- Chapter 85 -

Strange Magic

In a penthouse apartment some distance away from the Foot HQ, Kitsune sat in a Japanese-styled room meditating. Eventually, the door slid open, and a shadow fell over her. Without turning her head or opening her eyes, she addressed the figure.

"So, the Tetsu-Oni opts to grace me with his presence again. How long has it been, Krang? Three, four hundred years?"

"At least a thousand," the figure, Krang, replied.

"Time… a human concept I'm still struggling to wrap my head around," Kitsune said flippantly, turning her head only slightly. "Now, what is it you want of me?"

"Every attempt I've made to return to Dimension X has failed. Since science has backfired on me... I turn to you and your Earthling sorcery, as I did when I forged the Sword of Tengu."

Kitsune finally turned to face the Utrom general, eying him curiously. "Why should I help you? Last time I did, you tried to kill me."

"We have a common enemy in the Turtles. As a member of the Foot, they are your foe, just as they are Shredder's."

"Perhaps," Kitsune replied. "However, while we may have a common goal, you have nothing to offer me. You've fallen from grace, and I have no use for a fallen Tetsu-Oni."

She turned her back on him, resuming her meditation. Krang growled, summoning his arm cannon and pointing it at Kitsune. "You will help me. Or I will-"

"Kill me? You tried before, and you failed. Besides, do I look like I'm afraid of death?" She smiled a fox-like smile before returning to her meditation. "Now go, before my patience wears thin."

Krang scowled, turning to leave. As he did, he eyed Kitsune's spellbook, on top of a nearby shelf. After a minute, he grabbed the book and departed.

-X-

Sometime later, Kitsune came out of her meditation and stood up. She turned and gaped in shock to see her spellbook missing from its place. That shock soon turned to annoyance and anger.

"That moronic alien…" she hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Shredder will be furious if he learns this happened. But he'll question if I go searching."

She thought it over, an idea forming. "Then again… I think I know who I can send as a proxy."

The next day, Shinigami exited the 2nd Time Around, holding a paycheck. She was dressed like a normal teenager, albeit with a rather dark fashion sense. In the wake of Krang's invasion, Shinigami had settled into a normal life, enrolling in school under an alias, and even getting a job at the 2nd Time Around. As she unlocked her bike to prepare to go home, April followed her out.

"How are you holding up?" she asked.

"Just fine," Shinigami assured, holding up her paycheck. "Miss Kasumi is handling my rent. And this will pay for groceries and utilities."

"You need any more help with your homework?"

"I've got it mostly figured out. But thanks for the offer."

April nodded at that, then went back inside while Shinigami hopped on her bike, pedaling off. She rode all the way to her current home, a one-bedroom apartment on Madison Avenue. Giving a wave to the apartment manager, she rode up the elevator to her apartment, unlocked the door, and entered. As soon as she went inside, she gasped, nearly dropping her key at the sight of Kitsune. The woman was sitting in a chair at the table, having clearly been waiting for her. In her hand was some mail that was sitting on the table, Kitsune reading the name on it with a small smile.

"Suki Sato…" she mused. "A lovely name."

"Mother…" Shinigami let out. "How did you-?"

"We share the same blood, child," Kitsune replied, standing up. "There's nowhere you can go where I cannot sense you."

Shinigami's form shimmered, reverting to her usual witch attire. "What do you want, Mother?"

"Krang visited my home earlier. He stole my book of spells."

"He what? You let him steal your spellbook?"

"I was meditating at the time," Kitsune said defensively. "I didn't 'let' him do anything."

"What would he want with it, anyway?" Shinigami questioned.

"He believes one of my spells will allow him to return to Dimension X. And there is one that will allow him to do so: The Key to Other Realms."

"What?!" Shinigami yelled. "That spell is incredibly dangerous! One misstep can have drastic consequences!"

"Indeed," said Kitsune. "The ritual must be performed exactly as transcribed, or he could open a portal to the wrong dimension. And there are dimensions far worse than this one, or his."

Shinigami paced back and forth, wringing her hands. "Krang is no practicing magician. He'll mess up the ritual for sure!"

"Which is why you're going to stop him and retrieve my book."

Shinigami stopped, glaring at her. "Mother, he stole it from you right under your nose. It's your mess to clean up, not mine."

"Hmmm…" Shinigami tapped her chin. "It's clear you don't understand. I'm calling in a favor. One you owe me."

"For what?" Shinigami demanded.

