- Chapter 107 -

The Power Inside Them

April found herself waking up to the sound of chirping birds. She slowly opened her eyes, yawning and rubbing her head.

"Ugh, my aching head... What happened last night?" As her brain woke up, she took a look around, finding herself not in her own bedroom, but on a bench in Central Park.

"What in… how did I end up here? I could have sworn I fell asleep in my bed…" Her crystal thrummed softly. "Whatever. Doesn't really matter. I was probably just caught up in some drama and crashed."

She stood up, stretching her arms before beginning to make her way back home. She passed by a few dog walkers and joggers, many of them giving her odd looks for being out in her PJs. Then, as she was passing an old man feeding some pigeons, she heard the familiar intro music for the Sewer Hour.

"What's goin' on, Manhattan?" came Mikey's voice. "It's your boy Cowabunga Carl, back for another episode of the Sewer Hour! I'm here to talk about recent events in the city, with my special guest Robyn O'Neil."

"Thank you, Carl," said Robyn. "Recently, something has been seriously wrong with the psychic allies of our own Heroes in a Half Shell. Violent tendencies, lashing out, and actions so far out of character that it's like they're not themselves."

April stiffened. "Mikey, what are you doing…"

"That's right. The Hamato Clan bore witness to it last night. In their words, our own April O'Neil went on the warpath late last night, when the Foot Clan attacked the 2nd Time Around. They described her as acting like she was possessed, even telling one of them to run."

April clutched her arm. "That dream... no way…"

"As such, this is a bulletin to be on the lookout for both April O'Neil and Hamato Hisako," said Robyn. "Both are not in their right minds and are to be considered a danger to themselves and others."

"But please know this isn't their fault," Mikey chimed in. "They're sick, but hopefully, they can get the help they so desperately need."

April was visibly shaken by what she was hearing. She stood there in shock, before slowly shying away to prevent the pigeon man or anyone else from noticing and recognizing her.

"This can't be happening. Why would…" The crystal hummed again. "Why would they do this to me?" Her face hardened. "They... they must be jealous. Yeah, that's it. I'm so much tougher now, and they feel threatened. We're so much tougher now. And I think it's time we sat down for a talk."

At the Canal Street apartments, the Hamato/Lee family had joined the rest of the clan. As both groups shared stories of what had happened with their respective psychics, Professor Honeycutt drew a needle, filling it with a clear substance before sticking it in a still-sleeping Hisako's neck.

"Hey, hey!" Raph objected.

"Relax. It's just a sedative," Honeycutt assured, gently injecting it into her neck. "This should keep her asleep for the time being, and buy us time to figure out what to do."

"I take it just ripping the damn thing off her neck won't work?" Casey suggested.

"Dad tried that," Leo informed him, Splinter holding up a bandaged hand for emphasis. "Didn't work out."

Sam had his arms crossed, thinking things over before perking. "'Blackened souls darken all around them'... so this is what she was talking about."

"What was that?" Vee asked.

Sam turned to them. "When we found Hisako in the Hidden City, the old yokai, Granny, she stopped me before we left. She told me that blackened souls darken all around them. It was cryptic as hell... but I think she was trying to warn me about those crystals."

"And you just now think to tell us about it?" Karai demanded.

"Like I said, it was über cryptic, and I just now put the pieces together."

"I just don't get how this is happening," Kagome remarked. "We purified the Aeons. Why are their crystals doing this?"

Vee tapped her chin in thought. "Maybe… Maybe the blackened souls aren't the Aeons… but Hisako and April."

"Excuse you?!" Raph snapped.

Vee held out her hands. "Hear me out. April's spent the past year being hunted down and her family torn apart, and Hisako... I mean come on. Their experiences have left scars on them. A darkness that has affected the Aeons, and in turn... them."

"It makes sense," Honeycutt mused. "The Aeons are highly psychically sensitive beings."

"Whatever's going on, we need to find April before that crystal gets her into trouble we can't get her out of," Tai said.

At that very moment, a violent bang sounded. Everyone jumped, turning to see April standing at the threshold of the living room, the front door having been kicked off its hinges before she slowly walked into the room with a murderous look on her face. Mikey gulped nervously.

