Down in the Lair, Mikey, and Ames found themselves with their run in this current battle about to end, "No, wait! You can't do this!" Ames cried in terror.
"No! No! No! NOOO!" Mikey yelled as a dice rolled to a 9 as the two turtles sadly watched as two cut-out characters were placed down. "My plus 1 Ring of Awesome didn't save us." He despaired with puppy eyes.
Ames then dramatically leaned towards Jenny. "Avenge us. Avenge the beloved Elf and Fairy!" She cried as Jenny pushed Ames aside as it revealed the turtles were playing a roleplaying game.
"Relax, Mikey and Ames. Your Elf and Fairy are fine. For now." Leo said with an ominous tone, which made Mikey and Ames smile as Mikey held up his ring as Raph and Jenny groaned, feeling bored. "But suddenly, your party is attacked by evil, vicious Monkey Goblins!" Leo called as he placed a monkey character on the board as the turtles, sans Jenny and Raph, gasped while the two tough turtles just sat down quietly.
"Oh no! What will we do?!" Vee cried out with a dramatic tone.
"You have to roll a two or higher to avoid being bitten." Leo instructed as the turtles then rolled their dice for a saving throw, which they all landed on a high number.
"Twenty/Four/Eleven!" They all cheered excitedly.
Jenny then sighed. "This is too easy." She said as she held up her dice.
"You said it, how hard is it to get something higher than two?" Raph asked as he and Jenny rolled their dice, but they landed on the one number they needed to avoid. "One?!"
"Seriously?!" Jenny questioned in disbelief.
Ames then got between the two. "Ooh! Critical fail, times two!" She said in amusement.
"The Monkey Goblin gives the bites!" Olly exclaimed in amusement as he turned to Leo. "How many hits do they lose, Leo?"
"They lose…" Leo started as he rolled his dice and saw the number. "Eleven hit points each!" He declared.
"Eleven!? No way!" Jenny yelled. "You're just making these rules up!"
"Give me that!" Raph called as he picked up his dice. "I'm gonna use my Magic Sword plus three to strike!"
"And I'm gonna use my Vial of Health to get those points back then go for the combo!" Jenny called as she picked up her dice as Splinter came into the kitchen and went to the freezer as Ice Cream Kitty gave him a cheesicle.
Splinter then turned to them as he noticed the board game. "Mmm. What is all of this?" He asked them.
"Oh, it's a game called Mazes and Mutants, Sensei." Olly explains as he holds up the game's box. "We found it in the sewer junk while patrolling."
"And surprisingly, the game was still in good condition with all the pieces." Naomi commented, "We figured it would be a waste to ignore it so we decided to test it out."
"And it's super fun!" Ames cheered before giving a teasing grin at Jenny and Raph, "Well, unless you're the turtles who keep losing." She added as Jenny and Raph growled.
"A game?" Splinter asked in surprise as he took a closer look at the box before turning to the turtles. "Don't you all have mutagen to find?"
"But, sensei, we just beat the Kraang and Shredder's forces." Donnie reminded him. "We could use just one day to relax."
"After that fight we had with those Kraang Worms and Tigerclaw, having one day to relax after that experience is good for the body." Tal stated as Splinter sighed.
"I cannot understand why you play a fantasy game when your lives are already fantastic." Splinter said in wonder.
"It's quite different from our real-life missions." Naomi said while gesturing to the game. "While we barely make it through life and death situations in reality, just having fun with games and family helps relieve the body and mind."
"Me next!" Mikey cheered as he and Ames shared a high-three. "Everyone's favorite Elf wants to attack Goblins, too!" He said as he rolled his dice and saw a great number. "Oh, yeah! Plus one Ring of Awesome!" He cheered as Splinter looked at the board game in thought.
"Something is not right here." Splinter said suspiciously as he put the board game down and walked off as the Turtles continued playing.
What they don't know is that someone is spying on them from an orb. "Excellent, my fellow anthropomorphized animals!" A male voice said as a hooded figure in a hood watched the orb. "Play to thine hearts' content. For the true game is about to begin-eth!" He declared as he gave a laugh.
Sometime later, Naomi, Vee, Ames, Donnie, Tal, Raph, and Jenny are watching SRMFFTF as a character in a brain uses his powers on their leaders as his mind is filled with fear and trapped in his mind as his team encourages him to break free as he broke free from his mind and fired a bazooka, which got the turtles confused.