"Not letting certain unsavory characters know that Suki Sato and Shinigami are one and the same," Kitsune said matter-of-factly.

Shinigami gasped in realization. "Y-you mean…"

"I've known where you were this whole time, as well as your cover identity. It would certainly be tragic if, say, Master Shredder found out, would it not?"

"You'd sell out your own daughter…" Shinigami scoffed, returning to her Suki Sato form. "Fine. I'll do it. But you never tell anyone where I am."

"I love you, my child," Kitsune insisted, touching Shinigami's cheek. "I always have. It's why I've kept it from Shredder this whole time. Retrieve my book, and your secret remains safe."

Shinigami quickly made her way to the Hamato Clan apartments, where she told the Hamato family, Kagome, and Tai's group about the situation.

"So, let me get this straight," Leo said. "Krang stole your mom's magic book?"

"And she wants you to get it back before he does this dimension-opening spell?" Tai added.

"And to get you to cooperate, she's blackmailing you?" Karai finished.

Shinigami nodded. "If I don't retrieve her spell book, she'll tell Shredder that I'm Suki Sato."

"Bitch," Jade scoffed in disgust.

"This is bad," Hisako said, rubbing her temples. "If Krang gets back to Dimension X, there's no telling what he could do."

"And if he fails and opens the wrong door, we could be dealing with an eldritch-level event," Vee added.

"Krang is no practicing sorcerer. He's meddling with forces beyond his comprehension," Shinigami included. "There's no doubt in my mind he'll fail to perform the ritual exactly as described."

"Well, if this is anything like TV, he's gonna need ingredients for the spell," Mikey pointed out. "Maybe we can stop him from collecting what he needs."

"It's a start," Karai agreed. "Shini, did Kitsune tell you what he needs to perform the ritual?"

"The Key to Other Realms opens gateways to other dimensions when performed at the stroke of midnight. To perform it, Krang requires something to use as a gateway, something as simple as a door will do. As well as an ornate key dipped in a special potion created by the following." She counted the ingredients on her fingers. "Eye of newt. Toe of frog. Wool of bat. Tongue of dog."

Miko whimpered in fear and Tai scratched him between the ears. Midnight also whined, pressing her snout into Hisako's leg. The psychic bent down and scooped up the puppy, petting her head.

"Relax, you two," Shinigami said with a compassionate look. "There's no way either of you is being harvested for your tongues."

"Where would Krang even get this shit?" Raph demanded.

"Well, there's Magic Middleton's Tricks and Costumes," Kagome offered. "It's the only magic shop in town."

"Isn't that more for stage magic stuff?" Mizuki asked. "Like sawing a woman in half?"

"In the front, yes," Shinigami replied knowingly. "Wait till you see their back room."

"Figures you'd be a regular customer," Donnie remarked.

Shinigami smirked. "A witch has to get her stuff somewhere."

"Okay, we'll split up," Leo decided. "One team goes to the magic shop and finds out if anything like Shinigami said has been taken or purchased. The other tracks down Krang, so we can find out where he's gonna perform the ritual and stop it."

"I'll lead the magic shop mission," Shinigami declared. "You won't get past the manager without me."

Leo nodded before turning to Hisako. "Hisako, you and April lead the 'track Krang' mission. Between the two of you, sensing him out should be a snap."

The girls took hands, both nodding. "You got it."

Leo quickly checked the time on his T-Phone. "Two o'clock. We've got ten hours before he performs the ritual, so we better haul shell."

The group quickly split up. In record time, Shinigami, accompanied by Leo, Vee, Tai, Makoto, Erika, Mizuki, and Karai, stood before the magic shop. The sign above the door displayed a winking white rabbit with a top hat, the sign in pink and reading "Magic Middleton's Tricks and Costumes" in white letters.

"Huh," Tai said aloud. "Seeing that cute sign, you'd never expect that this place is housing Hogwarts school supplies."

Shinigami just rolled her eyes before coming inside, the others following. Seated behind the cash register was a chubby, dark-skinned man with a goatee and hoop earring, who smiled at the sight of Shinigami.

"Suki Sato!" he greeted. "How's my number one customer doing?"

"In a hurry, Ron," Shinigami said quickly. "Any customers in the back room?"

"No, not at the moment," Ron replied.

Erika squinted at him, looking him up and down. "Wait a sec… I know you. You're Mezmer-Ron! That stage magician who performs with that hippo!"