"Oh... hi, April," he greeted. "We were just talking about you."

"Oh I know," April said, deadly calm. "I caught your show."

Mikey gulped hard as she cracked her knuckles. "'A danger to myself and everyone around me'. Weren't those your exact words? And what's worse, you dragged Robyn, my own sister, onto the air to trash me?! You're supposed to be my friend, Mikey!"

"I am your friend! That's why I did this!" Mikey stood up. "Ever since we got back from space, those crystals have been making you and Hisako crazy!"

"You had no right!"

"Red, listen to me," Casey cut in. "You nearly killed people. You're not a killer."

April scoffed. "I nearly killed people. That's rich coming from you, Jones. If I'm not mistaken, didn't you first meet Kagome and the Turtles when Raph had to physically stop you from beating Purple Dragons to death with a bat?"

Casey winced. "That... that was a long time ago."

That was when April saw Hisako on the couch, and Professor Honeycutt preparing more sedatives.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she demanded.

"Hisako went rabid last night too," Vee explained. "Long story short, she almost crushed a mutant with his own truck."

"Was he asking for it?" April asked bluntly.

Kagome's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"Was. He. Asking. For it?"

"Well, I mean, he was trying to repo Todd Capybara's RV and roughed him up a bit loan shark style, but-" Mikey began.

April shrugged. "Then I don't see the issue."

A dead silence followed.

"April…" Leo began, "You know we don't operate like that."

"Well maybe we should," April began to glow. "Hisako! Wake up!"

Hisako sat up in an instant, glowing a bright white.

"Holy Chalupa!" Mikey exclaimed.

"That sedative is enough to knock out a bull elephant for thirty minutes!" Honeycutt objected. "Impossible!"

"Hardly," April waved her hand and knocked Honeycutt aside.

"What happened?" Hisako asked. "The last thing I remember…" Her gaze hardened. "That damn capybara… I was trying to help him!"

"By crushing someone with a car?!" Leo demanded. "That's not what we do!"

Hisako blinked at that. "Wait… Didn't we have this talk before?"

The white glow flickered.

"Don't let them trick you!" April snapped.

"You need to back down a minute and think!" Jade snapped. "You're addicted to those stupid crystals! They're fucking with your heads!"

"SILENCE!" April roared, Jade's mouth snapping shut.

"That's better." She turned to Hisako. "Are you really going to listen to these lowlives?"

The glow overtook Hisako once more. "No. We aren't."

With that, April glared at the Turtles.

"All I wanted was to stop living in constant fear, to have the power to fight back and not be afraid anymore. And now the city thinks that we're the problem thanks to the Sewer Hour! YOU think we're the problem! But we're not!" Her eyes glowed as her voice distorted. "We're the solution."

"Gonna strongly disagree with you on that," Raph shot back.

"You think you can stop us?!" Hisako held up a hand, all of them flying back.

"No!" All eyes turned to see Airi running in.

"Airi, get outta here!" Erika screamed.

Airi didn't listen, running over and hugging Hisako's legs. "Hisako, April, please stop! We're your family!"

Hisako looked down at Airi, April doing the same.

"Out of our way, little one," April ordered. "We do not want to hurt an innocent."

"Airi, let go," Hisako told her.

"No!" Airi shook her head. "Please, you're not yourselves! The crystals are bad! You need to get rid of them before things get any worse!"

A white halo surrounded Airi. She was pulled from Hisako's leg and then tossed onto the couch with a yelp.

"Come," Hisako said. "We're wasting our time here."

"Yes," April touched her crystal. "It is time, sister."

They headed out at that. Tai immediately ran over to his sister.

"Airi!" he cried. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?!"

"No, I'm fine." Airi sat up. "But that's not April and Hisako."

"No," Leo shook his head. "That was the Aeons in those crystals. They've taken over their bodies."

"Aw man... this is straight Venom vibes!" Mikey exclaimed.

"So…" Jade began, "to sum up our predicament, we have two mutants, who individually have Phoenix-level psychic power and are nukes on legs, both working together, both off the rails, and both with alien crystals that amplify their already existing strength." She sighed. "Okay guys, I'm completely focused on our task... and have come to the conclusion that we are royally and completely fucked."

