Shout-out to my dearest of friends and fellow writer here and on AO3, Bloodrayne666, for her suggestions and help with this chapter.

Chapter 51

A New Dawn

The evening of festivities passed, followed by a night of rest, until the dawn finally broke the darkness and brought forward a new day.

The door to one house opened, and Jack walked out, stretching and yawning.

Shortly after, a Nordling woman followed, and gave him a kiss.

"We have to do this again one day." she said with a wink before heading back to the ships.

As soon as she was out of sight, Jack exhaled loudly, visibly winded.

"Bloody hell… had I known she had that kind of stamina, I would have settled for a quickie rather than an all nighter… still… totally worth it…" he yawned loudly. "Man, I wish we had brought some coffee… This is gonna be a long day…"


After having had their breakfast, Ovrul, Valin and the Riders thanked Tyroth and his people for their help and hospitality, before saddling up and leaving for Berstolia. The trip would take them close to a week, but they didn't mind as they were leaving with a hefty catch, and warm memories of a kind people.

They were not the only ones to prepare for departure, though, as the Nordlings also started with their preparations to set sail for their home in the Frozen Wastes.

But before that, they had their fallen to see to.

While they had honoured them during the festivities the night before, their bodies were still in need of attention. In accordance with their beliefs and traditions, the Nordlings began constructing a large wooden raft, upon which they would place the corpses on a large pyre.

The pyre would then be set ablaze as the raft was pushed out to sea.

All this work would take them quite some time, during which most of them offered the Mutopians their help with their own duties. Which were cleaning up the remains of the massive battle from the day before.

Every corpse that was found, be it gnoll, hyena, or troll, was closely looked over for anything of use, before having their heads cut off and dragged away to the moats that had been dug, now being used as a means to burn the corpses en masse.

For the most part, any clothes or pieces of leather armour that the gnolls wore were in such bad shape, not to mention filthy, that not even Tania could see any use for them. But a lot of the corpses had some piece or two of metal incorporated in the makeshift armours, not to mention a lot of the weapons as well, and there were even the odd coins, gem, or jewellery.

All of those things were collected and put aside to be used later.


"Hey, Loki! Got some stuff for you!" Kate called out as she carried a box filled with gathered metal objects from the gnoll corpses into the blacksmith.

"Even more?" the geckoling asked, looking to a massive pile that he already had. "If this keeps up, I won't have any space left to work in."

"I don't think there's any rush, kid. But I don't know what you're gonna do with it all."

"Well…" Loki scratched his head as he thought about it. "At first, I thought I could just reforge it as we needed new stuff. But as it is now, I have to rethink that."

"Then you'd better get started. We ain't even halfway done yet."

"Not even…?" He looked around the work area. "Yeah, there's no chance that I'm fitting all of it like this. I guess I'll have to melt it all down into ingots. That should make it easier to store, and at the same time I can get rid of any impurities while I'm at it."

"Already have it all figured out? You're not only good at working with metal, but you're good at organising too. You got a lot of skills, Loki."

"Just trying to be useful, that's all."

"Well, we're all lucky to have you, that's for sure." Kate said with a smile. But as she was about to leave, a thought crossed her mind. "Weird question, but do you think you can make something out of glass too?"

"You mean like drinking glasses or bottles? Maybe, but I'd need the right tools for that first, and a lot of practice. But something small and more solid, I don't think that should be too hard, I mean, with the right mold, I can cast it right away, and I should be able to carefully grind the glass into the right shape."

"So that's a yes, more or less." Kate mused. "Do you think you could do me a favour then?"


Noon approached, and Tyroth had decided to take a break from burning corpses, letting Freya take over while he sat down with a book some distance away.

"Slacking off, my jarl?" he heard a voice ask, and Tyroth smiled.

"You'd think I've earned a break." he chuckled. "Wouldn't you, Leo?"

The blue-masked turtle chuckled too, as he sat down next to Tyroth.

"You certainly have, and yet you keep working just as hard as the rest of us, even harder actually." he took a quick look at the book. It was one of the DnD books, specifically Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. "And you're working on your break as well."