Tai raised an eyebrow. "He performs magic with a hippo?"

"I did," Ron explained. "However, I retired. Now I merely run this shop, and Doug rests comfortably in the New York Zoo."

"I saw one of your shows once on TV," Makoto recalled, smiling. "Not too shabby, I gotta say. Especially that time you hypnotized that guy into thinking he was a monkey."

He waved a hand, mimicking what he had seen Ron do. "Mezmer-rooooo!"

"Always nice to see a fan," Ron said with a smile. "But as I said, no one's been in the back. Why do you ask?"

Leo sighed, deciding there was no point in sugar-coating it. "Okay. Remember Krang? The alien who invaded a while back? We have reason to believe he's gathering ingredients for a dimensional portal ritual."

"Oh my," Ron gasped. "The Key to Other Realms?"

"Precisely," Shinigami nodded.

Ron's hands went to his cheeks. "If he messes up a single part of that ritual, he could unleash untold eldritch horrors upon our world!"

"We know," Mizuki informed him. "That's why we're here."

"He's probably gonna be here soon, looking for what he needs," Vee added. "We can't let him get back to Dimension X, and if he screws up the ritual…"

"Say no more," Ron cut in. "Feel free to stick around as long as you need. Any friend of Suki's is a friend of mine."

"We'll stop him like we do every time," Leo assured him.

"No, seriously," Makoto insisted. "We beat Krang every time. It's like our job or something by now."

Meanwhile, in the warehouse near Mirage Industries, Krang was flipping through Kitsune's spellbook and managed to find that precise spell.

"Here it is," he noted with a grin. "The Key to Other Realms."

Viral hovered over his shoulder. "Where are we supposed to get the components for this? And how do we know such a thing will even work?"

"Centuries ago, Kitsune aided me," Krang replied. "Her magic contributed to the creation of my Sword of Tengu. Earth sorcery may be primitive, but it is real. And powerful."

Viral looked over the spell again. "General, it says the ritual must be performed exactly as transcribed. The slightest misstep could have dreadful consequences."

"Then we better not mess up," Krang said simply. "Now then, there is a magic shop in the city. It seems to be the most likely place to gather ingredients."

"Shall I go fetch them?" Viral offered.

"Yes. I will make preparations for the spell while you do so."

She bowed, then turned into electricity before vanishing.

Back at the magic shop, the group looked amongst the various oddities in the back room, Vee with an awestruck and excited eye. Makoto picked up one jar out of curiosity, looking at the label.

"'Testicles of a newt'?" he read, wincing in disgust and crossing his legs. "Guess he's a transsexual now. (1)"

"Man, I can't believe I never checked this place out," Vee remarked, pulling a book off the shelf and opening it.

Leo picked up another jar, this one reading "canned hyena laughs," and opened it. Sure enough, the wild laugh of a hyena echoed from the can, and he slammed the lid back on.

"Trippy," he let out.

"Be careful," Shinigami warned. "Some of this stuff is super expensive."

"Damn, this guy has everything." Tai mused.

"Just about," Shinigami replied. "Hopefully, we can help keep the likes of Krang out."

At that very moment, the lights began flickering on and off.

"Um," Erika began, "am I the only one hoping it's a power surge?"

"With our luck?" Vee put her book away and drew her weapons. "Fat chance."

Red lightning surged out of the light bulb overhead, forming Viral.

"Holy crap, it's Viral!" Makoto quickly drew his jitte . "It's ninja time!"

He charged the evil virus, which casually split apart to avoid his attack. Makoto couldn't stop himself and ended up flying across the room and crashing into the wall.

"Hey!" Ron called from the front. "You break it, you buy it!"

Makoto shook his head, trying to clear it. "Would that include my skull?"

"Foolish boy," Viral mocked. "I'm pure energy. What did you think would happen?"

With that, she darted across the shelves, snatching up jars and tubes as she did.

"We can't let her escape with the ingredients!" Shinigami shouted, trying to zap her with a magical bolt.

"Okay, she's electricity, right?" Tai said quickly. "We need an insulator! Something like rubber!"

Leo looked around, his eyes eventually landing on a fire extinguisher hung up on a nearby wall.

"That'll do!" the blue turtle shouted.

He grabbed the extinguisher, aiming it at Viral and pulling the trigger. Before she could react, she was sprayed with the insulated foam, screaming and reverting to her humanoid form.

"Insolent reptile!" she shouted.

