Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Uh, Sensei?”

“Yes, Case?”

“Is this a normal thing for people who lose snow fort competitions?”

New York’s first 2021 official(™) winter snowfall continually made itself known as more flakes piled on and all around the group. While most park goers had long since retired to their homes, the Mad Dogs were still busy with... whatever it was Casey was still trying to wrap his head around.

“Technically speaking, no,” Donatello answered for Leonardo while making adjustments to the canon-like contraption directly aimed at his brother and Casey.

“But with us, expect the unexpected!” April added with a grin. “Now hit em’ Donnie!”

“Hold on, I need to get the trajectory juuuust right, or else everything will go horribly wrong.”

Casey’s face twisted from uncertainty to mild panic, flipping his goaltender mask down. “He’s joking,” Leo reassured.

“Am I?” Donnie shot back, taking a step away from his creation with a satisfied nod. “Okay, all systems are green. We may commence the beta test-slash-losers punishment.”

“Yes!” Michelangelo practically vibrated with excitement while Raphael narrowed his eyes dubiously.

“This isn’t gonna bury them, right?”

“Oh it will,” Donnie confirmed.

“But not like, bury-bury, yeah?”

“The whole point of my Snow Cone Launcher(name pending) was to accommodate Mikey’s sudden insatiable out-of-season need for snow cones, so I tweaked the output to fire as much as desired. And your desire is;”

“BIGGER THAN THE BIG APPLE ITSELF!” Mikey procured two spoons from inside his shell.

“So you see, my hands are tied, Raph. Besides, Casey and Leo did lose the competition fair and square. Now,” he smirked at Leo who echoed his brother’s smugness. “What flavor do you want?”

“You and I both know that no matter what flavor I choose, you’ll fire lemon at us because it’ll be embarrassing for me to have us encased in yellow snow. But you should probably reconsider seeing as you’ll all be the ones eating it for all of the city to see,” Leo gestured to the nearby street.

“He makes a good point,” April nodded.

“Blue Hawaiian or bust!” Mikey demanded and Donnie sighed.

“Fiiiiiine,” he twisted a dial and the machine exploded, a wave of blue overtaking Casey and Leo. It trapped them completely, momentarily before they both managed to poke their heads out, Leo shaking the flavored ice from his ears while Casey flipped his mask back up.

“Refreshing,” Leo said sarcastically as he watched his family; Mikey already head first in the pile while April was scooping cones for Raph and Donnie before serving herself.

“Sorry, this is my fault,” Casey said as he tried to free one of his hands.

“Nah, you see, we were set up. Mikey wanted snow cones in the middle of winter, Donnie wanted to prove his intellect, as he always does, and everyone else just wanted to enjoy the first snowfall. If we were judged on practicality alone, the practically bomb proof fort you cooked up would have won. Seriously, it is indestructible!” They viewed their masterpiece, ugly, but indeed very functional. “But as Mikey was the judge, which I also believe was on purpose, and he’s an artist, he’d naturally gravitate to whatever is more shiny.” They then looked to April’s and Raph’s winning entry that was probably set to melt when the sun came up, but was indeed very pleasing to look at.

“...Yeah, you’re right, I should’ve let you take over when you suggested.”

“It’s all good, Case! We’re cool,” he winked and Casey rolled his eyes. “But we should probably start working on eating our way out. Have you had a snow cone before? Did we ever get you one?”

“Definitely not. What’s a ‘Blue Hawaiian’ flavor anyways?”

“I... have no idea.”

As Donnie began an impassioned speech on the history of the flavor and the differences between Blue Hawaii and Blue Hawaiian, did a lone figure unbeknownst to them observe from a distance. With a sigh they returned to the shadows, the night’s chill catching their breath before their presence faded, that white flicker caught in another’s peripheral vision for only a moment. Raph looked up from his snow cone to a distant tree, watching and waiting.

“What’s up?” April asked as he tilted his head while still keeping his gaze on the tree.

“It’s probably nothin’, but I feel like we’re being watched lately.”

“Ugh, this again?” Donnie stopped his speech (much to Leo and Casey’s relief). “I don’t know where you keep getting this spooky feeling from, but I’ve checked my surveillance cameras not once, twice, but five times! You’re probably just fatigued.”

“Meat Sweats did get a pretty clean punch on you yesterday,” Mikey recalled as he briefly stopped inhaling the snow cone mound.

“It’s called intuition!” Raph defended himself.

“Ah yes, I do detect a hint of your intuition stink, however, intuition still doesn’t have any solid scientific proof to base itself on, so...” Donnie mockingly shrugged.

“Hey, neither do Mystic powers, but we rely on them pretty heavily!” Leo pointed his (now free) finger accusingly.

“The loser will keep his opinions to himself!” Donnie pointed back.

“Look, all I’m saying is I’m getting this vibe too often for it to be a coincidence,” Raph stepped between them.

“Alright then, well, hypothetically, if someone was watching us, to the point of concealing their presence so well that we, literal ninjas, can’t detect them outside of intuition, what exactly is their purpose for doing so? Shredder and the Krang are gone, none of them probably even knowing the definition of stealth, and none of our mutant acquaintances really fit the bill either,” Donnie reasoned and everyone began searching their brain for answers.

“A new Yōkai friend? Maybe?” Mikey gasped at the thought.

“Unlikely, we’re off and on again criminals in the Hidden City,” Donnie rebutted.

“I mean, we saved the entire world! That’s worth a secret admirer or two,” April added.

“Yeah, but mostly everyone didn’t even see us doing it. Draxum somehow slept through the whole ordeal!”

“There wasn’t any other threat in the future we needed to know about, ...right?” Leo asked Casey.

“Nothing that I was made aware of,” he shook his head.

“HEY!” A sudden voice commanded everyone’s attention, Cassandra entering into the park and joining them, Casey instinctively sinking further into his Blue Hawaiian prison. “Brownie Clan work kept me busy today - holiday orders are outrageous!” She then looked to both of the forts and deflated slightly. “And I am too late to join the fun once again...”

“It ain't over yet! Grab a snow cone and join the conversation!” April offered Cassandra a newly scooped cone and she happily received it. “We were talking about the possibility of someone watching or following us and why.”

“You mean like that cloaked figure over behind that tree?” She said plainly and licked the snow cone as Donnie’s face dropped and Raph gasped.

“I KNEW IT!” He pumped his fist and pointed at the tree. “Come on out, mystery stalker, we know you’re there!”

“Yeah, we don’t bite!” Mikey mimicked Raph’s enthusiasm.

“Unless you’re a remnant of the Foot Clan or a mutant with a vendetta, because in that case we totally bite,” Leo corrected.

“With our weapons, preferably,” Donnie finished the threat. Silence, not a soul present daring to move as they anticipated their visitor to reveal themselves. As seconds began to feel like minutes, there was finally movement - a grappling hook shot at a distant building, catching, then speeding the cloaked figure away.

“Oh no you don’t! Let's go!” Raph commanded and started after them while everyone else followed.

“Uh, hey! Casey and I are still trapped!” Leo reminded Donnie, and with a flick of his Mystic Bō, a flame that disappeared as fast as it appeared instantly melted the ice. “Back in business!”

“I’ll go high!” Casey fired his own grappling hook and directly went after the figure, knowing everyone else wouldn’t be far behind. Landing on a roof, he quickly looked around and found the figure running across a nearby powerline before jumping off onto a building beneath them. They were small, light, possibly a ninja themselves. A remnant of the Foot Clan like Leo had joked? Casey didn’t want to take his chances on them reviving yet another ancient threat and aimed for the same building they were on, trusting Donnie’s tech to get him there faster than they could flee. “Stop!” Casey called out as he landed, causing the figure to pause, but their hesitation was momentary as they raised a bandaged arm and slammed several small orbs to the concrete. A smokescreen choked Casey as he struggled to focus, losing the figure.

“This way!” He heard Donnie call out as he zipped by on his jetpack, and Casey jumped after his voice out of the smoke, deploying his grappling hook again to whatever would hold him. The whole group was on roofs below or above him, each keenly following the cloaked figure that was trying and failing to disappear into shadows. It was fast, but they were faster, Mikey winking at Donnie who answered him with a resolute nod, putting their plan into motion. Donnie wound up his Mystic Bō like a bat and Mikey jumped while retreating into his shell, becoming the willing ball. “Homerun!” He hit Mikey with an extra push of Mystic and sent him flying like a comet.

“Cowabunga!” Mikey hit his target and quickly popped out of his shell, grabbing the cloaked figure with his whole body, both of them descending to the alley below. “This is punishment for interrupting Snow Cone Day!” He gripped harder as they struggled.

“Raph!” Leo shouted to his brother.

“Already on it!” He replied and manifested his energy construct, reaching out to catch the duo. He caught them just before they hit the ground, curling the construct’s fingers around them until everyone had the giant hand surrounded. Only then did he release the energy, Mikey disoriented, but still full of spirit.

“And the crowd goes wild!” He ignored the stars in his eyes, still gripping their target.

“Focus, Mikey,” Leo snapped his fingers in front of his brother’s face, Mikey shaking his head and letting his world stop spinning. “But don’t let go. Let’s see the identity of this vagrant!” He used the tip of his sword to flip the hood off, revealing them to be knocked out, but their very appearance stopped any other quip or query from reaching anyone's lips. They all collectively shared a confused glance, then noticing the shape of their hands and feet. It was the speed dial tone of Donnie’s phone that broke the silence, a familiar voice answering almost immediately.

“It’s starting to get late, what do you need?”

“Just a quick question, Draxum,” Donnie swallowed nervously before continuing. “My brothers and I are the only ninja turtles that you cultivated in your lab, yes?”

“...Yes? What kind of question is this?”

“Alright, cool, good to know,” he turned the phone towards who Mikey was gripping. “So who exactly is this?”

Chapter Text

“Nuh-uh, no way, back up!” April pushed Donnie away, spreading her arms in defense of the one behind her. “Whatever it is, it can wait until she’s awake!”

“I agree, approach her again and I’ll soundly throw you across your lair!” Cassandra threatened.

“What is the big deal? Why are we suddenly being so delicate with our stalker? If I can get some samples then I can run some tests and get some answers! Where did she come from? Has she been here all this time? Is she really just like us? SO MANY QUESTIONS!”

“Donnie, chill!” Raph looped his arm around Donnie and started dragging him away. “The girls are setting a boundary. Let’s not cross it.”

“Yeah, Donnie, while your enthusiasm is great, this behavior is all but confirming that you do experiments on us while we sleep. Do you deny these accusations?” Leo crossed his arms.

“I plead the fifth!” Donnie howled as Raph dragged him back into his lab.

“That’s basically an acknowledgement of your crime!”

“Would you two stop yelling!?” April said in an angry, hushed tone.

On the other side of the lair stood Splinter, Draxum, and Casey, all regarding the scene with their own shade of exhaustion before getting back to their conversation. “Donatello is correct. We could obtain answers more efficiently his way rather than just waiting for her to wake up,” Draxum proposed.

“Or we could further complicate matters and have even more questions than before!” Splinter shot down. “Are you one-hundred percent sure you didn’t have another turtle around during the procedure?”

“Positive. I hand picked each of the boys.”

“And you don’t think the Oozesquitoes did this either?”

“If she was just a mutated turtle, then maybe, but her human characteristics tell us otherwise.”

“Then it’s possible she’s from the future, like me,” Casey said and glanced over at their mystery guest before continuing. “We changed the future, meaning that even though we defeated the Krang, another threat may have forced her back here to warn us. She could be a descendant of the Hamato clan.”

“A distinct possibility, especially given that she’s the same species of turtle as Michelangelo,” Draxum revealed and Mikey suddenly appeared next to them with a dramatic gasp.

“I KNOCKED MY DESCENDANT UNCONSCIOUS?!” He bellowed and Casey immediately clapped a hand over Mikey’s mouth, looking cautiously over to April and Cassandra. The former was making a zipping motion across her lips while the latter raised a confused eyebrow at the duo.

“It’s just a possibility, Master Michelangelo,” Casey mumbled through grit teeth. “Please don’t blow my cover right in front of Mom...!”

“You could just tell her?” Mikey mumbled back through Casey's fingers.

“Master Donatello advised against that, remember?”

“Oh yeah, time space continuity thingy breaking.”

“SPACE TIME CONTINUUM!” Donnie yelled from his lab.

“Donnie!” April hissed. “Do I gotta come over there and-”

“April,” Cassandra, tapped April’s shoulder, gesturing to the cot behind them, - a pained noise followed by a sharp breath coming from the subject of everyone’s conversation.

“...Ow...” She said quietly, heavy lids struggling to clear her vision, balling one of her fists to try and push herself up.

“Easy, easy,” April soothed as she knelt down to the cot’s level. The sound of April’s voice shocked her eyes open, snapping her gaze to her, fear quickly turning to anger.

“What...” she winced against her pain before continuing, “-are you doing here?! I thought I told you to get...!” She paused as the view of the lair became clear, seeing all the others present. “...Oh,” she said defeatedly and collapsed back onto her stomach. “Oh,” she repeated and deeply sighed. “That’s right, I was discovered, quite violently.”

“I’M SORRY!” Mikey burst into tears approaching the girls and slamming himself onto the ground in apology. “I thought you were an enemy! Can you find it in your heart to forgive your ol’ Pop-pop?”

“...What?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Space time continuum-jitsu!” Donnie reappeared and grabbed Mikey, clapping his hand over his brother’s mouth for the second time that day and placing them some distance away. “Not another word,” he threatened and Mikey nervously nodded.

“Please ignore my brother’s sudden outburst. He does that sometimes,” Raph took a step forward out of the lab’s hallway. “But we are sorry for, well, essentially shooting you out of the sky.”

“To be fair, she’s been following us for, what, weeks now? When exactly did you start getting tipped off to her presence again?” Leo inquired.

“Weeks is correct,” she answered for Raph, sitting up properly on the cot, April and Cassandra giving her more space to converse as everyone in the lair began closing the distance. “And you’re forgiven. It’s my own dumb fault for not just... getting over myself and approaching you all normally, -ow,” she winced and held where Mikey had stricken her. “That is some intense Mystic you hit me with. This isn’t healing any time soon.”

“Actually, I can get you patched up with my tech as soon as the girls allow me to get near you, but on second thought, we should probably make sure you’re not something else the Foot Clan has unleashed on the world to doom us all.”

“Donnie! Come on, look at her!” April gestured to her. “If she’s been following us for weeks, don’t you think she would’ve done something already? She’s skin and bones with no weapons on her except the grappling hook.”

“No, be cautious until we figure out everything-” Draxum spoke up, and the next few seconds went by at a speed almost no one was able to perceive. A naginata made of pure Mystic was at Draxum’s throat, the new turtle’s expression that of madness as she asked;

“What is Baron Draxum doing here?!” She held the naginata steady as Draxum held his hands up above his head and tilted his neck away from the blade.

“Woah, woah, calm down!” Mikey panicked, “Don’t hurt our Dad!”

“In all those weeks you were following us around, you didn’t see us with him once? Really!?” Leo added.

“I didn’t realize who he was until I heard his voice,” she tightened her grip. “Your dad?!” she repeated in disbelief.

“Our creator, if we break it down to specifics, but yes, he is Dad Two,” Donnie corrected. “He was our enemy until he was betrayed and then subsequently helped us take down the world ending catastrophe he helped create.”

“Really...” Her tone was cautious and full of irony. “Because where I come from, he’s the reason everyone is dead. No mutant, human, or Yōkai were safe from him!

“What?” Draxum said quietly while everyone else said the exclamation in varying tones and volumes.

“Draxum wouldn’t hurt a Yōkai! His whole thing was about protecting them in the first place!” Mikey argued.

“That’s what I thought too until recently, and I won’t be deceived again.”

“He works as a lunch lady at April’s high school now! Put your weapon down or I’ll make you!” Leo commanded and brandished his own.

“Enough,” Splinter emerged from the crowd and approached her calmly, her expression mildly softening at the sight of him. “You have clearly been through a lot, perhaps a great deal more than we could understand, but please lower your weapon. You have no enemies here.”

She failed to hide her shaking as she shut her eyes fast, her lips pursing then separating with a sigh, the naginata dissipating. “Everything here is different, I can hardly believe what I’m seeing most days, and yet you’re exactly the same, somehow.” She turned from him and pinched between her eyes with a shake of her head.

“And where is it you’re from?” Splinter asked.

“I don’t even know where to start,”

“How about your name?” April gently urged.

“...Sofonisba,” she said after a poorly hidden sniffle. “But my family called me Sofia.”

******

“Alright team, up and at em’!” A gong sounded and everyone in its blast range cringed, the lair accepting its echo and further enhancing the sound. “I just got some prime info on a Mystic relic we can use to upgrade the Turtle Truck!” A tall, spiny softshell turtle with humanoid features looked upon his disgruntled siblings with toothy glee, spinning the small gong on his index finger.

“Okay, good for you, go get it,” Sofonisba rolled her eyes, not looking up from her sketchbook, erasing the line she’d mistakenly drawn on hearing the gong.

“Oho, no way, you’re not getting out of another mission!” He shook his head at her.

“Gio! I just finished ironing this blouse. April and I have plans tonight!” Their alligator snapping turtle sister huffed with a cross of her arms.

“And may I say, Nelli, you look fantastic, but this is more important,” he deflected. “But while we’re on the subject, How is the new shell casing working for you? No punctures in your precious wardrobe?”

“It’s great! I don’t have to keep sewing holes all the time!” Nelli gushed.

“Focus, Giorgio,” their last sibling emerged from a pile of pillows with a yawn. “Because if you woke me up to go on another fashion tangent with Nel, there will be pain.”

“Come on, don’t be like that, Vincent!” Gio quickly and expertly plucked his red-eared slider brother from his makeshift bed. “Woah, your bags are ENORMOUS. Should we pick up some more melatonin while we’re out?”

“Focus,” he repeated through controlled, rising rage.

“You got it!” Gio ran back into his lab, soon returning with a diagram he’d clearly drawn up himself. “Behold; the coveted Dragon’s Eye Mystic relic!” Nel applauded while Sofia continued to sketch. “It has been said that it has the power to grant its owner’s desire, and I intend to harness that power to make the Turtle Truck indestructible!”

“Uh, not to diminish your enthusiasm, but why use it for the truck? Couldn’t we like, I dunno, use it to make our enemies disappear?”

“A wonderful question, Vinnie!” Gio exclaimed like he had been waiting for his brother to ask, flipping over the diagram in response, ...to another diagram. “You see, desire does not automatically translate to instant gratification, meaning this isn’t necessarily a wish granting object. Realistically, it’s more likely to aid its owner rather than outright give them what they want, because if it really was all powerful, I highly doubt Big Mama would be advertising it for her charity silent auction tonight.”

“Well, that’s convenient! That’s where April and I were heading tonight. I got an invite and she’s my plus one!” Nel said excitedly.

“...Since when does Big Mama invite us to anything?” Vinnie asked.

“When you’re a popular influencer in the Hidden City, arrangements like these benefit both of us. I get in for free and she gets exposure, win-win!”

“Alright, but don’t call us crying to come and rescue you when she inevitably changes her mind. My phone will be on silent.”

“You will keep your notifications on, mister!” Gio chided Vinnie. “Because we’re going too, all of us,” Gio gestured to the whole room.

“Gio, it’s a plus one, not a plus four. I’m not about to try and smuggle you all in.”

“No need, dear sister, because you’re Plan A while the rest of us are Plan B. Thanks to the revenue from your videos and Sofia’s profits from her art commissions, we have a sizable chunk of funds!”

“That is meant for emergencies!” Nel scolded.

“This IS an emergency, Nel!” Gio fired back. “Our truck needs upgrades! It’s barely functioning after retrieving it from Repo Mantis!”

“You mean stealing it from Repo Mantis. We stole it,” Vinnie corrected.

“Retrieved, stole, - it’s ours now regardless, and it needs upgrades. You all know I’m more of a Mystic research guy than a tech guy, so I need this relic so we can have reliable transportation! And- hey, Sofia, are you even listening!?” Gio put his hands on his hips, glaring at her.

“Yes, I heard every word,” Sofia kept sketching. “What’s Plan B?”

“Well, if by some stroke of bad luck we’re outbid, I’ll be sending you into the teeny-tiny ventilation system to steal the Dragon’s Eye. It won’t be on the auction floor itself, but in a storage room under lock and key,” he revealed and Sofia scoffed.

“Do I really have to?”

“Only if we can’t win our bid. You’re coming whether you like it or not. No more skipping,” his tone had a hint of genuine anger, Sofia finally looking up to meet his glare with one her own.

“And you and I are doing what, exactly?” Vinnie interjected.

“You’ll keep watch while I guide Sofia through the vents with my Mystic powers. Alright, we good? All know our roles? Then let’s go get that relic!”

******

Both April and Nel pursed their lips, cringing at the highest bid on the Dragon’s Eye. “Yeah... we’re not buying this,” Nel went for her earpiece.

“Splinter is going to kill you if he finds out you guys keep stealing stuff,” April warned.

“Snitches get stitches!” Gio sounded from her earpiece, April doing her best not to react to his sudden, loud intrusion into her ear.

“Welp, you guys are up. Have fun, me and April are gonna look around a little more.”

In a janitor’s storage closet stood Gio and Sofia while Vinnie pretended to be custodian staff on the other side of the door. Sofia poorly hid her discontent as her body slumped, Gio revealing it all as he flipped the light switch on. “You heard her, kiddo, let’s get to work.”

“...Sure,” she said flatly, manifesting her naginata and starting to work on the screws keeping the vent closed. Gio felt the same spark of anger he had earlier that day, but quickly extinguished it, electing to place an encouraging hand on his sister’s shoulder instead.

“Hey, you got this. I know you’ve been skipping because of the few mishaps you’ve had lately-”

“Few?” Sofia said as the first screw fell loose.

“We all make mistakes, Sofia.”

“You know, I’d rather you just yell at me again than pretending I’m actually part of the team.”

“Sofia, we are not doing this right now-” Gio stopped himself, stopped his temper. “Look, I’m going to be with you this time, so the margin of error is more manageable. You are part of the team, period, now drop the attitude.”

“Alright,” she answered flatly again as the vent came loose. Gio reached above her and pried it from the ceiling, placing it on the closet floor before putting his hands together and producing an otherworldly flame from them. It flickered as he closed his eyes, focusing himself into it, Sofia holding out her hand as she waited for it to move towards her.

“Okay, Hitodama Mode activated!” Gio’s voice came from the flame as it landed in Sofia’s hand “Let’s go!” Sofia replaced it on her shoulder and pulled herself up and into the ventilation only she could fit into, beginning her crawl. Gio, who had obtained the floor plan via Mystic Relic tampering, guided her all the way, Sofia silently obeying until they finally hit their aim. “Yes, jackpot! I can see the Dragon’s Eye from here!”

Gio’s hitodama flickered wildly as Sofia squinted at said relic. A small round, blue orb that could easily fit in one’s palm was nicely seated on a pillow. “...It’s so tiny, like a piece of candy.”

“Probably tastes horrible, much more suited to vehicle enhancements, don’t you think?”

“Whatever you say,” Sofia kicked the vent into the room, making more noise than intended. “Whoops, sorry,” she said genuinely, practically feeling Gio’s irritation with her through the flame.

“It’s OK, we’re good, just get in there, grab it, then get out!”

“On it,” Sofia slid out, avoiding all the other items in the room as she approached the Dragon’s Eye. “This seems too easy.”

“That’s because it is, darling,” a familiar voice that evoked dread sounded behind her. Big Mama emerged from a shadow that had been in the vent’s blind spot. “I just had this flitty-feeling that someone was going to try and steal something tonight, but I didn’t expect it to be the turty-poos of all people!”

“Oh crap,” Sofia manifested her weapon.

“No, don’t fight her! Grab the relic and get out of there!”

“How, Gio!? I can’t get out of here without a fight and I can’t wield my weapon with one hand!”

“Figure something out! Gah-!” A web flew past Sofia’s head, trapping Gio’s flame on the wall before it dissipated completely, leaving Sofia alone.

“Figure something out?!” She echoed in desperation, eyes darting between the relic and the approaching spider Yōkai. Her own voice echoed in her head as the thought of the Dragon’s Eye looking edible crossed her mind again, and she inwardly cursed at the idea it brought. Out of options, she reached for the relic, putting her mind elsewhere as she popped in into her mouth and held it in her cheek.

“Ugh, disgusting, you don’t know where that’s been!”

“In a dragon, at some point, I’m guessing?”

“Spit it out!” Big Mama took a swing at her.

Gio desperately gasped as his soul forcibly returned to his body, the feeling of the hitodama being torn apart by webs now invasively creeping all over his body. He ignored it best he could, going for his earpiece. “Code red, we have a code red! Big Mama was waiting for us in the room and now Sofia is on her own!”

“Alright, you’re banned from getting mad at her if she messes up this time! This is completely out of her control!” Nel replied back. The closet door opened, Vinnie out of his fake janitor uniform, gesturing with his head to the hallway. Gio quickly exited and led the way with Vinnie hot on his heels, both approaching the room as fast as their feet could carry them.

“I’ve got you now!” Big Mama aimed and hit true, pinning Sofia completely with webs against the room’s door. With a wicked giggle she closed in, Sofia unable to free either of her hands to re-form her weapon. “Give it up, sweetie-tweetie, spit it out!” Closer and closer she approached, close enough to pry her mouth open, Sofia’s mind reeling on what to do, when her reflexes kicked in, and the Dragon’s Eye slipped down her throat. “D-did you just-” Big Mama was looking at the small turtle with a mix of disbelief and disgust.

“SOFIA!” Gio and Vinnie violently kicked the door in, hitting Big Mama directly in her face, knocking her out, and subsequently slamming Sofia onto the wall. “Are you OK? Where are you!?”

“...The door...” She said weakly, Vinnie pulling the knob far back enough to see his sister fighting back tears from the pain.

“Wow, I am so, so sorry, Sofia,” Vinnie said and started reaching for the webs.

“S’okay...” She sniffled.

“No time to free her! Take the whole door!” Gio said, breaking the door off its hinges. “Sofia, do you have the relic?”

“...Yes?” She tentatively answered.

“Not loving the hesitation, but if you have it, you have it. Let’s get out of here before Big Mama wakes up!”

Chapter Text

"You ate it?!" Gio’s voice reverberated through the lair louder than any gong could. “Of all the stupid things you’ve done lately, this really takes the cake, Sofia!” Gio spun away from her in his chair - back to his desk and typing away on a relic that he’d converted into a panel. The four had gathered in his lab after the mission, Nel at Sofia’s side while Vinnie was leaning on a nearby wall.

“It wasn’t on purpose...” Sofia weakly replied.

“Yeah, relax, Gio,” Nel tried to mediate.

“Relax?!” He practically spat back as he furiously hit a specific input. “She’s ingested a relic of unknown power! It could have any number of negative side effects!”

“None of which will be cured by you yelling,” Vinnie grumbled. “You’ll summon Dad if you don’t quiet down.”

Gio continued to mutter under his breath as the panel gave way and revealed a gofu slip which he snatched with one hand, picking up his shakujō with his other as he left his seat and marched over to Sofia. Without a word he slapped the talisman on her plastron, then prodded it with his weapon, filling it with Mystic before peeling it off and returning to his desk. “I’m sorry,” she said and Gio visibly tensed.

“You’re sorry,” Gio moved to face her again. “The amount of times I’ve heard that empty apology lately is enough to drive me mad, Sofia. Are you actually remorseful for constantly making the worst decisions possible, or do you just not care?”

“Gio,” Nel’s tone was that or warning.

“No, enough,” he said back. “The gloves are off. I’m tired of constantly having to bail you out and I refuse to baby you any longer. Tonight is the cherry on top of the sludge sundae and all of us know it! I could fill a book with this month’s incidents alone!”

“Going too far, bro,” Vinnie tried to interject but Gio continued on his tangent, beginning to list all Sofia’s blunders and missteps, chipping away at what was left of her patience until It was practically ground to dust.

“Okay, I get it!” Sofia finally replied, unable to take the verbal assault any longer. “I get it, Gio, I’m a failure. When Draxum went shopping for turtles to turn into mutants, he somehow managed to choose three perfect subjects then get an extra run of the mill turtle as a purchase bonus. All I’m good for is lining your pockets with commission money so you can get more relics. And even then, what Nel makes completely overtakes what I bring in, so why am I even here?”

“Sofia, sweetie, don’t say that,” Nel tried to close in for a hug, but Sofia rejected it, tears starting to form as she continued.

“No, Nel, I can’t take this any more. If Gio wants me gone, I’m gone. You’ll be better off without me ruining everything!” She ripped off her headband, slamming it to the ground, leaving the lab in a sprint.

“Woah!” She narrowly missed running into Splinter, her father casting a concerned look her way before continuing into the lab. “What is all the shouting about? I can barely hear my show!” None of the trio answered; Gio’s head in his hand as he leaned on his chair’s arm, Nel looking towards the lab’s entrance with worry, and Vinnie sighing with his eyes shut fast.

“I’m going after her,” Nel took a step forward only for Vinnie to outstretch his arm to stop her.

“No, let her cool off. I’ll keep an eye on her with my power.”

“But what if she does something drastic?!”

“Again, I’ll keep an eye on her. The last thing she wants right now is to see any of us,” he turned to Gio. “That was expertly handled, brother, bravo,” his sarcasm wasn’t lost on Gio as his older brother sank further into his seat.

“You really need to get a handle on that temper of yours,” Nel added. "We've talked about this."

“Seriously, what did I miss?!” Splinter attempted to get an answer again.

“Gio gave Sofia a verbal beat down on every time she messed up ever, like he’s some kind of pinnacle of perfection,” Vinnie revealed.

“That wasn’t my intention,” Gio rebutted.

“Well, whatever your intention was, our baby sister just left the team,” Nel said as she picked up the discarded headband.

“I’m just concerned!” He fired back. “What happens when we’re not around to bail her out?”

“May I remind you that it was you who wanted the stupid relic in the first place? You that forced her into the situation that had her eat a Mystic relic while trying to get it for you. You’re acting like she did it maliciously when in reality she tried to make the best of the situation and get a result that wouldn’t end in you yelling at her again,” Vinnie revealed. “Quite frankly, I’m surprised she didn’t blow up on you earlier.”

“She ate what?!” Splinter was flabbergast. “What were you kids up to? Start from the beginning!”

“...We are so grounded,” Nel cringed at the thought before explaining to Splinter what happened fully.

“You’re all most definitely grounded!” Splinter seethed as he got the full picture. “Stealing the truck is one thing, that’s a need and it was in a junkyard, but a Mystic relic from Big Mama’s collection!? She is not a Yōkai you want a grudge with! Giorgio, what were you thinking?”

“About the advancements I could make with the relic... and about helping Sofia out of her rut,” he turned back to his relic panel, placing the talisman back where he found it.

“And now we’re relic-less and little sister-less, Nelli notwithstanding,” Vinnie clarified and Nel rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.

“Where is she now?” Splinter asked and Vinnie closed his eyes to focus, using his power to send his gaze beyond the lair, into the city, and to his sister. She was running on rooftops, clearly burning off her anger with each aggressive jump.

“Doing anger filled parkour in the city. Just leave her be. She’s faster than any of us and I doubt we could catch her right now anyways.”

“Depending on the results of this talisman, we may have to go grab her whether she wants us to or not.”

******

Winter was upon New York, Sofia unable to suppress a shiver - thankful for the thought of grabbing a hoodie before storming out of the lair, knowing she’d be more miserable than she already was without it.

“...This is stupid,” she said to herself, fully aware she should head back to the lair, but decided to hold onto stubbornness a little longer. Sofia was still angry at Gio, and she really didn’t feel like seeing the rest of her family after she'd made such a scene. Sometimes she really did feel as inadequate as her brother described. Compared to her siblings, Sofia felt like she was lacking. Each of them had managed to manifest two separate Mystic powers, unique and helpful, while she could only manifest a weapon. Gio was originally ecstatic when Sofia developed it. He told her that her size had become even more versatile now that she didn’t have the burden of a weapon strapped to her back. But that usefulness was only as useful as its handler, and tonight’s incident was another prime example of her clumsiness. Sofia didn’t have Gio’s smarts, Nel’s strength, or Vinnie’s wit. Being small and fast was a situational convenience, not a constant perk, at least according to Sofia herself.

Snowflakes passing by her vision interrupted her thoughts, making Sofia keenly aware of just how cold it truly was. If she wasn’t going to return to the lair, she at least had to find shelter elsewhere. Sofia knew Vinnie could see her no matter where she roamed, but she also knew he was perfectly fine with giving her space, and going to April’s was out of the question - she’d call Nel over immediately. Her foot then landed on a manhole cover as she walked, it being unexpectedly warm and bringing her thoughts to maybe going underground to at least get out of the elements. The sewers were their turf, therefore nowhere to comfortably lay low for a spell, but what about even lower? Sofia knew several entrances to the Hidden City, after all, she and her siblings were just there a few hours ago. Big Mama was most likely looking for her, the risk probably not worth it, but her mind suddenly dredged up a location.

The Mystic Library. They had been there awhile back to try and solve Mayhem somehow teleporting itself into a mirror. While they did eventually find the fix, it wasn’t until after Gio and Nel had been carried off by the librarian’s hush-bats for being too loud, resulting in Vinnie having to step up while Sofia attempted to aid him. They later found their siblings hog tied in the children’s area, Vinnie joking about leaving them for some peace and quiet, but rescued them all the same. It was as good a place as any - quiet, warm, and if Big Mama did find her, she’d have bats to combat with. They easily carried off her ridiculously big and strong sister, so what was a spider Yōkai?

Her destination was set, pulling her hood up a little snugger before taking off to the preferred entrance. The library wasn’t far from it, and within record time, Sofia was where she wished, shaking out one last shiver as she wiped her feet on the provided mat. The librarian paid her no mind as she quietly passed by and began her search for a corner to crash in, fatigue catching up rapidly. To her relief, Sofia found a sitting area with pillows, taking a page from Vinnie’s book and covering herself in them as she quickly drifted off.

When she awoke it felt like weeks had passed. Vinnie had once involuntarily put himself into hibernation via his pillow beds and Sofia wondered if she’d done the same as she gingerly stretched her stiff body - phone falling out of her shell as her back popped. The notification light was blinking. She debated on ignoring it, but begrudgingly unlocked her screen. Forty messages, the majority from Nel, a few from Vinnie, a handful from April, some spam, and zero from Gio. Sofia's irritation reignited as she shoved the phone back into her shell.

“...Jerk,” she huffed and stood up, figuring her time here would soon be up. Hopefully the snow had finished falling and the wind didn’t carry a chill, Sofia knowing it was probably better to go topside for food. She still had money from her recent works, not yet transferring it to the group account, but a sudden sinking feeling had Sofia take out her phone again. She brought up her account, checking its balance to find it had tripled. A quick scroll downwards revealed a large transfer from Gio, Sofia raising a brow at it. “What are you trying to tell me here; to come home or not come back?” She scoffed and put her phone away again, checking herself over once more before setting off, but a sudden voice struck fear into her.

“Where is the blasted section on evolution?” Baron Draxum muttered to himself as he passed her by, either not recognizing Sofia or too in his own world. Huginn and Muninn made quips on his shoulders, loudly wheezing at their own jokes, Draxum slightly shaking his head as he preemptively brushed them off. Hush-bats were on them in seconds, dragging them away to the kiddie room as Draxum continued his stride.

“What is he doing here...?” Sofia said to herself once he was far enough away. To everyone else, he was just a Yōkai in a library for Yōkai, but his presence to one of his mutants spelled trouble. This wasn’t something she could ignore, but Sofia doubted she could tail him without being discovered. Her family wasn't here to help, but then again, Draxum couldn’t do anything drastic for fear of the bats, Sofia assumed. Sticking to the shadows was easy enough, in theory, and if she could manage this one thing, perhaps she could redeem herself in her own eyes at the very least. Sofia decided to take to the top of the shelves, most if not all of them shrouded in darkness, especially in the section of the library that Draxum finally parked himself at. The tomes looked ancient, Draxum adding to her theory as he wiped a thick layer of dust off his chosen book. And then, he read, and read. All their previous encounters started and ended in violence, so this instance of Baron Draxum doing something as mundane as reading struck Sofia as odd. However, as he closed the book and went for another, he glanced at her briefly before pulling it off the shelf.

“Do you mind?” He said with a hint of irritation. “If you seek an audience with the great Baron Draxum, then set up an appointment.”

Sofia inwardly cursed at herself, letting it out in a tiny grunt before revealing herself and jumping down. “What, with your gargoyles that just got carried away to the kiddie room?”

“One of the turtles,” he recognized her voice and eyed Sofia skeptically. “What are you doing here?”

“Currently trying to figure out what you’re planning on hitting us with next, for future reference.”

“Alone. Very foolish of you,” he threatened and she pointed up to the hush-bats, primed and ready to pounce. “...Fair enough. This is a surprisingly competent trap coming from one of you.”

“Thank you?” She decided to take the compliment instead of revealing it was all happenstance. “So, what’s the great Baron Draxum reading?”

“Nothing your puny turtle brain could fathom.”

“Oh yeah?” Sofia smirked, manifesting the naginata, resting it on her shoulder as Draxum took a cautionary stance. He expected her to lunge, the typical childish vigor his failed experiments usually assaulted him with, but as Sofia tilted the pole part of her naginata upwards did it extend and hit Draxum directly on his hoof - the only unarmored part on his body, causing him to cry out in pain.

“Why you little-!” He took a step towards her only to completely be surrounded by bats. “Wait, no, STOP! Unhand me! I AM THE GREAT BARON DRAXUM!” He struggled as Sofia mockingly waved goodbye, the smuggest of grins meeting his raw rage.

“That felt great,” she snorted a giggle, then turned her attention to the dropped book, picking it up and opening it. “...And he was right, I can’t read this.” Sofia flipped through the text, it all in a language she didn’t even recognize. She figured it was all Yōkai script, disappointed this was all for nothing, but still took a snapshot of the book’s cover with her phone before putting it back on the shelf. “Task failed successfully...” she joked to herself, finally making her way to the exit, knowing the kiddie room wouldn’t hold Draxum for long.

New York City's air was much more agreeable as she resurfaced, cloudy with no wind, snow piled but controlled. A quick glance at her phone revealed their family's preferred pizzeria wouldn’t be open for another hour or so, but she decided to head that way anyway. Maybe it was an obvious place for one of the siblings to spot her, but Sofia was irritated and hungry to the point of not caring. While playing with the idea of returning did her phone vibrate, another text message added to the unread pile. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t from Gio, but was another from April. The guilt of worrying them started to creep into Sofia's chest, some of her stubbornness melting as she tapped the message.

Hey! It’s been a few days since whatever happened between you and Gio (I legit don’t know what’s going on tbh, just know there was a fight at the auction). Vinnie keeps telling us you’re fine and all, but if you’re topside, wanna grab a slice? At our fave? My treat! (And don’t worry, it’ll be ONLY me, I promise)

“Days?” Sofia checked her lockscreen more thoroughly, seeing it to be true. “I really did hibernate,” she started typing a reply back, then deleted it, then typed another response, only to delete it too. April had probably already seen that Sofia was trying to reply, so she had to send something, finally giving up and sending a thumbs up emoji before storing her phone again and continuing down the path. Time passed quickly as she took a few detours, soon arriving just past the pizzeria’s opening time with April enthusiastically waving her down, already sat at a table.

“There you are, Sofs! How’re you doing?” She asked as Sofia joined her and sat.

“Hungry, angry, suspicious,” Sofia raised a brow at April.

“I seriously didn’t bring them! They all went on a mission and left me behind. Rude.”

“Already adjusting to my absence. That didn’t take long.”

“Sofia!” April chided, “just because you and Gio had another blow up doesn’t mean you’re off the team! He even texted this mission involved you before they skedaddled.”

“Probably has to do with the Mystic relic I accidentally ate, not me directly.”

“You what?!” April said and Sofia looked at her friend tiredly. “Are you OK?”

“I guess? Nothing has really happened. I bolted before Gio could fully check me over.”

“That’s bad, right? What if something happens?” April expressed her concerns and Sofia simply shrugged in reply. “You should really be more concerned about this.”

“I’m way past caring right now, April. Can we just eat?”

“...Alright. Your usual?”

“Please.”

“I figured. I already ordered so it’ll be here soon.”

“Thanks, I owe you.”

“No you don’t,” April leaned her chin into her palm. “Or should I buy you a pizza for every time you got me out of a jam?”

“Pfft, like when?” Sofia took out her phone and started absentmindedly scrolling.

“Uh, hello?” April outstretched her arms in disbelief. “Did you conveniently forget that Meat Sweats almost took a cleaver to me last week?! It was you who sped in and grabbed me before things got hairy!”

“And then tripped, sending us both flying into a kitchen full of knives and other sharp utensils.”

“It doesn’t matter! We’re both here, aren’t we?”

“The bar is so low that almost killing your friend after attempting to rescue her is considered worth a celebratory pizza...”

“Stop that!” April chopped Sofia on her head, much like Splinter did to all of them when they were acting up. “Enough, Sofia! I don’t know what happened or what was said, but you’re awesome!”

“How is swallowing a relic awes-”

“Nuh-uh, none of that!” She placed her index finger over Sofia’s lips. “This isn’t up for debate. Besides, pizza’s here!” The server delivered their meal, Sofia deciding to give in rather than argue further, her stomach practically about to eat itself with a primal sounding growl. “Wow, that was a loud one.”

“I accidentally hibernated,” Sofia said before shoving the majority of a slice in her mouth.

“Just like Vinnie that one time?” Sofia nodded and April laughed. “That’s hilarious, how?”

Their chatting continued through the meal, Sofia starting to feel herself again thanks to April’s boundless bubbly nature. Despite everything, there was a small pocket of peace here, Sofia indulging in the comfort of it all, though her encounter with Draxum soon popped up again. “That reminds me,” Sofia opened the appropriate application, sliding her phone to April. “I saw Draxum in the Mystic Library earlier reading this book.”

“It looks older than my great gran. Did you read what was inside?”

“Couldn’t. I only know English and some Spanish, and it was neither.”

“When did you start learning español?” April raised a teasing eyebrow.

“Beginning of the year with Vinnie. You know how he is, staying up until he literally passes out to watch movies. Well, he happened upon a whole series of Jupiter Jim spinoff films that were exclusively shot and sold in Mexico. I showed a sliver of interest, and the rest is history.”

April snorted into laughter. “I shoulda guessed. I respect his hustle though. Maybe I should get tutored by you two the next time I have a Spanish test!”

“I’m not that good-” A distant scream cut their conversation short, both of them looking towards the source, then at one another. An explosion followed, soon painting the sky with a plume of smoke. They wordlessly agreed to find its source, leaving the restaurant behind and taking to the roofs, Sofia carrying April as she used her gaping hook. The scene that met them could only be described as unreal. Far in the distance was a monstrous buglike beast trampling New York City indiscriminately. Its screams were deafening, alerting everyone in the city, forcing them to flee.

“What the heck is that?!” April said in disbelief. “Is that an honest to god kaiju?! Are we dreaming?”

“No, we’re definitely not...” Sofia let fear shake her momentarily before she snapped out of the terror driven daze. “My siblings... where is my family?!” She whipped out her phone and first dialed Vinnie only to be sent immediately to voicemail. The same result with Nel and Gio.

“They’re not answering?!”

“No! April, did they say anything as to where they were going on that mission?”

“Not that I remember!”

“We can’t do this on our own!” Sofia despaired. “Where the hell are they?!”

“...Mom, Dad, Mayhem...” April said as she looked over to the district her apartment was in, the beast slowly but surely approaching. Sofia’s own familial worries took a backseat as she saw the rising horror in April’s face. There was no more time for hesitation.

“April!” She grabbed her shoulders. “Go get your family and get out of here! Don’t wait around for me or anyone else - just go!”

“B-but-”

“GO!” Sofia commanded, swinging April down into the street, not waiting for her rebuttal as she swung off towards the nearest open manhole, diving into it and starting her sprint towards home. If she has one innate talent, it was her speed, closing in on the lair, ignoring the shaking brought on by above. She both hoped Splinter was home while simultaneously hoping he was out of danger as she entered into their living area. “Dad!” No answer, there was no one here. Sofia then went towards Gio’s lab, wondering if there was any note or recorded message, but she was met with a locked door. She let out a frustrated yell as she went for her phone, quickly checking all her messages that gave her no answer either. “Where are you guys?!”

A desperate plea that would go unheard, Sofia doing her best not to burst into tears over the stress of the situation. Think... think! Her mind started to try and place wherever they might be, why they wouldn’t answer their phones. Was Splinter with them? Had something gone wrong? Her thoughts finally brought back again to her small scuffle with Baron Draxum that day. This reeked of his meddling. It had been hours since their encounter, probably long gone from the library, perhaps observing the carnage. Regardless, Sofia just knew that wherever he was, so would her family be, leaving the lair behind and making her way to the Hidden City once again.

Chapter Text

The Hidden City was neither free from topside’s shaking nor its own brand of chaos. What Sofia had walked into further defied all reason. Mutants attacking Yōkai, madness in their eyes as they took victim upon victim. Some she recognized from various encounters with her siblings while others were probably later additions due to the Oozesquitoes. The more powerful Yōkai fought back and the carnage continued indiscriminately. It took everything within Sofia to avert her eyes from the scenes and focus on her task. If she could find her family, they could solve this together - that one thought kept her going through it all. With Baron Draxum’s lab in sight did her speed increase, closing in on it with reckless abandon, slicing its entrance open with her weapon. The sound of a struggle further within made itself known with a voice she placed immediately.

“What have you done to my kids?!” Splinter’s voice clearly rang out, rage and desperation seeping from every syllable. It egged on Sofia’s panic as her pace quickened. She heard Draxum reply, but what was said never reached her. It had been ages since she was last here, but her body moved on its own as it followed the growing voices. The once destroyed room they first faced Baron Draxum in came into view, and the result of the current battle it housed was decided. Splinter lay unconscious at Draxum’s feet, vines coiled around his body. There was another there also; Gio. Both her brother and father fallen to their creator, and in cages nearby were Nel and Vinnie. Sofia couldn’t tell if they were breathing or not, feeling her last regard for inaction dissipate as Draxum took out two syringes and knelt down to their level.

“STOP!” Sofia commanded his attention, jumping down into his view, weapon ready. “Get away from them!”

“How fortuitous that you would appear here as well,” He stood back up and faced her. “This plan is encountering less issues than I anticipated.”

“Less issues...?!” Her astonishment momentarily overtook her anger. “Are you insane?! There’s a giant monster topside flattening the city while Yōkai and Mutants are killing each other down here!”

“An unfortunate byproduct of my own hubris - one I plan to rectify once I’ve dealt with you and your family.”

With those words, Sofia felt... something in her snap. There were a million things she could say, but in the red she was seeing, all she managed was; “No, you’ve done enough,” as she launched herself at Draxum.

He somehow expected more from her, especially given their encounter in the Mystic Library earlier that day, but Draxum figured human teenage brain chemicals were all the same as he braced for Sofia’s blow. What he didn’t expect was the sheer power behind it, the gauntlet he’d blocked the blade with cracking while his stance slightly buckled. By his calculations, the smallest turtle among the four was the weakest, either hanging back in their encounters or not present at all. This sudden show of strength defied reason. Sofia used Draxum’s chest as a springboard to push herself back, immediately launching herself again, but this time going for the syringes, using her speed to feint Draxum into blocking again, easily shattering the glass in his hands.

“No! You fool!” He seethed, unable to lament his lost serum as Sofia was already upon him again. Her strikes were laced with the intent to kill, Draxum able to feel it in his entire being as he blocked another. It was then he realized the main possibility for the sudden show of strength; adrenaline. The entirety of this situation had activated Sofia’s flight or flight, and in choosing fight was Draxum finally witnessing the Hysterical Strength phenomena firsthand, but there was no time to be impressed. It mixed with Mystic energy could prove to be his downfall, deciding to drop his passive stance, breaking cells between his fingers and flooding the room with vines. “Enough!” He bellowed.

While Sofia was able to dodge the first few, the sheer amount of vines soon overtook her, suspending her in air as Baron Draxum approached, a new syringe in his hand. “...No...” She was devolving into hysterics with each step taken towards her. “No, no, no-”

“Hold still,” Draxum said as he closed in on Sofia, her desperation rising with each step. Gio’s admonishing words echoed in her head as she darted a glance to each of her fallen family members. Distant screams and the constant shaking assaulted what was left of her senses as her consciousness began to fade. How did it come to this? Could all have this been prevented? Had she caused this? Tears stained her face as the pit in her stomach pooled with anxiety and burned with wrath.

The next instant felt like time had slowed, Sofia feeling the metal of the syringe beginning to pierce her skin, while everything that led to this moment sped through her mind and suddenly erupted into one last burst of desperate struggle. With a wail resembling a roar, did one of her arms free itself, striking Baron Draxum across his face plate. Sofia felt something catch, saw a flicker of red, and Draxum recoiled in pain. There was no time to process it all as what came next was still unknown to the both of them. A pain so unimaginable and sudden caused Sofia to pass out, and before Draxum had a moment to process his new wound, did he view a surge of Mystic energy pool around the small turtle. A portal opened, then closed.

******

“...And then I was here,” Sofia finished her tale. “When I opened my eyes, Baron Draxum was nowhere, the monster was gone, and I quickly figured out this wasn’t the New York City I was used to. Things are similar, but not quite the same. Case and point; you guys. You all look like my siblings, but you’re definitely not them. Not to mention,” she eyed Mikey, “I think I’m you.”

“What?! Say what?!” Mikey balked at the thought.

“So her being your descendant is more believable than her being another version of you?” Donnie said to himself with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean it, really,” Sofia continued. “You look like Vinnie,” she pointed at Leo, “You look like Gio,” she moved her finger to Donnie, “ and you look like Nel,” she stopped the motion on Raph, dropping her hand back to her side, looking at Mikey like he was the last piece of the puzzle. “You all wear the same bandana colors too. It’s honestly very, very freaky...”

“So you usually wear orange like me?” Mikey asked and Sofia nodded.

“Mikey, go get one of your extras,” Raph said and Mikey zipped back to his room, returning with the bandana and handing it to Sofia. She looked at it with hesitation before tying it around her head. Now standing next to Mikey in their shared colors did everyone’s eyes widen at the sight. While she was shorter and had less artistic liberties on her shell, they were spitting images of one another.

“They’re practically twins...” Draxum said what everyone was thinking.

“Twinsies!” Mikey was enamored with the idea, looking at Sofia with starry eyes as she backed off a little.

“Okay, give her some personal space back,” April gently pulled Mikey back into the group. “So, while we’re all still processing this information, which is a lot, I honestly only have one question right now; are you OK?”

“Huh?” Sofia was genuinely taken aback, expecting literally anything but a question towards her wellbeing. “Yes? Er- no? I uh, really don’t know how to answer this. Is this a trick question?”

“No, it’s not,” she shook her head. “You've been taken from your home, your family, stuck here for weeks all by yourself, eating heavens knows what, with only a musty cloak to keep the cold away. If I was you, I wouldn’t be OK.”

Sofia’s stoic mask slipped under April’s words, under the gaze of the girl who shared the same face as her friend. Everything caught up to her, the reality of the situation sinking in as her shoulders started to rise, tears falling despite her best efforts to blink them back. She turned away from them, unwilling to show her vulnerabilities to a continually onlooking audience, but sank down to the floor regardless as a small, pitiful sob escaped her. Given her answer, April approached Sofia anew, getting down to her level and gently embracing her.

“Why am I here?” Sofia choked out. “Why is this happening? Is it my fault?”

“Shhh,” April soothed. “It’s gonna be fine. We’ll get this figured out,” she then motioned with her head to the boys to scram for the time being, Cassandra echoing the sentiment, gesturing a shooing motion towards the lab. They all silently obeyed, some stuck in place on not knowing how to deal with a weeping teenage girl while the others wanted to offer some sort of comfort but decided to let the girls deal with it. Once inside, Donnie closed the door behind them, sighing as he took his place in his chair.

“Sooo, where to start with all this?” Leo shrugged, lost on how to handle the situation.

“Well, firstly, Multiverse Theory is real!” Donnie hit a key on his console and the appropriate diagram showed up on the screen behind him. “That is, assuming she’s not lying. Shapeshifters and actors do also exist.”

“I am inclined to believe her. That was not acting,” Splinter said with a somber expression.

“As am I,” Draxum added. “What she said about this other me is very much in line with a theory I once played with the idea of, but ultimately scrapped due to its dangerous nature.” He placed his finger on his chin as he got further lost in thought.

“Draxum, you wanna share with the rest of the class?” Leo looked at him expectantly and the elder Yōkai cleared his throat in response.

“It was a formula for another type of ooze. It had the properties of furthering evolution to create giant, godlike creatures that only lived in prehistoric times. My idea was to eventually bestow the honor onto select elite mutants to become guardians of the Yōkai, but there were too many flaws. I ran tests on bugs and the results were always the same; madness. Subjects would attack one another indiscriminately or just wish to destroy anything in sight. I ultimately scrapped it as the ingredients were far too cumbersome to procure anyways.”

“So you’re thinking this other Draxum went ahead and made this other ooze anyways?” Raph asked

“Perhaps, her descriptions are what I feared may come to pass.”

“...I think I believe her too,” Casey spoke up, “considering, well, me and where I came from, I don’t think it out of the ordinary for her to be here.”

“I’d say that’s a valid point,” Leo agreed, “but the question now is; how did she get here?”

“I already thought about that and I think it might have to do with two different factors, though I’ll have to do some tests to get solid evidence,” Donnie held up two of his fingers. “Firstly, if she’s another Mikey, then it's possible she has an affinity to Mystic power like he does - especially considering her weapon of choice.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right!” Mikey agreed. “And the second thing?”

“The relic she supposedly ate. It’s a bit out of my expertise, but we all know first hand how powerful and unpredictable Mystic Relics can be. With those two things in the mix, I can theorize some dimension hopping shenanigans. Which is why I really need to get some samples and-” Donnie was cut off by his lab’s door reopening, the left behind trio entering. Sofia’s eyes were red, but she was no longer crying, Cassandra and April on either side of her. After a calming breath she rejoined the group.

“I’d like to apologize,” she started. “I stalk you for weeks, get caught, and then start bawling in your living room. Not a great start.”

“It is alright, child,” Splinter reassured, “none of us are upset with you.”

“...You sound so much like my own dad that I’ll start crying again if we’re not careful,” she sucked back her rising emotions. “But I have it under control. Your April believes I should be part of this conversation, so I’m here. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

“Understatement of the century,” Donnie quipped back, “but before we get into any of those, you’re still hiding something from us, am I right?” His gaze fell onto Sofia’s bandaged hand and she lifted it in response.

“Donnie!” April scoffed, “would it kill you to be a little more delicate?!”

“Indeed! Prying into a woman’s secrets is peak indelicacy!” Cassandra agreed.

“It’s alright,” Sofia quelled their misplaced rage, “I was going to bring it up anyways.” She started unwrapping the bandages, soon revealing what they hid. She held her hand aloft to all see, its appearance draconic in nature, scaled, a different shade from her skin, and claws protruding from each of her three fingers. “I’m not really sure what caused it, but my hand has been like this since I got here.”

“Fascinating...” Donnie put his goggles on and rolled over to Sofia in his chair. “Another addition to this multi-layered puzzle. Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“Functions normally?”

“Yes.”

“Any changes to hot and cold sensitivity? Does it randomly tingle? Can I have a few scales? I’ll make it as painless as possible. How about-” Cassandra put a foot on Donnie’s chair and swiftly kicked him back to his desk.

“That’s enough! One at a time! AND SHE DIDN’T CONSENT TO SCALE REMOVAL!” She seethed.

“Yeah Donnie, we get that you’re excited, but simmer down a little,” Raph warned.

“INDELICATE!” Cassandra pointed accusingly at him. “Now, if I may have the floor for a moment, all of us need to take a GIGANTIC step back. I can understand the enthusiasm of trying to get to the bottom of this, but you’re being HORRIBLE HOSTS!” Everyone flinched at Cassandra’s outburst. “She’s tired, wounded, hungry, and she doesn’t even properly know half of our names! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Foot Clan would’ve handled this better! An evil clan set on bringing doom to the world they were, bad hosts they were not.”

“Ugh,” Draxum crossed his arms, “she’s not entirely wrong.”

“No, no, she is unfortunately completely right. Let us shelve all of this for the time being. Donnie, patch her up - without sneakily taking samples!” Splinter said and Donnie begrudgingly nodded. "Mikey, Leo, handle the food!”

“Yes!” Mikey sped past Sofia and the girls. “I’ll cook you the best feast you’ve had!”

“Or we could just get take out!” Leo ran after his brother.

“Raph, get a spare room ready!”

“I’ll get it done like a boss!” He was next to leave.

“Um, you really don’t have to go to all of this trouble-” Sofia fussed.

“It is no trouble!” Splinter protested. “We will get nowhere by continually wearing you down! Besides,” he smiled at her, “different universe or not, you are a part of the Hamato clan, which means you’re family. We will get through this together.” Sofia felt her eyes starting to water again, shutting them fast and pinching between them. She managed a nod through it, sniffling instead of opening her mouth again to object.

“I will go to the Mystic Library and look up this ‘Dragon’s Eye’ artifact. I’ve never heard of it before, but even if it doesn’t exist here, there’s most likely an equivalent,” Draxum started moving past what was left of the crowd. “Do you still have that photo of the book the other me was reading?”

“...Phone’s broken...” Sofia hiccupped.

“No matter,” he disappeared out of the lab.

“Which leaves you and me, future kid,” Cassandra said to Casey who looked away nervously.

“Uh, f-future kid?” Donnie started to hastily cover for Casey. “Whatever are you talking about, Cassandra? Casey has always been our friend, from the beginning, yes.”

“Donatello, I have ears,” Cassandra pointed to hers. “If this world can house a kid from the future and another from an alternate universe with no issues, I don’t see what you’re being so secretive about.”

“No issues, yet,” he corrected. “You should really take this more seriously before we end up tearing a hole in the spacetime continuum!”

“Eh,” she shrugged. “Casey, come with me back to my clan so we can grab dessert for this party. I can’t carry it all by myself.”

“O-okay?” He hesitantly agreed, shrugging at Donnie before following his mother out.

“None of you come crying to me when our atoms start melting and subsequently exploding!” Donnie said exasperated as he left his chair. “But whatever, let me load up my healing protocols. They’re still in beta but they should be fine.”

“Yeahhhh, I think I’m just gonna stay here and supervise,” April said and returned to Sofia’s side. “We got this Splints, maybe check on everyone else?” A loud noise came from the lair and Splinter agreed, leaving the three of them in the lab.

“Sit in this chair,” Donnie said and pressed a button, a panel in the floor opening, revealing a chair that unfolded by itself. “It’s made with my Mystic Tech that I specifically modified to ensure safe and comfortable treatment for various Mystic related wounds. It’s even your size because I made it for Mikey in mind as he tends to injure himself the most.”

“...Alright,” Sofia gave in instead of asking any questions.

“Also, give me your phone, I’ll fix it for you.”

Chapter Text

“Knock, knock, Leon’s here with your grub,” Leo entered the lab with a tray of food, Donnie not even bothering to acknowledge him as he approached. He was wholly engrossed in his current project, perhaps to the point of obsession. “...Wow,” he stopped to admire the entire show of Donnie’s intellect; wires, screens, technical peripherals he’d never seen before, all on display, all attempting to be connected to what was left of Sofia’s phone. “Have you been up all night?” Donnie didn’t reply, focused on soldering two different pieces of technology together, Leo finally noticing the headset over his brother’s head. He debated on how to get his brother’s attention, putting the tray down and observing for a little while longer. Leo didn’t want to mess up whatever he was doing, so he waited until Donnie took a quick moment to observe his work, quickly removing his brother’s headset and preemptively taking a large step back in case of overworked rage. Donnie’s neck snapped in Leo’s direction immediately, goggles removed to reveal his fatigued glare. “Peace! I come in peace... and with food,” he gestured to the tray. “You need to take a break, bro.”

“Not yet,” he replied sharply. “I’m almost at a breakthrough.”

Leo looked again at the spread of tech, not at all understanding the methodology of it all. “You are?”

“YES,” he practically hissed. “If I can just get this component finished, I might finally be able to access this foreign piece of tech!”

“Wait,” Leo’s brow wrinkled as the realization hit him. “You’re still working on cracking it? All of this to just get into it?”

“AGAIN, YES,” Donnie said like his last nerve had been touched. “I’ve never been so frustrated! ...Yet so intrigued. I expected tech from another universe to have its differences, yes, but for literally everything inside the shell of a smartphone to be completely different - I’m inventing modules to properly fit the charging port and to not completely fry the phone itself while modifying the energy input. One misstep, and the phone will be burnt to a crisp!”

“It’s certainly very intricate,” Leo said as his eyes started connecting all the tech together in lines while Donnie went back to soldering.

“You have no idea,” Donnie replied back, finishing then holding up the newest addition to his creation. “Now, to see if this is the last piece I require, or if I’ve complicated matters even further!” He placed it in its spot, his anticipation teetering towards madness as his bloodshot eyes focused on a specific monitor. A moment passed, then with a flicker did the monitor come to life, displaying the lockscreen to Sofia’s phone; a filtered selfie of her and Nel wearing oversized sunglasses. “...I did it...” Donnie said in disbelief, slumping back into his chair.

“Way to go Donnie!” Leo returned to his brother’s side and excitedly shook Donnie's chair.

“I DID IT!” Donnie sprang up with a victorious pose, laughing maniacally as his fatigue started to catch up to him. “TAKE THAT, OTHER UNIVERSE TECHNOLOGY!”

“I knew you could do it, and while I do want you to relish your accomplishment, maybe take a break to eat-”

“No, I have to keep going! I’ve just scratched the surface, I need to-”

“Eat, you need to eat,” Leo said more firmly, pushing Donnie back into his chair, rolling him to the food tray. “Besides, that phone needs to charge. Three percent? I’m surprised it even had anything left.”

“...Ugh, fine,” Donnie gave in, begrudgingly grabbing the prepared breakfast sandwich and shoving it completely in his mouth. “There, happy now?” he said after swallowing it whole.

“The juice too.”

Donnie made an irritated noise, downing the entire glass in one gulp then pushing himself away from Leo and back to his contraption. “Okay, I ate, now let me get back to my work! -And it even gained a percentile! It really is working!”

“So is it just one heck of a charger or is there more to all of this?”

“That will depend on several factors. It should function similarly to a USB to USB-C cable - that’s the type of cable you use to charge your own phone, before you ask, therefore allowing me to transfer files and data. However,” Donnie paused, hovering his hands over the console’s keyboard. “If the technology is so vastly different, then I’m going to hypothesize that the format of the data will be also,” he typed a command and the screen unlocked, revealing a small row of apps over another photo, this time of Nel flexing, Sofia on one arm while April was on the other - both of them hamming it up for the picture, making them look like damsels in distress.

“Woah, hey, that’s April! And... Raph? Wait no, that’s the ‘other’ Raph therefore, obviously the other April. What was her name again?”

“Nelli, though usually just abbreviated to Nel given how our mystery guest described her family last night.”

“Right...” Leo’s thoughts went back to the whirlwind that followed after Splinter doled out orders to everyone. Sofia was successfully healed and then given a proper welcome in lieu of another interrogation, though more questions were asked and answered regardless. While they shared similar origins with her, things began to split into two separate timelines - sometimes sharing experiences uncannily while others were completely different. Two of the biggest differences were one; Sofia’s quartet developed their Mystic Powers earlier and without aid of adjacent weapons, and two; the mutants caused by the Oozesquitoes varied - a handful the same while there were also many Leo’s quartet had never heard of.

“The powers thing, it was mostly Gio’s doing. Dad refused to train us, so Gio started digging up info on the Hamato Clan and Mystic powers - the latter being kinda the thing he hyper-focuses on. Has a whole lab for it and everything Mystic,” Sofia had revealed.

“Interesting...” Donnie raised an eyebrow at her. “So this other me focuses on the complete opposite of my hyper-focus. It worked then? He figured out how to unlock your Hamato Ninpō?”

“Not... exactly. Turns out Dad had most of the clan stuff under lock and key, so with that being a dead end, Gio started looking into our DNA and past battle experiences, finding out there was some sort of... crap, what did he call it again? A stimulant? Stimuli? Whatever, it was basically something in our DNA would sometimes let us fight better or do things we shouldn’t or couldn’t do.”

“Very interesting...” Donnie leaned in a little closer, Raph putting his hand out to stop his brother from getting too close.

“Long story short, we each ended up in a perilous situation at one point or another, and our powers manifested as a result. Mine happened after Baron Draxum broke my weapon and threw me off a building.”

“Ohmigosh, you too?!” Leo laughed, extending his fist. “Being-thrown-off-of-buildings-by-Draxum buddies,”

“Do not make that a club!” Mikey stared disapprovingly at his brother as Sofia gave Leo his desired fistbump, albeit hesitantly.

“Relax, all in good fun! It’s all water under the bridge now.”

“For you, Leo, not her. Draxum still seems to be in his crazy phase back in her home,” Raph corrected and Sofia sighed bitterly, holding her head like she’d been nursing a headache, everyone suddenly remembering that the status of her family was unknown in the clutches of the other Baron Draxum. “Oh no, I’m sorry-”

“It’s alright,” Sofia quickly replied, shaking off her funk, but she was thoroughly spent, exhaustion showing in her entire figure. “I’m sorry, but I’m very tired. If it’s okay with all of you, I’d like to rest now," she almost pleaded, and there were no objections and everyone split off respectively, the lair growing quiet as all either turned in themselves or in Donnie’s case, spent the whole night getting into Sofia’s phone.

“Yep, it’s just like I thought,” Donnie’s voice brought Leo back to the present. “All these files are formats I’ve never even heard of before. I am once again fascinated, but I’m feeling another wave of frustration coming on.”

“I’m guessing there’s no easy fix for Sofia’s phone then?”

“No,” Donnie answered. “If I try to transfer the data as is, it’ll probably break every file, and seeing as this may very well be the last mementos of her family, I’d like to treat it with care.”

“Don’t say that,” Leo’s tone was serious. “She needs hope, Dee, so let’s not write off our other selves yet.”

“...Yeah, you’re right,” Donnie said apologetically, continuing to scroll through the apps, landing on the gallery, revealing several video files among the saved photos. One in particular caught both of their eyes, seeing what looked like the both of them staring directly into the camera on the preview.

“We really shouldn’t snoop,” Leo tried to push Donnie away from their intrusive thoughts.

“I’ll apologize later, I need to see this other me!” Donnie’s intrusive thoughts won and he pressed play before Leo could even blink. The video loaded up and they both almost jumped out of their skins on seeing almost mirror images of themselves staring back at them. They shared bandana colors and their markings were a little different, though Gio was in a lab coat instead of decked out in tech while Vinnie looked eternally exhausted.

“...Is it rolling?” Gio’s visage asked into the camera while Vinnie squinted, then nodded.

“Yeah, it’s good,” he said and they both backed away, revealing Sofia and Nel were in the background looking out into the waters of one of the many piers in New York City. “We’re all set!”

“Remind me again why we’re using my phone for this?” Sofia looked entirely unimpressed as she turned to face her brothers.

“Because yours is the only one with enough memory!” Gio said back and she rolled her eyes.

“Cool, clog my phone up with this crap without even asking.”

“It’s not crap! You’ve finally unlocked a Mystic Power and we need data! Time to celebrate by sparring!”

“Couldn’t we just get a celebratory pizza and call it a day?” Sofia asked despite knowing the answer. “Draxum just threw me off a building yesterday!”

“Humor him, you know how he is,” Nel said. “We’ll get some pizza on the way back.”

“If you all don’t kill me first.”

What followed was exactly what the recording was meant to be; Sofia sparring with each of her siblings, displaying their weapon proficiencies as well as their Mystic powers. Nel went first, brandishing her giant Shichishitō with ease, and phasing through Sofia’s every attempt to land a blow. Their weapons clashed a few times, but the victor was obvious. Next was Vinnie who looked completely uninterested, yet still blocked every attack with his Kusarigama, swinging the chain in perfect harmony. Sofia soon tired and forfeited, leaving Gio as the last bout. He shed his lab coat and infused two Gofu slips with Mystic before pasting them on his soft shell, a barrier covering it in response. Donnie’s eyes widened at this while Leo was more focused on the following battle - it more evenly matched this time, the blows exchanged becoming heavier as Sofia was clearly becoming more comfortable. Unfortunately, it was a little too comfortable as her Nagitna’s blade slipped past Gio’s defenses and nicked him on his cheek.

“-Ow!” He recoiled and Sofia immediately dissipated her weapon.

“Ohmigosh, Gio, I’m sorry, are you-” she approached him and he responded by taking the opportunity to cause his own wound, hitting her on the head with the bottom of his staff. “OW! Gio, what the heck?!”

“You let your guard down,” he said calmly, though there was clear anger in his eyes. “Tit for tat.”

“That was uncalled for!” Nel argued.

The camera was then obscured by Vinnie’s face as he rushed to end the video, all his siblings squabbling behind him, leaving Donnie and Leo in silence.

“Hmm,” Leo crossed his arms, “I wonder if they still got pizza afterwards.”

“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say no.”

******

Casey was sat on one of the lair’s couches, tinkering with his mask with a determined expression. He had been meaning to do maintenance on it for some time now, one too many tussles with varying mutants and Yōkai becoming a normal part of his life. One would think that after saving the world the creatures of New York City would give the turtles a break, but everyone figured old habits die hard, continuing their heroics as needed.

“What’ca doing, Casey?” Mikey joined him, genuinely interested.

“Just fixing up my mask. It’s been through a lot lately.”

“No kidding. And here I thought Rupert Swaggart and I had formed a genuine bond after the Wizbang!”

“Definitely didn’t seem that way...” Casey agreed as he replayed their last encounter in his head.

“I’ll get through to him one day!”

Casey opened his mouth to continue the conversation, only to be cut off by his phone’s notification alert. Mikey’s went off too, indicating it was from their family group chat, both of them taking out their phones in response.

Finally got into Sofia’s phone. Still can’t transfer the data to a new one, but here’s a picture of the picture of the book the other Draxum was reading.

“Wow, it really does look ancient!” Mikey pinched his screen to enlarge the photo. “Really digging the aesthetic.”

“Is it just me, or does it look a little... ominous?” Casey squinted at it. A new message popped up in the chat as they observed, exiting the photo and giving it a read. Draxum had replied.

Personally, I don’t recognize it, but with how ominous it looks, I have a vague idea where it might be found. I’ll keep you updated if need be.

Donnie replied with a thumbs up emoji and that was the end of the conversation for the time being.

“If Draxum is calling it ominous too, then you might be onto something, Case,” Mikey went back to the photo. “Just what is going on in that other Draxum’s head?”

“Given the basic timeline we managed to figure out last night, this is way before your guy’s battle with the Shredder, right?”

“I think? We didn’t get much past the differences in mutants, which was really interesting, despite, well, yeah, but seeing as Sofia didn’t mention much else, we’re just assuming the Shredder isn’t in the picture yet. Especially with the whole, Draxum putting the armor on stuff.”

“...And what in the heck is a ‘Shedder’?” Sofia made herself known, approaching the duo. She looked more rested, but was still holding her head, some obvious pain still plaguing her.

“Sofia! Good morning my twinsie from another dimension.”

“Morning, Michelangelo,” she replied with a wince, his pep possibly aiding her pain. She then looked to Casey, placing his name after a few memories resurfaced. “And, Casey, right?”

“Yep, good morning. Are you feeling alright?”

“It’s just a headache. I might’ve slept too comfortably seeing as that was the first real bed I’ve touched in weeks.”

“I’ll text Dad and Raph to pick up some medicine!” Mikey took out his phone and furiously typed. “Donnie is gonna be tied up for awhile with your phone still and they’re out running errands.”

“You really don’t need-”

“And I’ll go whip you up some breakfast! It might just be a hunger headache! Be right back!” He ran off towards the kitchen with a big grin on his face.

“...And there he goes,” Sofia gave up on trying to stop him. “Where does he get all that energy?”

“I’ve asked myself that a few times too,” Casey chuckled, pushing in a mechanism on his mask, making a satisfying click. “There we go, all done,” he replaced it on his face, looking at Sofia through its display. She tilted her head slightly at the goaltender mask with glowing eyes staring her down and Casey flipped it back up in response. “Just doing some maintenance on my mask. Didn’t mean to stare.”

“It’s all good. I was actually more looking at the artistic embellishments. Are they meant to match Leonardo’s markings?”

“Yeah, I added them a long time ago...” Casey said, a nostalgic look in his eyes as he took his mask off to view the markings properly, but it soon turned sorrowful. The memory was so vivid, yet so far away.

“I, uh,” Sofia’s nervous fumbling brought him back, “clearly I brought up something I shouldn’t have. I was just going to say that my brother Vinnie has similar markings and try to move the conversation forward, but I’ve just made everything awkward and I’ll just excuse myself to go see if Michelangelo needs help-”

“Wait, no, it’s okay!” Casey called out, stopping her stride. “I actually wanted to talk to you about some stuff... if that’s alright with you?”

“I... guess? What about?”

“About how I’m displaced from my timeline, or dimension, or whatever, as well.”

“Oh,” her brow raised with intrigue. “Really?”

“Yeah, if you’re willing to believe it, I’m from a future that probably no longer exists. If you haven’t met me back in your time, then that’s a good thing, ...I think.”

“A future that no longer exists...?” Sofia’s fist went to her mouth in thought. “That would mean...”

“Wow, I’m actually surprised you’re taking me at face value. Everyone else laughed when I first told them.”

“Considering I'm a doppelganger here, I’m more than willing to consider what I usually consider impossible. My main question is; how did you get here?”

“Master Michelangelo from this timeline eventually becomes a Mystic warrior with the ability to conjure portals. He’s already done it once here in the present, but the one I knew used everything he had to send me here so I could help prevent the doomed future.”

“By ‘everything he had’, you mean...?” Her quizzical mug was met with a nod from Casey. “...I see, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I know he wouldn’t want me to dwell on it. But, you get why I wanted to talk about this now, yeah?”

“...Yeah. You were sent here purposely while we still don’t know how I got here. If making a portal to send someone back in time comes with such a big price, then who made mine and what was the price to pay? -Ow, my head,” Sofia cringed as the pain panged. “This might be too much to figure out this early in the morning.”

“I’d say that’s enough for now. Please sit down for the time being. That headache could be worse than you think,” Casey got up from his seat and approached Sofia, who in turn allowed him to guide her to the couch. “I just want you to know that I want to help you figure this out. We all do.”

“I gathered that last night,” Sofia winced as she leaned her head back. “Me being here is probably jeopardizing that future you were sent back here to save.”

“No! Well, I mean, maybe, but that’s not the point. The future where I came from is gone... and even if I could go back, there’s nothing left for me to return to. But with you, it’s different. You’re not from the future, but an entire different dimension with its own set of mutant turtles. When the four of them are together, there’s nothing they can’t do, so I just know we have to get you back to your siblings.”

Sofia looked at him tiredly before responding. “Did you hear anything I said last night? I spend more time keeping the bench warm than actually see action, because when I do, I end up getting thrown off buildings, ingesting artifacts, or overall messing up every one of my brother’s plans. Had this miracle not dropped me into this alternate dimension, I would be in Draxum’s clutches as well. I appreciate your vote of confidence, but whatever grandiose opinions you have of me or who I could be, you’d better keep your expectations low.”

There was a dramatic gasp, both of their attention caught by it. The source was Mikey, approaching them with a breakfast tray. “Sofia! I won’t have you talking about yourself like that! You’re a Hamato Clan turtle brimming with potential!”

“Oh, here we go,” she grumbled to herself. “Michelangelo, with all due respect, you’ve known me for less than a day. I’ve known myself for fourteen years.”

“Yes, but as we have recently figured out, you and I are two sides of the same coin, and let me tell you, we were a MESS when we first got into the hero stuff. Did you think we got good at this overnight?” Mikey passed her the tray, taking a few steps back as he continued explaining. “We spent more time tripping over each other than actually performing genuine acts of ninjutsu - and if the timeline is matching up as much as we think - you’re in your growing period right now. Just a little tulip that’s pushed its way through the spring frost, but has yet to bloom!”

“If you say so...” Sofia deflected.

“I KNOW SO, MISSY!” He fumed and Sofia flinched, her headache making itself known again. “Oh, whoopsie, right, head hurting. My bad.”

“...I’m going to bypass expressing my pain to point out that while you and I may look the same, we couldn’t be any more different,” she gingerly rubbed one of her temples.

“Wrong again!” Mikey said and retreated one of his arms into his shell, resurfacing it with a simple sketchbook in his hand. Sofia’s eyes went from surprise to panic. “This was next to you when Raph broke our fall yesterday and-” It was snatched from his grasp within seconds, Sofia’s breakfast tray undisturbed on Casey’s lap (to his surprise), and Sofia herself several feet away from the sitting area, frantically flipping through the pages. She sighed in relief, no damage done, but she regarded Mikey with a glare.

“Did you look?”

“As a fellow artist, I was tempted to look, but, I have self control. However, if I show you my sketchbook, will you show yours!? Please, please, pleaseeee!” He begged, falling to his knees dramatically. “I don’t have any artist friends! We could draw together, and do art trades, and-”

“Okay, okay!” Sofia stopped him. “When my head doesn’t feel like it’s exploding, we’ll do a collab or something.”

“Then eat your breakfast and I’ll get my pencils sharpened!” He announced, running off towards his room, Sofia sighing as she retook her spot on the couch and received her breakfast back from Casey.

“You’re fast! I didn’t even see you do all that!” Casey gushed as Sofia started on the glass of juice.

“It’s the only thing I’m actually good at.”

“That had better not be self depreciation I’m hearing!” Mikey called from his room.

“Thank you for breakfast, Michelangelo!” She called back with a twinge of irritation before angrily inhaling the sandwich.

“You’re welcome!” He replied sweetly and Casey failed to hide a chuckle at Sofia’s souring expression.

“You’ll get used to it, his boundless positivity.”

“I doubt I have much of a choice in the matter.”

Chapter Text

The scent of wood and dust had almost become welcoming to Draxum. His schedule since the mystery turtle had fallen into his family’s lap consisted of trying and failing to find information on her situation. He was eternally grateful it was a winter break, able to browse the Mystic Library with little to no interruptions. The existence of other universes and dimensions was not completely foreign to him. Long had there been tales among the Yōkai of such things, but even his curiosity didn’t venture that far. While he was no saint in regards to toying with life itself, he knew now that there were things one did not trifle with - and this other Draxum had yet to be schooled like him. He couldn’t claim to know everything in their heart, despite being, well, him, but if the brief interactions with this ‘Sofonisba’ were anything to go by, having a counterpart didn’t necessarily mean they were a complete mirror image of oneself.

Draxum closed the book he had been studying with a small groan, taking off his reading glasses to rub his tired eyes. Another dead end. He should have figured as much since the book he’d found looked nothing like the sent picture, but the title itself had given him false hope. Draxum was beginning to think that particular book didn’t have a counterpart despite it being one you could easily pull off the shelf in the other dimension. The librarian either didn’t recognize it or ignored him purposely, as did most if not all the other workers he happened across. Despite having his fugitive status revoked by the Council of Heads for his aid in vanquishing the Kuroi Yōroi, the damage had been done. He heard the whispers of the other patrons, the shocked gasps of those unfortunate to turn into the same shelving area as him. The Hidden City police had even been called more than once in this short week timeframe, but they left him in peace once any misunderstanding was cleared up.