"Just trying to see if I can find any answers to how Mikey came back, and I'm just skimming through them at the moment, looking for anything that matches."

"Any luck?"

"Perhaps, but nothing solid. At least we know that he's not an undead, thanks to Valin. But I think that he might just be something like a Reborn."

"Reborn? I guess it is descriptive enough, but I've never heard of it before."

"It's a bit of a catch all term for those that have died, yet survived."

"Sounds like Mikey."

"It does, but the examples also include people that are like Frankenstein's monster, spirits possessing empty bodies, and those that have been turned to stone for generations."

"So no straight answer anyway. If anything, it raises more questions."

"Yeah, but it just goes to show that the books don't hold all the answers, they're only guide lines at best. But, I think there's something else that we need to consider." Tyroth said, putting away the book and picking up a different one from his side, this one being called Xanathar's Guide to Everything.

"Regardless of how Mikey came back, it might have left its mark on him. Specifically, I'm thinking of the Shadow Magic Sorcerer."

"Shadow Magic? I remember the Wild Magic Sorcerer that Mikey played in our game, but not Shadow Magic."

"Basically, such a sorcerer gain their powers from a realm called the Shadowfell, a dark, possibly undead version of the material plane. Mikey's brush with death could have similar results, so we need to keep our eyes open for that."

"I'll talk with him about it." Leonardo said seriously, but then his face softened. "But, knowing him, he'll probably be overjoyed if he gets magical powers."

"Ha! I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest." Tyroth chuckled.

"Me neither. By the way, there was a reason to why I'm disturbing you."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"Well… it's Sephie. Why is she calling herself queen all of a sudden?"

Tyroth burst out laughing.

"She's just having a bit of fun." he explained. "But, technically, she is the queen of Mutopia, or at least as close as can be. Didn't think of that possibility when you named me jarl, now did you?"

"Can't say that I did."


A little while later, Kate is walking towards her and Michelangelo's house.

On the way there, she sees three rafts drifting away from the dock, towards the horizon. All the Nordlings were gathered at the beach, and several burning arrows were fired at the rafts once they had gotten far enough out to sea, and they were quickly engulfed in flames.

The rafts burned as the Nordlings watched on in silence, and Kate figured out that she was watching the funeral of those that fell in battle earlier. A lump formed in her stomach as she thought back on it all, and the news that Michelangelo had died.

Clutching what she held in her hand, she shook away those memories. She had been lucky, with her boyfriend coming back to life, but she was reminded that not everyone shared her luck.

Hurrying onwards, she soon reached her house and entered it, finding Michelangelo laying on the bed, looking at the ceiling. Even after getting the all clear from James and the others, he had been ordered to take it easy for a few days, and he didn't complain.

However…

"Okay, I'm bored now." the turtle sighed.

"Anything I can do to help with that?" Kate asked as she walked up to him.

"Oh, hi, Katie. I didn't hear when you came home. Must have zoned out for a while."

"It's okay, hun. How are you feeling?"

"Well, as you heard, I'm a bit bored." Michelangelo said as he sat up in bed and motioned for Kate to sit next to him. "But other than that, I feel perfectly fine, which is strange, as I died."

"Well, I'm happy to have you back, and that you're feeling as good as you do." Kate said as she sat down.

"What about you, babe? How are you feeling?"

"Still shaken, if I'm honest, but I'm getting better, now that you're here again." She took his hand in hers and squeezed it softly as she smiled, and Michelangelo smiled back.

But then his smile faded as a look of slight confusion took its place. He felt something in his hand, and after Kate released her grip on him, he saw that she had placed a small glass heart in his palm.

"What's this?"

"I had Loki make that for me." said Kate, her voice starting to tremble a bit. "You see, I've always looked at my own heart as one of glass, beautiful and yet fragile. You know that I've been through a lot of shitty relationships in my past, and each time, my heart was shattered, just as if it was made of glass."

Michelangelo didn't say anything, he only listened as Kate spoke.

"Each time my heart was broken, I put the pieces back together again, only for it to break after the next fuckhead. Finally, I shut my heart away, so that no one could break it again, and it remained safe and protected for years, while I turned into a real bitch." she looked up and into Michelangelo's eyes.