"Remind me never to take you to a pep rally," Makoto said dryly.

"We need to stop them," Leo insisted.

"Do we even know where they're going?" Raph asked.

"We must return to TCRI and retrieve the Y'Lyntian crystals," Honeycutt cut in. "Confronting those two without them is suicide."

"Agreed," said Leo. "Let's gear up first, then go after them."

"I can't believe we're going to use those things against them…" Mikey sighed. "They nearly killed Hisako!"

"I know," Donnie remarked. "But we don't have a choice."

"God knows what kind of trouble they're stirring up right now," Raph remarked.

Meanwhile, at the Manhattan Mall, Hisako and April had headed for a clothing shop. April immediately shed her PJs as they picked out black punk-style outfits and accessories.

"Uh, ma'am?"

They turned to a very nervous sales clerk, standing off to the side with a terrified air about her. She seemed to be trying to avoid looking at April, who was halfway through changing,

"You know there are changing rooms. You don't need to just strip naked on the spot."

The two just stared blankly, and then April continued to get dressed. Hisako did the same thing, shedding her own clothes before grabbing her outfit.

"These will do nicely," April mused, looking at herself in the mirror.

Hisako raided the make-up counter, snagging some darker sets. "And a little extra to finish the look."

They applied the make-up, making themselves look particularly dark and brooding. When they were done, they prepared to head out.

"Wait!" the sales clerk called out. "You didn't pay for those! You can't do that!"

Hisako calmly drew a sea turtle-shaped wallet from her jacket pocket, tossing it at the cash register, where it landed perfectly on the counter.

"Take what you need. Someone will be along to pick it up later."

The clerk shakily took it as the two girls walked out.

"So many souls to cleanse, so little time," Hisako remarked, her voice echoing ominously. "Wouldn't you agree, Za-Naron?"

"Indeed, Vera-Zar." April agreed, her voice also echoing. "It is time this world was purged of the vile wickedness corrupting it."

"We should start with the worst of the worst," Hisako's eyes drifted toward Masamune Industries. "Oroku Saki will not see the end of this day."

At TCRI, Donnie groaned in frustration. "Hisako's T-phone is in her room, and April's is back in the 2nd Time Around. I can't track either of them!"

"Fortunately, we have someone who can," Tai whistled, Miko immediately bounding over. "Anyone have something he can get a scent from?"

Midnight barked, dragging over Hisako's jacket, which had been removed. She set it down, and the two dogs immediately sniffed at it.

"Leo, what are we going to do when we find them?" Vee asked. "I know they're possessed but… I don't know if I can fight my own sister."

Leo sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I... I don't know. But we have to do something."

"The Aeons have been in contact with their souls for too long," Mortu said. "It may be too late."

Raph turned to him. "We'll find a way to save them."

"And if you can't, what are you prepared to do?"

Leo stood firm. "She's our sister and our best friend. We're going to find a way."

"I know you hope for that outcome… but just in case…" Honeycutt held out a lead box with the Y'Lyntian crystals. "The crystals work on the Aeons and Soul Star just as well. It may give you the edge you need, disrupt the connection."

"Those things almost killed Hisako!" Kagome exclaimed. "And you've been keeping them stashed away this whole time?!"

"You've seen how powerful Hisako and April are, and thanks to the Aeons, they've gone rogue," Mortu pointed out. "Do you truly think it wise to allow such a dangerous combination to roam around without a failsafe?"

"They would never-!"

"Not of their own volition, no, but this proves they are not infallible," Honeycutt said, not unkindly. "And New York cannot handle them…"

Miko and Midnight barked, getting a scent. Honeycutt held out the box and Kagome reluctantly took it, and then Kasumi took it from her.

"We will be the ones to use these if it comes to that," she insisted.

Honeycutt turned to her. "No parent should be forced to kill their own child, Miss Kasumi."

"In a perfect world, no," Splinter said. "But this is not a perfect world, and I would rather it be us than our children."

Leo sighed. "C'mon."

They headed out at that.

Meanwhile, Koya was explaining the events of the previous night to Shredder.

"O'Neil acted as if she was possessed. My men and I stood no chance against her."

"I am beginning to see why Krang was so adamant about their power," Shredder mused.