“Alright, Draxum, get up and persevere, like always,” he said quietly to himself as Draxum left the sitting area, depositing the book on a return cart before making his way back to the directory orb. He wasn’t even close to exhausting his leads, but he wasn’t sure which to try next as the orb lit itself up at his arrival. Considering what he thought the other Draxum had done or was doing, he’d eliminated certain sections, but it hardly thinned what he needed to look into. Draxum decided he’d choose at random this time, to keep himself from losing any sanity, hoping a new section of the library would help refresh his tired mind. A destination set, he left the directory orb behind, his stride hardly stopped by the buzzing of his phone which he took out. A text message from Mikey. He opened it and it revealed him in the foreground showcasing a painted canvas in the background, Sofia in front of it with her back to the camera, clearly observing the work.

We’re bonding! Yay!

Was the caption, Draxum finding a small smile creep onto his face on seeing Mikey’s giddy expression. However, it soon dropped as Draxum thought how this encounter was most likely to end in distress. Sofia would have to return to her time, that was certain. Unlike the situation of Casey Jones II, this was not something to be overwritten, but simply putting something back where it belongs. However, in getting to know Splinter and the boys more and more, Draxum somehow knew they were going to stick their necks out far too much for this sudden new addition. And should he as well? Was this partially his responsibility or was this just an obligation to pacify Sofia’s misplaced anger? She wasn’t likely to attempt to harm him again, she understood his position here at length. The Draxum in her dimension was Sofia's problem, and yet, it he truly had blundered in the way Draxum thought he had, it made his blood boil, not for her sake necessarily, but due to the fact that every version of himself had to learn the hard way and place those he pledged to protect in harm’s way. The thought of sending Sofia back with a strongly worded letter popped up in his mind often, but those were thoughts for later - for now, more books. The shelf he sought soon came into view and he proactively cracked his knuckles, ready to be stuck there for a while as he scanned and read as needed. However, unbeknownst to him were two sets of eyes that had followed him all the way from the orb to his current position. From the rafters they squinted, unsure, but soon enough they found themselves forced to speak their qualms.

“Is that...? Nah, it couldn’t be.”

“He’s the spitting image of the wanted poster - so I don’t see why it isn't?” A small, clawed hand unfurled said poster, a worn but still visible visage of Baron Draxum on it.

“Why do you have that?”

“To remember simpler times...” they sighed dramatically.

“I’d say our current life is more simple, but I also find myself agreeing - those were the days...” they echoed the sigh, letting it linger a while before they both perked up. “So, wanna go say hello?”

“Do I ever?!”

The two small and stout figures emerged from the darkness, the pitter-patter of their tiny wings lost to the focused Draxum as they descended upon him. It wasn’t until he felt their weight on his shoulders did he look up from his book. He looked to his left to be met by Huginn, perched and waving. “Hiya, boss, it’s been awhile. Or should we refer to you as ‘ex-boss’ now?”

“Or Baron Draxum, or just Draxum, or maybe something more casual like Barry?” Muninn added from his right shoulder.

“You two,” Draxum said in astonishment, “I haven’t seen you since-”

“Since the whole donning the dark armor thing! Wow, that feels like ages ago!” Huginn finished Draxum’s thought. “Man, have your shoulders always been this cushy?”

“Considering my change in wardrobe, no,” he gently brushed them off and they went back to flight. “What are you two doing here?”

“We work here!” Muninn announced with a twirl. “We’re honorary hush-bats in training!”

“With the opportunity to move up to assistant librarians!”

“I see, good for you,” Draxum said with no hint of emotion. “I honestly thought you perished in all the chaos.”

“Wow, way to kill us off!” Huginn crossed his arms with a scowl. “Didn’t we prove how robust and durable we were back in the day?”

“Yeah!” Muninn flexed to provide Huginn’s point, Draxum not at all impressed, but in casting his thoughts back, he found himself agreeing.

“Indeed, durable would be the most apt description. I suppose that has to do with your current job as well.”

“Eh, sorta. We applied for the assistant librarian position, but the bats really like us! We can adapt!”

“Besides, the job market is so cutthroat right now, we’ll take what we can get,” Muninn said and Huginn nodded. “But we know our way around the Mystic Library like the back of our claws now, so here’s hoping for that promotion!”

“Do you now?” Draxum reshelved his book, an idea springing forth. “Then perhaps you can help me. None of your current assistants will give me the time of day.”

“Rude! But I guess the whole being Baron Draxum thing is making them a liiiittle cautious of you.”

“What can we help you find?” Huginn asked and Draxum took out his phone, finding the image. “Woah, you have a smartphone now? Wild.”

“This book,” Draxum said and held up the screen to their level, Huginn squinting at it while Muninn tilted his head.

“That is one ancient looking tome,” Muninn took the phone from Draxum to look at it closer. “You wouldn’t happen to have a better quality photo, would you?”

“No, not yet.”

“Hmmmm,” Huginn then took the phone. “You know, if I was a guessing gargoyle, I’d say this is one of those scary magic books we keep in the forbidden section.”

“Oh yeah, you’re totally right. It looks like the kinda ominous stuff that gets stuffed in there.”

“I agree, but I was under the impression it was a normal shelf item,” Draxum took his phone back.

“In another universe, maybe?” Muninn shrugged. “Nothing that creepy looking is available to the general public.”

“I see...” Draxum trailed off, weighing his options all over again.

“What did you need it for anyways?” Huginn asked. “Hatching another villainous plan against the turtles?”

“Huginn, he helped the turtles kill the big scary armor man, remember?”

“Right, right! You’re a good guy now! I’m so proud of your growth!”

“Er, thank you, I think,” He couldn’t tell if they were teasing him or not. “And to answer your question, I just need to know the contents of the book. It may help the boys with a problem they’re currently facing.”

“The ‘boys’?” They said in unison, shocked, then softened at the realization. “Awwww!”

“Enough,” he waved off their gushing. “Where would one find this forbidden section?”

“Well, that’s the neat part; you can’t,” Huginn said plainly. “Only the lead librarian and those with special permission from the Council of Heads are allowed inside and know the location of it.”

Draxum deflated with a sigh. “That complicates things. I highly doubt I’d get permission to do anything after, well, everything.”

“There, there,” Muninn pat Draxum’s shoulder. “Is there anything else we can help with? Library card? Dewy Decimal coaching? Complementary bookmark?”

“That won't be necessary. I’ll just have to report my findings as is,” he went for his phone again, selecting the messaging app, hovering his thumb over the family group chat as his eyes were caught by Mikey’s last message. It gave him pause as he remembered he’d yet to find any info on the Dragon’s Eye itself, and while he still had his former employees, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to ask. “Actually, there is one other thing I’ve been trying to find information on.”

“Hit us!” Huginn urged.

“Are either of you familiar with a Mystic artifact known as the ‘Dragon’s Eye’? Or at the very least know of a section in the library that might house information on it?”

“The Dragon’s Eye...” They both said, Huginn’s claw went to his chin while Muninn crossed his arms in thought.

“If it helps, the information I have on it says that it apparently can grant desires, though I’m unsure if that’s true or not.”

“Hmmm, I dunno, I feel like something like that would also be in the forbidden section. I haven’t ever heard of it myself,” Huginn said and then looked at Muninn. “What about you?”

“Well,” he hesitated, “I don’t wanna get your hopes up, but it does sound familiar, I think.”

“It does?!” Draxum perked up. “Any information would be helpful!”

“Temper your expectations, because this info is from my great-great-great granny goyle.”

“Oh hey, I remember her! Our families went to go visit the Notre-Dame Cathedral when we were teeny-tiny and she met us there! She was super scary looking, but told us tons of stories!”

“Most of which I think we're just a bunch of fantasies, but I do particularly remember one about an ancient Yōkai war waged over something called a Dragon’s Eye. I thought it meant a literal dragon’s eye, but my now developed brain is telling me that a Mystic artifact seems more likely a thing to have a war over.”

“An ancient Yōkai war...?” Draxum tried to place said event in his memories. Nothing came to mind, but it was most likely before his time or covered up. It was probably a question best posed for the Council of Heads, however, “tell me everything you remember.”

“Again, temper your expectations, but I’ll try,” Muninn said, feeling the pressure under Draxum’s gaze. “She said that this Dragon’s Eye was a gift given from a higher power, a blessing, but with its power on full display, obviously a ton of people wanted it. Unfortunately, the more you used it, the more it would turn you into a monster. It changed hands a bunch of times, the war got worse with more powerful Yōkai turned monsters in the mix, and, yeah, it got messy.”

“Ooo, I remember the rest!” Huginn interjected. “After all that, the war suddenly ended. Granny Goyle said that no one knows how or why, but the Dragon’s Eye just vanished. Maybe it broke or maybe the higher power reclaimed it! Though if you want my personal interpretation, I bet someone stole it and hid it where no one could find it!”

“Like the forbidden section?” Muninn asked and Huginn scoffed.

“I doubt the library was even around yet! I mean like they took it to another dimension or something!”

“That’s even more far-fetched than granny’s stories!”

The two lightly bickered as the new information found its place among the rest of Draxum’s thoughts. It could just be a gargoyle’s bedtime story, Huginn was most likely just lightly joking to lighten the mood, but as Draxum remembered everything up to that point did dread begin to take hold. This was never a simple puzzle to solve in the first place, there was still a lot to discover, but in knowing what he did now, all Draxum could manage was an “Uh-oh,” as he frantically went for his phone.

******

“Alright, chores done, work out finished - now all that’s left is to check on our guest,” Raph said confidently, checking off a list on a memo pad before storing it. “If I knew where she was at,” he took a quick glance into the living area showing no one in the general vicinity. The same result with the kitchen, bedrooms, and arcade. “Actually, where is everybody?” Raph took out his phone and sent out a group text, getting answers almost immediately. April was at school while Cassandra was managing her clan. Donnie was in his lab with Casey and Splinter was with Leo in the Hidden City checking out some information to help out with the whole Sofia situation.

I ran off to get some more art supplies! Sofia should be at the half pipe!

Mikey answered and Raph realized that was the only place he hadn’t checked yet, making his way there after throwing a thanks into the chat. Mikey was indeed right, Raph finding her at the deck of the halfpipe, her attention completely on a canvas held up by an easel. She and Mikey had clearly just finished the art, paint not yet dry and the remains of what didn’t make it on the canvas pooled at her feet into the trash bags they’d laid down to catch the droppage. Still, Raph couldn’t quite understand why she was looking at it so intensely, deciding to just ask instead of trying to keep figuring it out.

“What’re you up to, Sofia?” He popped his head into her view and she screamed in reply, retreating to her shell, bouncing off the ground then rolling down the halfpipe noisily. Kathunk-thunk-thunk-thunk.

“...Ow,” was all she said as the motion stopped, gingerly reemerging, a concerned Raph sliding down the half-pipe after her.

“Omigosh, are you alright? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!”

“You’re fine...” She winced against the quickly ebbing pain. “Despite my bellyaching, I have a pretty higher than normal pain tolerance. Besides, if this were the Lair Games shell curling, that’d been worth at least twenty points.”

There was something resembling a smirk on her face as Raph answered it with a grin of his own, offering his hand which she took. “You and your siblings have those too, huh?”

“Oh yeah, every year. My brothers get way, way too into it. Nel and I would rather just not get caught in their testosterone filled crossfire, but Dad puts so much effort into setting it up, so get caught in the crossfire we do.”

“Nel - that’s the uh, ‘me’, right?”

“Yep, my sister,” Sofia made her thumbs and first finger into a box shape, framing Raph with them. “If you were a little bit smaller and didn’t have the snaggletooth, you’d be spitting images to one another. She doesn’t use sai though, so add that to the difference pile while we’re at it.”

“Ooo, what does she use instead?” He asked, genuinely intrigued and excited.

“A big ol’ shichishitō. You know, those seven-branched ceremonial swords?”

“Woah, for real? That’s rad!”

“Well, she didn’t really pick it for the ‘rad’ factor. It was big, she’s the biggest of all of us, so it basically ended up hers on default. Kinda the same with me, to be honest. I’m short, the naginata gives me more reach. Not that it helps much when I’d spar with Nel.” She sighed and dusted off her shell. “Anyways, I should get back to the painting. Michelangelo wants us to use it as inspiration to paint this area, and I’m trying to figure out how exactly we’d go about doing that.”

Raph looked to the painting, then to the drab, empty walls - none of Mikey’s usual tagging in sight. “Huh, I guess I haven’t really noticed it before now, but Mikey hasn’t gotten around to adding his usual artistic flair here. Our last lair had his touch everywhere.”

“He mentioned something similar, that he just hadn’t gotten to it yet. When I asked what happened to the last lair, he said rather casually that ‘it got crushed by the Shredder’. You all keep mentioning that word like I’m supposed to understand, but I definitely don’t.”

“You... don’t?” The realization hit Raph as Sofia shook her head, the realization that while their timelines were fairly similar, Sofia and her siblings had yet to encounter one of the biggest challenges of their lives - or were facing whatever she was portaled away from instead. “What about the Foot Clan? They've got feet printed on their faces and their heads are on fire.”

“Nope, never seen them,”

“But you have obviously met Draxum and other mutants.”

“Well, yeah, duh. Though we did establish that we don’t have the same lineup. I've never met the hippo dude and you guys don’t have the Terror Bears - which I am extremely jealous of because I hate those guys.”

Raph’s mind started to scramble, trying to figure out what was what, when 'mind Raph' popped up and simply told him to ask Sofia what year it was, so he did just that. “Out of curiosity, what year is right now?”

“...2018?” She looked at him dubiously, like he was asking a dumb question.

“...It’s definitely not,” he responded back, “It’s-”

“Oh, Sofia~!” Donnie’s voice echoed through the lair, Sofia freezing up and retreating into her shell again.

“I’m not here! Hide me!” She said in a hushed tone.

“What? Why?!” Raph knelt down to her level.

“Look, I know I just mentioned how high my pain tolerance is, but Donatello keeps plucking scales from my messed up hand daily for analysis, and it hurts. I’m not doing it today! Please, Raphael?”

“Okay, okay, Raph’s got you,” he picked up her small shell, hiding her behind his back the moment Donnie entered the room.

“Sofia, I know you’re here!” Donnie yelled out again, locking eyes with Raph, who couldn’t keep a poker face to save his life. “Dearest older brother of mine, wouldst thou happen to know where our other dimensional sister has gotten to?”

“Uhhh, nope, not at all!” He was beginning to sweat as Donnie crossed his arms.

“I can smell your lying stink from up here, Raph! Why are you hiding her from me? All I want to do is give her a new phone! I finally got it transferred properly.”

“Oh,” Sofia said from behind Raph and remerged, Raph bringing her back around and setting her down. “Well if that’s all-”

“And I also need some more scales for analysis-”

“I KNEW IT!” She practically exploded. “No! Not today!”

“Señorita, I’m almost at a breakthrough and I need your cooperation!”

“You said that yesterday, and the answer is still no!”

“But-”

“‘No’ is a full sentence!”

“Donnie,” Raph said firmly and slightly shook his head, getting a defeated sigh from Donnie as he slid down the half-pipe.

“Fiiiine,” he gave in, handing Sofia her new phone. “It’s the same model as the rest of ours, but it still has all your old contacts and data pertaining to pictures, videos, and audio. It was not easy to keep them all in tact, but I am a genius and you may shower me in praise now.”

“...Thank you,” Sofia said and woke the phone up, almost smiling at the lock screen photo, feeling relief spread through her entire being as she quickly scanned through everything. The background was still the same silly photo of her, Nel, and April, so she held it up for Raph to see. “There she is.”

“Woah! She really does look like me! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised seeing as you and Mikey are so similar, but it’s really something else seeing it firsthand.”

“She fights way different from you though - much more elegant despite her size,” Donnie said and Sofia’s face dropped back to irritation.

“And how exactly would you know that?” She asked and it was Donnie’s turn to sweat.

“W-well, in the transfer process I had to make sure your videos would play after I converted them-”

“There’s a difference between checking the first few seconds and watching the whole video! Did you snoop through everything!?”

“No! No, just that one video. The thumbnail had your brother on it and he looks just like me, so curiosity got the best of me...”

“La curiosidad mato al gato!” She placed her hands on her hips.

“Lo siento!” Donnie immediately replied.

“Uh, what?” Raph wrinkled his brow.

“She said, in Spanish, ‘curiosity killed the cat’ and I said sorry. We live in America, Raph, brush up on the second language a bit!”

There was a snort from Sofia, the first genuine smile they’d seen on her was there, and then it was gone, fleeting as her resting face returned. “Alright, I forgive you. You did fix my phone. From now on, just ask? I’m more than willing to share about my own family - though I have this nagging feeling you made copies of everything on your computer.”

Donnie laughed nervously. “Wow, you are sharp.”

“Out of all of you, you’re the most alike to your counterpart. I feel like I can read you like an open book.”

“I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not,” All three of their phones went off, Sofia looking at hers with a confused expression. “Right, I added you to our family group chat. Looks like Draxum has something for us.”

FAMILY MEETING ASAP

“Hmmm, can’t tell if that’s panicked or excited caps.”

Chapter Text

“I cannot believe you out of all of us called a family meeting,” Splinter said, watching the kettle start to boil. He and Draxum were in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on various snacks while everyone else gathered in the living area.

“What, am I not allowed?” Draxum fired back.

“You are, it’s just... odd, no, different is a better word. I’m still getting used to this.”

“Used to me being part of this family or suddenly having an extra child in the mix?”

“...Both?” He answered truthfully and Draxum accepted the honesty with a nod and a slight roll of his eyes. “It was just me and the boys for so long. Then came April, then you, then Cassandra, then Casey Jr, and now Sofonisba, as temporary as she may be. It’s all... a lot. Especially with the reality of parallel universes. It’s such a common trope in films, I never imagined it to be real. Time travel seems more feasible compared to there being another me with a whole other family.”

“Not to further overwhelm you, but in theory, there are an infinite amount of universes, therefore an infinite amount of ‘yous’ and the kids. Saying it’s ‘a lot’ is an understatement.”

“Really not helping my stress levels, Draxum.”

“I’m working through my own, so you’ll have to forgive me.”

“So what you discovered was bad news then?”

“...Perhaps,” he said after a short pause. “I have nothing concrete, but in what I’ve discovered, it’d be best that we start being more proactive about this situation.”

“It’s been a week,” Splinter reminded him. “And we’ve been doing what we can. I wasn’t in the Hidden City with Blue on vacation.”

“You’ve discovered something as well?”

“No, but I’ve taken some steps to discovering something if we need it,” Splinter revealed as the kettle screeched, stopping another question from reaching Draxum’s lips. He grabbed it and began filling the numerous cups, mentally counting them again to make sure he’d left no one out. “Bring in the food and I’ll be right behind you. I’m pretty sure we’re just waiting on April, but we’ll recap anything she misses. She should be out of class by now and on her way over.”

“Shouldn’t she be on break with the rest of the students?”

“She wants to graduate early, so, no.”

“Hm, admirable,” Draxum said and did as Splinter asked, the duo exiting the kitchen and into the living area, all present chatting among themselves, but most quieted as they approached.

“Okay, let’s get this meeting started and move to the sitting area,” Splinter announced.

“April has yet to arrive,” Cassandra pointed out.

“I’m sure she’ll be here soon-” the sound of Mayhem’s teleportal went off and April blipped into the lair with her pet in tow.

“I’m here! Did I make it in time?”

“Yep! We’re just getting started!” Mikey reassured.

“Nice!” She pumped her fist then brought it to Mayhem who fistbumped it. “I knew bringing you to class today was a good idea.”

“He’s the same too. Neat,” Sofia observed Mayhem and he turned his attention to her. His eyes narrowed the longer he stared, Sofia figuring it was either from confusion or something accusatory. It turned out to be confusion as Mayhem then tilted his head in that way only animals do, looking back and forth between Sofia and Mikey. “Uh-oh, we might’ve broken him.”

“Chill, Mayhem,” April chuckled. “You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

He made a discontent noise, then winded himself up to jump, leaping for Sofia who easily caught him. “Woah! Okay,” she said as Mayhem climbed up and over her shoulders, then came back down and settled in her arms. “Alright, this is new.”

“Awww, he likes you!” April gushed. “Lemme take a pic!” She took out her phone and snapped a photo, a clearly content Mayhem happily purring in Sofia’s arms. “So cute! You some kind of Yōkai whisperer? He’s never done this with the guys!”

“Nope, this is a surprise to me too,” Sofia said with a shrug. “Mayhem back home keeps to himself, though he did let me trace his head to make this logo for our team,” she motioned to the one sticker on her shell; a black silhouette of Mayhem’s ears peeking up on the bottom rim of it.

“I was gonna ask about that!” Mikey pointed at it. “I knew it looked familiar. So do you guys call yourselves the Mad Dogs too?”

“No, we went with Wild Cats at Gio’s suggestion after rescuing Mayhem, cause he’s a cat.”

“He’s clearly a dog,” Leo corrected.

“No, he’s a cat. Look at his ears and tail,” Sofia gestured to them with her eyes.

“Pretty sure he’s still a dog,” Leo deflected again.

“He’s literally purring in my arms right now - he’s a cat!”

“Dog.”

“Cat!”

“DOG.”

“CAT!”

“OKAY, ENOUGH!” Splinter yelled and the two stopped their bickering. “Everyone in the sitting area, NOW!”

“Sorry...” Sofia shrunk a bit into her shell, moving into the sitting area, her embarrassment on full display. The others started filing in after her, April punching Leo’s shoulder as she passed him by.

“Ow!” He looked at her with a mix of confusion and irritation, rubbing his arm as he followed her. “He’s totally a dog...” He muttered under his breath.

Everyone was soon seated and comfortable, the trays of food and tea being passed around as Draxum took to the center of the room. “Thank you for gathering on such short notice,” he began and had everyone’s attention. “As you all know by now, there’s been some sort of dimensional slip up that has brought Sofonisba into our lives. I’ve spent the majority of the past week trying to locate the book the Baron Draxum of her universe was reading and gather info on the artifact that was accidentally ingested. While the former was a dead end of sorts, the latter is another story, I hope.”

“You hope?” Donnie raised a brow at him. “This info had better be concrete, Draxum, because I’m gonna be really upset with you if you dragged me away from my work if it’s not.”

“Just... bear with me,” Draxum practically pleaded for patience. “The main thing is that regardless of what I’m about to tell you, we must take action sooner than later, and I’ve thought of two separate steps to take us in the right direction.” He then conveyed all that Huginn and Muninn told him, trying to keep it as objective as possible, but it was clear to see that Sofia’s usual countenance was transitioning to that of panic. She viewed her draconic hand under Mayhem’s fur in a completely different light, unable to hide her rising emotions.

“Well,” her voice was audibly shaking as Draxum finished, not looking up from her gaze locked on her hand. “That’s just great. I’m turning into a monster on top of everything else. This just keeps getting better and better...!”

“I still need to verify the story in its entirety,” Draxum tried and failed to comfort, Sofia taking in a sharp breath in response, finding no relief as she exhaled.

“No, you probably don’t, because it all makes sense. Michelangelo has the ability to make dimensional portals, and seeing as we’re essentially the same person, I most likely have the same power too. If the Dragon’s Eye grants desires in exchange for turning its user into a monster, then that explains my hand. It took my struggles to get away from my Baron Draxum as a desire, unlocked my portal powers temporarily, and then I ended up here.” She paused, tried to take another deep breath, but it got caught in her throat, her attempt to continue masking her emotions quickly deteriorating.

“Easy, Sofia, take it easy,” Splinter approached Sofia and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Until we have solid facts, do not despair,” he soothed and Sofia shut her eyes fast, attempting to relax under Splinter's encouraging words. “And what are the two steps we are to take?” Splinter urged Draxum on with a mild glare.

“Firstly, we must petition the aid of the Council of Heads,” He said and Mayhem perked up. “It would be unwise for me to do so personally, for obvious reasons, but as the Hamato Clan both vanquished the Kuroi Yōroi and the Krang, any one of you could ask for an audience. They shouldn’t reject your proposal, and if all goes well, we’ll gain the information we need on the Dragon’s Eye and whatever else we may need.”

“And if it doesn't go well?” Raph asked and Draxum looked away nervously. “Draxum, what will happen if it doesn’t go well?”

“There is... a slight chance that Sofonisba will be perceived as a threat, therefore eliminated in her entirety, as she is not a being of this world, therefore threatens its balance,” he said and a silence followed, Sofia reopening her eyes, anxiety ridden.

“...I’m going to throw up,” Sofia placed a hand over her mouth and Cassandra sprang into action.

“I’ll get you to the toilet - HANG ON!” She effortlessly swung Sofia over her shoulder, Mayhem teleporting into April’s lap as the two disappeared down the hallway. A loud squelching noise followed and April angrily groaned, pinching her eyes underneath her glasses.

“Does indelicacy run in this family or something?!” She spat at Draxum. “Barry, from now on, if a family meeting involves telling someone they’re turning into a monster or possibly going to die at the hands of the Yōkai overlords, run it by us before just dropping it on the person in question, okay? You’re new at this, so I’m gonna give you a pass this one time, but holy crap.”

“...Sorry,” he realized his mistake far too late. “I will apologize to her personally later.”

There was another squelching noise from the hallway, everyone cringing at it, Mikey getting up from his seat. “I’m gonna go bring her some water...”

“There’s pepto in the medicine cabinet,” Donnie called out to him and Mikey shrugged as he went into the kitchen.

“I don’t think that’s gonna help much.”

The silence returned, the only one yet to speak soon breaking it. “So,” Casey rubbed the back of his neck mindlessly, “the second thing?”

Draxum sighed, continuing despite not everyone being present. “Just as we once searched Lou Jitsu’s memories, it would be wise to do the same with Sofonisba. Putting the issue of the swallowed Mystic Relic aside, the state of her world and how it came to be lies within her memories. I should be present this time while another does the ritual and I believe Michelangelo has progressed in his training enough to do it in my stead. If we gather the information needed, it could also be a solid case against any harm the Council of Heads may threaten.”

“I’ll do it if she’s OK with it,” Mikey said as he passed by with two water bottles in his hands, not sparing a glance to the others as he too disappeared down the hallway.

“Welp, good talk,” Leo said sarcastically. “I’d say this family meeting is adjourned as I vote we don’t drag Sofia back in here just to let her know we plan on invading her memories on top of everything else she has to think about.”

“I’d actually really like to go over my findings on the similarities and differences between her DNA and ours-” Donnie said with a hint of enthusiasm, but as everyone regarded him tiredly did he back down. “But we’ll save that for another day! When she’s not puking.”

“I think it would be wise for someone to stay by her side tonight. I don’t want her doing something drastic while she tries to absorb all this new information,” Splinter proposed.

“I can do it,” Raph immediately volunteered. “She started opening up to me today, so maybe I can help.”

“About what, exactly?” April asked.

“About her sister and our similarities and stuff.”

“Hm,” April leaned back into her seat, “I’m no psychology major, but I think that maybe whoever is looking after her shouldn’t be constantly reminding her of her situation, even if it’s unintentionally. That really narrows down our options, but-”

“I’ll do it,” Casey was the next to volunteer. “Not only has she not encountered me in her world, but I can understand her situation at length. Besides, I’m used to standing guard. I’ll keep her secure.”

“Good. Thank you. We’ll have to see what the morning brings, but I am certain we can help her through this,” Splinter got up from his seat. “For now, let her rest.”

******

Night in the sewers was eerily similar to that of the underground bases Casey had been shuffled around the majority of his life. Quiet, but there were signs of life alongside each unknown sound reaching his ears like a shout. Each of the turtles has their own breathing pattern, he’d memorized them some time ago - Splinter’s as well. It was technically an unneeded quirk he’d picked up, but it brought him comfort knowing they were close, even in this time of relative peace. Beyond that was the constant flow of water and whatever small creatures happened to pass by the entrance to their home. In his past, he’d keep his idle hands busy through his watch; making traps for rats or doing maintenance on his weapon, but in this present he had an abundance of free time. There was no need to stress over Krang catching them unawares or starving until their next meal. And so, his watch over Sofia as she restlessly laid in her bed was as simple as waiting out the night - practically a luxury compared to his usual but now defunct ways.

“Casey,” Sofia suddenly uttering his name made Casey jump, causing him to look back into the room from his spot in her door frame. She was facing the wall, hiding her face from him. “You don’t need to babysit me. Go to bed.”

“I’m staying right here,” he replied and Sofia let out a frustrated sigh.

“I’m not going to do anything.”

“I don’t know you well enough to take you at your word, so I’m still staying,” he stood back at attention.

“...Suit yourself,” she gave in and pulled her covers up. Their conversion dropped, Casey went back to his thoughts, doing his best not to get lost in nostalgia. He recalled once when his master was injured and he refused to leave his side, monitoring his labored breathing the whole night long. He tried to shoo Casey away then too, but ultimately gave in. Casey couldn’t tell if this was more or less the same situation, but what he could tell was that Sofia was indeed not sleeping. Like him, she was waiting out the night, maybe stubbornness refusing her rest or maybe it was anxiety still plaguing her. Just as Casey started debating on talking with her to help pass the time did Sofia suddenly sit up. He glanced back to find her holding her hands out in front of her.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to make a portal to get out of here,” she said and began to forcefully strain Mystic into her hands.

“What? No, stop!” Casey went to her bedside.

“What do you care? Me being gone will solve all your problems. If I turn into a monster here, it’ll jeopardize that future you worked so hard to save.”

“You’ll kill yourself if you try to open a portal without the proper training!” He grabbed one of her hands.

“Again, why do you care?!” She seethed. “It’s either here or by the Council of Heads!”

“I care because I watched Michelangelo kill himself once and I won't let it happen again!”

“You don’t get to decide that!” She wrenched her hand away from him. “I’m not your Michelangelo!”

“Neither is the one here, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about his well being!” He yelled back.

“I don’t want your pity!” She echoed his volume. “Every day I wake up in this unfamiliar world, knowing my siblings are dead back in my own, lying to myself while everyone here drowns me in positivity about how things will work out! What exactly is going to work out, huh? I go back and get slaughtered by Draxum? Crushed by the Kaiju? Wow, what great options! A portal killing sounds like a mercy at this point!”

Casey felt himself close to boiling over as Sofia held out her hands again, forcing Mystic back into them. As she strained he reached out again, stopping as he witnessed something make his stomach drop. Her transformed hand manifested a few more scales, starting to crawl up her wrist. Mikey’s final moments flashed in his mind, and Casey acted without thinking. “I said STOP!” He grabbed her hand and pulled, throwing Sofia off of her bed and out the door. His rage instantly cooled as she made a pained noise on hitting the ground. An apology almost made it to his lips as regret started to spread in his chest, but as Sofia manifested her weapon did he realize it was already too late for that.

“You want a fight, Casey Jones?” Sofia pushed herself up, maddening rage in her eyes. “Then you’ve got one!” He blocked her lunge with his hockey stick, the chainsaw unable to rev as the naginata’s blade jammed itself into it. “It was a mistake letting you all catch me! I should’ve just curled up in a dumpster somewhere and let nature do its work!”

Casey broke the clash and hit her backwards. “You don’t mean that!”

“You don’t know me!” She said and lunged again. “None of you do!”

The noise at this point had woken up everyone present, all quickly filing out of their rooms to witness Sofia and Casey locked in battle. Mystic and tech sparked in the darkness as everyone tried to process what was happening. “What’s going on?! Why are you fighting?!” Mikey’s eyes followed the sparks, genuine panic in his voice.

“She’s trying to do something stupid!” Casey struggled out, blocking another blow with the hockey stick.

“How is putting myself back where I belong stupid!?” Sofia argued back. “I go back home, I get out of everyone’s business - win-win!”

“Because getting you home not in one piece isn’t an option!” Casey pushed back and Sofia broke them away from one another by kicking Casey back.

“You have zero reasons to care! All of you!” She looked at the crowd and then began pointing her naginata accusingly. “I’m not your creation,” to Draxum, “you’re not my father,” to Splinter, “and you’re not my siblings!” to the four brothers. “If I want to die making a portal, then it’s none of your business!”

“...This is above our paygrade...” Donnie said quietly.

“But, Sofia, your family-” Raph tried to reason.

“ARE DEAD. THEY’RE DEAD. I LEFT THEM BEHIND LIKE A COWARD!” Sofia began to hyperventilate. “Why... why didn’t this stupid... relic... bring them... too...?! Why... do I always... mess up!?” She coughed, clutching her chest as the naginata fell from her hand and dissipated as it hit the ground. Her legs soon buckled, Sofia’s knees hitting the ground next. She heard footsteps approaching her and anger reignited. “STAY AWAY,” she forced out and everyone stayed in place, but one eventually defiantly took a step forward.

“You’re right, I don’t know you,” Casey said and dropped his weapon. “And you don’t know me, but did it ever occur to you that I want to? That I want to help those that I can - not out of pity, but for those I lost and those who I can keep fighting for.”

“Yeah, what Casey said. We’re heroes twice over, and making people’s business our business is kinda what we do. It’s a no strings attached kinda thing,” Leo agreed.

“You can’t make me not care about you!” Mikey chided. “Not only are we gonna get you home, but we’re gonna save your world too!”

“W-what?” She looked at them in disbelief. “It isn’t... your fight!”

“It became our fight the moment you came into our lives!” Raph reassured. “You think we’re just gonna stand by while our siblings are in peril?”

“They’re not- auuuuuugh-ow,” Sofia clutched her chest harder and coughed.

“Hold up,” Donnie ran back into his lab, returning with a small oxygen tank, forcing the mask over Sofia’s nose and mouth. “Breathe deeply, slowly,” he ordered and she obeyed, but not without looking at him quizzically. “I’m no stranger to anxiety attacks, and you’re having one. So, keep breathing and stop digging in your heels while you’re at it. It’s only been a week, but it’d bug me for the rest of my life if I didn’t figure out how to fix your situation. I also really want to take apart more of your world’s tech, so there’s something in it for me regardless of the hero business.”

“And I wanna meet Nel! I hope we’ll get along! I just know someone as strong as her is OK!” Raph said with complete confidence.

“I wanna meet Vinnie too. The way he swings that chain around is immaculate. Imagine him and me teaming up? Chain portals!” Leo gushed. “Oooh, Mikey, you could join in too! Double chain portals!”

“Oh, heck yeah! We’ll tie that Kaiju down!”

Sofia looked like she was about to object again, Casey speaking up before she could. “Hope is a ninja’s greatest weapon. Don’t give up on your family, Sofia, we certainly aren’t.”

With that, the last line of her defense was broken, Sofia allowing the stress to leave her body as she collapsed backwards, landing on her shell and taking the mask off. “...Alright,” she said, a few tears escaping. “You win. I’ll give hope a try.”

“It is not a matter of winning or losing,” Splinter knelt down next to her. “You can trust us. I promise we’ll get you home and your family saved.”

“You really shouldn't give promises you might not be able to keep,” she replied.

“Well, I for one believe that the other Draxum wasn’t acting completely maliciously,” Draxum finally spoke. “There’s something that isn’t adding up, and I believe we can find out for sure your siblings are alive.”

“...How?” Sofia asked and Draxum continued.

“By allowing myself and a few others to observe your memories. There we will find the answers that both you and I seek. It will also allow us to present a better case to the Council of Heads when we go to petition their aid.”

“We’re not gonna let them hurt you regardless. I can make portals if things go south, and it’s not like we haven’t been fugitives in the Hidden City before - what’s a few more misdemeanors, eh?” Leo encouraged.

“Let’s at least try the legal way first,” Splinter looked at Leo’s mischievous grin with exhaustion.

“I’m just saying, we have options - portal shaped ones.”

“...Okay,” Sofia said. “If you think it’ll help, pick apart my brain, I guess. Are we doing this now?”

“The ritual will be taxing, so it’d be best if we perform it after you’ve rested.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to wait awhile, because I can’t see myself falling asleep any time soon,” Sofia sat up with a small sigh. “I have enough adrenaline to power a small village...”

“Me too...” Casey agreed.

“...Sorry,” she said to him and he shook his head.

“Yeah, me too. I shouldn’t have thrown you,” he held out his hand to her. “Friends?”

“...Friends,” she said back and took his hand, standing back up with everyone.

“Cross dimensional bonding, yay!” Mikey said happily hugging both Casey and Sofia. “Do you know what this means?”

“No...?” Casey answered for both of them.

“It means we need to solidify this new friendship with a movie night!”

“What is that logic?” Leo asked quietly and Donnie shrugged.

“Just let Mikey do his thing.”

“What’s your favorite Jupiter Jim film, Sofia? We’ll watch your favorite first and then let Casey pick next!”

“Uhhh,” Sofia searched her mind, “Jupiter Jim saves Space Japan II.”

The four brothers looked at her doubtfully, their turn to search their minds. “Does that movie even exist?” Raph asked.

“I don’t think there was a Jupiter Jim Saves Space Japan I,” Donnie added.

“Yes there is!” Sofia protested. “It’s way worse than the sequel - every fan knows that and agrees!”

“Interesting...” Leo didn’t push any further. “What about your favorite Lou Jitsu film?”

“I don’t really have one, but the one I had to watch the most was ‘Chow Mine’, because he uses a naginata in it and it’s where I learned all my moves.”

Splinter then looked confused. “I do not remember filming that one...”

“What does this mean...?!” Mikey said dramatically.

“Oh for the love of-” Draxum rolled his eyes. “If the technology in her world is different, then so can the pop culture be also. She simply has a different set of movies than we do.”

“Woah!” Raph exclaimed. “That means there’s more than one library of our favorite movie stars! That’s wild!”

“DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!?” Mikey said again, this time with much more zeal.

“No...?” Sofia answered this time.

“It means we gotta watch all of them! MOVIE MARATHON!"

Chapter Text

Splinter passed by the living area for a third time that morning, though it was beginning to transition to afternoon now. All his children were still sprawled out in every direction, each exhausted from their movie marathon, their dreams no doubt swirling with Jupiter Jim themes and plot points. Usually he’d chase them out so he could watch his shows, but considering what led to this, he decided to just leave them be until they naturally awoke. Splinter figured it’d be sooner than later now, and that hunch turned out to be right as he witnessed the first turtle drowsily awake and attempt to sit up.

“...Where am I...” Sofia blinked through her daze, first observing the surrounds, then dropping her gaze to the one wrapped around her. At some point, Mikey had latched himself around her shell. “...Right,” she said as memories came back to her. “Michelangelo, let go, I need to go to the bathroom,” She tried to pry him off, and he sleepily responded by tightening his grip.

“Mmm, but we haven’t even seasoned the salmon steaks yet...!”

“...What?” Sofia was momentarily stunned at the response, snorting into a chuckle as she started to try and escape again. “Let go...!”

“...Think of the salmon steaks...!” He pleaded through his dream.

“Think of my bladder!” She hissed back, still trapped.

“Allow me,” Splinter approached her, bending down to Mikey then pinching a nerve in his arm and causing him to release Sofia without waking him.

“Thank you,” she got up in a hurry.

“Come meet me in the kitchen when you’re finished.”

“Okay,” she agreed and they went their separate ways. In the kitchen Splinter reached for the kettle, filling it accordingly then grabbing two cups. No sooner had he set it on the stove did he hear Sofia’s footsteps. “I’m guessing I’m in trouble...?” She asked before tentatively entering the kitchen.

“Less in trouble, more of me just wanting to have a little chat with you.”

“That’s just a fancy way of saying I’m fully in trouble,” she disagreed but relented. “But, I get it - I said and did some stupid stuff last night.”

“To be fair, Draxum did drop a lot of info on you that he really should’ve cleared with us first. That was more my mistake than his as he’s still getting the hang of what is and isn’t appropriate at family meetings.”

“...Yeah, I gathered that,” she crossed her arms. “I understand he was telling me out of a place of concern, it was just... too much at once. I still don’t feel great about it, but at least I know now. My head is clear enough that I won’t let myself boil over again like I did last night - which is what I suppose you want to talk about.”

“Yes, but I would also like to talk about how to proceed with this living situation from now on,” Splinter said and turned to the teapot, knowing the small amount of water would soon boil. “Depending on what is found in your memories and the judgment of the Council, you may be here for quite some time, because while I’m no expert on the things that led to this situation, we’ll call it fatherly intuition at play.”

“Um,” Sofia rubbed one of her arms nervously, “if me being here is a burden-”

“What? No, no!” Splinter looked back to her in shock. “That wasn’t what I was leading up to at all! Why did your mind immediately go to me kicking you out?”

“I mean...” she didn’t meet his gaze, “with what I pulled last night and everything...”

“Has already been forgiven,” Splinter said and saw no change in Sofia’s posture, clearly not believing his words. Some of the things she’d said in desperation the previous night resurfaced, and Splinter felt himself beginning to understand. “You’re rather used to being admonished, aren’t you?”

Sofia sighed in response, relaxing her posture while still refusing eye contact. “...Yeah, I guess I am. It’s always deserved. Back home I’m the family failure and it would track that my streak of messing everything up would follow me here. Case and point; losing it on Casey last night when he was just trying to help. Stuff like that is pretty normal for me.”

“...In what way, exactly?” Splinter gently urged and Sofia scoffed before answering.

“Gio makes the plan, I somehow always mess it up, I apologize, he yells, we have a blow up, and he gets more and more disappointed with me while I continually realize that I was never cut out for this ninja business. I can’t help but wonder that if my siblings are fine like everyone thinks they are, that they’re doing much better without me. Heck, maybe turning into a monster would be more beneficial than... whatever this is,” she gestured to herself. “Maybe monster-me will do something right for once!” The kettle screeched, further punctuating the desperation Splinter saw in her eyes as she finally met his gaze, but in seeing the compassion in his face did Sofia immediately relent, shutting her eyes and pinching between them to prevent any tears from escaping. “...I’m sorry,” Sofia said quietly as she defeatedly shrank to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. “You wanted to talk and I’m here ranting at you. Go ahead, I’m listening.”

Splinter turned the stove off and made his way over to Sofia, sitting himself down next to her. He was reminded of his time with April and Cassandra, how they too found their confidence wavering and how he struggled to build them up. This was a little more complicated, but the concept was more or less the same, and Splinter knew exactly what to say. “You are not a failure,” he started and Sofia visibly tensed. “You’re so stuck on the negatives that you can’t see anything positive about yourself, and there’s plenty,” Splinter said confidently and Sofia opened her eyes to look at him in disbelief. “And I know, I’ve only known you for a week, but you are brimming with potential. So, how about we start with the obvious - you concealed yourself from my boys for weeks! Not cut out for the ninja business, my foot!” He chuckled and continued. “And being able to manifest pure Mystic into the shape of your choice is no easy feat - it’s a very unique gift!”

“I... guess?” She responded with a shrug. “It’s by far the weakest of everyone’s powers.”

“But with the right training, it could become something so much more. Plus, with that speed you have, you have the potential to become a force to be reckoned with!”

“This is all just conjecture...” Sofia deflected. “No amount of training with my siblings made me grow.”

“Well, what they couldn’t do, we can most certainly try in their stead. And even if by some circumstance you can’t become the fighter I believe you can be - that’s also OK.”

“Huh? How is that OK?” Sofia wrinkled her brow.

“If I may interject here,” Donnie entered into the kitchen, a smug look on his face as he knew he’d timed his entrance perfectly. “What Dad is saying is that there’s more to a team than fighters. In fact, the entire thought process of a team needing to be ‘balanced’ in a certain way goes completely out of the window when you look at certain circumstances. Or, in this case, let’s talk in a language the two of us probably understand a little bit more than conjecture; video games. Please tell me you like video games,” he asked desperately and Sofia nodded. "Fantastic, which is great because this conversation would have been a little more difficult if you didn’t know the jargon.”

“I don’t know exactly where you’re going with this, but I’m going to let you talk. What do you take in your tea, Sofia?” Splinter said and got back up.

“A little sugar,” She said and he nodded.

“So,” Donnie started up again, “let’s talk about team comps, specifically those in the role playing game genre of Japanese origins - JRPGs for short.”

“Yes, I know what those are - they’re what Gio plays exclusively.”

“Good! Now are you familiar with the fact that some of the oldest - in fact the grandfathers of the genre, didn’t use what society today believes are the perfect team compositions? One didn’t have a party at all while the other allowed you to make a party of whatever you wanted - within reason of the game's limitations. And you know what? It worked. While we could argue that the former was balanced to be that way, the latter was not. You’re not necessarily punished for making a team completely made of healers or thieves, but you will have to work harder together as a team to make up for whatever you’re lacking. The point is; it’s perfectly doable. A team composition can be anything, especially when you’re ninja turtles who live in sewers not bound by societal standards.”

Sofia looked at Donnie stunned, the gears turning in her head. Donnie figured his genius needed a moment to sink in, but he was least of all expecting a puff of laughter to erupt into full, genuine giggles. Sofia tried to snort them back, but more came, eventually letting out a wheezed “...holy crap...” as she dried tears from the corners of her eyes.

“...Why are you laughing, this was meant to be encouraging, but not amusing,” Donnie looked down at the little ball of giggles.

“It’s just...” she managed to calm herself enough to answer, “I’ve had almost the same conversation with Gio, but with him expressing the opposite stance.” She cleared her throat and started her best Gio impression. “‘Nel’s the tank, I’m the support, so you and Vinnie are the DPS! It’s the tried and true team comp that has lasted for generations!’”

“Ugh, MMO logic,” Donnie cringed. “He does know that people do all healer, tank, and DPS runs in those games too, right? If it can be done, people will do it.”

“I have no idea...” Sofia shrugged as Splinter began giving out the tea and they both received their respective cups. “But he’d probably challenge you on how those runs aren’t legit or something.”

“Well, he’s wrong.”

“Good luck telling him that...”

“Oh, I welcome the challenge,” Donnie smirked maliciously, “and I intend to prove him wrong by returning you to him renewed and upgraded. The only failure here is his inability to use your potential properly - and I’ll give him a slight pass, because I’m going to guess he’s only your leader because he’s the oldest in your group. A genius he may be with Mystic, a leader he may not be.”

“Wow, if he could hear you right now,” Sofia nervously took a sip of the tea.

“Don’t you worry, I’ll be sure to tell him so.”

“That’s not what I m-”

“Because once we get through training you, he’ll have no choice but to admit his failures! I WILL BE THE SUPERIOR GENIUS!”

“...Oh,” Sofia deflated slightly, “I see what this is about. I triggered something in you when I called you and Gio similar yesterday. The funny thing is, he’d react the same way if I told him about you. So, take of that what you will.”

“I WILL COME OUT ON TOP!” He broke out into an uncontrolled maniacal laugh, Sofia watching the familiar behavior mildly amused with another sip of her tea.

“Simmer down!” Splinter head chopped Donnie into silence, returning to Sofia. “This actually loops back to what I was trying to talk to you about in the first place. I not only want you to train with the boys, but just generally spend time with them as well. I’ve noticed you giving all of us a wide berth unless necessary, and I am not expecting you to become buddy-buddy with us overnight, but there are worse things than putting up with us for a while, eh?”

“Like being on the cold New York streets with nothing but my grappling hook and musty cloak I stole from a costume store’s dumpster?” Sofia said with slight sarcasm. “Yes, there’s certainly worse things.” She stood back up, a bit of light in her eyes neither of them had witnessed until now. “If you’ll have me, I’ll do my best to keep my tantrums in check. Just... temper your expectations with the training, please.”

“Expectations tempered!” Donnie replied and went for the fridge. “Now let’s get some nutrition, then go diving into your mind! Text Draxum and tell him to get ready!”

“You sound way too excited, it’s kinda creeping me out...” Sofia took a step away from Donnie.

“I NEED TO SIZE UP MY COMPETITION!”

******

Draxum dusted off his fingers as he finished the Mystic circle, moving to take his place in it. “Alright, we’re all set,” he viewed the participants besides himself, Mikey in the control position, Sofia in the middle, with Donnie, Leo, and Raph also in position to dive. “Do you need me to go over anything again?”

“No, no, I’ve got this. Casey, you good to be on standby?” Mikey looked at him and Casey nodded.

“Yeah, but, why exactly?”

“Sofia’s subconsciousness might try to kill us,” Leo said matter-of-factly, Raph and Donnie nodding in agreement.

“April went in after us last time, but she's got classes. So, I’ll send you in if things out here are looking dicey, but hopefully things won't come to that.”

“Considering your own father nearly ended you the last time we did this, I expect another family member from another dimension to be on the same risk level, or much, much higher,” Draxum revealed.

“I’m sure my subconscious won't be that much of a challenge,” Sofia reassured. “Just like, pick her up and hold her by her feet or something? There, immobilized.”

“Hey, what have we talked about? No self depreciation!” Mikey chided.

“All I’m saying is that I’m not some ninja movie star with tons of battles under their belt. I’m less of a threat already.”

“Point taken, but we’ll see,” Draxum said, motioning to Mikey to start the spell. It began to work just as before, everyone losing consciousness as their minds melded into one, Sofia’s becoming open to them all as they awoke in a familiar looking sewer, the sounds, smells, and sights no different from their own. “So far so good.”

“Alright, just like last time, everyone. Let’s find Sofia first and foremost,” Leo took the initiative and looked down one of the sewer tunnels.

“No need,” Donnie said and pointed in the opposite direction. “Voices approaching at 6 o’clock.”

“Now to see where our starting point is...” Draxum strained his eyes against the darkness as the voices became louder. Two figures emerged into the small pocket of light and everyone looked at them in surprise.

“Omigosh, look at that!” Raph approached the duo; two turtle tots that barely came up to his knee. “They’re so tiny! Babies! Awwww!”

“Gio, I wanna go home!” The smaller one said with a sniffle.

“No! We’re not going home until we find that ball! Dad just got it for us!” Gio barked back at his sister who shrunk into her shell. “And don’t start crying! We don’t have time for crying!”

“...Dad told us not to go this far into the sewers...”

“Well, we wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t lost our ball, would we, Sofia?”

“Target acquired,” Donnie said and started tailing them.

“I think we may have started a little too early in her memories...” Draxum said as he observed the children pass him by.

“You think?” Leo joked and joined Donnie. “Nothing to do but follow them for now.”

“Hopefully Michelangelo changes us to the next memory before long...” Draxum too followed the children with Raph right behind him.

“Eh, as long as we’re not being attacked, what’s the harm in seeing this?” Raph said.

“Please, Gio, I don’t wanna be here...” Sofia’s tone was on the brink of a sob, her gaze on all the warning signs scattered throughout the tunnel.

“Do you want Dad to yell at us?”

“...No...”

“Then we keep looking!”

“Wow, other little you is so charming, Dee,” Leo said sarcastically.

“I can see this exact scenario playing out when we were this small, so I think I can sympathize a bit...” Donnie said but eyed Gio warily.

“Where are the other two, I wonder?” Raph looked back the way they came, seeing no one else.

“I’m willing to bet they kept this a secret,” Leo theorized.

“There it is!” Gio excitedly pointed at a distant football wedged between a pile of fallen debris. “I knew it couldn’t have gone too far!”

“But it’s too far to reach,” Sofia pointed out and Gio rolled his eyes.

“Not with that attitude! Give me a hand-” he took her hand and started leaning towards the ball, Sofia desperately adjusting her stance to keep up with her brother’s frantic movements. “Steady! ...Steady!” He was close to reaching it, Sofia straining against his weight. It was then a rock no larger than a pebble hit her head and tumbled out in front of her, completely unbeknownst to Gio. Sofia cast her gaze upwards to see large gaps and cracks in the concrete, the warning signs making all the more sense. It was mere moments from caving in, and Sofia acted instead of asking permission, jerking her brother backwards, throwing him out of the danger. His initial spark of anger immediately extinguished as he witnessed the debris cover his sister, her scream deafening and haunting. In the waking world, Sofia made a noise indicating she was clearly in pain, her breathing speeding up in response. Mikey almost moved his hand to shift the memories, but stopped himself in seeing Draxum and his brothers were still unmoving.

“Is everything OK?” Casey viewed the scene in confusion.

“Technically, there’s no issues yet, but I will admit that I already don’t like this.”

“SOFIA!” Gio ran to the debris as the dust cleared, finding his sister half buried, coughing, holding back sobs. “Omigosh, this is all my fault! I’ll get you out!” He grabbed her hands and pulled, eliciting another scream from her. He immediately released her and felt his panic rise. “What do I do, what do I do?!”

“G-go... get... D-Dad...” Sofia struggled out. “...Ow.”

“Wow, I didn’t expect things to get so serious so quickly,” Donnie knelt down to the small Sofia. “She is really in there.”

“She’s confirmed to survive, so there’s no need for drama,” Draxum said nonchalantly.

“Draxum!” Raph crossed his arms at him.

“What? We can’t change anything here. I’m not going to fret over this, especially since it has nothing to do with what we came here for.”

“It’s called ‘reading the room’,” Leo said in agreement with Raph. “Besides, you don’t know this isn’t important!” Leo set his sight back on the scene and Draxum shrugged, begrudgingly watching along.

“I’ll dig you out!” Gio said and then failed to move any of the debris, far too heavy for someone of his stature. "Dangit, move! MOVE!” He yelled and it was the sudden glow of Mystic in Gio’s hands that caught everyone’s attention. With another desperate yell of the word ‘move’ did all the debris obey, all shifting into the sewers’ flow and off of Sofia. The two of them stared at one another in shock.

“H-how did you-?” Both Sofia and Gio looked to the newly and accidentally built dam, one of the warning signs sticking out with specific directions printed with respective arrows and symbols. Gio looked at his hands, the glow dissipating, his attention re-snapping to Sofia as he ran over to her.

“I have no idea, but let’s get out of here!”

“But, the ball-”

“Forget about the ball! Can you walk?”

“I... don’t think so.”

“Piggy-back, then!” Gio lifted her and started to position her properly.

“But, your shell-”

“It’s my fault for leaving my protection pillow at home! I’ll be fine!” He took off into a sprint and out of sight.

“Awww, he has a protection pillow too!” Leo attempted to tease Donnie, but both him and Draxum’s attention was on the moved debris.

“That was an impressive amount of Mystic energy from one so young...” Draxum said in trying to make sense of what he witnessed, but Donnie’s eyes were on the sign. After a few more moments of observation did he nod knowingly.

“So that’s how he does it, interesting,”

“Does what?” Raph asked.

“I’ll explain later - after those kids!”

Chapter Text

To say Splinter was angry would have been an understatement. No sooner had Gio brought the wounded Sofia back to the lair and their father confirmed their safety did he unleash the righteous parental anger the boys were used to seeing. While they reminisced, they also found themselves getting lost in nostalgia by just viewing the lair their counterparts lived in. It was the same home they’d lived in all their lives before Shredder destroyed it, and they couldn’t help but explore while Sofia got her legs bandaged and Gio the earful of a lifetime - much to Draxum’s irritation. However, the memory soon shifted naturally and they were once again back in the sewers proper, a new tunnel and a new scene.

“Aw, I wasn’t finished looking at their movie collection!” Leo mildly pouted before getting back into gear. “There wasn’t one Jupiter Jim title in common with ours!”

“Sofia did say so last night, ours were all brand new to her,” Raph recalled.

“Oh, to be able to watch our favorites again for the first time!” Donnie agreed with a dramatic sigh.

Draxum opened his mouth to chastise them for their lack of focus, only to be interrupted by the sound of a camera’s shutter going off. A new voice followed.

“How does that one look?” A bubbly, effeminate voice asked.

“Hmmm,” Sofia’s voice answered and the group needed no more reason to insert themselves. Just around the corner they found Sofia and Nel, the former probably a few years younger than they knew her, observing the digital screen on a camera sitting atop a tripod. “The lighting is still bad. I wish we had a flood light...”

“It’s no good then?”

“Eh, I mean, I could fix it up in some editing software. It won't look natural, but at least you’ll be able to see your face. We could take it again with the flash if you’d like?”

“Ew, no, the flash is an uglyfier,” Nel stuck out her tongue in disgust.

“Pffft, as if you could ever be ugly,” Sofia playfully rolled her eyes and Nel smirked, suddenly bear hugging her sister and twirling them around.

“Flattery will get you everywhere!” She giggled as Sofia began desperately saying ‘stop’ until her sister set her down.

“And this would be Nel,” Donnie said with his hand showcasing her to Raph specifically. He had already figured as much given her stature and similar features to his own, but in Donnie confirming it did Raph giddily stand himself next to her.

“Ohmigosh, this is so cool! Look! We’re practically the same! Just like Sofia and Mikey! So much better seeing her in person than just a photo!”

“A little shorter and no snaggletooth, but yes, the resemblance is once again uncanny,” Draxum confirmed. “We’ve jumped ahead quite a bit naturally.”

“I wonder what year it is right now,” Leo asked as he watched the dizzy Sofia find her footing. “Sofia looks young still, and seeing as she doesn’t have the Mayhem sticker on her shell yet, we’re probably still not in the timeframe we need.”

“Indeed, but with such a large jump, I believe we’re visiting memories her consciousness has deemed important, so we’ll perhaps get to where we need to sooner than later,” Draxum replied.

“As long as her subconscious doesn’t see us as threats, that is,” Donnie added.

“Don’t jynx us!” Leo said accusingly.

“There’s no such thing-” Donnie began to refute, when a sudden scream rang out further down the tunnel, everyone accidentally mimicking the same surprise on Sofia’s and Nel’s face.

“...What was that?” Sofia asked while retreating into her shell a little.

“Well, I’d love to say the wind, but it was probably a human,” Nel looked down the tunnel tentatively.

“Should we make a break for it?” Sofia asked, flinching as the voice sounded out again, this time in more of a frustrated growl than a scream.

“I dunno,” Nel shrugged, “maybe we should check it out first? From the shadows?”

“Should we actually?” Sofia looked at her sister like she was crazy, but as the voice sounded a third time with a distinct call for help did the sisters silently agree with a nod, taking to the shadows. Donnie, Leo, and Raph followed suit despite not needing to, Draxum following normally with an irritated shake of his head. All of them were soon upon the source of the voice, the four of them perking up at the sight while Sofia and Nel kept their place.

“Hey! C’mon, are you guys deaf!? Hello!? Help!? A middle schooler just fell down your unfenced, open manhole and can’t get up! HELLO!!??!” A girl desperately pleaded to the circle of light filtering into the sewers. As if to add insult to injury, the workers above began packing up for the day and started moving the manhole cover back in place. “WAIT NO, STOP! STOOOOP!” Her cries went unheard, leaving her alone with only the dim sewer lighting for company. She sat in silence for a few moments as her situation became apparent, letting out another frustrated growl towards the now covered manhole. “Are you KIDDING ME?!” Her patience was spent. “April O’Niel, you are an IDIOT!” She inhaled sharply, burying her face in her hands. “You know your birthday is cursed. Why, why, WHY, did you think it was a good idea to try out the new scooter Dad got you to try and cheer yourself up?" She pointed her head back upwards. “I AM NOT CHEERED UP AND NOW I'M GONNA DIE DOWN HERE.”

“Hrm,” Draxum observed April let out a weary sob as she collapsed onto her back. “The O’Niel here has a similar temperament to ours.”

“Looks exactly the same too,” Leo added.

“This is not at all how we met her though,” Donnie said, intrigued as he looked at the sisters.

“Ohmigosh, the poor thing...” Nel said in a hushed tone. “We gotta help her!”

“Okay, Nel,” Sofia started with a firm shut of her eyes, then looked harshly at her sister. “How do you suggest we approach a human girl with this whole situation,” she gestured to all of them, making Leo chuckle.

“Oh, so they do that too, nice,” he said and Nel continued.

“By just walking up and talking to her?”

“Are you insane?!” Sofia’s whisper left its hushed tone, and unfortunately, was heard.

“Is someone over there!?” April jumped up, then immediately recoiled, holding one of her legs gingerly.

Sofia cringed at her mistake, meeting Nel’s concerned gaze with defeat before speaking again. “Look, I’ll go. I’m a little more... middle schooler sized than you. Maybe I won’t freak her out as much - no offense.”

“None taken, I am big and beautiful!”

“Yes, yes you are,” Sofia said and left their hiding spot, her silhouette just barely outlined by the provided lighting. April was across the way from where she stood, beyond the flow of water, and as Sofia debated on calling out to her or just jumping to her did their eyes meet.

“...Hello...?” April said tentatively, not sure if what she was seeing was real or the result of her fall, trying to remember if she’d hit her head.

“...Hi, you OK-” Sofia started, only for April to scream bloody murder, and Sofia started to wait it out, until she decided to jump over after all. April screamed again, now getting a good look at her, and Sofia simply waited for her to scream herself out, fully this time, looking over to Nel who was giving her a shaky thumbs up. “Don’t forget to breathe,” Sofia said sarcastically as April finally ran out of breath.

“W-w-w-” April looked at Sofia with terror in her eyes. “WHAT ARE YOU?!”

“Good question. I legitimately don’t know, but right now, I’m currently your ticket out of here, so please stop screaming at me.”

“You...” April took off her glasses and polished them before replacing them. “You’re... green?”

“Yep.”

“And a turtle...?”

“I guess.”

“We are!” Nel yelled from her hiding spot, April’s attention snapped towards her as Sofia groaned.

“You’re not helping, Nel!”

“Who’s that!?”

“My sister.”

“Hi!” Nel waved through the darkness and April’s expression became more bewildered. “I love your shoes! They match your jacket perfectly!”

“Thank... you?” April said as she continually tried to make sense of her situation. “Am I dreaming?”

“Touch your leg and find out,” Sofia said and April did so, cringing at the pain.

“Yeah, no, not dreaming,” she said and took a deep breath. “So... uh,” she viewed Sofia up and down again, deciding to just accept things at face value. “Are you gonna eat me or...?”

“No, I'm not going to eat you!” Sofia scoffed. “Look, I’m quite honestly just trying to help you. I’m not used to talking to humans and you’ve obviously never seen something like me before, so let’s take this one step at a time.”

“Okay,” April nodded, slowly but surely calming down. “Okay... okay...” She took another deep breath. “Let’s... start over?”

“Sure,” Sofia shrugged.

“I’m April, April O’Niel.”

“Sofia. I’d say ‘nice to meet you’, but you are officially a threat to my family’s existence.”

“I won’t blab, I promise!”

“I’m not sure I believe you?” Sofia said and she heard Nel groan, then felt her launch herself across the flow, soon landing next to her sister.

“Sofia, come on! If she said she’s not gonna blab, then she’s not!”

“Woah...” April gawked at Nel, “you’re BIG.”

“I know, isn’t it great?” Nel flipped her mask ribbons proudly as Sofia sighed.

“Nel, what self respecting middle schooler wouldn’t tell everyone about the gigantic sewer turtles in New York City?”

“Well, uh, if it makes you two feel better, I ain't got no one to tell...” April revealed and they stared at her, urging her to explain. “My parents are gone most of the time and my friend count is zero. Even if I did breathe a word about this, no one would listen.”

“Zero friends?” Nel crossed her arms. “But you’re so fashionable! You look so cool!”

“HAHA, WHAT?” April wheezed, “me, cool? You’re joking. I am the least cool girl in school.”

“No way!” Nel refuted.

“Honestly, Nel, we really don’t have any frame of reference outside social media and we don’t have any friends either,” Sofia revealed, kneeling down to April. “Let me see your leg. Nel, could you turn your phone’s flashlight on?” She did so and Sofia looked more closely, April flinching away in reflex as Sofia’s three fingered hands approached. Sofia met April’s gaze again and she laughed nervously.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m still kinda trying to get over the fact that you two look like you walked right out of a Jupiter Jim film.”

“I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not,” Sofia said with a raised brow.

“I’m not!” Nel said cheerfully. “I love me some Jupiter Jim!”

“No kidding?” April’s face lit up. “What’s your favorite film?”

“Any of the ones with Atomic Lass in them! She’s so cool!”

"Impeccable taste. Nel is officially my favorite," Donnie remarked as the memory continued.

“Right on! I’m more of an Atomic Lad fan myself, but Atomic Lass is equally as awesome!” April said back.

Donnie gasped in horror. "I beg to differ?! There's something wrong with their April!"

"Donnie, stop it. This is no time for your obsessive continuity episodes," Raph warned and Donnie responded with a grumble, disagreeing despite everything, but obeying.

“Yeah!” Nel outstretched her fist to April over Sofia’s head, and after staring at it momentarily did April reciprocate, fistbumping Nel. “Man, I wish we could take you back to our place. We have so much Jupiter Jim merch!”

“...I think we’re gonna have to,” Sofia interrupted. “I’m pretty sure this leg is broken.”

“Are you serious?” April asked and Sofia nodded.

“Nel, go grab the tripod, and give me your mask. I’m gonna splint it.”

“Do you know what you’re doing?” April asked as Sofia received Nel’s mask and then took off her own.

“Out of all of us, she would!” Nel said teasingly as she returned the way they came, April looking at Sofia quizzically.

“I broke both of my legs when I was little. Dad had us all learn first aid as a result, but I’m the only one who keeps my certification up.”

“I always break the dummies!” Nel argued as she returned, handing the tripod to Sofia who took two of the legs out, lining them up with April’s leg, starting the splinting process.

“I get it! The last time I took it for an elective at school, I popped the dummy’s head off while administering CPR,” April admitted and Nel burst out laughing.

“Oh man, I can just tell you and I are gonna be friends!” Nel moved to pick up April at Sofia’s motioning to do so, April accepting the gesture.

“If Dad doesn’t kill us for bringing a human home first...” Sofia said with a hint of worry, turning to April who was now in Nel’s arms. “It’s unfortunately too light outside for us to go topside yet, so we can get you to a hospital once it’s dark, but for now we’ll have to hide you from Dad. Hopefully he’s down for a nap.”

“If the alternative is you two leaving me here until dark, then stuff me in a box if you need to,” April said and Nel laughed again, the trio beginning their walk home, their light chatting continuing all the way to the entrance to the lair. There Sofia stopped and put out a protective hand indicating she’d go first to check things. A few steps in revealed Splinter’s snoring and neither of their brothers in sight, so Sofia nodded back to Nel and she followed Sofia’s lead all the way to the kitchen.

“Luck is on our side toda-” Sofia began saying only for the kitchen to reveal Vinnie in the beginnings of making a sandwich, making Sofia scream and jump - catching herself on the refrigerator door with a wheeze. “Vinnie!” She hush-yelled, “would it kill you to give us a heads up?!”

“I’m literally just standing here making lunch,” he replied back in his normal tone, eyeing his sister’s missing bandanas, then April, then the splint on her leg. April nervously smiled and waved at his unimpressed gaze. “Alright, I’m going to skip the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ to what are you doing.”

Leo gasped at the sight of his doppelganger, excitedly scrambling over to him and posing dramatically next to him. “And here we have not one, but two handsome devils! Look at us! We’d tie at any best turtle contest!”

“Yes, Leo, you’re very handsome,” Donnie said flippantly as he began looking around the kitchen.

“You’re just jealous that you’ve only seen Gio in his baby phase so far!”

“Focus,” Draxum said dryly, feeling like he’d said it a thousand times with how much the thought had echoed in his head.

“Helping her,” Nel answered and set April down on the counter. “She fell through a manhole and her leg is broken.”

“I see that,” Vinnie said and went back to his sandwich. “And what do you plan on doing when father dearest finds out you did the one thing he told us to never do?”

“Beg for forgiveness?” Nel giggled nervously.

“He won’t find out because we’re gonna hide her until dark then take her to a hospital. Is that OK, Vinnie?” Sofia more commanded than asked, and Vinnie looked up from buttering the top bread slice of his sandwich. He looked over April again, his eyes lingering particularly on her jewelry.

“Hm,” a mild smile spread on his face. “Jupiter Jim laser gun earrings and an Atomic Lad bracelet. She can stay as long as she wants.” Some of the tension left Sofia’s shoulders as Nel started gushing over April’s jewelry, only now noticing it after Vinnie’s observations. “Anyways, finish patching up her leg then put her somewhere less public than the kitchen before-”

“Hey,” Gio entered into the kitchen with a concerned look. “I heard Sofia scream, is everything...” he trailed off as his gaze fell on April.

“-Before Gio sees her,” Vinnie finished and sighed.

Gio’s face flickered between shock and disbelief, finally processing the reality of a human in their midst with a dramatic gasp that almost naturally trailed into loud admonishment, were it not for Sofia’s speed - clapping her hands over her brother’s mouth. “Shut. Up.” She warned and Gio glared down at her. “We’re just helping her out and then she’s gone. Do not make this more complicated than it needs to be.”

“Get your hands off my face,” He muffled through her fingers.

“Only if you promise not to snitch.” Gio rolled his eyes and licked Sofia’s palms, making her instantly recoil. “EUAGH! You’re disgusting!” She aggressively wiped her hands on his lab coat.

“Ewww, I would never!” Donnie cringed at Gio’s actions.

“Yeah you wouldn’t,” Raph agreed, a memory of Donnie’s extensive hand sanitizer collection popping up in his mind.

“Okay, so,” Gio ignored his sister and looked back to April. “Name and address so I can get you out of here ASAP.”

“Gio! You are being mega rude!” Nel fired back. “She’s hurt and it’s still too early to go topside!”

“I don’t care, she needs to go before Dad wakes up!”

“AHEM,” the voice they all feared sounded behind Gio, the tall turtle screaming and jumping back, Vinnie begrudgingly catching him in his arms.

“Well, we’re dead,” Vinnie dropped Gio who responded with a small ‘ow’. “I hereby declare this sandwich as my last meal. Requiescat In Pace,” he made a praying motion then took a generous bite as he waited for the carnage to start.

“IT WAS ALL SOFIA AND NEL!” Gio screamed and pointed accusingly.

“You’re not wrong, but wow, Gio, we’re gonna have a talk later about having each other's backs,” Nel said and approached Splinter who had his arms firmly crossed. “Dad, this is April. She fell into the sewers.”

“And broke her leg, yes, I heard everything,” He said with a disapproving glare.

“Have you been awake this whole time?” Sofia asked.

“Since you first screamed. That kind of stuff triggers my fight and flight simultaneously.”

“Welp,” Sofia looked to April, “It was nice knowing you.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” April put her arms out desperately. “I don’t want any trouble! I promise I won’t tell a soul about you guys! Please don’t kill me!” Splinter said nothing in reply, instead approached April, grabbing a stool on his way. He set it in front of her, hopping onto it and locking his eyes to hers, squinting, glaring - April maintaining eye contact the whole time until Splinter nodded.

“She isn’t lying. When the sun sets, take her home, and then never, ever do something like this again,” Splinter stared down all of his children who all shrank into their shells a tad in response. “We will have a long chat later,” He left the kitchen behind and went back to his chair, his mood betwixt stewing in his anger and trying to get his heart rate back to normal.

He didn’t even know where to start on the whole situation. This April girl was indeed not lying - years of acting had made him perceptive to lies and people’s true nature, for the most part, Big Mama not withstanding. April in herself was not a threat, but his children’s curiosity combined with their kind natures may very well be the death of them all. Splinter started formulating his speech, readying to set things straight so this could all be put behind them, but it turned out to be a futile endeavor. The silence only endured for a short time before conversation started up in the kitchen again. At first it was normal exchanges, but it soon transitioned to an excited atmosphere. Splinter felt his frustration start to boil over as he left her chair again, ready to shut down anything that would lead to further disappointment, but stopped as he viewed the scene from a distance. All his children were smiling in a way he hadn’t seen since their early days.

April was answering all their questions with ease, building each of them up even with differences in opinions. Despite knowing this encounter was fated to end in what Splinter believed to be heartbreak, everyone desperately clung to the few hours they’d have together before it was farewell forever. He knew it was a risk they shouldn’t take, that safety should take priority over happiness, but Splinter couldn’t help but feel stirred as all the preteens laughed in unison over some dumb joke that went completely over his head. With a deep sigh, he relented and re-entered the kitchen, causing all the chatter to go mute.

“On second thought, we’ll have that chat now, and I’d like Miss April to be a part of it.”

Chapter Text

“April, April, April!” The four siblings chanted, the memory shifting again, finally out of the sewers and suddenly atop a tall building in New York. They were all seated at a long table filled with presents, April at the head, eagerly blowing out sixteen candles on a lavish birthday cake - everyone cheering as the final flame went out.

“THE BIRTHDAY CURSE IS BROKEN!” Gio laughed maniacally, putting one foot on the table, only for Nel to grab his coat and sit him back down.

“We’ve still got two hours til midnight!” Nel glared at Gio who began spouting his calculations in argument.

“Huh,” Raph did a full turn, taking in everything. “Is it just me, or is this roof particularly familiar?”

Donnie and Leo shared a doubtful glance, but decided to humor Raph as he started looking around, ignoring the continuing party. “We never had a party for April up here,” Donnie said, stopping at the edge of the pool the table was sat next to. Leo gasped, looking to the pool, then to a few buildings away, confirming Raph’s suspicions.

“But we did have Cannonball Day up here!” Leo revealed - both Donnie and Raph sharing his revelation.

“That’s right! This is the same roof!” Raph further confirmed.

“And this is significant because...?” Draxum prompted.

“Cannonball day marks the day we dove into your life,” Leo revealed and Draxum too realized the significance of this memory.

“Then we must be diligent. The answers we seek may be close now,” Draxum’s attention was back to the party, and as if on cue, Mayhem teleported in above the table, looking down at the distance between it and him, screeching as they made contact with the cake, exploding it all over the table and party goers.

“What the-” Sofia wiped the cake from her face, eyeing the trembling Yōkai.

“Uh,” April looked at Mayhem, then to the siblings. “Is this one of your gifts?”

“Absolutely not! That-” Gio stopped as he viewed Mayhem fully, his expression shifting from anger to disbelief. “...A Yōkai?” He said quietly enough that only the memory visitors heard him.

“Ohhh, look! It’s shivering! The poor thing is scared!” Nel pointed out as Mayhem looked at all them individually before landing his gaze on April, jumping into her arms for protection.

“Awww, well aren’t you cute!” Mayhem licked her cheek. “You little, dog, or cat-thingy.”

“How did it get up here?” Vinnie looked upwards, nothing for it to have fallen from.

“H-how indeed...” Gio said stiffly, his nervousness starting to show.

“I’m of the opinion it doesn’t matter!” April said and cuddled Mayhem. “Do you wanna come home with me boy? ...Or girl? Do ya?” Mayhem reciprocated, making April giggle, Draxum trying in vain to view the vial around Mayhem’s neck through their affections.

“Dangit, O’Niel, I need to see the serum!”

“Don’t worry, you shouldn’t have to wait too long to see it, considering in our timeline the next thing that happened after we found Mayhem is-” The door to the rooftop slammed open, one of the disguised bounty hunters emerging. “Your bounty hunters showing up. Wow, record timing,” Donnie was impressed at the similarities lining up just as he predicted. All the party goers froze at the sight of a human, quickly initiating their own version of Plan H, pretending to be at a Jupiter Jim meetup. Unsurprisingly, the bounty hunter simply demanded Mayhem - the Yōkai in question trembling as they outstretched their hand towards him.

“Back off!” April slapped their hand away. “Okay, one; that door was locked, and two; this is a private party. You need to turn your butt around and leave, now!” A demand that wasn’t heeded, the bounty hunter dropping their disguise and immediately attacking, cutting the table in half with their sword, Sofia and April screaming.

“PLAN E, PLAN E!” Gio called out and Sofia managed to swallow her terror, grabbing April and shooting her grappling hook to the next building. Unfortunately, it wasn’t fast enough, the bounty hunter cutting the cord just before it launched fully, sending April and Sofia teetering over the building’s roof. They screamed for the second time that day as they watched the ground grow ever closer - but Mayhem blinked them from their fall to the nearby construction site. The two of them landed roughly, but with no injury, looking at one another in disbelief, then down to Mayhem.

“Did... did you do that?” April asked and Mayhem looked proud.

“It teleports?!” Sofia gawked. “What breed of cat does that?!” A question unanswered as the second bounty hunter appeared in his human form only to immediately transform as well. “Another one? Seriously, what is going on?!” Sofia unsheathed her naginata and got in front of April. “GUYS, A LITTLE HELP?”

“WE KINDA GOT OUR OWN THING GOING ON RIGHT NOW, SOFIA!" Gio replied from the roof, narrowly dodging the sword, but Vinnie answered her call, deploying the chain of his kusarigama over a nearby powerline and ziplining down to April and Sofia. He landed and whipped the chain around the bounty hunter’s spear, tightening its grip as he braced himself.

“So, what reject movie set did you two creepozoids walk out of, because not even the Jupiter Jim knockoffs would want you,” He quipped but then sorely regretted it as the bounty hunter lifted him with ease, using Vinnie’s chain against him and tossing him easily aside.

“ONLY JOKE WHEN YOU HAVE THE ADVANTAGE!" Gio called out, an explosion from the roof following, the bounty hunter and his mount falling from it with one of Gio’s gofu slips on their head and quickly dissipating.

“Since when can you do that?!” Nel asked desperately as she watched the bounty hunter hit the ground not too far from April and Sofia.

“I’ll explain later!” Gio deflected and used his shakujō to follow Vinnie’s example, Nel not too far behind, but her shichishitō snapped the wire halfway down, sending the siblings on a crash course directly into the other bounty hunter, knocking him down as well. “OW!” Gio pushed himself away from the pile of bodies. “I haven’t even put my battle shell on yet!” He quickly shed his coat and placed the gofu slips, lighting up a Mystic barrier around his soft shell.

“Uhhh,” Sofia eyed the glow, “since when can you do that?”

“Again, I’ll explain later! These guys are bad news and we need to get out of here!” He announced as the two bounty hunters started to refind their footing. The rest of the encounter went as expected - the team fumbling over themselves, no proper weapon proficiency outside of Gio, but even he was outmatched with his little to no battle experience. Mayhem was captured, April jumped after him, and then began the assault of questions on Gio plus their despair over their friend’s disappearance. “Okay, okay - STOP,” Gio made the chatter cease. “We can save April and I know how to get where she is.”

“And you have this information handy, because...?” Vinnie pushed him to explain and Gio sighed defeatedly at all of his siblings staring at him accusingly.

“Look, I wasn’t trying to hide this from you guys. I was trying to figure everything out first, then I was going to bring it up, but as this whole hullabaloo has forced my hand, bear with me, alright?” He paused and they all relaxed their postures a bit. “We, as in all of us, have powers known as ‘Mystic’.” He proved it by making a show of his own Mystic in his hand, everyone’s attention caught. “I only recently figured out how to control mine and I’ve been researching how to unlock all of yours. Honestly, with all the weird stuff in my lab, I’m surprised you guys didn’t figure this out sooner.”

“Woah,” Nel watched the Mystic flicker, shaking off her daze. “Gio, this is crazy.”

“But believable,” Vinnie added. “And where is April?”

“In the Hidden City under New York. It’s full of Yōkai - which is what that cat thing and those crazy guys were.”

“Yo-what?” Sofia raised a brow. “Are you just making up words? And a whole other city too?”

“No!” Gio seethed back. “They’re legitimate! Look, I’ll just show you - I’ll reopen the portal they went in,” He started drawing a symbol on a slip.

“Now, this is different,” Donnie said as he continued to watch. “We had no knowledge of the Hidden City beforehand.”

“Yeah, we ended up having to go back to the lair, steal something from Dad, and then open the portal,” Raph recalled.