"Then I met you, and without you even knowing it, you unlocked my heart. You made me feel safe enough to dare bare my cracked heart again. It took a while, but I'm glad that I was able to love again, that I found you."

Kate's face darkened, and tears formed in her eyes, a few rolling down her cheeks.

"But… when the said that you had died… when I lost you… it was as if my heart wasn't only shattered, but ground to dust… I was laying there, crying in the dust, surrounded by only darkness… it was as if I was going to drown in that abyss… I've… I've never felt like that before… and I never want to again…"

Michelangelo cupped Kate's cheek with his free hand, wiping away her tears with his thumb as he looked her in the eyes. Then he brought the glass heart to his lips and gently kissed it before holding it firmly.

"I promise you, Kate, I will never let your heart shatter again. Never."

"Thank you…" Kate said, tears still falling but she had a warm smile as she embraced her partner, and he returned the embrace.

For several minutes, the two just sat on the bed, hugging each other closely.


A few hours passed, and the floating pyres had burnt away and sunk underneath the water's surface, so the Nordlings undertook the final preparations for their voyage home, readying their ships and supplies.

"Don't know about you guys, but I'm actually gonna miss them." said Raphael as he had come to say his thanks and farewells, together with the rest of the village.

"I know what you mean, hun." said Monalisa. "I'll admit, they were quite different from us, but that's not a bad thing, as long as we can get along."

"And they sure know how to throw a party." said Sharky with a wide grin.

"I suppose, yeah." said Pandora, her eyes lingering on the Nordlings, yet it was still distant.

"Pandora? Is something wrong?" her mother asked upon noticing Pandora's demeanour.

"I'm… I'm just thinking."

"You didn't forget to apologise to that Nordling woman you tried to gut, did you?" Raphael asked with a half frown.

"No. No, I did that."

"Then what's the matter, Tigress?"

"Well, there's something I've realised…" she began. "Looking at the Nordlings now, I see a people that's free. They can go where they want and do what they please. They get to see the world and have adventures. And there's so much of this world to see.

Back on Earth, I never would have had that chance, to travel and see what lay beyond the borders, being what I am, but here…there are no borders, that horizon, it doesn't stop there, it's unlimited! It's full of adventures and paths to different places, and I want to see them, and experience them!

I want to live like the Nordlings do! Live with them, even!"

"You mean you're leaving us?" Kemeko asked hesitantly.

"Kem… I guess, yeah, but not for ever. Don't get me wrong, I love this place, and I loved the old Mutopia, and the lair, but a gilded cage is still a cage, and here, I can be free as a bird."

"You do know that we can stop you, right?" Raphael said, crossing his arms and sharing a look with Monalisa. "All it would take is a single word from your mother or I, and you're staying put. But we're not gonna do that."

"You're… you're not?" Pandora asked, eyeing her parents questioning.

"No, we're not." said Monalisa. "We've been talking for a while, and you're a grown woman now, so we can't keep babying you. You were always going to leave the nest sooner or later, and like you said, on this world you really can be as free as you want. If this is what you want, we will support you."

"And here I was preparing a counter argument." Pandora chuckled. "Guess I won't be needing that then."

"Just promise us something, Geisha." said Raphael. "Promise that you'll be careful, stay safe, and come back and visit from time to time."

"You'll always have a home here. No matter what." said Monalisa.

"I promise." said Pandora, and hugged both her parents, who hugged her back. "I'm going to miss you, mum, dad."

"And we'll miss you, little one."

"As will we all." said Tyroth. "But if you're going to go with the Nordlings, you'd better gather your things and what you need, as they're about ready to leave."

"Right!"


Rushing off to the house she had been given, Pandora quickly packed all her things, while Tyroth asked Harald to wait for a little while for their newest passenger.

A few minutes later, Pandora came rushing back with a large backpack and duffle-bag.

Despite her eagerness to embark on what could be the biggest adventure of her life, she still took the time to say a proper farewell to all that she cared about.

"Stay safe out there, Geisha." said Michelangelo, ruffling her hair one more time for good measure.