Koya looked up. "Master, what shall we do? There's no way we can stand against her as we are now."

"Indeed... but this is hardly something we can ignore. Summon the Foot Elites and ready Tatsu and Bradford. If O'Neil wants a battle, she will receive a war."

Just then, a Foot Soldier ran in. "Master! Intruders! It's O'Neil and the Hamato girl!"

"They're here?!" Koya exclaimed.

"They blew the doors down... they're… they're monsters!" The soldier lost his composure. "We're all doomed! We're-!"

Suddenly, a white halo surrounded him, flinging him out the window. April and Hisako floated in at that.

"Knock, knock," Hisako said.

"Sorry, we let ourselves in," April chimed in.

They glared at Shredder, eyes beginning to glow.

"Oroku Saki... your Angel of Death awaits." Hisako intoned coldly.

"For your heinous crimes, it's our honor to serve justice," April added.

Shredder got to his feet as Koya scrambled away, her instincts screaming that she was in danger.

"Even should it prove my fate to die this day, I will not simply roll over," he swore, extending his blades.

"This is long overdue," April declared before they clashed.

Meanwhile, the Hamato Clan had found the clothing shop. Donnie reviewed the security cameras as the shaken sales clerk explained what had happened.

"They... they just stripped down on the spot and put on clothes and makeup. The way they moved, they spoke…"

Mikey gathered their discarded clothes, along with Hisako's wallet. "I'm surprised they didn't trash the place or just throw people around."

"Possessed as they are, they seem to want to do good," Vee mused. "Well, their version of good."

Donnie looked over the footage, seeing their actions. "They just took the outfits and left. They even paid for the clothes."

They took a look.

"Like dark versions of themselves..." Raph mused. "Negative... anti-everything…"

Mikey clapped his hands together. "Negasako and Anti O'Neil!"

Vee gave him a dirty look. "You're seriously doing the naming thing now?"

"It's how I cope!" Mikey objected. "And I can't see them as Hisako and April! The second I do, I can kiss any chance or hope of being able to stop them goodbye!"

"Well, I managed to pull this much from the video," Donnie said. "They want to go after the biggest and baddest fish they can in their quest to 'cleanse' the city."

Kagome gulped. "I don't like the sound of that."

"No, you won't. Because I can only think of one 'Big Fish' still active in the city."

Splinter's eyes went wide. "Saki…"

"They're gonna kill Shredder?" Vee questioned.

Karai shrugged apathetically. "About damn time somebody did." At their looks, she sighed. "Oh, don't give me the stink eye. If anyone deserves to be killed, it's him. Should've done it a long time ago."

"Miwa," Kasumi began, "they're not themselves. and if they go through with killing someone, even if it is Saki, they will never recover."

Karai was flabbergasted. "A-are you seriously telling me we're gonna save Shredder's slimy life, after everything he's done to us? To the world?!"

"We're saving Hisako and April, not him." Leo clarified.

"I just hope that saving Shredder doesn't involve ending Negasako and Anti O'Neil…" Mikey prayed.

Back at Foot HQ, Shredder had put up a good effort, Negasako and Anti O'Neil sporting bleeding cuts here and there. But ultimately, his defeat was inevitable, and he found himself lifted telekinetically, his limbs stretched out.

"Welcome to the end of your life and the beginning of your hell, Saki," Negasako smirked. "And I promise you, it's going to hurt."

She splayed her fingers and Saki began to stretch in all four directions, muscles straining as the telekinetic worked to tear him apart. Before they could do anything else, however, Donnie suddenly appeared, tackling Anti O'Neil to the ground, while Jade jumped in front of Negasako, breaking their concentration as the others arrived. As he dropped to the ground, Shredder took the initiative and fled.

"Back down," Jade ordered. "I don't wanna hurt you."

"Good to know." Negasako sent Jade flying with an uppercut. The green kunoichi hit the wall and rebounded, getting back up and facing her again.

"I said I didn't want to," she clarified before backhanding Negasako across the face, knocking her to the ground. "Didn't say I wouldn't."

Negasako spat, getting back up before drawing her tessen. "It would seem there are more souls to cleanse before we can rid this world of evil."

