying on the ground and charged towards Shredder. He held up his shiny silver straightsword, ready to swing it. Ready to chop Shredder's head off if he had the chance. As he ran at Shredder12, Leonardo97's determination to kill grew stronger as first Shredder hit Venus away, and then Michelangelo96, and then Donatello12.

"Hey!" shouted Leonardo90 to him. "Get back here, Leo! We need everyone to make a wall to protect the Splinters."

"Guys! Splinter fell unconcsious again!" shouted Donatello90. Those words, and the thought of Splinter97 suffering, rang through Leonardo97's mind. It was time to stop the fighting, the pain everyone shared. Leonardo97 hated how he had to jump and dodge unconscious bodies strewn across the floor to reach Shredder.

"Let that Leo fight!" said Leonardo89 in the background, arguing with Leonardo90. "Our tactics are going fine. Any way we fight Shredder, turtles are going to get hurt."

Finally, Leonardo97 reached Shredder. He swung ferociously. The villain was caught off guard by this turtles pure, unbridled anger. Leonardo97 made a few good kicks, and a cut on Shredder's arm. But that was it. The group of turtles was in chaos, the fight between the Leonardos growing stronger and more passionate. Leonardo97 was one of the few still fighting. The blue-masked turtle did his best but knew he was being pressed backwards as Shredder trudged towards the Splinters.

Finally, Michelangelo07 came in to help Leonardo97. He ignored all the shouts at him to stop and come back. Then Donatello12 broke from the ranks to help as well, smiling reassuringly at Leonardo97. More turtles tried to come help, but were held back. The fight between the Leonardos was getting scary. Two of them had gotten into a small fight. All the frustration of compromising their power and having no control over what happened finally burst to the surface here, in the most stressful fight yet.

Shredder was so close to Splinter97. So close the turtles who had been helping with the rat's injuries had to leap up and help hold the villain back. One of them was Donatello97. Leonardo97 continued to fight the hardest, wishing for a chance to do some real damage. He was getting reckless, making riskier and riskier moves to get at Shredder. It was no wonder he got a small cut on his right arm to match the one on his left. As Michelangelo07 stepped in for a second to help, that Donatello97 turned to Leonardo97 and said."I believe we should go with these turtles if Shredder escapes this dimension. They are risking their lives to save us, so why shouldn't we?"

"I don't know, Donnie..." said Leonardo97, looking at Splinter97. The rat would need constant medical attention to survive.

"Please, just think about it, Leo." At that moment, Shredder12 hit Michelangelo07 away, leaving it to Leonardo97 to fight again.

"I will destroy you, Splinter!" Shredder shouted, jumping at the rat. Leonardo97 leapt in front of him and groaned as the spike harshly cut his leg.

"Everyone, get over there!" shouted one of the Leonardos instantly. The pain that all the Leonardos shared had let them notice that Leonardo97 had gotten hurt. Finally, help was coming. Leonardo97 didn't stop fighting, though. As Shredder12 lunged for Splinter97, Leonardo97 jumped in and kicked him back. "STAY AWAY FROM MY FATHER!" Leonardo97 wiped the bloody cut on his cheek and charged Shredder12 again.

Swing, slash, clang. The sounds of metal on metal, Shredder's spikes to Leonardo97's sword, were all the blue-masked turtle focused on. Occasionally someone would jump in and deflect a blow but right now Leonardo97's world was black-and-white. All he thought of was defeating Shredder. He gained injury after injury. He was so angry and focused, he didn't noticed Shredder's left arm coming down over his head, spikes and all.

Leonardo97 would have died there and then, if it wasn't for his brother. "NO!" shouted Donatello97. He leapt in and shoved Leonardo97 to the side and jumped up to hold back Shredder12's spikes. The villain continued to bear down, growling, and Leonardo97 watched in awe as the wood of Donatello97's bo staff bristled and splintered, threatening to snap. Donatello97's muscles rippled, his sweat shone, as he pushed upwards. The purple-masked turtle stood, still holding back Shredder's spikes. The other turtles, most of them focused on helping the injured turtles on the ground, watched in awe. Some tried to rush in to help, but what was there to do?