"Where did he pull out the Bazooka?" Raph questioned.
"Well, I have some theories. But none of them are pleasant." Tal said with a brow.
Jenny then turned off the TV as Mikey, Olly, and Leo walked in, Mikey pretending to play a medieval horn, "Herey-here! We have seen the future, and it is LARP." Mikey declared.
The others blinked in bewilderment, "Um, that sounds like some kind of instrument," Vee commented.
"It's just an acronym, Vee." Leo said with a smile. "LARP stands for Live, Action, Role, Play. We dress up as our heroes, then finish our Mazes and Mutant game in the sewers!"
"It will give us a perfect chance to train with other weapons, practice our teamwork and have fun at the same time," Olly added, "So, who's in?"
"Sounds cool!" Vee said while standing up.
"Yeah, could be interesting." Donnie agreed.
"I have always wanted wanted to be Witch Doctor," Tal said with a smile.
"I wanna LARP too!" Ames said jumping up.
"It does sound entertaining," Naomi agreed.
"Sounds like stupid. Count me out." Raph said with his arms crossed.
"Same." Jenny said in agreement. "I'm up for training, but wearing weird costumes and acting is for little kids."
"Come on, guys. If you play with us, I'll let either of you wear my plus one Ring of Awesome." Mikey said as he showed his ring to them.
"Oh, really? Can we?" Raph started with an acting smile.
"That would be so keen, Mikey!" Jenny added before she frowned. "Forget it! I'm not a ring turtle!"
"Same here! Pass!" Raph added as he crossed his arms.
"That's eight votes to two." Olly said with a smirk. "Majority rule. Let's LARP!" He declared.
"If we're gonna LARP, we're gonna need costumes!" Donnie cheered as they all cheered in agreement while Jenny and Raph facepalmed themselves.
The turtles then gathered whatever they could to make their costumes.
Leo dressed as a knight, Mikey dressed as an Elf, Donnie dressed as a wizard, Raph dressed like a barbarian, Vee dressed as a Sentry, Ames dressed as a fairy, Tal dressed as a healer, Jenny dressed as a huntress, Naomi dressed as a hooded maiden and Olly dressed as a king.
"Leo, the Blue Knight." Mikey introduced as Leo wore painted metal, with a cape, a helmet, a trashcan lid for a shield, and his katana styled to look like a broad sword.
"Donnie, the Techno Wizard," Mikey continued as Donnie wore a purple bathrobe, a fake beard, a wizard hat, and a snow globe tapped to his staff.
"Mikey, the Elven Thief." Mikey said to himself with a smirk and gave a wink. "Thank you very much." He commented as he wore an orange and green tunic, a Cafe hat, and fake ears with a bow and quiver of suction cup arrows.
"Raph, the Dwarf Barbarian." Mikey continued as Raph wore a makeshift Viking helmet, spiked leather wraps, furry tunic, and an axe. "Psst. You should LARP on your knees, so you look like a real Dwarf Barbarian." He said to him before Raph pushed him away.
"Vee, The Amazon Sentry," Ames introduced as Vee wore a silver painted chest plate and shoulder pads, a cyan cape, a makeshift helmet with a broom head for hair, a spear and shield in her hands.
"Tal, the Witch Healer," Ames continued as Tal wore a black coat with a covering over her shoulders, gloves, a black wide brim flat-top hat, a beaked mask over her eyes, viles on her belt, and whip blades under her sleeves.
"Naomi, the Spirit Maiden." Ames added as Naomi wore a white and brown dress with silk sleeves, a necklace around her neck, a brown wig, silver laurel crown on her head and a scepter decorated with rim stones.
"Olly, the Gryphon King," Ames continued as Olly wore a green shirt, tassel shoulder pads, a red and white fur rimmed carpet for a cape, a helmet with a crown on it, and a greatsword with a eagle head and wings on the guard.
"Ames, the Mischievous Fairy." Ames said as she was wearing cardboard wings on her back, wearing a pink skirt with a magic wand, a tiara, and some bottles of sprinkles on her belt. "Gotta love the magic." She said with a wink.