“So you all quite literally stumbled onto the city, then my atelier?” Draxum asked and the trio nodded, his brow wrinkling. “These instances of happenstance are truly baffling...”

“Maybe it was fate?” Leo winked at Donnie before entering the portal after their counterparts.

“I know you’re saying that just to upset me and I won’t give you the satisfaction!” Donnie said back and followed Leo.

“But you already have!” His voice echoed back, Raph shaking his head as he and Draxum were the last to enter the portal. The lead up to their encounter with Draxum’s counterpart went similarly as well, finding April immediately, then charging in after Mayhem. While there was no need to hunt down new weapons, they still hesitated upon viewing the cages, trying to figure out what they were witnessing before taking action. The visiting Draxum however, took this opportunity to finally try and get the information he sought - jumping into the lab below and locating Mayhem. The Draxum of the memory had yet to manifest and he squandered no moment as he moved from place to place, finally stopping at the yet to be fed Oozesquitoes.

“...Fascinating...” Draxum said as he approached the tank further. “Just as the human technology is different, so too is the alchemy methodology.”

“Is that good or bad?” Raph asked.

“Neither, really,” Draxum answered. “I would personally like to study it further, but outside of my desires, I can more or less make sense of things - and I can confirm without a shadow of a doubt that this version of me indeed has altered the ooze to the more risky formula.”

“How can you tell?” Donnie eyed the unfinished product.

“The vial around Agent 64’s neck is the catalyst to finish the serum. Take note of its color,” he said and they all did so.

“It’s... blue,” Leo said and waited for Draxum to keep explaining.

“More of a cyan, but yes. It was bright green in our universe as I chose to make my ooze the more controlled type with Empyrean. Unless the opposite nature of this dimension has switched the colors as well, we have solved mystery number one.”

“Right on!” Raph pumped his fist. “One down and, uh, how many more to go?”

“We still have the book, the Dragon’s Eye, and whatever was going on when Sofia was fighting this Draxum. Did I miss anything?” Donnie counted on his three fingers.

“Yeah, just one - how Draxum doesn’t classify cyan as a shade of blue,” Leo teased.

“Cyan is blue-green,” Draxum argued back as Donnie rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“So, therefore, still a shade of blue,” Leo continued

“...Are you being petty or do you just want to be right?”

“Both,” Donnie answered for him.

“Leo, come on,” Raph discouraged.

“What? I’m not allowed to indulge in a few jokes while waiting for memories to shift? So far Sofia’s subconscious hasn’t shown hide nor hair and we’re waiting on her Draxum to show himself. Oh? And what’s that? Do I hear the distinct sound of hooves approaching?” Leo viewed the large entryway, and sure enough did Baron Draxum emerge, making his way over to Mayhem’s cage.

What followed was almost so similar to how it played out in their timeline that the boys were enamored at pointing out the minor differences to pass the time, but Draxum’s thoughts were elsewhere. As he observed this mirror image did he begin to question the ‘whys’ more than before. They looked and sounded exactly the same, their plans identical, so why did this Draxum choose unstable ingredients while he did not? Was he truly so ignorant or was there a method to his madness? These questions became thoughts for later as the battle began and soon came to its climax - Gio’s slips causing the tank to malfunction, Draxum getting buried in rubble, and Mayhem getting them all out of danger. With the team name decided and Mayhem dubbed accordingly, the ‘Wild Cats’ returned to their lair, and the memory shifted again.

“I cannot believe you dragged me all the way to Staten Island in the middle of the night for supposed mutant activity,” Sofia’s voice rang out as the group adjusted to their new surroundings, finding themselves in woodlands with Gio and Sofia walking down a path. “Is this really necessary? Especially without Nel and Vinnie?”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Gio started smugly. “ As you know, Vinnie’s finally sleeping and Nel is off at some influencer thing, so I’ve gone out of my way to set up a training session for little ol’ you and you alone! There’s nothing supposed about it - I’ve found the perfect skill level mutant for you to fight, and if we’re lucky, unlock your powers!”

“...Uh-huh...” Sofia said after a slight pause. “You unlocked yours when we were tiny and I got buried, Vinnie got his in the Albearto incident, and Nel got hers when one of the crazy fans got a little too possessive. So you’re telling me you’re going to willingly put me in mortal danger, again, for the possibility of Mystic powers.”

“Aw, man! Look how much we missed! How far did we jump this time?” Leo sulked. “And did she say Staten Island? Auuugh, gross!”

“At least we’re in the woods,” Raph reaffirmed.

“Just trust me, sis, I’m our resident Mystic expert,” Gio said confidently, “and these Mystic signatures I picked up are easy-peasy targets.”

“‘Targets?’ Plural? ...You really are trying to kill me.”

“Relax, as I said, they’re perfect for your skill level - nothing to be worried about.”

“Well, too bad, I’m going to worry about it, especially with how things have been going lately.”

“Exactly,” Gio said back in a colder tone. “You need to start pulling your weight.”

This statement stopped Sofia’s stride. Leo saw her eye twitch under the moonlight, Donnie saw her open her mouth to rebut, only to close it again, and Raph saw Sofia shake her head slightly before starting to follow Gio again. Gio himself didn’t even notice her brief pause, still fully focused on locating the mutants. “Methinks this may be the start of their falling out,” Donnie continued to observe the disgruntled Sofia.

“More like we’re already deep into it, going by her reaction,” Leo corrected.

“We’re close now,” Gio said as he took out a slab from his coat pocket, a reaction of Mystic glowing from it. “A little bit to the north, and... there!” He pointed to a distant bush, it shaking in reply. As Sofia squinted against the darkness did two small figures emerge - growling mutant bears cubs standing upright, still unaware of Sofia and Gio’s presence. “...Oh,” Gio looked back at Sofia who’s face was steeped in deep terror. “Bears. That’s gonna be a problem, isn’t it?”

“U-um,” Sofia’s pitch had risen several octaves. “N-no, I mean, yes, I mean-” she shook as she clumsily went for her weapon and Gio wearily sighed.

“Who would’ve thought showing you that documentary on bears when we were little would scar you so badly...”

“They ate a turtle! Brutally! IN HD!” She defended herself in an angry, hushed tone. “I HAD NIGHTMARES FOR WEEKS!”

“I know, I remember,” Gio crossed his arms. “But you’re not a child anymore and I’d like you to at least try - for the sake of the team.”

“Gio, I would rather throw myself headfirst at Meat Sweats than try to deal with two mutant bears-” two more emerged as she spoke and Sofia almost let out her internal screams as she pursed her lips and squeaked.

“Huh, a whole family of them. I wonder if it was four separate Oozesquitoes, or maybe it was a pregnant mother bear that got bit, or maybe-”

“I don’t care, we’re leaving,” Sofia turned on her heels and took a few steps before Gio grabbed her shoulders and dragged her back.

“Oh no you don’t!” He spun her around. “Sofia, they’re low level mutants and they don’t even come up to your knee. If you can’t handle this, then frankly; I don’t know how you’re going to keep up with the rest of us. I need you to try.” Sofia shut her eyes hard, taking a deep breath, remembering each failure she’d brought upon her family recently. Gio was rightfully frustrated while Nel and Vinnie were patient and understanding, but there was no guarantee they’d always be. She let out the breath shakily and reopened her eyes, giving Gio a small nod. “Attagirl! Now get out there and show me what you got!” He slapped the back of Sofia’s shell and forced her into the clearing with the bears. Four sets of eyes were upon her, a brief pause in the whole group before the bears broke out into their respective snarls, lunging at Sofia. She screamed bloody murder, any ounce of courage fleeing her body as the bears chased her around in circles - Gio clicking his tongue at her display.

“Gonna be real, I’m siding with Sofia here,” Leo said as she watched her desperately climb up a tree, only for the bears to follow, jumping to another tree top, which they also followed suit.

“Yeah, it’s exactly as I expected,” Donnie said as he observed the stewing Gio. “This guy’s plans stink. Throwing your sister into her trauma to try and unlock her powers was not on my bingo card for this memory - and yet here we are.”

“SOFIA, YOU HAVE A WEAPON, USE IT!” Gio erupted when he could no longer stand to watch, and suddenly he had all the bear’s attention. “...Uh oh,” he fumbled for his slips, accidentally spilling them, the bears launching themselves, and he screamed even louder than Sofia as he too ran up a tree.

“NOT SO EASY NOW, IS IT?” Sofia spat as she switched treetops again.

“IF YOU’D JUST TRY FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE-” Gio started and Sofia cut him off with a harsh swear, making him gasp. Raph gasped as well while Donnie smirked and Leo burst into laughter.

“...We’re certainly seeing many different sides to her personality,” Draxum said completely unphased.

“WE ARE GONNA HAVE SUCH A LONG TALK WHEN WE GET HOME!” Gio threatened, his focus on his glaring sister instead of below him, one of the bears slashing the trunk of his tree cleanly, sending him and it to the ground.

“Ooo, very nice,” Draxum was thoroughly impressed by the mutant’s show of prowess. “They make up for their lack of strength with skill instead. A shame we don’t have a counterpart for them in our dimension.”

“Draxum,” Raph said in warning and Draxum defensively crossed his arms.

“I’m just saying that they’re interesting specimens.”

“That you’d love to study and enlist into your kitchen staff,” Raph finished Draxum’s thought.

“...Yes,” Draxum fully admitted.

“Gio!” Sofia called out, her anger switching to concern as the bears surrounded him. He was still reeling from the drop, unaware of the peril he was in. “Okay, okay, okay - you can do this, you can do this, YOU CAN DO THIS!” She launched herself off the treetop, taking aim at the circle of mutant bear cubs. “HOT SOUP!” She cried and did a complete spin as she landed, knocking each bear backwards. Gio shook off his daze just in time to see the maneuver, genuinely impressed as a satisfied smile stretched from ear to ear.

“See?! You can do it when you try! I knew-”

“Gio, please shut up and get battle ready - I’m about to lose it,” Sofia harshly cut him off and Gio then saw how badly she was shaking. It was only then he realized that this entire exercise may have gone too far, complying and taking out his weapon proper. “Do you have any slips?”

“No, but I’ll manage,” he reassured and the battle devolved into a constant game of batting away the bears as needed, Sofia and Gio going back to back. It was not nearly as easy as Gio anticipated, and once they’d finally beat back the bears enough for them to flee, he had the wounds to prove it. His leg had taken a clean bite, and Sofia one on her shoulder. As Gio collapsed to the ground did Sofia lean against a tree and empty the entirety of her stomach. “...You OK?” Gio called out while keeping his gaze on the injury.

“Obviously not...” Sofia said between coughs. “...You?”

“Uh...” Gio winced before answering. “Losing a surprising amount of blood, if I’m being completely honest.”

Sofia pushed off of the tree, staggering over to Gio, inhaling sharply as she viewed his leg proper. “Holy crap,” she said as she got on her knees, taking off her mask and attempting to bandage it. “Give me yours too,”

“I guess disinfecting it is out of the question?” Gio asked as he complied.

“Not in the middle of the woods,” She tied Gio’s bandana tightly, making him groan in pain.

“That better not have been you venting your frustrations!”

“Do you want the bleeding to stop or not?” Sofia fired back. “Honestly...” She grumbled and continued the treatment. “It wouldn’t kill you to reacquaint yourself with basic first aid.” She went silent, backing away to observe her work. “...I might have to use your coat if it bleeds through...” Sofia trailed off as a revelation hit her, the expression on her face changing accordingly.

“...What? What?” Gio urged and Sofia sighed.

“A thought just occurred to me. On top of all the extra medical attention we’ll need on getting back to the lair, we’re probably also going to need rabies shots.”

“...You're serious?” Gio eyed Sofia doubtfully.

“Yes, quite serious. We have human DNA, those were mutated animals, and we are all vulnerable to rabies. Unless you want to take the risk of developing a fear of water and the inevitable happening afterwards.”

“No, no I do not!” Gio tried to ignore his rising panic. “But where are we going to get rabies shots in the middle of the night?! Not to mention with this whole situation.” He gestured to all of them, but Sofia already had her phone out, selecting a number and letting it ring. “Who are you calling?”

“A gamble,” Sofia answered and her phone clicked, indicating the recipient had answered. “Hi, Todd?” The muffled, but cheery capybara mutant sleepily answered back. “Sorry for calling so late.”

“Todd? Really?!” Gio hissed and Sofia placed her hand over Gio’s mouth, much to his irritation.

“Gio and I are in a bit of a pickle and I was wondering if you might be able to help? We just got attacked by a group of mutant bears on Staten Island and both of us got bit. Mmm, mhmm, yeah.” The conversation continued. “Yeah, one rabies shot each, please. We’ll reimburse you for the costs - oh, and could you also bring a first aid kit? Thank you so much, we’ll be on the stone bridge in Cloves Lake Park,” She hung up and removed her hand from Gio. “What do you mean ‘Todd, really’ - he runs a puppy rescue, he has to keep up with all their vaccinations.”

“...Fair point,” Gio admitted, impressed at his sister’s quick thinking. “That was really smart of you - I would never have thought to ask Todd for anything but camping tips.

“Just because I can’t fight well doesn’t mean I’m stupid,” She draped his arm over her shoulders and stood them up. “Now, can you walk or do you need a piggy-back? We have a little ways to that bridge - but Todd is probably still over an hour away, so no rush regardless.”

Gio tested his weight on his bad leg and recoiled, shaking his head. Sofia then got into position and motioned for him to climb on. “Are you even going to be able to carry me?”

“Just because I can’t fight well doesn’t mean I’m not strong,” she motioned again and Gio tentatively climbed on, Sofia then securing him properly and starting her walk.

“I feel like you’re dropping some hints on me,” Gio said sarcastically and Sofia scoffed. “But you have to fight, Sofia. You need to channel those smarts and strength into more than just calling for the right aid and piggy back rides.”

“...You haven’t even stopped bleeding yet and you’re already back to this...” She muttered under her breath, yet still loud enough for him to hear.

“I’m just concerned-”

“And where did all the sudden extra concern come from Gio!?” All of Sofia’s frustrations boiled over. “What’s happened to you?” She asked and Gio didn’t answer. “We went from being teens doing teen things to training every day and inserting ourselves into every mutant related thing that pops up on your radar! It’s exhausting and I want my brother back!” Her steps were heavy, reflecting her mood. “Like, I get it a little bit, but Draxum was going to release the Oozesquitoes regardless of us trashing his lab! Ever since that day it’s like a switch went off in your brain and-”

“Sofia, enough,” Gio said coldly and Sofia continued regardless.

“What happened? Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I do not. Stop.”

“...Cool,” she replied bitterly. “Then I guess I’m stuck with whoever the hell this is instead of my brother.”

“Oof, harsh,” Leo observed Gio’s expression drop from anger to remorse.

“That was wholly deserved,” Donnie started, staring down his counterpart. “What is he hiding?”

“Maybe it’s just nerves? You know how much I’d panic when I was leader and the pressure was on,” Raph reasoned.

“I don’t think so,” Leo doubted. “There’s something else going on here.”

Gio found his lips sealed after his sister’s outburst, so many conflicting emotions swirling in his chest and none of them willing to make themselves known - at least not to Sofia. His leg then let out a pang of pain that echoed through his whole body. His mind went over the whole encounter again, how his current self would deem it an overall failure, but in this current situation, as his little sister carried him to safety did he let his facade drop, if only for a few moments.

“You did well,” he said as he leaned his head on top of hers, fighting the exhaustion he’d gotten so used to carrying as a badge of honor, a burden in disguise. “And I’m sorry.” Sofia’s brow wrinkled, she too now combating her conflicting emotions, this being the first bit of praise with no hint of sarcasm or irony from Gio in a long time. She waited for him to follow up with a ‘but’ or simply take it all back, but when that moment never came, she was lost in the silence, continuing to walk the path to their destination. “...Hey,” Gio eventually started a new thought. “Remember that song we used to always sing on karaoke night?”

“...Yes?” Sofia answered with quizzical hesitation.

“Good, because I’m feeling it coming on.”

“Huh? What? Right now?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, even moreso as Gio began actually singing the song in question. Sofia listened in disbelief, wondering what brought this on, but as Gio tapped his chin on her head to indicate it was her part did she shakily continue the song. It evolved into the duet it was made to be as they both sang out the remainder of the song. Neither of them had any rhythm, they were horribly off key, but as they hit the bridge and back into the chorus did they find their stride, singing their hearts out like any other goofballs would in a karaoke setting. They finished the song and Sofia giggled as they calmed down. “Alright, I guess he’s still in there somewhere after all - or all the blood loss is making you loopy.”

Gio snorted into his own laugh, short and sweet, but said nothing else as he and Sofia approached the bridge, the memory shifting once again.

Chapter Text

“I don’t know how you managed to mess up something so simple!” Everyone jumped at Gio’s sudden outburst, the calmness of the forest disappearing into their counterpart’s lair. They were looking a little worse for wear, each in the sitting area in their respective seats while Gio paced around them. “All you had to do was follow the most basic of instructions, Sofia! How are you incapable of doing even that!?” Sofia didn’t answer, her eyes on the ground, her fatigue apparent. “Are you even listening?!” Gio grabbed her shoulder and shook her.

“That little reconciliation was certainly short lived...” Donnie watched Sofia slap Gio’s hand away.

“Oh, what am I saying - of course you’re not!” Gio’s frustrations continued. “It’s a miracle you haven’t gotten yourself or one of us killed yet! Is that what it will take for you to put some effort in!? Because quite frankly, with how you seem to be purposely messing up, that must be your goal!”

“...Excuse me?” Sofia finally spoke. “I’m not doing this on purpose.”

“You’re not? Then explain to me how you’re so inept that even in constantly getting us into unneeded messes that put us in danger - you STILL haven’t manifested a Mystic power! The stars are constantly aligned for one to show up - your DNA is the same as ours, you have the ability and yet you refuse to use it. Why, Sofia, are you willingly holding us back?! Why are you such a coward?!” Everyone saw Sofia’s anger crack, almost reducing her into tears, but she blinked them back before they even made it to the corner of her eyes. With a small sigh she stood up and walked past her siblings. “And where are you going?!”

“For a walk,” she said, unable to hide a crack in her voice. Gio took a step towards her, only to be pulled back by his coat. A quick glance towards what was gripping him revealed an enraged Vinnie who tightened his grip and swiftly swung his brother into a seat. Before Gio could even protest, Vinnie was in his face with a look that could kill. As soon as Sofia was out of the lair did he begin.

“It was an accident - you know it was,” Vinnie fumed. “Sofia is not your punching bag and this is stopping now.”

“Uh,” Leo turned from the current scene to the exit of the lair. “Sofia’s leaving. Shouldn’t we follow her?”

“We should, but I think I’d like to stay and watch this,” Donnie said back. “There might be some information dropped.”

“That may not be possible, the memory will only keep reproducing the scene as long as Sofia is within earshot - otherwise it’s no longer her memory,” Draxum explained.

“Then you guys go after Sofia and I’ll stay here. I’ll catch up if need be.”

“That seems a little risky,” Raph reasoned.

“Indeed, you may become lost in the memory,” Draxum further warned.

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take, now shoo!” Donnie pushed the three of them away from the sitting area. “I’ll catch up later.”

“...Alright,” Leo said hesitantly. “Call for us if you need us,” the three of them disappeared after Sofia.

Gio opened his mouth to plead his case, only for Vinnie to grab the collar of his coat. “Do you think I don’t know what’s going on, Gio? Do you think I’m stupid?” His grip tightened, Gio’s face now that of surprise. “Sofia isn’t the coward - you are.”

“Guys, guys-!” Nel’s attention was split between Sofia’s departure and her brother’s spat.

“What do you-” Gio started and Vinnie threw him back into the chair.

“Keeping us in the dark isn’t leader behavior, Gio. Neither is venting your frustrations on Sofia who doesn’t fit into your perfect plan. I’m only going to say this once; knock it off,” he turned away and started after Sofia.

“Vin, wait!” Gio got back up, outstretching his hand towards his brother, who expertly grabbed it and immobilized him, once again throwing Gio back into the chair.

“No, I’m tired of waiting for you to do the right thing. Either smarten up and let us in on the secret, or don’t bother including me on any other mission. We’re your family, Giorgio, not your pawns.”

“What is he talking about,” Nel said in more of a demand than a question, Gio looking away in response. “GIO!”

“Alright! ...Alright...” He relented. “But we’re keeping this from Sofia until-”

The memory cut off and disappeared, leaving Donnie with nothing but a blank, white space. He shouted in frustration. “Come ON! It was right there!” He turned around to see more of the white space. “Annnd I’m in a white void. Fantastic,” he took a few steps, hoping for something to manifest, but as nothing else did, he began calling out to Draxum and his brothers. No answer, he suspected as much. “They’re never going to let me live this down,” Donnie said and sat down, starting to go over his options. If he was lucky, another memory would manifest before long, and if he was unlucky, Sofia’s subconscious would soon be out for blood as he was even more a foreign object than before. “Maybe I should try and injure myself to get Mikey’s attention,” Donnie half joked, but just as the thought crossed his mind did he feel a sudden chill. It startled him into standing again, looking around desperately for the cause.

“What do you want?” a voice sounded next to his ear and he jumped away from it, pointing his bō towards the source. There stood a Sofia, shadowed, eyes glowing with rage.

“Hoo boy,” Donnie shook his head at himself, “definitely not living this one down.”

******

Only steps away from the lair did they find Sofia, shell against the sewer walls, crying openly. She could hear her siblings arguing, figuring it to be another thing to blame herself for as more tears came.

“Man,” Leo gazed back to the lair’s entrance. “Why is this other Donnie such a jerkface? If someone yelled at me every time I messed up in the past, I’d cry too!”

“And yet you deflected every time I tried to correct your bad behavior,” Raph reminded.

“Because I knew you loved me even when I did a stupid. Where is the love here?” He gestured to Sofia. “No wonder she didn’t approach us for weeks - she probably saw Donnie and thought it wasn’t worth the trouble.” At the sound of Nel raising her voice did Sofia start to compose herself, wiping her tears away with the back of her hands before continuing to walk on, soon starting to sprint. “Don, Sofia is leaving the premises!” Leo called out and received no answer. “Donnie?” Leo took a step towards the lair only for it to crack open, revealing a white, blank, nothingness where it once was. “Donnie!?” Leo called again and Draxum looped his arm around Leo, picking him up and running after Sofia.

“He’s lost to this memory! Either he’ll remanifest or Michelangelo and Casey Jones will bail him out. We need to move or else we’ll get caught up in it too!”

“But-” Leo looked back to the continually cracking memory in horror.

“We split up last time, Leo, it’ll work out!” Raph comforted as he and Draxum dodged any more cracks manifesting. “How is she so fast!?”

“Just keep up with her enough to not get sucked in!” Draxum said and expertly dodged a large crack in his path. They kept up the pace until the anomaly quieted, catching up to Sofia who eventually stopped on top of a building overlooking a pizzeria, sitting herself down and bringing her knees to her chest. Draxum set Leo down, his son’s gaze still set on the distant cracks. “Things like this are why we have contingency plans. We anticipated this.”

“That doesn’t make me any less worried.”

“Leo,” Raph put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be OK. I trust Donnie to figure things out... and I trust Mikey and Casey to step in if they need to. Don’t you?”

Leo’s brow wrinkled momentarily as he composed himself. “Of course I do,” he answered, “I just really, really don’t like it when things like this happen. I should’ve just dragged him along.”

“As the previous leader to the current, responsibility isn’t yours alone. That’s why we have a backup plan. This isn’t the Krang or Shredder, Leo, it’s Sofia’s mind. We’ve got this.”

Leo let go of some of his tension with a deep breath and a nod. “You’re right. We do have this. I’m sure Donnie will show up again, he did say he’d catch up. And when he does, if he didn’t get a lick of info and worried us for nothing, I’m never letting him live it down.”

“Not going to go in and get a slice?” Vinnie’s voice suddenly sounded, the jingling of his weapon’s chain followed as he descended from a taller building, landing next to his sister.

“...I forgot my hoodie...” Sofia weakly replied, her vision then blocked as Vinnie dropped said hoodie over her head.

“C’mon,” he said and lifted her up, “hoods up, we’re going in.”

“You’re not gonna be able to sleep tonight if you eat this late,” she reminded him and Vinnie chuckled back.

“What’s another sleepless night? Maybe you and I can use it to finish up those movies we’ve been too busy to binge lately, eh?”

“I haven’t done anything worth a pizza or a movie night.”

“You don’t need to earn anything, Sofia,” He dropped himself off the building and Sofia ran over to the edge, knowing he’d landed fine but needed to confirm nonetheless. Vinnie waved up to her from the sidewalk. “C’mon,” he repeated, “or do you need help getting down like when we were kids?”

“No, I don’t!” Sofia huffed, slipping the hoodie over her head and letting it drop to her knees. She jumped off and landed next to him with ease, the two of them entering the pizzeria and taking a seat. Sofia instinctively hid behind the menu as the usual server came and took their order, Vinnie bending it down with one of his fingers as she left.

“Pretty sure that’s the owner’s daughter, and the owner probably has us figured out considering we’ve been coming here since meeting April. I swear he only keeps being open this late because of us... and probably the late night munchie crowd too.”

“You never know. We’re still needing to wear our hoodies.”

“At this point, they’re just security blankets.”

“...Maybe,” Sofia neither agreed nor disagreed. “But, anyways, I heard you guys fighting. Was there something else I messed up? Did Gio send you to come and get me?”

Vinnie observed his younger sister’s body language, leaning her chin into her palm, her gaze set on somewhere beyond the decorated glass of the restaurant’s window decals. Her eyes were red and she absentmindedly sniffled. “No, I was actually giving Gio a piece of my mind,” Vinnie answered truthfully and Sofia’s attention was caught. “He’s been ridiculous lately.”

“You don’t have to defend me, I am screwing up almost every mission we go on.”

“...And?” Vinnie tilted his head. “That doesn't mean he’s allowed to blow up at you over every little thing.”

“I guess,” Sofia replied. “It’s not like he’s wrong though. No powers, can’t do anything right, dragging the team down-”

Vinnie stopped her train of thought by gently chopping her head, making her flinch. “That’s enough of that. You know none of us are perfect, yeah? You’re not the only one messing up.”

“But I’m the one messing up most often.”

“Mmm, no, that would be Gio,” Vinnie said with a slight smirk and Sofia raised a brow.

“What does that mean?”

“It means what it means. We had a talk. There’s still some stuff to sort out, but I wasn’t about to let you be alone after what Gio wrongly blew up about tonight. From now on, he’s going to ease up, and you’re free to skip missions if you like. Whatever he’s been doing is clearly not working for you.”

A little light returned to her eyes before flickering out again. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

“And Gio making idiot decisions, like dragging you Staten Island only for you both to get mauled by the Terror Bears, is?”

“I can’t believe we named them that...” Sofia said with a slight smile.

“It fits, you were both thoroughly terrorized,” Vinnie said Sofia snorted into a laugh.

“What is with our family and leg injuries?” She continued to giggle. “First me, then April, then Gio. I swear, we must’ve broken someone's leg in our previous lives - someone important, and now we’re getting karma.”

“I hope I’m not next,” Vinnie wore a nervous grin, then transitioned to a quizzical frown. “However, more time to get caught up on my backlog if I was bedridden...”

“Vinnie, no, don’t even think about it. You’re tempting fate by saying stuff like that!” She both warned and joked.

“Fate is a cruel mistress - and who am I to deny her?”

“Stoooop!” Sofia begged through her giggles. “You’re such a goofball sometimes...”

While Raph was admiring the scene of a big brother successfully cheering up his little sister were both Draxum and Leo were keeping their attention elsewhere; Leo looking for any sign of his brother while Draxum was on high alert for any more anomalies.

“Much of the sands of time have been spent. It’s only a matter of time until the memories become more unstable. As touching as these familial forays are, they’re insignificant to us currently. Sofia’s subconscious not taking action has been a mixed blessing.”

The sound of shattering glass caught them all unawares, a blur of green and purple whizzing past them and stopping as it met the wall of the pizzeria. “-OW!” Donnie held his head as he managed to sit up.

“Donnie!” Leo said with glee and jumped on his brother.

“Gently-!” He strained through Leo’s hug, “and watch out!” Donnie pointed to the crack in the memory he emerged from, a hand settling on the entrance as the subconscious Sofia pulled herself through, eyes set on Donnie with a murderous pall. “I think her subconscious is seeing me as Gio, because, wow, the resentment is palpable!” It raised the naginata, readying to strike, only to have Raph jump in and trap the specter in a full nelson. It screeched in a pitch that had them all recoil, then used what mobility it had to knock its head into Raph’s chin with enough force for him to let go. Free once again, its attention went to all of the invaders until finally landing on Draxum, a fiery fog exiting its mouth as it chose a new target.

“You...!” It said and pointed their weapon. “Give me my family back!” The fog pooled into pure energy, light gathering in the back of its throat, Draxum stunned but taking a defensive stance.

“MOVE!” Raph tackled them out of the way, narrowly dodging a blast of energy that engulfed where they once were, The subconscious manifestation's attention snapping back to Draxum as it began gathering another blast in reply.

“I guess picking her up by her feet is out of the question!” Leo joked through his panic as they all dodged the next blast, this one’s shockwave sending them all flying in different directions. “MIKEY! COME THROUGH WITH THE CLUTCH, BRO, OR WE’RE TOAST!”

As if Leo was heard, the memory shifted, bringing them all suddenly squished into an elevator with Sofia in the middle of it, mindlessly watching the numbers go down. She took out her phone and started to scroll through social media as the elevator’s indicating floor beep kept cycling, Sofia’s mind clearly elsewhere - and everyone let out a sigh of relief, each taking a corner. “Okay, that was terrifying,” Draxum admitted.

“Welcome to memory hopping proper; next stop; hopefully not a giant Sofia - because that’s what happened last time when we fled,” Donnie rubbed a bruise on his arm.

“And why have both subconscious manifestations we’ve encountered fired beams out of their mouths?! Is that a thing?!” Leo tried to wrap his head around their experiences.

“Do not try to make sense of it, you’ll find no answers,” Draxum said. “But it’d be an interesting thing to research regardless...”

“No thanks,” Raph shook his head. “I hope this is our last time doing this,” he turned to Donnie. “So, did you get anything from hanging behind? Besides a beatdown.”

“Uhhhh...” Donnie avoided eye contact.

“I knew it, I just knew it!” Leo groaned.

“It wasn’t completely fruitless!” Donnie fired back. “I not only figured out that yes, Gio is indeed hiding something, but Vinnie and Nel are aware of whatever it is too!”

“And the big secret is?” Leo urged and Donnie sighed.

“The memory blipped out of existence just as Gio was getting around to it. I was attacked soon after.”

“Of course...” Leo mumbled and the notification alert went off on Sofia’s phone, everyone gathering around her as she opened the app. It was from Gio.

WHAT FLOOR ARE YOU ON

She glanced up to the numbered display and typed back her reply.

I’m approaching the 10th

Sofia replied and Gio messaged back almost instantaneously.

GET READY TO CATCH THE PACKAGE AS SOON AS THE DOORS OPEN ON THE 1ST

“Turn off your caps, geez,” Sofia answered with a thumbs up emoji, then stored her phone. She took a step forward and braced herself, watching the numbers count down. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The doors opened to complete chaos in the lobby of the Grand Nexus Hotel. Yōkai bouncers everywhere, her siblings weaving through them and fighting as needed, but one among them caught Sofia’s attention - Baron Draxum. Why was he there? This mission had started as a retrieval of Oozesquitoes using what webs they had left from Big Mama’s initial cooperation - Sofia sent up to her office to politely ask for more first, just in case, before going completely with Gio’s plan of taking things by force. Sofia figured they’d cut their losses, being told no for more webs, and take home what Oozesquitoes they managed to nab, but the brawl in the lobby told her otherwise.

“Return to me my creations!” Draxum demanded, Gio dodging a swift stomp, a container with Oozesquitoes in his arms, locking eyes with Sofia. One quickly placed gofu slip later, and a flick of Mystic power did the container rocket towards Sofia and directly into her hands. An enraged Baron Draxum looked her way, Sofia fighting her panic as she continually pressed the close door button.

“C’mon, any time now!” She squeaked as the door started slowly moving closed, Draxum gaining on her position.

“You will not escape!” He bellowed, hand almost in the elevator, only for Nel to grab him last second, allowing the doors to close, a loud slamming noise from the other side as the elevator as it started moving upwards. Sofia held the container for dear life as she backed up to the wall, the same noise sounding again and growing ever distant the further she ascended.

“H’okay, what now, Gio?” Sofia took out her phone and waited for a message to pop up, relieved to see one appear.

GO TO THE ROOF AND THEN SWITCH ELEVATORS THEN GO TO A RANDOM FLOOR AND KEEP SWITCHING UNTIL I SAY EDWQOJIPWEFJIOOWQPP

“Caps and keysmash - nice,” she waited for the inevitable next message.

SORRY VIN FELL ON MY PHONE DON’T STOP SWITCHING FLOORS UNTIL I SAY SO

“I gathered that,” Sofia stored her phone and waited. “Simple enough, but something is telling me I should have skipped today after all.”

“All the way to the roof, huh?” Leo watched the numbers cycle, settling next to Sofia for a few moments before a thought hit him. “...Wait a second, I think I know what memory we’re in!”

“Which one?” Raph asked.

“Remember during the welcome party when we were going over all the similarities between our timelines? Sofia and I share getting dropped off a building by Draxum - and what building are we in right now?”

“The one dear old Dad Two dropped you off of - Big Mama’s Grand Nexus Hotel,” Donnie answered and looked at Draxum, who’s expression was a mix of guilty and exhausted.

“Exactly! She didn’t say which building she was thrown off of, but this tracks. Donnie, keep an eye on Sofia more than usual, because seeing her unlock her power might help sort some stuff out, right?”

“On it, I mean, I was going to anyway, don’t want to get lost again. If this is what you think it is, It could confirm a theory I have with her DNA makeup.”

“Then we get ready, cause the top floor is coming up!” Raph readied himself and everyone followed suit, Sofia taking a deep breath to calm her nerves just before the doors opened. Into the open air they went, Sofia turning around to call the second elevator, continually pressing the button, desperately looking around for the inevitable. The second set of doors opened with a satisfying chime and Sofia took a step forward, moving to take a second only to slam face first into the concrete, looking back to find her leg restrained with a familiar purple vine.

“Oh no,” she braced herself as it ruthlessly dragged her, unable to keep her screams muted. Draxum appeared soon after having made his way up to the roof on his own, a confident look on his face as he plucked the container from her.

“A pitiful effort,” he jeered, Sofia completely immobilized, another vine then plucking her weapon from her back and snapping it clean in two. She stared him down with a scoff.

“Was that really necessary!?” She helplessly wriggled.

“Oh trust me, you won't be needing it any more,” He held her aloft over the edge of the building.

“Oh no you don’t!” Gio’s voice boomed, one of his slips dissipating as he’d launched himself into the air, zipping past Sofia and Draxum. He landed on the roof, and with another show of Mystic did the container fly out of Draxum’s hands and into his - another gofu slip concealed on it dissipating - Gio’s smug grin insult to injury. “Now let my sister go- “

“Not literally!” Sofia added.

-or I'll hand these over to Big Mama!” Gio finished and held out his phone with his free hand. “She's one speed dial away.”

“...Alright, go for it,” Draxum replied and Gio slightly deflated.

“W-what do you mean ‘go for it’? Don’t you want your bugs back?!”

“There will be other opportunities to reclaim them - Big Mama is no threat to me. Did you expect me to take your pitiful bluff as a fair trade?”

“It’s you who’s bluffing! We’re your creations, therefore precious samples and-” Draxum rolled his eyes and dropped Sofia. “NO!” Gio dropped the container without a second thought, desperately throwing a slip after her, only for the wind to take it instead. “NOOO-!”

“Let’s go!” Leo commanded and jumped after her, everyone following his lead. New York’s streets drew ever closer as they gained on Sofia, her panicked figure unable to find any lifeline, nothing to quell her speed, no help from above or below - only oblivion. She gave in, prayed it wouldn’t hurt, but within her something flickered and forced her eyes open. Her hands moved on their own, and in them appeared a naginata that pierced the glass before her, slowing the descent until it caught - vaulting Sofia inside to whatever floor uninvited, scaring a guest out of their room as she rolled across the carpet. She was still as the others joined her, managing to follow her through the hole she’d made.

“Please tell me you saw that,” Leo addressed Donnie and he nodded.

“It was a blink and miss it moment, but you bet I did.”

“Well, I blinked and missed it - what did you two see?” Raph asked.

“For a mere second, the Hamato Clan’s emblem flickered on her shell,” Draxum answered. “Which should not be possible considering the circumstances needed to manifest Hamato Ninpō.”

“And now she has her Mystic power,” Donnie said quizzically. “Albeit nowhere near as powerful as what it should be. Hm,” he rubbed his chin in thought as Sofia started coming around, coughing into the carpet.

“Ugh, there’s glass in my mouth...!” She spit, then coughed again, sitting up to check herself over. “So help me if my legs are broken aga-” Her train of thought crashed upon seeing the manifestation of her power sat next to her, backing up instinctively from it, only to reach out and tentatively touch it. Sofia picked the naginata up and watched it dissipate back into her, understanding what it meant. However, the last few minutes were too much to process as she laid herself back down and curled into a ball. Her phone started ringing in her shell and she answered it despite her state.

“ARE YOU OK? WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT HAPPENED!?” Gio’s voice exploded from the speaker.

“Dunno,” Sofia answered shakily, her eyes unfocused.

“To which question!?”

“Yes.”

“...What?”

“What.”

There was a pause, Nel’s voice being the next to speak up. “Gio, she sounds like she’s in shock.”

“I’ll find her. Stay put, sis,” Vinnie said next.

“Okay,” Sofia answered and hung up the phone, absentmindedly dropping it as she curled up again. She could still hear some chaos from the hotel, paying it no mind alongside the chill brought in from her miracle. It was only when footsteps approached did she move again, what was left of that day’s sanity gone as her weapon re-manifested and she took the initiative.

“Woah-woah-WOAH!” Vinnie caught the naginata with his chain, using enough force to pry it from his sister’s trembling hands - it dissipating as soon as he did. Their revelations hit them both at the same moment, Sofia’s shock wearing off seeing her brother’s familiar face while Vinnie disregarded his as Sofia’s body was spent, catching his sister before she fell to the ground. The memory rippled as she lost consciousness, the others able to see Gio and Nel approaching before it shifted to its final destination.

Chapter Text

An overcast sky littered with plumes of smoke swirled into view, panicked screams reaching their ears soon after. New York City was falling.

“What the heck is that?!” April said in disbelief, the memory fully set, all in attendance snapping their attention to the beast in the near horizon. “Is that an honest to god kaiju?! Are we dreaming?” The memory’s conversation continued as Sofia took out her phone and began frantically dialing whilst the visitors found themselves unable to avert their gazes.

“...Great Galileo, what IS that?” Donnie was the first to speak among them, all of them able to shake off their shock under the sound of his voice. “I know she said ‘kaiju’, but that literally is a larger than life insect rivaling the likes of Mothra herself! We’ve had our fair share of big threats, but this is-”

“Insane. This is insane,” Leo looked over to Draxum whose brow was firmly knit in disgust. “Were you really considering this at some point!?”

“Only until I realized it was a fool’s errand,” he answered. “What rhyme or reason did my counterpart rationalize for this to come to pass?”

“Questions for later! Hurry!” Raph pointed at the fleeing Sofia and April. “Let’s avoid a repeat of last time!” He jumped down after them and everyone followed suit, keeping their pace with the frantic Sofia all the way to the lair. There they witnessed her frustrations and rising dread; Gio’s lab locked, her family MIA, none of the messages on her phone any help, but she was off again as they saw an epiphany hit her.

“...Baron Draxum...!” They all heard the fury in her voice as she once again took off in a sprint. She led them to an entrance to the hidden city none of them had ever found before, recoiling at the sights they found just as Sofia did upon her first viewing. An absolute massacre in progress. It was more than enough to turn anyone’s stomach, everyone stunned into silence as Sofia managed to find her courage again, locating her aim and keeping up her previous pace. They were so close to yet another answer, but couldn’t shake the horrors off so easily. It wasn’t until Sofia broke into the lab and Splinter’s voice was heard did they break out of their daze.

“What have you done to my kids?!”

“Even if I were to explain,” the sounds of struggle forced Baron Draxum to pause, “your composure would deem my words lies - so slumber!”

The scene they entered was exactly as Sofia had described it the night they met. Nel and Vinnie in cages unconscious, Gio and Splinter at Draxum’s feet with vines coiled around them. Even in it not being their father and their family, the boys couldn’t help but start to feel Sofia’s panic as their own. These were the memories that constantly haunted her, these were the final moments she had with her family that she had no answers to. It was too much for one person to take on, not at her age, not with so many things left undone and unsaid. It was little wonder she snapped the previous night, no doubt her thoughts always here at this moment every waking second and in every moment of rest.

Leo recalled when they’d lost Raph to the Krang, how he bore the entire responsibility for it and further led his family into danger in his attempt to get his brother back. There wasn’t a second that went by where he didn’t wish he could go back and stop his past self for letting it all come to pass. Despite how everything worked out in the end, how they triumphed, Raph could never get Karai out of his thoughts. The lair crumbling around him, his horror mixing poorly with his duty to protect his brothers - and among it all was his precious Gram-Gram smiling so kindly as life left her eyes. He never, ever wanted to experience something like that again. It was Leo’s sacrifice that surfaced in Donnie’s memories, the hot tears of frustration he didn’t even realize he’d shed until reality set in. No amount of any vexations Leo ever wrought upon him ever had Donnie wish him gone. He would willingly take back any harsh words, said in jest or not, if it meant getting his brother back.

“Watch my back!” Draxum called out to them as he ran into the fray, Sofia’s bout with her Draxum already beginning. They all broke out of their sorrows, eyes on both Sofia’s struggle and Draxum finally being able to do what he came here for. While their interaction with the memory itself was limited, Draxum knew he could get the answers he sought with what was allowed. He first went to Splinter and Gio, checking their vitals, then moving to Nel and Vinnie, pausing as theirs was much more complicated than at first glance. The shattering of the syringes commanded his attention next, ignoring his counterpart’s agitation as he went to the spilled liquid. He recognized it, however, even in the revelation it brought did he slide his index finger through it and bring it to his lips. It was exactly as he thought. Everything was beginning to fall into place.

“Enough!” The room flooded with vines, splitting the party and constricting them. Whether it was by pure happenstance or directly via Sofia’s consciousness, it mattered not, they were stuck and each given a seat to the final confrontation. Sofia struggled, Baron Draxum approached, four sets of eyes glued to their fate. It was there the last piece of information showed itself, everyone witnessing the sudden morph of Sofia’s hand and the wound it inflicted on Baron Draxum - everything going dark immediately after.

“TIME’S UP!” Mikey’s voice rang out, and in the next blink they were back in the lair, the sands spent, Sofia gasping and grasping her chest.

“Why is my heart about to beat out of my chest?!” She took a few more calming breaths as she looked around the circle to the relatively unharmed memory divers. “...Well? Did it work?”

“...Yeah,” Donnie eventually answered, leaning back out of his cross legged position.

“Just, give us a second,” Leo echoed Donnie’s stance, both brothers allowing all the memories to settle.

“...Why? What did you see?” Her skepticism soon changed to panic. “Ohmigosh, what did you see?!”

“More than enough,” Draxum stood up and began to leave the group.

“Huh?!” That didn’t calm her in the slightest. “What does that even mean?!”

“It means your family still lives.”

******

An absolute whirlwind of activity followed as speculation was laid to rest and facts were no longer perceived fiction. With a promise to explain thoroughly did Draxum leave to gather the proper materials while Sofia was dragged away by Donnie to help compile their own information. The time to share all findings was close at hand, a few days passing, leading up to another family meeting that everyone made time for. Donnie finished the adjusting touches on the projector and the laptop connected to it as everyone arrived and sat wherever there was room. With a few more clicks did the laptop’s image display on the wall, Donnie loading up the desired program and opening the presentation prepared for that night. What We Know and Need to Know - by Donetello, Sofonisba, and Draxum in Powerpoint’s default calibri was printed on a blank slide, Donnie leaving the laptop and moving to the front of the group.

“Alright, we’re all set,” He faced the crowd with a satisfied grin. “Good evening one and all! I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules for yet another family meeting only days from our last.”

“If only I could get my group projects to be this organized... we’re putting them to shame,” April mumbled, Sofia and Cassandra hearing it and snorting into muffled laughter.

Donnie continued regardless. “Tonight we have compiled all we know into a clear and concise presentation with three presenters; myself, Sofia, and Draxum - but not necessarily in that order. Sofia will take the stage first, and with that said, come on up!”

“WOOOO, YEAH! SO-FI-A!” Mikey howled and clapped as she replaced Donnie, a few others clapping with him.

“Pfft, stop, why are you clapping?” She wore a nervous but amused smile that soon went out of view as she took her place next to the projector’s reach. “Okay, um,” she hesitated for a moment before shaking it off. “With everything that’s come to light and some of you still being in the dark about everything, we decided to put this together and each cover varying topics - mine being my family.” She pressed the remote in her hand and the slide changed to a photo showing many familiar but different faces. “Some of this info may be redundant... or not, I don’t really know, but I will take any and all questions as they come. So, we’ll start with my oldest brother and work our way down.” Another click from the remote brought a new slide with a photo of Gio, a bullet list of facts, and a media file that was awaiting permission to play.

“Woah,” April pulled down her glasses and squinted at the shown photo. “Seeing a close up really shows you he’s the spitting image of Donnie.”

“I’m more handsome,” Donnie refuted.

“He has a very nice lab coat though,” Cassandra half teased.

“Battle shells are cooler!” Donnie felt the whip of Spinter’s tail on the back of his head, responding with a simple ‘ow’, clamming up as he sensed his father’s glare. Splinter then motioned for Sofia to continue and she did.

“Giorgio, our leader and Mystic expert. Do not be fooled by the shakujō, he barely uses it - it’s the gofu slips that are his true weapon,” she pressed play on the media file and a video began playing show various instances of Gio applying said slips with varying effects - his battle shell, an explosion, vaulting him in various directions. Donatello then raised his hand and Sofia paused the video. “Yes, Donatello.”

“Would you mind going into more detail on how exactly the slips work? I’m pretty sure I have it figured out, but I’d like to know regardless.”

“...Tell me how you think it works and I’ll correct you if need be.”

“He focuses Mystic into the written words or symbols and they react accordingly!” Donnie said confidently and Sofia slowly nodded.

“Yes,” Donnie toothily grinned, “and no,” Sofia corrected and Donnie slumped slightly. “It actually starts with the raw materials first. To put things as simply as possible - his power needs two things to activate; the written word/symbol/ect and, well, rocks.”

“...Rocks?” Donnie knit his brow at Sofia.

“Yes, rocks,” Sofia used the remote’s laser pointer and made a circle around the text on a shown gofu. “Gio can enchant rocks, but the application of said incantation on solid stone is... spotty at best. So he instead makes his own ink with rocks sourced from the Hidden City. Once you add the direction or thought to it in the writing, his slips become portable Mystic multi-tools of whatever he wants - within reason.”

“Hm, roundabout, but strangely ingenious,” Draxum said and raised his hand, asking the question without prompting. “The stipulations being?”

“Uhhhh,” Sofia tilted her whole body in response, “how do I put this... it can’t be the impossible? Like, it can’t make anything, just react. His battle shell is made of two slips with ‘protect’ written on them, so they protect whatever they’re slapped on. If he throws one that says ‘boom’, it will explode on impact, and if another says ‘sharp’ or ‘slice’, then it can use it to cut things. Other than that, he uses directional arrows to fly around or send other things flying. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, I understand, thank you,” Draxum answered and Sofia nodded in reply.

“...Rocks!?” Donnie repeated in disbelief. “I thought the signage in the wreckage was all it was, but it was red herring all along!”

“Mmmyeah... it took him forever to figure that out too,” Sofia knowingly thought back to the memory. “Don’t feel bad, you were pretty close. Anyways-” She started the video again. “He has one more power that he dubbed ‘Hitodama Mode’. There’s really nothing complicated here. He can separate his soul from his body and that’s it, that’s the power.” She said and the video showed an instance of it happening. “He doesn’t use it often as it’s very situational and extremely fragile. That about covers him - any other questions before I move onto Vinnie?”

“Absolutely none!” Leo answered and as no one objected, Sofia moved on and a similar slide showcasing Vinnie came into view, both Leo and Casey perking up.

“Second oldest, Vincent, movie buff extraordinaire. Fights with kusarigama and is honestly insanely good at it. And this isn’t just a little sister gushing about her big bro,” Sofia played the media file showcasing Vinnie using his weapon with ease and grace, but it was something entirely different that caught Casey’s eye, prompting him to raise his hand. “Yes, Casey.”

“This might sound kinda weird but, is he OK? He looks exhausted in all the pictures and video,” He asked and Sofia slightly shook her head, pausing the video.

“No, he is not. He has really bad insomnia. We can’t get him checked out by human doctors, but if the Mystic experts in the Hidden City couldn’t figure out what the problem was, it might just be something he lives with for the rest of his life. He takes it in stride, but, yeah,” she trailed off, a troubled look on her face.

“Has it always been like that? He didn’t look exhausted in your memory - the one where you met your April,” Leo pointed out.

“No, it all started once our powers started manifesting. He just... stopped sleeping. He eventually crashes and we leave him be unless there’s something urgent. But speaking of powers, you probably want to know his. Unfortunately, one of them can’t be shown, but as long as he’s seen you once, he can find you again. We call it ‘Locator’. And the other, well, I only have this instance of it as he doesn’t like using it,” she pressed play again and skipped ahead to the desired timestamp. The video showed Vinnie from behind, shivering, the view then going down to his feet, revealing he was on top of a body of water and freezing it underneath him with each step.

“Ugh,” Vinnie said with another shiver, “I can’t believe we missed the last boat,”

“Do you want my scarf, Vin?” an out of sight Nel asked and he looked back.

“Can I wrap it around my feet?” He asked, fully knowing the answer.

“I’d rather you didn’t... it’s cashmere,”

“Mmmm,” He started to bring his attention back to his task, only to stop his gaze on the camera. “What are you doing, Sofia?”

“Gio asked me to record any use of our powers outside of combat.”

“That I did!” Gio replied, sounding further away than Nel, Vinnie’s eye twitching as he looked past Sofia.

“Gio, you made us miss the boat on purpose, didn’t you!? If I get sick from this, I am coughing directly into your eyeballs!”

“Ew! But also, you’ll have to catch me first! WOOOOOOoooooo~!” Gio went zipping past them, kicking up enough water to soak Vinnie in the process.

“GIO!” Vinnie seethed, “WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU-!” He skated after him and there was an audible sigh from both Sofia and Nel just before the video ended.

“Spoilers, we all got sick from that,” Sofia revealed to the thoroughly amused audience.

“Heh,” Raph let out a chuckle, “You know, it’s taken a little bit to sink in, but you and your siblings really are just like us. Seeing stuff like that really cements it.”

“Yeah, that felt like the usual shenanigans that you all tend to get into,” Splinter said.

“The two of them are like another flavor of Leo and Don...” April said and then caught herself. “Ohmigosh, sorry, that was super rude, wasn’t it?”

“You’re fine,” Sofia shrugged, “I thought the same thing just reversed when I first saw them-" she pointed to Leo and Donnie, "-interacting too. Anything else or are we good to move onto Nel?”

“Let’s go!” Raph encouraged and Sofia reciprocated by changing the slide, more of the same but different appearing.

“Nelli, third oldest, fashionista and influencer. By far the strongest of us, not just due to being Raphael sized, but because one of her Mystic powers is quite literally super strength.”

“What!?” Raph said with a mix of awe and disbelief, Sofia used the laser pointer to circle one of the accompanying photos.

“This completely destroyed road is her handiwork - albeit accidentally. Meat Sweats was fleeing and she threw her shichishitō at him in desperation. She missed, hit the road, and it crumbled into what you see here. She was- wait, why do you look so excited?” Sofia addressed Raph who was practically bouncing in place.

“Do you think she’d spar with me?!”

Sofia looked a little taken aback by the question, but a tiny smile met his enthusiasm. “You’d make her entire year if you sparred with her. You’re probably the only one I can think of who could keep up with her.”

“YES!” Raph ceased his bouncing and devolved into a small victory dance while still sitting.

“Careful, bro, you’re gonna make Franken-Foot jealous!” Leo half warned, half joked.

“...Who?” Sofia asked.

“Extended Mad Dog family. He’s Raph’s usual sparring partner, but he’s picked up a job as a bouncer in the Hidden City, so he doesn’t come around often,” Donnie explained.

“I miss him every day,” Raph said resolutely, “but I’m so proud of him for his independence!”

“Please continue,” Cassandra urged to Sofia. “Does your sister have a secondary power as well?”

“She does, but I unfortunately don’t have a proper video of it either. I instead have her most popular series in the Hidden City’s version of the internet,” She pressed play and vertically filmed video started, a title card popping up with the text Scaring my Brother - All Parts. The video started out innocently enough, Gio at the kitchen island eating cereal - only for Nel to phase through it and yell at him, making Gio scream and fall backwards. Another instance then played of Gio walking down the hallway for Nel to jump out at him and him scream again. Then a continuation of him working on a panel in his lab, rubbing his tired eyes with a sigh, only for Nel to pop out again from his workspace.

“GO TO BED!” She yelled, Gio screaming and recoiling before switching to anger.

“NELLI, GET BACK HERE!” He chased her out of the lab while she cackled, a few in the audience snickering at the exchange.

The video ended and all noticed Sofia was fighting back some giggles as she attempted to explain. “As you can see-” her shoulders shook with muted laughter escaping through her nose before she cleared her throat and started again. “As you can see, Nel can phase through objects. She obviously doesn’t just use it for pranking.”

“I’d hope not - I almost feel sorry for Giorgio,” Donnie said and Sofia snorted with a roll of her eyes.

“Don’t be. Once he found out how many unicorns Nel was pulling in per view, he got over it pretty quickly,” Sofia revealed.

“How much?” Splinter asked, genuinely interested.

“Well, not Lou Jitsu-in-his-prime-money, but it was enough for us to make a hefty emergency fund while Nel used whatever was left over to make more videos - not necessarily involving pranking Gio.”

“Hmmm,” Splinter grinned and rubbed his chin.

“Don’t,” all his boys and April said in unison without skipping a beat.

“Oh, come on! You’re all such sticks in the mud!” Splinter sunk deeper into his chair.

“...Déjà vu,” Sofia said with a few blinks and a shake of her head.

“Same conversation with your own pops?” April perceived and Sofia nodded.

“Word for word.”

“See?! Great minds think alike!” Splinter fussed.

“No.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Nope.”

“Do not.”

“No!”

“Can we please get back to the presentation?!” Draxum snapped. “I’d like to get to my section some time this year!”

“You’ll have to wait your turn regardless, because I’m next,” Donnie revealed, then looked to Sofia, “but yours is just about over, right?”

“Yep,” Sofia confirmed. “I should preface that both my April and my dad are pretty much the same, and I've never met you two," she pointed at Casey and Cassandra, "so, lastly, there’s me,” she clicked the remote and the screen went back to its blank slate.

“But certainly not least! WOOO!” Mikey encouraged and Sofia ignored his outburst with a slight shake of her head.

“You all know me enough by now that I don’t need a slide. My power,” she manifested her naginata, “is exactly as it looks. I can make a naginata and use it like any other weapon. I can modify it slightly - like making the hilt longer,” she demonstrated, then put it back to normal. “Or make the blade bigger,” she showed again and staggered slightly at the added weight before putting it back to normal. Cassandra raised her hand and spoke.

“Does it need to be on your person to stay corporal?”

“Nope,” Sofia answered Cassandra’s next question by taking the hilt in both her hands and tossing it to Cassandra - who expertly caught it. She stepped away from the crowd, doing a few slashing exercises with it, nodding once satisfied and returning it to Sofia.

“I had wanted to test it since I first saw it. It is exactly as it should be in weight and handling ease.”

“I’d hope so,” Sofia said with a chuckle. “If I’m only going to have one power, I may as well get it right.”

“Can it turn into anything else?” Mikey asked while waving his hand excitedly.

“Um,” Sofia paused and looked down to her weapon before looking back to the expectant audience. “It’d be easier to just show you...”

Sofia held the Mystic naginata aloft, causing it to float slightly above her palm. Her face scrunched up as she focused, the weapon rippling in reply, collapsing, then reforming in the shape of a baseball bat. She silenced any sounds of awe by holding one finger up, and the transformation reverted back with an almost comical sounding POP! She did the same demonstration again and again with varying weapon types, every single one of them always reverting with the same violent force as before.

“So, no, I can’t - not for more than a few seconds, if that,” she revealed and put her weapon away. “Any questions? Because that’s pretty much it.”

“That is...” Draxum’s brow knit as his thoughts swirled. “Not a normal reaction to Mystic energy manipulation... hmm, Donatello, notepad, please.” One of Donnie’s battle shell arms complied, giving him what he desired with a pen, Draxum taking out his reading glasses as he began to scribble.

“You do know it’s too late to modify your slides, yes?” Donnie said.

“I’ll wing it. Sofonisba just confirmed a theory of mine and it needs to be addressed.”

Chapter Text

“My turn!” Donnie eagerly took the remote from Sofia as she returned to her spot in the audience. “Buckle up, ladies and gentlemen - humans, Yōkai, and mutants of all shapes and sizes, because it's time for me to shed some light on this mystery!” He clicked the remote and a more stylized slide that clearly matched his aesthetic popped up with the title; A Minor Deep Dive Into Our DNA. “Behold!” Another click, another slide. Four intricate charts showcasing DNA structures came into view, Donnie pausing for effect, then then crossing his arms. “You may applaud - I worked very hard on this!”

Some of the crowd indulged him, Leo not being one of them as he scrutinized the slide. “How am I supposed to know what I’m applauding for if I can’t even understand what I’m looking at?” He asked and Donnie sighed.

“Fair enough,” he relented. “I sometimes forget my intellect is so hard for you to comprehend! Oh the humanity of being me! No one to truly appreciate my efforts!”

“I like the colors!” Mikey gushed. "Very bright!"

“Yes, the use of complementary colors is very pleasing to the eye,” Sofia added, Donnie eyeing Mikey and his doppelganger with exhaustion.

“Donnie, skip the theatrics and get to the point,” April urged and he did so with a huff.

“These are scientifically dumbed down charts of our DNA - specifically that of mine, Leo’s, Mikey’s, and Raph’s,” he clicked with every said name and the charts were labeled accordingly. “While we are all fundamentally different species of turtles, we all share similarities via both Draxum’s ooze and Dad’s DNA,” He used the laser pointer to circle all similarities before moving on with another click. “Now, here’s Sofia’s DNA,” another chart loaded in, everyone subconsciously looking for the differences. “As you can see, it’s very similar, almost identical to Mikey’s, except for this one branch here - that of the ooze.”

“He used the more risky formula,” Sofia answered the yet unspoken question on everyone’s lips.

“Indeed,” Draxum confirmed, “idiotically...”

“H’okay...” Sofia continued, “then why am I not going mad or mutating again?” She looked at her changed hand. “Well, mutating past this, I mean.”

“Thank you for bringing that up, because it leads into my next point perfectly,” Donnie revealed and another picture joined Sofia’s DNA chart. It looked odd, structured like the rest, but completely different. “This is a chart of the DNA I sampled from the scales on your hand. And so is this one,” click, another image replaced the first, “and this one,” click, “and this one,” click, click, click, click. Each image different from the last.

“What...” Sofia’s face twisted with confusion as Donnie kept clicking and more images kept appearing. “What does this mean?”

“It means that your hand’s genetic makeup changes constantly - which is scientifically impossible, but on the Mystic side of things; quite possible.”

“...Which explains why you kept taking so many scales...” Sofia absentmindedly rubbed her hand.

“Exactly. I initially couldn’t figure out why, but with all the information we have now, I have a theory that may put your mind at ease, because this Dragon’s Eye has become a ‘mixed blessing’ - for lack of better words.” Donnie finally moved to another slide and the beginnings of a bullet point list faded into view. “We know that the other brand of ooze causes madness and 'overmutation' - a term I’ve coined for the ‘kaiju’. And while we don’t have the full information on the Dragon’s Eye yet, it’s been believed to change its wielder into a monster of sorts. Draxum will no doubt go into the mutation process more in depth in his section, but the facts are that if you were going to further mutate, it would have happened already. Leo, Raph, Draxum, and I all witnessed your hand change, and it was a pure Mystic reaction. Therefore, if we think about this logically, the Dragon’s Eye is keeping your mutation at bay or has overwritten it with its own Mystic properties. Am I making sense?”

“Um, yes?” Sofia tentatively answered. “I just can’t figure out if this is good or bad?”

“Good in the sense you’re not going to overmutate, but still bad because you’ve got a Mystic relic messing with your DNA. If what’s been said is true, you shouldn’t change any more if you don’t use it. So, we need to consider the following for the time being;” Donnie clicked the remote and the list fully loaded in.

- Can the Dragon’s Eye be removed?
- If it can be, then can overmutation be cured?
- The book??? Is it relevant???

“And while I’d love to answer these, they’re all Draxum topics, therefore-” Donnie tossed the remote at Draxum, who fumbled slightly, then caught it. “Your turn.”

“...Which button does what again?” Draxum asked as he started moving through the crowd.

“Middle button advances the slides,” Donnie answered, “top button is the laser pointer if you need it.”

Draxum pressed the middle button and his slide was blank and without any embellishments as several diagrams and charts appeared. “I will explain this as simply as I can, but bear in mind that some of the alchemical and Mystic formulas can only be dumbed down so much. If you are lost, speak up and I will explain further.”

“I don’t like how you specifically looked at me when you said that,” Splinter raised a brow.

“You’re simply in the middle of the room, I meant nothing by it.”

“...Sure,” He raised both his brows and Draxum continued with a slight roll of his eyes.

“We will start with the ooze first and foremost. As already mentioned, the formula I disregarded for the one used in this world is in fact the one chosen by Sofonisba’s Baron Draxum. Besides the aptly described madness and overmutation, the other reason why I also didn’t pursue this formula is one specific ingredient; Wyrm’s Blood.”

“Blood from worms?” Mikey asked with a grimace.

“No, not even close,” Donnie shot down, then looked to Draxum. “As in, blood from a dragon. An actual one?” He asked skeptically.

“One of European variety, yes. Not only are most of them hiding, or more likely, extinct, but the unsullied samples of their blood still available are under lock and key or are ridiculously expensive. The only batch I ever made had a single drop as it was all I could manage to procure.”

“Dare I ask how expensive that single drop was?” Splinter asked in a half jesting tone and Draxum was unable to hide a wince.

“...I’d rather you didn’t,” he cleared his throat and continued, “Anyways, given the rarity of the ingredient, the fact that Sofonisba’s Draxum managed two separate batches is baffling. Either Wyrms are more common in her world, or he was being supplied ingredients by a third party.”

“Any ideas on who that could be?” Leo asked both Sofia and Draxum, the former shrugging and the latter shaking his head.

“No. Here I was working alone - with the exception of occasional hired muscle and my gargoyles.”

“Oh yeah, those guys! Whatever happened to your little shoulder buddies?” Raph recalled.

“They work in the Mystic Library now as Hush Bats.”

“Huh, that oddly fits them...” Raph mused while Sofia snorted.

“Oddly fitting for me considering the last time I saw them in my world, they were being carried away by those bats.”

“To get back on topic,” Draxum reclaimed his audience, “I also wish to touch on the vials that Sofonisba’s Draxum was attempting to inject her family with. My observations confirmed that both Vincent and Nelli were successfully given the drug before you interrupted,” he addressed Sofia specifically and her gaze was locked to his. “And I assure you, it’s harmless. It is a sedative to force the recipient into a slumber resembling death. In the past, it was used on Yōkai with then incurable illnesses. It would pause their lifeforce until a cure was concocted and they could be treated properly.”

“...So you’re telling me he was trying to help?” Sofia replied with clear disbelief in her tone.

“Most likely not directly, but with the intention of preventing the overmutation. As to why your entire family was present in his lab, I couldn’t say, but they are alive, I am sure of it.”

“But why would he want to help us?!” She fired back. “It doesn’t make sense! He can’t just throw me off a building one day and then benevolently sedate my family the next!” There was clear anger in her voice, Draxum feeling small pangs of guilt bubble in his chest before he spoke again.

“If I may speak not as Baron Draxum for a moment, but instead as the imbecile who almost doomed this entire world for a prophecy. A prophecy that I self fulfilled by resurrecting the very horror I sought to prevent. My pride overtook my aim before long, and it nearly got all of us killed. It is impossible to ever fully set things right, but with what life is left in me, I devote it to the Hamato Clan’s future. So, if I were to guess, he is doing the same in his own way. There is no excuse for his actions, and I am beyond frustrated that between two different timelines we somehow don’t have two brain cells to rub together!”

Silence shrouded them all, everyone waiting for Sofia’s response or perhaps another to speak up. Some wounds were still fresh, memories vivid, but with an exasperated sigh did Sofia bring everything back to the present. “...Alright,” she relented, “we’ll continue on with the assumption he’s trying to right his wrongs. My family is alive - that’s all that matters right now, I’ll figure the rest out later.”

“Not alone, you won’t!” Mikey encouraged. “This is just step one in solving the full mystery. We’re behind you all the way, so,” he returned his gaze to Draxum, “what else do you have for us?”

Draxum continued as prompted, mentally noting to thank Mikey for his help while switching the slide. This one displayed the Hamato Clan emblem with varying notes and accompanying photos. “We next need to go over the effects the ooze has had on your biology. Wyrm’s Blood is highly volatile, being known for both healing and poisonous properties. You mentioned the night we all met you that your brother said there's a stimuli that sometimes allows you and your siblings to improve your combat prowess. I’d have to do some tests to be completely sure, but I believe that stimuli is a direct result of the Wyrm’s Blood’s mixing with your adrenaline - but that’s not all it’s doing,” Draxum used the laser pointer to circle the Hamato Clan emblem. “As part of the Hamato Clan, you have access to art of Hamato Ninpō. It is a branch of Mystic Artes that relies heavily on trust and familial bonds to master - as I’m sure the boys will demonstrate if they haven’t already.”

“That’s a tomorrow topic,” Leo revealed, “We’ve got a reservation at Run of the Mill Pizza to go over all the Shredder and Krang situations. It’s about time we got you out of the sewer for awhile,” He addressed Sofia and she shrugged again in reply.

“I’m down for whatever,” She said and brought her gaze back to Draxum, telling him to continue.

“To put things as plainly as possible - your powers have activated prematurely, due to the ooze, and are by proxy incomplete - and I’m referring to your siblings as well. When we traveled through your memories, we witnessed the moment you first manifested your weapon, and for a split second, the emblem of your clan appeared on your chest. Boys, if you would,” Draxum gestured to the crowd, Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey all obliging him as they activated and displayed said emblem for Sofia to see - her eyes widening. “Am I to assume this is your first time seeing this?”

“...Yes,” she said after a short pause. “I obviously know the emblem itself, but not in seeing it like this.”

“Then it is just as I thought. Giorgio should have full sway over earth and his spirit form. Vincent’s gaze should see beyond individuals and find no discomfort in handling ice. Nelli’s strength should be more controlled and her ability to phase more diverse. And your ability to control energy should not violently fight against your focus. It was only through your presentation did my theory prove itself.”

“Wait,” Raph put his hand up, “doesn’t that mean it’s about the same as when we stole the weapons from your lab? We could access the powers, but not fully or properly.”

“More or less. You, Leonardo, and Michelangelo all furthered your understanding of the weapons through your experiences and then adopted the powers themselves without them once unlocking your Ninpō. Donatello’s then took on the form of his tech which he’d been using instead. It boils down to both usage and trust - but in Sofonisba and her sibling’s case, their powers were forced out. I am unsure if the same rules apply in this case, especially with Wyrm’s Blood in the mix.”

“Hmmm,” Donnie put his two index fingers together and to his lips. “Probably going to need to do more tests.”

“Indeed,” Draxum agreed. “Blood samples, Mystic power scaling, among other things.”

“Oh boy, I can’t wait...” Sofia said sarcastically and sunk into her chair.

“Not all at once, okay?” Mikey commanded with a cross of his arms, addressing both them.

“It will all be done in moderation,” Draxum pledged and Donnie nodded, but Mikey’s expression didn’t change.

“It’s probably in Sofia’s best interests that someone monitor them,” April said and Mikey agreed with a nod.

“Which is why I’ll stay with her until all these tests are over.”

“Gasp, Mikey! I’m hurt that you don’t trust me! Draxum I understand, but your own brother?” Donnie’s tone was hurt but still heavily steeped in irony. Mikey regarded him with a slow turn of his head as he uncrossed his arms.

“Giant robot video game attack,” he held up one finger, “scrambling my brain to be like yours,” a second finger, “CUCUMBER-MIKEY!?” the third and final finger pointed accusingly with its brethren. “Do I need to keep going!?” Mikey lifted his other fist threateningly.

“No, no! Point taken.”

“And you!” Mikey snapped back to Draxum who put his hands up defensively in response. “Considering the circumstances, I don’t want either of you alone with each other.”

“Fair,” Sofia said and Draxum nodded.

“If all goes well, we will most likely get the answers to if the Dragon’s Eye can be removed and if overmutation can be cured,” Draxum continued. “As for the book, it’s still a mystery. I’m starting to wonder if it was an unintentional misdirect. Perhaps we’ll never know.”

“That’s where you’re wrong!” Splinter suddenly sprung up from his chair, a package held above his head. “It’s finally my time to shine!”

“Oho!?” Leo sprang up as well, excitement in his eyes. “Did you get it?! Did Big Mama come through for us?!”

“She did! And it’s only going to cost you a few bouts in the Battle Nexus!”

“You mean, you and me, right?” Leo asked nervously, Splinter ignoring his son’s worries as he ripped open the package - revealing the book Draxum had desperately sought after.

“Ta-da! One ancient and evil looking book! You’re welcome,” He handed it to Sofia first who started for her phone to confirm the genuinity.

“...Yeah, this is it!” Sofia held the book up in one hand and her phone in the other - displaying the image of her version of the book. “How did you manage to find it?”

“Dad pulled out the ol’ razzle-dazzle on his old flame, Big Mama, and we cut a deal with her. As you know, she’s got quite the collection of all things Mystic, so we showed her the picture and voila!”

Sofia’s mug slowly changed from being impressed to confusion as she mulled over Leo’s words. Her gaze then shifted over to Splinter as she spoke again. “Razzle-dazzle? Old Flame? Big Mama? HUH?! SINCE WHEN?!”

“Oh, do you guys not know that yet in your timeline? Whoops,” Leo laughed nervously as Sofia processed the new information. “I reacted about the same way.”

“It might be different in her timeline! Don’t confuse her!” Splinter protested.

“No, it's OK - it’s starting to make sense...” Sofia’s expression didn’t change, still in a mild state of shock. “Hoo boy, and I swallowed one of her Mystic relics worth more unicorns than I could ever count. That is going to be an extremely fun talk when I get back...” She pursed her lips into a nervous smile, holding out the book to Draxum who took it from her as she continued to envision the future encounter.

“Are you in need of another sprint to the bathroom?” Cassandra asked tentatively and Sofia shook her head.

“Nah, this isn’t puke-worthy, at least, not yet. Thanks for that, by the way. The running me to the bathroom, thing.”

“Anytime.”

Draxum cracked the book open with slight resistance, its spine creaking loudly in protest. It had been a long time since any soul had opened this tome, and even longer since its original penning. His eyes narrowed as they met the first page’s scrawl, quickly fetching his glasses before attempting to read it once again.

“So, what’s the big reveal? Don’t leave us in suspense!” Leo pressed and Draxum’s troubled expression deepened.

“...The language this script is written in is ancient. It is a type of Yōkai dialect that hasn’t been used for thousands of years. I can read it, but not without having to pause every other word while I translate it. Give me a few moments...” He set himself completely to the first paragraph, scanning every symbol again and again as everyone waited patiently. Soon, a look of revelation graced his face, and he began reading his translation. “‘So that the blood of our fallen brothers be not shed in vain, I use my own to record the battles lost and won as this war rages on. A great curse has taken hold of our hearts and minds. The fields are steeped in red. The sun hides in grief. A gift from the heavens that brought madness switches masters so often that no one recalls who fired the first arrow. Beasts roar, children weep, and death comes to all who dare desire the Janome.’” He finished and looked up, his own concerned mug meeting a crowd of each person wearing their own brand of horror.

“...And that’s just the opening lines...” Mikey blinked in disbelief before addressing Casey. “You shoulda made a bet when you called it ominous looking, because I’d owe you money right about now.”

“...No kidding...” Casey responded, pushing one of his hands through his hair to combat his nervousness. “So, how many of us know enough Japanese to understand what the last word meant? Because, I’m ninety percent sure that it means what I think it means.”

“‘Snake’s Eye’,” Splinter answered for everyone, “but it has often also been translated as ‘Dragon’s Eye’.”

Everyone’s gaze then fell to Sofia who’d sunk even further into her chair than before, a sharp inhale escaping her. “Cassandra, I think I might need a raincheck on that bathroom trip.”

“Shall we go now or...?”

“Let’s see how I manage after a few more paragraphs.”

Chapter Text

The chill brought on by a late December snowfall deterred not a soul in New York City. With the holidays almost at their peak, the streets were aglow as shoppers continued to hunt their aims as the night dragged on. Above all the merry music, gridlock, and continuing capitalistic furor, ran the group of teens on a mission, the siren’s song from below too far removed from their motivations as they hopped from roof to roof.

“Come on, guys, on the double! We’re gonna be late for our reservation!” Raph ordered, old habits dying hard.

“I can’t believe we all collectively forgot Sofia has zero winter clothes,” Donnie glanced over to her as they jumped to another roof. In their hurry, the boys realized too little too late and barely managed to scrape together something warm enough for her to wear. There wasn’t much need to have several jackets and hats for warmth alone, and most if not all their extra clothes were destroyed with the previous lair. Still, they came through in the end, even if she looked ridiculous. Raph’s lent jacket went down to her ankles, the overly long scarf Mikey knit ages ago only to be forgotten about, and then subsequently recalled, trailed behind her comically, and the earmuffs adorned with cat ears, that were actually fuzzy headphones Donnie had impulse purchased during one of his hyper focused crazes, completed the look. “Gonna add shopping for clothing essentials to our list of things to do, unless you want to keep rocking that.”

Sofia stopped and took a quick look at her outfit before following after Donnie. “Well, I am quite warm, so it works, but I feel like I’m in danger of becoming a cryptid if I’m seen by the locals.” Mikey’s laughter echoed around them as he swung to the next building, Sofia smiling, pleased that her joke landed so well with him. “I do really love the scarf, Michelangelo. Mind if I keep it until I’m gone? No sarcasm, being totally real despite my monotone.”

“Of course!” He answered back chipperly. “You can keep it forever!”

“Aw, I can’t do that - Nelli will be jelly!”

“I’ll make her one too!”

“She’ll love you forever, I’m not even joking. Scarves are probably her favorite thing ever. She has like, sixty. ”

“Affection is my greatest motivator! I’m gonna buy so much yarn! YEAH!” He psyched himself up as he swung past Sofia and Donnie, reaching Raph on a few roofs away.

“I don’t understand why I couldn’t just portal us to Run of the Mill,” Leo landed next to Donnie and the latter scoffed.

“Because it’s more beneficial to Sofia in the long run to know her way there. It isn’t the same pizzeria she frequents back in her dimension, and considering how often we frequent Hueso’s, it’s in her best interests that she’s familiar with our usual route.”

“Yeah, when I went looking for the ol’ haunt when I first got here, I found an Applebee’s in its place.”

“Oooof...” Both Donnie and Leo cringed.

“On behalf of our universe, I apologize for this heinous betrayal of your expectations,” Donnie said with complete sincerity.

“What’s truly tragic is the blight of Applebee’s reaches beyond our world! Technology and movies are different - but somehow the literal worst chain restaurant in America stays?! Calling it now - it’s some timeless eldritch abomination. How else would it survive for over forty years AND across dimensions?!”

Sofia genuinely snorted into laughter. “When I’m in a cryptid competition and my opponent is Applebee’s...!”

Leo laughed with her as Donnie smirked at the joke, the trio almost caught up despite their distractions. “You know, you’re doing surprisingly well despite the whole, scary-book-detailing-the-entire-war-waged-over-the-relic-you-ate, thing. Are you good or are you deflecting?”

“...Eh...” Sofia answered with a shrug that moved the coat up to her knees. “Silver lining,” she said before jumping to the next roof, waiting for Donnie and Leo to land before continuing. “Yeah, it’s scary, really scary, but... my family is alive. I’m sure Gio was already working on a cure and maybe your Draxum will find one as he keeps going through the book. And even if there isn’t one, I can live with one gnarly hand over the alternative. Besides-” She completed the final jump, landing next to Raph and Mikey by the graffiti mural. “What should I do instead - bury my head in the sand? Lash out again? That’s not gonna help. I’m frustrated and anxious, but not helpless, I think... I hope.”

“Frustrated and anxious probably describes everyone involved in this incident,” Donnie replied. “Not to downplay your worries, of course, but there is a lot none of us fully understand, plus the entire reality of different worlds existing being a thing and-”

“What Donnie is trying to say is that we get it, to an extent,” Leo explained, thankfully stopping Donnie from a tangent. “When we get through telling you everything tonight, I believe you’ll find that we have more common ground than you think.”

“And even if we don’t, we’re in this for the long run,” Raph reassured. “I’m willing to bet this isn’t the first cross dimensional encounter with other versions of ourselves either, and they probably stuck together until everything got sorted out on their end too.”

“Is that your intuition talking again?” Donnie half mocked and Raph regarded his brother with an unimpressed look.

“If it can be right once, it can be right again. Now come on, we’ve got a table waiting for us,” he walked through the mural.

“The odds of that are astronomically low, but I’ll just let you have this,” Donnie relented and followed alongside everyone else. The warmth of the restaurant washed over them, Mikey shaking out a shiver while Sofia pushed her ear muffs around her neck. Her attention was so caught by the decor that she didn’t notice Señior Hueso approaching their group.

“Ah, the ensalada de pepino has finally arrived,” he said and caught Sofia off guard, barely able to hide a gigglesnort into her oversized sleeve. “Had your human friends not arrived before you, I would have given your table away,” he gestured to April, Cassandra, and Casey all sat at a far off booth. While Leo launched into an overly friendly banter with Hueso, Raph leaned over to Sofia who was still shaking with laughter.

“What did he say?”

Sofia managed to shake off her giggles, clearing her throat. “He called us a cucumber salad.”

“Huh. I’m not sure if I should be upset or flattered?”

“Considering how familiar he is with Leonardo,” she viewed the duo, Leo’s arm around the seemingly spent Hueso, enduring the young turtle’s usual vigor, “I’d say it was a term of endearment.”

“This way,” Hueso brushed off Leo’s arm and started leading them to the table, April waving at the approaching group.

“I had this premonition that you guys might be late - and judging by Sofia’s duds, I think I can guess why. We’re going shopping at the first opportunity.”

“Get in line, because we’re going to see the Council of Heads tomorrow,” Leo said.

“They can wait! Or are you trying to embarrass her on purpose!?”

“They’re not, it’s fine,” Sofia answered and started unzipping the coat to hang on a nearby provided rack, the boys starting to do the same. “As you can see, I’m frostbite free.”