"So it would seem," Anti 'ONeil remarked before blasting Donnie off and getting up. "You're in the way! We could have fixed everything!"

"How?" Donnie demanded. "By killing whoever you feel deserves it? You have to stop this!"

The girls closed their eyes, their demeanor changing; it was clear the Aeons were in control now.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, do you?" Negasako asked. "We are Vera-Zar and Za-Naron, souls of the Elder Aeons, two of the First Seven. After a hundred millennia our physical forms had disintegrated, so our spirits were each placed into the Soul Star, to exist forever."

"We have been transplanting our minds into their consciousness slowly," Anti O'Neil asked. "But the Aeons did not know how corrupt this planet could be. Now, we will save it."

"By killing people?!" Leo demanded. "That's not what we do!"

"It's not what you do," Anti O'Neil retorted. "But it is what we do."

"This world is rotting!" Negasako spat. "Full to the brim with pain and suffering! Fear induced by trash like your Shredder!"

"With them gone, this world would be pure!" Anti O'Neil chimed in."

"Yeah, 'cause you guys will be the only evil left," Mikey retorted.

Anti O'Neil scoffed. "Naïve boy. We are not evil. We are the necessary pain."

"You're wrong about people!" Tai insisted. "Sure, they're weak and they cheat and steal and... destroy and disappoint, but they also give, and create, and they sing and dance and love! And above all, they never give up!"

"Poetic excuses!" Anti O'Neil shot back. "What is a man, but a miserable little pile of secrets?"

"And what is mankind, but a cesspool of hatred and lies?" Negasako added. "Your people tear each other apart for the slightest difference among you... but no more. It is time for a reckoning."

The girls held hands, their glow intensifying as they threw their free arms in the air. Everything began to violently shake. Outside, a funnel of dark clouds swirled above. Lightning crackled, a mix of green and yellow lightning illuminating the unnaturally darkened sky. Winds whipped and the building began to crumble.

"We give you one last kindness in the name of your actions on Xaava-Dal," Negasako said. "Go home and stay out of our way, or you will be cleansed with the rest."

"No!" Leo stepped forward. "I know you and April are still in there! You're stronger than some soul crystal, Hisako! Don't listen to it!"

Negasako scoffed. "And what? Listen to you?"

"You have held us back for far too long!" Anti O'Neil chimed in.

"And with good reason!" Leo shot back. "Hisako, remember Newtralizer!? Remember how upset you were when you realized the path you were on?! You're going down that path again!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Not gonna happen!"

They clashed violently, everyone doing their best to fend the psychics off

"End this madness!" Splinter ordered. "Do you two not understand what is happening?!"

"We understand perfectly, Splinter," Anti O'Neil retorted. "You and Kasumi used to be the big cheeses, didn't you? The teachers, the senseis, all full of wisdom and experience. Now we've surpassed you, and you can't handle it."

"Should the day come you surpass me, I will welcome it with pride," Splinter took hold of the lead box. "But that day is not today!"

He opened the box and the crystals hummed. Instantly, both Negasako and Anti O'Neil screamed. They were dual screams of the Aeons and the girls in kind. They dropped to the ground, the clouds becoming angrier as they showed the pain the girls were in.

"We're your friends! Your family!" Leo cried. "Remember who you are! You are Hamato Hisako and April O'Neil!"

"I came over every day after school to help with your physical therapy!" Kagome added. "Even stayed over as often as I could to play with you! I gave you the turtle plushie my dad gave me as a baby because you needed it more!"

"April, you were our first friend outside of Kagome!" Donnie included. "You're like a sister to us and we would all give our lives to protect you! For both of you!"

"Come on, Red! Fight it!" Casey yelled. "You're stronger than the crystal!"

"Fight the Aeons!" Vee shouted. "Save yourselves!"

"I... CAN'T!" Hisako screamed in despair.

April just screamed, clutching her head.

"You told me all about your life growing up!" Casey went on. "You and your old man used to stay up all night just to see Robyn on Channel 6!"

"The day you graduated and got your tessen, you were so happy!" Raph chimed in. "It was one of the best nights of our lives!"

"You two are not puppets of these Aeons!" Kasumi declared. "You are kunoichis of the Hamato Clan!"

"So show those space freaks what you're made of!" Mikey ordered.