"Jenny, the Yellow Huntress." Ames said as Jenny was wearing a yellow cloak and hood, a crossbow in her hands, straps with some hidden daggers on her arms and legs, "You know, you would make a fine huntress if you would learn to smile a little." She said before Jenny slapped her back as they walked further into the sewers as the others, except for Jenny and Raph, walked in slow-mo.
Mikey and Ames turned to the two turtles. "Come on, guys! It's slow-mo time!" Mikey said in slow motion.
"No LARP is complete without a dramatic entrance," Ames also added in slow-mo.
Raph and Jenny turned to each other before they shrugged and walked in slow-motion as the Turtles walked out with a light behind them like they were their actual characters as they walked down the sewers with Olly and Leo taking the lead.
"Olly and I set up the game so we can finish in the tunnels," Leo explained.
"Meaning that whoever solves the clues and defeats the dragons wins." Olly finished. "But watch out, some unexpecting traps and monsters are placed around the sewers." He added with a smirk.
"Oh yeah, like what?" Jenny asked boredly before a training dummy with a rubber troll mask on it dropped in front of her, "AHH!" She yelled in surprise, firing an arrow on its head.
"Sweet! Jenny caught a Deadly Tree Troll!" Mikey cheered. "Finish it!" He called as he fired his own arrow and the turtles started fighting it while Jenny and Raph watched as they sighed.
Raph then raised his axe and gave a simple strike on the dummy, knocking it down. "Well done adventurers! The Troll is defeated!" Leo declared.
"Oh, yeah!" Mikey cheered as he did a small dance. "That's how I do it it!"
"Hey, guys. Check it out. I've found something." Tal said as she picked up a scroll and read it. "'Soon you will find yourself in a haze. Solve the riddles to beat the maze.'" She read as this made Leo confused as he took the clue and read it.
"What's wrong, Leo?" Vee asked.
"This isn't the clue I wrote down." Leo said in surprise.
"Then who-" Olly was cut off when a grey smoke started rising around them.
"The haze!" Ames said in a panic, "Just like the rubber Tree Troll said!"
Raph then coughed from the haze. "It smells. You've been eating asparagus again, Mikey?" He asked his brother.
"Wow, Olly, Leo, you two really hooked this game up!" Donnie complimented.
"Uh, Donnie, this… wasn't us." Olly said nervously as the haze completely took over them as the sewers somehow replaced with a dungeon, and what's even weirder, the Ninja's costumes looked like the actual appearances than the makeshift ones as they heard a wolf howling and a skeleton that had a bat flew out of its mouth.
"Uh, what happened to our costumes?" Jenny asked as her hood and cloak looked a lot more real.
"And a dungeon? Um, What did you mean exactly when you said it wasn't you?" Donnie asked while stroking his beard only to feel it growing out from him, "Wait, is this beard real?!" He asked.
Mikey then felt his ears, realizing they were attached to him. "Dudes, I've got real elf ears!" He called before he smiled. "Awesome!"
"Ah, Olly and Leo are just being humble." Ames said as she wrapped her arms around the two turtles. "This is a-mazing! Everything feels so realistic." Ames said as she hugged a wall before she felt her wings flap. "Even these wings are real. So cool!"
But then she pushed a panel on the wall, causing the chamber to tremble. The turtles were confused before a stone pillar dropped down in front of them. They yelled in surprise and ran away as more Pillars dropped down.
They rushed down the hallway and made it to a corner. "What was that?!" Naomi called as some arrows started firing as they avoided them and hit a wall.
"What was that?!" Raph exclaimed.
"Booby traps! This way!" Olly called as they ran down the hallway as arrows shot out from the walls and Miraculously they managed to get through unscathed.
They then came to a stop to catch their breath, "Olly, I really appreciate all the hard work you and Leo put into this place, bro, I really so," Vee said with a smile. "The craftsmanship is very impressive! But um…" She trailed off before she got right into Olly's face. "WHAT IS GOING ON?!" She yelled with her arms spread.
"I don't know, Vee! We had nothing to do with this!" Olly said in defense as he turned to the others. "Are we really in medieval times?"
"Dudes! I don't want to be stuck in the 1980s!" Mikey exclaimed in worry.
"Wrong time period, Mikey." Tal said dully before they saw something ahead of them as a little sparrow in cloak and wooden pegleg appeared in a blue smoke while holding his staff, much to their shock.