Shredder12 struck Donatello97 in the side - between the shell and the plastron - with his other spikes and the turtle took it like a warrior, as every other Donatello dropped to the ground and clutched their sides in pain. Donatello03 rushed in and threw Donatello97 his metal bo staff just as the wooden one snapped in two. Donatello97 caught the metal bo staff and instantly jabbed Shredder12 with it. "This is for Michelangelo!" he shouted, thinking sadly of his unconcsious brother as he leapt upwards and kicked Shredder12 in the face twice.

Donatello97 glanced down at Leonardo97 who was staring up at him as a few turtles attended to his many injuries. "And this is for Leonardo!" A strike at Shredder's open, tender leg wound.

"AND THIS IS FOR MY SENSEI!" Donatello97 leapt into the air, bo staff spinning like a helicopter. He swung the metal staff downwards, trying to strike Shredder on the head. But then Shredder jumped up and caught the turtle.

The world went still. Time stopped long enough for the Leonardos to stop arguing, for Michelangelo97 to open his eyes and see his brother, and for everyone to shout out in shock. Then everything went back to speed and Shredder12 chucked Donatello97 to the ground. Then he picked up the limp turtle and stabbed him on the side again. Leonardo97 hastily stood up to save his brother but it was too late. Shredder12 threw Donatello97 at the wall and the turtle slid to a heap on the floor. It had all happened so fast.

"DONNIE!" Raphael97 screamed and ran to his brothers side, Michelangelo97 tagging along behind him. Leonardo97 reingaged his fight with Shredder, just as everyone else swarmed the villain.

Venus de Milo had had enough. The Shredder had gotten away with horribly injuring her friend and many others. She closed her eyes and focused, imagining the Shredder. Suddenly, green lightning shot from her hands and arced towards the Shredder. The villain shouted in pain, while turtles ran in and attacked from all sides. Venus concentrated harder and his pain increased. Lightning strung around the room, but didn't hit anyone but the Shredder.

"Kraang!" Shredder12 yelled into his earpiece. Shredder knew he'd done what he could in this dimension and now the turtles were too riled and energized, trying to avenge their injured brother. "Get me a portal! Have you found Turtle Prime yet?" Shredder12 grimaced as he felt a Donatello hit him on the head with a bo staff and made his helmet reverberate noisily.

"Kraang have located Turtle Prime, but Kraang believes there is another Dimension Shredder must visit first. It will be vital to Shredder's success." A portal popped open above Shredder and he leapt inside without hesitation and it closed just before some of the turtles could follow him through.

After the portal closed, all the turtles ran to Donatello97's side. Some turtles that had gone unconscious were shaken awake and limped over to Donatello.

Michelangelo97 and Raphael97 were the closest to their brother, and Leonardo97 pushed his way to the front of the frightened crowd. He gasped when he saw his brother. Was this really Donatello97? The turtle was bleeding profusely and bruised almost beyond recognition. His pain must be unbearable, as Donatellos that had been fine a minute ago were now fainting from the overwhelming agony they were cursed to share.

Leonardo97 dropped to his brother's side. "Donnie, are you okay?"

Donatello97 laughed lightly, but it was more like a cough. "That's...a joke, right?"

Michelangelo97 sniffled. "Please, Donnie. Answer Leo."

Donatello97 turned and looked directly into Leonardo97's eyes. He smiled a little Mona Lisa smile. "According to my calculations...I am not okay."

"Donnie! No, you'll get better!" Raphael97 shouted. "Someone, get...something!" He growled at the other turtles. Venus de Milo dropped next to him and Raphael97 looked at her. "Can you do anything, Venus? Can you use your powers to heal him?"

Venus de Milo hesitated. Slowly, she put her hands on Donatello97's arm. "I sense pain...so much pain."

"Thanks for letting me know," said Raphael97 sarcastically. He was trying not to panic.

"...But I also sense he is very calm." After a silent minute or so, Venus sighed and took her hands off. "I am afraid I cannot heal him, though. Donatello is unfortunetly beyond help. His spirit is already fading."

"What?" Leonardo97 shouted. He didn't want to lose his brother. It was so unfair. He remembered all the good times he'd had with him, growing up together. The 1997 turtles may not have been related to eachother by blood, but that hadn't stopped them from being a very close family. The other turtles watched, looking just as sad as the 1997 turtles. They were all losing a brother. Some turtles were sniffling but no one made fun of them. No one even dared speak but the 1997 turtes.