“You should be after swimming in that thing! Okay, tomorrow, before you get whisked away to the Hidden City, we’re getting you a proper jacket. The scarf can stay, but these,” April plucked the headphones from Sofia’s neck as she filed into the booth. “Donnie, really?”

“How do you even know they’re mine? They could be Mikey’s!” He protested, April staring at him blankly until he caved. “Alright, fine, they’re mine! We have a surprising lack of winter hats back at the lair. They’ll do for now. She’s a Wild Cat, after all.”

“Alright, enough horsing around,” Raph pushed the remainder of the group into the booth, himself taking the end seat. “We’ll take two family pizza packages. We’re gonna be here for a while.”

“So I’ve been told,” Hueso refrained from passing out the menus under his arm, instead taking out his memo pad. “What will you be having to drink?” He started at the opposite end of the booth with Casey and worked his way down the line, pausing for a moment as his eyes landed on Sofia and Mikey sat next to one another. “Are you pranking me, or are there double chico pepino?” He asked and Sofia once again barely hid a snort.

“Yeah! This is our...” Mikey trailed off, then perked up, “long lost relative! Like a sister or cousin!” He said and Donnie facepalmed. Hueso viewed Sofia with suspicion and she let out a little sigh.

“Es una larga historia. Perdón por las molestias de esta ensalada de pepino,” She said and Hueso was slightly taken aback, then smiled.

“It is no trouble at all, Señorita,” He finished the drink order and left them be.

“I think I’ve flexed my meager spanish knowledge more here than I ever did at home,” Sofia mused as she watched Hueso disappear into the kitchen.

“What did you say?” Mikey asked Sofia shook her head.

“Nothing important, don’t worry about it.”

Dinner continued as planned, the table soon overcrowded with pizzas of varying flavors. One would think it was more than they could possibly eat, but it almost wasn’t enough once the last slices were divvied out. With warnings for no one to fall into their eventual inevitable food comas, Donnie started up the conversation they all had gathered for. While it hadn’t been immediately obvious that Sofia and her family had yet to encounter enemies beyond mutants and Yōkai, once Raph had revealed to his brothers that it was still 2018 back in her world did they start planning this talk. There was no way to truly know if the threats in another dimension would mirror theirs, but at the very least they believed Sofia deserved a proper warning.

They started with the Shredder, detailing his history and ties to their family, leading into their encounters with the Foot Clan. Cassandra filled in the blanks as the story continued, her inside information and experience clearing up any misunderstandings. Sofia listened intently, doing her best to visualize it all, Donnie even lamenting for his inability to have any recordings of both the incidents they were covering due to the absolute chaos with Shredder and the sealing of his powers with the Krang. Eventually, they detailed the final battle and how their entire family manifested all of their Hamato Ninpō in a last ditch effort - rising victorious.

“Now I realize this might be a loaded question, but do you have any questions?” Leo asked and Sofia leaned back into the booth’s back cushion, arms crossed, her gaze on the restaurant’s lighting.

With a deep breath she held momentarily before letting it out slowly, she answered; “Not yet. It’s a little hard to imagine, but at the same time, it makes sense. No wonder Dad never trained us properly, he didn’t want us to get involved...” She shook her head as she sat up again. “I’m sorry about Gram-Gram and S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.”

“Gram-Gram is always with us,” Raph said as he placed a hand over his heart.

“And I’m still working on recovering S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.’s data,” Donnie added. “He’s taking the longest nap of his life, but I’ll get him rebooted one of these days.”

“Considering the magic you worked on my phone, I believe it,” Sofia encouraged, getting a small smile from Donnie before she addressed the whole group again. “So, the Krang?”

“...I’ll start this one,” Casey said and began his tale. He spoke of the ruined future, of the strained way of life and of the resistance. Human, Yōkai, and mutant all banded together in hopes of eradicating the alien menace, but it was a struggle they couldn’t win. Out of options, Casey was sent back and so began his journey with his Senseis anew. Sofia couldn’t help but notice Leo’s body language shift uncomfortably as the tale continued, and the truth behind came to light as Raph removed his bandana, revealing a scar over one of his eyes. Everything was told matter-of-factly, no blame was thrown, but as Raph noticed Leo’s dampening mood did he offer encouraging words and his trademark smile. Leo relented with one of his own, but it was obvious his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“And so we got the portal open, grabbed Leo, and the Krang were finished! Boom, baby!” Mikey triumphantly finished the tale with his dramatic flair. “Questions?”

“...Hold on,” Sofia’s fist was firmly curled on her chin. “If this incident took over the entirety of New York City, shouldn’t there be footage of it? Considering smartphones and probably those newscasters that fly way too close to the sun?”

“The EPF - Earth Protection Force, confiscated everything,” Donnie revealed, “and continue to eradicate any evidence of it to this day. Try and google anything about it and you’ll get zero results. And before you ask, yes, I’ve tried to recover footage myself, but it led to the EPF threatening us in letter form despite everything we’ve done for them, so I dropped it. It’s just not worth the trouble.”

“That being said, there’s several monuments throughout the city for those who lost their lives during the incident that the EPF themselves put up, so I don’t really get what their deal is,” April said as she leaned her chin into her palm.

“And it’s not like they’ve gone out of their way to do anything to us, besides the threatening letters,” Cassandra added.

“Hrm,” Sofia nodded, “damage control, censorship, and attempting to pacify the people. Sound like pretty normal government organization shenanigans. If there’s an EPF in my dimension, I sure hope they’re doing something useful, but I’m not going to get my hopes up too high...” She shook off those thoughts, then addressed Mikey. “So, about the portal to the Prison Dimension...”

“I still don’t know how I managed it,” Mikey answered truthfully. “We all really wanted Leo back, and we got him back. I’ve been training with Draxum since then, but progress is... ehhhh,” he made a so-so gesture with his hand.

“I figured. If dimensional portals were easy, then we probably wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now,” she looked at her transformed hand momentarily before placing it back at her side.

“There’s also probably a huge difference between opening portals to dimensions contained in a universe and a completely different dimension with its own pocket dimensions. You traveling here from your universe versus Casey traveling back in time, versus Mikey accessing the prison dimension are, in theory, three completely different types of portals. The concept is the same, but the execution isn’t,” Donnie theorized. “Short distance portals are fairly normal Mystic powers around here, but hopping dimensions seems to always come with stipulations. Portals haven’t been something I had too much of an interest in researching before, but you can bet it’s been moved to the top of my list.”

“Good to know, because I don’t plan on trying to brute force one again,” Sofia said.

“Also good to know,” Casey added and Sofia sheepishly smiled.

“So,” Leo leaned back into the conversation, “have we covered everything or is there something else?”

“I think we got pretty much everything. Any more questions, Sofia?” Raph asked and Sofia tilted her head momentarily before shaking it.

“Not at the moment. I’ve been thoroughly warned, though, I’m starting to wish I’d written it all down-” she said and suddenly her phone vibrated.

“I just sent you a recording of this entire meeting, so review it as needed,” Donnie proudly announced, everyone in attendance looking at him suspiciously. “I can feel your collective glares and I am choosing to ignore them!”

“...Welp,” Leo slapped both of his knees and stood up, “if we’re done here, I need my pizza induced nap. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, so without further ado,” He swung one of his swords and a portal opened next to Raph. “After you,”

“You go ahead,” Raph moved out of the way, “I’m gonna show Sofia the best way back for future reference.”

“Alright. Any takers?”

“I still have to pay and I want to hit a few shops on the way back, so that’s a no,” Donnie replied.

“And I’ll walk April and Cassandra home!” Mikey announced.

“Unneeded, but appreciated,” Cassandra said back.

“I’ll go,” Casey left the table and joined Leo. “See you all later,”

“Okay, bye!” Leo said hastily and disappeared with Casey, everyone left mentally taking note of the abruptness of it.

“Oh, Leo...” April said with a sigh.

“Leave him be, he’s got Casey with him already. You know how he hates it if we fuss,” Donnie reminded.

Sofia said nothing, both figuring what Leo’s poorly hidden distress was about and that it wasn’t her place to pry. But with his exit did all further conversation cease, every one dispersing back into the cold night air. Raph was mostly silent all the way back to the lair, his usual chatty demeanor hidden as Sofia assumed the same thoughts plagued him. A part of her wanted to offer words of comfort, but another part of her continually put her in her place, silencing anything pertaining to the four brother’s pain. Who was she to even consider herself able to understand? Leo was right, there was a common ground, but it wasn’t nearly enough for her to insert herself into their past troubles. And yet, they’d already gone above and beyond for her, already pledging themselves to save her family and her world. She couldn’t in her right mind drop everything and play along, but not now, not yet.

******

“You good, Sofia?” Mikey’s voice broke her out of an involuntary daze. The Hidden City bustled around them, Sofia taking a moment to remember how they’d gotten there.

“...Yeah,” she eventually answered, doing her best to continue her pace. “Sorry, I kinda got lost in my thoughts. Are we almost there?”

“Unfortunately not,” Draxum answered.

“We can’t get public transport with Dad Two in tow, so we’re stuck hoofing it,” Donnie further explained, eyeing all the accusing glares tossed at their group.

“And no portaling because use of Mystic in the Head’s presence is against Hidden City law,” Leo said like he was repeating something he’d been told harshly. “Couldn’t I at least portal us a bit closer?”

“Let’s not risk it, not with so many people staring,” Raph said and pulled his hood over his head, Sofia doing the same with her new jacket. “Lest we forget how many times we’ve collectively made the police mad at us down here.”

“...Dare I ask?” Sofia said in jest and the brothers each let out their own sound of exhaustion.

“Let’s just say, all charges were dropped thanks to shredding the Shredder. Otherwise, this lovely crowd that can’t mind their own business-!” Leo addressed those around them in irritation, many of them turning away or averting their gaze. “Would probably jump all over us. Raph and Draxum especially.”

Sofia looked at Raph quizzically and he answered. “I look similar to a criminal, but it’s not one-to-one! They really need to start printing wanted posters in color!”

“As if they’d have the budget for that...” Draxum said with a shake of his head.

“Yeah, toner is expensive!” Mikey said and waited for Sofia to chime in, only to get no response. When he looked back at her, he found her eyes glazed over, her mind clearly lost again. “SO-FI-A,” he grabbed her shoulders and shook her with each syllable. “You are most certainly not ‘good’! What’s going on? Do you need a break?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” She brushed his hands away, but Mikey’s glare was intense, quickly making Sofia buckle under it. “Alright! I’m not fine! My mind keeps repeating the fact that I might die today, okay?! Happy now?!”

“That’s not going to happen,” Leo said motioned to his swords with his head.

“Especially since I made you this!” Donnie butted in, suddenly pressing a circular belt buckle onto Sofia’s wrist, it snapping into place and glowing momentarily before settling. “Your own Donnie Tech™ new and improved All Purpose Mad Dogs Button! We’ve all got one and among the hundreds of features, one of them is an escape pod! All you have to do is say the voice activated phrase and it’ll spring into action!”

“That phrase being?” She asked while slipping her coat’s sleeve out from under the clasp and over the button.

“I’ll text it to you so I don’t accidentally trigger it,” he answered and got his phone out, sending the message, Sofia getting hers out in response.

“...Really?” She asked in disbelief as she looked up from the message.

“No complaints! My tech, my rules!” He looked pleased with himself as Sofia rolled her eyes and put her phone away.

“So we’re double prepared to get you out of a jam if needed,” Raph reassured and gently pat Sofia’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be OK!”

“...Okay,” she relented and picked up the pace. “Let’s just get it over with before I regret having breakfast - which would suck because those pancakes were delicious.”

“I think it would be in your best interests to try and develop a new coping mechanism...” Donnie said while grimacing at Sofia.

“Yeah? And I think it’d be in your best interests to have less cringe voice activated phrases.”

Donnie gasped dramatically. “You take that back!”

“Make me, Bootyyyshaker9000.”

“Ohmigosh, Don, why...” Leo said exasperated as Mikey laughed.

“You’re consistent, that’s for sure,” Raph agreed with his brothers.

“MY TECH, MY RULES!” Donnie repeated with a huff, moving away from them to walk next to Draxum.

“...What’s the full phrase?” Mikey whispered to Sofia and she cupped her hand around his ear, answering. “DONNIE, REALLY?” Mikey shouted at Donnie who then childishly covered his ears with a ‘la-la-la-la’.

Light banter continued on until they finally reached their destination, a large, imposing staircase stretching into a cavern giving off an otherworldly glow. “Wait here,” Draxum commanded before ascending by himself, leaving the five turtles behind. A small pocket of time passed, each idling in their preferred way, no one finding any more words as if they shared Sofia’s unease. Sofia herself took to drawing in the sand, simple flowers, birds, candy, - anything to keep herself occupied as she waited for the sound of Draxum’s hooves on the stone steps. Mikey soon joined her, the two of them creating an impressive mural in the sand by the time Draxum had returned. His face was troubled but he said with no hesitation; “They wish to speak to you alone.”

Chapter Text

Sofia’s steps rang hollow as she ascended the stairs. She tried not to let her mind race, to not let it go where it shouldn’t, but it was futile. Only a few more steps remained, the light of the three pairs of gigantic, glowing eyes awaiting her arrival. For a moment, she wavered. Not once had she stopped or looked back during her entire ascent, but she finally allowed herself this tiny indulgence. She could barely see those waiting on her, an eerie fog rolling in, but she did manage to see Mikey giving her two thumbs up before he completely disappeared.

“...Okay,” she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before psyching herself up. “You can do this, you can do this, you can do this! Hot Soup, hot soup, hot soup!” She chanted to herself and took the last few steps.

“Welcome, young one,” the head in the middle addressed Sofia, its mouth illuminating with every word, freezing Sofia in place in both fear and awe.

“Be not afraid, we simply wish to speak with you,” the leftmost head spoke next.

“But, it is within your best interests to answer our questions, truthfully,” the rightmost head said in a more threatening manner.

“O-okay...” Sofia managed through her fright. “What do you want to know?”

“Draxum has given us a basic explanation of the recent happenings, but we would hear it from your perspective. Start from the beginning and tell us of your journey.”

Sofia complied and started her tale, being as candid as possible all the way through. From her family’s existence, to her accidental consumption of a Mystic artifact, to her clash with Draxum that brought her here. The Heads stopped her as needed for clarification, but she was soon up to the present. “...And that covers everything. I’ve been with the counterparts to my family ever since getting caught. We’ve been trying to figure things out, but Draxum thought it would be best to ask you for help. So, here I am, asking for your help?” She said tentatively, her hand hovering close to the button Donnie had given her.

“Hmmm,” the middle head pondered her words. “Show us your afflicted hand,” they ordered and Sofia obeyed, tearing the bandages off and holding it aloft. There was a gasp from one of them while the other two made knowing grunts.

“...You are indeed under the thrall of the Janome. We have seen it many, many times before, and you are not the first to consume it either. It was a common tactic during the war by whomever possessed it as it was impossible to remove, unless its bearer was deceased.”

“Oh, okay then, that’s one thing confirmed, great...” Sofia trailed off for a moment before snapping her attention back to the heads. “-But I truly didn’t do it on purpose, ” she pleaded.

“We believe you. While we do not know the full circumstances in your world for the artifact to be in such a vulnerable position, it is probably better in your charge than another’s, even in it being an accidental acquisition.”

“With that being said,” the left head continued, “It is also believable that you hail from another world, because we destroyed our own Janome - reduced it to nothingness, which finally ended the ceaseless slaughter. Why the same was not done to yours is a mystery, but it is not our place to ponder.”

“Indeed,” the right head concurred. “While Draxum was correct to petition for our aid, this is quite frankly beyond our power and duties. Such matters fall to Lord Simultaneous.”

“...I'm sorry, who?”

“Lord Simultaneous,” the middle head repeated. “He is the master of all time and space. He sees all and knows all - and only intervenes if it is within his plan. Balancing the time continuum is a delicate process, and if he has deemed your situation not important enough to intervene, then it is not our place to do so either.”

“It is also a telltale notion that your circumstances can yet be solved without his assistance, for it was he who helped us destroy the Janome, and he only appeared to us when there was no longer hope.”

“...Hope,” Sofia said, her mind bringing up Casey Jones’ creed.

“However, know that you have our support.”

“...What, really?” Sofia looked at them in disbelief. “Draxum made it sound like you we’re going to kill me if I looked at you wrong.”

“...Always the pessimist, that one,” the right head sighed. “In knowing where you hail from, there is no doubt another set of our council, and with all that our own turtles have done for our planet, they’re going to need you back. Here, take this,” a scroll appeared before Sofia and fell into her hands. “That is a missive for Draxum. If you are to make it home under your own power, you will need training. Despite everything, he is one of the most talented among us in both combat and Mystic Artes. I have a feeling he intended to try and bring up this subject himself, but has been holding back on account of both his and his counterpart’s past actions.”

“...Probably...” Sofia mused.

“Take this also,” the left head said and another scroll joined the previous. It was adorned with a wax seal depicting the Heads themselves. “Another missive for our counterparts when you return home. You will no doubt need it.”

“...Thank you,” Sofia said and stored them. “I’ll do my best to get back to where I belong as soon as possible.”

“Good luck, young one,” the middle head bid and Sofia bowed in response before turning on her heels, quickly descending. She felt lighter, like a burden had been lifted, starting to jump entire sets of steps. Not everything was well, but it was well enough for now. As she came into view of the boys and Draxum did she take another leap, Mikey matching her enthusiasm, holding out his arms to catch her. Unfortunately, her velocity was more than his stature could handle, both of them tumbling backwards into the dirt, but, it was only laughter between them as the dust cleared.

“You’re alright!” Mikey hugged her and she fully accepted the gesture. “I was so worried...!”

“Yep, not dead!” She confirmed and stood them both up. “Turns out the Heads are a lot less murdery than you thought,” She addressed Draxum. “So know that I’m holding back from throwing this directly at your head for stressing me out so badly!” She said through grit teeth as she held out the missive to Draxum. He took it and began reading it immediately.

“What did they say?” Leo asked.

“Some good news, some bad news, but nothing we can’t handle, because if we couldn’t, apparently some time lord would have intervened.”

“Time lord?” Donnie questioned.

“Mmmhmm,” Sofia nodded. “And so,” she gestured to Draxum who had finished reading.

“...I am to train Sofonisba alongside Michelangelo in an effort to aid her path home.”

“Wait, go back to the time lord thing,” Donnie redirected. “What time lord?”

“...Does the name Lord Simultaneous mean anything to you?” Sofia asked Draxum who shook his head. “Alright then, I’ll tell you what the Heads told me.”

******

The crowd at the Battle Nexus was deafening, both cheers and jeers mixing into the perfect roar as the next competitors entered into the arena.

“Kinda wishing I kept those cat headphones!” Sofia shouted to Draxum.

“What?” He yelled back.

“Nothing...” She shook her head and they both brought their attention back to the ring, her mind thinking back to the instance that brought them into mid-tier seating at Big Mama’s Battle Nexus. No sooner had Sofia relayed the infodump from the Council of the Heads did Leo change the subject somewhat drastically.

“So, since Sofia is in no mortal danger and we’re already out, I’d like to ask a teeny-tiny favor of you all-”

“No,” Donnie answered preemptively.

“Don, you don’t even know what I’m asking about yet!”

“It’s about the Battle Nexus,” He fired back and Leo smiled nervously. “You want us to participate in it with you in lieu of Papa.”

“...Very sharp of you, Donald,” Leo said and wrapped his arm around Donnie who paid it no mind. “Which is why I need you! That intellect will get us through the battles with no sweat!”

“Not to interfere with your plan here, but this is about the book, right?” Sofia interjected. “Considering you got it for me, shouldn’t I be the one paying you back for it?”

“No, because there’s another reason why my brothers and I should be fighting instead of you! This is the perfect opportunity for us to showcase our skills! Sofia hasn’t seen us fully in action yet, and if we’re going to be training and fighting together, then what better an opportunity to have us all in one place for her viewing pleasure!”

“...You have a point under all that manipulation,” Raph replied.

“But you could just ask us normally,” Mikey added.

“...I know,” Leo deflated sheepishly. “But I also know, Raph, that you wouldn’t dare let our guest fight a battle out of her depth - and I also know how much you want to show off your razzmatazz to Sofia, Mikey.”

“Stop using me as leverage, or I’ll get legitimately mad at you,” Sofia warned.

“He’s unfortunately not wrong - he knows how to appeal to each of us specifically - and yes, Leo, before you insinuate it, I do want to test out some new Mystic Tech spell weaving, so you can skip the begging,” Donnie pushed Leo off. “So let’s get over to the Battle Nexus and be home for dinner.”

The crowd’s roar brought Sofia out of her thoughts, gaining her focus back as she witnessed Mikey chain a gigantic beast down while Donnie unleashed an unreal arsenal of missiles onto it. The crowd all collectively held their breath as the dust settled, all waiting for the match to be called, but the beast rose again, breaking through Mikey’s chains. However, a large blue portal opened above it, and a red Mystic arm broke through, thoroughly knocking out the beast. The arena exploded in excitement, both Sofia and Draxum being the few stewing in silence. For Sofia, she was once again in awe, now fully aware just how strong the boys were, and how truly out of her depth she was. With Draxum, he’d gone into full analytical mode, viewing all their techniques under a critical eye.

“Listen to that, they LOVE us!” Leo soaked in the atmosphere. “Such a shame that was the last bout!”

“Indeed, my best are simply a breeze for you silly-billies,” Big Mama’s voice echoed throughout the Nexus. “But what did I expect from the dizzy-droppers who took down both the Shredder and the Krang? Why, this must be simply dreary for you!”

“...I don’t like where she’s going with this,” Raph said cautiously.

“Nope, we’re good! Deals done, so we’ll be on our way now!” Mikey attempted to misdirect.

“Aw, but where’s the fun in that? What’s a fantumptuous show without an encore? And let’s spice things up a bit with some volunteers from the audience!” A spotlight suddenly lit up, illuminating Draxum and Sofia, both caught off guard. “Why, who do we have here? Baron Draxum and another turtle Yōkai?! Surely they’ll give us another good thrashy-diddle!” A portal opened under the duo before they could protest, depositing them next to the boys, the crowd going wild in response.

“Big Mama, this isn’t what we agreed on!” Leo pointed one of his swords accusingly to her VIP seat. She answered with a giggle and a smug shrug.

“Altering the terms at the last second is kind’ve my quizzy-quirk, turty-poo. It’s all in good fun, right, everyone?”

The crowd’s response made Sofia flinch with how loud it was, feeling her anxiety spike as she took in the view from a battler’s perspective. “Well, this is happening. Great.” She drew her weapon and shakily took a stance.

“Deep breaths,” Donnie said as they positioned themselves around her. “Listen to Leo and we’ll get this done before you know it. Despite him getting us into this mess, he’ll just as easily get us out of it.” A trapdoor under their previous conquest opened, dropping it out of sight as the whir of another platform informed them of the arrival of their next fight.

“Ooo, just one more thing!” Big Mama practically squealed, spinning something small on her index finger. “I’ve heard this new turtle is spiffy-swift! Shall we see how fast?” She tossed it into the ring, revealing itself to be a gem of some kind. Out of its freefall did it suddenly take on a mind of its own, homing in on Sofia and attaching itself to her shell.

“What the-!?” Sofia recoiled as it grew tiny teeth and latched on. She attempted to pull it off, but it was thoroughly stuck on her. “What did you tell her about me for that book?!”

“Nothing! Honest!” Leo said in his defense. “I don’t know how she has any information on you!”

“Big Mama has her ways!” She revealed with a giggle.

“...Oh no,” Draxum eyed the gem with horror, then snapping his attention to the rising platform, his fears fully realized. On it was a ludicrously large ornate chest adorned with jewels and beautiful embellishments. “Sofonisba!” He snapped back to her and she flinched again in response. “You need to run! No matter what, keep moving!”

“W-why?”

“That creature is a Greater Mimic - one that’s fed on a ridiculous amount of greed driven fools! Whoever dares takes the treasure within are immediately consumed, and those who manage to escape soon find out the treasure is merely a part of the mimic’s body - a part of itself it will stop at nothing to reclaim!”

The realization hit the entire group as Sofia’s eyes fell back onto the gem. The screech of the mimic echoed through the arena, everyone witnessing bug-like legs grow from underneath it and tentacles spill from its mouth as the lid opened. A singular, bloodshot eye could be seen within, and the moment it saw Sofia did the creature scream once again, preparing to charge.

“Sofia, go! We’ll cover you!” Leo ordered and she obeyed, starting her desperate sprint. It followed her instantaneously, Mikey and Draxum immediately reacting, the former summoning chains to grab the mimic’s legs while the latter broke cells between his fingers, leading roots to constrict whatever the chains could not. It was only momentarily stalled, slipping out of both restraints before long.

“Look. Over. HERE!” Donnie launched a missile with each word, none of them able to scratch the beast’s armor nor stop its rage.

“The eye is its weakness!” Draxum revealed.

“I FIGURED THAT, DRAXUM - BUT IT WON’T LOOK AT US!” Donnie barked back.

There was a shriek from Sofia, getting caught by a tentacle before slashing out of its grasp. The mimic momentarily recoiled as she took to running again, naginata in hand, sparking an idea in Leo’s mind after viewing the entire exchange.

“Maybe it doesn’t have to...!” He threw one of his katana towards Sofia, teleporting himself next to her and adjusting himself to her speed. “Sofia! I have a plan-!” They both narrowly dodged a tentacle, neither missing a beat as their sprint continued.

“Yeah!? What?!” Sofia yelled, exasperated.

“I need you to throw your naginata into the mimic!”

“You don’t throw naginatas, Leonardo, they’re not spears!”

“Then make it into something small and throwable and chuck it in there! Once it is, make it as large as possible! Can you do that?”

She at first eyed him dubiously, but as she worked through his methodology did she understand. “...Okay, I’ll see what I can do!”

“That’s the spirit!” He threw his katana back and rejoined the group. “On my mark, follow my lead!” He announced and everyone braced themselves. Sofia pivoted her stride, sliding to a halt, holding up her weapon and focusing on turning it into a shuriken. She threw it with ease, the shuriken reverting back into its original form with a pop the moment it passed by the tentacles.

“Bigger...!” Sofia strained, and her energy complied, “-Bigger!” she felt a resistance, but fought through it. “...COME ON!” The naginata exploded in size, the blade poking out of the mimic’s top while the hilt immobilized the monster by breaking through its bottom. The pure output of energy froze Sofia on the spot, beads of sweat forming all over her body as she struggled to maintain it.

“Explosives, lots of them!” Leo ordered Donnie, opening a portal that directly led into the mimic.

“With pleasure!” Donnie unloaded every spell he’d created in the desired category until the mimic was close to bursting.

“Close it up, Raph!” Leo directed next. “And shield Sofia!”

“Like a boss!” Raph manifested his construct, hitting the giant treasure chest shut with a diving double axe handle, then jumped over to Sofia, positioning himself over her. “You OK!?”

“I’m... managing...!” Sofia forced out.

“Now seal it shut!” He pointed to Mikey and Draxum who constricted the squirming beast with their respective powers.

“Snug like a bug in a rug!” Mikey pulled the chains tight.

“Light it up, Don!” Leo gave him a thumbs up.

“NEVER HAVE YOU SPOKEN MORE BEAUTIFUL WORDS TO ME!” Donnie cackled as he pressed the trigger in his hand. The explosion was tremendous, probably shaking the entirety of the Grand Nexus Hotel, knocking every audience member out of their seats, Big Mama included. As the dust settled, it revealed Sofia and Raph unharmed whilst the rest of the group was behind a blast shield Donnie conjured just before the explosion went off. There was a pause as both shock and admiration battled for supremacy in each audience member, but the crowd erupted into their loudest zeal filled uproar yet. The Mimic had been reduced to ash, the false gem dissolving off of Sofia’s shell.

“And with that, we’ll be taking our leave!” Leo announced to a very frazzled Big Mama before opening a portal back to the lair, everyone filing into it as quickly as possible, Raph being the last one through with a thoroughly exhausted Sofia under his arm. “And that is how we Mad Dogs do it!” He closed the portal. “A little beyond how we planned today would go, but how’re you feeling after your first misadventure with us, Sofia?”

“Hhhgnn,” she gurgled, using all of what was left of her strength to look up at Leo from her position under Raph’s arm. “Never again, please, ...not that Big Mama’s meddling was your fault...”

“Unfortunately, that’s not something we can necessarily promise,” Raph set her up straight and she wobbled slightly before finding her footing. “Sorry about you getting dragged into the fight, but good job! That was great!”

“Yeah, Sofia! You skewered that thing good!” Mikey added with an excited glow.

“It’s almost as if when you’re given an actual good plan you can properly shine,” Donnie said smugly. “I’ll be saving that one to show to Gio later...” He typed away at the panel he kept on his wrist with a smirk.

“...Thank you,” Sofia said with a hint of bashfulness, not used to being praised so much. “You guys are pretty crazy with your powers.”

“How is your energy level after expending that much of your own power?” Draxum asked Sofia and she shook her head.

“I’m in desperate need of a nap. I’ve never made my naginata that big before.”

“That is to be expected. I’ll keep your limitations in mind when we begin tests tomorrow.”

“...Ugh,” She failed to hide her displeasure. “Actually, scratch the nap, I’m just going to go to bed early.”

******

Draxum flipped through the paper pile of results, mentally scanning them for the umpteenth time. It was more or less what he expected, Sofia’s blood directly from her arm exactly the make it should be while the drops sampled from her transformed hand ever changing. The Janome could not be removed, the Heads would not tell falsehoods, but they didn’t speak of the long term effects it could have. They all knew it transformed the owner based on usage, so the theory of the transformation being on pause as long as the relic was ignored stood - or did it? Would a relic so powerful really be obedient? To Draxum, it both did and didn’t make sense. Having been manipulated by a relic himself, one that took his life force he’d yet to fully recover from, his doubts towards the Janome were numerous - and it was now his aim to figure out doubts from legitimate concerns.

He placed the papers down with a wispy sigh, fatigue catching up with him. It was late, far later than he ever intended to keep Sofia and Mikey. He was, quite frankly, out of practice with his alchemical ways. It wasn’t hard to get back into the swing of things once he got over the first few blunders, but the exhausted look on Sofia and the unimpressed mug on Mikey as he drew yet another phial of blood was certainly deserved. They knew he wasn’t doing it purposely, but Draxum figured Sofia’s patience was fully spent with the last phial, and so he decided to call it with what information he managed to grasp that day. Finding a cure for overmutation was a long ways away, but those were formulas and theories for another day. He started to contemplate taking a leave of absence from his job, leaving his workstation behind and turning to where he’d last left the duo.

There was hardly anything left of his lab after Shredder’s destructive path, but in the main room sat two identical turtles against the wall, pillows taken from the lair to sit on under and behind them. Further observation revealed Mikey had fallen asleep and was no doubt unintentionally using Sofia’s shoulder as a head rest. She didn’t seem to mind though, continuing to draw in her sketchbook despite the extra weight. She didn’t even bother to look up as Draxum finished his approach.

“...All done?” Sofia asked as she completed another line.

“Yes, that will be all for today.”

“Good, because my veins are on fire,” she said nonchalantly and Draxum viewed the bandages covering the entry wounds with apologetic eyes.

“I will be better prepared next time,” he reassured.

“I’m sure,” she said without any attitude, stopping her sketching. “Anything else?”

“In regards to tests? No,” Draxum continued, trying to combat the awkwardness of having no mediator between them. “But in regards to your training, I usually have sessions with Michelangelo on Wednesday nights. Does that work for you?”

“I don’t see why it wouldn't?” She finally looked up, one of her brows raised.

“...Right,” Draxum shook his head at himself. Of course it would work, she had nowhere else to be.

“...Anything else?” Sofia repeated, trying to urge Draxum to either the point or the end of the conversation. He frustratedly pinched between his eyes in response and let out some of the tension in his shoulders. “Draxum, I’m not going to attack you again. If you have something to say to me, just do it.”

“...I,” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I am sorry.”

“You already apologized each time you took my blood today. It’s fine.”

“You misunderstand, I’m apologizing for the whole situation with the family meeting and the Heads. I meant to speak to you earlier about it, but time did not permit.”

“Oh,” Sofia said with a hint of surprise in her voice. “You’re forgiven?”

“Am I really?” It was his turn to raise a brow.

“No, you are, really,” Sofia said more seriously. “I’ve already put that all behind us, so I was just surprised you’re bringing it up again. Anyways - aren’t we kinda even? Considering my immediate response to hearing your voice for the first time was to put a blade to your throat?”

“Knowing the situation, I’ve never begrudged you for that.”

“Then we’re even, like I said. It’s awkward between us because I’m still hung up on whatever my Baron Draxum is doing - but you’re you and he’s my problem. I might still be wrapping my head around you being a family man, but actions speak louder than words, and I’ve heard you loud and clear,” she pointed to one of her new bandages. “Besides,” Sofia’s hands went back to her sketchbook and she flipped it towards Draxum. “I don’t draw people I hate.”

She ripped out the sketch and handed it to him, allowing Draxum to observe the drawing closer. There were three illustrations of him, one of just his head and shoulders, another of him walking, and another of him pouring over the paper’s he’d just left. They were messy, unrefined, but still obviously him - a fair amount of talent on show.

“That’ll be fifty unicorns,” she jokingly held out her hand. He obviously didn’t have the tender, but a previously discarded idea came back to him in its place.

“...How about a strongly worded letter to your Draxum instead?” He said back with a slightly devious smile.

“Ohmigosh, would you? Actually?” Sofia snorted into a small giggle. Draxum nodded and she smirked in reply. “Deal!”

Chapter Text

Another week ended, another began. It was nearing the end of December, marking almost two months since Sofia had entered their lives. Things fell into routine once the initial adjustment period waned. While everything wasn’t set in stone, most days ended up with more or less the same results. Mondays were for errands and any other chores that needed doing. Splinter had made it a habit to get out of the lair more often and one of his children would accompany him whilst the others would attend to chores. Whatever time was left was for everyone’s respective downtime, to prepare for the next two days. Tuesdays and Wednesdays were reserved for training - physical and Mystic, respectively. Tuesdays would cover both technique and sparring, Sofia cycling through the brothers as they each completely and utterly destroyed her attempts to win, but she was noticeably getting better with each bout. Wednesdays would begin with Mikey and Sofia doing prep and exercises until Draxum joined to teach them proper. Results were mixed, but none of the trio expected results this soon.

Thursdays were for continuing tests, each following session becoming more intense than the last, insomuch that it often rolled over to Friday before they finished up. This more often than not led to Friday being a mostly lost day for Sofia and Mikey. Donnie even began joining to try and speed up the process, but it only further complicated matters as Donnie delved deeper with tech where Draxum couldn’t. The weekend, as always, was for relaxation, if time and mutant activity shenanigans allowed. It seemed the mutants of New York often kicked off their activities on Saturdays, especially in the evenings. Plans would so often be made only to have one of their old enemies crash it last minute or during an outing. Despite the boy’s coaxing to have her join when it did happen, Sofia would always bow out.

“I’ll just get in your way. Maybe once I can finally beat one of you during training?”

It was on one particular Tuesday, when she’d finally won, Sofia could hardly believe she managed it. It had been her versus Mikey. She could never keep up with him, using his chains to swing around her both with purpose and to misdirect her every chance of landing a hit. He was just too fast, and her own speed gave her no advantage in close quarters. The usual move that got her was so simple that it overly frustrated her each time she fell into it. He’d grab her naginata with his chains and they’d be at a stalemate. He’d pulled it from her hands, pulled her entirely with it, she’d de-manifested it only to be wrapped in chains the next moment, and also just tried (and failed) a general tug of war to force Mikey to her side of the ring. Donnie had warned him to stop being so over reliant on disarming Sofia, that one day the repetition of it all might turn around and bite him, but there they were again, Mystic chains wrapped around a Mystic naginata.

“Oh boy, this again,” Sofia scoffed and braced herself. “What’ll be this time, Michelangelo? Throw me? Wrench my weapon from my hands?”

“Careful, Mikey,” Donnie warned, observing the bout with his brothers, recording it all the while.

“Hmmm,” Mikey smirked, an overly pleased look on his face. “I think I’d like to try something a little different today.”

She sighed, slacking her stance in response, already giving up. “Go for it.”

“COWABUNGA!” He needed no more encouragement as he used his chains anchored to her weapon to launch himself at Sofia. She reacted just as he expected, rebracing herself and allowing him the perfect opening. His plan was to kick into her plastron and claim victory once more, but what he least expected was a sudden change in his trajectory. About halfway through his lunge did Sofia slash upwards, whipping him into vulnerability. She then de-manifested her weapon, took a step back, and reformed it around her fist as a pair of brass knuckles, taking the few seconds they were allowed to exist to get a firm punch on Mikey. A sound hit, knocking him back further than either of them anticipated, slamming Mikey into the wall whence he came. Sofia gasped in alarm at what she’d done, immediately running to him in a panic.

“Mikey! Ohmigosh, are you okay!?” She got down to his level, Mikey fighting off any ebbing pain with a liberating shake of his head. Sofia expected admonishment or a further indication of pain, but she least of all expected an excited gasp with nothing but adoration in his eyes.

“You called me ‘Mikey’ for the first time!” He then hugged and excitedly shook her, which she took in stride. “You guys heard that too, right?!” He addressed his brothers.

“Yes, we all heard it,” Donnie replied flippantly while Raph and Leo nodded. “It's also Sofia’s first win. Congratulations,” he said while watching the replay, a small party cannon exiting from his battle shell, firing confetti at the twins below with a victory chime before storing itself again.

“Should... should I not have?” Sofia hesitated, eyeing the confetti while her brain still worked through the recent happenings.

“You totally should have! To both things! I didn’t take Donnie’s warnings to heart and you’re finally comfortable with nicknames!”

“Haven’t we been calling ‘Sofia’ by her nickname this whole time?” Leo pointed out. “In fact, I don’t ever remember calling her by her full name.”

“Because ‘Sofonisba’ is a mouthful,” Sofia said as she and Mikey stood up, dusting the confetti off one another.

“So is ‘Michelangelo’, ‘Raphael’, ‘Leonardo’, and ‘Donatello’,” Leo argued back.

“I didn’t want to be rude,” she further argued.

“No, you just don’t want to admit that you’re warming to us! Awww~” He teased and Sofia crossed her arms with a scowl. “Should we have a group hug? I think we should!”

“Hug me against my consent at your own peril,” Sofia pointed at Leo in forewarning.

“So Mikey gets to hug you but we can’t?” Come on, one victory equals one hug! Bring it in!”

“...I’m hitting the showers,” she said with a huff, leaving the boys behind.

“You’re trying too hard,” Donnie said once Sofia was out of earshot. “It’s been less than two months.”

“Yeah, I think it’s still a little too early for group hugs,” Raph agreed.

“Alright, my bad,” Leo relented. “I guess she has been with Mikey the most, it makes sense.”

“...And he also doesn’t look like her siblings,” Donnie added, the reality of Sofia’s situation hitting them all over again. “No matter how fine she seems, we’re still a constant reminder that she’s away from her family. Not to mention the state she saw them in before she was whisked away here.”

“...Yeah,” Raph said, the memory invasively resurfacing. “How’s the Mystic training going, Mikey?”

“It’s going well enough!” Mikey climbed out of the sparring area and joined them. “I don’t know if you guys noticed, but Sofia is maintaining the shape of another weapon a little longer now! Like, a few more seconds!”

“Okay, good to know, but what about Mystic-portal-wise?” Donnie asked.

“Uhhh...” Mikey’s uncertain expression gave them their answer. “It’s like, I think if I focused hard enough, I could make one, but, in the simplest of terms, it hurts, a lot. It hurt a lot back when we got Leo back too. I’m not really sure how to make it not hurt, and Draxum said not to force it - especially with what happened to future me.”

“Hmm, I wonder if I could use my healing protocols to circumvent the pain...?” Donnie pondered. “I’ll add it to the research list. For now, try to focus on getting Sofia to unlock her Ninpō.”

“We have,” Mikey said with a hint of frustration. “You know as well as I do it doesn’t just ‘unlock’. Even with the whole, dragon blood stuff, it’s gonna take time, not to mention the whole trust thing.”

“Which begs the question; what or who is Sofia supposed to trust?” Leo asked. “Us? I mean, she does to an extent, but, not throw-herself-down-a-waterfall-because-she-knows-we’ll-catch-her, trusting.”

“And then things were rocky with her siblings back home before the whole overmutation incident...” Raph added and they all fell into contemplation. It lingered for a while before Leo spoke again.

“Well, at least we can start fostering more trust now that she’s beaten one of us. She’s got no excuse to skip our next date with whichever lucky mutant crosses our path!”

“Just don’t pull a Gio,” Donnie half cautioned, half joked.

“Man, you really don’t like your counterpart, Dee,” Mikey said and Donnie knowingly chuckled.

“No, no I do not.”

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday passed without incident, more of the same, and it unfortunately became the case for their Saturday as well. It was Raph’s turn to pick an outing, the five of them and Casey sneaking into the usual spot at the pro wrestling arena. “This is gonna be so great!” Raph looked down at the ring with anticipation. “They’re debuting new fighters tonight! I’m so excited! Sofia, is Nelli into wrestling?”

“She’s more of a hockey gal,” Sofia said and took a seat next to Casey. “We snuck into a few rinks and sat on top of the screens just like this too. She likes the absolute raw power behind checks and the roar of the goal horn. It also means she can wear one of her scarves meant for warmth, so it’s a total win-win in her book. Oh, and I guess I should warn you, she WILL check you if you give her the chance when you spar her.”

“You’re threatening me with a good time!” Raph said eagerly and Sofia snorted into a giggle.

“Are you into hockey too?” She addressed Casey, “or am I making wild assumptions based on your weapon of choice.” She manifested her naginata, making it into a copy of Casey’s chainsaw hockey stick, giving it a rev before it reverted back.

“I am, but it’s been a recent thing I got into. The stick was my mom’s and it felt natural to take it.”

“Oh, cool. Er, sorry if I just put my foot in my mouth again-”

“No, no, you’re good! You don’t need to be on pins and needles around me, Sofia. ...Or are you still feeling bad about weeks ago?” Sofia held up two of her fingers with a tiny space between them and Casey smiled at her honesty. “Well, stop, it’s fine.”

“Mmmm, if you say so...” Sofia lightly shrugged. “I still feel a little bad regardless, like, maybe if I let you get a solid punch on me it’ll go away?”

“I’m not doing that,” Casey shook his head.

“Why don’t you two have a nice, clean fight instead?” Leo suggested. “You and Casey could duke it out next Tuesday instead of one of us. That’ll probably rattle out any lasting uneasy feelings!”

“Yes, because nothing says ‘lasting forgiveness’ like two polearm wielders smashing the heck out of one another,” Donnie sarcastically added.

“I mean...” Sofia and Casey looked at one another. “Maybe it’ll work? If you’re game, I’m game?”

“Sure, I’ve been getting a little rusty lately!”

“Oho, you’d better watch out, Casey Jones!” Mikey sat down on the other side of Casey. “Sofia just got her first victory! Better bring your A-game!”

“Ugh, Mikey, please stop...” Sofia cringed into her shell slightly.

“She punched me so hard it left a dent in the wall!”

“And you’ve thrown a literal skyscraper at a Krang. It was a fluke,” Sofia dismissed.

“No, Mikey got cocky, simple as that,” Donnie said, typing on the panel on his wrist, bringing up a replay of said punch. “We all have varying skill levels, but we make up for our faults and build one another up when we’re fighting together. Alone, those faults can easily make themselves known, especially when constant victories cause us to become complacent. Whether you’re willing to admit it or not, it wasn’t a fluke. You’ve been unknowingly analyzing Mikey’s strategy and broke through his defenses after enough trial and error.”

“But real fights don’t have time for me to ‘trial and error’ it out,” Sofia said back.

“Sure they do,” Donnie said candidly. “Do you think we got through all we have on the first try?”

“Yeah, definitely not...” Leo chuckled nervously.

“So, be proud. You’re a few years behind us combat-wise, but you managed to punch Mikey so hard you left a dent in the wall. That’s a fact.”

Sofia opened her mouth to continue the debate, but the roar of the crowd muted her. “It’s starting! It’s starting! WOOO!” Raph took his seat and swung his legs back and forth over the edge in anticipation. “Who’s it gonna be?! I need a new fave, a new GOAT!”

“I could make a comeback as Primetime if they’re all bogus,” Leo offered and waggled his eyebrows at a thoroughly unimpressed Raph. “I’m kidding~! Love you bro.”

“...I’m not even gonna ask,” Sofia ignored their exchange and set her sights on the ring.

“It’s better you don’t, wild night for all of us with lasting repercussions to this day. Popcorn?” One of his mechanical arms offered her and Casey a large bucket of popcorn, which they accepted.

“Now I kind’ve want to know...” Casey said only loud enough for Sofia to hear as he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, getting a snort out of her.

“GOOD EVENING WRESTLING FANS!” The infamous Jessica Jaclyn entered the ring, her voice booming over the audience who answered her in kind. “ARE YOU READY FOR THE DEBUT FOR OUR NEXT WAVE OF BRUTALITY!?” The crowd shrieked, Raph’s voice joining them. “That’s right! Tonight, we have not one, not two or three, but FOUR new wrestlers for your viewing pleasure! Who will come out on top?! Who will have the chance to wrench the belt from my iron grip!?” She held up the belt and the crowd responded accordingly.

“She still has it!? How?!” Leo asked in disbelief.

“This is how,” Donnie held up his phone to Leo, the browser opened to Jessica’s wiki page.

“She’s an actual wrestler - not just a belt stealing sham?!”

“Like you were?” Raph said and Leo ignored him.

“And apparently a good one if no one has taken the belt from her yet,” Donnie concurred as he put his phone away.

“But she’s so tiny! I bet I could take her!” Leo stood up and shadowboxed.

“What did I just say about getting cocky?” Donnie said and Raph reached his hand up, pulling Leo down by his mask.

“Sit down! We’re not doing this again.”

“I’m just saying, by wrestling standards, you and I could take her down, Red Reign!”

“But I don’t want to! Let’s just enjoy the carnage like normal, sweaty wrestling fans!”

“Oh here we go...” Mikey rolled his eyes.

“Truly, we can’t attend anything wrestling related without you two fighting. Have we learned nothing?” Donnie echoed Mikey.

“Aren't female wrestlers, like, kinda crazy?” Sofia joined in. “Acrobatics and suplexes way more brutal than the men’s division.”

“You seem oddly well informed,” Leo teased Sofia with a smirk.

“Vinnie will watch whatever’s on TV when he’s out of movies. I’m just repeating what I saw in passing.”

“She’s right, though. Woman’s wrestling can be way more cutthroat. Lighter on their feet in exchange for raw power equals more instances for pain! It’s basic math,” Raph said proudly.

“That is not at all how math works!” Donnie fired back, the crowd’s shrieks preventing Raph from hearing him.

“Our first new challenger is a total newbie, but don’t let that stop you from watching closely! He’s big, he’s mean, and if you blink, you might miss his incredible moves! Let’s hear it for Hoodoo Hippo!”

A puff of smoke exploded in the ring, soon clearing to reveal a figure that made their whole group gasp, except Sofia. “HYPNO?!” They all yelled in unison. It was indeed the mutant in question, having shed his usual garbs for something more fitting to his stage name.

“...Yep, we definitely don’t have that one,” She said and helped herself to popcorn.

“I was waiting for a reason to jump in, and the universe just gave me one!” Leo prepped himself to pounce.

“Wait! Let’s see how this plays out!” Raph stopped him. “Maybe he’s turned over a new leaf?”

“Raph, I am not in the mood to see if one of the mutants that helped release the Krang has turned over a new leaf!”

“Unknowingly...” Donnie added.

“Does it matter?!” Leo snapped back, everyone looking at him in surprise. He immediately recoiled, viewing Casey’s expression specifically before shutting his eyes fast, sitting himself down. “Okay, okay - we’ll see how this goes...”

“Take it easy, Leo, we’re good,” Raph said to his brother quietly. Leo took a deep breath and nodded, everyone’s attention recaught by the happenings of the ring below.

“As our first newcomer, do you have anything to say to your fellow newbies?!” Jessica put the mic to Hypno’s mouth and he took it from her.

“I have nothing to say to a bunch of dags! I bet they won’t even grace the ring with their presence!” He threw the mic back and Jessica expertly caught it.

“You heard him, folks! How about we see if we can prove him wrong!” She began announcing the next challenger, the music swelling, the spotlights landing on the entrance, but no one exited. Jessica attempted to call them out again, but when it was apparent they weren’t coming out, she moved onto the next name. Again, the same result, Hypno looking pleased with himself as he took the mic back.

“Well, well - look who was right! I bet they didn’t even get their togs on before they turned heel and ran!”

“...Alright, Leo,” Raph stood up, “please prepare a portal sword, because now I’m the mad one.”

“Primetime and Red Reign, tag team brothers - back and brutal!” Leo winded up his throw.

“Now, if there’s no one to fight, I guess that means I win by default? I’ll go ahead and take tonight’s prize money and-”

“NOT SO FAST!” Raph’s voice echoed throughout the arena, everyone in attendance looking for the source. One of Leo’s swords covered in Mystic hit the ring opposite to Hypno and Jessica, Raph and Leo appearing from it in a flash. “Red Reign has returned to bring the pain!”

“And Primetime is here to back him up!” Leo posed next to Raph.

The crowd went wild, Jessica momentarily stunned before snatching the mic back from a shocked Hypno. “And the duo we thought were gone from the wrestling world forever have turned this debut into an invitational!”

“Alright, I’m going to ask after all, Donnie, what is going on here?” Sofia asked and Donnie deeply sighed before beginning his explanation.

“W-what!?” Hypno took a step back. “What are you two doing here!?”

“Teaching you a lesson! We can’t have one weekend in peace - and you’ve chosen to desecrate one of my favorite hobbies! I didn’t let Leo get away with it, and I’m certainly not letting you off the hook either!” Raph pointed accusingly.

“And I may or may not have some lingering resentment I need to work out on your face specifically,” Leo said with a horrifying smile, causing Hypno to take another step backwards, his back flush with the ropes.

“This was supposed to be an easy job! Aw, to heck with it! Doves!” Hypno released a flurry of doves, momentarily obscuring everyone’s vision, going for the mic again, retrieving it and taking a large breath. “MEZMER-ROO-DEUX!” A hypnotic spell bounced off the walls, hitting everyone in the vicinity, the wrestling area silent as every soul fell into a trance. Hypno tentatively looked around, laughing victoriously once he realized how effective his spell had been. “Not exactly how I wanted things to go tonight, but this works! Guess I can take my new hypnosis out of the testing phase...”

“-Woah,” Sofia caught Casey before he slumped over, backing them both away from the edge. “Casey, hey, Casey!” She snapped her fingers in front of his face to no reaction. She looked back to Mikey and Donnie who were in similar states, thankfully falling backwards and sideways. Still, she pulled them back to safety, trying to rouse them both similarly. “What is going on here!?”

“Rupert Swaggart... you want... to open a restaurant... with me...?!” Mikey said through his haze.

“Uranium... finally...!” Donnie said through his.

“...Mom...?” Casey said and Sofia turned back to him. “...Sensei...? You’re alive...? No way...!” He laughed, relieved, but his expression then dropped and tears began to flow. “...No, this... this isn’t... real...! ...Stop! ...Stop...!” He pleaded and Sofia felt a very specific nerve in her touched, standing up and glaring down at the gleeful mutant.

“Now, how to go about robbing all these good people? I should have brought Warren along-” from above him came a shadow, Hypno only noticing it before it was too late to dodge. Sofia had taken a free fall into the ring with naginata in hand, changing it into a folding chair at the last second, slamming it into Hypno’s head with all the strength she could muster. As he staggered did she reposition herself in front of Leo and Raph, both fallen onto one another.

“Houdini’s death was... a hoax!? I... knew it!” Leo laughed, in pure bliss.

“Ghostbear... teaming up with me again... like a boss...!” Raph’s expression mirrored Leo’s.

“...Money... so much ...money!” Jessica giggled.

“-OW!” Hypno held his head, finding and glaring at Sofia. “The orange one is here too?!”

“Stop what you’re doing, now,” she demanded with a point of her naginata.

“I don’t think so!” Hypno regained his composure, summoning his rings, readying to strike. “I don’t know how you managed to escape my Mezmer-roo-deux, but you could be dreaming about your desires instead of getting a beatdown!”

With this new knowledge was Sofia’s anger was further stoked. “You insensitive jerk!” She yelled as she lunged.

On another side of the city was Baron Draxum in his apartment, attempting to wind down for the day as he read through various test results. He took them to his armchair, sitting down and continuing to read as he did so. He got three pages in before he felt his phone vibrate, digging it out of his pocket and tiredly viewing the screen. April was calling him and he answered. “O’Niel, I am home right now if you wish to speak in person-”

“BARRY! TURN ON YOUR TV AND CHANGE IT TO CHANNEL 12!”

“Okay...?” He found the remote and turned the TV on, changing it to the desired channel.

“Not the chair again-!” Draxum witnessed a moment of Sofia slapping Hypno with her Mystic shaped in a folding chair. “And why a chair!?”

“I will hit you with it as many times and I need to!” Sofia snarled, both of them disappearing out of the fixed camera angle. “And it’s fitting!”

“Sofonisba?!” Draxum sat up.

“Right?! That’s her! I was just flipping channels, and there she is fighting Hypno - all alone! Where are the guys!? I tried calling them but no one is answering!”

Draxum’s eyes scanned the screen, soon finding a familiar spot of green in one of the corners. “They’re with her... but incapacitated, look at the bottom left.”

“That’s Raph’s foot! Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” There was movement from her side of the conversation. “I’m gonna get over there and back her up! I’ll call Casandra, you go to the lair and let Splinter know what’s going on!”

“Got it,” he hung up and began to gather his things, though movement on the screen caught his attention.

“I don’t get what you’re so mad about! You’re way scrappier than usual!” Hypno was back in frame. Sofia answered him not with words, but by throwing a knife at his feet, something he didn’t even bother trying to deflect with his rings. “Hah, you missed!”

“No she didn’t...” Draxum observed the knife pop back into the naginata, the hilt slamming into Hypno’s jaw, staggering him backwards, Sofia jumping back into the frame, using her grounded naginata as footing to kick him out of view. She turned it into the folding chair again, dragging it on the ring, her fatigue apparent as she disappeared out of the frame.

“Stop. The. SPELL.” She said in tandem with three hits Draxum could not see; but hear, Hypno responding with an ‘ow-ow-ow’.

“What’s the issue here!? I know I’m trying to commit a robbery, but can’t you see all the satisfied faces!?” Hypno hit her back with his rings, Draxum now able to see she’d also sustained wounds. He went for the first aid kit while keeping his eyes on the screen.

“Look again!” Sofia demanded and Hypno begrudgingly did so, just now noticing the murmurings coming from the audience. Everyone’s dream was starting to sour, some in tears, some begging, some fearful.

“Oh,” Hypno’s enthusiasm faded. “...Oh. Guess I need to keep workshopping it after all.”

“You think!?”

Draxum turned off his TV and conjured a portal directly to the lair, carrying all needed items under his arms. “Splinter!” He called out and his co-parent quickly answered his call.

“Draxum? It’s so late, what’s going on?” Splinter left his room to meet Draxum who was in the middle of setting the first aid kit down before heading to the sitting area.

“Are you aware of where the children are?” He said and turned the TV on, changing it to the proper channel. He’d only been away for mere moments, but the match was in full swing, Hypno having seemingly lifted his hypnosis. Splinter and Draxum caught the scene of Raph and Leo performing an over the top wrestling move on Hypno while Mystic chains from above suddenly wrapped themselves around Sofia, whisking her away and out of danger.

“Uncle, uncle!” Hypno narrowly escaped the ring, disappearing in another puff of smoke.

“How did they get themselves into this mess!? And was Sofia bleeding?!”

“That’s a good question, and yes, she was. That’s why I brought the first aid kit. I’m assuming they’ll be here shortly. I’m going to call O’Niel,” Draxum said and dialed her number, moving away from the TV as it rang. Splinter was glued to the screen, watching Raph and Leo nod to one another and escaping Jessica’s fanfare via a portal. A few seconds passed and another portal spawned into the lair, his family all entering their home.

“PUT ME DOWN!” Sofia demanded, Casey ignoring it as he looked for a suitable place to set the bruised and bleeding turtle for treatment. “I wasn’t finished with that hippo jerk!”

“The kitchen!” Splinter said and Casey silently agreed, taking the squirming Sofia there and setting her on a counter.

“Sofia, we got em’ already! It’s all good!” Mikey tried to calm her.

“NO, IT’S NOT!” She was breathing heavily, pure rage still present in her eyes, but fatigue was quickly taking over.

“Let her simmer for a bit,” Splinter dragged Casey away. “Hell hath no fury like a woman denied her kill. I... think that’s how the saying goes.”

“Not even close,” Donnie shook his head.

“...Sofia, are you OK?” Raph was the only who dared re-enter the kitchen, the genuine concern in his voice inadvertently talking her down.

“I guess?!” She said with a desperate shrug, but then flinched, a hand going to her head. “...Okay, no, no I’m not.”

“And there goes her adrenaline,” Draxum said, entering in with the first aid kid. “Leonardo, please go get O’Niel and Cassandra,” he ordered and Leo was off into another portal, soon returning with the duo. “Let me see your arm,” he took it and observed before opening up the kit and finding the needed materials.

“You guys really fell for Hypno’s shtick again?!” April admonished them.

“Everyone did!” Leo argued back. “Except Sofia, for some reason. ...How?”

“Chalk it up to dimensional differences and leave it at that,” Draxum answered and swabbed one of Sofia’s cuts with disinfectant, making her wince, but she said nothing, reality starting to hit her as she came down from her high.

“Well, it’s a good thing she was there, or else you’d all still be there drooling!” April looked at the exhausted Sofia with concern. “You may have walloped him in the end, but she softened Hypno up for you!”

“...How do you know that...?” Sofia asked weakly.

“The wrestling was being broadcast live,” Cassandra said. “...And someone has already clipped it. You’re trending on various video sharing platforms.”

“Seriously?” Leo brought up his phone, able to find the video almost immediately. “Dang, yeah, there it is!”

“‘Female Fatale, Turtle Titan, wallops Hoodoo Hippo’ - who wrote this?!” Donnie scoffed at the video’s title. Sofia’s hand left her head as she heard the audio, her face transitioning to that of a thousand-yard stare as it continued, not even the continual sting of disinfection rousing her.

“Wow, you roughed him up good!” Leo said, impressed.

“Oooh, you got him with the chair!” Mikey said with delight. “And again, and again, and again!”

"...Kill me now...” Sofia said so quietly only Draxum heard it.

“What was that?” He asked, but Sofia suddenly bursting into tears made him back away entirely.

“ALL OF AMERICA SAW THAT?! I’M IN TRENDING?! SERIOUSLY!? I WANNA DIE! JUST KILL ME NOW! KILL MEEEEE!” She wailed, April and Cassandra jumping into action.

“OUT!” April commanded as Cassandra pushed all the men away from the kitchen. “-And Donnie; do your thing!”

“Already on it!” He furiously typed on his wrist panel as he ran to his lab.

“It’s gonna be OK, Sofia, deep breaths, Donnie will get it scrubbed from the internet,” April tried to comfort, Sofia still in hysterics.

“I JUST WANTED TO HELP! WHY AM I SO USELESS!? I'M A DUMB CRYPTID NAMED TURTLE TITAN-!”

Cassandra and April continued to soothe Sofia, the boys and their parents flinching at another desperate howl from the inconsolable Sofia. “Okay, what happened!?” Splinter demanded an explanation.

“Uhhh... what DID happen...?” Mikey thought back, soon remembering. “Right! Hypno was trying to sabotage the match, so Leo and Raph jumped in to stop him, and then we all got hypnotized into dreams!”

“Dreams that started out great, but got progressively worse the longer we were under his spell,” Raph added.

“Yeah, mine was all about how Houdini’s death was a hoax, that he was cryo-frozen and still active today - but it was all fraud! Augh, so disappointing!”

“Mine was me and Rupert Swaggart opening a restaurant together, but we got shut down for not paying our taxes!” Mikey revealed.

“And mine was forming a tag-team with Ghostbear, only for him to double cross me!”

They all looked at Casey expectantly and he avoided eye contact. “I’d... rather not talk about mine.”

“It’s fine, I get the jist of things,” Splinter sighed. “None of you are at fault, nor is Sofia despite the fact that what she did was reckless. Those sobs are the result of her adrenaline tapping out - hah, unintended wrestling pun...” Splinter trailed off before cleaning his throat. “A-anyways, just, go and do something, anything else and leave the girls to handle this. We’re all out of our depth here... again.”

“But her distress is making me distressed!” Mikey said truthfully.

“Which is probably how she felt when she saw all of us stuck in our dreams,” Leo said and Casey’s thoughts invasively resurfaced, then transitioned to the memory of how Sofia and him were sitting next to one another. While the other’s dreams seemed more silly than distressing, Casey felt it was no doubt his that sprang her into action. “So, instead of fueling an endless distress cycle, let’s go get some pizzas - give her some privacy and have New York’s number one comfort food locked and ready! I’m not letting yet another weekend be ruined by one of our mutant nemesis - besides, we’re not gonna pull a ‘Gio’, which at this point I think she’s expecting.”

“Definitely not!” Mikey crossed his arms. “I want to hug her, not yell at her!”

“If anything, praise her for improving her combat skills. I’d advise you all watch the fight with a more critical eye,” Draxum said and Sofia let out another pathetic sob. “...In private. She’s learned to utilize the time constraints on her energy manipulation to her advantage.”

“Nice! She did that AND she got a victory over Mikey this week - we should celebrate on top of cheering her up!” Raph said and Leo nodded.

“Right then, celebratory pizzas first and foremost - vamonos!” Leo opened a portal to Hueso’s. “This night is still salvageable!”

Chapter Text

The sound pencil dragging on paper could be heard as Casey approached Sofia’s room. There were clear strokes followed by more frantic scritches, Sofia clicking her tongue in irritation as the sketching stopped and her misguided efforts disappeared into the bright kneaded eraser’s hue.

“Come in,” she said before Casey could even knock, Sofia clearly hearing his boots approach several feet ago.

“Hey, how’re you doing?” Casey asked as he entered. Sofia looked up from her sketchbook that she had leaning on her thighs hidden under a blanket. One of the bandages on her forehead lifted with her brow.

“The same as yesterday, and the day before that,” she answered, a twinge of frustration in her tone. “I don’t really need to be bedridden, yet here I am.”

“I think you’d put all of our minds at ease if you’d just let yourself heal,” Casey lightly argued back.

“I want to argue, but as my outburst is still pretty fresh, I’m just gonna drop it,” she shut her sketchbook. “So, are you next in line to check up on me, or is there something else?”

“Actually, April wanted me to check in on you because you’re not answering her texts. Is your phone charged?”

“...Oops,” Sofia’s hand went under her pillow propped up to support her back, finding her phone. “I had it silenced because I was sleeping and the groupchat goes off too often,” she clicked it on and opened the messaging app. There was a new group with April, Cassandra, and herself made in her absence, many messages from the both of them still unread. It was titled ‘GIRLS NIGHT OUT!’ with sparkle and heart emojis on either side, each message detailing the possibility of the three of them (and April’s friend, Sunita) getting Sofia out of the lair once she recovered fully.

Once Sofia had been fully spent, after her tears fully dried and calm returned, did the full extent of her injuries make themselves known. The cuts from Hypno’s rings were many, but among them did Sofia sprain her non-dominant arm from shoulder to wrist, Draxum theorizing it from the initial fall into the ring, and then Sofia’s continued use of the chair, a weapon she had no experience using - as silly as it all sounded. Donnie immediately put his healing protocols to use, but he unfortunately remembered why they were still in beta. They could only heal so much with his current output, much to his frustration, and Sofia’s current state was too much.

And so, to bed she was sent until further notice, all usual plans canceled until she was healed. Everyone had taken turns checking in on her and she shooed them away accordingly - half out of bashfulness for her outburst, and half just not wanting to be fussed over. She had gotten so used to taking care of herself that all this sudden added concern made her uncomfortable - though she’d be lying if it didn’t stir her memories to simpler times. The boys were acting just like her own siblings were when she’d broken her legs all those years ago, and while she didn’t particularly hate the nostalgia, she didn’t want to think about it either.

“...There,” Sofia pressed send and finally joined the chat, “Mission accomplished, Casey Jones. You’re free to go,” she said jokingly.

“Copy that,” he jokingly saluted, “but if you’re cool with it, could I talk to you for a few minutes?”

“I have nothing but time right now, so, go on, take a seat,” she pointed to a chair by a desk in her room, Casey grabbing it and complying. “What’s up?”

“I haven’t had the opportunity to say thanks, specifically for going to all that effort to wake us from the dreams.”

“You’re welcome? I guess? A whole lot of good it did...” She eyed her splinted arm.

“I’m serious,” Casey’s expression turned stern. “And maybe I’m reaching here, but did you go after Hypno because of me?”

Sofia avoided eye contact, but soon buckled under his gaze regardless. “...Maybe,” she said quietly. “But it’s not like I was going to sit on my hands.”

“Well, thank you. I’m sure you’ve been teased or scolded by the others enough, but I genuinely mean it. I knew it wasn’t real, but I couldn’t escape it. Being forced to live through the two worst days of my life simultaneously isn’t an experience I ever want again. That fact that you went to bat for all of us means a lot.”

“I-” she began to rebut, but firmly pressed her lips together, thinking through her response, glancing past Casey to see if any one else was nearby before continuing. “Nothing makes me angrier than insensitivity, but I so little have the opportunity to bite back when it’s towards me. I’m weak, I get hurt easily, but the moment someone makes another cry for their selfishness, I just stop caring. So while I did ‘do it for you’, in a sense I also did it for myself - so don’t thank me, I don’t deserve it. Hypno pissed me off - that’s all there is to it. And now I’m covered in cuts, bruises, and can barely move one of my arms without pain. I didn’t do anything praiseworthy.”

“I disagree,” Casey said, fully observing Sofia’s fatigue showing as he disregarded her opinion. “And you know what? Master Michelangelo did something really similar in the future. He had this... bad habit, for lack of better words. Whenever someone in the resistance got hurt on his watch, his anger would fuel his power to impossible levels. Master Leonardo often had to calm him down once there were no more Krang in sight. I saw a lot of him in you those few nights ago. So, again, thank you.”

“...Alright,” she relented, realizing this was a battle she couldn’t win. “You’re welcome,” she said and Casey stood up with a nod.

“That’s all I wanted to say. Rest well.”

Days continued without incident, visits still frequent. Donnie tried again with his new and improved healing protocols, with middling results. The pain ebbed, but wounds didn’t close. “Maybe the main difference is the last time you healed me it was a blunt hit with Mystic versus actual flesh wounds?” Sofia offered her thoughts.

“Yes, I’ve already thought of that. I really hadn’t had a chance to try these out before you came along. Despite all the tech, this isn’t really my forte. I’m more of an demolitions and advanced tech person than medical focused. I started working on these after the Krang invasion, because wow, we were messed up, but I didn’t even finish them until after we were healed - and then there hasn’t been a significant threat since then.”

“...But it would be beneficial to have them sorted out before we hop back to my dimension,” Sofia followed his reasoning and he nodded.

“A sub healer would be a nice addition to the ‘party’ if we can manage it. A pure healer would be ideal, but as I said before, we’ll make it work regardless. We always have.”

“Hmm,” Sofia brought knuckles to her lips for a moment, a memory resurfacing. “Gio might’ve been working on something similar in his lab, among other things. It’s locked though.”

“You know I’m breaking in there the moment we arrive, yes?”

“I don’t think I could stop you if I tried.”

“Donnie...” Raph suddenly joined them, poking his head into the room with a disapproving look.

“What?! We’re going to need all the extra information and firepower we can get, and what better way to get it than raiding my counterpart’s lab?”

“Just don’t complain to me when Gio inevitably slaps an explosive gofu slip to your forehead,” Sofia said nonchalantly.

“Well, hopefully they’re easy to dodge, or I have my healing protocols finished by then. Either or.”

“OR, you could just be respectful in your ‘raiding’,” Mikey entered into the room with a plate containing Sofia’s lunch. “Afternoon, twinsie! Raph and I cooked up a little something for you!”

“And we found another pile of comics!” Raph’s hand showcased them before putting them on her bed. “For your reading pleasure.”

“Thanks, you two, but you don’t need to go to the trouble. I’m mobile enough to make my own meals and get my own entertainment.”

“Stay in your sickbed, or so help me, I will get legitimately angry at you!” Mikey threatened as he placed the plate on her bedside table.

“And when he gets mad, you’d better hope Raph is around to hold him back,” Donnie said in a joking tone.

“It’s probably still preferable to Gio’s outbursts,” Sofia shrugged and Donnie laughed.

“No, Mikey truly angry is thus;” Donnie typed on his wrist panel, a playback showing an enraged Mikey.

“So, you’re saying that not only did you destroy everything I love in the world, BUT YOU DIDN’T EVEN HAVE THE COMMON COURTESY TO KNOW YOU WERE DOING IT!?” The projection of Mikey screamed at three mutants unknown to Sofia, a projection of Raph’s arm then holding him back as he continued to seethe.

Sofia was momentarily stunned as the feed ended, then snorted into a giggle, looking to her counterpart. “What happened!? Why were you so mad?!”

“They destroyed my favorite pizzeria!” Mikey said with a firm cross of his arms.

“Oh, valid,” Sofia nodded, understanding completely. “I guess you and me are hotheads with the right buttons pushed.”

“I’m a peaceful turtle, but I will do what needs to be done,” he said with a chilling expression, getting a round of laughter from Sofia while Raph and Donnie glanced at each other knowingly.

“-Ow,” Sofia winced out of her giggles, taking a breath in an attempt to ebb whatever wound she’d irritated.

“Alright, that’s enough visiting for today. Eat then get some rest,” Donnie left his seat and made for the door.

“Wait, wait!” Sofia stopped the trio. “I need to borrow Mikey for a little bit,” she revealed and Mikey looked at her quizzically, but prepared to turn her down. “It’s pertaining to that painting you and I did awhile back.”

Mikey perked up with an excited gasp, re-entering her room. “Ohmigosh, I thought you’d forgotten all about that!”

“Of course not! I said we’d do a collab, and we’re gonna! But I’m stuck here, and I have quite the shopping list...”

“Lemme see!” Mikey took Donnie’s discarded seat as Sofia turned to a certain page in her sketchbook, Raph and Donnie removing themselves from the scene of two gushing artists.

“I was thinking about something like this. What do you think?”

“...YES!” Mikey gave his enthusiastic approval. “We’re doing this as soon as you’re healed up!”

******

The Technodrome stained the sky, Krang One’s laughter mixed with Raphel’s possessed screams echoed in all surrounds. Immobilized, the sickening sensation of tentacles holding one down, dragging, dragging you into darkness. Abandon all hope, your brothers are gone, the future unchanged. It’s your fault, it’s your fault, it’s your fault, it’s your-

Leo awoke with a gasp, sitting up in his bed, shivering away the sensation of Krang tendrils that he could still feel through his fading nightmare. He took a deep breath and let it out in more frustration than an attempt to regain his normalcy. “You know, subconscious, I’d prefer dreams that don’t continually feed my traumas, okay?” He knocked on his forehead. “Less Krang situations, more... puppies or something, I don’t know...” He fell back into his pillow, still irate, glaring up at the ceiling. He was stuck between deciding to try and go back to sleep, risking the dream resurfacing, or just giving up and starting the day. Leo patted for his phone, quickly finding it and clicking it out of sleep mode. 3:45 AM. The only other person who might be up was Donnie, but Leo didn’t dare disturb him, not when he’d been drowning in so much work lately. He turned over, attempted to get comfortable again, but the recency of his nightmare was still raw, his eyelids beckoning it back. Another defiant turn, another attempt to shake it. “...Forget it,” he huffed to himself and swung his legs off the mattress, grabbing his phone and entering into the lair.

He started mindlessly scrolling social media, looking for something to put his mind elsewhere as he found the living area and planted himself in his usual spot. As if his phone heard him, his feed was full of cute, puppy videos, and he obliged them, watching each one in order. Leo couldn’t tell if they were helping, but at the very least his attention was caught, until it wasn’t. An abrupt gasp commanded his eyes away from his phone’s screen, a barely illuminated view of a surprised Sofia transitioning to that of relief. She shook her head as her hand went to her chest.

“You scared the crap out of me...” Sofia said as she approached further.

“I am quite literally just sitting here.”

“Yeah, I know, just like Vinnie does. Same pose, same spot on the couch - phone out, trying to wait out the night.”

“...Ah,” he understood and changed his posture.

“No, no, relax, it’s my fault for wandering around half asleep.”

“Which you are doing because...?” Leo urged and Sofia looked away. “Pretty sure you’re still on bedrest.”

“I was...” she paused, continuing to avoid Leo’s gaze, “going to the bathroom. Yep.”

“Uh-huh,” Leo continued his accusatory tease. “The bathroom is on the other side of the lair, Sofia. Fess up, you were trying to sneak out.”

Sofia slumped in defeat. “I just want to go for a run - I need to clear my mind. I’m going stir crazy and I keep having the same stupid nightmare!”

“I can only imagine about what,” Leo said, figuring what it could be.

“You get one guess,” Sofia replied playfully, but Leo could see her exasperation - almost a mirror to his own.

“Considering... everything, it’s probably involving the day you stumbled into our dimension.”

“Ding-ding-ding...” She said tiredly as she made her way to the couch, taking a seat next to him. “So, do I get a guess about your nightmare, or is your nightly intake of puppy videos in the living room unrelated?”

“...I,” he hesitated, shaking his head, “I’d really rather you didn’t.”

“Got it,” she felt his uncertainty, his unfamiliarity, wondering if she’d gone too far, and yet, she still found herself asking; “would you rather just talk about it instead?”

“No,” he answered and Sofia failed to see him tense.

“Then what about with Donnie? He’s up, I heard him-”

“I said ‘no’ Sofia. Drop it,” Leo said sternly, looking up from his phone, unintentionally delivering a glare that made Sofia flinch. His irritation instantly fled on seeing it, opening his mouth to speak again, but Sofia left the couch before he could utter a syllable.

“Right, sorry, my bad,” She returned to the darkness. “I’m gonna go on that run now. I’m not going far, so please don’t rat me out. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Like a true ninja, her presence faded into the night. Leo didn’t even attempt to call out to her, stubbornness prevailing despite the knot of uncertainty in his heart. On one hand, she was just trying to help - maybe trying to repay his kindness with some of her own - but on the other, Leo’s troubles were none of her business... or was it? He and his brothers forced Sofia’s business to be theirs, went to the trouble of making promises to save her family and world. She’d gone from stalking them, to avoiding them in their own home, to throwing herself at a mutant for their sakes.

“...And you snapped at her for trying to keep bridging the gap. The wall went up before she even managed to take another step. Smooth, Leo,” he chastised himself, sighing as he placed his forearm over his eyes.

On a roof topside was Sofia, stretching her legs as she prepped her route. It was a simple circle she’d done many, many times in her own dimension. Whenever her mind clouded, whenever she’d messed up, this route was always there for her. “Shoulda just kept your mouth shut...” She said with a light strain, switching her stretches to her back. “Another blunder to add to the pile. Different dimension, same Sofia stupidity. Can’t fix stupid no matter where I’m at. Your own siblings didn’t let you in on their secrets, so why would their counterparts?” She took the starting position, ready to run out all of her troubles.

“Wait!” A voice nearly made her trip into a premature start, Sofia looking back to see a familiar, blue portal. Leo exited with a face mixed between remorse and firm, as if he was doing his best to hide any sign of anxiety. “...Would you mind if I joined you? I think I need to clear my head too.”

“I don’t, but-” she wavered, not with the intention to deny him, but to try and figure out how to combat their awkwardness. However, she disregarded the attempt, instead defaulting to her usual self. “Do you think you can keep up?”

Leo smirked, breaking down the wall he’d built as he joined Sofia at the starting position. “Easily.”

“Pfft,” Sofia rolled her eyes, “not likely!”

They were off, Sofia easily able to take the lead, but to Leo’s credit, he was hot on her heels. “It’s looking pretty likely that I’ll catch up!” He teased.

“Oh yeah? How about this!?” She quickened her pace, overtaking a large gap in the route and leaving Leo several buildings behind. For a moment he was stunned.

“Somehow, I forgot that you can really hustle... however!” He took out one of his swords, opening a portal and depositing himself next to Sofia. She gasped and glared.

“Cheater!” She accused and Leo shrugged.

“I don’t recall this being policed race, officer Sofia, or do you want to start over with rules?”

“Don’t need 'em’” She barked back. “But if you’re gonna be cheeky, then I’ll do whatever as well!” Sofia took aim with her grappling hook, firing it past Leo and zipping by him, sticking out her tongue for good measure as she took the lead back.

“Oh, it’s on!”

And thus began a wild chase of cat and mouse that constantly changed roles, both Sofia and Leo refusing to give in. What was meant to be a few quick loops ended up taking them to a completely different side of the city, each leading the other to more perilous jumps - both able to make them regardless as their worries fled under their playful banter and challenge. However, fatigue caught up to them before long, Leo stopping on a high rise, bent over wheezing, holding up one finger to Sofia who’d caught up. She concurred with a labored cough, sitting herself down and inviting the winter’s chill to cool her down. He sat down next to her and they both collapsed on their backs, out of breath and silently taking in the stars. Once their breathing returned to normal did they continue to take in the ambiance - the constant bustle below so, so far away while it almost seemed like the stars were reachable in their beautiful silence. Sofia subconsciously reached out to them, her hand able to blot out the moon from her view.

“...Hey,” Leo spoke and Sofia turned her head to him. “I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

“I’ve already forgotten all about it.”

A relieved smile spread across Leo’s exhausted mug, both of them bringing their attention back to the stars, Leo mimicking Sofia as he held one of his own arms up. He made a ‘V’ with two of this fingers and positioned it over the full moon, smiling as he said; “A slice of pie.”

“You hungry or something?” Sofia raised a brow.

“A little, but I don’t think any pizza places are open at-” he checked his phone, “4:30 AM - geez, we’ve been gone for a while...”

“Mine would be if there wasn’t a stupid Applebees there instead!” Sofia said crossly and Leo chuckled. “Anyways,” she sat up, taking in the surrounding scenery. “Where are we? I don’t think I’ve ever been to this part of the city, at least not here-here.”

“Downtown, for sure,” Leo answered and sat up as well, “home is just a portal away, so we can go back wherever.”

“Wait,” Sofia pointed to something in the near distance. A large patch of gray with something tall in the midst of it. “What’s that?”

Leo squinted against the continued assault of the high rise’s gale, realization hitting him as he recalled the exact spot. “...Oh, that’s one of the monuments. You know, the ones the EPF put up after the Krang invasion?”

“Huh...” Sofia tilted her head, “why is the ground so... weird? It looks kinda like it had all the color sucked out of it.”

“Honestly, you’re not that far off,” Leo revealed, “the monuments weren’t put up willy-nilly, but in places where the EPF just couldn't get all the Krang out of the earth. Their kind just sucks the life out of everything, so, you’re looking at what the entirety of our planet would become if they took over. Add pink tentacles over it all, and voila, Krang habitat.”