"Who is…" Donnie started.
"What the…" Raph spoke next.
"How did…" Naomi asked next.
"Weird." Ames commented.
"Thou possess-eth questions," the Sparrow said as his eyes, "I am the one who possesses-eth thy answers!"
Mikey cleared his ear, "What did he say? I don't speak Spanish, dudes," he whispered to the others.
"Not Spanish Michelangelo, it's old English," Naomi corrected.
"My name is Sir Malachi." Malachi greeted. "I am the one who change-eth your clue. I am the one who brought-eth you here. I am the one who change-eth your appearances. And I am the one who will reward-eth you, if you win the quest." He said to them.
"Win the quest?" Leo asked in confusion.
"You ten turtles must solv-eth the puzzles three! And defeat-eth the dragon, to free Princess April." Malachi said while showing a ball that showed April, wearing a crown, which surprised the turtles. "Then, and only then, will I release-eth you!" He finished as he gave a laugh and happy dance.
"April, you have her?" Donnie questioned with a glare.
"And you made her the princess?" Tal added in irritation.
"You let her go!" Mikey demanded as he aimed his arrow at Malachi. "Or I'll possess-eth your face-eth-eth! Right-eth?" He asked Jenny with a sheepish look.
"Don't push yourself, Mikey." Jenny said with a brow.
"If thou succeed-eth, I will free your princess and send all of you safely back home." Malachi said while moving the ball around. "Fail, and the dragon devours her! Thou will be trapped in the maze forever! Forever!" He called before he gave another laugh.
"Well, maybe we don't wanna play your game!" Raph called as he raised his axe and charged at Malachi, but the bird vanished and reappeared between Raph and the others.
"Thou will play, for thine lives!" Malachi waved around before some monkey creatures appeared and ran around.
"What the-? Monkey Goblins!" Olly called as the Monkey Goblins started fighting the turtles as they fended them off. "Monkey Goblings? Real Monkey Goblins!?" He questioned.
"They're a lot freakier than one-inch miniatures!" Donnie exclaimed while whacking a monkey away.
"Not to mention uglier!" Leo called as he used his shield to block the Monkey Goblins back.
Raph then tried to whack a Monkey Goblin off him as he tried to hit him with his staff, but the monkey ducked and ran off as Raph groaned. "This axe is impossible!" He exclaimed.
"How am I supposed to fight with the world's oldest gun?!" Jenny asked while firing her crossbow.
"You two can't play like Raph and Jenny, the Ninja Turtles." Mikey said as he fired his arrows. "You have to play like Raph the Dwarf Barbarian and Jenny the Yellow Huntress." He said to them as he rushed back into the fight.
"We should've picked better characters." Jenny muttered in annoyance.
"You said it." Raph said in agreement as they continued on with the fight.
"Do these Monkey Goblins remind you of something or…" Donnie started as he whacked a goblin away. "...someone?"
"They almost look like-" Leo tried to say before a goblin started biting the horns on his helmet as he got a closer look at who it looked like. "Rockwell." He said before an arrow was fired on the goblin as it fell to the floor by Mikey.
The Monkey Goblins regrouped to a wall as the Turtles surrounded them and they vanished. "What's going on? Where did those things come from?" Tal questioned.
"No idea." Olly said seriously. "But there's only one way outta here." He said as he turned down a hallway as some torches lit up.
"We're not really gonna do this, are we?" Raph questioned, already know what their plan was.
"Unless you know some other way out, we have to play Sir Malachi's game." Leo declared as he and Olly walked down the hall while the others looked surprised.
"Whoa-eth." Ames said as the others looked at her with brows.
The Turtles walked down the hallway with some chains dangling from the ceiling, constantly keeping their guard up. "If this is a dungeon maze, it's probably loaded with traps, so watch your step." Mikey whispered to his ring. "Never wanna see you get hurt." He said while looking at his ring, "Plus one Ring of Awesome. So shiny and beautiful, My magical source of power. My awesome." He muttered before Raph whacked him in the head with his helmet.
"I'll give you a magical headache!" Raph yelled as Mikey hissed at him.
"Knock it off all of you!" Olly said as they kept moving, "We gotta keep moving, we never know when Malachi's next riddle will-" he was cut off when an apparition of Malachi appeared before them.