"Donatello," said Michelangelo97.

"Yes?" Donatello97's eyes flittered open.

"You're my brother. And you will always be. Even if you like pineapple pizza, which is totally disgusting."

"...Thanks, Mikey. You guys are all the best brothers ever." Donatello97 looked to Leonardo97. "Leo, have you considered going with everyone after Shredder? ...They need everyone they can get."

"Yes," Leonardo97 said. "I will go with them, I promise. We will stop the Shredder."

Donatello97 smiled and closed his eyes. A few tear-filled seconds passed and then every Donatello that was left on his feet fainted and slumped to the ground. Donatello97 had died, that was obvious.

That was when Michelangelo97 broke. His face screwed up as he struggled not to cry. Raphael97 shouted at Donatello97 to wake up. Venus looked depressed and heartbroken, wondering if she could have done more to save her friend. Splinter97, who had heard everything, was crying shamelessly.

Leonardo97, however, was affected differently. He grabbed his sword and stood up. Facing the legion of turtles, he said. "I am going to go with you all. Donatello97 convinced me it is the right move . He died believing something could be done to stop Shredder and did everything he could in the fight. Every turtle is needed and I won't let another turtle die because I wasn't there to protect them." The Donatellos who had fainted were starting to wake up.

Venus de Milo closed her eyes, meditating. "I can still feel his spirit." She smiled and Michelangelo97 looked up at her. Through his tears, he saw her smile and wonder how anyone in the world could be happy anymore.

Leonardo97 continued. "But I won't go into battle with a team that does not work together. We need a plan and turtles that won't fight themselves and will instead focus on the Shredder."

All of the turtles nodded, stiff and serious. They leaned down to help the Donatellos to their feet. "Everything went white," said Donatello89, rubbing his head. "I couldn't feel anything but cold." They had all gone halfway to death and that was the best that any of them could put their experience into words, but they all knew they never wanted it to happen again.

"Donnie, wake up!" Raphael97 shook his dead brother. Why did every other Donatello wake up but not his? It wasn't fair.

"So who agrees they will work together to defeat Shredder, as a team. As brothers?" asked Leonardo97, rallying them. For the first time in what felt like hours, the Lair filled with noise. Weapons were raised to the sky and battle cries were shouted.

Leonardo97 looked to the Leonardos, who had been fighting so hard not so long ago. They all looked extremely guilty, wondering if they had cooperated and agreed on a plan of attack Donatello97 would still be alive and his brothers wouldn't be crying at his side. Leonardo97 didn't blame them for anything, though, nor was he mad at them. He knew this was all so stressful for them, and getting along with your brothers is never easy. He looked at them all in the eyes and felt certain they were all on same side now.

Leonardo07 was shocked at how Leonardo97 was reacting to all of this. Leonardo07 had blamed the turtles for Shredder injuring Raphael97 and had attacked them but Donatello97 had died and the first thing Leonardo97 did was act in his memory and team up with the other turtles. Leonardo07 felt low and ashamed.

"Let's not rush into this," said Leonardo13. "We are going into the final fight now. Let's stick back and plan things out. Someone just died. We should honor him by taking this fight seriously." There were no disagreements. Michelangelo97 wiped his eyes and nodded.

"...But let's do it fast. Every second here is a second Shredder gets ahead of us."

Leonardo97 raised his sword, saw the reflection of Donatello97 glinting on it. This was what he was fighting for. "All right, brothers! All that has led up to this has been a skirmish. Killing Donatello was going to far. Now, this. Is. War!"

Wow, this was a very intense chapter. I had tons of fun writing it but it was also a torture.

Just to be clear, I did not kill of Donatello97 because I hate the Next Mutation show. It may not be a very good show and pretty much killed the TMNT franchise until the 2003 show rebooted it. But it still has its moments and I like the character designs for the show. I only killed off a character because it was necessary to move the story along. Donatello97's death will be prominent in the next few chapters which will wrap up this story.

Let me know what you think. Was the dying scene not impactful enough and could have been written better? I am pretty unsure about it.