“...Gross.”

“Mega gross.”

Leo could tell Sofia was curious, but was obviously holding back on his account. She stood up and stretched, cracking her back with it, letting out a satisfied grunt. “Guess we should be getting back...”

“Do you want to go down and check it out?” Leo offered and Sofia regarded him warily.

“...Can we?”

“Sure. Field trip detour,” He opened a portal and gestured for her to enter. “The more you know, the better.”

Sofia accepted his invitation and in the next moment they were near the monument. The patch of gray was much larger than the illusion of distance tricked. Her hand went to the ground, the mere brush of her fingers causing a clod to crumble. “...Geez,” she stood back up.

“Mmm,” Leo agreed and started towards the monument. It wasn’t far, but the unnatural feel of the lifeless earth beneath their feet made the trek feel longer. It wasn’t until they closed in did they see there was already another visiting it, both of them ready to make themselves scarce, unsure if their winter clothes were enough to conceal their appearance, but to their surprise, it was a familiar face.

“Casey?” Sofia said and was heard, the boy in question turning around.

“Sofia? Sensei?! What are you two doing here?” He asked, truly surprised. There was a bouquet in his arms, no doubt his contribution to the many others already laid against the monument amongst candles and photos.

“Leo and I were clearing our heads with a run, but then we went way too hard and ended up on a nearby building,” Sofia answered for them. “I hadn’t seen one of the monuments before, so here we are.”

“And why are you out here at 4:30ish?” Leo directed at Casey and he turned back to the monument.

“Trying to clear my own mind,” Casey said and placed the bouquet down, backing away from it. Leo dropped any more questions, the trio keeping their silent vigil for a while longer before Casey spoke again. “This is really all I can do for them.”

“You’re doing plenty, Case,” Leo reassured, Casey responding with a small, hollow smile.

“...May I?” Sofia asked, both Casey and Leo urging her forward with nods. She approached the monument, her eyes on the names carved into it. Gently, she traced her fingers over them, countless mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, children, and siblings lost. Sofia’s heart stirred back to her own New York City, wondering how many monuments would be needed to cover the loss of life there - if there was even anywhere left to place one. No. She shook that thought from her mind. This was neither the time nor place to get lost in what-ifs. Pained as she was, Sofia knew her thoughts were better suited elsewhere.

She then crouched down to view the photos and other placed trinkets proper. She didn’t dare touch them, but in viewing alone did her mind go to her own family. Gio, Vinnie, Nel, Splinter, and April all overtook her thoughts, their time together, good and bad, each a memory that was hers to keep, come what may. Within moments her world was shattered, but that didn’t mean it was impossible to pick up the pieces - and she wouldn’t do it alone. Her siblings were alive, they were waiting for her, she trusted that, and she trusted her current keepers to get her there.

Sofia backed away from the monument, rejoining Leo and Casey with her eyes still set on the names stretching skyward. “When I get back, I’ll do everything I can for my world. I owe it to everyone, and I’ll see it done - because I know I’m not alone. I never was.”

There was a flicker, then a flash, both Casey and Leo caught off guard by a sudden surge of power from the turtle between them. Sofia’s eyes were aglow, soon hidden by her eyelids as she accepted it, letting her body be guided. With a shout she reopened her eyes, striking the ground with pure energy, taking root, rippling through all the affected area. From it, grass grew anew, soil purified, and flowers bloomed. The scents of spring clashed against winter, but as it met the snow barrier did the flow of power cease. Sofia was released, falling backwards into a bed of flowers, the glow in her eyes fading as she let out a liberating gasp.

“Sofia!” Leo knelt down to her, knowing his eyes weren’t deceiving him. “Are you OK!?”

“W-what...” She blinked a few times as her mind cleared, “what just happened?” Leo pointed to his own chest, then to hers, making Sofia’s eyes follow the motion. She gasped again at what she saw. A clear and enduring Hamato Clan emblem hovering obediently. “...HUH!?” She sat up, cradling the emblem in one of her palms, then noticing all her accompanying ninja garb had been dyed black, finally giving herself a full look over.

“You just unlocked your Hamato Ninpō!” Leo laughed triumphantly, pulling her into a hug. “We knew you could do it!”

The Sofia of a few minutes ago would have pushed Leo away, but the Sofia in the now felt her last line of defense against the boy’s familial affections break, hugging him back and openly sobbing into his shoulder. “I-I d-don’t know h-how...”

“Your love, your resolve, your trust, your hope,” Leo comforted, then pulled away, “and look at it all!” he gestured to the newly grown greenery speckled with flowers.

“This is amazing...” Casey knelt down, touching one of the blades of grass gingerly. “You purified Krang polluted soil! We tried so many different methods in the future, but you just went and did it! How?!”

“I...” Sofia sniffled, coming back to herself, “I don’t know. It just felt like the right thing to do. I don’t think I did anything different from when I make my weapons. Just, like, more. More power.”

“Make a weapon that isn’t a naginata!” Leo playfully commanded and Sofia made his swords. They waited for them to violently change back, but the moment never came, Sofia jumping up and swinging them around freely.

“I DID IT! I FINALLY DID IT!” She howled as she ran further down the grass path, swords aloft, Leo and Casey going after her. She suddenly screeched to a halt, putting the swords away and flexing the arm in the splint.

“What is it?” Casey asked and Sofia ripped the velcro free, slipping the splint off.

“The pain is gone...” Sofia then went to her wrapped cuts, ripping the bandages off, revealing nothing but her skin. “And my cuts are gone too! ...Holy crap.” The understanding of her power washed over her like a bucket of cold water. “I can heal stuff. Our team has a healer. I CAN FINALLY DO SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T INVOLVE GETTING MY SHELL KICKED IN!”

“Hold that thought! I’m calling Donnie right now!” Leo dialed his brother, Donnie answering immediately.

“City morgue...” He answered tiredly.

“Don, wake up everyone - and I mean everyone! Call Draxum, April, Cassandra-”

“Stop, stop- why, it’s almost 5 AM. Can’t whatever this is wait for a few more hours?”

“No!” Leo quickly made a portal directly to Donnie’s lab, pushing Sofia and Casey through it before jumping in after them. “Because lookie what we have here!”

Donnie spun in his chair to meet the sudden intruders, his exhaustion quickly chased away at the sight of Sofia, Hamato Ninpō enduring. “HOLY BAGEL-RITO, WE GOTTA WAKE EVERYONE UP!”

Chapter Text

Raphael flinched under the unfamiliar feeling of another’s Ninpō washing over him. “Do not move,” Draxum reminded and Raph kept his position, stopping himself from nodding, but opened his eyes to view the scene again. In the remains of Draxum’s lab were his brothers, Sofia, and of course the lab’s owner. While Raph was on his knees, Sofia was before him, arms outstretched, fingers spread, eyes shut, and forcing her Ninpō towards him. “Focus, Sofonisba,” Draxum further instructed. “See the injuries in your mind’s eye, and close them - slowly, purposefully.” Sofia let out a breath she’d unintentionally been keeping in, taking in another and relaxing her shoulders before increasing the output of power.

“Good, that’s good, you’re almost as the projected amount,” Donnie encouraged, watching a monitor he’d wired to her shell.

“C’mon, Sofia, you can do it!” Mikey clasped his hands together as he watched on, Leo saying nothing as he tried to combat the nervous swirl in the pit of his stomach. No sooner had the fanfare for Sofia unlocking her Ninpō died down did Draxum and Donnie go into full testing mode. With Draxum’s vast knowledge in the subject of Mystic, he was more or less able to pin down exactly what Sofia’s power was.

“If we were to draw comparisons, it’s actually very similar to that of Donatello’s, but in a yin-yang sense.” Draxum had explained. “Both of you manipulate your Ninpō to create objects, however, Donatello’s creations tend to lean towards ‘destruction’ - as in, they’re more suited to battle. Sofonisba’s power was initially forced out for battle purposes, but unlocked fully as it is now, it is more meant for curatives than frontline combat. You are opposites while also having the ability to tap into one another’s strengths, albeit only slightly.”

How much of a curative was now the question they were all in the process of answering. The suddenly renewed earth around the monument made the local news, thankfully no footage surfacing of the incident itself, but it was now out in the open that somewhere, somehow, - something could reverse lasting Krang effects. Donnie expected another strongly worded letter from the EPF before long, having a hunch they already knew and would take action in some way or form. But in the meantime, figuring out what Sofia could and couldn’t cure was the plan of action. Flesh wounds were a given, especially with how everything she’d gotten from her battle with Hypno completely healed, leaving no scars or enduring pain - but what about scars themselves? None of them had anything significant, save for Raph, both his eye and shell damaged from their struggles with the Krang.

Raph never spoke about them unless needed, accepting them as a part of himself despite the small difficulties they brought. His right eye had vision impairment, making the world appear fuzzy if he looked out of only it, but with both eyes open, it hardly changed his view. There were occasional headaches brought on from the strain, but it was nothing he and a few painkillers couldn’t handle. However, his cracked shell presented more of a problem. As it was, he felt no pain from it, just discomfort. When it rained it dully ached, or when the wind hit the would just right, it’d cause him to cringe under the sensation. However, the main concern was the crack having the potential to grow larger. While there hadn’t been another threat big enough to even attempt to take another chunk out of his shell, that didn’t mean there never would be. Like Sofia, he didn’t like being fussed over. It was something that came with the territory of being the oldest. It was easy to wave off his own issues when others, in his eyes, were more pressing and important.

So when he was approached by Donnie and Draxum to take part in the experiment, he initially waved them off, claiming it wasn’t a big enough deal to even consider, but he soon changed his tune when the proposed methodology came to light. Donnie had concocted a theory in regards to Sofia’s power and the pain Michelangelo was experiencing when attempting to make portals. If she could circumvent the pain, or even provide a constant flow of healing as Mikey brought the portal forth, then they could get Sofia home and create a foolproof way to get themselves home after aiding her world. But they couldn’t put that theory into practice haphazardly, they needed to test Sofia’s limits. Sofia herself was hesitant, not wanting to overstep and more boundaries, but Raph easily chased away any of her uncertainty, offering himself to the experiment and encouraging her that no matter the result, no one would be upset with her.

“Your output is at 100%,” Donnie said and Sofia continued the flow of energy, a minor wince from adjusting to it before bringing her focus back. Her eyes were still shut, but she could clearly see Raph’s cracked shell and scarred eye.

“Slowly, purposefully...” She repeated Draxum’s words and shifted her Ninpō to the affected areas. She felt a mild rejection, but she’d anticipated this. Draxum had warned her that scars are set in their ways - choosing to adapt to their new form rather than try to return to how they once were. Both humans and Yōkai had found ways to conceal or replace old wounds, but theirs was often seen as a more of rewriting. Manipulating her Mystic into another’s was seen as invasive to the receiver, no matter how medicinal it seemed. Being able to revive dead earth and heal her own wounds was one thing - but another’s, willing or not, had to be mastered.

“Remember, find your facilitator - do not just simply brute force it,” Draxum reminded and Sofia nodded, doing her best to do just that. He had explained to her before the experiment began that it would be in her best interests to organize her thoughts while healing into something to aid her in the process. With a facilitator, something she could cling to, it could help complete the process despite having little to no relation to it at all. Draxum compared it to how many bugs pollinate despite having no intention to. “Many of them are simply feeding or bringing back nourishment to their hive, and yet, they pollinate and continue to do so. They are nature’s facilitator, born to consume, but bring about new life in their gluttony. Find yourself something similar. You are healing, but in envisioning it as something else with aid the flow of Mystic,” his advice echoed her mind, Sofia then attempting to follow it.

It felt juvenile, making her facilitator as she did, but nothing else came to mind as a pencil and eraser manifested. The eraser went to Raph’s eye while the pencil to his shell - the former rubbing at the scar while the latter began filling in the crack. “...This kinda tickles...” Raph said, doing his best not to buckle into a giggle.

“...Sorry,” Sofia replied, continuing the process, watching the eraser and pencil in her mind’s eye continue to work.

“...Nothing’s happening,” Leo said quietly enough for only Mikey to hear.

“Give it time!” Mikey said back with a scowl. “There’s no way this is gonna be a fast process-” he paused at what he saw, almost thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. Instead of speaking again, Mikey pointed to the crack in Raph’s shell, Leo following the direction, soon in a state of shock himself. The crack was slowly but surely closing, looking as if it was being filled in by an invisible force. Donnie also noticed, joining their awe, each of them stunned into silence regardless of Draxum placing his index finger over his lips, urging them to not break Sofia’s concentration. A few more strokes and Sofia felt herself completely in control, the eraser and pencil quickening their pace, making more purposeful movements. It was like when she’d get so focused on a project that nothing could stop her until it was finished. Each scratch of the pencil an addition to the masterpiece - each rub of the eraser a needed correction to further perfection. The trance continued until the last needed line was drawn, Sofia feeling the satisfaction of a job well done as the facilitators disappeared and her eyes forcibly reopened.

“-Woah,” she staggered, “woozy...” Draxum caught her before she fell. “Wait, no, let me sit, I need to sit...” Draxum did as she said, slowly lowering her to the ground. She took a deep breath to stop her head from spinning. “That... was a lot. Did it work?” She addressed a concerned looking Raph. He responded by taking off his bandana, scars gone, testing his once bad eye, finding his vision clear, then moving his hand to the now completely missing crack - like it had never been inflicted.

“Ohmigosh... you... you did it!” Raph said with a relieved chuckle. “It’s all gone! I can see properly again, and my shell is completely solid! Sofia!” He looked at the small, exhausted turtle with misty eyes. “Can I hug you!?”

“I-if you want to?” She said tentatively.

“I DO!” He pulled her into a big, bear-hug, Sofia almost unable to return any of it with her arms trapped as they were. “All of you get over here!” Raph commanded and his brothers enthusiastically ran to their brother’s side, joining in on the hug.

“You too, Draxum,” Mikey said and pulled him down by the hem of his robe, forcing Draxum into the hug. “Aw yeah, nothing like a big ol’ family group hug!”

“...Thank you,” Leo said softly for only Sofia to hear, her own eyes watering before a sudden wave of nausea hit her and completely ruined the mood.

“Guys, this is great, really, but I am extremely dizzy and I don’t want to barf on all of you...” Sofia revealed and every one backed off, giving her some space.

“A side effect from your first successful energy manipulation on someone other than yourself. It will ebb, and it shouldn’t reoccur unless you’re attempting to do something beyond your power,” Draxum revealed, then smiled at her. “Well done.”

“Praise in your voice sounds so weird...” Sofia laughed, giddy regardless. “So, what’s next? Portal testing?”

“Tomorrow, perhaps,”

“Ooo, that’s not gonna work, special family meeting, remember?” Sofia said and winked at Mikey, who winked back.

“We can see you winking! What are you two hiding?” Donnie eyed them skeptically.

“Just make sure you’re on time, Don, it’s gonna be wild!” He winked at Donnie.

“DON’T WINK AT ME, THAT TELLS ME NOTHING!”

******

The sound of furious sketching filled the halfpipe space, both Mikey and Sofia’s attention completely on their respective sketchbooks. Every so often, one or the other would stop to observe their twin momentarily before getting back to their drawing. Mikey was constantly changing to different colored pencils while Sofia kept herself to three separate pencils with varying hardness.

“I’m almost done. You?” Sofia said as she shaded in a section.

“You can’t rush perfection!” Mikey quipped back.

“Well, the timer has five more minutes on it,” Sofia pointed out and Mikey got even more focused.

“I WILL FINISH THIS ON TIME!”

“You got this,” Sofia encouraged and Mikey relaxed a bit, continuing his drawing with less of a heavy hand. The minutes flew by and the phone set between them rang out, both of them dropping their pencils, Sofia reaching out to silence the alarm. “Alright, ready to do this?”

“Heck yeah!” Mikey ripped out the freshly finished drawing from his sketched book. “Three-”

Sofia did the same. “Two-”

“One!” They both said and exchanged drawings, taking in each other’s efforts.

“Ohmigosh,” Sofia smiled at the colorful portrait Mikey had done of her. “Your style is so cute! I’m not nearly this adorable in real life!”

“Aw, thank you! And yes you are! Embrace your adorableness!” Mikey commanded and flipped her drawing of him towards Sofia. “And you drew me like I’m about to kick everyone’s butt! Dramatic posing - dynamic shading! I LOVE it!”

“Glad you like it, I love mine too,” she giggled and they both admired the drawings again.

“I’m gonna go hang this on my wall! Be right back!” Mikey ran off back into the lair.

“And I’ll keep mine safe for the time being,” She slipped Mikey’s drawing into the back of her sketchbook, storing it appropriately.

“Back!” Mikey soon returned, looking even more peppier than usual. “Now let’s get this party started!”

Sofia agreed by going to a tarp and lifting it off what was concealed. “T-minus five hours until the family meeting. Let’s do this!”

“YEAHHHH!” Mikey practically dove into the supplies, remerging with arms full. “I’ll take the left side!”

“And I’ve got the right,” Sofia filled her own arms, the duo going in their respective directions. A flurry of art supplies were meticulously utilized throughout the room, both determined to finish their project. Hours went by quickly, but it didn’t deter either of them, soon putting the finishing touches on their project.

“It’s PERFECT!” Mikey declared, rubbing his hands together with slight malicious intent. “I cannot wait to kick this off!”

“You won't have to wait long - it’s just about time,” Sofia held up her phone.

“Oh snap!” Mikey scrambled and Sofia followed. “Get the lights! Take your position!”

“Done and done!” Sofia responded and they waited, voices soon approaching.

“Why are we having the meeting at the halfpipe?” Cassandra’s was the first to be heard.

“No idea, but we’ve been instructed by the Tangerine Twins to not enter... until now,” Donnie replied, filing in with everyone else.

“Why’re the lights out? Did they forget?” April squinted into the darkness, and in reply, did the room light up - revealing Mikey and Sofia on a platform above the halfpipe, the surroundings covered in their handiwork.

“Good evening Hamato Clan family!” Mikey’s voice boomed over a sound system, rolling rock music accompanying it, everyone’s attention on him. “Welcome to a special one-time-only, Lair Game Lightning Round organized by yours truly; Magic Mikey, and the Sophisticated Sofiaaaa!” They both posed dramatically and confetti cannons went off behind them.

“Oh, so that’s where those went...” Donnie said to himself as Mikey continued.

“As you can see, attached to all the surrounding walls are water balloons with varying colors. Each balloon shares the same color of fast drying paint inside and,” he pointed to a table in front of his family. “There are varying ninja throwing tools also painted in the same color. What could this possibly mean - I hear your hearts crying out - and Sofia will explain!”

“He is so into this,” Leo chuckled as Mikey pointed the mic at Sofia.

“A little while back, Mikey and I made this painting here at the halfpipe,” She held up the canvas, every eye caught. “This is called Action Painting, and we did it by throwing water balloons full of paint at the canvas. Mikey liked it so much he wanted to paint the halfpipe area in the same way, but I figured; wouldn’t it be more fun to make it a group project - and a competition at that. The Lair Games are just as cutthroat back in my dimension - I know exactly how competitive we all can be.”

“And so!” Mikey continued, “choose your weapons, because those are your balloons to pop! It’s a battle royale, and whoever has the most visible paint on the walls when the buzzer goes off is the winner! Sofia will be our judge!” He jumped off the platform and claimed the orange colored tools. “And I, your fellow competitor!”

“So, what’s the prize?” Raph asked.

“There are two prizes,” Sofia said and opened an oversized umbrella over her. “Firstly, the grand prize is the ability to gloat for the rest of your life that you beat your entire family at this event - and the proof will forever be on the walls!” Leo and Donnie looked at each other, the former smirking with a wiggle of his eyebrows while Donnie glared with a smirk of his own. “And the second is that whoever’s color manages to splatter on my umbrella the most gets to choose whatever activity the family is going to do for the rest of the evening once we’re done here. We’re already all here, so we may as well.”

“You might regret that!” Leo called out and Sofia shrugged, spinning the umbrella playfully.

“There are only a few rules; no Mystic of any kind - that goes for alchemical roots too,” Sofia eyed Draxum. “And keep your hands to yourself - no playing dirty!”

“I will pass,” Draxum revealed and Mikey gasped, hurt.

“I went to the trouble of mixing paints to match the color of your beautiful hair, and you don’t want to play!?”

“Probably because he knows he’s going to lose!” Splinter egged on, Draxum turning to Splinter with a determined look.

“I will crush you, rat.”

“Bring it on, old man!”

“Alright, alright, save it for the competition,” April separated them.

“I have a question!” Cassandra raised her hand and continued. “May we pop balloons that are not our color? MAY WE SABOTAGE OUR FOES?!”

“Sure, if that’s a risk you want to take - it might backfire on you though,” Sofia warned.

“It’s a risk I am willing to take!” Cassandra pumped her fist. “Imagine, having the Brownie Clan’s color forever staining these walls - A VICTORY OVER THE HAMATO FOR ETERNITY!”

“Oh, heck no, not happening!” Leo grabbed his tools.

“Over my inanimate musculature!” Donnie concurred, grabbing his.

“If anyone would like a smock before we begin, they’re on the right,” Sofia instructed and a few took her offer up.

“Not me, I WANT TO BECOME ONE WITH THE RAINBOW, BABY!” Mikey practically vibrated.

“Everybody ready?” Sofia asked and everyone took their places. “Alright, let the Lair Games Lightning Round... BEGIN!” The buzzer went off and the chaos began, Sofia doling out commentary as needed. “And we have a strong start from Casey Jones!” She shouted after three kunai hit their aim, paint exploding reactively.

“Nice shot, Case!” Leo praised and Casey smiled, throwing another three successfully.

“Thanks, I was taught by the best!”

“Oho, is that so?” He teased back. “Well, here’s some sage advice; save some for later, because I’ve got you covered,” Leo threw a shuriken at a balloon above Casey’s efforts, covering a good chunk of it.

“As do I!” Donnie threw a tool at another balloon in their vicinity, covering both Casey and Leo’s color. “Get on my level, scrubs!”

“Looks like I’ll need to change my strategy...!” Casey got back into gear, taking aim more carefully. Determination, sportsmanship, and an overall silly atmosphere mixed together as everyone got into the game with more enthusiasm than Sofia anticipated. She was having to shield herself with the umbrella more and more as the balloons exploded. Sometimes someone would even pop one specifically with the intent to get more splatter on her, Sofia cheerily shrieking as she took it in stride. Mayhem even joined Sofia on her shoulder, warping her away from a few attempts.

“Isn’t that cheating?” Leo called out and Sofia stuck out her tongue, blowing a raspberry at him for good measure.

“I RELISH THE CHALLENGE!” Cassandra howled and got another splatter on Sofia’s umbrella.

“Focus on the WALLS!” Sofia said after another shriek. “I’m the consolation prize!”

“Or ARE you?” Raph looked at her suspiciously. “Because depending on whoever gets that splatter prize, this might be the best night ever for them, and the worst for the rest of us!”

“Just imagine, a whole night of historical scientist documentaries!” Donnie half threatened, a splatter of purple hitting the umbrella.

“Booooring! Not on my watch!” Mikey joined in, another splatter hitting Sofia.

“You guys are unbelievable...” Both her and Mayhem shook their heads.

“More wall for me!” April hit several of her balloons while the boys were distracted.

“And me!” Splinter concurred, doing the same. “Keep up, Draxum! You’ve barely popped anything!”

“Yes, because unlike you, I have a strategy,” Draxum replied and Splinter rolled his eyes.

“Thirty seconds left!” Sofia called out and everyone began trying to clench their win. Some ran out of balloons in their color while others were purposely popping other’s balloons to cover up a specific color. It all came down to the last few seconds, everyone throwing one last tool as Sofia counted down. “Five, four, three, two, ONE! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!” The buzzer screeched and all under its sound collapsed where they were standing - spent from all the rush of it all. “Good show! Now let me commence my final judging and we’ll have our winners momentarily.” Sofia folded the umbrella and jumped down from the platform, beginning to observe the walls.

“That was SO much fun...!” Mikey, covered in head to toe in every paint color, gushed. “I knew it would be!”

“A pity it is a one time thing,” Cassandra said, standing back up and observing the walls. “I truly can’t tell who’s won.”

“It could be anyone!” April tried to make sense of the art. “But it looks rad regardless!”

“I agree, this’ll be a great memory,” Raph said and Donnie scoffed.

“Unless Leo wins,”

“Are you STILL sore over the last Lair Games?”

“YOU SET ME UP!” Donnie fired back, Sofia clearing her throat to stop the fight, everyone’s attention recaught.

“I have our winners,” she announced, the umbrella hanging on her wrist as she moved out of the way to showcase the mural. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the winner is... Draxum!” She revealed and the crowd was shocked, Draxum included. “You popped your balloons meticulously and spread the paint methodically. A very sound strategy.”

“Hah!” Draxum sneered at Splinter. “In your face!”

“Yeah, yeah...” Splinter crossed his arms with a huff.

“We’re never living this down, Nardo,” Donnie hissed at Leo.

“I’m just glad it wasn’t you!” He grinned back.

“Way to go Barry, woo!” April applauded and everyone else joined, except Cassandra.

“NOOOO!” She fell to her knees. “I will have my revenge, Draxum! Just you wait and see!”

“...Sure you will,” he said back dryly.

“And as for the runner up,” Sofia pointed the umbrella up, releasing it, and pointed it towards the crowd - the most prominent color being Cassandra’s. “Congrats, Cassandra.”

“YES!” She jumped back up, her zeal returned in full force. “I hereby declare tonight to be reserved for karaoke!”

“May I remind you that our karaoke machine is still broken and only plays the 90s selection,” Donnie said, but Cassandra was undeterred.

“It matters not! I call dibs on Britney Spears!”

“Aw, but you got to do her songs last time!” April pointed out and the two began debating over switching or doing duets. Everyone else started claiming their respective songs while Draxum, Casey, and Sofia watched on, Sofia leaning over to Casey and whispering;

“Who’s Britney Spears?”

“You’re asking me!?” He balked, the duo looking to Draxum next with expectant eyes.

“Seriously!? As if I would know!”

“Oh, wait, wait!” Mikey stopped the chatter. “Let’s get a photo! Donnie!”

“Great idea - it’s been ages since I flexed the Mondo Selfie Stick!” Said contraption slid out of Donnie’s battle shell, extending and grabbing his phone on the way. “Everyone get in close and say; ‘there’s more purple paint than blue on the wall’!”

“Or ‘Donnie is delusional’!” Leo countered, all under the camera’s lens groaning or laughing as the shutter sounded, catching a truly candid scene to be treasured.

Chapter Text

“I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point - but I need to hear it one last time. Are you four absolutely sure that you want to go through with this?” Sofia stared down the brothers, each surrounded by supplies and travel bags, giving eachother a glance, no uncertainty to be found among them.

“Sofia, we’re already packed,” Donnie answered for all of them.

“For my peace of mind, please.”

Leo stepped forward, placing his hand on Sofia's shoulder and giving her a resolute smile. “Sofia, there’s family that needs saving and we’re the turtles to get it done. We’ve been waiting for this moment since you became part of our family. So let’s get over there and get it done! They’ve waited for long enough.”

“...Alright,” Sofia answered with a nod, then looking past Leo. “Mikey? Start prepping, please.”

“You got it!” He sprang into action and began all his needed Mystic preparations.

It had only taken Mikey and Sofia a week after the initial healing tests to perfect their craft. No sooner would the cracks of Mystic exertion appear on Mikey’s arms would they disappear under Sofia’s artes, any and all pain Mikey initially felt never resurfaced as long as Sofia kept the flow of energy constant. It was by complete accident when they finally managed to open a portal. Draxum had begun to cut off that day’s test when their respective Mystic hit a specific wavelength, the portal coming forth and sending the twins backwards - both as surprised as Draxum was. On top of that surprise, the portal was exactly to where it needed to be, Sofia recognizing the particular location in the sewers - a place where she and Nel used to draw on the walls when they were little, the doodles clearly visible. Mikey spun Sofia around triumphantly, so excitedly that both fell again from dizziness. Planning began in earnest after that - who would be going with Sofia and who would stay behind as a B Team to keep New York safe in their absence. All four turtles obviously volunteered, but when Casey Jones did as well did a small conflict arise.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for someone who’s already displaced from one timeline to travel to another,” Sofia said and Casey’s brow wrinkled.

“I agree with Sofia, it’s too dangerous,” Donnie concurred. “Just because the time space continuum is totally fine with you being displaced here, there’s no guarantee it’ll be as kind hopping to another dimension.

“I’d also rest easy if you were to keep New York safe in my absence,” Leo added, but Casey still didn’t look convinced.

“I just-” he hesitated, his thoughts obvious, but needing to spoken regardless. “I just feel like if I don’t keep any eye on you guys that we’ll lose you all again.”

“Oh, Casey...” Mikey said, pulling him into a hug. They all fell into silence, each trying to find the right words to comfort him, but it was Sofia who spoke first.

“Casey,” Her eyes met his, a clear determination to his wavering. “I’ll get them back to you, I promise. Even If I have to become a monster with the Janome to do it, I will return them home.”

“Woah, woah, hold up!” Raph immediately shut her down. “Don’t even think about it!”

“All I’m saying is that it’s an option - one that I’d only ever use if we were out of them.”

“You know I wouldn’t want you to do that,” Casey unintentionally glared at her bandaged hand.

“I’m more than aware,” She felt his animosity, hiding the hand behind her shell. “But just as you gave me hope on that night we fought, I want you to hold onto that hope and trust in your Senseis, - and me if need be. Trust me to get them home, Casey Jones.”

Casey shut his eyes, letting himself relax with a sigh, nodding as he reopened them. “I’m going to hold you to that, Sofia,” he held out his hand and she took it, Sofia matching the strength of his grip. “Save your world, send them home.”

“Got it,” they both squeezed harder to cement the agreement before releasing each other. With that matter settled it was decided that everyone besides the turtles would remain. Draxum, April, and Cassandra had responsibilities while Splinter knew he would be ill-equipped in a whole other world, not to mention his age was beginning to catch up with him as well. And thus with the B Team decided, the A Team quickly finished their preparations, Portal Day soon upon them.

“Are you excited to get back, or is it all just nerves at this point?” April asked Sofia, she and the rest of the B Team approaching to say their farewells.

“A mix of both, really,” Sofia answered truthfully. “Thank you for being so patient with me, April. I really appreciate it.”

“Aw, c’mere,” April spread her arms and Sofia accepted the gesture, hugging her back. “It was no problem at all! Make sure you give your April a HUGE hug when you get back - she’s probably worried sick about you!”

“Oh, I will... man she’s gonna be so mad...” Sofia broke the hug, laughing nervously. Mayhem, seated on April’s head, made an affirmative growl, getting a giggle out of Sofia. “I’ll apologize to Mayhem too, don’t worry.”

The two of them moved out of the way, Cassandra and Casey next in line. “Be well, Sofia,” Cassandra held out her hand and Sofia shook it. “And if you happen to encounter me in your world, please do everything you can to deter her from the Foot Clan! I was a MENACE here!”

“Foot Clan no bueno, got it. Thank you for all the help, Cassandra. And Casey,” Her gaze moved to him. “I meant what I said.”

“I know,” He offered his hand again and they shook. “I trust you.”

Sofia nodded, Draxum and Splinter the last two to approach. “I suppose it’s a bit late to ask, but have you packed everything you need?” Draxum asked.

“Yep, including the you-know-what,” Sofia said with a smirk and Draxum responded back with a light smile.

“Good, you’ll no doubt need it. I would know,” He said and Sofia gigglesnorted.

“Yeah, you would. Thanks for all the training, Draxum. I’ll put it to good use.”

“You have a bright future ahead of you,” He finished his farewell, Sofia then kneeling down to Splinter’s level.

“I’m going to miss you, little Sofia. It’s been fun! Give your pops a big ‘hot soup’, from me!”

“I absolutely will. Thank you for welcoming me into your home.”

“You’re welcome back anytime! Hopefully under much better circumstances, eh?”

Sofia laughed. “It’ll definitely be a purposeful visit and not temporal displacement.”

“Good! I’ll be waiting!” Splinter gently pat her shoulder.

“I’m good to go over here!” Mikey called out, beckoning Sofia back.

“We got all our farewells out last night, so we should be ready,” Raph said, checking the surrounding luggage.

“The portal will only stay open for ten seconds, so get ready to jump as soon as it’s open!” Mikey warned as he and Sofia took their positions.

“We’re ready!” Leo picked up his bags and braced himself, Donnie and Raph doing the same.

“Okay, just like before,” Sofia said, holding out her hands and focusing, pouring her Ninpo over Mikey, the ‘pencil’ and ‘eraser’ primed and ready.

“Just like before,” Mikey repeated, doing the stances Draxum had taught him, a circle sparking beneath him as his own Mystic flowed. It was all too familiar a scene to Casey, but he kept to his word, not giving into fear as he continued to watch. No crack ever got past Mikey’s knuckles before it disappeared, Mikey able to fully focus under Sofia’s efforts. Soon, sparks flew between them, a crack in reality surfacing - everyone able to see another sewer through it - Nel and Sofia’s scribblings visible. It grew larger and larger, turning circular, fully forming, Mikey letting out a yell as he finished opening it fully.

“Go, go, go!” Leo ordered, Sofia and Mikey quickly picking up their bags, running behind the others and making their way into the portal. From the other side they looked back, their family waving or giving thumbs up, all of them doing the same in response, Sofia transitioning to a deep bow, one last show of appreciation before the portal closed. With a small pop of sparks, it was gone, Sofia returning to her previous posture.

“We’re really doing this, huh,” She said, a slight shake to her voice.

“You are hesitation personified sometimes...” Donnie shook his head, taking out his phone, seeing exactly what he expected. “Our phones are down, so we stick together until I can get my network running. Sofia, where to first? The lair, I’m assuming?”

“...Yeah,” she said, her eyes on the scribblings, tracing them with her fingers before facing the group. “It’s still hitting me that I’m back, but home isn’t far. I’ll lead the way.”

“Do you need a break, Sofia? And Mikey, you good?” Raph asked.

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Mikey bubbled.

“And I am too, let’s get going,” Sofia took the lead, walking a path she had countless times before. The sewer was eerily silent, every water droplet hitting the stagnant water was like a shout, every passing rat loud enough to rival a car in the now empty streets. Nothing seemed to be amiss, however, everyone felt like they were in the eye of a storm, that the silence wasn’t to be fully trusted. “We’re here,” Sofia stopped them outside of a familiar looking entrance. “I think I should go in first, just in case. I don’t want to complicate things if someone happens to be home.”

“Got it, yell for us when the coast is clear,” Leo instructed, Sofia acknowledging him as she disappeared into her home.

“...Lights are off,” She said to herself as she felt around for the switch. “Do we even have electricity right now...?” She found the switch, flicking it up and illuminating everything - but within the now lit lair awaited an ambush. A short, hooded figure yelled and lunged, Sofia barely able to summon her naginata to block the blow. A baseball bat reverberated against Sofia’s Mystic, filling the silence, the two locking gazes, the attacker’s grip slackening at what they saw.

“...Sofia...?” A voice she knew asked. Beyond their shock were identical features Sofia had just seen that day one dimension away. Red rimmed glasses, curly hair, and her signature hoodie were just the way she left her.

“April!” Sofia said with a relieved sigh, both dropping their weapons. “I’m so glad you’re OK!”

“I-I...” April hesitated, taking her hood off. “Is it really you?!”

“It is, it’s me, April.”

April’s rush began to wane, eyes watering as she jumped into her friend’s arms. “I’ve been so worried! I looked for you everywhere-!” She sobbed, still clinging to Sofia as she sat them down.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...” She held April back, waiting for her to cry herself out, unable to stop a few tears of her own escaping. They eventually separated, both messily drying their tears.

“Where have you been?!” April exploded, rightfully so.

“I have a really complicated answer to that...” Sofia nervously chuckled through her sniffles.

“Well, I’m listening!” April urged and Sofia’s hesitation showed in every inch of her.

“...Would you believe me if I told you I was in a different dimension?”

“...HUH?” April reacted accordingly. “Sofia, I am not in the mood for jokes!”

“I’m not joking! I have plenty of proof! I just... wow, where to start?”

April viewed her friend’s face twisted between distress and sorrow, swallowing her questions and grabbing one of Sofia’s hands, commanding her attention. “I’m listening, Sofia, for real this time. Tell me everything.” And so Sofia did, every detail. From her arrival, to stalking the lookalikes, to being caught and integrated into their family. She showed April photos from her phone as she continued, doing her best to explain all the differences, the struggles she had to overcome in order to return, and how she’d managed to get back thanks to the help of their counterparts. The phone displayed her most recent photo - the selfie of everyone after the painting of the half-pipe area, April’s eyes falling on her counterpart, then to Sofia and the paint covered Michelanego. It was a wave of pure uncanniness that April struggled to fight through, but she knew now that Sofia wasn’t lying, knowing she had no reason to regardless. “...And these other brothers followed you here,” April said more than asked, sighing and pinching her eyes under her glasses. “Where are they?”

“Just outside the lair. I didn’t want to shock anyone just in case someone was home.”

“I appreciate it, but get them in here, it’s not safe, especially looking like they do,” April said and Sofia looked at her quizzically, but complied.

“GUYS!” Sofia called out and their footsteps soon answered. Each of them filing in, making April balk at the sight of them.

“...Holy crap...” Her hand went over her mouth as she viewed them properly, unable to overcome her shock. “They really are doppelgangers...!”

“Hi there...” Leo tentatively waved, “We come in peace.”

“Guess this is how you felt when we were all gawking at you, huh, Sofia?” Raph said.

“More or less,” She confirmed, “April, in order of where they’re standing, this is Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo.” They all acknowledged their introduction with a wave or nod as Sofia went down the line, April still stuck in believing what she was seeing. “Michelangelo is my counterpart in their dimension, and I’m sure you’ve figured out the rest already.”

“Uh-huh...” April removed her hand from her mouth, revealing a face ridden with anxiety. “So you guys have your own April, your own Splints, and so on and so forth...”

“Yep! You look just like our April too! Same hairstyle, same voice, same hoodie...” Mikey answered peppily.

“And that doesn’t freak you guys out at all!?” April felt the last shred of her sanity begin to fray.

“We’ve had Sofia with us for months. Sure it’s a little freaky at first, but you get used to the idea that there’s an infinite amount of ‘yous’ and ‘thems’ out there,” Donnie said with a smile. “It’s much more productive to think of all the benefits that it could bring rather than despair over it!”

One of April’s eyes twitched. “Ohmigosh, he’s just like Gio...”

“Right?” Sofia snorted.

“I resent that!” Donnie huffed. “But speaking of Giorgio, where is his lab, because I much desire to break into it and-”

“Alright, stop, back up,” April held out her hands. “Look, I’m on the brink of freaking out still, but I am genuinely glad that Sofia is back safe and sound - however,” She took out her phone and started typing away. “If you guys are here to help, there’s a whole lot of stupid you need to be made aware of, mainly this;”

April approached them, holding out her phone for them to see. Sofia added herself to the crowd, everyone’s surprise and confusion mixed at what was shown. A list of wanted criminals, much like the classic posters of old, all mutants, new and familiar, and among them were five they all knew, four having a ‘captured’ caption, whilst the last, Sofia’s, had a ‘missing’ one instead. April primed herself to answer their questions, the first of which left Sofia’s mouth.

“...April,” Sofia looked up from the phone, “what the hell is going on?”

******

In a dark prison cell in a nearly forgotten ward sat a lone prisoner, too exhausted to eat the provided slop that may at one time been considered food. They were sure it was rotten by now anyways, no warden visiting for days, as if they were certain they were already dead. To them, they may as well be, everything that could have gone wrong did - despite their best efforts, it was all futile. There really was nothing else to be done than become the corpse everyone wished of them, and so it would come to pass, eventually. Just as their eyelids shut did the sound of footsteps force them open again. They weren’t the heavy boots of wardens, nor was it the clacking of heels belonging to that of Big Mama. These steps were soft, light, and they failed to place them, even once they stopped outside their cell. They didn’t look up, there was little point in doing so, but they could hear their breathing and the curl of their fingers over the rusted bars as they were clearly getting a good look at whatever was left of them. Months ago they may have lashed out, made demands, but there was no energy for such things now. After what felt like an eternity did the visitor finally speak.

“...Wow...” their tone was neither sarcastic nor admonishing, truly taken aback by their state. “You look like crap,” they said candidly. The voice was female, young, and ever so slightly familiar. “...Hey, can you give me any indication that you’re alive in there?” The prisoner humored her, lifting their head. “Okay, good, now, do you recognize me?” To them, the question was idiotic, and as the silence endured did the truth reveal itself to her. “...Oh,” she said, surely getting a better look at their state. “I did that, didn’t I? Geez,” She said so quietly they thought they misheard, but what they didn’t mishear was the sound of the cell opening, their visitor entering within. “Don’t move,” she commanded and they accepted their fate.

As a flow of Mystic washed over them they expected the worst. Combustion, poison, dismemberment - there were so many ways to utilize Mystic to put another out of their misery. However, besides a slight tickling sensation, there was no pain, and then suddenly, there was light. The surrounds of the prison came into view, and before them a turtle mutant clad in black and orange.

“How about now?” Sofia asked. “Or has the great Baron Draxum forgotten the face of the mutant who blinded him?”

“Y-you...” Draxum was aghast, still unsure if this was some elaborate dream or a spirit sent to haunt him. “You’re... alive?”

“Yeah, miraculously,” Sofia responded, “and before you get any ideas, I’m not here to hurt you, despite our last meeting. It’s quite the opposite, actually,” one of her arms went back into her shell, then re-emerged holding a Sigil of Protection issued by the Heads. “I have one of these for you - if you’re willing to give me what I want.”

“...And that is?” Draxum barely mustered a scowl.

“Information, and cooperation. I want to fix this Wyrm's Blood filled mess you made.”

Draxum’s eyes widened, knowing he had told no one of his alchemical methods, and that all records of it were long lost in the destruction of his lab. “H-how do you-”

“Know about your dumb ooze recipe? This will probably explain better than I could,” She took out the letter the other Draxum had penned, handing it to him and backing off out of the cell. “When you’re done reading, meet me at the end of this ward. I’ll be waiting there for you. If you try anything else, well, I can’t really help you.” Sofia left her Draxum behind, making her way to the meeting spot, finding Mikey there waiting.

“How’d it go?” He asked and Sofia shrugged in reply.

“Honestly, I don’t really know. For now, we wait.”

“Was he doing OK?”

Sofia sucked in air through her teeth. “Uh, no, not at all,” She answered. “He doesn’t have any of his plate armor on, so he looks like yours, but he’s skin and bones, plus, he was blind until I just healed him - and I’m ninety percent sure I’m the one who blinded him...” She flexed her morphed hand.

“Ooo, not great...”

“You can say that again,” Sofia huffed a sigh, their phones going off alerting her out of it, both taking them out to view the new message.

HOW MANY MYSTIC LOCKS DOES ONE DOOR NEED!? - Donnie had texted, clearly exasperated. A picture loaded in next, showing the state of the door leading to Gio’s lab.

“...Why is it charred now?” Sofia zoomed into the photo.

“I bet Donnie tried to blow it up after getting frustrated with it,” Mikey guessed.

“Oh for the love of- really!?” Sofia started typing - Do not, I repeat, DO NOT use explosives in my home!

Donnie’s chat bubble surfaced, a message being typed - Not even the itty-bitty ones? Their blast radius is controllable!

“NO!” Sofia said and typed.

Then I guess I’m NEVER getting into Gio’s lab! SPOILSPORT! SOFIA THE SPOILSPORT!

Sofia scoffed as Mikey shook his head. “Donnie’s not gonna give up. He’ll be back at it once he’s had a breather.”

“Pfft,” Sofia smirked, “‘Sofia the Spoilsport’ sounds like a fairytale villain.”

“Or the leader of a rock band!”

Sofia laughed, “For kindergartners, maybe!”

“Yeah! Who needs the Wiggles when you’ve got Sofia the Spoilsport!”

“WHO ARE THE WIGGLES?!” Sofia wheezed into more laughter, their lighthearted banter continuing until the distinct sound of approaching hooves echoed through the ward. Slowly they closed the distance, Mikey and Sofia stopping all conversation until Draxum joined them. The elder Yōkai's face twisted in disbelief as he beheld both of them.

“...So it is true,” Draxum said, a quake of uncertainty in his tone. Mikey felt his heart break all over again seeing someone that resembled another he loved dearly be in such a state, but reminded himself of where he was, holding himself back from adopting and housing Draxum all over again.

“He has no reason to lie,” Sofia answered back. “Though I didn’t read the letter so I actually don’t know what he wrote to you.”

“And you never will,” Draxum replied coldly.

“Easy,” Sofia warned, “the less hostile you are, the sooner we can get to figuring out a plan to start fixing things. Considering you left your cell to meet us, I’m guessing at least cooperation is on the table?”

“...It is.”

“Okay, good, then let's start things off properly. This is Michelangelo, my counterpart from the dimension I stumbled into.”

“Hello!” Mikey waved with his signature grin. “Draxum and I are thick as thieves back home!”

“I see...” He regarded Mikey with a mix of disbelief and disgust.

“And to cover all our bases - I’m Sofonisba. I don’t think you ever bothered learning our names.”

“I am aware of your name, I’m not so uninformed that I don’t at least know that.”

“Well, color me surprised - and if you’re so informed, then I don’t suppose you’d mind filling me in as to why my family was in your lab the day I went on my mystical journey?” Sofia crossed her arms.

“That is a question better suited for your brother,” Draxum answered with a hint of anger, Sofia’s eye twitching in response.

“My brother - which one, Vinnie, who was sedated and in a cage, or Gio, who was unconscious at your feet? Oh, and that’s right, all my family are in cells somewhere here too - except Gio, his state is much more complicated - no thanks to you!”

“If you had just surrendered and not destroyed the syringes-” Draxum began to bite back, Sofia cutting him off immediately.

“I thought you were killing them!” Her arms uncrossed, fists balled, standing toe-to-toe with Draxum as she continued. “Unless you’ve forgotten that you threw me off a building with the intent to kill me! What else was I supposed to think!?”

“Considering how little your own brother thinks of you to keep you so in the dark, it’s not surprising critical thinking isn’t one of your strong suits!”

“Most people aren’t going to think logically after seeing a giant bug creature trash their city! You certainly weren’t when you used freaking Wrym’s Blood instead of Empyrean when you created us! And what about my brother-!?”

“OKAY, STOP, TIME OUT!” Mikey got between them, pulling the enraged Sofia back away from Draxum. “This is getting us nowhere! Breathe, both of you,” he commanded, Sofia complying begrudgingly while Draxum continued to stew. “Let’s take a step back. Draxum, you’re obviously exhausted and hungry, and therefore grumpy, so I’m gonna let this slide. We’re here to help you so you can help us clean up your mess. Got it?” Draxum let go of the tension he was holding onto under Mikey’s words, their truths combining with the letter he’d recently read, bringing him back to himself, back to his reality. Had wallowing in his failures truly made him this petty? He had no pride left, so what compelled him to squabble with the child offering him a helping hand? Was it because it was the same hand that left him in darkness while the world itself fell apart around him? Frustrated as he was, Draxum knew better, allowing himself to drop his hostilities with a nod. “Alright then,” Mikey continued, “let’s get you cleaned up and fed, and then hopefully you’ll be a little more willing to share.”

Chapter Text

Eyes filled with exhaustion struggled to comprehend what the screen in front of them displayed. The test had been run so many times they’d lost count - but the results were always the same. What was shown was their greatest fear manifest, and their inability to rectify it ate away at their consciousness like a stray dog being thrown a bone. This went beyond their power, and that very fact was a paralyzing truth that led them to their current state.

“...What do I do...?!” Gio’s head was in his hands, a desperate plea to no one continuing to escape his lips. There was no one to comfort him, to offer advice, his current rapport with his family soured as he’d pushed his youngest sibling to her limit. But she was the least of his worries currently. What was initially meant to be a quick check of Sofia’s vitals revealed something much more sinister in store. Gio often did this, using his gofu to record his sibling’s current states after missions to evaluate their Mystic output and anything else that may be worth concern. His, Vincent’s, and Nelli’s fluctuated while Sofia’s hardly ever changed - but it was in that night’s results did the youngest’s stagnation showed a truth Gio had overlooked for years.

There was no ‘stimuli’ - it was merely the true nature of their creation rattling the chains of its prison. He had been blind to it, so wholly focused on the wrong thing - and it was his shortsightedness that would lead his family to ruin. Time was no longer a privilege he could afford. Gio slammed one of his fists down on the Mystic panel in frustration, a feeble attempt to chase away his troubles - but he knew what he had to do. He lacked the power and knowledge to combat this alone, but his siblings’ trust in him wavered. There was only one other who came to mind, an absolute gamble Gio didn’t want to take - but take it he would. Gio gathered all the needed data and tools, leaving his home behind in the middle of the night to scour the Hidden City. He expected his aim to be a bit harder to find, but as his Mystic tools directed him did Gio find Baron Draxum in the ruins of his lab. It seemed that despite its state, the Yōkai was still calling it home - rebuilding if all the tarps and scattered supplies were to be believed. Gio made no effort to conceal himself, approaching his creator directly to which Draxum accepted with no hostility, more curious than irritated.

“To think one of you would approach me so brazenly,” Draxum turned to greet Gio.

“You’re alone, good, because I’m really not in the mood for your peanut gallery gargoyles right now,” Gio said back, Draxum scoffing in reply.

“And what could you possibly have to impart that’s worth their time, let alone mine?”

Gio would have smirked were he not so anxiety ridden, Draxum giving him the perfect segway to grab his attention and drop his constant murderous intent. “I know about the prophecy,” was all he said, and it was all that needed to be, Draxum’s gaze caught and locked. “I’ve known about it for years. At first I thought it was nothing but hearsay, similar to that of the Mayan’s world ending 2012 prophecy, but then I met you and realized that there’s some truth to it after all.”

Draxum narrowed his eyes at Gio. “Then you are in agreement with my methods?”

“Oh, no, no, - not in the slightest. I’ve actually been acting with my family with the notion that you’re the harbinger of the prophecy.”

“What?!” Draxum seethed and took a step towards Gio. “I act with the Yōkai’s best interests in mind! How dare you assert that I would bring them to harm!”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have used Wyrm’s Blood as the key ingredient in your ooze!” Gio bit back, throwing a relic at Draxum, the alchemist catching it and activating it. A display flickered from it, Draxum viewing it with puzzlement, allowing Gio to continue. “Years ago, you kidnapped Lou Jitsu from Big Mama’s Battle Nexus and used his DNA alongside your ooze to create us - but something went wrong and allowed us to all escape, leading good ol’ Lou to take up the mantle of fatherhood to raise my siblings and I. Dad often went to the Hidden City to get supplies, also being mutated and unable to return to the surface. He’s not the most thorough man in organizing his belongings, so I got my hands on several Mystic artifacts and began delving into research accordingly.” Draxum’s eyes widened at both Gio’s words and the display the more he read it, Gio deciding to keep up his assault. “At a very young age, I gained access to Mystic powers, though fragmented and incomplete without proper catalysts,” He showcased his gofu before storing them again. “It led me to believe in a theory that my family had some sort of stimuli that could grant us powers, but in reality, we’re ticking time bombs - and it’s just about time for us to blow.”

“...I perfected the formula...” Draxum said quietly in protest.

“You’re a warrior that dabbles in alchemy! You shouldn’t have deemed anything perfect without a second opinion - oh, but that’s right, you did it without the Heads knowing and against their wishes, didn’t you?”

Draxum glared. “And I’m supposed to take you, a mutant child, to be learned enough in Mystic to properly equal my own knowledge of hundreds of years?”

“The proof is right there!” Gio said, exasperated and pointing to the relic he had thrown. “Mere days from now, my siblings and I are going to mutate into mad beasts - and that’s not all. If my calculations are right, there will be a pheromonal reaction that any mutant - old or newly minted with your Oozesquitoes, will follow suit! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?! Everyone will die - humans, mutants, and most certainly the Yōkai!”

With the full realization of the situation come to light did Draxum’s face drop. Gio’s calculations clearly shown on the relic were completely correct, though Draxum couldn’t figure out in the moment how or why his ooze had decided to sour after all these years. Had his own calculations been wrong or perhaps the issue itself was something beyond his knowledge. Regardless, when Draxum met Gio’s desperate yet resolute glare did he drop his egotistic attitude. “We need to act.”

“Obviously, why do you think I’m here, to bond with you!?” Draxum didn’t respond, bringing his attention back to the relic, inputting his own commands, changing the display to a formula unknown to Gio. “And what’s that?”

“A way of preventing this. It is a sedative used to force the recipient into a slumber resembling death. In the past, it was used on Yōkai with then incurable illnesses. It would pause their lifeforce until a cure was concocted and they could be treated properly.”

Gio took back the device from Draxum, viewing the formula fully, understanding it completely, but the next issue was more than apparent. “So, what happens after we’re sedated? You really expect me to trust you with my family?”

“You trusted me enough to approach me about this issue.”

“You THREW my sister off a BUILDING!” Gio fired back.

“That was then and this is now!” Draxum replied in irritation. “Once you are sedated, I will surrender you to the Council of Heads who will take pity on you all, because you’re both victims and children. They will then no doubt task me with coming up with a cure as I am the only one who can.”

“...Okay?!” Gio shrugged, “and I’m just supposed to believe you?!”

“What other choice do you have?” Draxum replied, a hint of urgency in his voice. “Not to mention I don’t have the current tools or set up to even prepare the sedative - plus all that will have to be mass produced to cover every mutation in New York! -But I’m assuming you do,” he stared down Gio.

“I do,” Gio said, “but I still can’t fully trust you to not kill all of us and take over my lab for your own benefit, so,” Gio’s hand went to his pocket, finding the appropriate gofu slip and throwing it at Draxum, it affixing itself before he could even react. The word ‘contract’ was clearly written on it, soon sinking past Draxum’s armor out of sight. “If you attempt to take off or damage that slip, a fast acting poison will seep into and eat away at your skin until a painful death. If you harm any of us under sedation, the result will be the same. The contract has been made,” Gio’s Mystic flickered, the words on the gofu glowing with it seen under Draxum’s armor.

“...Impressive,” Draxum genuinely praised Gio's ingenuity. “You would make a fine apprentice were our circumstances different. Though I’m wondering why you haven’t tried this before in our previous encounters.”

“It was in beta, but I’m more than confident in my abilities, I assure you.”

“Hmph,” Draxum accepted the terms. “Prepare five phials of the sedative, then lead your family here in three days' time. I will have the necessary preparations done by then.”

“...Four phials,” Gio corrected and Draxum waited for him to explain. “My youngest sibling, Sofonisba, is currently immune to this... overmutation.”

“How,” Draxum demanded and Gio changed the display on the relic again - showing only the data pertaining to Sofia.

“She’s the reason I figured this out in the first place. Earlier in the evening, we were attempting to steal a Mystic relic from Big Mama, and in the chaos of it all, Sofia swallowed it. As I checked her vitals next to the rest of ours, I realized that said relic had completely stopped the advancement of your ooze’s flaw. I obviously don’t have the time to figure out why, but it’s the truth.” Gio handed the relic back to Draxum who took to observing it all over again. It was indeed true, Sofia’s state completely normal compared to her siblings.

“...And what was the name of this relic?”

“The Dragon’s Eye,” Gio answered and Draxum made a pondering noise. “Do you know of it?”

“Indeed. You will prepare six phials instead.”

“What, why?”

“Insurance. She may need more than one.”

“Are you going to elaborate further on why or-”

“I will need to confirm the validity of the relic in question, but if it is what I think it is, then she is also in danger of mutating - just not as immediately as you. Six phials, three days.” Draxum turned from him, throwing the relic back and exiting into a hallway, leaving Gio behind.

“A little more elaboration would have been nice...” Gio clicked his tongue, then shook his head. “One thing at a time, Giorgio.”

******

“Why isn’t she answering!?” Nel paced around the living area, around her brother who was mindlessly rewatching a Lou Jitsu film. “I’ve sent her so many messages and not one of them has been read! Vinnie!” She stared at him with big, puppy eyes, Vinnie sighing and casting his gaze on Sofia.

“Once again, Nel, she’s sleeping.”

“Somewhere safe, right!?”

“Yes, she’s safe, and yes, she’s warm too - relax.”

“It is impossible for me to relax!” Nel hissed. “She’s never been away this long before! Why wont you just tell me where she is!?”

“Because she doesn’t want to see any of us. Sofia didn’t go out on a stroll, she quit the team. Give her time, give her space.”

“But what about the Dragon’s Eye thing!?” Nel continued to fuss.

“According to Gio, she’s not in any immediate danger, so take of that what you will.”

“My intuition is telling me he’s lying! I’m gonna go talk to him!” She stomped off towards his lab, finding Gio engrossed in an activity completely lost on her. Mystic relics were aglow, alchemical tools scattered everywhere, and among it all was Gio slaving over a liquid slowly draining into a large beaker. The show of it all made Nel hesitate, almost feeling like she was a foreign contaminant the further she entered into the lab.

“What do you need, Nelli,” Gio addressed her without looking up.

“Uh, well,” she nervously played with her scarf. “I was wondering if Sofia is OK, you know, with the whole swallowed relic thing...”

“She’s fine,” he answered curtly, adjusting one of his relics before putting his attention back to the beaker. “Now if that’s all, I’m very busy.”

Nel felt her anger spark with his last comment, not allowing it to quell as she opened her mouth again. “Have you even texted her?”

“Again, busy,” he dismissed her.

“Too busy for one text message? Really, Gio?”

“Nel, what do you want from me!?” He suddenly spun around. “Do you want me to send her an essay on how sorry I am when she doesn’t want to see it? Beg someone who willingly left the team to come back? I don’t have time for Sofia’s shenanigans right now!”

An expression he’d never seen on Nel struck a bolt of fear in Gio’s chest as she approached him. He very rarely angered her, and when he did, she almost immediately swallowed it or Gio would say the right words to calm her, but today neither happened. Shock shook Gio as she slapped him, a firm reprimand he never believed his sweet sister could deliver. “If you keep up this attitude of yours, Sofia won't be the only one leaving the team. Do you even love Sofia, Gio? She loves you - a lot. Wants to please you, does everything she can for you, for us.” Nel’s voice was shaking against Gio’s silence, the shock quickly wearing off as he turned back to the beaker. “Do you!?”

“...Get out,” Gio commanded, hiding a quiver in his voice expertly with fabricated anger.

“Gladly,” Nel trudged out of his lab. “Keeping the prophecy from her was a mistake.”

Gio waited for her presence to fade, his facade crumbling as his hand went to his throbbing cheek, tears he tried to blink back escaping regardless. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried, genuine sobs escaping him as he struggled to regain his composure. “...You’re the leader...” He choked out. “...Act like it!”

Gio sucked back the dregs of his emotions, forcing his focus back to his task, knowing how limited time had become. And yet, a quick glance to his phone was indulged, grabbing it and unlocking it. As always, the background was displaying his family - a silly selfie he’d taken years ago during one of their pizza outings with April. Seeing Sofia’s visage almost made his finger hover over the messaging app, but stubbornness prevailed, opening up a completely different application instead. If Vinnie wouldn’t cough up her location and he was unable to locate her in time for the meetup with Draxum, he could at least make sure she had enough money to take care of herself. That’s all he could manage, for now.

******

Vincent awoke to his phone ringing, patting around for it as he tried to figure out if he was upset that he was awake, or that he’d fallen into another nightmare in the first place. Rest didn’t come easy to him and his slumber tortured him more often than not. With a groan he lifted himself up from the couch, seeing his phone aways from it, walking over to pick it up. Gio’s number displayed with a Jupiter Jim logo, Vinnie answering it without a second thought.

“Yes, Gio?”

“Oh thank goodness, you picked up!” There was clear panic in his voice.

“Where’s the fire?” Vinnie started looking around for his weapon, anticipating his brother to send him out.

“I don’t know, but there’s something weird going on at Draxum’s lab! I was down here getting supplies and there’s sounds and smoke and-”

“Alright, I’ll be here, just give me a few.”

“Could you grab Nel, too? She’s not answering her cell...”

Vinnie looked towards their rooms, able to see the glow of Nel’s desktop and his sister’s shadow cast from it. “...Yeah, I think she’s plugged in. We’ll be there.”

“Okay, see you soon! I’ll be at the usual spot,” Gio ended the call, taking a deep breath, hoping his lies weren’t perceived. “Alright, Gio, it’s go time. Channel Dad’s acting skills, because you’re gonna need them! Hot soup!” He then switched to the messaging app to see how his other lie was holding up. He had sent April a message telling her to not come to the lair for a few days as they were going on a Sofia related mission. Besides a thumbs up emoji, nothing else had been said, and he decided to leave it at that, unable to spare a second now that his plan was in motion. “Now to just set the timer for the distress signal for Dad... and, done.”

He took one more deep breath among the many he’d done that day to calm his nerves, futile as it was. His hands went to his pockets next, storing his phone and slipping his fingers around the syringes he’s stored the serum in. Six in total - no more no less, it was all he could afford in the time given. Sofia’s location was still a mystery to everyone but Vinnie, but he’d discuss that with Draxum, no time to find her currently. For now, the task was to ensure Vinnie and Nel’s sedation, then Splinter’s, then his. It was a simple plan in his head, but the execution rarely ever went the way he wished it. However, the time for hesitation was over, Vinnie and Nel soon joining him, Gio putting on his best performance yet. Anything involving mutants was his specialty, and having Draxum at the center of it all aided their sense of urgency. Vinnie was compliant as usual while Nel followed along quietly, still sore from their fight.

They entered into Draxum’s lab through the front door, all quiet despite Gio’s ramblings describing it otherwise. Vinnie took the lead with Nel right behind him, both complying to Gio as he faked seeing movement in the room littered with cages, the trio jumping down to it. An order for them to take one side while he took the other was given and followed, Gio waiting for the opportune moment, Vinnie and Nel close enough to one another, their brother attaching the proper gofu slips to two syringes, setting them loose before his siblings has any chance to notice anything amiss. Both of them reacted as Gio expected, betrayal and anger clearly writ on their faces as they tried to make sense of everything before drifting off.

“W-why...!” Nel slurred out, fighting the serum.

“...I’m sorry,” Gio replied, meeting his sister’s wrathful gaze with remorse. “Everything will be fixed when you wake up.” She opened her mouth to protest, but fell completely to the drug, collapsing next to Vinnie - Gio viewing the scene in mild panic, going to check their vitals and sighing with relief as everything was as it should be.

“Expertly done,” Draxum emerged from the shadows, a root scooping up his siblings and depositing them into cages. “And as I expected, your youngest sister is absent.”

“She’s a stubborn one,” was all Gio revealed. “She’s at least safe.”

“She assaulted me at the Mystic Library earlier today - no mask donned. Is this one of those human rebellious phases or is there something you haven’t revealed to me?”

“That girl...!” Gio shook his head, no space in it for a wild card Sofia. “She isn’t with the team currently, so that means you’re going to have to deal with her once Dad and I are down. Here,” Gio handed him the remaining syringes and the key to his lab. “Dad will be here soon. Is there anything else before-”

Everything around them shook violently, relentlessly, both unable to keep their footing as the vibrations continued, pieces of the lab shaking loose, a large chunk on a crash course for Draxum - unbeknownst to him but clearly seen by Gio. With no warning he pushed his creator out of the way, the debris thoroughly knocking out Gio in Draxum’s stead. The shaking stopped for only a moment, kicking up again with screams now filling the Hidden City. An otherworldly screech followed, telling Draxum exactly what was transpiring.

“No...!” He despaired, viewing the city from a crack in the wall. Chaos was beginning to unfold, a rogue mutant from all those years ago had overmutated, all of its kind answering the primal call, giving into madness. Draxum tried to figure out what creature in his lab managed to get the ooze on it and mutate without him knowing. He was under the impression that they either all fled or had perished in the flames - but he had already been wrong about Lou Jitsu and the turtles. It could be anything, from a genuine experiment to a simple unfortunate fly on the wall, and he cursed himself for not even considering the chances.

“Gio, Nel, Vinnie, Sofia!” Splinter’s voice called out, echoing through the lab. “Where are you!?” Splinter’s horrors were soon realized, locking his gaze with Draxum’s after viewing his children incapacitated and in the clutches of whom he despised the most. “...You...! YOU!” Splinter launched himself at Draxum, the latter responding with roots to defend himself. His form had changed and his aging was apparent, but the great Lou Jitsu was as strong as ever, his enragement no doubt aiding his technique. “What have you done to my kids?!”

But in that enragement did Splinter give Draxum an opportunity, an opening, priming himself to answer Lou Jitsu’s strength in kind. “Even if I were to explain,” He narrowly dodged a fist, countering with a root that latched onto Spinter’s ankle. “Your composure would deem my words lies - so slumber!” A sound slam into the ground, knocking Splinter out cold next to his son. While not exactly to plan, Draxum had no reason to be picky, readying the serum for the two at his feet, coiling roots around them protectively.

“STOP!” A new voice joined the continuing pandemonium, though it wasn’t completely unfamiliar. To Draxum’s relief, Sofia joined them, jumping down into the caged area with a face that had clearly witnessed the horrors outside. “Get away from them!”

Her arrival was fortuitous indeed, but in tactless explanation did her provoke her further, leading to a battle he didn’t anticipate. The turtle he underestimated for the second time that day was now fueled by adrenaline, determined to kill him, thoroughly muddling the plan as she broke two of the syringes. He deemed her a fool, but Draxum knew it was his arrogance that brought him here. Still, things were salvageable. He would trap her, give her a half dose alongside her father - both of their statures small enough to accept the drug in a weaker dose, and then give the last syringe to Gio.

With an explosion of his roots he finally caught her, Sofia’s desperation finding no aid as he closed in on her and prepared the syringe. Trapped as she was, Draxum’s guard lowered, but within the few moments he allowed such was he reminded what relic Sofia had ingested. Her arm freed itself, a draconic hand tore his faceplate off and took most of his vision with it. He howled in pain, beholding his blood mix with the fallen syringe’s liquid before casting his gaze back to Sofia. Just before his sight fully flickered out did he witness the portal whisk her away, darkness falling upon him immediately after. Panic he’d not felt since his adolescence gripped him as Draxum grasped his situation. Blinded - one syringe left. The world shook again, urging him to act, locating his roots and following them until he was upon the bodies of Lou Jitsu and Giorgio. There was a groan from Gio, Draxum finding him and shaking him.

“Get up!” He commanded, Gio answering his call by opening his eyes, gasping at Draxum's wound, his own panic rising as he viewed the state of things. Broken syringes, the lab in further shambles, his father unconscious at his side.

“W-what’s going on-”

“Time is short,” Draxum held out the last syringe. “Give half to Lou Jitsu and the rest to yourself, then flee as far as you can before your mutation takes over-”

“You didn’t answer my question! What happened!?”

“Another mutant unbeknownst to us has surfaced. The chaos drew out your sister and she interfered. Now quickly, do what I cannot or this will all be for nothing!” Gio took the syringe, injecting half of it into Splinter and himself, many more questions on his mind, but Draxum grabbed him by his coat, forcing him to stand. “Now go. Half of the serum will not sedate someone of your size, but it will stall your transformation. Get as far away from here as you can before the inevitable!”

“B-but my family-”

“I have already made arrangements for them! I will cure you along with them when I am able!”

Gio took one last look around, locating each of his family members - except Sofia, despite Draxum’s claims. “Where is Sofia!? You said she-”

“Enough, go!” Draxum whipped a root in his general direction, hitting true and sending Gio out of the lab through its damaged walls. He landed hard, barely able to react to his pain as the surrounds commanded his attention. The horrors he tried to prevent had become reality - the mutant above screeching as if to punctuate his failure. Gio held his head as he fought against his now progressing mutation, forcing himself to stand, desperation settling in his chest as he tried to locate the closest exit.

“I have to... get out of here...!” he gulped air desperately, attempting to hold back the transformation. “Move... MOVE!” He refused to give into the madness, forcing one foot in front of the other despite the pain it brought. With a shout resembling a roar did he start sprinting, his destination set, praying he’d make it in time, hoping this was some elaborate dream he’d one day wake up from.

******

Sofia’s grip tightened around the soda can she’d long since drained as Draxum finished his recount. She, Mikey, and Draxum were sat in a waiting room at the Hidden City Prison, both waiting for Draxum’s papers to be processed and using it as a safe place to trade information while discussing their next move.

“Gio, you idiot...” Sofia inhaled sharply, the can buckling under her grip. “No one, not one of us wanted you to take everything on yourself! Communication really isn’t your strong suit!” She swore as she threw the can to the ground.

“And controlling your anger isn’t yours,” Draxum said, stoking the fire of their squabble all over again.

“Shut up,” she spat, leaving her seat and making for the door.

“Where are you going?” Mikey asked as she turned the doorknob.

“Bathroom,” she answered curtly, slamming the door behind her, Mikey flinching at it, then directing a tired frown at Draxum. He was now dressed in an outfit resembling his counterpart, cleaned up and regaining his strength, a small pile of snack wrappers next to him that Mikey offered and he begrudgingly ate.

“And what did you possibly have to gain by saying that?” Mikey scolded and Draxum paid him no mind, taking a sip of his own soda, recoiling from the carbonation before setting it aside. “I honestly can’t tell if you genuinely want to help, or if you’re maliciously complying.”

“I will do as agreed, but I have no interest in fostering a relationship with any of you.”

Mikey stopped himself from sighing, remembering his own Draxum’s aversion, but the situation here was different enough that the possibility of him not integrating into Sofia’s family was an upsetting thought. It was ultimately not up to him, but Mikey wasn’t about to sit idly by while this Draxum’s attitude was still in need of correcting.

“Okay, fair enough, but provoking the people housing and feeding you is probably not in your best interests.”

“It is a temporary alliance, I can forage my own food if need be, or are you attempting to threaten me?”

Mikey let out his sigh with a shake of his head. “No, I’m not threatening you, but it’s been awhile since I broke out Dr. Delicate Touch,” He cleared his throat, standing up from his seat as he focused on Draxum. “YOU’RE SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS TOO OLD TO BE PICKING FIGHTS WITH A 14 YEAR OLD!” Draxum was completely taken aback by the sudden outburst, how loud and admonishing it was. “And I know for a fact that you’re garbage at feeding yourself and your cooking is lousy as well - AND that your ears twitch ever so slightly when you’re lying~” Mikey smirked, Draxum covering his ears in response. “So, ready to smarten up?”

“...I find it very hard to believe you’re as close to the other me as you claim,” Draxum grumbled, but in a blink of an eye was the room suddenly filled with Mystic chains. He could feel the heat radiating off them, the absolute raw power vibrating as each link jingled, obeying Mikey’s will, the turtle in question floating slightly amongst it all. The way the chains flowed was... familiar, like roots claiming new soil - and in viewing it all did Draxum find understanding, seeing Mikey in a new light, relenting his obstinacy.

“Are you sure about that?” Mikey chuckled, relishing the look of awe on Draxum’s face, but before Draxum could reply did the door reopen.

“Hey, I’ve got the papers -woah, what is going on here?” Sofia eyed the chains, then lifted them up with her naginata to get back into the room. “What’d I miss?”

“Nothing, just having a little chat with your dear old Dad Two.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“You’ll warm up to it!”

Chapter Text

“Hmmm...” Leo took a few steps back from a large drawing board, spinning a marker in his fingers as he viewed his drawn diagram. “I think that covers everything?”

“Lemme see,” Raph looked over his brother’s shoulder, taking in the entire display. “Yeah, I think you got it all!”

“Well, I think it needs a little more pizazz!” Mikey popped up between them, colored markers in hand. He quickly added little colorful flairs as he saw fit, looking rather proud of himself as he finished. “You’ll keep your audience more engaged this way!”

“I don’t think that’s going to be an issue, but I do like the action lines. Really enforces the urgency of the situation! Speaking of-” Leo turned around and found Donnie typing away against Gio’s lab door. “How’s the break-in going, Don?”

“I am nearly there!” He answered without looking up.

“Near enough for me to go pick up the girls and Draxum?”

“NO, NOT YET!” He hissed.

“Remember your agreement, Donnie,” Raph reminded and Donnie let out an aggravated noise as he recalled. No sooner had Sofia banned further use of explosives did she return with Draxum in tow... and with Gio’s keys. Like Cerberus guarding the gates of hell did Donnie refuse Draxum entry with his painless salvation. He wouldn’t be bested by a mere door and he definitely wouldn’t take the easy way out after all this effort. Behind walls made of his Mystic did he beg, no, demand one more day to break in, and Sofia agreed, too tired and disgruntled to fight with him after her frankly exhausting day with recruiting Draxum. Now, with the fated hour upon him did Donnie start to give into desperation. He just needed a bit more time, however;

“Welp, ready or not, I’m off!” Leo opened a portal and jumped through, ignoring any other plea from Donnie as he closed it behind him. A specific ward in the Hidden City Prison came into view, the lights dim, with one cell down the hallway lit up like a beacon. Leo passed by all the other cells, telling himself to not spare them a glance, remembering how much it rattled him the last time he was here. Behind every set of bars were containment vats - each containing a mutant frozen in time with an unknown liquid. Some were mid-transformation, gleeful madness perfectly displayed, while others were caught in panic or clearly pleading for help. With no way to combat the outbreak with a blind Baron Draxum, all were captured and stored accordingly at the Head’s orders - the sole exceptions being the turtles and Splinter who had already been taken care of. Their states were as described - sleeping, though appearing as dead, but in Draxum’s liberation from his injury did he earnestly get to work as promised, Leo stepping into the illuminated cell, viewing several machines now hooked up to Vinnie, Nel, and Splinter. While Draxum was busily taking notes was Sofia leaning against a nearby wall and April at Nel’s side with a troubled look on her face.

“Oh, Leo,” Sofia noticed him and greeted, both April and Draxum looking up from their focus. “Time to head back?”

“Yep, I’m here to pick you up. How’re things here?”

“No changes,” Draxum answered, “has your brother opened the lab?”

“Claims he’s ‘nearly there’, but no,” Leo revealed and Sofia scoffed.

“The more that boy denies being like Gio, the more he proves himself wrong,” April slightly shook her head.

“You should’ve seen him when he was cheering me up. Complete opposite philosophy, exact same mannerisms - maniacal laughter and everything,” Sofia revealed and April smiled.

“Watching them talk at each other is going to be a riot...”

“I’ll have the ibuprofen ready,” Leo joked and opened a portal. “But for now; family meeting time.” He offered the portal in a gentlemanly manner, April playfully rolling her eyes as she went through first, Draxum ignoring Leo completely as he followed. Sofia stopped herself just before she entered, looking back to her family with a hopeful expression.

“Bye, guys, I’ll be back soon,” she said and jumped through, Leo silently sharing her sentiment before entering himself.

“NOT A WORD TO SOFIA!” Donnie’s voice assaulted Leo as he reentered the lair. There was smoke in the air and pieces of the lab’s door scattered everywhere.

“I won’t have to tell her anything! Look at this place!” Mikey yelled back.

“Then help me clean up before they get ba...ck,” Donnie froze at the returning group, a panicked smile on his face briefly before he cleared his throat and brought his prideful stance back. “Doors’ open! You’re welcome.”

There was a sharp inhale from Sofia, her hands together as she brought them to her lips. “Guys,” she started, her voice calm, but clearly laced with bloodthirsty resolve. “How do you usually discipline your Donnie when he goes against someone’s wishes to prove his intellect?”

“An extremely firm noogie,” Raph answered.

“No snacks for a week!” Mikey added.

“And forced to watch his least favorite Jupiter Jim film while I sit on his phone,” Leo finished.

“Very elaborate,” April mused, “we usually just tickle ours.”

“That we do,” Sofia maliciously smiled, laugh lines as apparent as her resolve. “Gio has very specific tickle spots, and I’m wondering if they're the same for you!”

“Wait, let’s talk about this!” Donnie took a step back to Sofia’s advance, soon realizing it wasn’t something he could talk his way out of. “On second thought, fleeing is a better idea!” He relented and took off into a sprint.

“Get back here!” Sofia speedily followed him into another room. There was a crash, a clear sound of a struggle, but it ended in Donnie laugh-screaming and begging for mercy before long. Sofia soon returned with Donnie, holding him aloft as he’d hidden himself in his shell. “I believe this belongs to you-” she tossed him to Raph who caught his brother. “I’m going to check if there’s any damage in the lab. You’ll get way more than a tickling from Gio if you broke anything important.”

She disappeared into the lab, Draxum following after her after he’d shaken his head at the display of juvenile antics. A thoroughly flustered Donnie reemerged from his shell as he felt Sofia’s presence fade from the room. “Newton's neurons, that was horrible...” Donnie wheezed as Raph set him down.

“Same tickle spots?” April teased and Donnie glared at her.

“You are officially my least favorite!” He seethed and April responded by wiggling her fingers threateningly, Donnie recoiling from the sight of it. “You have the face of my friend, but you’re a traitor!”

“Donnie, you got what you deserved,” Raph said and bent down, grabbing scattered fragments of the door. “I get that you’re excited, but this world isn't a toy - it’s Sofia’s home.”

“I know that...” Donnie sighed, then joined his brother on the ground, picking up what pieces were in reach. “It’s just that this situation probably needs to be solved with both tech and Mystic, and I didn’t want to be shown up by a stupid door!”

“And we understand, Donald, but Sofia literally asked you not to do one thing, and you did it anyways,” Mikey remembered and located where the broom was stored. He tossed the dustpan to Leo and his older brother followed accordingly.

“I just hope you didn’t alert any EPF in the area with the blast,” Leo absentmindedly eyed the ceiling. “They’re not on our side yet.”

“It was small and controlled, nothing to worry about,” Donnie reassured.

“We’ll see about that...” April said nervously. “Mayhem?” She called out and her companion warped in. “Could you check the surroundings for us?” Mayhem nodded and blipped away.

Seeing Mayhem brought Leo’s thoughts back to their negotiations with this world’s Council of Heads. There was no way they could act freely while resembling ‘criminals’ and having one in their group. The plan was simple; Leo would portal Sofia directly to the Heads and she’d present them with the missive before any action was taken - and it worked. Leo had almost anticipated a fight, but the seal on the letter was all it took to quell the rage of the three Yōkai. They listened to Sofia’s tale, confirmed its validity via the missive, and then revealed all they knew of the situation. A little more discussion later, Sofia’s path was set to the prison while Leo’s was back to the lair - a set of sigils for everyone in their crew plus more for the eventual additions.

“But be wary of the surface,” the middle Head warned. “The EPF has taken action of their own and will not take kindly to anyone outside their jurisdiction setting foot in New York City. We have an agreement, but those sigils will only protect you in the Hidden City.”

“Got it,” Sofia pinned her sigil onto her belt, Leo doing the same. “We’ll need to go up there eventually, especially considering Gio...”

“We’ll get there,” Leo encouraged. “Is there any way we can peaceably contact them?”

“When they next meet with us, we will send another missive. That will be your chance to plead your case. Now, is there anything else you need in the meantime?” The leftmost Head answered.

“Actually, yes,” Sofia nodded. “Do you guys have Mayhem? He’s part of our group and he’s been missing according to our human friend.”

“Mayhem...?” The last Head pondered.

“Small cat-dog Yōkai with ears like this?” Sofia gestured to the sticker on her shell.