"Wanders! My congratulations on solving the first puzzle." Malachi compliment. "And now for thy second riddle."
"Stupid bird head." Jenny muttered before Vee elbowed her.
"A maze is like a brain. A dungeon is a mind. Make one slip… and you'll be forever left behind!" Malachi recited Before vanishing.
The turtles looked at each other in confusion, "Can this get any weirder?" Ames asked before the slabs the turtles were standing on vanished, and they fell towards a pool of lava.
Mikey shot a grappling arrow to the ceiling as he dangled while the others held onto the edge of the holes. "Guess so." Raph commented as they climbed back up.
"I think all of those tiles are trapdoors." Tal theorized.
"You heard him, team. Ninja stealth." Leo said as they all stealthily went over the trapdoors, but as Mikey hopped on one, he dropped a dagger.
Mikey reached out for his fallen dagger as it fell into the lava, "My dagger of Limitless Skill!" he called before shrugging, "Eh, it wasn't all that." He said as they continued on.
"Phew, that was too close." Vee said to them.
"What is going on here?" Olly questioned as Donnie inspected the walls.
"I'm gonna tell you what's going on, Olly." Mikey spoke up. "This is all magic." He said while waving his fingers.
Raph then passed him and poked his head, "There's no such thing as magic," He stated.
"Actually, on our island magic is quite real," Naomi stated to Raph, "Perception is not always truth, all you think you know about where you are, about yourself, even about reality itself will be challenged on the mystical plan." She explained while raising a finger.
"Ah, all that mumbo jumbo is just a bunch of huey." Raph waved off as Naomi sighed.
"Ah, just like Jenny when she was little." Naomi said while shaking her head.
"And it's the power of the ancient Elves, dude." Mikey added.
"Why am I having this conversation?" Raph questioned in annoyance. "I just want to hit Sir Nerdichi so hard, he turns back into an egg. I want to clobber his feathery face into a pillow! I want to-" He stopped when a trapped door opened up below them as they all started falling as they screamed before they hit the floor.
"Sir Raphael!" Malachi yelled as he appeared in front of them with a bright blue glow. "You challenge my power? The power of the Gray Highland Wizards of the North?" He questioned.
"You must be eating some really crazy birdseed!" Raph exclaimed as he stood up and ready his axe.
Malachi scowled, "That do-eths it!" He said before waving his staff, speaking some ancient spell before firing a bolt of magic at Raph.
Where Raph once stood was a turkey wearing his helmet and holding his axe. "Yeah! Gimme your best shot!" Raph's voice yelled from the turkey as his head just go replaced with a turkey while his body was unchanged. "Lemme see what you can really do!" He challenged while giving turkey sounds.
The others looked at him in amusement while Jenny tried to not laugh. "Um, Raph… Y-You… you have a turkey head." She said while suppressing her laughter.
Both Ames and Mikey shared laughter. "Oh, that is so funny!" Ames laughed, holding her stomach.
"Gobble, gobble, son!" Mikey called while doing a chicken dance. "Like a turkey do!" He added in amusement.
"What?" Raph questioned before he felt his head, realizing that they were right as he screamed in panic while making gobbling sounds. he ran around the hall before he smashed his head into a wall and fell to the floor.
"That's right. You're playing by my rules now!" Malachi declared, losing his old English tone. "Anyone who forfeits the game next turns into a squirrel!"
"Aah!" Mikey screamed in fear.
"And….And now, for thy next riddle." Malachi said while returning to his old tone. "Where you think-eth you are, trouble if you boast. If thou take-eth too long, you shall be as toast!" He recited as he disappeared.
Just then, the ceiling cam endow as Donnie turned and saw a fireball rolling towards them. "Oh, no!" Donnie called as they all ran off in fear. "Flaming boulder! Flaming boulder!" He yelled as he saw his beard on fire and blew on it to put it out.
"This is craziest dungeon ever!" Tal yelled as she tried to keep up.
"Hot-eth! Hot-eth! Hot-eth!" Ames cried as she frantically flapped her wings.