"We're not gonna let you escape with the ingredients!" Leo swore. "That ritual is dangerous, and Krang's no sorcerer!"

Viral lashed out, catching Leo's face with her claws. Leo cried out in pain and reeled back, three shallow but bloody slashes across his right cheek.

"Leo!" Karai shouted.

She glared at Viral, hissing at her in a rage before shifting into her snake form and charging her. Viral just barely managed to dodge.

"I don't have time for this!" the virus shouted.

"You're making the time, bitch!" Tai snapped, drawing his swords.

"You can't stop this!" Viral shot back. "By the stroke of twelve tonight, General Krang will rise again!"

"Not on our watch!" Makoto vowed.

"Well, watch this!" Viral snapped.

She darted over to Makoto, grabbed him by the face, and threw him across the room. He slammed into the bookshelf Vee was admiring earlier, which fell on top of him, while Viral quickly got to work shaking the foam off.

"No!" Shinigami shouted while the others focused on lifting the bookshelf off of Makoto.

"Fools," Viral taunted. "Had you ignored the boy, you could have stopped me. The fact that you possess a sense of morality and compassion and I do not gives me an evolutionary advantage. And if history has proven anything... it is that evolution always wins."

With that, she morphed into electricity and surged away, taking the ingredients with her.

"Damn!" Tai cursed.

"Sorry, guys," Makoto said, looking down. "It's my fault she got away."

"Helping your comrades is not a weakness, Makoto," Mizuki insisted. "You know that."

As Erika treated the scratches on his face, Leo pulled out his T-Phone. "Here's hoping Hisako and April found where Krang is."

Meanwhile, Hisako and April's group searched Mirage Industries and the surrounding area when Hisako's T-Phone buzzed. She quickly answered it.

"Leo?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Viral got away with the ingredients," Leo reported.

Hisako sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Fuck. We've been searching Mirage Industries. Nothing so far."

"We're on our way," Leo informed her. "One way or another, we have to get that book back and put the kibosh on Krang's plan."

Hisako hung up, turning to April. "Viral got the goods. We need to find Krang ASAP."

April nodded and they joined hands, focusing their power outward. Eventually, their efforts bore fruit.

"Got him!" they both declared, letting go.

"He's in the old factory," Hisako reported. "The one where Complete Carnage took his victims."

"Then we need to get there yesterday!" Raph declared.

Hisako quickly texted Leo, informing him of the location and to meet them there.

"Let's move, people!" Mikey declared.

At the factory, Krang added the ingredients Viral brought him into a beaker and began heating it on a Bunsen burner. On the ground beneath his feet was a red pentagram, marked with candles on every point.

"Soon, I will be rid of this wretched plane," he vowed. "And those freaks who dared to fight against me will suffer!"

As the potion boiled, Krang pulled out an ornate-looking key and dipped it in.

"It's almost time," he said with unholy joy, turning to the book and opening it to the incantation. He held up the key and began to recite. " Huic key, reserare ostium in alium orbem terrarum. (2)"

Focusing intensely, he repeated the incantation again and again, and slowly, the winds picked up outside.

-X-

As they neared the factory, Hisako's group noticed the winds picking up and gasped in realization.

"Shit!" Jade cursed. "The ritual is starting!"

"We gotta get in there!" Hana insisted.

April cracked her knuckles. "No point in subtlety now!"

-X-

Within the building, Krang continued the ritual, the portal now big enough to allow something like the Technodrome through. Just as he was about to finish the recitation once more, the door to the factory was blown open, revealing a glowing Hisako.

" STOP! " she screamed.

As soon as she said that word, the portal began acting erratically, sparking and flashing.

"Oracle!" Krang shouted. "You stupid bitch, what have you done?!"

Hisako's eyes widened as she realized what had just happened. "Um…" she chuckled awkwardly. "I... just disrupted the ritual and let him open a gateway to some eldritch location, didn't I?"

As if to answer her, purple tentacles snaked out of the portal, followed by the body they were attached to. It was the body of a monstrous creature with one, big, bloodshot red eye, a round, dark red body, and a birdlike beak.

"Ohhh… my God," Jade let out in shock.

"What the hell is that?!" Kagome screamed.

"For once, I have no idea," Donnie remarked.

The creature's tentacles lashed out, ensnaring Krang, along with April, Casey, Hana, and Kagome.

"Crap!" Mikey shouted. "Where're Leo and the others when ya need 'em?!"