“Oh! Agent 64!” The middle Head said knowingly. “He was injured in the chaos and has been resting since then, but he should be better now.” A bubble-like sphere appeared in front of them, housing the sought Yōkai slumbering away. “Agent 64, time to wake up, your friends are here!”

Both Leo and Sofia held back laughter at how jovial the middle Head sounded compared to their previous intimidating act. Sure enough, Mayhem’s eyes fluttered open, yawning and stretching like a cat before dropping his gaze onto Sofia. He made an excitable noise, winding up a jump, Sofia holding out her arms in response. The bubble popped and he fell towards her. “Gotcha!” She caught him, Mayhem nuzzling her in response. “I missed you too, buddy. Sorry it took so long to pick you up - we’re certainly not the Wild Cats without you! April is back at the lair - she’s been really worried, so go on!” Mayhem made an even more excitable noise, blipping away. The same sound went off again in the present, bringing Leo back to his task, Mikey having a sizeable pile of Mystic door to be deposited into the dustpan.

“Coast is clear,” April revealed and Mayhem nodded before teleporting away again.

“-And everything is exactly as Gio left it,” Sofia reemerged from the lab with Draxum.

“I will have to make modifications to several areas, but it is adequate enough to begin formulating a cure,” Draxum added.

“Yay, good news!” Mikey said with a hopeful expression at Sofia. She echoed it with a smile, joining the cleanup effort with a pep in her step. Soon every scrap and chunk was collected, everyone settling into the sitting area as originally planned, Leo wheeling in the drawing board for all to see.

“I see my drawing board was useful,” Sofia said, amused at how full it was.

“Oh yeah, it’s great! I’ve gotta get one of them when we get back. Where’d you buy it?”

“Gio made it for me - with Mystic tools,” Sofia said and then pointed to a row of buttons. “It’s got a bunch of features built into it I never asked for, but the middle button will actually be helpful here.”

Leo pressed it without question, a teacher’s pointer stick manifesting from it. “Ohohoho, this is so cool!” He extended the pointer and waved it around a few times, testing it out.

“And primitive,” Donnie grumbled, earning a glare from several in the crowd which he chose to ignore.

“Alright, back on track,” Leo stepped to the side of the drawing board, priming the pointer by slapping it into his free hand. “Let’s get the first official family meeting in this dimension underway! We’ve got a lot to cover, so if anyone needs to use the bathroom or grab a snack, now is the time to do it.”

“We’re all set!” Raph answered for the crowd and Leo continued.

“H’okay, we all know each other by now, so let’s skip the pleasantries and get down to business. While our current aim is to have Draxum create a cure for all the mutants, we also need to keep several other threats in mind, even if they may or may not exist in this universe. We all don’t need to breathe down Draxum’s neck as he works, so let’s be proactive where we can in the meantime,” Leo pointed to the first illustration with bullet notes and began his explanation. He reiterated their struggles against the Shredder and the Krang, going over steps to prevent both of them from coming to pass there within their current power. Both Draxum and April let their skepticism be known as the presentation continued, but with how serious Leo was and with his brothers to back him up did they relent, suspending their disbelief and slowly coming to an understanding. “So, with all this out in the open, I’m proposing we split up and start gathering what we can - info, pieces of the Dark Armor if it exists here, and whatever else.”

“Wait a second,” Sofia got off of the couch, running into the kitchen, returning with ‘Skully’ in her hands. “This is part of the helmet, right?”

Donnie flipped his goggles down, witnessing the raw Mystic power emanating from it. “...Uh, yeah, Leo? It’s safe to say the Shredder is also a thing here.”

“Considering none of us would exist without the Krang’s meddling, I figured it would be,” Leo took Skully from Sofa, staring it down momentarily before tossing it to Donnie. “Can we track the metal?”

“I’ll need to adjust some things...” Donnie continued to observe Skully through his goggles, “but, yes. I’ll make an app for our phones to simplify the hunt this time around. Give me a day to get it up and running. Also,” two mechanical arms came out of his battle shell, one going to April and the other to Draxum, desposting smartphones into their hands. “Because I don’t have time to fiddle with this universe’s tech right now, here’s some phones connected to my network so we can keep in contact with each other. Make sure to use the proper charging cables as needed, or you’ll fry them,” he said and specially made cables were given to them next.

“Noted,” April gave hers a quick look over while Draxum stored his without even giving it a second thought.

“Alright, then we’re going to proceed as I initially thought. Donnie, you’re with Draxum.”

“Obviously,” Donnie responded, already getting to work, typing away on his wrist panel, Draxum giving no indication of raising an objection.

“Raph, Mikey, I want you two in the Hidden City. I not only want you two to gather whatever info you can on the Krang key and Mystic metal hunt, but forage for food too. Our options are limited with topside being mostly inaccessible.”

“You got it!” Raph saluted.

“I’ll transfer you guys some money... as soon as I figure out how to,” Sofia offered. “We can just buy food from the Hidden City using our emergency fund. Now’s as good a time as any to dip into it.”

“Yōkai food is not my favorite, but I’m not gonna be picky right now. It’s pretty much my fault all your nonperishables are gone with how long I’ve been hanging around down here...” April hid a grimace.

“Don’t worry - I’ll cook it up into something delicious! You won’t even know it had Yōkai origins once I’m done with it!” Mikey reassured, April looking to Sofia who nodded, backing up his claims.

“So that leaves myself, Sofia, and April,” Leo continued. “Sofia, I want you with me - we’re going to scope out topside preemptively. We’ll keep it to nighttime and since you know this NYC better than me, I want you to be my guide. Our main objective is to locate Gio’s containment area and to hunt Kuroi Yōroi pieces as needed.

“Okay,” Sofia accepted without hesitation.

“And April, you can honestly join whichever group you want. I don’t know you as well as our April, but I’m willing to guess you’re just as versatile as her. I think all of us could benefit from another set of hands - but if you have something else in mind, that’s also on the table.”

“Okay, good, because I’d like to keep working on something. I haven’t spent all my time down here moping, eating all the food, and looking for Sofia,” April left her seat and motioned for everyone to follow. She led them to the garage, hitting the shutter button to reveal her personal project. Where in the other dimension the Turtle Tank would have revealed itself, here was an entirely different vehicle.

“Is that a monster truck!?” Mikey gushed, asking the obvious that was on all the boy’s minds.

“Heck yeah, it is!” April posed next to it proudly.

“Wow, you’ve really fixed it up!” Sofia said, impressed, eyeing all the improvements. “It was almost in pieces when we got it back from Repo Mantis!”

“Woah, woah, back up - this is what you guys stole from Repo Mantis?” Leo asked through his enamored daze. “I thought you guys also stole a Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy!”

“Uh, no, because the ‘moon buggy’ doesn’t exist in our Jupiter Jim canon. How can we steal something that doesn’t exist here? Wait, did I not specify that? I thought I did...”

“You did not!” Donnie approached the truck, taking it all in. “Impracticality aside, this is equally as cool.”

“It’ll be cooler when I can finally get it running...” April sighed. “Gio’s got it all wired to be run on Mystic power - the anticipated fuel now residing in Sofia’s stomach.”

“Technically, the Dragon’s Eye is a part of me now,” Sofia corrected while staring down at her hand. “I would barf it up if I could.”

“...I’ve gotta see this,” Donnie’s admiration dissipated as he moved to enter the truck.

“Don’t touch anything - I mean it!” April warned. “I’ve spent months with this truck - it’s practically my baby!”

“As someone who also considers their transportation as their literal child, I will respect your boundaries,” Donnie pledged, but April still regarded him skeptically.

“Considering Gio’s door, I’m not sure I believe you...”

“I’ll supervise,” Raph said and followed after Donnie.

“Me too!” Mikey joined his brothers.

“Guys, it only seats two - if that!” Sofia followed after them, leaving April and Draxum as the last onlookers.

“For now~” April smirked.

“Why waste your time on this?” Draxum asked harshly, April crossing her arms in reply, sparing the disgruntled Yōkai a glance before answering.

“Because we might need it. Because I needed something to do with my umpteenth failure to find my family after the mutant uprising. Because one day I’d like to use it to prove humans, mutants, and Yōkai can live together instead of being segregated. Human tech combined with Mystic power, put together by mutant hands. It would make for one hell of an article, and I intend to write that sucker as soon as we’ve got this mess cleaned up. EPF coverups aside, your guys’ existence isn’t much of a secret any more and I’ll do anything to keep us safe - what about you?”

“You speak of whimsical dreams - nothing more,” Draxum replied in stubbornness.

“Look, Barry,” she said and the nickname caught his attention. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, but look at where we are - what we’re doing. New York is practically an apocalyptic wasteland that no one can get in or out of - but we have a chance to make things right. These boys came all the way from another freaking dimension - and you’ve got the nerve to call my totally attainable goals whimsy? Aren’t we already a group of Yōkai, humans, and mutants working together for a common goal?”

Draxum failed to give April an answer, lips sealed as her words assaulted his mind. It had been mere days and she was already looking so far into the future that it was blinding her. However, he couldn’t completely fault her outlook, not after what he’d done. Like it or not, he was stuck with this group until further notice, both a prisoner to their creed, and to his own principles. He decided to leave them behind and return to the lab, April soon leaving her spot as well, continuing to warn the turtles about mishandling the truck as its horn sounded throughout the garage. A small bout of horseplay later and everyone was starting their respective tasks, Donnie joining Draxum in the lab. He marveled at Gio’s set up despite all his misgivings - an impressive mix of tech and Mystic in its own right, but Donnie reigned in his excitement, for the time being, to give Draxum some much needed materials.

“Alright, Draxum, I have an absolute mountain of data both compiled by myself and my Draxum loaded into your phone pertaining to Sofia’s situation. Testing was a weekly event in our household, so review it at your leisure - or do I have to teach you how to use a smartphone like I had to with my Dad Two?” Draxum took out the phone, staring at it blankly, knowing he’d seen humans and the turtles alike use them effortlessly, but to him it was nothing but a cold slab of undesirable technology. “Annnnd that long pause is telling me ‘yes’. Alright, it’s simple enough...” Donnie began painstakingly explaining the ins and outs of the smartphone, which would have probably been interpreted as belittling to any other, but Draxum absorbed all the information willingly, soon accessing the provided data and pouring over it while Donnie moved onto a different task. Just as he thought, the notes made by his counterpart were as meticulous as his own. The alchemical methodology was different, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t figure out with a slightly more trained eye. “By the way,” Donnie interrupted Draxum’s train of thought. “There’s been one mystery that’s been nagging at us since this whole thing started - in the form of two questions, if I may.”

“...What is it?” Draxum reluctantly humored him.

“Why Wyrm’s Blood over Empyrean, and how did you get so much of it? Our Draxum dabbled in it, but he eventually decided against using it because it was too expensive and too unstable. The fact that you were able to make two batches is, in his own words; baffling. Unless it’s not super rare here, and if that's the case, then I guess you can disregard the second question.”

Draxum eyed Donnie tiredly, knowing this was going to come up eventually. How many times had he gone over the circumstances that led him to this moment? In the darkness of his prison cell it haunted him, in the present all it did was exhaust him - but he would answer nevertheless. “I too favored Empyrean, but where the Heads condemned my work, another took interest. They offered the materials, ample time to refine the formula - all for the simple price of providing them mutants on demand. Wyrm’s Blood is essentially hyper refined Empyrean with little to no records on its use, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to be one of the pioneering alchemists.”

“A win-win at the time. Can’t say I wouldn’t have done something similar in your position...” Donnie trailed off, shaking his head and continuing. “And your generous sponsors?”

“A powerful group of Yōkai mobsters known as the Masters of Barbarianism. While the Heads rule over the Yōkai, their authority only reaches so far. There are many mob organizations that deal in the shadows yet operate openly without any solid evidence to their felonies. They were a headache when I worked in Hidden City security, but after being denied by the Heads one too many times, I willfully made them my allies.”

“Hm,” Donnie replied, taking out his phone and quickly typing away, sending all the new info to the group chat - remembering Mikey and Leo had dealings with the M.o.B’s counterparts in their dimension. “And your relationship with them now is...?”

“Nonexistent... as far as I know.”

“Well, we’ll find out, won’t we?

Chapter Text

Cold. The sky, the wind, the vacant city - all haunting reminders of the temperature they couldn’t seem to shake. Not even the moon dared to leave its natural blanket of clouds, leaving Leo and Sofia in almost complete darkness. New York City had been completely evacuated topside and taken over by the EPF who in turn patrolled the darkened streets with armored vehicles. All power had been rerouted to three isolated spots showcasing technology beyond either of their knowledge, both taking an absolute boatload of photos for Donnie at the first two locations. Now closing on the third did Leo signal to Sofia, the snow flurries starting to resemble a tempest the closer they approached the Hudson River. Into an alleyway they went, Leo letting out an exhausted sigh as he removed the scarf from his face.

“Let’s take a break...” He practically wheezed, his throat dry from the winter air.

“Here,” Sofia held out a thermos, Leo gratefully receiving it and popping the lid - the warm scent of tea chasing away some of the chill. Leo downed a good portion of it before returning it to Sofia who had just finished working on her own. “This is a lot more rough than I anticipated,” He said as he eyed their next destination in the distance.

“This trek or the state of New York?” Sofia asked in monotone sarcasm.

“Both,” Leo replied with no hint of jest. “How’re you holding up?”

“Well enough,” Sofia said then cast her gaze to the last isolated spot. “But if Gio isn’t in there, I might lose what’s left of my sanity.”

“He is, I can feel it,” Leo said in all confidence, but Sofia snorted into a laugh.

“You can feel anything in this chill?”

“I’m being serious!” Leo crossed his arms, but the gesture was lost to the darkness.

“I know, sorry,” Sofia laughed again. “You know by now that sometimes I hide my anxiety behind jokes. I’ve gotta cope somehow. Or would you rather me barf unprompted each time I get a pang in my chest? Anyways-” She didn’t let Leo answer, turning herself towards the alley entrance. “Ready?”

“Just about, I’m still trying to figure out if I can portal us closer. The fact that it’s right in the middle of the river is making this way more difficult than the others. I’d drop us on one of the patrol boats, but-”

“Let’s not,” Sofia agreed, looking around and spying an outline of a tall skyscraper in the distance. “How about up there for now? We can at least scope it out better.”

“Agreed. Going up!” He opened a portal, both of them jumping through it and inhaling sharply against the wind’s chill assaulting them all over again. “It should be illegal to be this cold!”

“We are so raiding Nel’s winter wardrobe before we do this next time...!” Sofia shivered but forced her focus on their aim. There in the middle of the Hudson River was a gigantic semi-see through dome. It was the same for the other two spots, but whereas they could see the overmutated creatures within the previous two, this one looked vacant. But they knew it wasn’t, or else there wouldn’t be all the extra surveillance. Patrol boats circled it endlessly and the occasional chopper would circle also before heading off back into the city. Hearing that her brother had become one of the ‘kaiju’ was one thing, but Sofia needed to see it with her own eyes. There was always a chance that isn’t wasn’t him, maybe the reduced serum worked after all, or maybe-

A roar interrupted her thoughts. From the river came a sound so primal, yet familiar, the water around the dome rippling while the air vibrated in response. Leo held his head from the volume of it, but Sofia’s attention was completely captured as a serpent-like turtle beast emerged from the river - its markings telling, Sofia’s heart breaking.

“Gio-!” She cried out involuntarily, the pain in her voice matching the sorrowful sound escaping the creature’s throat. A step forward was all she managed before Leo stopped Sofia’s presumed descent, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back. She made no attempt to shake free nor pull herself forward, knowing she could do nothing to aid her brother, but Sofia couldn’t tear herself away from the scene. Once, twice, three times Gio slammed against the dome. A fourth, fifth, sixth, - but there wouldn’t be a seventh attempt. The dome began to glow, a surge of energy gathering around it, then pouring into it with the violent buzz of electricity. Gio’s howls were deafening, but the output only increased the louder he became. “Stop!” Sofia desperately cried, pulling against Leo’s grasp. “Stop, stop, STOP-!”

With one final violent discharge did the dome illuminate, striking Gio down and sapping him of any more drive to escape. As he fled back into the water did Sofia sink to her knees, unable to take in the cruelty of it all, her guilt resurfacing more intrusively than ever before. She barely even felt Leo’s arms around her as he stood her up, walking them through a portal back into the lair. No tears came, but in an almost silent voice did she utter; “It’s my fault.”

None of Leo’s words reached Sofia as the recent happenings continually replayed in her head. None of the previous mentioned possible solutions mattered as every thought turned malicious. Why had she fought with her brother? Why had she quit the team so childishly? Why had she let anger guide her blade to shatter the syringes? Why had she let fear activate the Janome? Had she tried a little harder, had she lived up to Gio’s expectations, would he still be himself instead of a raging, tortured beast? Sofia refused to let her anguish out as her personal judgements further soured. Was she really about to cry again? What right did she have to cry when her brother had been seemingly tortured for months while she was away making new bonds with a new set of siblings. Beyond her power to return alone or not, every positive interaction she had with the brothers was beginning to be dyed in deep self-loathing. She didn’t deserve their affinities when she’d so easily left her own family behind. While she was getting pep talks from Donnie and Splinter, racing and bantering with Leo, sketching with Mikey, indulging in Raph’s boundless kindness, having girls nights out with Cassandra and April, and building a friendship with Casey Jones - her family was here, suffering.

With Gio’s cries still echoing in her ears, her mind was effortlessly poisoned. There was seemingly no way to snap her out of it save for a member of her family itself, and to her onlooker’s relief did one rush to her side. “Sofia! So-fi-a!” April snapped her fingers in front of Sofia’s face with every syllable. It finally broke her away from her thoughts where Leo’s efforts could not. Her desperation met April’s concern. “Talk to me. Don’t get lost in your thoughts.”

“I-I, w-we... Gio...” Sofia stumbled over her words, looking back and forth between Leo and April.

“It’s gonna be OK, Sofia, deep breaths,” April instructed and Sofia obeyed. “Now tell me what’s going on.”

“...They’re hurting Gio...” She shakily answered. “Probably since I’ve been gone, and I... I don’t think I can ever forgive myself for this...”

“Forgive yourself? For what? This isn’t your fault!”

“Isn’t it!?” Sofia argued, a twinge of grief in her voice. “Why did I smash the syringes!?”

Leo saw Donnie beginning to emerge from the lab, immediately locking eye contact with his brother, slightly shaking his head and making a chopping motion over his neck. Donnie understood and took several steps back, continuing to observe from the shadows.

“Sofia,” April grabbed Sofia’s cheeks and lifted her gaze. “Here’s a boatload more questions; why didn’t Gio just get over himself and let you all in on the overmutation stuff? Why didn’t Nel and Vinnie let you in on the prophecy secret? Why didn’t Draxum even try to explain what was going on? Why did Big Mama have such a dangerous relic for sale at an auction?” Sofia didn’t respond to any of the questions, allowing April to continue. “You see?! We can toss the blame game around until we’re exhausted, but you know what the kicker to this whole situation is?! We’re teenagers - KIDS! We should be eating pizza and hanging out at the arcade - not trying to navigate whatever the hell this is! It should have never come to this - and placing all the blame on yourself isn’t doing anyone any favors! Okay?! So cut it out!” She shook Sofia and the motion of it did its job, thoroughly jostling out the remainder of Sofia’s darkened mood.

“Okay, okay!” Sofia relented and April stopped. “I’m OK now.”

“No you aint,” April looped her arm around Sofia’s shoulders and started marching her towards the bedrooms. “I haven’t seen you sleep since you got back. Bed, now.”

“Because I haven’t been tired!”

“That’s a load of bull and you know it! Don’t turn into Vinnie 2.0!”

The duo disappeared around the corner and Donnie emerged from the shadows, joining Leo who let out all his tension in a heavy sigh. “We might be in over our heads, Don.”

“What happened?” He asked and Leo relayed the entire trip to Donnie, his brother grimacing as he described what was happening to Gio. “I see. Good call on having me hang back. I imagine seeing the mirror image of your brother after seeing him being violently electrocuted would elicit an unpleasant reaction.”

“...Yeah,” Leo said and handed his phone to Donnie. “I didn’t get any photos of Gio’s holding area, but I’ll go back and get some by myself now.”

“Actually, I need you to go pick up Mikey and Raph.”

“What, why? Did something happen?”

“They may have tripped an alarm of some kind - hard to tell with all the yelling. That’s why I was coming out here in the first place,” He tapped on the phone and handed it back to Leo. “Location data is on the map app.”

“Hoo boy, what else is today gonna throw at us?”

******

“The entrance should be around here...” Mikey followed the map Sofia had drawn for him and Raph, soon finding a crack in the sewer’s wall. “And here we are! ...It’s a little small though.”

“Observe,” Raph said proudly, remembering how Sofia accessed it when he was in her memories. With one hand inserted did the portal suck Raph in, so suddenly it made Mikey gasp.

“Ohmigosh, me next! Cowabunga!” He mimicked Raph and was also taken in by the portal, arriving in the Hidden City next to his brother. “Woo! That was-” Mikey’s elation was cut off by the state of the city. It wasn’t nearly as run down as topside, but more than a few landmarks were noticeably broken, there weren’t any Yōkai flying about or any airborne ships other than patrol vehicles, and there was hardly a soul in the streets.

“Straighten up your disguise, Mikey. I’m thinking my intuition might be right again,” Raph said as he readjusted the wig on his head and tightened the scarf around his face. Just as they were on their way out of the lair did Raph get a strange sinking feeling, specifically in regards to waltzing into the Hidden City just as they are. Winter clothes were a must, but even with them donned, and even with their sigils to fall back on, they still resembled recently pardoned criminals. Sofia agreed and led them into a certain part of Nel’s wardrobe.

“This is all the stuff she’s used for one time gags on her channel or just stuff she was gifted that isn’t her style - have at it,” was the explanation given and the boys suited up accordingly.

“Does my wig look off? Did the teleport dent my doo?” Mikey fussed as he smoothed the hair down.

“Nope, looks great! But you missed a button... here!” Raph fixed Mikey’s coat. “Now you’re all set.”

“Thanks, Raph, you’re the best! Now where should we hit first? The library or food hunting?”

“Let’s just focus on food for today. We’ve got seven mouths to feed with four more on the way, and a practically empty pantry,” he counted each problem on one hand.

“And with such a big, happy family, I’ll finally get to try making all those casseroles! I’ll make two of each; one for us to have now, and another to freeze - to have once everyone’s cured! C’mon, to the markets! Ingredients ahoy!” Mikey happily marched on, cash card (provided by Sofia once Donnie successfully transferred funds) in hand and ready to spend.

Raph wished he could share his brother’s boundless enthusiasm, but the tragedy of what befell this place was still fresh in his mind. Mikey hadn’t seen firsthand what had happened, not that he didn’t think he was completely uninformed, but he lacked the full mental imagery that plagued Raph. A once bustling community had been divided, some victims by complete happenstance whilst others had friends or even family turn on them with no warning. The constant question on how one would go about recovering from that shock kept resurfacing as they went from store to store. He and Leo immediately reconciled after his possession passed, but the memory, the heartache was still there. Sofia healing his wounds wouldn’t automatically solve all their traumas, and it was no doubt an even deeper wound the Hidden City suffered that would take ages to heal first before forgiveness would even be considered.

This was most apparent on many of the store's windows they visited. Many were adorned with ‘No Mutants’, ‘No Muties’, or other signage in the like. Raph knew Mikey was willfullying ignoring them, keeping his cheery disposition as they filled their bags, but Raph couldn’t help but eye every single one they came across. He was less worried for him and Mikey and more focused on the lasting effects it would have on their other family here. How long until it went from just aggressive signage to something more? Maybe in all technicality it wasn’t his problem, but the anger he felt towards each recurring sign made him want to make it his problem. He didn’t know how long they’d be here, he hadn’t even met Nel yet outside seeing her slumbering body, but he’d be damned if he’d see any of his family hurt over something beyond their power.

“You look kinda familiar...” The shopkeeper of their current venture squinted at Raph and he nervously looked away in reply.

“We get the same customers like, everyday, Mom,” the shopkeeper’s presumed teenage child bagging their groceries stated.

“Yeah, yeah, but he looks particularly familiar for some reason...” The Yōkai tapped her index finger on her chin as she leaned over the counter.

“Mom, stop,” the kid handed the bags to Mikey.

“Y-yeah, we should really be going,” Raph took a step back.

“No, no, I’ve almost got this one,” she leaned over the counter even further, their child scoffing, rolling their eyes, and then looking apologetically at Mikey and Raph. “Ah, yes, I see it now. You’ve got the same eyes as that mutant influencer girl... ugh,” she finished with a genuine look of disgust. “What’d ya do, get an eye glow up to look like her? Bet you’re regretting that now, huh?”

“Mom!” The child practically hissed.

“What? I’m just saying it as it is! Her kind aren’t worth defending!”

Raph felt a spark of anger, but it was the child who spoke again. “Nel didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Oh, stop it with this again!” The mother crossed her arms towards her child. “I don’t care how big a fan you were - she’s a mutant, and it’s the mutant's fault we’re in this mess! What good comes from defending a criminal!?”

“That status was revoked,” Mikey stepped up for the child.

“Fake news!” The Yōkai replied. “I don’t care if the Heads themselves descend from their thrones and pardon each and every one of those murderers - I won't serve their ilk here!”

“Is that so?” Mikey’s last nerve had been thoroughly touched, Raph perceiving what he was about to do and failed to act on time. Mikey placed their purchased groceries back on the counter, then slapped the cash card down. “Then we’d like a refund.” The shopkeeper looked shocked, the few other customers in the area turning their way to witness the altercation. But that shock soon turned into understanding.

“Mutants!” She shrieked, pressing the alarm, then grabbed her child, hugging them closely in terror. “Get out, GET OUT!”

“We have Sigils of Protection from the Heads!” Mikey argued, but Raph quickly scooped up the card and groceries in one arm and Mikey in the other.

“She’s already pulled the alarm, Mikey, I don’t think the sigils are gonna be much help!”

“Mom, you are so embarrassing!” They both heard the child scream as Raph swiftly exited the shop. The alarm had brought a crowd, some just gawking while others were glaring with murderous intent.

“We’ve gotta split!” Raph said desperately and Mikey whipped one of his nunchucks in reply, wrapping its chains around a distant stalactite and taking them airborne. “Call Donnie! We need an extraction!”

“On it!” Mikey said and rummaged through his shell, his free arm thoroughly weighed down by several bags full of produce. He managed to select the correct brother and call Donnie, the connection ringing once before he picked up.

“How goes the food hunt?” He answered, clearly occupied with something, but listening all the same.

“BADLY!” Mikey answered, the sound of Hidden City Police sirens joining his panicked scream as he desperately swung them to another stalactite. “We need an extraction!” A net whizzed by them, narrowly missing their target. “ASAP!”

“Alright, I’ll send Leo along because I’m pretty sure he just got back. Make use of your Donnie Tech™ new and improved All Purpose Mad Dogs Button’s escape pods if need be.”

“Can’t we just go back to calling them T-Emblems!?” Mikey said in both frustration and desperation.

“Your complaint has been recorded and will be brought into consideration come the next model,” Donnie answered and then hung up.

“T-Emblems is definitely better!” Raph agreed. “I’ll need you to activate mine if it comes to that!”

“It’s not gonna! Hold on!” Mikey took out his other nunchuck, both of them primed into chain whips that he skillfully used to guide them to a cliffside cave. They landed and Mikey freed himself from Raph’s grasp, putting their shopping bags down and reassembling his Mystic chains into a web in the cave’s entrance. Another net was shot, only for it to turn to cinders as soon as it touched the chains. Mikey kept them steady while Raph manifested his construct around his arms threateningly. They weren’t here for a fight, but they wouldn’t be pushed around in this standoff. Soon enough, one of the patrol ships landed on the cliffside, intimidating police Yōkai exiting with weapons in hand save for one who sported a megaphone.

“Alright, Mutants, you’re surrounded! Come out quietly!”

“We haven’t done anything wrong!” Mikey argued back. “I have receipts for everything we bought!”

“We’ll be the judge of that!” The officer replied back, putting the megaphone back on their belt and reaching for their baton.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” A voice sounded behind them, the group of officers turning to the voice to find Leo, his arms firmly crossed, his Sigil of Protection clearly shown on his belt. “Or am I gonna have to get the Heads involved?”

“Leo!” Mikey happily greeted his brother.

“Perfect timing!” Raph added with a nod.

“What the-” One the officers eyed the sigil. “That’s a Sigil of Protection!”

“Why, yes it is, now get away from my brothers - who also have sigils, or this won't end well for you.”

“W-well, we need to check their goods - someone reported them stolen.”

“I. HAVE. RECEIPTS!” Mikey seethed, dropped his chains, and then threw the wad of paper towards the officers. “Everything is paid and accounted for!”

“You’ve got some nerve accusing us!” Raph pointed to punctuate Mikey's anger .

“Then why did you run!?” Another officer asked.

“Because a bunch of people looked at us like they were gonna punch first and ask questions later! I’m not putting my family in danger over a misunderstanding!” Raph fired back.

“And I think that’s all that needs to be said,” Leo finished, walking past the officers and stood protectively in front of his brothers. “So if there’s nothing else, we’ll be going.”

The officers stared the trio down, Leo, Raph, and Mikey answering their glares in kind, but they eventually relented, one of the officers turning away. “C’mon, we don’t have time to waste on filthy mutants.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Leo’s brow furrowed. “Would you mind repeating what you just said?”

“FILTHY MUTANTS! HALF BREEDS! MISTAKES!” The officer howled as they turned on their heels. “My family would still be alive if it wasn’t for your kind!”

“My brothers and I haven’t done anything to you!” Leo spat back, rage surfacing on his face and in his chest.

“It doesn’t matter! You’re all the same! Now get out of here before I make you conveniently misplace those sigils!”

Leo felt himself reaching for his swords, but Raph’s hand on his shoulder stopped the motion. “Let it go,” Raph said, his voice cracking, stopping Leo from arguing further. “This isn’t the time or place for this.”

Leo shut his eyes fast, pursed his lips in angry defiance, but did as Raph asked, turning from the officers and opening a portal behind Mikey. He wordlessly helped pick up the scattered grocery bags, ushering Raph and Mikey through first, taking one more look at the officers before entering into the portal itself. Their eyes met and told Leo all he needed to know. Hatred. Pure and savage hatred.

Chapter Text

Donnie and Draxum stared silently at the monitor, the exact same thought going through both their minds. A formula was displayed, a list of ingredients, and several calculations pertaining to side effects and subustions. They had arrived at their answer, and yet-

“It’s not quite enough...” Donnie stated the obvious, Draxum leaning back in his chair with a cross of his arms in response.

“No, it isn’t,” he reconfirmed.

“Hmmm,” Donnie took a few steps back, crossing his own arms as his intellect got to work again. “The substitutions are-”

“Out of the question,” Draxum answered. “If we were in spring or summer, then perhaps, but as we are in the dead of winter, the selection of our components is limited.”

“HMMMM,” he repeated, wracking his brain, rocking back and forth on his heels with the mental exertion. They had come so far in such a short time, a roadblock almost feeling like a natural hurdle. However, with how volatile the entire situation surrounding this New York seemed, Donnie personally believed they didn’t have the leisure to keep workshopping a cure. While the solution to Gio’s situation was most likely a whole other can of worms, having the solution for every other mutant in their grasp right this moment was ideal, and Donnie intended to see it through. It was then the memory of Sofia healing Raph’s scars surfaced, Donnie stopping himself with a small gasp.

“...What?” Draxum humored him, his own mind trying to delve deeper into answers.

“What if there was a way to enhance the formula - as in give it a boost during application, thus circumventing the flaws.”

Draxum wrinkled his brow as he worked through Donnie’s theory. In an ideal situation, someone with a decent grasp of energy manipulation on the more curative side of things could help their proposed serum reach its full potential. ...He knew exactly who and what Donnie was about to suggest, deciding to deter him before he became too set on the idea. “If you are going to suggest we have Sofonisba enhance the formula-”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to suggest!”

“Then perhaps you should think a little harder. She isn’t skillful enough to do what you theorize.”

“Huh?” Donnie looked at him in disbelief. “And why is that? Did she or did she not fix your eyes?”

“She did, but there is a vast difference between healing scars and changing the entire genetic makeup of a living creature. Such things require a more delicate touch that can only be achieved through training,” Draxum revealed and Donnie uncrossed his arms, staring down Draxum with a raised brow imbued with exhaustion. “And what exactly is this particular look for?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Donnie said sarcastically and shrugged. “It’s not like there’s someone sitting right in front of me who could train her to be able to do just that. Truly, we’re at such an impasse!”

“Such training could take years-”

“My Draxum trained Sofia to where she is now in a matter of months,” Donnie cut him off, Draxum taking in the new revelation with genuine surprise. “And with her Ninpō being fully unlocked, there’s the potential for things to proceed rapidly - that is, if you ever will yourself to leave this lab and interact with anyone besides myself.”

“...I do not need to do any more than my current obligations,” Draxum argued and Donnie scoffed.

“Yes, yes you do. We need to finish this cure, and one of the most accessible ways to get it done is for you to stop sulking.”

“I am not sulking!” Draxum argued back, Donnie rolling his eyes as he went for his phone.

“Uh huh, sure,” he dialed Sofia’s number, it almost ringing the entire allowed amount before the call finally went through.

“Yes, Donnie?” She answered flatly.

“Hey, me and Draxum gotta talk to you about something. Are you busy?”

“Uhhhh,” Sofia wavered then clicked her tongue. “I am kinda in the middle of something. I feel like if I walk away from it I’m gonna lose my train of thought.”

“Then we’ll come to you. Are you in the lair?”

“I didn’t agree to this!” Draxum barked angrily, Donnie glaring back at him in response.

“I will forcibly roll you in that chair all the way to her location regardless of your consent!” Donnie fired back. He heard Sofia gigglesnort in reply to the exchange.

“I’m in the kitchen.”

“How fortuitous, I was getting peckish on top of our needed conversation. We’ll be right over,” he hung up and eyed Draxum with irritation. “Up. Now. I’m extremely over your weird tsundere tendencies and I have zero desire to drag your several hundred year old ass around the lair.” Donnie started towards the lab’s exit, a rebuttal ready to reach Draxum’s lips, but he begrudgingly swallowed it, lifting himself up from the chair and following behind at a distance. They passed by the empty sitting room and entered into the kitchen, finding Sofia writing on the drawing board while also consulting a pocketbook in her other hand. While Donnie was in the middle making out what Sofia was pouring over did Draxum instantly recognize her scribblings. Ancient Yōkai script was neatly organized into two categories separated by a line in the middle of the drawing board. “...What’re you up to?” Donnie reluctantly asked, a mix of not wanting to break her concentration and finding himself interested.

“Translating, or, attempting to,” Sofia didn’t look up from her work. “I grabbed the Yōkai war history book from the Hidden Library and have been comparing it to the digitized version of yours you made. Each time I find a difference, I’ve been writing it down and then consulting the mini-guide I had your Draxum make for me,” Sofia said while waving the pocketbook.

“Right, we didn’t have enough time to delve too deeply into the Dragon’s Eye stuff once we got confirmation on what it was. ...So, how goes it?” Donnie asked as he eyed the rest of her set up - the kitchen island housing said book full of sticky-note tabs with a pile of papers set next to it. It was obvious she chose the kitchen to work in as it had the right amount of space compared to the sitting area or her room - and the lab was out of the question due to the visiting duo.

“Mmm...” Sofia’s whole body tilted at the question, shaking her head as she straightened out and turned to her visitors. “I’m getting most of it. There’s a few phrases and words I’m stuck on, but seeing as I have no desire to return to the surface to watch my brother get continually tortured - I figured I can work through this instead. Who knows, maybe I’ll find something worthwhile.”

“Well, you’ve got the Donnie seal of approval. I think keeping your hands and mind busy is what’s best for you at the moment, which segues into what we needed to talk about. Draxum and I have figured out the needed formula for the mutant cure, but we’ve reached a bit of a roadblock - one that I think you can help us over.”

“Me?” Sofia tilted her head. “With my Ninpō, I’m guessing?”

“Exactly. You see-”

“DONNIEEEE!” Leo’s sudden voice cut him off. “I NEED YOUR NERD EXPERTISE TO CHECK SOME MYSTIC METAL AND YOU’RE NOT IN THE NERD ROOM!”

Donnie slightly deflated, irked his thoughts were interrupted, but he pivoted on his heels out of the kitchen all the same. “I’ll be right back. Feel free to continue, Draxum.”

Sofia could clearly see Draxum’s discontent as Donnie left, so she turned back to the drawing board after the briefest of moments that their eyes met. Draxum felt no further vexation from her actions, his gaze on her bandaged hand holding the pocketbook that clearly showed his - no, the other Draxum’s handwriting. Sofia’s head tilted again with a sigh, her attention focusing on a particular part of the board before consulting the pocketbook again. “I swear ancient Yōkai script makes no sense...” Sofia practically hissed, slamming the marker in her other hand down as she began to flip through the book in earnest.

There was a part of Draxum that allowed him to ponder as to why Sofia wasn’t even making an attempt to ask him for aid on the current subject. He of all people would know, so why struggle instead of consulting him? Was it her pride? Then again, would his pride have even graced her with an answer had she asked? The pocketbook was a show of trust she’d fostered with the other Draxum, clearly her preferred reference to the genuine article in her own dimension - and that fact touched a nerve Draxum didn’t even know he had, finally finding his voice. “You can just ask me. I can read it clearly,” Draxum said with a twinge of frustration, though he was astonished he’d said anything at all, Sofia turning back to him with her own brand of surprise.

“...Really,” she replied sarcastically. “You’ve barely breathed in my general direction since getting you out of prison. You’re only helping us out of obligation to clean up the overmutation mess. My ventures through ancient Yōkai script concern the relic I swallowed. Seeing as I’ve already fixed the wound I inflicted on you, I’m honestly not sure how I’m supposed to take this, so I’ll continue to take my chances with the mini-guide.”

The nerve was further touched, Draxum feeling his eye twitch as Sofia turned away from him again. “So you trust me with formulating the cure but nothing else. This counterpart of mine has your full trust while I only have a fraction.”

“Yes, Draxum, exactly,” Sofia once again turned back to him, her face stern. “I trust you to make the cure because I know and trust the other Draxum enough to know that you’ll follow through. Why should I fully trust the Yōkai who threw me off a building and conspired with my brother behind my back? Meanwhile, your counterpart was patient with me when I put a blade to his throat, tirelessly searched for information on the relic, fought beside me, trained me, and genuinely wished me well once I was on my way back here. It was all for the benefit of his family, to bring his world back to normal, but his intentions were never anything but empathic. He wants what's best for his family, for me, and certainly you as well. I have no idea what he wrote to you in that letter, but until it fully sinks in and you drop the hostilities, there will be no true trust between us.” A heavy silence fell over the kitchen, Sofia’s eyes persecuting Draxum. In them was disappointment, no, hope, but heavily influenced by hesitation. When he gave them no answer did Sofia close them with a shake of her head, reopening to her usual resting face, closing the pocket book and moving over to the island. She placed the book down as she sat on one of the barstools, gesturing at Draxum, then to the drawing board. While he pondered this olive branch was there a large metallic sound from the sitting room alongside Donnie yelling;

“No, no, NO! DON’T PUT THEM NEAR EACH OTHER-” He frustratedly groaned after the sound subsided. “...Congrats, Nardo, you’ve successfully made the Shredder’s full helmet.”

“How was I supposed to know Skully would zoom into it like a magnet?!” Leo rebutted.

“Because all the pieces are naturally drawn to each other! How do you think they all managed to end up in New York in the first place all the way from Japan?!”

“...Oh, good point. Okay, yeah, this is my bad - but hey, at least I found the right metal, eh?”

“You guys good out there?” Sofia called out.

“Yes!”

“NO,” Donnie corrected. “But it’s controlled for the time being!”

“Cool, update me once you’ve got whatever it is you’re doing figured out.”

Sofia repeated the gesture anew, placing her chin into her palm as she waited for Draxum to proceed or reject her. With her perspective now fully out in the open did Draxum take the first step towards the drawing board, fully grasping the olive branch as he took the marker and twisted off its top. “What phrase are you having difficulty with?”

“Third from the bottom. The left side is the other dimension’s while the right is ours. ...Do you see where I’m getting stumped?”

“...Yes,” Draxum said after reading them both. “However, you have fussed over this for nothing. They both read ‘and so the battle continued’ - one using a slightly older version of the script,” he wrote the translation in the provided space.

“Oh-mi-gosh, are you for real?” Sofia looked like she was about to combust from frustration. Draxum nodded and she collapsed onto the island, papers fluttering around her and to the floor. “Ancient Yōkai script is STUPID. I HATE IT.”

“We stopped using it for a reason,” Draxum said and Sofia groaned.

“Gee, I wonder why!” She huffed as Donnie reentered the kitchen.

“Okay, I’m back... and what’s happening in here?” Donnie bent down to grab the scattered papers.

“Nothing, Draxum was just helping with the Yōkai script,” Sofia answered and lifted her head back up.

“Well, how about that?” Donnie smirked at Draxum and he avoided eye contact with him. “But if we can get back on topic; Sofia, I believe that with your help, we can enhance the cure and get the siblings and Splinter back on their feet. The problem is that Draxum doesn’t think you’re quite up to the task - yet.”

“Is that so?” She looked to Draxum with no surge of emotion. “And why not?”

“Explain to me how you use your powers and I will elaborate further,” He said plainly and Sofia nervously swung her feet as her lips pursed. “...What? Why suddenly so secretive?”

“It's just kinda... uh, embarrassing?” She tilted the barstool back. “I’ve never told anyone either, because it’s so silly...”

Donnie and Draxum raised a brow at one another before they addressed Sofia again. “How silly could it possibly be?” Donnie probed and Sofia cringed, her fists and feet balling.

“Well, you have your arsenal, Mikey’s got fire and chains, Raph has his construct, and Leo has his portals - while I’ve been using my Mystic in the shape of a pencil and an eraser...” She waited for them to laugh, but it was confusion on Draxum’s face while the expression on Donnie’s was urging her to continue. “Like, I uh, use the eraser to ‘erase’ wounds while the pencil fills in bigger stuff, like the crack in Raph’s shell. It was the only way I could figure out how to find my facilitator. So, yeah...” Sofia trailed off, her embarrassment obvious.

“...That certainly explains the tickling sensation,” Draxum said and Sofia re-collapsed into the papers with a clearly muffled scream barely escaping her throat. “Why a pencil and eraser specifically?”

“She’s an artist. It makes sense to favor tools you’re used to using - and honestly, Sofia, that’s genius. I think we can expand on that and get this cure finished faster than we thought!”

“How?” She said from beneath a paper that had settled over her head. Donnie lifted it up with one of his fingers, meeting Sofia’s uncertainty with a confident smile.

“What other mediums are you familiar with?”

“Basically anything?”

“Perfect!”

******

For longer than they cared to remember - there was nothing. At one point there were memories, a life lived, but not in this inescapable prison. They likened it to sinking, the helpless sensation with no lifeline present, eyes shut fast as they attempted and failed to place their thoughts elsewhere. And yet, there was nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Any crumb of sanity had long since vanished under the pressure of their desire to be rid of this burden. If there was salvation here, it had forsaken them - or so they thought.

Sensations once forgotten began to resurface, the most prominent of them all bringing genuine discomfort. It was as if something invasively was crawling, no, being spread under their skin - through their veins, from their head to the tips of their toes. They had no strength to combat it, not even able to manage a curl of their fingers as the sensation persisted. Next, voices, none of which he knew, but were all familiar at the same time - save for two, an oppressor and a confidant. They all faded away one by one until the only voice they felt comfort in remained. They knew it so well, and it vexed them horribly that they could not utter its name. They couldn’t even open their mouth, it was a futile endeavor to fight against the nothingness, but continue to fight they did. The sensation combined with the voice was tortuous, no end in sight, but unbeknownst to them was the loosening of their long carried burden. The voice sounded relieved, the sensation quickened, and they finally managed defiance. Fists balled, lips parted, and from this freedom did a name resurface and was uttered;

“So...fia...?”

Hearing her name spoken by her brother after months of silence almost turned Sofia into a blubbering mess on the spot. Not only had Donnie’s theory been right, but the treatment was working. Wherein Draxum thought Sofia would need more training to enhance the serum, Donnie figured out a work around. “Quite simply; you change your facilitators to something more aggressive artistically than just a simple pencil and eraser. Something that could push the cure through the body - like a palette knife pushing paint over a canvas! Or spray paint covering concrete! Or the dreaded fill bucket on your digital program of choice!”

Draxum and Sofia both thought it couldn’t possibly be that easy, but there wasn’t any harm in at least trying. Worst case scenario was the serum present in one of her family’s bloodstream, dormant until she figured out how to enhance it properly. With the method decided, did Donnie and Draxum get to work making the serum while Sofia decided on who to treat first. The easiest choice would be Splinter given his stature, but she decided against it immediately. She didn’t want to give her father a heart attack with all the happenings and new faces - not to mention the chance of Draxum’s survival would go down significantly with a (rightly) enraged Lou Jitsu set loose in the lair. By process of elimination did the choice land on Vincent, much to Leo’s delight, but it was truly only because Nel’s size may prove difficult to administer the cure to the untrained. Now finally putting all their theories to the test, Sofia blinked back tears as she continued her treatment. She decided to go with Donnie’s first suggestion, transitioning her pencil and eraser to paint and a palette knife. She mixed the ‘paint’ with the provided serum and then spread it with the palette knife - simple enough, though she was admittedly out of practice with this particular medium.

“Sofia...?” Vinnie repeated, a hint of desperation in his voice.

“I’m here, Vin,” she answered him, his brow furrowing, beads of sweat surfacing as his eyes squeezed further shut. It made her wonder if the tickling sensation had also transitioned to something else, something more uncomfortable.

“What... are you... where...?” Vinnie forced out, his struggle apparent.

“Easy, Vinnie. Slowly come out of this,” she said, another swipe of the palette knife furthering the serum, Vinnie grunting in response. “Don’t fight me, please.”

“I... won't,” he reassured, Sofia witnessing a tinge of peace grace his face. Slowly, slowly, memories returned, nothingness fled under the warmth of their embrace, and the unpleasant sensation became a minor inconvenience as everything returned. Sinking in the depths of despair no longer, eyes willed themselves open, fatigue still apparent, but the visions of his room came into view. The poster of a movie he liked pinned to the ceiling, his shelf holding various Jupiter Jim merch, the mini basketball hoop he installed over his trash bin - and among it all was his little sister, hands aloft and over him, brimming with power that was being siphoned into him. Her eyes were shut, and with every twitch of her finger did the sensation hit Vinnie again - but he said nothing, allowing it as he came back to himself. More questions popped up as the treatment continued, but Sofia was soon finished, the power ceasing, the sensation dissipating, and her eyes reopened with a sigh that clearly told her exhaustion. Her tired, relieved gaze met Vinnie’s full of curiosity and concern.

“Hi, Vin,” she said with a smile on the brink of a sob.

“Hey, Sofs...” He smiled back. “Would you mind filling me in on what’s going on?”

“Y-yeah...” She sniffled, wiping away the tears she couldn’t hold back any more. “Just gimmie a s-second...!” Sofia took a few deep breaths, chasing away her more raw emotions for the time being. “I’m just... really glad you’re OK. Does anything hurt?”

Vinnie responded by starting to sit up, feeling a bit of resistance, but managed regardless. “A little stiff, but otherwise, I think I’m fine? How long have I been out?”

Sofia hesitated to answer, Vinnie noticing it immediately, now finding himself studying Sofia with a more scrutinized eye - first to her bandaged hand, then to the change of color in her garbs, but his thoughts were cut off by her asking a question of her own. “Vincent, can you tell me the last thing you remember?”

His mind further defogged under her words, able to cast his thoughts back, working his way through them aloud. “...You and Gio had a fight, we were giving you some space, then Gio called me and Nel to Draxum’s lab and-” His face dropped as the final memory resurfaced. “That jerk tranqed me!?” Vinnie looked to his sister for confirmation, Sofia nodding while pinching between her eyes. “Sofia, where is brother dearest, because I have some very choice words for him!”

“...Don’t we all...” She said with a slight shake of her head before giving Vinnie back her full attention. “Vin, I’m about to unload an absolute deluge of information on you. It’s been months since Gio knocked you out, and a lot has happened.”

“...Months...?!” Vinnie looked at his sister in disbelief, but he saw no falsehoods in her as she waited for his mind to catch up with the first chunk of information. “What... what happened?”

Sofia began her explanation, keeping her emotions in check through it, being as candid as possible. To her surprise, Vinnie absorbed it all silently, from her dimensional travel all the way back to her discoveries here. His brow was thoroughly creased as she finished, Sofia waiting for any type of reaction. Vinnie hardly ever showed his emotions in the first place, usually perfectly fine going with the flow or keeping things to himself until an eventual blow out that rarely ever happened. Vinnie rubbed his face tiredly, breaking away from Sofia’s gaze as he shut his eyes, activating his power. It wasn’t as if he didn’t believe his sister, on the contrary, he believed every syllable, but there was something in seeing the state of his family that would solidify everything and prevent any ‘what-ifs’ he so wished were truth. First he went to April who was in the sitting room, waiting restlessly on the couch, petting Mayhem in her lap while her eyes were firmly towards the direction of his room. Next to Nel who he found in the cell next to his father - as lifeless as he was until Sofia had revived him. Finally, to Gio. Under the icy waters of the Hudson River he found him, covered in burns, labored and dismal sounds echoing through his cage.

Vinnie’s eyes snapped open, his anxieties replaced with something betwixt rage and sorrow. “That idiot...!” He seethed, Sofia tensing and shrinking into her shell slightly.

“...I’m sorry,” she said quietly, the emotions she’d temporarily locked away starting to resurface. “It’s partially my fault Gio’s like that, and I’m going to do everything that I can to get him back to normal. I-I don’t h-how, b-but...” Sofia tried to force her tears back, a futile endeavor as they fell regardless. “W-we’ve got help a-and I’ve got my p-powers. B-but if you’re p-pissed at me, I t-totally understand and-” She broke down into a sob, unable to hold herself back any more. “I’m sorry, V-Vinnie! I’m so, so sorry-! I left you a-all alone and, and-!”

Vinnie could watch his sister torture herself no longer, pushing himself off of his bed and pulling her into an embrace. She was inconsolable, like everything she’d been holding in for years had finally been set loose. Vinnie had always known her to cry in solitary, even when they were kids. Once when they were younger did Gio express how irritating he found it when Sofia would cry at the drop of a hat, and from then on she’d always bottle it up. Even when Gio had rushed her back into the lair with two broken legs, she didn’t cry. When her father had to realign her bones for the casts, a few tears were shed, but Sofia never let out the full brunt of her pain.

Splinter always claimed she was the easiest to raise with how quiet and compliant she was, but the truth was never more apparent than this moment. Ever the least of the four, Sofia settled into her role long before Gio’s prophecy fueled admonishments. Every once in a while a crack would surface in her facade, but she’d soon seal it up again and prepare for the next inevitable assault. He, Nel, and Gio allowed it all, an occasional bandaid would be provided, but that’s all it ever was - temporary relief, easily removed and forgotten about. The truth was thus; his sister was so emotionally run down, so used to persecution for things she had no control over, that she truly believed Vinnie would abandon her - and that fact caused him to weep.

The siblings desperately clung to each other as they both uncontrollably sobbed. Neither of them could manage anything more than apologies, both in a continual loop of grief as truths and circumstances gave them no solace. Their brother had turned into a beast after shouldering every burden they should have shared. Was there truly no trust among them? Despair continued as hurried steps approaching the room went completely unheard - April appearing in the doorframe, unable to combat her own tears as she ran to their sides.

“It’s gonna be OK...” She pulled them both into her chest, rocking them gently. “We’ll get through this - together this time. No more secrets.” She heard Sofia muffle an affirmative noise while feeling Vinnie nod. “We’re crazy dysfunctional, but we all love each other at the end of the day. We’ll wake up Nel and Splints, get Gio back, and then have a long, LONG talk.”

“The longest of talks...” Vinnie said between sniffles, managing to chuckle as April raised a knowing brow at him. Their attention went to Sofia who was still struggling to stop her tears, Vinnie releasing her, then delivering a soft, playful chop to her head. “C’mon, dry those tears. Things are gonna be different from now on - especially with that whole other family you’ve brought with you. Are you gonna introduce me or...?”

“J-just... hold on,” she replied, making a disgusting sucking noise as she tried to fan away her remaining tears.

“Ew, girl, gross,” April took a rag from her pocket, flipping it from the side covered in grease and placing the clean side over Sofia’s nose. “Blow,” she commanded and Sofia complied, the last of her hysterics silenced as her sinuses cleared.

“...You are never beating those ‘team mom’ allegations, April,” Sofia said jokingly, April putting her hands on her hips.

“I expect to grow out of the role once we get things back to normal.”

Chapter Text

“Vincent Hamato, at your service,” Vinnie introduced himself confidently, the sitting room full of the current blended family, April and Sofia on either side of him. “Sofia’s told me everything, and I have no reason not to believe her, so, thank you - all of you, for taking care of my sister and coming to our aid,” He bowed deeply, the boys taken aback by his gracious demeanor.

“Wow, Vin, you’re taking this way better than I did...” April mused as Vinnie finished his bow. “I was this close to screaming my lights out when I first saw them,” she held her thumb and index finger close to one another.

“That just means we need to work on your ninja nerves of steel,” He replied in a joking manner, April rolling her eyes in reply.

“You just made that up.”

“That I did,” he smirked, bringing his attention back to the brothers. “So, what now? I’ve been in a coma for months and I’m feeling a little stir crazy. I’m all for finishing up introductions and jumping into your gameplan asap.”

“We will need to run tests first,” Draxum spoke up before any of the brothers could, Vinnie’s cheery demeanor fading as he locked eyes with his creator. “I will need to confirm that the procedure was fully a success and that you’re in no danger of a relapse.”

“Hm,” Vinnie said, one of his dimples deepening as his lips stretched in contemplation. “To think the Yōkai that once used to actively try to take my life is now concerned about it. How the times have changed.”

“Vinnie...” Sofia gently chastised and he immediately relented with a small shrug.

“But if out of all of us, Sofia, can accept you, I suppose I can soften my stance, albeit only slightly for now. Welcome to the family,” He said the last bit with heavy sarcasm, Draxum shaking his head with a roll of his eyes before turning back towards the lab.

“Join me in the lab after you’re finished getting acquainted,” He said and disappeared within. “You as well, Sofonisba.” Sofia was surprised on hearing her name, this being the first time their Draxum had ever addressed her by it.

Vinnie’s smirk returned as he watched Draxum leave. “Well, you’ve certainly softened him up, sis, how’d you-” Vinnie paused, viewing the entrance to the lab a little more thoroughly, soon finding what was causing his attention to be caught. “Wait a minute - where’s the door?”

“Donnie did it!” Mikey said and the siblings immediately further answered by pointing to their guilty brother.

“Oh, just throw me under the bus, why don’t you?!” Donnie huffed, Vinnie eyeing him skeptically. “I didn’t say they were wrong, but yes, I destroyed the door to your brother’s lab.”

“Oh, he’s gonna love that...” Vinnie nervously chuckled.

“I’ll build him a new one - a better one,” Donnie got up from his seat, approaching Vinnie and outstretching his hand. “For I am Donatello; Mystic Tech expert. Nice to meet you.”

“Love the confidence,” Vinnie shook his hand, “and likewise.”

“I’ll be in the lab with Draxum,” he released Vinnie and took his leave with a small wave.

“And I’m Michelango!” Mikey was next to take Vinnie’s hand, excitedly shaking it. “Sofia’s twinsie and your personal chef for the duration of our stay! If there’s anything you want, just let me know and I’ll do my best to prepare it!” Sofia softly giggled at Mikey’s energy, Vinnie then somehow knowing that Mikey had been her biggest supporter in the absence of her family. He wanted to thank him specifically for that, but decided to leave it for another time, shaking Mikey’s hand back with a friendly smile.

“Nice to meet you Michelangelo, but you don’t need to worry about me - I’m not picky.”

“Then no objections to Yōkai Surprise Supreme Pizza? Because that’s what I’m gonna make tonight!”

“You said the ‘p’ word, of course I’m not going to object,” Vinnie grinned, making Mikey laugh as he slackened his grip.

“My man!” Mikey finger gunned Vinnie and started for the kitchen. “I’m gonna get it going so it’ll be ready after all your tests are done!”

“Annnd I’m going to supervise because I want to know what the ‘surprise’ is...” April followed after him.

It was Raph who approached next, offering his hand which Vinnie attempted to take, his own being dwarfed in comparison. “I’m Raphael! It’s good to see you up!”

“It’s good to be up. Nice to meet you Raphael.”

“Likewise! Now, there’s a ton of stuff we’ll need to go over sooner than later, but I don’t want you to worry about it today. Stir crazy or not, take it easy for now, okay?”

Vinnie failed to keep back a small puff of laugher, Raph raising a brow at him as Vinnie quickly addressed it. “Sorry, you’re really just like Nel. You two are going to get along great.”

“I hope so! I’m really excited to meet her! ...And speaking of people being excited to meet their counterparts,” Raph released Vinnie and stepped out of the way, Leo quickly taking his place. He was practically exploding with enthusiasm as he took Vinnie’s hand, Sofia having to turn away to hide her laughter from the sight of it.

“Leonardo Hamato at your service, my equally as handsome and amazing twinsie!”

“Haha, wow...” Vinnie failed to match his eagerness. “You are full of beans.”

“Only the coolest and most awesome of beans!” Leo finished shaking his hand, moving next to him and placing his arm around Vinnie’s shoulders. “You and I are gonna be like two peas in a pod - and I’m gonna help you unlock your Ninpō muy rápido!”

“No me toques, por favor,” Vinnie said with a mildly unimpressed look.

“Huh?” Leo tilted his head and Vinnie sighed, Sofia unable to keep her giggles in any longer as she sank to the floor. “And what is so funny, Sofia!?”

“It’s just-!” She wheezed, shell fully flush with the floor. “This meeting is going exactly as I envisioned it - and I’m exhausted so everything is 1000 times more funny-!” She erupted into full laughter, holding her stomach.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you laugh this hard since... wow, I actually can’t remember...” Vinnie said and left Leo’s grasp, keeling down to Sofia. “Hey, Sofs? Don’t forget to breathe.”

Sofia coughed out of her last laughs, then holding her out hand for Vinnie to take. “Help me up, please, I don’t think I can move right now...”

“Eh, nah, I think I’ll do this instead,” He looped his arm around her shell and easily lifted her.

“Hey, put me down!” She weakly wriggled as Vinnie started towards the lab.

“No can do - revenge for no warning,” he said flippantly, stopping his stride to look back at Leo. “It was nice meeting you, Leonardo. We’ll talk more later,” he continued into the darkened doorway, leaving Raph and Leo behind.

“Warning for what...? -Ow!” Leo recoiled as Raph delivered a gentle corrective slap to the back of Leo’s head. “What was that for?!”

“Remember when we talked about coming on too strong and trying too hard? If Sofia shied away from hugs until recently, then you should treat Vincent similarly. He may be you, but he’s also himself first.”

“...Right, you’re right,” Leo calmed himself. “I’ll apologize later, but it’s just so encouraging that we’re making progress! Things aren’t ideal, but we’ve got one family member back! High-three!” Leo lifted his hand expectantly and Raph answered him.

“We’ll have to see how Vincent and Sofia are feeling tomorrow, but we can definitely fan out a little more with another set of hands.”

“Ooo, I call taking Vincent with me on topside patrol!” Leo said excitedly.

“If he wants to, Leo,” Raph wrinkled his brow.

“Right, of course, I am reigning in my expectations!” Leo declared under Raph’s disbelieving scowl.

The rest of the day was found to be uneventful, Vinnie and Sofia stuck in the lab until dinner time, the latter fully withdrawn into her shell and dead asleep by the time Draxum and Donnie released them. Try as Vinnie might, he couldn’t rouse Sofia - Draxum advising to let her rest regardless as she’d expended an intense amount of Mystic in curing him - and he was indeed fully cured. Were Draxum a believer in such things, he’d tout it a miracle, but it was more simply having all the pieces of the puzzle in the right time at the right place. He would have never perfected the formula without Donatello, and the cure wouldn’t have been finished without Sofia’s power and the education behind it by his counterpart. While the children went off to dinner did he start formulating another dosage, now knowing how determined Sofia was, fully expected her to be back on his heels before long.

Sofia herself was put to bed by her brother, voicing to her, despite the chance of her hearing being it low, how proud he was of her as he tucked her in. Things would get better, they had made their first steps to improving things that day, and they’d continue to keep moving down this new path together - and with the rest of their family as their efforts allowed. Vinnie was extremely grateful to have April with him during the meal - so many questions from his other dimensional family that he took in stride while April filled in as needed. He was finally free to be with his own thoughts for the first time since waking once excusing himself to rest. One wouldn’t think he’d be tired after being comatose for months, but Vinnie’s exhaustion caught up with him nonetheless.

And yet, as he had many times before, he viewed his bed with disdain. He highly doubted his chronic insomnia has been cured as well. He felt nothing but anxiety as he peeled his covers back and attempted to get comfortable. The first hour was as he expected; every sound reaching him like it was amplified through a megaphone - his new housemates settling down not long after him, but their movement was noticed regardless. The second hour brought Vinnie to contemplation, thinking he should take his usual place on the couch, but he ultimately decided against it, wondering if he was imagining his fatigue beginning to take over. The third hour taunted him with constant weight on his eyelids while his mind continued to race. He hoped and prayed that he would both sleep and see nothing but the back of his eyelids until morning. It was at the end of the fourth hour that sleep finally came, and Vinnie regretted ever wishing for it in the first place.

An unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces - yet he’d seen it all before. Would tonight bring forth a tragedy or would it simply be a mundane memory? There was never a way to tell at the beginning, and never a way to choose a path, no matter how much he wished. It unfortunately turned out to be the former this night - actions he had no say in leading him down a path that ended in destruction. This time it was an explosion that took him, and for a mercy, it was swift death that didn’t linger - but it was neither a pleasant thing to wake up from nor something Vinnie wished to dwell on.

But dwell on it he did, waking from the nightmare with a gasp - the explosion still faintly ringing in his ears as reality shifted back. He slowly sat himself up, breathing heavily as he took in the surrounds of his room, cursing himself for even allowing himself to fall asleep in the first place. Vinnie didn’t dare even think of attempting to return to his bed as he aggressively left it, marching over to his desk to grab his phone and gear. The new model provided by Donnie was swiftly snatched up, but his other hand stopped before reaching his mask, belts, and wraps. Images of the nightmare flashed through his head once more, and he left them behind, exiting his room as is. As it ever was, the sitting room was empty this time of the night. Even when all his family was present, very rarely would Vinnie have company. His usual routine would have him plant himself on the couch and browse his phone or boot up the TV - but he instead chose a singular chair and rejected his technology. He placed the phone nearby as his hands became occupied by cradling his head. The only thing Vinnie could think to do in an attempt to calm down was breathe - breathe deeply until he felt normal again - whatever that truly was.

In another corner of the lair did another wake from a nightmare. Again, Leo shuddered against the fading sensation of Krang tendrils that had trapped him only seconds ago. He wanted to scream - more frustrated than fearful at this point, knowing no matter how much he wished or pleaded that he would forever be haunted. At this point, he decided to skip his usual stewing, gearing up, figuring he’d take a run like he’d done last time with Sofia. With both topside and the Hidden City not being options, Leo figured he could at least get a solid sprint through the sewers and portal back if that wasn’t the case. Regardless, he needed to at least try and clear his mind. Leo left his room with a clear path in mind, allowing his eyes to adjust to the provided night lighting as he entered into the sitting room with the lair’s exit in view, but he soon found himself frozen. From the corner of his eye did he spot him, almost jumping in fright at the thinly outlined doppelganger that paid him no mind, Leo knowing his footsteps would have at least caught Vinnie’s attention. Memories of Sofia’s recollections clashed with the current scene, Leo leaving his current aim behind as he entered into the sitting room proper, knowing something was wrong.

“Vincent?” Leo called out quietly to no reaction. “Hey, Vincent, you alright?” he began to reach out, his hand about to graze Vincent’s arm when he witnessed him tense, as if he had just noticed Leo’s presence. He recoiled violently, backing himself into the chair with unadulterated horror in his eyes.

“Don’t touch me-!” Vinnie shielded himself with one of his arms, Leo taking a step back in response to his sudden fearful turn. He was momentarily stunned as Leo viewed Vinnie’s reason return, dropping his stance as he fell back into the chair with a shaky sigh.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Leo started and Vinnie put up a hand to stop him.

“No,” Vinnie shook his head, “no, I’m sorry - that was completely unnecessary of me. Are you alright?”

“Am I ‘alright’!?” Leo retook his step, approaching Vinnie with a concerned mug. “I just practically made you jump out of your shell - and you’re asking about my wellbeing?!”

“Lower your voice,” Vinnie said robotically, bringing one of his hands to his face, rebuilding what he could of the cradle as his heart practically clawed at his chest. Leo realized his volume, looking around the lair to see if anyone had been awoken, but no movement answered. He readjusted accordingly, his voice hushed as he addressed Vinnie again.

“Seriously, are you OK? I really, really didn’t mean to do that.”

“It’s fine,” Vinnie lied, Leo recognizing the deflecting tone, “You didn’t mean any harm. I’m OK.”

The exhausted Vinnie Leo had been familiar with had manifested - his bags enormous, the defeat in his glazed over eyes. Leo found himself at a loss on how to approach Vinnie, as if the wall between them had become inexplicably titanic, but within him was the memory of Sofia’s attempts to break down theirs. He didn’t necessarily think it could be breached so early into their relationship, but Leo figured he could at least try - especially with the recent happenings so ingrained into his thoughts that he refused to simply leave things as they were.

“...Did you have a nightmare?” Leo gently asked and Vinnie gave him no reaction, though he did eventually answer;

“Something like that.”

Leo rubbed his arm nervously, starting to waver as Vinnie didn’t elaborate further, but he decided to push anyways. “Look, I know we just met and all, and I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want - but you can talk to me, Vincent. I’m the leader of our crew, and while I’m still in an eternal ‘getting the hang of it’ phase, I want to help you. Sofia is family to us, and you are too. If you and I are alike outside of looks, I definitely have a problem with burdening myself with my own thoughts until I snap. It may seem easier to just keep it locked up, but I know deep down that’s a lie - and I think you do too. So, talk to me. Nothing said or done tonight leaves this room - I promise.”

Vinnie viewed Leo towering over him as both a threat and a comfort, unsure which was the truth. He wanted to push Leo away, but his recent outburst was still so raw he couldn’t manage another even if he tried. This familiar turtle was a complete stranger, but then again, he wasn’t, Vinnie’s head filled to the brim with information he never asked for, no one to tell it to, no one who would feasibly believe him - until now. Did he possibly take the risk and reveal himself? Would he be perceived as a madman? Perhaps it was finally time to allow his closest guarded secret to become another’s knowledge - almost humorously with the recipient being who he was.

“Tell me, Leonardo,” Vinnie began, squeezing his eyes shut momentarily before lifting them to meet Leo’s. “Have you ever experienced the inexplicable sensation of being watched - despite the fact that you know you’re completely alone or that those around you are completely absorbed in whatever they’re doing?”

Leo wrinkled his brow upwards at the question, casting his thoughts back. He was able to place a few instances of what Vinnie was referring to, though he’d completely forgotten about them until now. “...Yes,” Leo answered tentatively. “Every once in a while, like, really rarely, I felt like there was a pair of eyes on me - or maybe it would be more accurate to say that I didn’t feel like I was alone? Hmm...” he trailed off as he tried to find the right words. “It’s not deja vu, more like something that’s happening in the moment - but I get what you’re saying. An uncanny presence that disappears as soon as it's noticed.”

“...Yeah that just about sums it up,” Vinnie paused to take a deep breath in through his nose, letting it out quickly with the rise and fall of his shoulders. “And what if I were to tell you that ‘uncanny presence’ was most likely me - or at least someone like me.”

Leo blinked at the statement, lost. “...What?”

Vinnie sighed again, beginning to regret his decision, but moved on regardless, knowing there was no going back now. “You know about one of my powers, ‘Locator’, yes? Allows me to find anyone I’ve seen before?” Leo nodded and he continued. “Well, ever since awakening to it, when I attempt to sleep, I would have these wild dreams - dreams that were so real I could never explain them. Sometimes the setting would be different, or the year, or certain recurring characters would change shape - but there was always one thing that never changed. A set of four turtle mutant brothers and their mutant rat father - Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Splinter. They’re most often accompanied by an April O’Niel and a Casey Jones as they patrol New York, fight mutants, the Foot Clan, and whatever else is thrown at them.”

Leo felt himself tense as a knot of uncertainty made itself known in the pit of his stomach. Vinnie had been awake for less than twenty-four hours, Leo and the others going out of their way to avoid talking about Casey, the Foot Clan, and anything else that would be amply covered in the next family meeting. It was possible that Sofia or Donnie had made mention during the hours spent in the lab, but that seemed unlikely, and Vinnie took Leo's silence as permission to continue.

“At first I thought they were just really were just that - dreams, but the similarities to myself and my own family became too much to simply ignore. Even when I’d be shown a completely new set of turtles, the familiarity was still there - and I was always put in the shoes of ‘Leonardo’ instead of being able to roam freely. Eventually, I happened upon you, an actual spitting image of myself with the siblings to match, for the most part. Some things were one-to-one, eerily so, but eventually, things took a turn, completely deviating. You lost a key to the Foot Clan, they opened a portal and set the Krang free. Humanity was forced underground and I lived through every guilt-ridden moment as you grew up with your brothers - struggling to defeat the Krang. I watched everyone die, I felt the desperation as you threw Casey Jones through the portal, and embraced death in the last moments of hope that you clinged to. -And then I woke up, trying to make sense of it all, truly wondering what I was forced to witness. I never saw you all again, so imagine my shock today, seeing you all standing in front of me in my living room, no worse for wear.”

Vinnie’s eyes were swimming in madness, nothing masking his reeling mind as Leo’s own terror crept through his entire being. They were both plagued by each other's presence, Vinnie’s close to losing what was left of his sanity while Leo was trying and failing to come to terms that the skeletons hidden in Vinnie’s closet were also his to share.

“Who are you?” Vinnie spat more than asked. “Almost every Leonardo I’ve been forced to relive has gotten the life beaten out of him or is long dead - like I’m some sort of litmus test to figure out which one is allowed to live peaceably for once!”

Leo could feel the absolute terror and sorrow from Vinnie’s tone, unable to look away from him as he was desperately seeking an answer. “I-I-” Leo hesitated, trying to bring himself back from his fear, swallowing hard as he shook his head. He knew what he had to say, what Vinnie needed to hear - he just needed to manage through these revelations. “I... am the Leonardo from the time gateway Casey Jones was sent into. He got to us safely, we stopped the Krang, and he’s still with us - part of the family,” Leo revealed. He witnessed a small crack in Vinnie’s composure, stuck between disbelief and relief.

“Then why have you never appeared to me before now?”

“I don’t know, but I have proof! Here, look-” Leo took out his phone and hastily opened the gallery application. He truly hadn’t realized how many photos he had of Casey until he saw he was spoiled for choice. He chose one randomly and turned the screen towards Vinnie. “Scroll either way - there’s tons of them in there,” Vinnie lifted a shaky hand to do so, lingering on the first shown photo before proceeding to the next one. “He even wanted to come with us, but we ultimately decided it would be a bad idea for someone displaced from one timeline to enter another. If I had known-” Leo was cut off by a sniffle from Vinnie, tears falling from his twin as he lifted his other hand to hold the phone in his palms. Leo allowed it, relinquishing it as Vinnie focused fully on the screen. He had stopped on the picture Donnie had taken after their Lair Games Lightning Round, everyone laughing, Casey’s smile one of the biggest among them.

“...Thank god...” Vinnie sobbed, “...He made it...!”

“Yeah, he did,” Leo reassured, a small smile surfacing as the heavy atmosphere dissipated. “He’s happy, healthy, and safe. He’s wicked good at hockey, loves pizza, and in the spring, he’s going to start taking some classes at the same university as April. It’s alright, Vincent, Casey’s OK, I promise.” Vinnie nodded, moving to wipe his tears as he handed Leo his phone back. “He was even the first to make friends with Sofia after she’d joined us.”

Vinnie chuckled, another nod. “I believe it.”

*******

“Hey, Leo,” Leo felt someone poking his face in an attempt to rouse him from his slumber. “Did you sleep out here last night?”

“Mmm...?” He barely managed to crack his eyes open, seeing Raph standing over him. “...What time is it?”

“It’s 7 AM - time for us to start our day and then split off. Mikey’s making tea and coffee, you want some?”

“Coffee, please,” Leo pushed himself up from the couch with a yawn, rubbing the rest of the fatigue from his eyes as he fully came around.

“Got it, be right back,” Raph went for the kitchen as Leo took in his surroundings. Still in the sitting room, now alone, Vinnie nowhere to be seen. The events of last night played in his head all over again. Once Vinnie had fully calmed did they speak in earnest, Leo covering all the events from when Casey entered their life, then to Sofia, and then to what had happened in this dimension since their arrival. It brought a hint of peace to his face, Leo relieved and Vinnie then opening up to Leo as they fostered trust despite everything. Their discussion lasted into the early hours of the morning, Leo not even remembering falling asleep, trying to recall where he and Vinnie had left off in their conversation. But before he could figure it out, Raph had returned with a mug for Leo and one for himself.

“Thank you,” Leo received it, gingerly sipping while Raph took the seat next to him. “...Have you seen Vincent this morning?”

“He’s in the lab with Donnie, April, and Draxum. Donnie wanted to do a quick check up to see if anything changed overnight. I guess we can’t be too cautious.”

“...Yeah,” Leo mindlessly agreed, taking another sip of the coffee, his ears catching the sound of footsteps, his eyes looking up to see who was approaching.

“Morning, Sofia!” Raph chipperly greeted a rather exhausted looking Sofia.

“...Morning...” she punctuated with a yawn, her eyes barely open as she took a chair and curled up in it.

“How’re you feeling?” Raph continued and Sofia shook her head.

“I feel like I’ve been run over by a train - but I was warned by Draxum that I would feel this way - so I’m good, I guess?”

“Well, hopefully some tea will help!” Mikey entered from the kitchen, his and Sofia’s mugs in his hand, taking the chair next to Sofia and passing it along. “Just the way you like it!”

“I owe you my life, Mikey,” she said jokingly, taking a loud, generous sip and getting a laugh from Mikey. It was a sudden shattering of one’s mug that properly woke everyone up - each in the sitting room looking to the source. It was Raph’s that lay in pieces, the owner shaking, one of his hands going to his head.

“Raph? Raph, what’s wrong?!” Leo’s concern was lost on his brother, Raph’s mind gone towards the noise currently filling it. It was a familiar but wholly unpleasant uproar that had taken him completely unawares. Among the sound, the crawling sensation in his head - he remembered where he'd last experienced this, but there was no time to explain.

“Raph, does it hurt somewhere? Let me-” Sofia approached him.

“Someone’s coming!” Raph blurted out, the remaining trio exchanging glances as Raph continued to writhe. Just as Leo opened his mouth again did another voice sound out from behind them.

“Interesting,” a cold and calculating voice mused. “To think I would be detected so easily, however,” from the entrance to the lair did they appear, entering pistols first, each ready to fire. A tall, well dressed man revealed himself, eyes hidden behind sunglasses, hair firmly slicked back. “You’re far too late.”

“Who-” Sofia started, only for a gun to be directly pointed at her.

“Who I am matters not, Sofonisba Hamato, she who swallowed the Dragon’s Eye,” he answered coldly. “You, Baron Draxum, and your other dimensional mutant compatriots are to come with me. You will answer to the EPF for your crimes.”

“My WHAT?!” Sofia refuted.

“Your crimes - either done by you specifically or by the company you keep. Stealing and consuming a Mystic relic, bringing creatures from other dimensions to this one, and illegally repossessing a piece of the Kuroi Yōroi that the Hamato Clan entrusted to us. Not to mention that Baron Draxum is only pardoned in the Hidden City and is currently within our jurisdiction to take into custody.”

“So this is a shoot first ask questions later kind of deal?” Leo asked and the second gun went to him. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“On the contrary, I’m confident this is the right path to ensure the Earth’s safety. Now, all of you, hands up and start moving.”

“Yeah, how about; no,” Donnie’s voice rang out around them, no one able to place where it was coming from, the intruder included. As they attempted to keep their attention on both the crew in the sitting room and figure out where an attack would come from, were they quickly and swiftly immobilized. The chain from a kusarigama whipped one gun from their hand while a an alchemical root took the other, Donnie emerging from behind and whacking the daylights out of the man, his staff with a Mystic rocket attached landing, and to everyone’s surprise, detaching his head, Donnie hitting it away like a golf ball. Some gasped, some screamed, but the man collapsed all the same. “RELAX!” Donnie rested his staff on his shoulders. “He’s not human!”

“Okay, but that was way more violent than what we agreed on,” Vinnie argued, joining Donnie with Draxum and April in tow. “I said ‘let’s disarm him’, not ‘let’s behead him’.

“Potato-potahto,” Donnie knelt down, observing the sparking, mechanical make of the intruder. “And before any of you ask - the proximity detectors went off. Giorgio has an escape route in his lab, so we used it and looped behind.”

“Is everyone OK?” Vinnie asked, getting a mix of emotions from the sitting room group.

“No one’s hurt, but something’s going on with Raph,” Leo said as he went back to his brother.

“...I think I know why,” Donnie said and stood back up, soundly kicking the chest area of the fallen mystery man. A hatch opened from the force of it, and within it was something that struck the brothers with dread. Leo didn’t even think upon seeing it, swords brandished, leaping with the intent to kill.

“LEONARDO, WAIT!” Vinnie yelled and acted at the same time. If he was a second too late, there would be consequences beyond their power to fix. Leo felt his blades claim flesh, but it wasn’t his prey. His katanas were hovering just above the creature, stopped in their tracks by Vinnie’s hands around the blades. Through his pain Vinnie conjured his Mystic ice, freezing from his wrists to Leo’s, preventing any more movement.

“VINNIE!” April gasped, Sofia sharing the sentiment by covering her mouth in horror.

“What. Are. You. Doing.” Leo seethed, looking down at Vinnie with the same ire as the Krang he was defending.

“Stopping you from making a mistake-!” Vinnie winced, glaring back with the same intensity.

“A mistake!? That’s a KRANG! Unfreeze me, NOW!”

“Leo, calm down!” Mikey pleaded, Leo's ears deaf to his cries.

“This isn’t your dimension, Leonardo!” Vinnie argued back. “Things are different here!”

“I find that highly unlikely-”

“DON’T YOU THINK OUT OF ALL OF US I WOULD KNOW!?” Vinnie yelled desperately, the sound of it breaking Leo out of his blind rage. The weight of his actions hit him all at once, spying Vinnie’s blood mixed with the ice.

“...Oh no...” regret spread in his chest. “Vincent, I’m sorry, I-”

“It’s alright,” he cut Leo off, releasing the ice, droplets of blood freely falling onto the creature below as Vinnie let go of the blades. “It’ll heal.”

The creature’s eyes opened in response, looking to all that surrounded it before letting out a disgruntled noise. “I am not what you perceive me to be,” it said towards all the accusatory glares.