Raph kept gobbling as he screamed in fear as each of the turtles ran to a side door as Olly was the last one as he ducked as the flaming boulder rolled past them. Mikey then smelled something burning as he turned and saw Raph's helmet on fire as he screamed and hit Raph with his bow many times to put it out, while also hitting his head as he got the fire out. Mikey sighed in relief, but it was short-lived as Raph stood up and gave an angry glare at him before he squawked with fiery eyes.
A bit later, the turtles slowly move on the side walls as the floor is gone and lava is on the bottom. "I've been giving it some thought," Olly spoke up as they shimmied across.
"About me being a turkey?" Raph questioned.
"Um, no." Olly shook his head. "About the riddles. I think I get what Malachi was saying. All the riddles are really one single riddle."
"You're saying the riddles point out the true nature of this place." Mikey said as the others turned to him in surprise.
"You actually understood what Olly was talking about?" Vee asked in surprise.
"Plus one Ring of Awesome, dudette!" Mikey said a smile as he lost his balance and grabbed a torch, but nthen it flipped as a secret entrance opened and he fell in. "Ring of Awesome!" He moaned.
They walked through the passage, and into a large chamber filled with gold and jewels, "Wow! Just a pile of this stuff could make you richer than anyone in the state," Leo commented.
"There's more gold to even finance a whole city." Jenny added before they saw April floating inside a ball.
"April!" Donnie called as April turned to them.
"Guys! Thank goodness!" April said in huge relief. "Can you get me out of this snow globe?"
The turtles then rushed up to her, "Do not worry, we will have you free in-" Naomi tried and was cut off as they heard a low menacing growl.
"Um, someone refreshes my memory," Ames started nervously, "Didn't Sir Malachi say rescuing April was only half of the quest?"
"And didn't he mention a dragon?!" Mikey yelled in fright as coming out from behind April's snow globe was a dragon that looked like a certain alligator they know, but has blue eyes and its scales are a bit blue, wing like flaps on its arms, thagomizers on its tail, and horns on its head. "Leatherhead!?" Mikey asked in shock as Leatherhead growled at them and breathed out fire.
The Turtles move aside as they avoid the fire as they scream. "Leatherhead! What's wrong with you?!" Vee questioned as they avoided Leatherhead's tail swipes.
"Leatherhead, It's us! The Turtles!" Ames called as Leatherhead roared as she flew up, which surprised her. "Wait? I can fly?" She asked in surprise as she looked at her wings.
"Am the only one who's questioning how Leatherhead is breathing fire?!" Tal asked while dodging a fire stream from the alligator.
"He must be under Malachi's control!" Olly theorized. "He must've changed Leatherhead and gave him new abilities when he changed our costumes and Ames could fly!"
"Not to mention, MY HEAD IS A TURKEY!" Raph yelled out.
"Can we talk about this later!?" Leo called out. "At least Leatherhead's not trying to hurt April. Just us!"
Jenny gave a yell as she visualized herself as a dice. "Critical hit!" She called as she shot an arrow at Leatherhead, but it just bounced off him as she bounced off too and landed on the floor. "Critical fail." She muttered before her shell was grabbed by Leatherhead's jaws.
Leatherhead moved around as he tossed Jenny into Raph and punched Leo away as he skidded to the side. "Our weapons are useless!" Leo exclaimed as he dodged another fire breath.
"Leatherhead, we're pals! I don't wanna have to fight you!" Mikey pleaded as he drew an arrow as Leatherhead charged at him. "I'm sorry, Leatherhead. I hope someday you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." He said as he aimed his arrow and shot it at Leatherhead, which was attached to his muzzle as he gave a dull look.
"We gotta snap Leatherhead out of it somehow!" Olly called as Leatherhead roared and chased after the others as Tal and Donnie made it to April's dome and started whacking it to break it open.
"Really?" April asked with a brow.
"We're trying!" Donnie yelled.
"It's cool. Sorry. I mean, maybe just try a little harder?" April suggested.
"Didn't you try something similar when you realized you were stuck in that dome?" Tal questioned with a brow as April gave a sheepish look.
"Um, possibly?" April said with a shrug as the two smart turtles groaned.
"Guys!" Olly and Leo called out.
"Stay here, April!" Donnie said as he and Tal jumped down and join the others as Leatherhead kept breathing fire at them.
"How do we defeat a giant fire breathing alligator?!" Vee questioned as they kept running.