"You too, Uncle Mikey." Pandora said, fixing her hair and looking at Kate. "Make sure you take care of him, okay, Kate?"

"You've got my word, kiddo."


"You're sure about this, Pandora?" Kemeko asked.

"I am, Kem. I want to do this."

"I understand."

"You know, you could come with me." Pandora looked over to Sonia, Freya and Loki. "All of you could. Could even go your own ways later."

"I suppose." said Kemeko. "But my place is here, at least for now. Maybe in the future, but until then, I'm staying here with dad."

"Same here." said Loki. "I think I've figured out how I want to set up my smithy now, so I got a lot to do."

"I would love to go with you, Pandora, but this is my home now." said Freya. "And I have to defend it."

"We both do." Loki added. "It's our duty as dragons, or geckolings at least."

"Then I know it's in good hands." said Pandora, giving them all a hug each, before coming to Sonia. "And I guess you'll keep an eye on our cousins."

"You have my word, Pandora." Sonia said with a smile. "And you be careful out there, you hear? That's my last order to you."

"Don't worry. I will."


"I must say, it pains me to see you leave, child." Splinter said with a tear in his eye. "But I am proud of you for taking this chance. I wish you all the best."

"Thank you, grandfather." Pandora hugged the old rat, shedding a few tears as well. Given the rat's old age, she knew that there was a very real chance that this might be the last time she would ever see him. It was enough to make her think twice if she really should go or not.


Finally, Pandora said good bye to her parents, but there was not a single word uttered as they all shared a final hug, as everything that needed to be said was felt through their hearts.

With wet eyes, Pandora grabbed her stuff and boarded one of the longships, not looking back until they had gotten a decent distance out to see, finally turning around and waving back as it was now too late for her to change her mind.

One by one, the people gathered at the beach left to resume their own tasks, until only Tyroth, Raphael, and Monalisa remained, still following the ships with their eyes as they grew smaller and smaller near the horizon.

"Think she will be alright?" Monalisa asked, drying her wet cheeks.

"I think so, yeah." said Raphael, his red mask stained by his own tears. "She's tough as me, smart as you, and more stubborn than either of us."

"I know, but this world can be so much more dangerous than Earth, even if she can walk around among people without issues. And this reminds me so much of when I went to New York with my friends, and we both know how that ended…" A horrible shiver ran down her spine as she thought of the events that led to her rape and later mutation.

"I know, babe, I know." Raphael soothed, holding her close. "But you said it yourself, we can't keep babying her forever, no matter how much we want to."

"You'll see her soon enough." Tyroth said, making the couple look at him.

"What makes you say that?" Monalisa asked.

"I talked a bit with Harald, and they are very much like my Viking ancestors. And just like them, the Nordlings only raid for a small part of the year, during the warmer months."

"So, what, this was like a summer job for them?" Raphael wondered.

"Pretty much. Rest of the year, they're farmers, crafters, hunters, not too different from what we'll be doing here. So even if Pandora would be okay with raiding and pillaging other settlements, stealing from hard working people, the attack on us was the last for the season.

That means that she will have to do the same work with them as she would have with us, only in a far colder climate, as she's not foolish enough to wander off on her own this close to the winter."

Tyroth then turned to leave.

"I reckon she should be back by spring."


Less than two months later, in the Frozen Wastes, in the settlement of Harald's clan, Wolfthorpe, the snow was already covering the ground and building with several feet. According to the Torgalian calender, it wasn't even considered winter yet, and the temperatures still rarely reached above negative twenty, even during the midday.

Pandora was sitting in a small house, wrapped in as many fur blankets as she could find, with a fire burning hot nearby, and she was still shivering and her teeth were clattering, her reptilian nature betraying her to the cold.

The Frozen Wastes really lived up to its name.

And Pandora only had one thing to say about her current situation.

"W-w-worst-t-t id-d-dea ev-v-v-ver…"

And with that, dear reader, we now end Regenesis. There are still plenty of adventures that our heroes could have in this new world, but we will save those Possibilities for another time and place.

However, there may perhaps be something extra added to this story in the future, but that remains to be seen. Thanks for sticking around this long, and I'll see you again for more adventures later.