“I know,” Vinnie responded, doing his best to ignore the pain, “You’re an Utrom, aren’t you, Agent Bishop?”

“...And how is it that you know me, Vincent Hamato?” Bishop shifted uncomfortably in his mechanical suit.

“Drop the charges on my sister and we’ll talk.”

“Hrm,” Bishop emerged with a squelching noise, one of his tentacles stretching out to his discarded head and retrieving his sunglasses, which he promptly placed back on. “Very well, let us talk.”

Chapter Text

“Sofia, this is...!” Vinnie viewed his hands, the gashes inflicted mere moments ago disappearing under her efforts. “...Amazing.”

The knowledge of his sister’s abilities were already known to Vinnie, but it hadn’t really fully sunk in until he’d watched his injuries disappear. He knew that she’d helped the serum be more effective, but in the reality of his sister being able to perform such feats - well, he wanted to kick his past self for not even considering the option. Gio had been so focused on Sofia being a frontline fighter that none of them questioned it outside agreeing to give her a break and let her skip as needed. It wasn’t as if this was his first time witnessing someone in a mutant turtle family with the ability to heal either, and the memory of that reality now merging with his own became a new constant reminder for Vinnie to think outside of the box from now on.

“What’s even more amazing is that you’ve been back for less than a day and I’m already having to patch you up!” Sofia glared at her brother, Vinnie responding with a nervous, apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry,” Vinnie said and Sofia immediately buckled with a sigh.

“Just... go join them - they’re waiting for you,” Sofia motioned to the crowd in the sitting room with her head as she moved onto Raph, the gentle giant moved as far away from Bishop as possible while also still in earshot of the conversation they were waiting on Vinnie to start. Vinnie nodded, absentmindedly flexing his fixed hands as he rejoined the group, taking his place between Leo and April.

“I’m sorry you gotta heal Raph up when you’re not feeling well...” Raph said as he flinched under Sofia’s energy flow, forcing a smile through his pain.

“Take it easy, big guy, you’re in much worse shape than I am,” Sofia reassured as she tried to find and eradicate the problem. She assumed the issue was in his head, considering the grip Raph had on it, adjusting the flow as needed. What Sofia found was something that she’d yet to encounter before. It was as if there was something invasively pulsating through his brain, attempting to take control, but couldn’t, and in its failure was instead inflicting as much pain as possible. Sofia eyed it with disdain as she came to an understanding - Krang remnants, sneakily lying in wait until one of its kin came to reclaim it. It had remained dormant, hopeful, and with the appearance of the ‘Utrom’ Bishop, was it desperately trying to regain control - to rejoin its hive, But Raph was stronger. “Well, I’ve cleansed Krang polluted soil before - what’s a polluted mind?” She said with a hint of nervousness. “Tell me if I’m hurting you, okay?”

“Do what you need to,” Raph continued to fight the constant noise, cringing before speaking again. “But don’t heal it completely,” he said and Sofia regarded him quizzically. “I could feel him coming,” he stared Bishop down. “And if he makes it out of here in one piece, I want to make sure I can do it again. Allies or enemies, no one’s getting the jump on us again - not on my watch...!” Raph cringed again as the remnant screeched in defiance.

“Okay, okay-” Sofia soothed, beginning the treatment proper. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Fascinating,” the Utrom sat in a chair surrounded by the blended Hamato clan looked past them to Raph. “Your brother is infected with Krang, yet still retains his will.”

“Eyes up here!” Leo angrily snapped his fingers at Bishop, the creature complying on instinct. “You’re not in any position to be making any... observations - unless you forgot I almost impaled you and will attempt to do so again if you try anything!”

“And the majority of you have clearly encountered my disowned kin, by the looks of your body language,” Bishop continued.

“‘Disowned’,” Vinnie repeated, gathering his thoughts. “...Alright, so it’s that kind of timeline,” he said and all attention was then on him.

“Vincent Hamato, your knowledge of my kind indicates a direct violation of Code 1-984-”

“I cannot believe you're trying to hit me with a rule book right now,” Vinnie quickly quipped back. “I saved your life, you ungrateful, overgrown brain. The kids are about to have an adult conversation first, so just sit there and shut up for a little bit, alright?” Bishop didn’t respond back, allowing Vinnie to address everyone else. “Okay, so, I legitimately don’t know where to start without sounding like a lunatic - which is why I’ve never even tried to talk about this.”

“Just tell them the truth,” Leo said, unable to maintain eye contact with Vinnie, his guilt mixing with wavering trust. And so Vinnie did, detailing the same he had to Leo only hours ago, but with a more candid attitude, leaving out his maddened rambling and getting to the point. Everyone in attendance looked at him in shock as he finished his explanation - Bishop included, pulling his sunglasses down to view Vinnie properly.

“So... you already know us?” Mikey said tentatively, nothing but compassion in his eyes, Vinnie shallowly nodding.

“And watched us die in Casey Jones’ timeline,” Donnie added with a cross of his arms, doing his best to hide any of his rising emotions.

“Vin, that’s... this is...” April shook her head as her thoughts organized. “Why did you never talk to any of us about this!?”

“Because of the look you and Sofia are giving me right now?” Vinnie looked back to his sister, Sofia showing a mix of shock and empathy that was quickly transitioning to something akin to anger and guilt. “Everyone had their own problems going on, and I didn’t want to add more burdens to the load.”

“BUT THAT’S WHAT FAMILY’S FOR!” April exploded, making a frustrated growl as she buried her face in her hands. “Why, why, WHY are we LIKE THIS?!”

“Well, you said no more secrets, and that’s all I got. Baby steps?” Vinnie tried to mitigate April’s rage.

“Regardless of this... familial demonstration I’m being forced to witness,” Draxum spoke up and took some of the attention off of Vinnie. “Your power is a rare one indeed. Lucid dreaming is one thing, but transferring your consciousness to another in an entirely different dimension is unheard of. I would compare it to Astral Projection, but on a much grander scale. Unless I can find a record of it, you may be the very first in this dimension to have this power.”

“Cool, so we don’t know how to make it stop then...” Vinnie bitterly sighed. “I’m never going to have a good night’s sleep again.”

“Not necessarily, I could create Mystic blockers to prevent your power from activating while you slumber. They exist to be taken orally by Yōkai infants who have no control over their powers yet. It would be simple enough to replicate.”

Vinnie blinked, almost unable to believe what he was hearing. Was it really that simple? And was Draxum willingly offering him help? “I, uh...” Vinnie rubbed his head mindlessly as he digested the offer. “I’ll raincheck you on that, Draxum. Thank you,” he said and shifted his attention back to Bishop. “But first; you.”

“Indeed; me,” Bishop replied, pushing his sunglasses back into position. “You are aware of my position by proxy of other ninja turtles and their experiences.”

“Basically, but before we go any further, it’d be a good idea to figure out what kind of Bishop you are, and what kind of Utrom you are - because they’re not mutually exclusive.”

“They’re not?” Mikey asked, still trying to wrap his head around everything.

“No,” Vinnie answered, crossing his arms as he looked down on Bishop. “The one thing all Bishops share is their desire to protect humanity - but their personality ranges from being generally understanding to being an absolute jackass to the turtles. I’m talking trying to experiment on them to outright attempting to murder them.”

“And seeing as he decided to threaten us first, it’s probably the latter,” Donnie added with his eyes narrowing toward Bishop.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Vinnie continued. “And as for the Utrom race, well, it depends. Sometimes the name is interchangeable with the Krang, or ‘Krang’ as a name in itself never manifests.”

“But they’re the same thing, right?” Donnie questioned. “Like, the same species before the split?”

“Yes, but the most common version of this split is that the Utrom are a peaceful race - but a few bad apples spoil the bunch, breaking off to form the Krang, for some reason or another. Most if not all our counterparts were mutated because of them, accident or purposeful act. So, in conclusion; Utrom - usually good and like humans. Krang - never good, scum of the earth, figuratively and literally. And considering this Bishop almost mirrors one I’ve seen in another dimension - Utrom in his chest and all, I’m leaning towards him being less on the jackass side of the meter and more on the understanding side - but you can speak for yourself,” Vinnie finished, giving the stage to Bishop. The creature took in all the accusatory and uncertain eyes on him, giving in after considering their options.

“...As I said earlier, the Krang are my disowned kin,” Bishop started. “We Utrom hail from Dimension X; a place that is no longer. In the infancy of our race, we created life until we were satisfied, deciding to share our gifts with the universe and setting out into it. Many a planet we ventured, creating life or nurturing what was already present before moving on - though there were instances where some stayed and settled, to continue our ministrations until satisfied.”

“And Earth was just another one of your ventures...” Leo added correctly, Bishop nodding.

“Yes, but we were betrayed. The Utrom that settled on Earth in its beginnings neglected our creed and became far too... amused with how easily life could be manipulated for their benefit. With the creatures born from Empyrean did they ruthlessly test their mettle - creating the Dragon’s Eye and planting it among them, taking mirth in their struggles. When the war finally ended, they tired of the Yōkai's struggles and moved onto the humans, finding an easy target within the Foot Clan.”

“The Shredder!” Mikey connected the dots.

“-And when the Hamato Clan triumphed, did they finally tire of games. It was then we Utrom discovered there were many defectors among us, many planets we nurtured became conquests, and Earth was next. Fortunately, Earth became our last bastion of hope, correctly predicting that the traitors now dubbed ‘Krang’ would attempt to release their cumulative efforts, an abomination; the Technodrome. The Utrom joined hands with Japan’s Mystic warriors - creating the Mystic Key and banishing the Krang to the Prison Dimension.”

“...That checks out,” Leo confirmed. “That last part is basically the same thing that happened in our dimension, though we never heard about the Utrom part.”

“That is because we made an agreement with the Hamato Clan and others involved to not speak of our existence in exchange for our continued protection of the planet. A pact was made, the EPF founded, and we have walked among you ever since, for hundreds of years.”

“Eaugh,” April shuddered, “no offense to you, but that’s really creepy. I mean, thanks for looking after the planet and all, but now I can’t stop thinking about who I know that may or may not be an Utrom.”

“...I may have to alter your memories to forget this conversation ever happened,” Bishop said and April scoffed.

“Try it, brainface,” she tapped the bat on her belt.

“Alright, let’s not raise the hostilities again,” Vinnie stepped in. “Bishop, now that we know that you’re, in all technicality, not our enemy, what do we need to do to get you on our side - because it’d be much more beneficial to work with the EPF than against them.”

Bishop made a thoughtful grunt, a tentacle going to his chin. “If you were to relinquish the Dragon’s Eye and Mystic metal you have acquired, all conflict between us would cease, but the former is impossible without handing Sofonisba Hamato over into our custody.”

“So, are you saying you can remove it, or are you saying that you’d just kill me to get it back?” Sofia asked, her and Raph joining the crowd. His brothers gave Raph a concerned look, but he replied with a thumbs up, easing their worry as they all were brought back to the discussion.

“The latter,” Bishop revealed.

“Pass,” Sofia shook her head. “If the Heads are fine with me holding onto it, then you should butt out.”

“It will transform you-”

“I am well aware,” she flexed her bandaged hand at Bishop. “And I’m working on trying to figure out a way to remove it - maybe you could help instead of being trigger happy?”

There was a pause, the alien clearly mulling over his situation, but he eventually spoke. “This... predicament,” Bishop said as if he was struggling to find the right word. “It has many more layers than I anticipated. I assumed you were all nothing but plucky children out of your depth, primed to inadvertently cause more chaos, but I see I must change my opinion accordingly. For my ignorance, I apologize, but there are still matters to settle before I offer the EPF’s assistance.”

Everyone in the crowd shared a glance, it all falling onto Vinnie once he was given a few approving nods. “Alright,” Vinnie agreed, “let’s start over then.”

******

Sparks flew as Donnie haphazardly began soldering the head back on Bishop’s body, the alien watching with intrigue while also still keeping an ear to the conversation in the sitting area.

“Alright, to summarize,” Vinnie tapped a pencil to his temple as he read a notepad over. “One; we haven’t been the only ones seeking pieces of Dark Armor - which means someone, or something is trying to assemble the Shredder - which is no bueno.”

“Which also means we need to lock up our accidental assembly of the helmet-” Leo started only to be cut off by Donnie yelling from Bishop’s body.

“Already done!”

“-And then we figure out where the rest of it is.”

“Two;” Vinnie continued, “considering we did actually steal the Dragon’s Eye from Big Mama, and the EPF; as they were the winning bid at the silent auction, we’ll need to work things out with her sooner than later. She’s one of the biggest leaders in the fragmented Hidden City at the moment, and if the police were willing to ignore our sigils, she most definitely will too.”

“Just mark me down for that,” Sofia offered. “I swallowed it, it’s my responsibility, though I’d prefer to not do it alone if possible.”

“I’ll go!” Mikey volunteered, but Vinnie shook his head.

“Let’s get everything organized first before offering anything, because three; while the EPF is willing to allow you all to keep staying here, Draxum included, we’ve been given a time limit in regards to Gio. All of NYC's power is being siphoned into keeping the three Kaiju contained, but the rest of the world is watching and waiting for them to be eliminated. Once a ‘proper’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ killing method has been developed, it’s light out.” Everyone shifted uncomfortably at how candid Vinnie was being, him picking up on it immediately. “...Sorry, I’m as freaked out as the rest of you, I’m just working through it differently.”

“Don’t apologize, I think we all kinda get it in our own way,” Raph reassured. “Everything is... less than ideal. -Ow,” Raph cringed, then immediately shook it off.

“You’re sure you’re OK?” Leo eyed Raph with concern.

“Yeah!” He replied peppily. “Sofia’s got it reduced to a headache with an occasional violent pang! I can manage this.”

“Just let me know if you want it all gone,” Sofia smirked with a crack of her knuckles. “Because it seems purifying Krang might be a specialty of mine!”

“An interesting talent...” Bishop said, Donnie noticing Bishop's eyes shift under his sunglasses.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Donnie replied quietly enough for only Bishop to hear and the alien simply grunted in response. “And get back in - I’m finished here.”

Bishop needed no more encouragement, replacing the sunglasses, then quickly putting himself back into the chest of the robot, the hatch slamming shut as the discarded body whirred back to life. With a mild struggle did ‘Bishop’ regain his footing, facing the group with no hostility. “Today, we have made an accord. The EPF will take no further action against you, but if you go back on our agreement, the consequences will be dire. Especially for you, Baron Draxum,” he glared at the Yōkai from beneath his sunglasses.

“I get it already, you hate me. Take a number and get in line,” Draxum replied in frustration.

“Hrm,” Bishop ignored the taunt, turning to Donnie and holding out his hand. Donnie replied accordingly with a raise of his brow, Bishop dropping a bishop chess piece into Donnie’s palm. “If there are complications or you simply have need of my council, twist this piece and wait - I will come to your location.”

“...Adorable,” Donnie tossed the piece playfully before storing it. “Is texting not a thing where you’re from?”

“It is too traceable.”

“Sounds like a you problem,” he muttered rolling his eyes. “Ancient intergalactic aliens are so much less cool in person...”

“I’ll say...” April agreed with him, Bishop ignoring them as he went to gather his pistols, reholstering them before turning back to the group once more.

“I will take my leave now. May our endeavors bring a favorable result for all of humanity - and good luck.” Everyone regarded him with silence as he exited the lair, Raph particularly staring down the dark hallway until the pain in his head completely subsided.

“...He’s gone,” Raph said with a liberating sigh.

“Not sure if I'm a fan of you being our Krang-slash-Utrom alarm system...” Leo said and Raph shrugged.

“Let’s just call it a mixed blessing and leave it at that,” Raph replied with his signature snaggletooth smile, and Leo reluctantly nodded.

“Okay,” Vinnie said and all attention was back on him. “It has been one heck of a morning.”

“Yeah, and we haven’t even had breakfast yet!” Mikey said with his hands on his hips.

“That we haven’t - so why don’t we get that done first? A team effort breakfast prep while we figure out who’s going where and doing what,” Vinnie proposed, looking around the room to favorable responses. “Alright, let’s do it!”

“YEAH!” Mikey said enthusiastically, running to the kitchen, everyone else following at their own pace. “It’s pancake time, baby!”

“Just don’t let Donnie near the stove,” Raph said and his brother made an offended noise.

“ONE TIME, RAPHAEL!”

There was an assortment of laughter as all entered into the kitchen, minus the two in blue hanging back purposely. Leo still wouldn’t look Vinnie in the eye, though was attempting to, his doppelganger noticing, placing a hand on Leo’s shoulder, thus commanding his attention. “I’m not upset with you,” Vinnie said simply with a straight face. “I would have done the same if only Casey’s timeline was bouncing around in my head.”

“Yeah, but-”

“It’s alright, Leonardo,” Vinnie continued to reassure. “You’ve been through a lot - and no one is expecting you to be perfect. You know that already. Just, take a deep breath - we’re good.” Leo complied, letting the breath out with a nod, meeting Vinnie’s gaze of his own volition. “Okay?”

“...Okay, yeah. I’m still sorry about your hands though.”

“Eh, at least we know your swords don’t have to be sharpened any time soon,” Vinnie said with a chuckle, Leo finding himself smiling along.

“You really just go with the flow, huh?”

“For better or worse,” Vinnie said and started towards the kitchen.

“...How does one even operate this primitive human technology...?” They heard Draxum ask.

“Oh, so the clueless Yōkai gets to be around the stove, but I’M the problem?!” Donnie argued.

“Tickle. Spots.” Sofia said firmly.

“...Mystic Witch,” Donnie hissed back.

“Oh, you are asking for it now!” Sofia threatened with a spoon, Donnie backing away with a raise of his hands. Vinnie and Leo paused their stride, looking at each other with their own raised brow, Leo apologetically rolling his eyes as Vinnie snickered into a small puff of laughter, Leo joining him as any lasting anxieties fled, another twin bond successfully formed as they entered the kitchen.

******

Vinnie stared at the small, colorful pills Draxum had given him with a wrinkled brow. He couldn’t figure out if he was still unsure if he could trust Draxum or if he just didn’t believe the pills would work after all he’d been forced to see. It seemed too easy, and then again, maybe he shouldn’t. There was no doubt still timelines and universes he’d yet to see - and maybe they’d be an unexpected boon to their efforts, but the time for contemplation came to an end.

“Knock knock,” Sofia’s voice rang out from outside his curtain.

“Come in,” his voice ushered her in, Sofia wasting no time splitting the zipper.

“Hey, so, I was wondering if we could go over something-” She saw the pills in Vinnie’s hand, blinking at them blankly as she came to an understanding. “The Mystic blockers? Already?” Vinnie nodded. “Dang, Draxum, that was fast.”

“We have our overprepared brother to thank. Gio’s apparently got quite a stock of ingredients squirreled away in that lab of his.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Sofia nodded. “Mind if I sit?”

Vinnie dropped the pills on his nearby desk and patted the area next to him on his bed, Sofia joining him. “So, what is it you wanted to talk about?”

“I was just thinking - is it really a good idea for Leo, pretending to be you, to go with me to Big Mama? It just seems like a recipe for trouble.”

“Well, I do mainly want him there with you to teleport you away if things go south, but again, like we discussed, I think it’d be a good idea to keep our counterparts a secret from other higher powers for the time being. Knowing Big Mama, if she knew about the whole, other dimension thing, I can just see her trying to get new fighters for her Battle Nexus by messing with dimensions, which is a big no-no.”

“Wouldn’t that Lord Simultaneous guy step in?”

“There’s no telling. If he’s not stepping in now, then...?”

“Point taken,” Sofia nodded. “Alright, that’s all I wanted to talk about. Here’s hoping everything goes well,” She started to get up.

“Hold on,” Vinnie’s voice stopped her. “I’m sorry about not telling you about my power properly. I was honestly really at a loss on what to do about it, especially with everything going on with Gio, but that’s no excuse.”

“I forgive you,” Sofia said with a small smile. “It’s... certainly a complicated power. Who would’ve thought that the boy I made friends with had been watched over by my own brother for his whole life?”

“Haha, yeah...” Vinnie grimaced into a smile. “Leonardo told me that Casey was the first you made friends with in their dimension.”

“Yeah, he was...” Sofia laughed nervously, avoiding eye contact with her brother, causing him to move his head back into her view.

“And what does that reaction mean?” She closed her eyes in response. “...Sofia?”

“You are gonna be so mad at me...” She opened one eye to see her brother’s gaze urging.

“About...?”

“What led to that friendship.”

“Okay...? Are you going to explain or...?”

Sofia sighed, rubbing her face tiredly before facing Vinnie again, her eyes still downcast, but no longer avoiding him. “Look, we said no more secrets, so, I’ll just go ahead and say it. I... tried to kill myself in the other dimension, and Casey stopped me.”

Shock overtook Vinnie as he digested her words. There were tons of questions, all struggling to let themselves out, but Vinnie only managed an almost broken; “Why?”

Sofia shook her head before answering, truly regretting her past actions. “I thought everyone was dead. It had only been a week since I joined our counterparts, but it had already been close to a month since arriving. I just... couldn’t get the scene of everyone fallen to Draxum out of my head - and then I found out that the Heads there might kill me for simply existing outside my universe - and I lost all hope. Cue Casey Jones to the rescue - literally throwing me out of my attempt. We fought, we yelled, I had an anxiety attack, but once he said; ‘Hope is a ninja’s greatest weapon. Don’t give up on your family, Sofia, we certainly aren’t’, did I give in. He’s... a nosy sweetie pie, but that could be said for all of them, really. I wouldn’t be alive without them.”

“Oh, Sofia...” Vinnie wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a side hug, leaning his head on top of hers. “I’m not mad, but don’t you ever even think about doing something like that again.”

“I won’t! That thought is extremely far gone, and I’ve got two whole families now that I don’t want to upset. ...Though I did promise Casey I’d get them all home, even if it meant turning into a monster...”

“Sofia!” Vinnie lightly squeezed in his anger, Sofia putting up her hands defensively.

“But it won't come to that! I swear it won’t.”

Vinnie let her go, delivering a small chop to her head. “It had better not. We’re getting that thing out of you somehow.”

Chapter Text

Vinnie let out his breath into the open air, the below freezing temperatures making a show of it before completely dissipating. He inhaled deeply in response, unable to hide his shivering, it being noticed by his current companion as the fur on his hood vibrated violently.

“You gonna survive?” Donnie asked playfully in his usual monotone.

“I dunno, is Bishop going to stand us up?” Vinnie replied back, continuing to shiver.

“He’d better not. I need information, among other things. However, I’m thinking that perhaps we should have chosen a building a liiittle more lower to the ground, but eh, hindsight is 20/20. Wouldn’t want to move now anyways after activating the beacon,” Donnie twirled the bishop piece between his fingers, its base flashing to indicate its activation.

“Well, we can blame that on me - I’m the one who wanted to see the dome Gio’s in,” Vinnie said as he placed his gaze back on it.

“I’m actually surprised you wanted to, considering Sofia’s reluctance.”

“It's not like I’m not as upset as she is about this, but, well, hope is a ninja’s greatest weapon, and I’d rather witness this so I can gauge how much I’m gonna need to get through it.”

“Never really thought about ‘hope’ on a scale, but who am I to deny you your coping mechanisms?”

Vinnie inhaled deeply again, starting to jog on spot to regain some of his warmth. “I’m going to take that in stride, because I can’t tell if you’re pitying me or genuinely trying to comfort me.”

“It’s the latter. I don’t share your brother’s zeal to crush people’s souls, but I am admittedly bad at expressing my emotions at times.”

“Yeah, I know,” Vinnie responded, still jogging. “But what could you possibly know about Gio?”

“Took a walk in Sofia’s mind when we were gathering information. Needless to say, I’m not impressed. Which is why I’d like Bishop to hurry his tentacles over here so I can get the stuff I need to start figuring out how to cure your overmutated, turtle-dragon brother. A long talk is in our future, because he’s himself, but he’s also me, and I know he can do better.”

Vinnie stared at the disgruntled Donnie through his bouncing, a smile surfacing that led into a chuckle. “‘Nosy sweetie pies’, indeed.”

“Huh? What? Who is?”

“You are, according to Sofia, all of you, and I think I’m starting to see her perspective a bit clearer. Under all that emotionless contempt you have for Gio, your desire to help is shining through. I mean, I know ‘you’, but I don’t know you. I’m willing to bet you stuck your neck out for Sofia a ton back in your dimension if she’s dubbing you a ‘sweetie pie’ - just from my current impressions. Sweetie pie Donatello to the rescue, softie extraordinaire.”

“Oh, pul-ease-!” Donnie minorly flustered, crossing his arms and turning away from Vinnie. “I don’t think I should be analyzed by someone who gets cold easily while also having ice powers! The irony is hilarious! Ha-ha-ha!” He mockingly mimicked laughter.

“Oh, did I hit a nerve? Going straight for my jugular with insults after pointing out facts usually means it’s true!”

“UGH, YOU ARE SO SIMILAR TO LEO IT’S NAUSEATING!” Donnie threw up his hands before firmly crossing his arms again.

“And what does Donatello, the sweetie pie, usually do to Leonardo when he’s inciting nausea?” Vinnie further teased.

“THIS!” Donnie pushed Vinnie into the snow gathered on the roof, Vinnie laughing as the frustrated Donnie started burying him. “First Sofia tickling me-”

“You blew up Gio’s lab door!” Vinnie rebutted only to get a face full of snow.

“Now you teasing me just like Leo! Are all of you this much of a pain in the ass!?”

“Gasp - language! This is a TV-Y7 rated show!”

“...WHAT?!” Donnie screamed, confused and flabbergasted.

“Indeed, what are you two doing?” They both paused their horseplay, looking to the source of the voice, Bishop eyeing them, less than impressed.

“-Nothing!” Donnie released a gigantic pile of snow he was holding up with his Mystic onto Vinnie, who quickly dug himself out of it as Donnie stood up to meet Bishop.

“Just playing in the snow, as teenagers tend to-” Vinnie cut himself off with a sneeze, shivering even more than before.

“Because you were taking too long,” Donnie finished trying to cover up his outburst.

“...I see,” Bishop replied, thoroughly unconvinced. “It has been approximately thirty-two hours, fifty-five minutes, and eighteen seconds since our first meeting. I have other duties to attend to, so you’ll have to forgive my tardiness. But seeing as you have called me so soon, I am assuming this is fairly important.”

“Yep. I need samples and all the information you have on Giorgio,” Donnie pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, Vinnie moving out of the way so that Donnie’s thumb was pointing to the dome and not him. “If I’m to get him un-mutated in a timely manner, I need the deets.”

Bishop’s eyes flashed robotically under his sunglasses, a beeping noise accompanying them, then a metallic clang to finish the odd behavior off. His mouth opened and a small device resembling a USB drive was on his tongue. He grabbed it and held it out to Donnie.

“Done. The data you requested is here and samples will be delivered to your lab at our earliest convenience.” Bishop said as Donnie recoiled, the Utrom understanding his reluctance. “This body does not generate saliva.”

“It’s the principle of the matter...” Donnie took it from Bishop’s hand with his first finger and thumb, doing his best not to touch it any further as he stored it in his coat pocket.

“Is there anything else you require?”

“Yes, actually,” Vinnie answered. “Do you happen to know when was the last time my brother surfaced? I kinda came out here to see him.”

“Like clockwork, Giorgio Hamato surfaces for air and attempts to escape every Wednesday between nine to ten PM. It is currently Thursday.”

“...That it is,” Vinnie said after checking his phone’s lock screen. “I guess I’ll set an alarm and come back next week, ...circumstances permitting.”

“The likelihood of the approved killing method being finished before then is low,” Bishop revealed, Vinnie furrowing his brow with a shake of his head.

“Not a big fan of the phrasing, but... thank you for the information regardless,” Vinnie said and Bishop nodded. “...Welp, if we’re done here, I’m starting to feel hypothermia set in. Home?”

“You reap what you sow!” Donnie maliciously smirked at Vinnie who gave him no reaction. “I suppose I could chart our GPS to the nearest manhole cover-” Donnie began taking out his phone, only for Bishop to make a swiping motion with his hand - a portal opening back into the lair, both of the turtles astonished as he stepped to the side and offered it. “Since when can you casually make Mystic portals?!”

“Since always - it is a well known Utrom skill. I arrived on this roof in the same manner. Is it not also a common skill among the Yōkai?”

“Yeah, definitely a little less impressive once you spell it out - not that I’m complaining,” Vinnie eagerly stepped through the portal and back into his home.

“See you later, I guess?” Donnie lightly shrugged and followed.

“If need be,” Bishop said and the portal closed behind Donnie.

“Ah, sweet, sweet warmth-!” Vinnie shed his wet, winter clothes, shaking out a shiver with a deep breath. “I will never complain about the summer heat again... if I can find our space heater...”

“I wasn’t aware we even had one of those-”

A frustrated groan sounded from a nearby room, clearly belonging to Sofia, the returning duo both wordlessly agreeing to check the source. “Leo, if you move one more time, I will absolutely lose it!” She threatened.

“But it tickles!” Leo fussed back.

“Listen, if you squirm while I’m applying the markings again, I’m getting someone to keep you steady in a chokehold!”

The scene they entered upon was thus; Sofia’s room occupied by the two already heard - Leo sitting on a stool while Sofia was aggressively wiping away smudged foundation and accompanying face paint from around Leo’s eyes. There were several rags at their feet already, all stained in the shades of Leo’s complexion and face markings. Another rag joined the crowd as Sofia went for the tube of foundation, angrily squeezing a glob onto her fingers as she started the process all over again.

“I volunteer for chokehold duty,” Donnie offered, leaning on the doorframe with an amused smirk as Leo looked over at the sound of his voice, only for Sofia to wrench his head back, the look in her eyes maddening.

“You would,” Leo quipped back.

“Eyes closed, lips shut!” Sofia hissed and Leo complied, Donnie finding his brother’s squirming a treat to watch after Vinnie’s teasing.

“Sofia, where’s the space heater at?” Vinnie asked and Sofia briefly paused, raising one brow, then lowering it as the memory surfaced.

“Probably in Dad’s room - you know how he usually likes to monopolize it this time of year.”

“You are so right,” he began to walk away, but then pivoted back. “Donatello, I’m sorry for messing with you. I won’t do it again.”

He didn’t give Donnie a chance to respond as the apology digested, Vinnie soon disappearing into Splinter’s room. Sofia stopped her task, looking up to see Donnie’s perplexed expression. “Did you two have a fight or something?” She asked and Donnie looked as if he didn’t know how to answer.

“...No? Yes? I... don’t think so? See, now I’m starting to feel bad and I don’t know if I should apologize too.”

“What happened?”

“Bishop was taking forever, I teased Vinnie, he teased me back, then I buried him in the snow in retaliation. -You know, now that I’m saying it out loud...” Donnie’s thought process continued as Sofia snorted into a giggle.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Vin goes with the flow and lets everything roll off his back - within reason. You’ll know when he’s mad. Didn’t you say you saw him blow up at Gio in my memories?”

“Yeah, he did,” Donnie recalled.

“Well, that was a rare instance. In all honesty, Donnie, you're most similar to Gio before he went all... prophecy crazy, so Vinnie might’ve defaulted to how things used to be with how familiar you seem. The apology is probably for essentially using you as a coping mechanism - which I get at length. So, again, don’t worry about it. If you’re not upset and he’s clearly not, I’d just drop it.”

“...Can I say something?” Leo asked tentatively.

“The foundation is dry, so yes,” Sofia allowed, Leo facing his brother again.

“That boy willingly let me slice his hands open and then was ready to reassure me as soon as possible. He’s got some crazy patience, and as his twinsie, I can tell he’s not upset. Relax, Don.”

“I wasn’t really upset to begin with, just wanted to keep the peace,” Donnie corrected.

“Well, you can keep what’s left of my peace by putting your brother into a choke hold so I can finally paint Vinnie’s markings without him squirming like a worm,” Sofia revealed with a chilling smile, her patience for that day spent.

“Say no more!” Donnie relished the vulnerable position Leo was in, easily catching him and keeping him still. Leo made a small, whimpering noise, but didn’t dare do more as Sofia once again got to work. He wasn’t even able to flinch under the sensation of the cold paint seeping into his pores, both Donnie’s grip and Sofia’s bloodshot eyes keeping Leo in place. However, with no more complications did the process end quicker than he anticipated, the talented hands of an artist on full display as the paint dried and Sofia traded her brush for a mirror.

“See? Now that wasn’t so bad. Now you’re 100% Vinnie’s twinsie,” Sofia teased as Leo took the mirror from her and Donnie released his grip.

“Barring arm markings, but I’m assuming you’ll be wearing a coat,” Donnie observed the makeup fully.

“...Wow, you’re GOOD,” Leo moved his reflection around, taking in his new appearance.

“I know,” Sofia said confidently. “Our appointment is soon, so get suited up and we’ll get going.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Leo got up and went to the doorframe. “Vinnie!”

“...What?” They heard him call back.

“C’mere!”

There was a grunt in response, Vinnie clearly getting up from a resting position as he left Splinter’s room, turning towards Sofia’s, stopping in his tracks as he met Leo’s gaze, eyebrows wiggling teasingly, making Vinnie burst into laughter. “That is uncanny... and hilarious. Bravo, Sofia,” her brother praised between giggles.

“Let’s take a selfie!” Leo scrambled over to him, phone aloft, Vinnie shrugging and allowing it. “Yes, perfect! Now to send it to the group chat and make everyone guess who’s who!”

“I swear, if we weren’t going to see Big Mama, you’d think he was a kid and I was preparing him for his Halloween costume...” Sofia sighed as she started putting her tools away.

“You may as well be. Nardo loves missions like this, but hopefully it’s less ‘trick’ and more ‘treat’ with the results.”

“Who knows with Big Mama.”

******

The view from her office was positively dreary these days, and yet, also so very enticing. Gone were the dazzling lights of New York City, and in their place three brilliant domes simply brimming with possibilities. While they were the source of her current predicament, she also couldn’t quiet the thoughts of entrepreneurship from her mind. The costs of renovating her arena to house the creatures would be preposterous, but imaging the profits after the fact was dizzying. First, the Yōkai, and perhaps even some humans, would want revenge against the creatures - champions no doubt rising up and practically begging her for a contract for the privilege of fighting the Kaiju of their choosing. The marketing committee would have a field day with that - ‘witness the revenge of the Yōkai!’ or something in the like. Seats would practically fill themselves.

Next, those simply ambitious for their adrenaline’s sake would arrive next. So many of her kind were power hungry or need of an outlet to discharge their overwhelming Mystic energy. A Kaiju punching bag was practically a self renewing source of profits, perhaps even indestructible considering how much abuse they’d all taken from the EPF, and yet they still lived on. It was positively puzzling as even the great minds of the whole world combined couldn’t figure out how to actually be rid of the menace trio. They could, of course, do what humans do best and begat more destruction, but they were more... reasonable now, at least to their supposed standards.

Big Mama allowed a whimsical smile to grace her face as she brought a wine glass to her lips, still eyeing the view from her desk. It was all perhaps too much after all, but the dream was nice, in theory. The Grand Nexus Hotel was nothing but an empty building now, only housing the wealthiest who could afford her inflated prices. A skeleton crew tended to them and her exclusively whilst everything else collected dust. She played with the idea of leaving it all behind, leaving New York and the Hidden City despite the isolation order, but her life was here, she built it from the ground up, and she’d be damned if she let it all go. But stagnation irked her so, not making money and subsequently losing it practically made her itch. Powerful as she was, what was a queen with no subjects?

The elevator connected to her office sounded with its signature ding, causing Big Mama to glance at the wall clock. She did have a meeting today, didn’t she? One that she believed would be very interesting indeed. No sooner had she written off all mutants as eternal prisoners, did one of them contact her - one of the quartet she’d had dealings with before. They were neither allies nor enemies, especially now, but it was intriguing to say the least - considering one of the mutants entering her office had so brazenly stolen from her mere months ago.

“Welcome, welcome,” she turned her chair fully towards her guests, spinning the liquid in her glass mindlessly. “You’re right on time, I do appreciate punctuality, even in this fakey-loo of an apocalypse we’re having.”

“That’s... certainly a description for the situation, yes,” Sofia confusedly agreed. “But, regardless of current circumstances, thank you for taking the time to meet us, Big Mama.”

“It’s no trouble, Big Mama has nothing but time these days, especially for those who’re supposed to be rotting in the jug. And you’ve brought your blue brother with you too! So it’s not just one stray kitten, but at least two! How the devil did you manage it?!”

Leo and Sofia glanced at each other, the former giving the latter a small nod, Sofia pushing up the sleeve of her jacket, removing the wrapping from her afflicted hand. Big Mama’s eyes narrowed and her smile faintly grew at the sight of it. “As I’m sure you remember, that last time we met, I stole and then ate one of your Mystic relics; the Dragon’s Eye.”

“How could I forget?” She finished with a giggle.

“I’d like to set the record straight that I had no intention of eating it in the first place, especially knowing now what it is. However, in consuming it, I was immune to the overmutation outbreak.”

“Oh!” Big Mama gasped with a hand over her mouth. “How convenient!”

“-And in my struggles of this... fakey-loo apocalypse, I developed Mystic powers,” Sofia made a show of it, making a ball and throwing it between her hands. “That allows me to manipulate my own energies into objects - but more importantly, can be used as curatives.”

“I see!” Big Mama placed her glass down, folding her fingers into one another as she placed her elbows on her desk and leaned her chin between her knuckles. “Well, that’s certainly the cat’s meow of information! But, if I may ask; what role does Draxy play in this?”

Leo exhaled through his nose with a shake of his head. “I’m starting to think it’s impossible to hide things from you-” Sofia lightly elbowed Leo, reminding him she was supposed to be doing the talking.

“Come now, did you really think I wouldn’t notice the biggest egg the police had ever captured suddenly flown the coop? I visited him quite often, you know.”

“...Why?” Sofia probed and Big Mama giggled.

“Answer my quizzy-question first, darling.” Sofia crossed her arms, trying to formulate the best answer. Should she lie, or...? “You needn’t be so frazzled, turty-poo. Today is just for chinwagging - I don’t nearly have the energy, or staff for that matter, to get into a thrashy-diddle with you today.”

“And another day?”

“Well, that does depend on how this goes.”

“Hm,” Sofia uncrossed her arms and went for her phone, tapping until the desired number was dialed. “Just a moment,” she said and Big Mama allowed the interruption, intrigued. The call went through, but there was no greeting. “Draxum, one usually says ‘hello’ when they pick up the phone.”

“What do you need?” Was all he said back.

“Why didn’t you tell any of us that Big Mama was visiting you in prison?”

There was a pause before he answered. “Because it didn’t seem relevant?”

“REALLY!?” Sofia seethed. “One of the most powerful individuals in the Hidden City was going out of her way to visit you, and you didn’t think that was significant!?”

“Because it wasn’t! All she was doing was attempting to use my weakened state as a bargaining chip!” Sofia raised a brow at Big Mama, and she nodded. “She wanted mutants for her Battle Nexus in exchange for the possibility of healing my eyes - and I refused her, countless times.”

“...Okay...” Sofia said with a sigh. “Please be more transparent in the future, because now I have to explain to her why you’re with us when I was planning on keeping you a secret.”

“Hi, Draxy-poo!” Big Mama shrilled and Sofia heard him verbally recoil.

“I will... endeavor to be more transparent with you from now on. The thought of hiding me is appreciated, if not a bit shortsighted. Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s all. See you later,” Sofia clicked her tongue as she stored her phone, turning back to Big Mama. “Long story short; I healed his eyes, and with my power in tandem with his alchemy; I’ve been healing my siblings,” she gestured to Leo. “But Draxum has very little to do with why we came here today - so if we could get back on topic?” Sofia pushed the conversion and Big Mama giggled.

“Fair enough, though, truly, why did you come here today? Big Mama’s a bitty-biddle confused, but still certainly intrigued.”

“It’s to settle the account of the Dragon’s Eye, because I know how valuable it is, and I don’t expect you to just give it to me; the one who stole it from you.”

“Yes, certainly not.”

“And it’s way too much money for me to outright buy. We don’t want you as an enemy, Big Mama, especially with everything going on. My current goal is to try and figure out how to remove the Dragon’s Eye, because I genuinely don’t want it.”

“Then why did you steal it in the first place?” She slightly cocked her head.

“Giorgio, my other brother, wanted to use it as a power source for our truck,” she answered truthfully, Big Mama momentarily stunned before settling into a fit of giggles, Sofia looking away sheepishly.

“It is pretty ridiculous when you think about it...” Leo mumbled to Sofia and she chose to ignore him.

“For your truck!?” Big Mama wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye. “None of you really knew what the Dragon’s Eye was, did you?”

“Nope, we did not...”

“Goodness gracious...” She held a fist over her lips as she continued to giggle.

“But we do now, and if I’m allowed to ask - why did you have it and why were you casually selling a Mystic relic that has an entire book detailing the war it caused?”

“Quite simply,” Big Mama cleared her throat, chasing away any more laughter, “I had it because it’s mine. Passed down from web-to-web as it was my family that took charge of it hundreds of years ago. However, I simply bunny plumb forgot about it! But then the EPF started sniffing where they shouldn’t, demanding it, but their jurisdiction in the Hidden City is rather, well, nonexistent. So, instead of continually dealing with their inevitable harassment, I put it up for sale for an embarrassing amount of dosh - and they bit, but then you swallowed.”

Sofia swore under her breath, wanting nothing more than to go back and slap the candy sized relic out of her own mouth. “So...” Sofia met Big Mama’s conniving gaze, “how do you want to proceed with this? I want to give it back, but I can’t, at least, not yet. I’ve already had the EPF propose killing me to get it, but we got them to back off.”

“Trying to stake their claim under Big Mama’s nose, are they?” She grinned maliciously. “That simply won't do - especially the killing part, you’re far, far too valuable.”

“...Valuable?” Sofia repeated tentatively.

“Why, yes! Darling, do you know how valuable a pippy-power like yours is? Am I to assume you can heal yourself as well?”

“...Yes?”

“Fantumptuous! Even better!” She flicked her wrist, a paper and inkwell with accompanying quill manifesting on her desk. “I have just the contract for you - one that can teeter into either of our favor, but it will be, quite frankly, tilted into yours by default.”

“She’s not signing anything,” Leo took a step forward, putting a protective arm out in front of Sofia.

Sofia cleared her throat in response, grabbing Leo’s attention back. “I appreciate it, ‘Vinnie’, but let’s at least hear her out first.”

“Yes, yes, let’s fill the jalopy with jam quite yet. Again, today is just talk and talk only. Besides, if you truly don’t want me as an enemy, then you’d best read the fine print.”

Chapter Text

I. INTRODUCTION

The following contract is entered into and is between Sofonisba Hamato and Big Mama to regulate the terms and conditions over the ownership of the Mystic relic; the ‘Dragon’s Eye’.

II. TERM OF CONTRACT

The effective date of this contact is -TO BE DETERMINED- and is immediately terminated on the untimely death of Sofonisba Hamato or the return of the relic to Big Mama.

III. REQUIREMENTS AND OBLIGATIONS

A. Within the scope of this contract, Sofonisba Hamato must deliver all information and updates on her efforts to remove the Dragon’s Eye.

B. If the relic remains unremovable, Sofonisba Hamato is expected to repay the amount owed of the Dragon’s Eye winning bid of 100,000,000 Hidden City legal tender (coins or unicorns respectfully).

C. To satisfy the amount owed, either monthly payments of -AMOUNT TO BE DETERMINED- must be delivered timely by month’s end or Sofonisba Hamato may instead work towards minimizing her debt via unpaid employment in the Battle Nexus Arena at the Grand Nexus Hotel.

D. In the event Sofonisba Hamato remains unchanged by the relic, then she must use her energy manipulation abilities to heal injured Battle Nexus combatants; each wound healed and its amount towards the overall payment will be determined by Big Mama on a case by case basis.

E. In the event the Dragon’s Eye fully transforms Sofonisba Hamato, she will become a Battle Nexus combatant; each victory and its amount towards the overall payment will be determined by Big Mama on a case by case basis.

The contract continued into further legalities and consequences, everyone’s brow winkling the further they read their copy. In the midst of their emergency family meeting was silence, everyone in attendance sitting as they mulled over the contract - except Sofia, who was hanging her head and arms off the back of a couch, eyes on the ceiling, counting cracks in the concrete as she waited for everyone to finish reading.

“Well,” Donnie finished first, still eyeing his copy. “I suppose it could be worse.”

“I basically have a gun to my head on one hand, or becoming a slave on the other - I’d say that’s still pretty bad,” Sofia replied, her eyes still set on the ceiling.

“On a ‘case by case basis’ - give me a break!” Leo threw the contract down. “Tilted into your favor, my foot! Your Big Mama is just as bad as ours!”

“In all technicality, it is,” Draxum revealed. “That is, IF you can remove the Dragon’s Eye. If not, well, you would essentially become a laborer until the debt is paid off. Though, considering the amount, you’d most likely die before the amount was paid.”

“Yippie...” Sofia said sarcastically. “I’m halfway through both books with nothing to show for it. Guess I’ll die then.”

“Don’t give up!” Mikey physically pulled Sofia out of daze, sitting her back up properly. “There’s still hope! And besides, the Battle Nexus is kaput for now!”

“But it won't always be, especially if we do everything we came here for,” Raph corrected.

“...What do you think, Vin?” April asked her brother, his silence being particularly worrying. He was practically glaring at the pages, a clear scowl on his face before he chased it away with a deep breath.

“I think we need to get Nelli up and involved ASAP,” he answered and tossed the contract onto the nearby side table. “All of us can see this contract is garbage, but this isn’t any of our forte - but it IS Nel’s.”

“Splints too, but,” April glanced at Draxum before putting her attention back to Vinnie. “I think Nel would be the better option at this point.”

“Yeah, putting aside Dad’s years of experience in the entertainment industry, I don’t think we need bloodthirst for Draxum mixed with anxiety of your lover turned captor essentially trying to turn your daughter into a slave,” Vinnie agreed.

“...Big Mama and Lou Jitsu were lovers?” Draxum’s face twisted into disgust.

“Mhmm,” Donnie nodded.

“Revolting.”

“On that, we’ll agree.”

“Putting your revulsion aside,” Vinnie faced Draxum, “how long until Nelli’s dose is ready?”

“Considering her size, I tripled the amount of the needed dosage. Tomorrow afternoon would be the earliest I can have it ready,” Draxum answered and Vinnie nodded.

“Alright, then let’s shelve the contract conversation until we’ve got Nel up and informed. I’d like to move onto what Leonardo and Sofia did after their visit with Big Mama - because it needs to be addressed.”

“I told you we we’re gonna get in trouble...” Leo mumbled into her ear, leaning over to Sofia, and she slowly pushed him away from her face.

“Were you watching the whole time, Vin?” Sofia asked and her brother nodded. “Then I don’t really know what else you want me to say. I wasn’t going to just leave him there.”

“I know, and I’m not mad. On the contrary, we’ve gleaned some new information that we need to talk about. Draxum,” Vinnie addressed him and caught the Yōkai's attention. “You had dealings with the Masters of Barbarianism before, yeah?”

“In procuring ingredients, yes.”

“And that’s all?” Draxum nodded, “you’re sure?”

“It doesn’t matter how much you badger me, that is truly all. They gave me ingredients, I promised them mutants in return.”

Vinnie went silent, a finger curled over his lips as his mind prepared to race, but April snapped him out of it before he even had a chance to start. “Vinnie, don’t do that thing that you do where you just clam up while everyone else stares. Usually we have Gio to catch onto your thoughts - but this time you gotta vocalize it yourself.”

“...Right,” he agreed. “Let’s back up a little. Sofia, Leonardo, would you mind telling everyone what happened?”

******

“Wow, leave it to Don to find a place like this,” Leo and Sofia exited a small, aged building, grocery bags in their arms. “That cashier didn’t even look at us! I guess staying away from the main markets is the way to go.”

“It’s only dry and canned goods, but I’m not complaining - food is food.” Sofia looked into one of her paper bags full of cans

“And to them, money is money regardless of whether it came from a mutant’s or Yōkai’s hand. Here’s hoping the few others Donnie sent our way are just as easy. Let’s see...” Leo took out his phone and opened the appropriate application, starting to locate their next destination. “Looks like this one is just a few blocks away. Wanna portal or walk?”

“Walk. I think the less Mystic we discharge while we’re down here, the better. Less attention or whatever. Besides, you’re still in ‘Vinnie Mode’ - let’s keep the portaling off until we’re out of sight.”

“Alright, fair, let’s vamonos... this way!” Leo found his heading and started down the street, Sofia following with a snort.

“You just said ‘let’s-let’s go.’”

“Would it be a decent retort to say I think I know more Japanese than Spanish?”

“I don’t believe you, especially with how much Spanish you pepper into your speech.”

“I blame Hueso.”

“...The Yōkai pizzeria owner?”

“Oh yeah, me and him? BFFs.” Leo continued, spinning Sofia the stories of his many misadventures with Hueso, doing his best to chase away her skepticism. The believability of it aside, it was a decent distraction away from their meeting with Big Mama and the future it spelled for Sofia. Nothing was set in stone, but it was yet another thing to worry about. Picking up groceries was a planned errand regardless of how their night went at the hotel, but it almost felt like a bandaid to try and distract the duo for the time being. Despairing wouldn’t solve anything, and it would be a better use of their time to save discussions until back at home - so off they went, now approaching their next destination. An older looking building resembling a convenience store came into view, its signage damaged heavily, but still lit up. Leo made a punny quip in regards to it, but Sofia found her attention caught by something else entirely. While Leo made steps towards what he assumed were automatic doors, was Sofia stuck in place, the former noticing and pivoting back. Her eyes were set across the street, past a chain link fence adorned with ‘do not enter’ signs - a dark and long forgotten playground within. “What is it?” Leo dropped any teasing once he saw how serious Sofia’s expression had become.

“...Do you hear that?” Sofia asked, closing her eyes, Leo then doing the same. He heard the buzzing of the store’s signage, the wind, distant sirens - but he knew none of the above were what Sofia was referring to.

“Hear what?” He continued to try and focus to no avail.

“Someone’s crying - a kid by the sounds of it.”

“Huh?” Leo opened his eyes just in time to see Sofia holding out her grocery bags, catching them just in time as she unloaded them onto him. She was off towards the playground before Leo could get out a warning, running after her instead. “Sofia, I seem to recall agreeing with Vinnie to avoid detours, especially while looking like him!” She ignored him as she hopped the fence. “Sofia!” He hissed, “you’re gonna get us in trouble!”

“Vinnie’s probably watching us - so it’ll be my fault for detouring. Just keep watch, okay? I can’t ignore something like this.”

Leo scoffed, but agreed with a nod, starting to become more keen of his surroundings, though still unable to hear the weeping Sofia was referring to. The playground could barely even be called that, the majority covered in debris while a singular slide stood, split in twain, and a crawling tube connecting to it that was surprisingly intact. It was in that tube that Sofia found her aim, - quiet, muffled sniffling, gently echoing through it.

“...Tengo miedo, papi... papi...!”

It was a weeping child alright, and Sofia suddenly found herself at a loss on what to do. She had no idea how to approach a child in Spanish - how did she come off non threatening? She had only learned the language because of Vinnie and his movie obsession, barely used it in the other dimension, and now was in the presence of a child, terrified and crying for their father in a barely functioning playground - in Spanish. Maybe this wasn’t her business, but with no parent in sight and knowing she’d be haunted by her inaction if she didn’t do something, Sofia attempted a genuine effort.

“Hey, uh, kid? Estás bien? Parecen algo perdidos,” she said and waited, the sniffling replaced with a gasp.

“Qué? Who are you?” They shakily answered back.

“Oh thank god, you know English too, I wasn’t sure how far I was going to be able to get here...” Sofia lightly sighed. “As for who I am, just a kid like you, passing by. I heard you crying. What are you doing out here all alone?”

There was a pause, a pocket of silence that went on for longer than Sofia would’ve liked, but she was eventually graced with a; “Go away!”

“Yeahhh, I don’t think so. It’s close to the middle of the night and you’re hiding in here because...? Where’s your parents?”

“It’s none of your business! Papi is busy and told me not to talk to bad people!”

“Stranger danger is important, but I promise you I’m not a bad person.”

“Go away!”

“No. I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be here.”

There was movement, the child beginning to climb the tube up to the slide, emerging for both Leo and Sofia to see. From the top of the ruined slide stood the child, a ball cap worn backwards on his head and heavily baggy clothes only just hiding his body made of bones. “Lárguense o llamo a la policía!” He screamed with a stomp of his foot.

“Is that...?” Leo squinted through the fence.

“Woah, hey, relax!” Sofia took a step away from the slide, the child stomping his foot again, and the wearied creak of the long overplayed slide rang out. Rumbling followed, the child unable to keep his footing, Sofia not close enough to react - but Leo was. With a toss of a sword did he snatch the child from the air, bracing him and rolling across the ground away from the exploding mess of metal and dust. Sofia was at their side in moments, shielding them from any flying debris until all was quiet. The three of them sat up, viewing the mangled, twisted metal, then each other.

“You OK?” Leo addressed the child, who nodded despite his stunned state. “Okay, good, I’m gonna go grab our groceries and be right back!” he winked and blipped away, Sofia slightly shaking her head.

“Show off...” She rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the child. “So, what have we learned about ‘do not enter’ signs?” She said half admonishingly, half jokingly, but the only reaction she was given was tears. “Ohmigosh, I was just kidding - it’s OK, it’s OK,” she tried and failed to soothe. Leo blipped back in, arms full of groceries that were clearly haphazardly re-bagged, raising a brow at Sofia as he placed them down.

“What happened in the literal seconds I was gone!?”

“N-nothing...” The child hiccupped, answering for Sofia as he tried to dry his tears. “I’m f-fine...”

“It’s okay to cry,” Sofia encouraged through the high the child was clearly coming down from. “We’re all kids here - no judgment, that was pretty scary.”

The skeletal boy nodded, letting out a few more sobs as Sofia gently rubbed his back, looking to Leo for an assist. He started rummaging through their bags in reply, desperately trying to find something. “Hey, I’ve got something to turn that frown upside down! Who doesn’t love-” he found a can, showing it off as he read it “-Sweetened Condensed Bitan Milk! Eh? Ehhh!? -Wait, the heck is a Bitan? And why can it be milked!?”

“Pfft-!” Sofia failed to hide her laughter, covering her face with her hands as she shook with giggles.

“I’m asking important questions here, Sofia! Why did we buy this!? What is a Bitan!?”

Laughter was her initial answer, but she soon managed between snorts and tears “It’s a big, fat sea cow!” before devolving back into pure laughter.

“WHY DID WE BUY SWEETENED CONDENSED SEA COW MILK!?” He asked, exasperated, but Leo soon forgot his fussing, seeing that the child was now joining Sofia in her laughter. Leo gave in and joined in until they quieted down and re-found their normalcy.

“Papi makes flan with it,” the child revealed, “but I didn’t know what a Bitan was... Ay-!” He cringed, his small hand going under his hat.

“And that was an ‘ow’,” Sofia moved in to get a closer look at the boy. “So you’re not fine.” The child eyed her warily, but in seeing the concern in her eyes did he give in, allowing Sofia to take his hat off. A large, painful looking crack down the back of his skull was concealed by it, both Sofia and Leo mildly balking at the sight of it. This was no new wound, and it was deep, most likely the cause of great pain. Sofia immediately got to work, her healing methods improved since Vinnie. The child felt the pain start to ebb, the wound closing, and looked to Sofia in disbelief.

“What are you doing?”

“Try not to move, I’ll be done soon.”

“I don’t have any money!”

“We don’t want your money,” Leo reassured. “We’re heroes - not crooks!”

“But I don’t even know you!”

“Well, she’s Sofia, I’m... ‘Vinnie’, and you are...?”

He wavered, only for a moment, but then answered; “Hueso Junior.”

Leo knew it, there was no mistaking the child of his friend in their far flung universe, but hearing the confirmation was comforting regardless. “Well, H.J., now you know us, and Sofia’s gonna heal you up, so just sit still, alright?”

“B-but, for free? Really?”

“No strings attached,” Sofia confirmed, one more swipe of the palette knife, and the crack closed, Junior tracing his fingers over his skull in disbelief.

“It’s... gone. It’s gone! Mil gracias!”

“No hay problema!” Sofia smiled, then crossed her arms. “So will you finally tell me why you’re here all alone in the middle of the night? Seriously, it’s really concerning.”

H.J. looked away, clearly contemplating his answer, but he soon turned back to Leo and Sofia, still hesitant, but willing to answer. “Papi works long and hard for my medicine, and I’m not allowed to be at the shelter by myself, so I stay here until he picks me up after work...”

“I see...” Sofia said solemnly, but Junior perked back up.

“But you just fixed everything! He won’t have to do it any more now! How did you do that?!”

“Well...” Sofia and Leo looked at one another, the former clearly stuck on if she should elaborate or not, but Leo gave her a small shrug of his shoulders, Sofia allowing what she could. “...I was born with it.”

“So you’re just like superheroes in the comics!?”

“Uhhh...” Sofia further hesitated, “kinda?”

“That is so cool! What else can you-”

“Junior!” A distant but fast approaching voice rang out. “Junior! Where are you!?”

“Papi!” H.J. answered, getting up and sprinting into his father’s arms as Hueso rounded some of the older debris. “You took too long tonight!”

“I am sorry, mijito, Papi was very busy tonight. But, I got your medicine! Let’s get back to the shelter and-” Huseo stopped, then sputtered as he viewed his son’s perfectly intact head. “Válgame Dios! How!?” It was then he noticed Leo and Sofia, the latter waving with H.J.’s hat in her hand. Alarm bells went off in his head, unable to hear any of his son’s explanation. Huseo pulled H.J. behind him, taking a protective stance as he stared down the duo. “Who are you?! What have you done to my son!?”

Leo felt his chest tighten on seeing the counterpart of his friend be so worn down, so scared. Gone was Hueso’s fine suit and proud demeanor. In their place an exhausted shell of who he knew, covered in wounds with practically rags hanging off his bones. “Papi!” H.J. moved out from behind Hueso, then in front of his father, putting himself between him and the turtles. “They helped me! I almost died!”

Hueso eyes darted from his son, to the newly collapsed playground, then to the dust settled on Leo and Sofia’s clothes. With his gaze falling back on his son did he see him again no worse for wear, but his stance wouldn’t be broken so easily. “It doesn’t matter - we don’t know who they’re affiliated with!”

“Affiliated?” Sofia questioned in a tone that started to talk him down. Only now did Hueso see that she was a child herself.

“Yeah, uh,” Leo added, dusting himself off as he stood up. “Not really sure what your whole deal is, but we were just passing by, heard your son crying, then rescued him from the heap of metal behind us,” he gestured to it. “And it just so happens that my sister here has regenerative Mystic powers, so we healed him up too. Nothing nefarious, I promise. -How do you say ‘I promise’ in Spanish?” He mumbled the last bit to Sofia.

“Te prometo.”

“Te prometo!” Leo repeated with zeal, but Hueso was still unconvinced.

“How very convenient - what are two children doing out so late on this side of the city?”

“Grocery shopping,” Sofia gestured to the bags.

“In the middle of the night!?”

“Troubled times,” she said and stood up, defensively putting her hands in her pockets. “If you need to leave your son here while you work until the dead of night, do you really think that it’s out of the ordinary for two teenagers to be getting their grocery shopping done while one of their fathers is hard at work while the other is comatose?” Leo expertly hid his surprise at what Sofia revealed, but understood what she was doing. Common ground was most likely the easiest way out of this confrontation - and it was working.

“I... see,” Hueso’s stance slackened slightly, starting to feel foolish for readying to throw hands with teenagers, especially at his age. “I am... sorry. One can’t be too careful these days.”

“It’s all good! You are right, but please keep a better eye on H.J. there from now on. No need for medicine that demands literally all of your time any more.” Leo attempted to keep things civil.

One of Huseo’s hands dropped to his pant’s pocket, taking out a phial of cyan liquid that he eyed with disdain - Leo unable to hide his squinting at it. Before Hueso had a moment to realize what had happened, the phial was taken from his hand, Leo holding it up to his eyes, observing it harshly.

“Wh-!” Hueso started to object, devolving into a string of swears as he attempted to grab it back from Leo who expertly dodged while keeping his eyes on the liquid.

“...This isn’t medicine,” he finally said and Hueso stopped his attack.

“-What!?” Hueso balked, pure disbelief washing over him.

“This is more Donnie’s thing but, I’m pretty sure this is ooze - as in, the thing that makes mutants,” Leo fully revealed. “Where did you get this?”

Hueso was at a loss for words, looking back to H.J. in concern and horror before setting a glare back on Leo. “And how would you know that!?”

“Our circumstances are... complicated,” Sofia said, grabbing the vial from Leo with her bandaged hand, taking a turn in observing it, and Hueso, observing the odd shape of her hand. Things began to click in his head, whether they were true or not, he didn’t know, but he was also unsure how to act until Sofia handed the vial back to Leo and crouched down to H.J..

“H.J., would you mind if I checked you over again? You too,” she addressed Hueso. “Especially if you’ve taken the ‘medicine’ as well.”

“I...” He swallowed, hard. “I have not...”

“But I’m willing to bet you’ve been exposed to it in some way or another, hm?” Leo guessed and Hueso looked away, telling all with it.

“Papi...” H.J.’s hand was suddenly in his, eyes pleading, and Hueso soon gave in with a defeated sigh.

“I don’t know who you kids are, but if I tell you anything, I’ll be putting my family in danger.”

“Then don’t tell us anything,” Leo encouraged and shrugged. “Let’s just say you ‘lost’ your medicine and two teenagers happened to find it - because we’re not giving this back.”

“I do not want it anymore, it’s yours and to whoever you’re affiliated with.”

“Again, we’re not affiliated with anyone,” Sofia answered, and started pushing her energy over H.J., checking him over.

“Yeah, they’re heroes!” H.J. remarked, getting a giggle and a chuckle out of Sofia and Leo respectfully.

“Well, we’re certainly trying,” Sofia said and stood up, beginning her check of Hueso, the Yōkai flinching, but accepting it. There was a tickling sensation, Hueso looking at a wound he’d sustained that day disappearing before his eyes. “...Okay, they’re good, no danger of mutation,” Sofia said and backed away. “I’d highly recommend you distance yourself from whatever it is you’ve been doing. At the very least, find a new line of work.”

“I will...” He said with a tad of hesitation. “And, thank you.”

“No hay problema!” Leo said confidently, then leaned down to Sofia. “Did I say that right?”

“You did,” Hueso answered for her.

“Nice! Then, let’s vamonos home!” He opened a portal into the lair, collecting their groceries before jumping through.

“Didn’t I just tell you to not put ‘let’s’ in front of ‘vamonos’...?” Sofia scoffed and shook her head, looking back to Hueso and H.J., putting one foot into the portal. “Goodbye, H.J., it was nice meeting you, but it’d probably be best if you forgot we ever met. Be safe,” she fully went through the portal before getting a reply, blipping away.

“And what if I don’t want to?” H.J. retrieved his hat from the ground, replacing it, then crossing his arms with a pout. “They didn’t even let me say goodbye back!”

Hueso’s chest was filled with mixed emotions. At the last second, he saw a Sigil of Protection peeking out from under Leo’s coat, confirming all his suspicions. In these times of peril, he never expected mutants to be the one to come to his aid. It never occurred to him that there were still mutants not in custody, especially not literal children. His kind had thoroughly demonized them, himself included, and yet, they had just saved him and his son with no attempt to coerce him into obligations or threaten him.

“Papi,” H.J.’s hand went back into his father’s. “What now? Back to the shelter?”

“...No. I think it’s finally time to pay your uncle a visit.”

H.J. gasped. “Really!? Uncle Piel!?”

“Yes, really. I think I’ve just been shown my stubbornness isn’t worth all this trouble.”

******

Leo placed the phial into Draxum’s hand, the elder Yōkai bringing it closer to his eyes as Donnie leaned in, the two of them fully observing its make.

“I noticed that it was cyan - the same color as your Wyrm’s Blood catalyst that you used to make your ooze. We saw you make it when we were in Sofia’s memories looking for information. I figured we’d better be safe than sorry and pocketed it.”

“We’d need to analyze it, but,” Donnie started.

“There is indeed Wyrm’s Blood in this mixture,” Draxum finished.

“Hoo boy, that certainly complicates things - though I’m not sure exactly what yet,” Vinnie said while pinching between his eyes. “What is going on in the Hidden City...?”

“Guess we should start a patrol down there? Maybe?” Raph proposed.

“At the very least, we need to be wary of the M.o.B. until we have more information. As far as we know, they’re the only ones with access to Wyrm’s Blood. As to why they’re making ‘medicine’ with it and possibly trying to mutate Yōkai... well, it’s anyone’s guess...” Vinnie crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair.

“If that’s even what they’re doing...” Draxum added.

“Okay, let’s back up a bit and divvy up plans,” Leo interjected. “Draxum; Nel’s serum, Donnie; analyze the ‘medicine’.”

“Consider it done,” Donnie said and Draxum nodded along.

“Raph and Mikey; are you two good to go back into the Hidden City? The mentioned patrol or general information gathering might be a good idea. Vinnie or I will join in to cover more ground.”

“With a wardrobe change and a little more stealth, I think we’ll manage!” Mikey said, Raph punching his fist into his palm in agreement.

“Oh yeah, it’s on like Donkey Kong! Ain't no nobody chasing us around this time!” He said confidently.

“...Donkey Kong?” Sofia quietly questioned, April meeting her confusion with a shrug.

“April, Sofia, keep working on your personal projects,” Leo continued. “Whichever between us Blue Brothers doesn't go to the Hidden City will stay here and assist as needed.”

“You got it,” April gave Leo a thumbs up while Sofia weakly nodded, exhaustion clearly beginning to show in her entire being.

“But first!” Leo said confidently, then transitioned into a yawn. “...Bed - all of us. I don’t even want to think about what time it is right now.”

Chapter Text

April deeply sighed, a tool falling from her hand and clattering loudly to the garage’s floor as she rested her head against one of the colossal tires of the monster truck.

“Did you hit a wall too?” Sofia’s voice called out from behind, April looking back to see Sofia entering into the garage with a mug in each hand.

“...Yeah...” April answered, spinning her body around to lean her back into the tire. “Per usual, I can’t get it to start, so I’ve just been fine tuning everything instead. You?”

“Draxum’s busy with Nel’s serum, so I’m not going to bother him over what’s probably just minor grammatical differences,” Sofia revealed, sitting herself next to April and handing over one of the mugs.

“Dang, girl, is this hot chocolate?” April sniffed the liquid, the nostalgic scent washing over her. “I don’t think I’ve had any since... well, everything that’s happened.”

“Mikey’s altered Yōkai recipe, but yes, it’s hot chocolate,” Sofia lightly smirked at April’s sudden reluctance, but she got over her hesitation, taking a sip and regarding the mug with awe.

“...This is the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted. How is that boy so good at turning Hidden City food into absolute gourmet delights!? ...Can we keep him?”

Sofia almost snorted her hot chocolate, laughing into her mug. “I wish,” She said with a whimsical eye roll.

“Did they already head down into the city?”

“Yeah, a few hours ago. Ended up being Leo who went with Raph and Mikey because Vinnie is out cold - and I’m ninety percent sure he’s actually sleeping and not living through another counterpart’s life. I peeked in and I haven’t seen him look that comfortable in ages.”

“Guess Leonardo forced the pills down Vin’s throat after all,” April took another sip and Sofia recalled the minor altercation from the night before.

Everyone had begun to go their separate ways, except Vinnie, and then the questions started. After a small bout of wearing him down did Vinnie reveal he had yet to try the blockers, making his concerns known, specifically about the possibility of missing out on important information. The family was split, some believing he had a point, but everyone agreed that Vincent needed to give his mind a break regardless. Leo then declared he wasn’t going to leave Vinnie’s side until the pills were taken - two stubborn red eared sliders taking up the couch space as everyone else split as intended. The result was obvious now, but Sofia couldn’t help but wonder how the conversation went that resulted in getting Vinnie to buckle.

“Well, Leo can be pretty pushy...” Sofia wondered out loud.

“Yes, he can,” Vinnie’s voice joined in, the turtle himself walking into the garage towards his sisters. “Something I know all too well, but still allowed myself to be caught off guard by his eccentric nature.”

“You’re pretty eccentric yourself, Vin,” April lightly argued back. “Sleep well?”

“Actually, yes. The first non consciousness-dimension-hopping sleep since I first got the power. I think I have three less bags under my eyes this morning.”

“Afternoon,” Sofia corrected, “it’s 2 PM.”

“Oh yeah, you slept well...” April teased as Vinnie went for his phone and rechecked the time. “Still drowsy?”

“I might be. Is that coffee?”

“Hot chocolate. There’s some left on the stove and I think there’s still some instant coffee crystals hanging around in the pantry,” Sofia said knowingly and Vinnie lightly smiled.

“A mocha sounds amazing. Dibs,” He started back towards the kitchen, April giggling once he was out of sight.

“There’s the Vinnie from before it started getting stupid. Things are starting to feel a bit normal again despite... everything.”

“...How do you think Nel is going to take all of this when I get her up later today?” Sofia asked, her gaze fixed on her half filled mug.

April pursed her lips, a deep breath overtaking her figure, letting it out slowly before answering; “Not well.”

“Yeah,” Sofia nodded, “...Yeah...”

“But we’ll get her through it,” April encouraged and Sofia nodded again as they fell into silence. Both were stuck between anxiety and anticipation, their slumps mixing poorly in the pot of their current forced inaction. Eventually, Sofia felt her inspiration hit, suddenly draining her mug, placing it down and standing up with vigor. She looked to the truck, then to her bandaged hand, then back to April.

“I wanna try something - with the truck. Can I?”

“Knock yourself out,” April answered mindlessly, her thoughts still on Nel, and Sofia leaped out of her sight. She heard climbing and Sofia shuffle around the seating, almost about to pose a question, when the truck violently roared to life. April nearly had a heart attack, the rumbling echoing throughout the lair, beckoning all present into the garage. There was no way they could hear each other over the noise, so April climbed after Sofia, gasping at what she saw. Sofia’s bandaged hand was over the ignition, Sofia herself in seemingly no pain, but instead in contemplation as she stared at her hand.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” April wrapped her arms around Sofia’s torso and pulled them both backwards. Footing was lost, April and Sofia screaming into their fall, but a flash of purple stopped their perceived destiny with the garage floor. Jets from Donnie’s battle shell collapsed back into place as he broke their fall, Vinnie jumping over them and silencing the truck.

“-Ow,” Donnie cringed under their weight. “You two alright?”

“Yeah, we’re good,” April lifted herself off of Donnie with Sofia.

“What happened?” Vinnie jumped down from the truck. “One second I’m making a drink, the next all the pots and pans are falling from their rack! At least close the garage door if you’ve figured out how to start it up!”

“I didn’t!” April seethed, glaring at Sofia. “Sofia put her hand in the ignition like an idiot!”

“What!?” Vinnie and Donnie yelled in unison while Draxum crossed his arms in thought. Sofia avoided the accusatory gazes, quickly replying with her logic.

“I just thought that if Gio wired it to run on the Dragon’s Eye and I’ve got the dumb thing in me, then maybe I could start it up - like a jumper cable! - Oh crap, you two are about to chop me-” Sofia braced herself, Vinnie and Donnie both delivering disciplinary chops to Sofia’s head. “OW! That actually hurt!”

“Good!” Donnie fumed. “Because unless your deep dives into those books have told you otherwise, you should know by now using the Dragon’s Eye is a super big no-no!”

“I don’t think I grew any more scales...” Sofia weakly defended herself, putting her unafflicted hand over her head to prevent another chop, but Donnie instead took her bandaged hand in his.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he quickly unwrapped it. “If anyone could tell, it’s me.”

“And why is that?” Vinnie asked with a raised brow.

“Because he was plucking scales off of me like a freshly peeling sunburn,” Sofia winced at the memory.

“Context! Also, ew.” Donnie corrected. “I was taking samples of her hand because the Dragon’s Eye isn’t common knowledge in our dimension. We knew she swallowed a relic and it was maybe the cause of her hand morphing, but we had no frame of reference. What else was I supposed to do; sit on my own hands and leave Sofia to her draconic fate?”

“Numb my hand BEFORE plucking them?”

Donnie paused his observation of Sofia’s hand briefly, looking up, considering Sofia’s words before getting back to his task. “I suppose I could have...”

“Ohmigosh, I’m going to slug you!” She balled up a fist.

“No, it is I who’s going to be the one slugging, because you did indeed grow more scales! Look!” Donnie raised Sofia’s hand and pointed to a patch of scales on her wrist. “This is one-hundred percent new!” Sofia eyed it with surprise, a small, almost silent swear dropping from her mouth. “Yeah, ditto. You’ve got that look in your eyes again, and I don’t like it, but at least you’re acknowledging that this was stupid.”

“What look, if I may ask?” Vinnie pushed, Sofia looking away.

“The I’m-about-to-have-no-regard-for-my-own-safety look. The last time she was wearing it, she threw herself at a mutant and had to be on bedrest as a result.”

“I’m sorry, no one was available to help!” Sofia spat back. “I seem to remember you being passed out and dreaming of Uranium!”

“You could have called Dad, Draxum, April, or Cassandra - but you instead took everything on yourself! We already had Leo pull heroics on us once,” He let go of Sofia’s hand. “I don’t need more siblings needlessly putting themselves in harm's way - especially for a Mystic hotwired truck! So help me if you try to do this again - I have enough on my plate as is!”

“Alright, I’m sorry!” Sofia yelled back as she started marching out of the garage, giving in and wanting to escape the familiar verbal barrage. “Call me when we’re ready to heal Nel.”

“...H'okay...” April rubbed her face tiredly after Sofia left. “That could’ve been handled a little better, especially looking like you do.”

Donnie crossed his arms defensively, but then sighed out of his tiff, hands falling back to his side. “I pulled a Gio - darn it!”

“No, you pulled a concerned sibling rant while happening to share Gio’s face,” Vinnie corrected. “For what it’s worth, I agree with you, but as you’ve quite literally seen Sofia’s thoughts, you know she doesn’t take well to being yelled at. What she did was stupid, but I don’t think you needed to threaten her,” He said and Donnie shallowly nodded. “So, both of you simmer down, and in the meantime, let me help you in the lab. You do have a lot on your plate.”

“What could you possibly help with?” Draxum said with a hint of exhaustion, Vinnie crossing his arms smugly in reply.

“Do you have any idea how many ‘Donatellos’ I’ve lived with? How many of them used their 'Leonardos' to bounce ideas off of because their 'Michelangelos' and 'Raphaels' didn’t have the attention span or patience to keep up?” Draxum looked away, his thoughts perhaps looking for a number, or a rebuttal, but Vinnie answered. “The answer is that I’ve long lost count. I might be more knowledgeable than you think.”

“...We’ll see about that,” Draxum said and left the garage.

“Huh, I really didn’t think about it like that. Now I have a burning desire to know which Donatello is superior...” He put his hands together as a mild maddening look crept across his face.

“Don’t do that,” Vinnie flicked Donnie’s temple, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Comparing yourself to them is a fantastic way to foster imposter syndrome - trust me.”

“What does that mean-”

“Alright, alright,” April started pushing them out of the garage. “You two dimensional disaster twins get yourselves to the lab - I’ve got to give the truck a full look over.”

******

“Orange Pond, what’s your status?” Leo tapped his ear piece, peering into Witch Town.

“I just arrived at Draxum’s Lab, or rather, what’s left of it, sheesh...” Mikey answered back.

“And what about you, Red King?” Leo continued.

“I just finished checking over the train station. Gonna head over to the docks next. Are you already at Witch Town, Blue, uh, wait a minute, what was your code name again?”

“I think it was Blue Rook?” Mikey answered. “But then you changed it to Blue... Bluey?”

“We’ll just stick with Blue Rook, one less syllable,” Leo decided. “And yes, I’m at Witch Town.”

“Man, it’s been ages since we broke out Donnie’s code names. When was the last time, when we were stealing that dragon’s tooth thing?” Raph said with a chuckle.

“Which ironically has zero to do with the Dragon’s Eye,” Leo said, recalling the incident.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily ironic-” Mikey started only for Leo to cut him off.

“Did we ever see a pizza pigeon again?”

“Sadly, no,” Raph said, a twinge of sadness in his voice. “He is but a memory.”

“I can’t believe I’m the one having to say this but, can we focus?” Mikey huffed.

“Right! You’re right! Locking in,” Raph’s tone turned serious. “Resume contact as needed.”

“10-4,” Leo answered back, the comm lines going silent as he brought his focus back to Witch Town. He had never been here in his own dimension, but in drawing straws on who would patrol where did it become Leo’s responsibility. He didn’t really know where to start, taking out a pair of binoculars from his pocket and giving the town a quick glance over. It was the early afternoon, however, hardly a soul was milling about. When Donnie and April had described their misadventure here, it was in the middle of a festival and lively, but as it was now, it felt like yet another chunk of the Hidden City that had been evacuated. There didn’t seem to be too much damage, at least from where he was standing, but Leo knew he didn’t fully understand everything that happened the day the kaijus appeared.

He stored the binoculars, finally deciding on his route, when a sudden notification ping from his phone demanded his attention. The lock screen displayed the source of it; Donnie’s Mystic metal tracking application. The last time it had gone off, Leo was topside by what he assumed was an abandoned building. Unbeknownst to him, it was one of the EPF’s many headquarters and he then unknowingly swiped part of Shredder’s helmet, setting Bishop on them. Considering that another was collecting pieces and that he was so easily able to steal theirs, Bishop allowed them to keep what was stolen in the end, but now, here, in the Hidden City, did another hit manifest. It was possibly unrelated, Mystic metal wasn’t strictly related to the Kuroi Yōroi, but Leo wasn’t going to ignore this regardless.

“Blue Rook to both of you - I’ve got a hit on the Mystic metal app. I’m going after it,” Leo unlocked his screen and brought the radar up. It was close, a few houses away if he was reading it right.

“Red King to Blue Rook - do you need back up?”

“I don’t think so, there’s no movement-” The sudden sound of shattering glass mocked any semblance of this job being as easy as the last, Leo quickly spotting the source. A cloaked figure landed from a nearby building and began sprinting away from Witch Town. “I’ll raincheck you! The package is on the move!” Leo silenced his comm as he readied a sword, predicting the trajectory he’d need to land right in front of the fleeing thief. “Annnd, here we go-!” He tossed it, the blur of blue Mystic whistling through the air and hitting true, Leo teleporting right in front of the thief, causing them to screech to a halt. “Mandatory checkpoint - seems someone’s made off with some Mystic metal!” He hammed it up with a silly voice. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Fisticuffs was their answer, going for a large, tall bag slung over their shoulder, unzipping it and taking out a weapon Leo had become quite acquainted with recently. A naginata was their weapon of choice, though where the blade met the hilt was it bent horizontally. They spun it expertly, pointing it at Leo wordlessly, threateningly - two glowing, green eyes seen from under the cloak punctuating their stance.

“Move,” they demanded, the voice clearly concealed by a voice changer.

“You’re gonna have to make me, and I think you’ll find my stance is rock solid!” Leo kicked up a stone with his foot, batting it towards his opponent, hoping to force them to block it as he went in for a hit. A solid strategy, but they dodged instead, also dodging Leo’s attack, repositioning their weapon to the now fallen rock, performing a clean slap shot, forcing Leo to block it, then going in for a hit of their own, completely turning his strategy against him. He blocked both blows, remembering his fights with Sofia, quickly adapting and starting a new plan to disarm the thief. However, they were more trained than Sofia, each following traded blow pushing Leo further than she ever did.