"If we imagine our weapons are magical and all-powerful, we can snap Leatherhead out of whatever Malachi did to him." Leo said to them.
"Yes! That's the answer!" Ames said with a smile.
"But that makes no sense!" Raph yelled with gobbles.
"None of this makes any sense at this point!" Jenny exclaimed as she avoided Leatherhead's jaws.
The mind can be more powerful than any muscle." Naomi said, "Just focus, use the power of your mind!"
"Well, here goes!" Olly called as he focused his mind while his greatsword glowed before he turned and jumped up and sliced Leatherhead, who roared as his eyes flicked back to their normal color before he fell to the ground out cold.
And then April disappeared as soon as Leatherhead was defeated. "April?" Tal asked in surprise. "What's going on?"
Leatherhead groaned and got up and turned to the turtles, "My friends?" He said in confusion before realizing what happened, "Oh no, I lost control again, didn't I?" He asked regretfully.
"Not by accident, buddy." Mikey said with a smile. "You were being controlled."
"And you didn't grab me by the face this time." Donnie added with a huge relief.
"I am glad, but, what has happened to me?" Leatherhead asked as he looked at himself. "Why are you dressed like medieval warriors? And why is Raphael a turkey?"
"Ugh! This whole adventure is totally looney!" Raph said in exasperation as he looked at the ceiling. "Show your ugly bird head, Malachi!" He yelled out.
"Uh, you do realize you have an ugly bird head too, right?" Olly questioned.
"Just it, Olly!" Raph yelled as he gave another squawk.
Malachi then appeared on the spot where April used to be with a laugh. "Well done, Fellowship Turtles! Now, I shall prepare-eth thy next adventure!" He declared with a smirk. "Then, I will pay-eth the game with you forever, and ever, and ever!" He laughed.
"Forget it, Malachi. We figured it out." Leo said seriously.
"We did?" Mikey asked in confusion.
"This whole thing is an illusion." Olly said while pointing his greatsword. "It's not real."
"It's not?" Ames asked next.
"Nonsense! Thou must run-eth the maze, until my hearth's content-etherie." Malachi said.
"No way." Olly said firmly.
"With mine first attack, I cast Magic Fist!" Malachi yelled as he waved his staff and a magic fist slammed on the ground, which knocked the others back.
"Told you. Power of ancient Elves!" Mikey said with a smile while holding up his ring.
Donnie and Tal jumped at Malachi, but he raised his staff. "Lightning of Long Rage Spell!" He called as he shocked Tal and Donnie, making their skeletons visible before were blasted away. Malachi then turned to Vee and Leo. "Rockets of Revenoff!" He called as the two turtles blocked them before they jumped away to avoid them.
"Everyone, listen! Malachi is a mutant!" Leo called.
"He's creating the maze inside our minds!" Vee yelled as they dodged more blasts. "This whole place is like one big dream!"
"Inside our minds!? Are you two crazy?!" Raph questioned.
"He's got magic, but I've got the plus one Ring of Awesome." Mikey said with a smirk before Ames turned to him.
"Mikey, I know you're attachedattached to that ring, but can we maybe focus on the fight please?" Ames asked as she avoid a magic rocket.
"Oh, right." Mikey said as he focus back to the fight.
"Thou think-est thou can surprise the Game Master?" Malachi questioned. "I cast Egg Bombs of Power!" He called as he turned around and shot some eggs from his rear end.
Mikey dodged a bit before he got hit and fell to the ground. "My Ring of Awesome! It edfailed." He moaned in despair.
Jenny went up to Mikey, "Mikey, give me the ring!" She said holding out her hand.
"You! You want to carry my ring?" Mikey hissed as he gave Jenny the ring.
"Not exactly." Jenny said dully as she threw the ring at Malachi, which knocked him down.
"Ow!" Malachi cried as he stood up. "That's smart-et!" He called as he flew up and then used his staff as he shock the turtles and Leatherhead.
"What do we do?!" Vee said as she tried to power through the lightning.
"We have to focus!" Naomi yelled out. "We can only defeat Malachi if we all believe it's not real!" She yelled.
"This is all merely an illusion!" Leatherhead declared as the lightning zapping him disappeared.
"I get it! And I don't believe!" Donnie called as the lightning stopped on him too as he smiled.