Both girls screamed in agony. Just then, Hisako's hand began to move. Shakily, it grabbed the crystal, her skin hissing as she touched it. With a shout, she ripped it off, chucking it across the room. Then, she grabbed April's, throwing it as well. The winds died and both of them collapsed, their glow dying as they panted and Splinter slammed the lid of the lead box closed.

"They did it!" Tai exclaimed.

Midnight immediately charged for Hisako. The black lab licked her face as Hisako panted, reaching out and petting the pup. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. However, their relief was short-lived. Light suddenly poured out of the crystals, congealing into the shapes of the Aeons themselves. Before long, Za-Naron and Vera-Zar, in their demon bat forms, hovered over them with unbridled fury.

"You fools!" Za-Naron screeched. "You could have had all the power in the universe!

"You could have been gods, and you threw it away!" Vera-Zar shrieked.

Hisako shakily got to her feet, her mist gathering in her palm.

"Shut up…" she let out.

Green swirls spread across her body. The mist began to condense and solidify into a spear which she threw, shattering both crystals. The two Aeons screamed as their own forms shattered like cheap glass, scattering to the wind.

"Good riddance," Raph spat.

The glow on Hisako died and she collapsed, blood pouring from her nose. Karai caught her, being the closest, carefully laying her down next to April.

"I didn't know she could form solid shapes from her mist."

"She couldn't," Donnie told her. "The crystal must've given her a power boost."

Mikey's eyes went wide. "No dudes… That was her Ninpo! When she cast off the crystal, she was choosing her family over power, and she finally unlocked her Ninpo!"

"For now, let's get them outta here." Leo insisted.

Sometime later, April and Hisako slowly regained consciousness, sitting up and seeing they were back in the lair with the others around them. Kasumi was the first to notice they were awake, smiling at them.

"Back from the dead?"

"Yeah… I guess." April let out.

"That... was a nightmare…" Hisako sighed.

"Well it's over now," Leo assured.

April sighed, sitting up as Casey took her head. "These past few days... I'm sorry, guys."

"I can't believe we didn't realize what was going on…" Hisako lamented. "What those crystals were doing to us…"

"It's done and over with," Splinter assured. "You made a mistake, but you came out on top and literally destroyed your demons."

"We've got a lot to make up for...," April mused. "Especially with the damage we caused."

"On the bright side, almost all the damage was to Masamune Industries," Mikey pointed out. "So no real big problem."

"Though you did scar that one sales clerk for life," Donnie mused.

"Right…" April nodded. "First thing tomorrow, we're giving her an apology."

"And asking her to delete that footage of us... changing…" Hisako slowly trailed off before both girls blushed burying their faces in their hands. A moment passed before April sighed, managing a smile.

"If nothing else, the crystal helped me master my powers. I'm finally at Hisako's level. So at least some good came out of this."

Hisako gave a wry grin. "On my level huh?"

"Well… close enough."

Hisako smirked before summoning her mist, turning it into a 3D emoji sticking its tongue out.

"I don't think so."

"Okay, maybe not…" April mused.

Everyone laughed.

Shredder looked over the ruins of his base, recalling how close he had come to death and clenching his fists as Kitsune looked over the fragmented Aeon crystals.

"They almost had me…" His fists clenched. "But it will be the only chance they get. I assure you of that."

Kitsune picked up the crystal shards. "There is some degree of residual energy... but the bulk of it is gone. Whatever power O'Neil and the Hamato girl wielded through it has been expelled."

"Salvage whatever remains," Shredder ordered. "Learn its secrets. If it could amplify the power of Yoshi's pupils… imagine what power it may grant us."

He then grimaced, holding his arms. The fight had greatly strained him and he was still in pain

"Sir, they nearly destroyed you tonight," Kitsune pointed out. "Perhaps you should get some rest. I will examine the crystals and see what can be done with them."

"...Very well," Shredder decided. "But inform me the moment you learn something."

Kitsune bowed. "Your will be done, Master Shredder."

Author's Note:

So, this one got one well of a revamp. For starters, nobody got vaporized and pulled back together, in part because Author of the Insane and I realized it was a bit of a stretch for that to happen.

Please R&R. Until next time!