Several shuriken came flying in at that, striking the creature. Leo and the others hurried up to the group, all of them gaping at the tentacled horror before them.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" Tai demanded.

"No…" Shinigami let out in horror. "It's Actulthi. The devourer of souls!"

"Krang screwed up the ritual, didn't he?" Leo asked.

"Um…" Hisako began, "yeah, Krang did. Let's go with that."

Leo looked at her suspiciously but decided not to push it for now. He saw the portal close, while Krang shot the creature in the face. It dropped him and the others it had ensnared, and Krang promptly made a getaway.

"If I'm lucky, it'll kill you all!" he shouted as he ran.

"Well, fuck you too, pal!" Makoto yelled after him.

"Krang's the least of our worries right now!" Raph snapped. "How are we gonna stop that?!"

Leo quickly looked around the factory, at the support beams holding it up, and got an idea. "The factory's support beams… We smash those up. Drop the building on his head."

"Good idea!" Shinigami said, beginning to fire on one of the beams.

"Hey, ugly!" Tai taunted, standing in front of one of the beams. "Over here!"

Actulthi screamed and swung at him with a tentacle. Tai dodged just in time, causing the beast to smash through the beam.

"No, over here!" Makoto shouted, jumping in front of another beam. Actulthi once again swung at him, taking out another beam.

As this went on, Hisako spied Kitsune's spellbook, having been left behind by Krang. Focusing only on the task at hand, she charged in, dodging around tentacles and rubble, and snatched up the book.

"Got it!" she shouted. "Now, there's gotta be a way to send you back…"

"Give it here!" Shinigami ordered.

Hisako obediently tossed her the book, and she quickly flipped through it until she found a banishment spell. She held up her free hand, crackling with arcane power.

"O monstrum ventris inferi, ad domain comminxit spurca saliva tua! (3)"

As Krang did earlier, Shinigami repeated the incantation over and over, and slowly another portal opened, sucking Actulthi in.

"Yes!" Leo cheered. "It's working!"

Actulthi grabbed onto some more of the support beams, trying to stop himself from being pulled in, but Hisako and April focused their power, while Shinigami looked up, her eyes glowing as well.

"You do not belong here, demon!" the former Foot witch yelled.

April and Hisako blasted Actulthi back into the portal, which closed behind it, and all three girls collapsed, panting heavily.

"Please tell me that worked," April wheezed.

"It did," Shinigami assured. "He's gone."

"Y'know, I learned something tonight," Donnie said in discontent. "Magic is bad news."

Shinigami wiped the sweat from her brow. "Only when in the hands of evil or those who don't know what they're doing."

"If that's the case, do you have to give that back to your mom?" Mikey questioned.

"I don't have a choice, Michelangelo," Shinigami replied. "Besides, Mother is far more responsible with these spells than Krang would be. It's the lesser of two evils."

"Your mom is an ancient entity that manipulated a man into restarting a centuries-old feud between two ninja clans," Hisako pointed out.

"True. But consider the alternative."

Everyone looked back at the wrecked factory.

"Kitsune gets the book," they all agreed.

Shinigami smiled. "Glad we all could compromise."

When Shinigami returned to her apartment, she wasn't surprised to find Kitsune waiting for her.

"I had faith you'd retrieve my book," the elder witch remarked. "You're my daughter, after all."

"You'll keep your word?" Shinigami asked, holding out the book.

"Of course." Kitsune took it, tucking it under her arm. "As far as Master Shredder is concerned, Suki Sato is a nobody. Just an ordinary high school student. And that's how it will remain."

"Good." Shinigami held the door open, pointing at it. "Now get out of my apartment. I've got school in the morning."

"As you wish."

Kitsune stood up, making her way to the door. She stopped in the doorway, turning her head slightly.

"We may be on opposing sides, Shinigami... but you are still my daughter. And no matter what, I love you."

And with that, she was gone. Shinigami sighed, sitting down on her bed in her empty apartment.

"Love you too… Mom."

Author's Note:

(1): Robin Hood: Men in Tights reference.

(2): Latin for "With this key, open the door to another world."

(3): Latin for "Oh monster from the bowels of hell, return to your foul domain."

So, this episode was a partial adaptation of the 1987 episode "Splinter No More." In that episode, Shredder resorted to a magic ritual to attempt to return to Dimension X, just as Krang did.

Also, yeah, Kitsune and Krang were allies in the past. It was the same in IDW.

Please R&R. Until next time!