"I don't believe either!" Tal called next as the lightning stopped next.
"Naomi says it's not real-eth! Naomi says it's not real-eth!" Mikey and Ames chanted as the lightning stopped on them too, "Yes!" They cheered.
One by one, the heroes broke free and the lighting faded, which only leaves Raph and Jenny left as they were levitated up. "Raph, Jenny! It's up to you two now!" Olly yelled.
"We're trying!" Jenny groaned as he and Jenny focused hard as the lightning kept pouring over them and they could hear their friends calling.
"We don't believe!" They exclaimed as a flash of light shined and Malachi was knocked back before Raph's head returned to normal.
"Yes! I'm handsome again!" Raph cheered as Malachi got on his knees and the others walked up to him.
"We're not playing anymore, Malachi," Olly said firmly as Malachi tried another spell but his staff sagged like a deflated balloon.
"Aaaah!" Malachi called as a flash of light shined in their eyes.
When the light faded, the Turtles and Leatherhead were back in the sewers with Malachi, and their costumes became homemade again.
"We're back!" Mikey cheered.
"Oh, man!" Malachi whined as he turned to Raph, who was growling at him for turning his head into a turkey. Malachi tried to run away, but Ames tripped him and he fell in front of Donnie.
"You shall not pass!" Donnie quipped while slamming his staff down.
"Very funny reference, Donnie." Tal said with a chuckle and stood next to him.
"We were in the sewers the whole time." Leo said to them as they surrounded Malachi.
"What were you trying to do, Malachi?" Naomi questioned with her hands on her hips.
Malachi then got up and rubbed his hand, "I, I just…wanted to play," He said feebily, "My name is Marten Milton, I used to be obsessed with Mazes and Mutants every hour, every day but no one wanted to play with me. All that changed the day I was feeding the birds on my roof, when a green canister of ooze fell on me and I was mutated into a bird." He explained as the turtles realized he was talking about the day they spilled the mutagen, "I donned fair cloak and wizardly hat to become Sir Malachi, the Sparrow Wizard. I went into the sewers to play a solo LARPing game of Mazes and Mutants, when I accidentally found you. I made sure you found the game, hoping you would take it."
"Wait, so it was you who left that for us?" Jenny asked in surprise. "We just thought someone would just throw away a pretty good game?"
"Oh, trust me. I was the only one who'd ever play that game." Malachi said with a smile.
"But wait, if the mutagen made you into a bird, how did you require these powers to make the game somewhat real?" Olly asked with a brow.
"Well, when I first became Malachi, I gained the power to create life-like illusionary dreams. So I practiced until I managed to make my own real life Mazes & Mutants illusion so I could make the game more exciting for you." Malachi explained before giving a guilty look. "I never meant to hurt you, I just wanted people to play with, But i was afraid that once you completed the maze you'd never want to play with me again,"
"Dude, Solo LARP?" Ames wept with puppy eyes.
"That is so sad!" Mikey said solemnly, as he wiped away his tears.
"Aw, Malachi wasn't entirely bad." Donnie said to them. "He did leave us clues that everything was an illusion."
"And he did make our costumes more real and awesome while we were in the illusion." Tal added while smiling at Malachi, "And minus the parts where we almost died, it was actually pretty fun," She said as Malachi gave a chirp and a small smile.
"You can go, Malachi. But you have to promise that you'll never force anyone to play with you ever again." Vee said to the Sparrow mutant.
"Or try to mind control them in the process." Leatherhead added while rubbing his head.
"And then next time, we will play again but only when we're ready," Olly finished with a smile.
"Sounds fair-eth to me." Malachi answered as he and Olly shared a fistbump before he did some jazz hands and making sounds like he was doing magic as they looked at him weirdly as he picked up his staff. "Goodybe-eth, my friends! Live long and LARP!" He declared as he turned off and his imaginary characters followed behind him as the others watched him go.
"And thus, the Turtle Champions fought the Wizard Sir Malachi, saved the Dragon Leatherhead, and won by the sheer power of their awesomeness!" Mikey cheered as he held up his bow and then his ring as the others walked off. "Booyakasha!" He cheered before he saw the others walking off. "Uh, guys? Hey, wait up!" He called as he dropped his ring and followed after the others as they walked back to the lair after a long roleplaying quest.