“...Is that all?” The distorted voice mocked, Leo smirking in reply.

“You really don’t want me going all out - but if you insist!” He threw one of his swords behind the thief, catching them off guard, then teleporting, swiftly kicking them, making them stagger. Another teleport, another kick, stuck in a daze as Leo then grabbed the hood of their cloak, spun them around with a chuckle, releasing them, but taking the cloak and tossing it upwards to reveal whom it concealed as they stumbled to the ground. “And that’s only a fraction of my power-” Leo froze. Among the fallen thief were their belongings; the bent naginata, a chest that he assumed housed the sought after Mystic metal, ...and a familiar white goaltender mask that he’d jostled off of their face. There was no mistaking it. He remembered Cassandra bragging about how it was a one of a kind reproduction from some cheesy hockey movie she grew up on - that she’d won a raffle and it was one of her most prized possessions. That fact made Casey Jones treasure his even more, and now, here it was again, though it wasn’t fully pristine white or adorned with his matching markings - the orange emblem of the Foot Clan instead spray painted from the eyes all the way to its mouth. Cassandra’s parting words to Sofia resurfaced in Leo’s mind, shocked that he’d actually run into her counterpart with New York’s current state, but the truth was far more cruel. The thief grunted as they pushed themselves back up, grabbing their naginata on the way, quickly turning to Leo and revealing all. Casey Jones Jr. The chipper face he’d become so accustomed to was now facing him with hostility, Leo thoroughly taken aback, but still managing; “What are you doing here?”

“...What?” Casey Jones stared down Leo.

“I said, what are you doing here!?” Leo seethed. “I thought we agreed you were to stay behind and look after New York City in our absence! And what are you doing, sneaking around stealing Mystic metal!?”

Casey Jones’ guard lowered slightly, taking a step backwards with a shake of his head. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“What do you mean-” Leo continued then stopped, the realization hitting him like a sack of bricks. His hair was shorter, he had no goatee, and he was certainly shorter than he recalled. “...Oh no,”

“I don’t know what you’re going on about, but this ends now, freak!” His hands went to his pocket, taking out three orbs and slamming them to the ground, a smokescreen released and blinded Leo to Casey Jones’ escape.

“Wait! Casey!” Leo called out to the hurried and fading footsteps, but was given no reply, alone and still working through his shock. This wasn’t a revelation he’d ever thought possible, even starting to doubt what he’d just gone through, grabbing his phone and shakily selecting Donnie. It rang, and rang, all the way into Donnie’s obnoxious voice mail, making Leo hang up immediately. He hovered over the call button, ready to redial, but instead scrolled down to Vinnie number, calling him instead and getting an answer within one ring.

“Shello, Leonardo, you good?”

“Where’s Donnie?”

“Next to me, in the lab, passed out in his chair. Turns out he’s been neglecting his sleep as well.”

“Get him up, I need him.”

Vinnie took note of the quiver in Leo’s voice, eyeing the snoring Donnie before asking; “What’s going on?”

“It’d be easier to just show you. Please, Vincent, wake Donnie up.”

“...Alright, hold on,” Vinnie put the phone down, eyeing Donnie warily, recalling how violently and explosively angry Gio could get being woken up unnaturally. He poked him, once, twice, went for a third time only for his hand to be caught by Donnie’s - bloodshot eyes greeting Vinnie’s risen guard. “Don’t kill me - Leo’s on the phone for you,” he slid the phone over towards Donnie, the sleep deprived turtle snatching it and forcibly sitting himself up.

“What!?” He fumed, his anger unaffecting Leo.

“Don, you basically have body cameras on all of us, right?”

“Y- nnnnoooo, I do not,” Donnie caught himself, his drowsiness still clinging to him.

“Don, come on,” Leo said sternly, Donnie giving in with a sigh.

“Okay, maybe I do - why?”

“I need you to bring up the footage from the past few minutes and show it to Vincent.”

“...Okay? Again; why?”

“Just do it! I’m one second away from losing it over here!” Leo more pleaded than commanded, Vinnie and Donnie sharing a concerned look before the latter got to work. He input a few commands into a Mystic panel, bringing up a computer screen on it, tapping away at folders until he found what was needed. A blue icon indicating Leo’s feed was opened, showing the live footage. Donnie paused it and rewound it as instructed, the feed starting at the beginning of the fight with Casey Jones. Both Vinnie and Donnie watched silently as Leo struggled and then overpowered him, exposing the truth as the verbal altercation between Leo and Casey Jones began.

“...No...” Vinnie said, viewing the young visage of Casey Jones and the Foot Clan emblem on the fallen mask.

“Casey Jones?” Donnie stated the obvious, clearly working through his own disbelief. “In this timeframe? And he’s with the Foot? Where’s Cassandra?”

“...Casandra Jones very rarely manifests,” Vinnie revealed, his whole hand covering his mouth as his mind began to race. “It’s almost always only Casey - your universe being one of the rare exceptions.”

“Is he usually with the Foot Clan too?”

“No, never - he’s a usually vigilante, not a ninja.”

“Then what’s going on!?” Leo’s voice boomed from the phone.

“I don’t know!” Vinnie yelled back, letting his mask slip under his anxiety. “But... oh god, I’m starting to think there’s something wrong with this universe...!”

“A bit of a jump there,” Donnie dismissed. “We’ve already established that our universes have similarities while also being fairly different.”

“No, you don’t get it,” Vinnie shook his head. “This has bothered me for ages. In every universe I’ve seen, there’s always a Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo - always! On occasion there’s another sibling or mutant turtle; Venus, Slash, Jennika - but never have I ever encountered another Vincent, Giorgio, Nelli, or Sofonisba. And now Casey Jones Jr is with the Foot Clan!? I just-”

“Stop,” Donnie grabbed Vinnie’s shoulders. “Stop overthinking this. I can’t possibly understand everything you’ve seen, but there are quite literally infinite possibilities when it comes to the space time continuum - and this is just one of them. My timeline is also just another speck in the vast void that is barely explored by the greatest minds of our universes. I get it - you’re upset, I’m upset too. A precious member of our family and the child you inadvertently raised is in the Foot Clan in this branch and most likely the culprit trying to resurrect the Shredder. But you need to stop thinking about where you’ve been and start living in the here and now. Snap out of it, Vincent!”

“I-I-” He hesitated, closing his eyes fast, pausing, then relaxing with a nod. “...You’re right. Calm down, Vincent, breathe...” He told himself as Donnie looked to the phone.

“That goes for you too, Leo. Just as we treat Sofia and Vincent as their own existence, so too shall we do with this Casey Jones. Our Casey is fine, still safely tucked away in our timeline, so digest this new information and move on. Don’t let sentimentality distract you from his hostilities.”

“...I know,” Leo agreed, “But I don’t have to like it.”

“I didn’t say you had to,” Donnie refuted, “this sucks, majorly, but we have a job to do and he just ran off with possibly a chunk of the Kuroi Yōroi. Are you going to pursue or not?”

“No, not now. I need to catch up with Raph and Mikey - let them know what’s going on.”

“Alright, do that and then come home. Sofia is set to heal Nelli in a few hours, and it might be a good idea to have all hands on deck.”

“Okay, got it. Be back soon,” Leo hung up, tapping his phone against his forehead as his mind went over the encounter again. Donnie was right, he often was, but Leo was still shaken regardless. He didn’t want to fight someone who looked and sounded like someone so dear to him, but at this point, it was inevitable. He almost wished they’d brought Casey along with them, maybe having him here would set this other on the straight and narrow - but that was something beyond what they were willing to test. Taking a deep breath, Leo went for his earpiece, reopening communications. “...Orange Pond, Red King, we’ve got a situation, do you copy?” Static, then silence answered. “Mikey, Raph, do you copy?” Another hiss of silence, further stoking Leo’s unease. “Why aren’t they answering!?”

Chapter Text

To dub Draxum’s atelier a ‘ruin’ would have been a compliment to its current state. While his counterpart’s variant was run down in its own right, Mikey couldn’t help but pine for it as he finished his approach. It’s not as if he expected it to be pristine, especially not after everything that had happened, but to be this dilapidated, well, Mikey had his work cut out for him. In drawing straws was this his responsibility, though it felt oddly fitting seeing how out of all his family, he had been most acquainted with the lab, albeit the one back home. Through a crack in the wall he squeezed, using a root close to rotting to pull himself fully inside. The movement of it jostled a few birds away from their nesting place, causing Mikey to withdraw into his shell slightly in fright. He shook his head at himself, activating his Ninpō in an attempt to light up the dimmed room where the light couldn’t reach.

Mikey recognized it - the room where he and his brothers had first fought Baron Draxum, in what was literal years ago now. The same room had been used for all of Sofia’s tests, however in this version of it, was it another battle zone. Mikey’s foot kicked something, a light clink noise accompanying it as his attention was caught. Glass - the remains of a syringe. He grimaced and moved away from it, checking his surroundings for any more as his search continued. In recalling the account from his brothers, Sofia, and his Draxum, he knew there would be more - Sofia herself had shattered them. “Really shoulda brought a flashlight...” he grumbled to himself, taking out his phone and activating it’s flashlight. It wasn’t bright enough to reach the entire room, but, “better than nothing.”

His job today was to inspect what was left of the lab and bring home anything of note. Draxum theorized that it had all been ransacked by now, or if not, buried in debris, but he gave Mikey a small map showing areas of interest that may or may not prove fruitful. Alchemical ingredients, Mystic weapons, tools of varying usage - but as of now, all Mikey could see were roots invasively blocking exits while he sidestepped yet another fallen syringe. He felt a twinge of heartache the more he viewed the remains of the struggle. He hadn’t had the opportunity to see it himself, but it was more or less easy to see what happened where. Siblings betrayed, two variations of panic facing off against one another, leaving one blind and the other sent across dimensions while the last remaining; the traitor’s fate led him into his current state. Mikey spotted a bloodstain, as if it appeared to punctuate his thoughts, causing the heartache to turn to dread as he stopped his stride to take a deep breath. It was OK, things were OK or were going to be - he kept telling himself these facts like a prayer as he continued his search. He soon reached the first area marked on the map, though it was expectantly covered by a root - Mikey pulling against it, hearing the dried plant crackle against his struggles, but still refusing to budge.

“Geez, Draxum, what these made out of, - seriously...!” He further pulled on it, considering whipping out his flames for good measure, but decided against it, not willing to risk torching the entire lab. Thankfully, it finally gave way, Mikey falling backwards with it, pushing it off of his torso before getting back to his aim. What the root concealed was a small cabinet that looked like it hadn’t been opened in years - the lock was rusted and easily giving way to one of Mikey’s chucks. “Oho, what do we have here!?” He excitedly dug out an ornate box, lifting the top off it to reveal a set of cloaking brooches. “Score! These alone are worth the trip!” He replaced the top and shoved it into his coat pocket. No longer would they have to raid Nelli’s closet, though Mikey had forgone disguising himself this time. Seeing as he was to be in an abandoned area of the Hidden City, he settled with just his jacket, hood up, but that was a mistake he would soon regret. Unbeknownst to him were several sets of eyes following his treasure hunt, watching and waiting for the opportune moment. Mikey took out the map again, reading it and trying to figure out his next heading, only for a chill to overtake him. He looked back and forth, behind him, and finally, above - meeting eyes that clearly meant him harm. Any scream he may have voiced was muted by their laughter, finding twisted joy in cornering their prey - Mikey taking out his weapons in response and reactivating his earpiece.

“Red King, I need backup, ASAP!”

“Roger that, are you still at-” One of his assailants threw a knife at Mikey, deftly dodging it, but jostling the earpiece from his head. He made no attempt to recover it, taking his battle stance as he tried to figure out how many had surrounded him, and how so quietly as well, though he could hear a sound that resembled a rattlesnake among the quiet jeers.

“One little turtle against all of us elite...” one chuckled.

“Well, two soon if her message got through,” another corrected.

“Guess we should get this over with before the cavalry arrives then,” they cracked their knuckles, two snakelike Yōkai moving out of total darkness, closing in on Mikey.

“I’m only going to say this once; back off before you regret it,” Mikey readied his Ninpō.

“And what’s a tiny turtle with healing powers going to do to us?” One of them sneered, and the gears began turning in Mikey’s head. “Heal our boo-boos? Ooo, scary! I’ve got a bruise from last night that could use a look!”

“Don’t rough her up too much,” another chided. “We’re here to deliver a message today, not kill her - yet.”

Anger burned in Mikey’s chest, forgetting his gentle nature to fully unleash his usually guarded wrath. As a few Yōkai lunged for him, his Mystic chains spilled out freely in a fiery explosion, taking them all unawares. Some balked, some were grazed, but regardless, they were all soon caught - Mikey directing his chains into the darkness and catching his targets. He dragged them out relentlessly, slamming them to whichever wall was closest, waiting for them to beg for mercy. They were sorely unprepared, expecting Sofia, but instead were met with her twin who had long run out of patience. Then, from above came a shout, a familiar discharge of Mystic reaching Mikey’s ears, retracting his chains and jumping out of the way. Raph’s construct descended, fist first, hitting every single one of them with the full brunt of his gravity aided punch. He dismissed it and got protectively in front of Mikey, sai primed and ready.

“Who wants some!? Huh, huh!?” Raph taunted, though none answered, still reeling from the impact.

“...Stupid brats...!” One managed. “You’ll pay for this. Do you know who-”

“Oh, enough already!” A more regal voice boomed over them, a sigh accompanying their clearly exhausted tone. “My father sends you on the most basic of tasks, has me tag along, god knows why, only for your incompetence to be on full display. What in the hells are you idiots even good for?” A shadow descended, the flap of wings resounding it as they approached Mikey and Raph, both still battle ready. “Relax, you’ve shown your prowess, and I have no quarrel with you currently. In fact, despite the idiots you so easily dispatched, the intent was to truly only deliver a message like originally stated.” They snapped their fingers, a flame coming forth and illuminating their visage. A tall, red dragon in a fine suit was revealed, brilliant wings folding as they flicked their free wrist, an envelope appearing in their hand. “Are you, or are you not the mutant who has healing powers?” They addressed Mikey.

“...Who wants to know?” Mikey glared back.

“Drako the Second, son of Drako the Great, who is the current leader of the Masters of Barbarianism. We cordially invite you to our mansion for a ...talk, at your earliest convenience,” another flick of the wrist and the letter shot into Mikey’s hands. He stared at the envelope adorned in gold embellishments and closed with a red wax seal.

“And if I refuse?”

“Well, if we found you once, we can certainly find you again," he answered nonchalantly. "Ciao for now, little mutant, we will meet again whether you like it or not.” Drako turned away from the duo, slamming his tail on the ground, the force of it urging all to their feet. “Get up, you imbeciles! I refuse to allow your actions to slander us any longer.” There were strings of apologies and desperate pleas that followed, Drako silencing them all with another slam of his tail. The dragon then began his walk, the wounded retinue following behind as they left though a large crack in the wall, soon leaving Mikey and Raph in silence as they let out their tension.

“Mikey, are you okay!?” Raph’s concern was solely on Mikey, his younger brother giving a small nod in reply.

“I am, but,” he paused, going over the entire encounter again in his head. “They thought I was Sofia. They know about her Ninpō, but how?”

“I think this means Vincent’s warnings about the M.o.B. were spot on. They probably have eyes and ears everywhere.”

“Ohmigosh...!” Mikey felt his stomach drop. “I’m gonna call her!”

As Mikey frantically scrolled, Raph’s own phone started vibrating, moving away from his brother to answer. It was Leo, and Raph went to his ear piece to find it unresponsive, most likely broken from the impact he’d unleashed earlier. He answered, ready to apologize and explain. “Leo! Hey, sorry, my earpiece is busted!” He heard Leo sigh in relief on the other end, taking another breath to compose himself before speaking.

“Is Mikey with you?”

“He is, yeah. We had a bit of a situation over here.”

“You too, huh? Are you guys alright?” Leo asked and Raph looked back to the panicked Mikey waiting for Sofia to answer her phone, on his second redial.

“For the most part, but I think we need to get back to the lair immediately, and preferably through portal, if you catch my meaning.”

“Loud and clear. I’ll be right over,” Leo hung up, and Sofia finally answered Mikey’s call.

“Mikey? Sorry, I didn’t mean to miss your call-”

“ARE YOU OKAY!?” He blurted out, receiving only silence as an answer, Sofia clearly recoiling from Mikey’s outburst.

“...Yes? Are you?” Mikey sniffled in response. “Ohmigosh, Mikey, what’s wrong!?”

“N-nothing-!” He managed through his relief, forcing himself not to blubber. “We’ll be back soon!”

“O-okay...? See you soon?” She hung up and Mikey allowed some of his anxiety to leave his stomach. A blue Mystic portal prevented any more as Leo stepped through and joined them, a grave look on his face.

“Woah, Leo, you alright?” Raph asked, concerned. “What happened in Witch Town?”

“Nothing good.”

******

Being alone was suffocating, being alone was maddening. They hated being alone. But alone they were, in constant nothingness. They remembered being angry, betrayed, but now, they couldn’t even manage any emotion at all. Paralyzed, a prisoner, perhaps deserving of this inexplicable cell. They gave in, forsook their thoughts, never gave a prayer to salvation, but it came for them regardless. Warmth, forgotten sensations invasively breaking through and traveling through their entire being like a jolt of lightning. They groaned and recoiled, unwilling to welcome what they lost, but they were expertly talked down by one singular name uttered.

“Nelli,” It said, bringing back so much of their existence with it. “Please don’t fight me. It’s going to be okay.” It was pained, just as they were, but they couldn’t place their voice with a name, and it vexed them horribly as their cell fell apart around them. Did they simply wait until the revelation dawned on them, or did they defy what held them? No. There was no time to wait, no time to let yet another anguished second pass, finally pushing past solitude towards where they belonged.

Nelli opened her eyes, cloudy, but clearing with a few more blinks. Her room. She didn’t remember falling asleep, and she certainly didn’t remember what she did or ate to be so sluggish. Through her grogginess, she managed to move her head over, seeing that she was not alone. Sofia, April, and Vinnie were all at her side, the former’s eyes closed with her hands outstretched, orange colored Mystic pouring from them and over Nel. While April’s focus was on Sofia, growing more concerned as sweat appeared on the small turtle’s brow, Vinnie was the first to notice Nel’s awakening, their eyes meeting.

“You’re awake,” he gave her confused mug a gentle smile. “Take it easy and stay still until Sofia’s done, alright?”

“What...” barely escaped her throat, “are you all doing in my room?”

“That’s your first concern!?” April laughed, lifting up her glasses to wipe away a tear. “But, I get it, you’re probably worried we’ve messed up your streaming equipment.”

“A little...?” Nel replied, still bewildered.

“April,” Sofia said, a clear desperate tone in her voice. “I’m going to need you to hold me up.”

“On it,” April wrapped her arms around Sofia and did as she was told, Sofia’s breathing becoming labored.

“Sofia?” Vinnie asked with caution.

“I’m almost done,” She replied back and Nel’s confusion grew further.

“What is going on...?” She asked and Vinnie shifted his attention back to her.

“Sofia is using her powers to fix up a big Baron Draxum screw up. Once she’s finished, we’ll go over everything.”

“And there’s a lot,” April added.

“Unfortunately...” Sofia finished the thought, continuing her treatment despite the agonizing fatigue nipping at her consciousness. Just a few more inches to cover, Nel wincing against the sensation of it, but accepting it after she looked to Vinnie for an answer and he gave her a knowing nod. After a couple more excruciating minutes, the treatment finished, Sofia slumping into April's grip. “...You can move now...” she weakly gave permission, April repositioning her and laying Sofia’s head on her lap, going for a rag to sop up the sweat that has nearly drenched her. Nel struggled against some stiffness, Vinnie offering his support which she graciously took, sitting up on her bed to view her siblings and her room proper. Seemingly nothing had been touched, but her concern was more directed towards her siblings. She didn’t know what to ask, brain fog still clearing, but the concern on her face was aptly noticed, especially towards Sofia who was barely managing to keep her eyes open.

“Did...” She stumbled, thoughts still forming. “Did I have an accident or something?”

“No, Gio tranqed you,” Sofia said candidly, her exhaustion loosening her filter. “And I just fixed what he tranqed you for.” Nel’s hand went to her neck, the memory resurfacing, and her anger with it.

“Not the most eloquent way to put it...” Vinnie stepped in, realizing Sofia was probably down for the count. “But, she’s right, Nel. In a sense, we were sick, but, well, why don’t we back it up a bit. Do you mind if I take over Sofia?”

“Please...” She almost pleaded and Vinnie started the explanation in her stead. From Draxum’s ooze recipe to the current happenings did Vinnie inform his sister of everything, Sofia weakly correcting him as needed and April nodding along to further show genuinity. Nel listened to every word, her brow furrowing further as the bad news started to outweigh the good, at least from her perspective. It was a barrage of information, and she could barely come to terms with half of it, maintaining her silence as Vinnie finished up. Other dimensions? Overmutation? New York City was destroyed? She had always been the one to comfort and encourage her siblings, but for the first time, she felt lost, unable to express her needs, feeling her emotions start to overflow. She stood up suddenly, her maw still sealed, activating her power and disappearing through a wall before anyone could attempt to stop her.

“Nelli!” Vinnie called out to her in vain, his sister gone beyond them to heavens knows where. He ran out of her room, hoping that maybe she’d exited nearby, but he knew such hopeful notions were false. “...Damn it.”

“What’s going on?” Leo called out, the rest of the family waiting in the sitting room eyeing him with varying looks of concern. Vinnie sighed, facing and making his way over to them.

“Nel did not take the infodump well. Literally said nothing, then phased through a wall out of our reach. I was able to take everything in stride thanks to my haywire power, and I thought Nel would be the most level headed of all of us, but...” Vinnie shook his head. “That was wrong of me to assume.”

“It is a lot to take in...” Leo trailed off, remembering how they all came to terms with their situation.

“Do you have any idea where she’d go?” Raph asked and Vinnie shook his head.

“I do,” Sofia’s voice called out, April and her entering the conversation, the latter practically hanging off of April’s shoulder. “But it’s a secret that I hesitate to reveal.”

“Is this really the time for secrets?” Donnie chided and Sofia shook her head.

“No, it isn’t, but please hear me out; how would you like me to reveal your place that you go in private to be with your thoughts to everyone in this room? It’d be pretty invasive, right? Embarrassing?”

“...Oh,” April said knowingly. “She went over there, didn’t she?”

“Wait,” Sofia protested, “let me finish,” April reluctantly nodded and Sofia continued. “Nel really hates quiet, being alone, and yet, even she needs her privacy, and I’m not about to reveal that one safe space she’s probably fled to. I’m in no condition to go after her, but honestly, I don’t think she wants to see any of us - she wouldn’t have run off without a word if she did. She’ll probably just run off again if me or April try to make contact.”

“So, what do you suggest?” Donnie urged and Sofia’s eyes fell onto Raph.

“That the one person who doesn’t look or sound like her family seeks her out.”

“Ah,” Raph pointed a finger at himself, Sofia nodding.

“If it wasn’t obvious, I found it very easy to warm up to Mikey before the rest of you,” she looked to her twin and they shared a quick smile. “And while Nel isn’t me, I have a hunch it’ll go over the same with Raph. So,” her attention went back to Raph. “If you’re willing-”

“Of course I am!” Raph sprang up, ready to help. “Just point me in the right direction!”

“You’re gonna need a map.”

******

Raph sloppily slid out of a pipe, cursing the patch of ice he’d slipped on as he continued to slide all the way into a wall. He peeled his face off of it, shaking his pain out as he stood. Raph then took in his surroundings before taking out his phone, bringing up the GPS application and retracing the lines Sofia had mapped out for him. He had arrived, if he hadn’t taken a wrong turn, but a sound of exertion then a following impact told Raph all he needed to know. The walls around him shook with each following impact, Nel clearly working her emotions out on something with enough durability to soak up most of her strength, but clearly not all of it. An illuminated room just aways from his position was Raph’s destination, turning his stealth on as he approached. He peeked into the room, finding Nel winding up another punch, delivering it to a hanging punching bag that was made of a strange, otherworldly material. It accepted the punch, barely moving despite the sheer force behind Nel. The rest of the room was empty sans a Raph/Nel sized chair, just as Sofia described - a place for Nel to get out her emotions, take a quick rest, and then return. However, considering how long it took Raph to make his way here, and how red Nel’s fists were, she clearly had no intention of returning any time soon.

‘You have arrived at your destination’ sounded from his phone and Raph hastily went to silence it, fumbling and dropping it. Nel’s attention was thoroughly caught, whipping her entire body around with a near crazed look on her face. The scene of Raph reaching out for his phone from behind the wall cooled some of her rage, transitioning it to perplexed as she viewed Raph’s face. Their eyes met, Raph nervously smiling with an accompanying chuckle, trying to gauge her reaction. Nel’s fists fell to her sides, tilting her head as she continued to view her doppelganger.

“Holy crap, you-” She started only for Raph to panic and cut her off.

“I’m sorry! Please don’t run away! Sofia told me where to find you!” Raph put his hands up like he was being held at gunpoint.

“...Wow, a nervousness stink,” Nel stated, having fully come down from her high. “You really are me.”

“Y-yeah! Name’s Raphael. It’s nice to meet you!”

“...Is it?” Nel said and turned away from him. “Is it really?” She brought her fists back up, readying her stance as she moved to continue where she left off. “My sister gets flung off to another dimension for months,” one solid punch delivered, “my brother has been tormented by his powers for who knows how long,” another, stronger than the last, “And my OTHER brother is now a giant monster! What’s nice about any of this!?” One last blow, Nel unable to fully come to terms with her situation, sinking to her knees in defeat. “And what have I been doing? Trying to keep the peace? Escaping with my career? Getting tranqed like an idiot and slumbering while my family suffers!?” She swore as she slammed both of her fists into the punching bag. “...Where the hell did it all go wrong...? Why didn’t he just talk to us...!?” A barely disguised sob escaped her, Raph getting over his hesitation as he entered the room.

“You don't have to carry this burden all on your own,” he said and waited, seeing Nel shake her head before answering him.

“But I might deserve to,” her voice shuddered. “I tried to peacekeep, I tried so hard to keep everyone together, but Sofia ran off, and when Gio seemed so indifferent to it all, I... hit him. I slapped him with the intent to hurt as much as possible, to make him regret his actions, but I know I was just angry. I took out my anger on him - and he was trying to save us from a fate that he ultimately succumbed to himself. I... just...!” She slammed her fists again in desperation. “WHY!? How am I supposed to live with this!?”

“You’re not alone, Nelli!” Raph yelled, breaking Nel out of her funk and commanding her attention. “And you’ll live with this, with your family - other dimensional ones included if you so desire. We’re now three out of five of you back in action, and we’re not leaving until everyone is cured. Sofia will get your dad back up and Donnie’s working on Giorgio’s cure. So, in the meantime, how about you and I tackle the growing list of side problems alongside everyone else - some only you can help solve! Channel that strength and anger for good instead of moping down here.” He held out his hand, Nel eyeing it with hesitation before shaking it off, grabbing it with a determined look and allowing Raph to lift her up.

“...Alright, you talked me into it,” she half joked, her once growing despair beginning to ebb. “But, um, what problem do you need me to tackle specifically?”

“Do the combination of words; Big Mama, Sofia, and contract sound good to you?”

“Oh, hell no!” Nel gasped. “Please tell me she hasn’t signed anything yet!”

“No way! The contact in question is, in Vincent’s words; garbage. He also said it’s your thing, so we’ve been waiting until you were up. No rush though, Sofia’s gonna be down for awhile and it’s not like business is booming for the spider lady right now.”

“Wait, what’s wrong with Sofia!?”

“Nothing’s wrong, well, besides the Dragon's Eye thing, but she just has to use a lot of energy when she heals people, and as we know, you and I are big, beautiful beings - so it costs her more energy to get things done. With some rest, she’ll be on her feet again in no time. But, uh, fuss about it at your own risk. We, as in us collectively, have found out she hates that.”

“...She always has,” Nel confirmed, then smirked “But I’m gonna do it anyway.”

“That’s the spirit! Give her a hug like a boss!”

“If she wants one,” Nel giggled and then held her hand out to Raph. “It was Raphael, right? It is nice to meet you. Sorry for the tantrum.”

“It’s all good!” He grabbed her hand and they shook. “Now let’s get back to the lair!”

“Agreed, but, just a second-” She slackened her grip, then turned Raph’s hand over, bringing his nails close to her face. “I thought so - your cuticles are a mess! Do you not practice proper nail care?”

“I uhhh, kinda don’t have time between all the punching and stuff?” Raph made an excuse, Nel looking at him unimpressed.

“You can be a big, beautiful bruiser and still have good nails. As someone who shares your appearance, I would know.”

“Well, I just don’t really have time for that kinda stuff...?” He further excused, Nel raising a brow.

“Well, you’re gonna make time. No twin of mine is going to be walking around without a manicure. I'll teach you how to do it - unless you’re not game?”

“Oh, I’m game, Raph’s game!” He was easily convinced. “And then we could spar, maybe...?”

“Sparring first, manicures after,” she corrected and started her march back home. “Come on, I’ll show you a shortcut back to the lair.”

Chapter Text

Nel hadn’t realized how long she’d been gone, the lair having long switched to its night lighting as she and Raph returned. She had forgotten how cumbersome it was getting to and from her hideout, always using her powers to make quick work of it, but with Raph in tow, even in taking the shortcut, she committed it to memory for the future. To her surprise (but certainly not Raph’s), her siblings had waited up for her, catching Sofia in the act of dropping ice cubes into her shell in an attempt to keep herself awake - April aiding her process while Vinnie watched on, both amused and concerned, but not stepping in. Raph quietly excused himself while Nel approached her family with her own mixed emotions, also amused, but still feeling regret over leaving them and thus causing this scene.

“Put another one in, April! I’m gonna pass out RIGHT NOW if you don’t!”

“You’re gonna sound like a cocktail shaker if we keep this up,” April complied, dropping another ice cube into her arm hole, causing Sofia to cringe and hold back a scream.

“Yeah, maybe this should be the last one...? Somehow I feel this is really bad for you.” Vinnie suggested and Sofia shook her head.

“Not until Nel’s back!” she protested. “Besides, check this out!” Sofia tilted her entire body into an ‘L’ shape, a sudden deluge of water spewing forth from it. “i’M a LiTtLe TeApOt~” She sang awkwardly through the uncomfortable flush, both April and Vinnie busting into uncontrollable laughter, forcing themselves to muffle it as the majority of the house was fast asleep. In their struggles with Sofia’s hilarity did they notice another attempt at muffled laughter, everyone’s attention caught as they noticed Nel had joined them.

“Nel!” The trio said in unison, dropping their hijinks and hugging their sister.

“Holy CRAP, Sofia, you’re freezing!” Nel reacted on instinct as she hugged them back.

“Sorry...” she replied, her consciousness fading.

“No, I’m sorry for running off. That was dumb of me.”

“No it wasn’t, and no one is mad,” Vinnie comforted. “Unless we mean unstable headspaces, in which your sister who filled her shell with ice cubes might apply.”

Sofia weakly laughed. “Shuuut uuuup! ...I’m gonna sleep now...” She declared and withdrew into her shell, loud snoring echoing from it.

“I think she actually fell asleep, wow,” April pulled away from the hug and picked up Sofia’s shell. She shook it for good measure, a few more water droplets escaping before she stopped. “Dang, she is freezing. I’m gonna get her to bed.”

“Wrap her up in one of my scarves, I’m honestly worried about her body temperature,” Nel said and April nodded.

“One of the fuzzy ones, for sure. Be right back!” She marched off with Sofia into the darkened hallway housing their rooms.

“...Why didn’t you stop Sofia from shoving ice cubes into her shell?” Nel asked Vinnie who smirked in response.

“She couldn’t be told, which is in stark contrast to her usual defeated attitude we got so used to,” He revealed and Nel felt a twinge of guilt in her chest. “Being sent off to another set of siblings who respected and encouraged her really brought Sofia back to herself. Though, I will admit that the ice cube thing was a tad bit unhinged. I’ll be a responsible older brother from now on.”

“I understand why she sent Raphael after me even more now,” she crossed her arms in thought. “I am... still not one-hundred percent alright with everything.”

“Neither am I - I don’t know if I ever will be,” Vinnie mused, then faced his sister properly. “But what's important is how we proceed from here on out. Get some rest, Nel, because we have a colossal family meeting set for tomorrow morning to catch you up on everything else we didn’t touch on - and there’s a lot.”

“Like about a contract with Big Mama and Sofia?”

“That and so much more,” he nervously smiled, patting her shoulder before he started towards his room. “So don’t stay up all night gabbing with April."

They sincerely tried, but when April returned to her bestie, they found it was impossible to stop talking. April detailed her time alone and how good she got at foraging, plus car modding while also touching on the beginnings of Sofia’s return before they both inevitably passed out. It was a sweet smell that roused Nel awake, feeling some of her shell’s spikes sticking to the couch as she slowly got up. It was the humming from the kitchen she noticed next, unable to place whose voice it was. She groggily left the couch and April behind, entering into the kitchen to see a familiar turtle mixing something in a bowl. Their orange bandana bounced with their jolly tune, completely focused until a spot of red caught their eye, finding that Nel was squinting at them as she asked;

“...Sofia?”

Mikey chuckled with an apologetic smile. “I am not your sister.”

“Ohmigosh, I’m sorry, you’re- crap, what was your name again...?” She rubbed her head, trying to recall.

“Michelangelo,” he answered and Nel snapped her fingers with a nod.

“That’s right! That’s what it was! I won’t forget it again.”

“You’re fine,” Mikey left his cooking station behind, approaching Nel and outstretching his hand. “It’s not the first time we’ve been mistaken for one another. It’s nice to meet you, Nelli.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” They shook, and parted, Nel temporarily stuck in staring as she mentally sorted the differences between him and Sofia. “Huh... Your markings are different. That’ll help differentiate.”

“I’m taller too!” He said proudly.

“Raphael is taller than me as well. I wonder if that’s a male turtle thing...” She trailed off, Mikey opening his mouth to reply, only for a blue Mystic portal to open above them, depositing Donnie and Leo next to them, the former landing harshly with an ‘ow’.

“Hey, Mikey! Look who I got out of the lab to help with breakfast prep!” Leo said cheekily as Donnie pushed himself up from the floor.

“Nardo, I was in the middle of something! We don’t need all four of us for breakfast prep-” Donnie stopped as he met Nel’s eyes, quickly realizing his mistake. “-And you’re not Raph. My apologies.”

“It’s okay!” Nel slightly flustered. “I just mistook your brother for Sofia too.”

“Then let’s nip any more future misunderstandings in the bud! I’m Leonardo!” He held out his hand and they shook.

“Nelli, nice to meet you.”

“Fantastic to meet you too! And I’m going to preemptively apologize, because we’ve been using your wardrobe a lot. It was all the stuff Sofia said you were done with, but it’s still...”

“An invasion of privacy,” Donnie finished Leo’s thought. “Mutants aren’t well loved right now, so those of us who’ve been venturing into the Hidden City have had need of disguises. Your wardrobe was the quickest fix at the time and we apologize. I’m Donatello, by the way,” he held out his hand and Nel tentatively took it.

“O-oh, okay...” She shook it. “I don’t think I mind regardless, but thank you for letting me know. I’ll give things a look over later on. Probably doesn’t really matter though... my career is over.”

“Nonsense!” Donnie refuted, releasing Nel’s hand and activating one of his battle shell’s arms. “Despite your absence, you may be surprised at how well your socials are doing! I’ve conveniently uploaded all your credentials onto your new phone so you’ll have no issues with logins.” The new phone dropped into her hands, Nel eyeing it before bringing her attention back to Donnie.

“Thank you? I think? This is a lot first thing in the morning...”

“Which means all the better for us to get on with breakfast prep!” Leo declared and pushed Donnie towards a cooking station. “Go and relax, Nelli, we’ve got this. Coffee or tea?”

“Coffee, please.”

“You got it!”

Nel exited the kitchen and made her way back to the sitting room, April still asleep, but Vinnie had taken her spot on the couch. “Morning, Nel. Meeting our other siblings in there?” He said with a slight smile, Nel nodding and taking one of the bigger chairs.

“Your twin is very ...energetic,” she said tentatively, getting a small chuckle from Vinnie. “But something about it felt a little... off.”

“It’s a mask,” he revealed. “He’s usually very peppy, but he had an unpleasant encounter a few days ago and is still working through it. To him, it’s better to keep up appearances than despair. He doesn’t want to worry you or anyone else.”

“And you know this because of your power?”

“More or less, but, I can just sort of tell on instinct now. Leonardo is me, after all. He’ll probably put his serious face on once we get the meeting going.”

Nel said nothing in reply, leaning her chin into one of her palms in contemplation. It was still too much to process, and she knew that all she really needed was an ample amount of time to work through it, but was there even enough seconds provided in a day to come to terms with everything? She had slightly bonded with Raph, but in her post outburst clarity, she wasn’t entirely sure she could fully pick up where they left off. They were going to spar and then fix his nails, at some point, but what then? Her free hand went to rub her tired eyes, knowing she needed that coffee before she went any deeper in her thoughts. Sofia had her familiarity with them due to her dimension jump, and Vinnie had his by way of his power - and she couldn’t help but feel like an odd duck out in her own house.

“Have any of you checked on Sofonisba’s condition this morning?” A voice Nel unfortunately knew too well struck her with fear, defensively rolling backwards out of her chair and taking a battle stance. However, in viewing Draxum as he was now, she was filled with more confusion than fear.

“Easy, Nel, easy!” Vinnie put up his hands defensively, Draxum having taken a step back in his own fight or flight response. “Remember, we talked about this yesterday. Draxum is on our side... and is technically in our custody.” Vinnie eyed Draxum who merely grunted and crossed his arms in response. “And to answer your question; yes and she’s fine, just sleeping. I’ll try to get her up for the meeting, but who knows if she’ll be able to be alert enough to understand.”

Draxum noticed Nel’s stance unchanged despite her face slowly showing understanding, sighing before retracing his steps back towards the lab. “Inform me if there are any changes.” he said and left them behind, Nel sinking to her knees in relief. Vinnie went to her side, grabbing one of her hands as he viewed her eyes swimming in tears.

“I know, it’s weird, but it’s going to be OK, Nel,” he attempted to comfort and Nel sniffled in response.

“...My head is a mess...!” She huffed. “I keep thinking I’m coming along just fine, but seeing Baron Draxum in our house just broke me, Vin. And did he just politely remove himself from the situation for my sake!? What is going on!? Gio tranqed me and now everything’s topsy turvy!”

“Either he was being polite or was worried that the bomb Gio slapped on him would blow if he upset you too much.”

“He slapped a what on him...?!” Nel’s sanity further crumbled, sinking further to the floor “Oh, wow, why, I mean, I get it, but, what the heck. Vinnie, is anything normal? Anything at all?”

“Nelli, this is our new normal,” Vinnie gently patted her shell. “The brothers will eventually be going home, but until further notice, it’s in our best interests to keep the peace.”

“I’m not gonna disturb the peace!” She said back with a scowl. “They’re all so nice and I’m over here having a mental breakdown! It’s embarrassing and I don’t know how to deal with it!”

“One step at a time. Yesterday was step one, today is another. Just... please don’t run off again where only a select few of us can reach you.”

“...I won’t,” Nel pledged, bringing her knees to her chest. “But I reserve the right to phase into a wall if things get too overwhelming again. Just knock and I’ll come out.”

“That’s a fair enough compromise. Now, do you want to join the meeting this morning or do you want me to recap it to you later?”

“I...” she wavered, composing herself slightly before answering. “I’ll go. I need to get over this somehow, and maybe exposure therapy is the best way.”

“Maybe? And speaking of exposure, April’s been on the couch this whole time and hasn’t said a peep. Let me make sure she’s still alive,” Vinnie poked her and received a groan in response. “Okay, good, had me worried for a moment.”

Nel viewed her sister’s slumbering face with a mite of jealousy. “Guess that’s another point to me needing to get my act together. April really only conks out this hard when she knows she’s completely safe.”

“It hasn't even been a day,” Vinnie further comforted. “For now, at least compose yourself for breakfast.”

Said breakfast went better than Nel anticipated. Despite her lasting uneasy feelings, she was able to meld well enough with her new brothers. It all came down to an observation that resurfaced in her mind the further she watched the boys and got general reads on their personalities. A year or so ago, there was a trend in the Hidden City where kids her age were into flower fortune telling - but there was an unexpected catch. The fortunes could only be told on species found topside, and depending on what flower you favored, there were increased chances on the result. It was all hearsay, but a trend was a trend, and Nel hopped on it for her channel’s sake. However, in covering it, she learned a lot more about flowers than intended, and it stuck with her even now. She started to easily place each of the boys into a flower she felt related best to them, which one they’d choose if the trend was still around. Mikey was sunny like a sunflower, never failing to beam brightest and perk up those around him. Raph was bold like a poppy, standing out among his brothers the most, but was gentle, remembering all of their needs like a doting peacekeeper. Leo reminded her most of forget-me-nots, having the ability to command anyone’s attention with a glance, yet there was a hint of longing still, despite his already hard earned respect. And with Donnie, an allium came to mind, standing proud and confident, ready to break the mold of conformity. Still, she could be completely off, she barely knew them, but it helped regardless, and breakfast was soon behind them, everyone gathering in the living room for the much anticipated meeting.

As previously mentioned, Vinnie managed to drag Sofia out of her slumber to join, though she quickly took an end of a couch and propped her head up. Nel had never seen Sofia so exhausted before, offering her lap as a pillow instead by way of apology and concern, Sofia wordlessly taking her up on the offer. With Draxum exiting the lab and Mayhem blipping into April’s arms, all had arrived, both Leo and Vinnie heading the meeting as they started from the beginning for Nel’s sake. It was all familiar ground until they reached their encounter with Bishop and onwards. In truth, the biggest reason for the meeting was to cover their two most recent clashes they had, Vinnie taking the lead as Leo sat down.

“Casey Jones,” Vinnie started, “most here know him as their family member from the future that traveled back to warn them of the Krang invasion, however, in the many dimensions I’ve witnessed, he’s usually a kindhearted vigilante that joins the turtles after varying circumstances. Sometimes he’s a grown man waving sports equipment around for the greater good, and sometimes he’s a well meaning high schooler who smashes bullies faces in - also with sports equipment. That being said, if you all can manage to have such a different variant, it appears so can we, unfortunately for the worst. I was under the impression that our Casey Jones was also still in the far flung future, but he’s not. He’s here, and he’s with the Foot Clan. Cassandra Jones, his mother in your dimension and presumably ours as well, is a bit of an enigma in herself. It’s not as if I’ve never seen a variant of her, but she’s also a bit of a rarity. Usually she’s Casey’s child, not the other way around. Regardless, our Casey Jones is gathering Mystic Metal - most likely putting the dark armor together.”

“...Uh oh,” Raph said what everyone was thinking, “We gotta put a stop to that.”

“If I recall correctly, even if he were to gather all the pieces, they would need a Yōkai of great power to complete it,” Draxum joined the conversation. “There are very few I know of in the Hidden City that would willingly don the armor - and no, before any of you insinuate it, I have no desire to wear it. I like my lifeforce where it is.”

“If only our Draxum was as level headed as you...” Donnie said with a slight roll of his eyes.

“He was tricked!” Mikey corrected.

“Regardless,” Vinnie brought the discussion back to him. “Of the few who you think might put on the armor, do you think they’re worth looking into?”

“None of them would willingly work with a human, so, no. Perhaps the situation has changed, but I’d suggest focusing on this ‘Casey Jones’ over them. If the boy is doing what you think he is, simply stop the problem at the source.”

“‘Simply’, he says...” Leo took a turn at rolling his eyes, the action of it allowing him a quick glance at Nel, revealing her to be in deep thought. “...Nelli? Do you have something for us?”

Her brow furrowed further, all the attention on her unaffecting her thought process. “The name, it’s so familiar, but I can’t pin down why,” she revealed, continuing to wrack her brain.

“...Actually? You know Casey?” Sofia weakly said from her lap.

“More like I know of him...? Augh, from what though! Work brain, work!” She lightly punched her head, everyone patiently for her revelation - it coming suddenly with a loud gasp. “I GOT IT, I GOT IT-” Nel whipped out her phone, typing furiously, finding exactly what she intended to, throwing her phone to Vinnie. “Last year, I got a new winter scarf, but it was summer so I didn’t have a good reason to give it a spin. Enter this special hockey invitational - high school teams versus some crazy good college team. I thought; ‘sure, why not’, expecting it to be a complete bloodbath, but holy crap, one of those highschoolers was INSANE - and his name was Casey Jones! Is that the same kid!?”

Vinnie pressed play on the paused video, Leo rejoining him and watching it with him over his shoulder. It was a compilation of every goal that this ‘Casey Jones’ had gotten on the college team, the crowd and spectators getting wilder with each one. Finally, the game was over, a miraculous victory for the high schoolers, the whole team zeroing in on Casey. They surrounded him with the typical team comradery, his helmet being removed in the chaos of it all - a familiar face, an unmistakable smile.

“...Yeah, it’s him,” Leo answered, feeling the knife of uncertainty twist deeper into his chest.

“Geez, no wonder he was so good. A ninja hockey player sounds like a comic book protagonist...” Nel mused with a cross of her arms.

“This is fantastic information despite the situation, we have a lead now,” Vinnie took it in stride, smiling at his sister. “Thanks Nel, I knew having you back would help us get new angles on our situation.”

“Don’t sing my praises too much,” she giggled with a shake of her head. “But if it’s information you need, I can crack out one of my burner accounts after we’re done here and start deep diving. But, before that, what is this I’m hearing about Sofia and Big Mama entering into a contract?” She asked, feeling her sister cringe against her.

“I haven’t signed anything yet...” Sofia said with a twinge of shame in her voice.

“I know, sweetie,” Nel placed a comforting hand on Sofia’s head and gave it a loving rub. “You just leave this to your big sis, but I need the info before I whip out the red correctional pen.”

“Well, that segues into the next thing we have to talk about. Mikey, do you still have the letter?” Vinnie asked.

“I do,” he said and took out his sketchbook, the gold adorned letter sticking out from it. He handed it over to Vinnie, wax seal still unbroken.

“On the same day as Leonardo’s encounter with Casey Jones, Michelangelo was attacked in the ruins of Draxum’s lab by the Masters of Barbarianism - believing he was Sofia.”

“What!?” Nel said, flabbergast, the only one not yet privy to this information. “I mean, I get the resemblance, but why would they target Sofia specifically?”

“Most likely for sticking her nose in something she shouldn’t have,” Draxum grumbled, earning a glare from Sofia herself, which he caught and then corrected; “albeit, accidentally.”

“I take it you finished analyzing the phial?” Vinnie addressed Donnie.

“Yes. It’s a weak medicinal compound mixed with a miniscule amount of Wyrm’s Blood. Its effects are very minor in both the healing and mutating sides of things, but long time exposure could prove perilous. Furthermore, while it isn’t addictive in nature, but if one were trying to reap benefits, they would have to take a lot more than one tiny phial. I smell something underhanded, Perhaps M.o.B. related, but I’ll keep my opinions to myself until we know the contents of that letter.”

“I don’t think we need to assume the M.o.B. is involved any more but,” Vinnie looked to Nel, seeing her confusion start to surface again, beginning to tell her the tale of Leo, posing as him, and Sofia as they talked contracts with Big Mama. From their later good samaritan act with Hueso and his son had they most likely, unknowingly, gone a step too far, especially in pocketing the ‘medicine’. “So, without further ado, I’ll be opening this letter now,” he broke the seal, revealing an even more ornate invitation inside, reading through its contents before repeating them aloud.

To the well meaning mutants clad in orange and blue,

You are hereby invited to the Masters of Barbarianism’s mansion to dine with us. May the discussion bring both sides to a mutual understanding.

No need to RSVP, simply present yourselves at the mansion at your earliest convenience.

Signed,

Drako the Great

Vinnie viewed the room in its awkward silence from above the letter, the obvious thought on everyone’s mind, but April spoke it first. “Oh yeah, that’s a trap.”

“...You sure are popular, Sofs,” Nel looked down to Sofia, seeing her thoroughly unimpressed. “The EPF, Big Mama, and now the M.o.B.”

“I know, isn’t it amazing? I barely have a second to take a freaking breath!” She seethed through a fake smile, grabbing one of the free couch cushions, screaming into it.

“I'm almost wondering if you’re doing it on purpose for attention,” Draxum jokingly mused, receiving the cushion to his own face in response.

“Not funny!” Sofia said in warning. “We’ll work on your sense of humor after we finish the books.”

“We’ll do nothing of the sort,” he grumbled, but did nothing in retaliation, taking Nel off guard in regards to Draxum for the second time that day. Sofia stuck out her tongue at him, in which Draxum deftly ignored, Vinnie clearing his throat to get the topic back on track.

“So, yeah, it’s definitely a trap, but if I may be so bold, one that I don’t mind Sofia walking into if Leonardo is by her side. The more information we have, the better, and if you’re willing-”

“Of course I am! You don’t even have to ask!” Leo eagerly offered. “I’m partially responsible anyways, so let’s pick a date and crash that mansion!”

“...We need to at least wait until I can walk again without assistance,” Sofia reminded. “The vast difference between healing Vinnie versus Nel has me pretty much bedridden for now.”

“And you haven’t eaten breakfast!” Mikey glared at his twin in concern. “I’m heating up the leftovers as soon as we’re done here!” he pointed demandingly, Sofia giving in with a nod.

“Okay, so, the M.o.B. trap is shelved for now,” Donnie interjected. “If we could back it up a bit back to the books again. Sofia, I know you only brought them up in jest, but have you made any significant progress?”

“Progress with what - trying to find a cure or just information gathering?” Sofia asked back.

“Either or,” Donnie posed, Sofia wrinkling her brow in response.

“Well, I have something, but I don’t think it’s important to the here and now,” She started to get up, struggling against her aching body, but Nel quickly helped her sit properly. “As it turns out, you guys aren’t our first other dimensional visitors,” she said and had the floor, everyone interested. “Vin, does the name ‘Miyamoto Usagi’ mean anything to you?”

Vinnie’s eyes widened, able to place both the name and face - several times even. “...Yes.”

“I figured. There’s not a lot of people named in the books, but he became pretty prominent in ours. Where Lord Simultaneous appears in their book, Miyamoto Usagi appears in ours. Apparently, the war bled into his dimension, so he came to ours to put a stop to it. The book said that he teamed up with one of our Yōkai known as Kagehito, and together they stopped the war in one last decisive battle. From the description of Kagehito, he sounds like Big Mama’s ancestor, which would check out, because this Usagi guy left the Dragon’s Eye in his care before leaving back to his home.”

“...Interesting...” Vinnie said, “I wonder if Bishop knows about this...”

“Why don’t we ask him?” Donnie said peppily, spinning the chess piece between his fingers.

“Am I correct in assuming you want to meet with him again for reasons aside from the current topic?” Vinnie questioned and Donnie smirked.

“I do indeed.”

Chapter Text

“Nel, I can probably walk back to my room on my own...” a mildly embarrassed Sofia weakly said from her sister’s arms.

“I don’t believe you,” Nel replied back candidly, keeping her gaze on the doorframe to Sofia’s room as she continued her stride. With the family meeting adjourned, the next activity on that day’s agenda was decided, Donnie going on ahead with Leo and Vinnie to petition Bishop whilst everyone else remained on standby - sans Sofia, who was sent straight to bed after a quick breakfast. Nel volunteered to watch over her exhausted sister in the meantime, some guilt fueling her actions, but she could tell by Sofia’s demeanor that she’d already been forgiven for the secrets she’d kept with Vinnie and Gio.

“...Thank you,” Sofia said with a relieved sigh, the weariness of her entire being welcoming the softness of her bed as Nel tucked her in.

“You’re sure that you’re OK?” Nel made her concerns known, Sofia nodding slightly through her imminent daze.

“I just need to rest. I’m... not sure how long, if I’m being honest, but with Vinnie’s healing, it was a day or two. Maybe give me a week this time?”

“A week...” Nel repeated, crossing her arms, still trying to wrap her head around Sofia’s powers.

“I’m just ballparking it,” Sofia corrected. “Draxum would probably have a better guess.”

Nel’s face wrinkled at her sister so casually trusting in the word of someone who was their oppressor, in her mind, not so long ago, but she disregarded the comment as her eyes instead fell on Sofia’s bandaged hand. She’d yet to see the effects of the Dragon’s Eye, and in Sofia still keeping her hand hidden, Nel knew that there was still a facade to work through. In silently pointing to it did Nel convey all she needed to, Sofia giving permission with a nod. Slowly, carefully, she unwrapped it, revealing the different skin tone, the scales, the clearly filed down claws. Nel cradled her sister’s small, transformed hand in hers, trying to find the right words, trying to be the big, comforting sister she should be, but all she was rewarded for her efforts were tears. She wanted to encourage her sister, reaffirm that things weren’t as bleak as they seemed, but all her thoughts brought her was to the night of the incident.

After months of taking Gio’s seemingly well intentioned libel, Sofia had transitioned to spending more time with her sketchbook than her family. This was approved by Vinnie and her, but Gio still pushed back when she’d skip missions too often. None of them saw the harm trying to ease Sofia back into things, as long as Gio kept his temper in check, but look at where it had gotten them; where it had gotten Sofia. Trapped in a room with Big Mama, desperate to please her brother, she held onto the relic instead of abandoning it - and now, she was paying a price, no, a debt that could possibly never be paid. It was so unfair, so unjust that her little sister of all people had to carry this burden, and so frustrating in the moment that all Nel could manage was large, hot tears trickling down her face onto the physical manifestation of her regrets.

“Nel, hey, Nel...” Sofia soothed, bringing her other hand to her sister’s. “It’s alright Nel.”

“No, it’s not!” She unexpectedly lashed out, folding her hands over Sofia’s transformed fingers. “I can’t believe you’re comforting me! I, god, I-!” She cut herself off, choking on a sob, shutting her eyes fast before reopening them, staring into Sofia’s face with a truly broken expression. “Aren’t you mad at me!? Aren’t you scared about this!? I can’t stand you being so dismissive about this, Sofia!”

“Why would I be mad at you...?”

“For letting Gio be such an ass to you!? For letting it happen even though I knew it was wrong!?”

“Nel...” Sofia felt her own eyes dampen with tears, but she fought against them. “We all trusted Gio, he’s our leader, but he didn’t have the same trust in us, so haunted by the prophecy and then by the truth of our DNA. Why he didn’t just talk to us is one of the greatest mysteries right now. Like, did he think we were stupid? Was he just being overly responsible? Besides what I’ve learned from his partnership with Draxum, I still don’t get it. So, I’ll reserve my anger until we have the full picture. No sense in blowing up at every little thing.”

Nel sniffled in response, bringing Sofia’s hand to her forehead. “...I’m sorry...”

“It’s okay, Nel, I forgive you. I could never stay angry at you.”

“...Yeah?” Nel released Sofia, messily wiping away her tears. “Well maybe you should.”

Sofia giggled, the memory of her regrets with Casey and how she couldn’t process his forgiveness either. In understanding did she retake Nel’s hands. “I mean it. I love you, Nel, my big, strong, passionate sister. And I know that you love me - isn’t that enough?”

Nel’s face scrunched up, more tears threatening to spill, but she shook them off. “You are going to make me absolutely bawl, Sofia...” She took a deep breath, reclaiming her hands to fan away her fleeing emotions, then refacing Sofia with a resolute expression. “Okay... okay... enough crying. You rest and let me take the reins for a while with Vin. When you’re back up, I’m going with you to the M.o.B. trap and I’m gonna set Big Mama straight with that stupid contract. You’ve done more than enough, Sofs, It’s my turn.”

“You just woke up yesterday,” Sofia shot back, then the notification beep sounded from Nel’s phone, “and you should probably deal with that first.”

Nel took out her phone, opening up a text exchange with Raph that had just begun. She read it through, tilting her head at it slightly before voicing a; “...Huh, alright then...”

“What’s up?”

“Looks like that Bishop guy is giving us the thumbs up for using the Yankee Stadium and Leonardo is picking us up in five. Well, me, and everyone else, except Michelangelo who’s gonna hang back with you. ”

“Ooo, exciting!" Sofia gently pumped her fist. "Raph is finally gonna get that sparring session with you! He’s been so excited to fight you - it’s adorable. I may have hyped you up on more than one occasion.”

“Oh yeah?” Nel smirked. “What am I in for?”

“All I can say is; don’t hold back - I mean it. He’s you, not me, Vin, or Gio. Go wild, sis.”

“I’ll destroy the stadium if I do that, or at least some of it.”

“NYC’s destroyed anyways - what’s a few more thousands of dollars in property damage?”

******

Topside was in the midst of silently falling snow. The sight of it would’ve been perceived as beautiful were the circumstances not as they were; five turtle mutants, one Yōkai, a human, and an Utrom all present in the dilapidated stadium. In the stands was Bishop, Donnie, Leo, April, Vinnie, and Draxum, all sat in that order whilst Raph and Nel waited on the wilted grass. The two alligator snapping turtles were on standby, both eyeing a conversation they couldn’t hear as Donnie shared a screen with Bishop.

“You wear that coat well,” Nel complimented Raph, distracting him from his Bishop induced headache. “It was always too big for me.”

“O-oh, thank you!” Raph perked up, taking the compliment. “I will admit, I’ve taken a liking to it.”

“Then it’s yours to keep - that shell casing too, if you’d like. Gio accidentally made it too big when figuring out how to make it. I kept it just in case, because you never know, - and now it fits you like a glove. Kinda funny how things worked out...” she mused with a cross of her arms.

Raph felt the weight of the casing over his spikes, fully protecting his clothes from them. He’d worn it a few times already, not willing to ruin Nel’s outfits, even if they were taken from the pile of things she was set to get rid of. He’d found it comfortable enough to make a note of maybe asking Donnie to replicate it when they got back home, but it seemed he no longer had reason to. Raph had placed Gio in his mind as a well meaning antagonist for so long that he’d forgotten Donnie’s counterpart also enjoyed flexing his genius - specifically with gifts that weren’t backhanded like his own brother’s. While Donnie’s intentions and gifts were intended to improve situations, they usually backfired to the point of earning his brother’s teasing ire after the fact. Gio’s inventions seemed more catered to his siblings' needs or wants, perhaps taking joy in meeting them where they needed rather than improving needlessly. Raph wondered where that joy went, deciding to figure out what he could as he continued the conversation.

“So, uh, does Giorgio make stuff for you guys often? This casing is great and Sofia’s drawing board is super cool too!”

“...He used to,” Nel replied with a melancholic tone. “Before Draxum and a little bit after the fact, Gio really took pride in his Mystic inventions. Besides the casing and the drawing board, he’s got his gofu slips, all that stuff in his lab, that completely indestructible punching bag you saw me whaling on yesterday, a special pillow for Vin - and so on and so forth. Once he locked in on missions, powers, and preventing the prophecy, he became a drill sergeant that we didn’t question. I mean, he’s the big brother, the leader, - why would we?” She sighed and looked to the sky. “And yet, here we are, in the middle of Yankee Stadium, waiting for the go ahead to beat the stuffing out of each other from not Gio, but his identical counterpart from another dimension. In hindsight, I should’ve asked a few questions.”

“We don’t have to fight if you don’t want to, Nelli,” Raph reasoned and Nel snorted into a laugh, one identical to Sofia’s.

“I didn’t say that,” she satisfyingly cracked her knuckles. “I might be still coming to terms with a lot of things - but being able to actually go all out in a fight for once is not one of them. Sofia warned me to not hold back, so I’m not gonna. Are you?”

Raph’s competitive spirit sparked, but then slightly fizzled. “Well, I don’t wanna, but I also don’t wanna hurt you.”

Nel scoffed. “Did we, or did we not agree to sparring and then manicures yesterday?”

“We did, yes.”

“And if I recall correctly, you know nothing about nail care, and are therefore at my mercy if I decide to decorate all six fingers with the Wild Cat’s logo if you lose this match. I could most certainly do the Mad Dogs’ instead, but if you’re just gonna throw the match by holding back...” She teased, tossing her shichishitō in the air and catching it by the hilt.

“Alright, I know you’re provoking me, and it’s working, but it’s also not because having Mayhem’s ears all over my nails sounds adorable!”

Nel burst into laughter, it echoing through the stadium and reaching those in the stands. The rest of their conversation was lost to them, but it was clear Raph and Nel were at the very least getting along just fine. “Raph has never been the pinnacle of humor, so I’m curious as to what he said that tickled Nel’s funny bone,” Leo said while watching the twins continue to converse.

“Probably something twinsie related,” April mused. “I’m just glad she’s taking this whole situation so much better now.”

“She is and isn’t,” Vinnie corrected, “But I’m thinking this sparring session with Raphael might get her back fully to herself. Knock out the remaining cobwebs, ya’know?”

“Yeah, if they ever get the go ahead for said sparring session!” Leo glared at Donnie and Bishop, urging them to finish up their business.

“Keep your shell on, Nardo, we’re finishing up,” Donnie waved his brother away then used the same hand to scroll on the screen he and Bishop were sharing. “So, in conclusion, if I allow the EPF into my network, you can have access to whatever you please for the low, low price of letting us use this stadium as we see fit. And if you’d allow it, I’d like to set up some monitoring devices in places where Casey Jones might strike next - but that would require you to reveal where other pieces of the Dark Armor are - and I know that you know where they are. Regardless, you scratch my back, I scratch yours.”

“I will need to consult our council for the latter request, but the former is still approved. It is more agreeable to have you all isolated here for your training than somewhere else where the damage cannot be contained.”

“I’m just surprised you’re on board with this at all,” April said and Bishop stood up from his seat.

“Quite simply, now that the Kuroi Yōroi may be a genuine threat, the Hamato clan is the only ones known with the strength to be able to defeat it. The EPF’s strength alone cannot quell it - such was the truth those hundreds of years ago and regrettably, still is. We do not have the resources to fight both a Krang born demon and the overmutated. And thus, our accord still stands,” he opened a portal back to his headquarters. “I will be in touch once the council has come to a decision.” He left without another word, the portal closing and Raph letting out a small sigh of relief as his mind quieted.

“Alright, now we can get things going,” Donnie said while making his Mystic into a megaphone, pointing it down towards Raph and Nel. “Okay you two, are you-”

Leo snatched it from Donnie, “READY TO RUMBLE-!?” He held the ‘e’ overly long, mimicking a wrestling announcer.

“Stop that!” Donnie snatched it back.

“C’mon, lemme be the announcer! You made us wait ages while you and Bishop swapped notes!” Leo continued to reach for the purple megaphone whilst Donnie pushed him away with his free hand.

“Are you four years old!?” Donnie hissed, then bonked Leo on the head with the megaphone.

“Ow!” Leo rubbed the inflicted spot. “Foul! Yellow card! And I’m the immature one!?”

“Of for the love of-” Raph pinched between his eyes before cupping his hands over his mouth. “AM I GONNA HAVE TO COME UP THERE!?”

Nel giggled as she viewed the scene, the familiarity of it both amusing and nostalgic as Leo snatched the megaphone back once again, reassuring his older brother that he indeed did not have to ascend the stands before tossing it back to the disgruntled Donnie. “Alright, as I have been trying to say,” Donnie glared at Leo who was ignoring him with a cross of his arms. “We’re ready for you two to start your sparring match. Feel free to go all out and destroy what you want - Bishop and co don’t care!”

“Somehow I doubt that...?” Nel said but got into position and battle stance regardless. “Still not gonna hold back though.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time we damaged a stadium...” Raph mused then did the same.

“Oh yeah? Tell me about it later,” she cut the air with her blade, expertly severing a puffy snowflake in the process. “-When I’m painting Mayhem’s ears all over your nails!”

“Still not as provoking as you want it to be, but it’s on!” He punched his fist towards her, covering it in Mystic.

“...This is going to be wild...” Vinnie said knowingly as everyone’s gaze was caught, watching and waiting for the fight to begin. A few moments passed as Nel and Raph sized each other up, but as Nel shed her coat and casing, so too did Raph follow, both lunging for one another.

The first clash was as they both expected, Raph catching Nel’s shichishitō in his sais, - another sort of sizing the other up before going all out as a shockwave shook the stadium. With a sneer did Nel jump back, Raph echoing it with his own smirk. Nel changed her stance and Raph braced himself in response, feeling the thrill of battle start to rumble through his body, pulse throbbing.

“Alright, big guy, let’s see how you handle this!” Nel announced, taking one big step forward, the ground impacting under her foot as she pulled her arm back, throwing the shichishitō recklessly towards Raph. It didn’t arc and spin like Leo’s katanas, instead flying straight like an arrow, Nel’s Mystic strength aiding its speed as it whistled through the air. Anyone else would have dodged, Raph’s own instincts urging him to, but stubbornness prevailed, hitting it away with one of his construct’s arms, punching it upwards and taking him out of harm’s way - or so he thought. The action of it all gave Nel an opening that she greedily took, Raph able to block her punch a split second before it landed, his Mystic taking the brunt of the blow as he slid back several feet, just shy of a wall.

“WOAH!” Leo sat up in his seat, working through the shock of the pure force that was shown. Donnie was also stunned, though in silent contemplation rather than emoting, meanwhile the remaining three were unphased, all used to this amount of Nel’s ability. Raph looked up from the blow with a pleased but scheming chuckle, Nel eyeing it with a new smirk, retrieving her weapon and beckoning Raph to return fire.

“My turn!” Raph manifested his construct fully, becoming the giant, Mystic version of himself, Nel watching mesmerized as it towered over her.

“...Well,” she said as Raph finished the transformation. “I called you ‘big guy’ as a term of endearment, but I guess you took that literally.”

“Oh, that’s new,” April said and it was hers and Draxum’s turn to sit up, both intrigued by Raph’s power.

Nel dodged Raph’s first punch, eyeing the impact it made warily before getting back into gear. She blocked the second one, barely, straining against it, but managing to hit it back and get a little distance between them - but it was a shortsighted plan. No sooner had she taken that distance did Raph regain it, stomping the construct’s foot on top of her. She almost buckled beneath it, sinking into the not quite frozen ground, but managed to push back enough for an opening, slicing the construct’s foot off and freeing herself in the process. Nel had hoped Raph would’ve lost balance, giving her an opportunity to carve him out of his Mystic and bring them back to a level playing field, but she was granted no such wish. Instead, he regrew the foot, Nel sighing, exasperated, viewing Raph as an impossible obstacle. However, in observing his construct again did a thought occur to her, and a plan made itself known. She laughed at it - it was silly, but that was one of her specialties.

She mounted the shichishitō to the ground then beckoned to Raph again. Both he and his construct raised a brow at her brazen confidence, but answered her as he had before, a fist of Mystic sent her way, a look of maddening glee on her face as it connected.

“Wait, Raph, no!” Donnie understood her plan far too late. “It’s a trap!”

“Huh? What? What’s a trap?” Leo asked as the dust cleared, revealing Raph’s fist had hit the ground with Nel nowhere to be seen. “Where’d she go!?”

“You’ll see,” Vinnie chuckled. “I had a feeling she’d try something like this.”

Raph looked to the crater he’d made in confusion, then panicked as he wondered if he’d crushed Nel. But there was no blood, no body, as if she had just... vanished. “...Yep, it’s over. Nelli’s won,” Donnie sat back with a knowing sigh.

“Indeed,” Draxum finally spoke, concurring.

“Wait, what? Why?” Leo asked. “From what I can see he’s still in the game!”

“No, he is not,” Draxum corrected. “Because the longer he contemplates what happened to Nelli, the quicker she ascends his arm.” As the realization hit Leo, he shot his gaze to the arm in question, just barely able to make out Nel’s outline as she reached the inside of the construct’s shoulder. At first he wondered how Raph couldn’t feel her approaching, but then again, it’s not as if the construct felt pain when he’d portal chopped it either.

“Where did she go...?” Raph was still stuck in the illusion, the panic, when a laughter rang out above him, craning his neck up to see Nel phase back in.

“Surprise!” She said with a blithe, mocking smile, descending towards Raph who was unable to do anything but gasp and block. “GOTCHA!” She barreled into and latched onto him, the two of them shooting out of the construct, breaking through its thigh and landing on the ground with an explosion of dust and grass.

“OHMIGOSH!” April stood up and looked over the railing, the construct flickering out of existence. “ARE YOU TWO OK!?”

The dust settled, revealing Raph on his back and Nel rolling off of him, soon on her back as well. “Okay, ow...” She said and cringed. “You alright?”

“I’m good,” Raph sat up with a bit of effort. “I’m good,” he repeated as Nel sat up as well.

“That’s... good,” she said, then took a deep breath. “I’m realizing now that tackling you from that height was a bad idea. My adrenaline is dropping and I am sorry.”

“Do NOT apologize!” Raph rebutted. “That was AMAZING, Nelli! I didn’t even see you coming! A-and are you OK!? I’m so in awe I forgot to ask if you’re OK!”

“I’m fine, no worries. I’ll probably have some bruises tomorrow and I reek of turf - but other than that; totally fine. And... thank you. I kinda feel amazing, despite the inevitable bruises and grass stink.”

“Good, because I can smell our amazement stink amongst the dirt and grass,” Raph laughed, standing up and offering his hand to Nel. She took it with a giggle, standing shoulder to shoulder with him as Raph waved to their family in the stands, showing that all was well. “Guess I’m getting my nails ready for Mayhem ears after all.”

“Hmmm, was that a win for me though? It felt like more of a tie...”

“You TACKLED me out of my construct! Sofia warned me you were a tackler!”

Nel laughed. “Did she now? You’ll have to tell me everything else she said when we get back. What would you like your top coat to be? Wait, let me guess; red.”

“Absolutely!”

******

Raph watched intently as Nel applied the clear base coat onto his nails, not at all put off by the scent, bringing his face a little closer in observation, making Nel giggle.

“We’ve barely even started, Raphael,”

“What!? Even after all that clipping, filing, buffing, cuticle pushing, and finger soaking!?”

Nel laughed, redoing a stroke to correct the line she’d mistakenly made. “Don’t make me laugh, I’ll mess it up!”

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just... this is a lot! And you do this all the time?”

“As needed, and it’s only taking so long this time because this is your first ever manicure. It’ll be easier next time around. Besides, while I’m not particularly an expert, I can tell these hands have been through a lot. Lots of fights, especially given your calluses and scars. I’m no stranger to some tussles, but you and your brothers have a hell of a lot more experience than we do. So, I can totally see your rationality on skipping nail care. Sorry for giving you such a hard time about it yesterday.”

“No, no, don’t apologize! My family is always getting after me about taking better care of myself, especially since the uh, possession thing happened...” Raph trailed off, Nel sensing his hesitation and deciding not to press any further.

“Alright then, let this be step one to better Raphael self care. Today, healthy nails - tomorrow, who knows!?” She said in a teasingly triumphant tone. “But in the here and now, let me put on my nail technician persona. So...” Nel smiled, “tell me about yourself. Tell me everything.”

“E-everything!?” Raph minorly balked, keeping himself still as Nel kept working.

“Whatever you're comfortable with, I’m half teasing you,” she said and Raph relaxed again. “Both Sofia and Vin have this... I guess 'unfair' advantage with you guys. Sofia spent months with you all and Vinnie has seen your lives from another timeline. I just woke up yesterday surrounded by unfamiliar faces and took to associating you with flowers to keep myself together. You’re a poppy, by the way, I know you’re going to ask.”

“Ooo, I like that flower!”

“Me too,” Nel nodded with a giggle. “But, yeah, I want to get to know you all better, so go ahead, give me all the details. I’m listening.”

Raph took to observing Nel’s face, a fair amount of her own hesitation showing through her attempt to reach out. The last thing he wanted was to push her away, feeling like he could share her feelings somewhat. She was scared, and despite his confidence, Raph knew he was too. This world, this New York, it was terrifying. Everything they loved was destroyed. Three monsters were contained above, and one of them was their brother. Casey Jones was their enemy, The M.o.B. was clearly intending them harm, and Big Mama, while the same as ever, was yet another worry on the growing pile of problems. However, they were not alone, they had each other, and Raph would do more than spout his creed, giving into Nel’s teasing and starting where he could.

“Well, I’m the oldest in our group, I love animals, I have a nut allergy, I can fit my whole fist in my mouth, and,” Raph continued the deluge of facts as Nel listened and commentated as she saw fit. It soon evolved into telling her all about their misadventures, their meeting with Draxum, their struggle with the Foot Clan and Shredder, and ending on Draxum becoming part of their family as Nel finished the first hand.

“There you are; three out of six nails complete with Mayhem ears decals.”

“Oh-mi-gosh!” Raph held up his fingers, completely taken by the designs as Nel took his other hand. “Lookit the wittle ears! You’re so good at this!”

“Thank you. Sofia isn’t the only artist in this house,” she started applying the red top coat.

“Mikey is gonna flip when he sees these! You can bet he’ll be next in line to get some nail TLC!”

“And I’m glad to give it. I have,” Nel glanced back at the absolutely stuffed nail polish organizer that resembled stair steps, “way too many colors and not enough people to use them on. I really only do mine and Dad’s these days.”

“Really, you do your Dad’s nails? I’m a little surprised he’s into it.”

“I’ve been doing them since I was little. At first he was just appeasing little-me to get it out of my system, but then he switched to getting them done regularly. I usually do designs resembling Lou Jitsu’s iconic outfit at his request.”

“Ya’know, I think I could see ours doing the same if given the opportunity. If I can get this down before we get back, I’m gonna surprise him with it! Teach me sensei!” Raph asked and Nel snorted into a giggle.

“Let me finish yours first, and then you can experiment on mine. Then it’ll be my turn to tell you everything, well, besides what Sofia has already said - and do I ever have a hilarious doozy,” she revealed and Raph raised his eyebrows, urging her to continue. “I too, have had an unpleasant encounter with Mr. Heinous Green.”

“No way, for real!?”

“Yes, for real, but it wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. He’s a fan of mine, or rather, was, because the day he tried to kidnap me was the day I unlocked my power, and I punched him so hard that he went through several buildings and out of the Hidden City to never be seen again,” Nel said nonchalantly as Raph’s jaw dropped.

“Kidnap you!?”

“Yeah, wanted me to be his girlfriend or something. I said no, because I’m freaking sixteen, he might be a bajillion years old, and he didn’t take it well. Belch!” She stuck out her tongue at the memory. “Like, I don’t know what he expected me to do? Fall into his grimy, unwashed arms like a dimwitted damsel? Please.” She rolled her eyes. “Surprisingly, Big Mama wasn’t all that upset about it, being his employer and all. I think she was looking for a reason to fire him, but we’ve been on decent to good terms ever since.”

“Well, I’m glad - for both things. You probably smacked a lot of sense into him, and being in Big Mama’s good books will certainly help with the Sofia contract situation.”

“I hope so, Raphael,” she let out a small sigh through her nose. “I really hope so, because if Big Mama is the next Yōkai I have to punch through several buildings, I’ll do it, without hesitation, but I won’t be happy about it.”

Chapter Text

“Surprise me!” Was Mikey’s greatest desire when Nel asked him what design he wanted on his nails. A new day had dawned and for the first time since their arrival, the family was taking a day off, more out of necessity than actually needing a break as they waited both on word from Bishop and let Sofia recover. There was no point in blindly trying to seek out Casey or patrol when they were clearly being watched, so they instead found themselves in the living room. A Jupiter Jim marathon played in the background as they crowded in two different groups. One couch housed Sofia who was busily reading her version of the war record, covered in blankets and anything else she could possibly need as Nel and Mikey were sat on the ground in front of her, the latter excitedly watching the former work. Meanwhile, the seating closest to the TV was occupied by Raph, April, Leo, and Vinnie, the blue duo prepping their own nails to help Nel while other two were completely taken in by the current movie.

“Man, you really are a squirmer...” Vinnie clicked his tongue as he smoothed out the stroke of the base coat for the third time on that nail alone.

“I can’t help it! I was born ticklish in very specific places and this happens to be one of them!” Leo flinched again as he felt the brush rub against his cuticle, making Vinnie sigh.

“Thank goodness we have cloaking brooches now...” Sofia said quietly to herself, turning a page.

“You’re gonna have your work cut out for you with Leonardo, Nel,” Vinnie revealed and Leo frowned, disgruntled.

“It’s fine, Vin, we’ll figure it out,” Nel reassured, turning off the nail dryer and nodding at Mikey. “You’re all set. What do you think?”

Mikey’s eyes sparkled as he beheld the designs - one hand sunflowers, the other; splatters of paint. Nel had started with the sunflowers, Mikey making it her choice naturally leading her to what she associated him with, but in their chat at her behest did she learn more about him as planned. The second designs reflected on what she now knew about him and if he was pleased, so was she.

“Ohmigosh! I love sunflowers!”

“The paint splatters look really good too, sis,” Sofia complimented.

“Yes! They’re fantastic! Thank you, Nelli!” Mikey beamed, getting a warm smile from Nel.

“You’re welcome, Michelangelo, I’m glad you like them, and thank you for indulging my curiosity.”

“I LOVE them!” He gushed, “And I’m always ready to talk whenever you need me, or even if you don’t!” Both Nel and Sofia laughed, his twin knowingly. “Oooh, and while we’re all here, I have something for you! And Vincent, and April!” Mikey ran out of the living room and down the hall, disappearing only for a brief moment before reappearing with several packages in his arms. “For you,” he handed one to Nel, “and you,” then Vinnie, “and you!” giving the last to April. “I was gonna wait until we had everyone back up, but seeing as we’ll be topside more often from now on...”

He didn’t want to spoil the surprise, but winked at Sofia, making her gigglesort and nod. “Yeah, now’s as good a time as any to dole them out.”

The gifted trio opened their packages, Nel being the first to fully reveal a colorful scarf, a genuine, joyful gasp escaping her throat as she unfurled it. Hers was Atomic Lass colors, April’s Atomic Lad, and Vinnie’s Jupiter Jim. “Michelangelo, these are amazing! Did you make them?” She asked and Mikey excitedly nodded. “Thank you so much! How’d you know I liked Atomic Lass?”

“We told him after we found out via Sofia’s memories,” Leo revealed. “We saw when you all met April.”

“That explains the colors on mine too!” April grinned tying it around her neck. “Thanks a bunch, Michelangelo!”

“You’re so very welcome! I’m glad you like them. Oh, and Vincent, I didn’t know what colors to make yours, so I hope Jupiter Jim colors are okay!”

“Amazing scarf, ahoy!” Vincent mimicked Jupiter Jim’s inflection, putting his scarf on with a dramatic whip, Leo narrowly dodging it. “It’s amazing, thank you, though if I may ask - why scarves specifically?”

“Well,” Leo started to answer for Mikey, “it all started with a little cryptid named the Turtle Titan-OOF!” He was swiftly bowled over by a pillow hitting his face at lightspeed, both him and it collapsing onto the carpet in an explosion of feathers. Everyone (but Raph who simply said ‘you deserved that’) looked back to the source of the projectile, Sofia shaking her wrist from the force at which she threw it.

“What Leo meant to say is that Mikey gave me a scarf he made when we were scrounging up winter clothes in their dimension, because I had none. I mentioned that Nel might be jealous if I came home with such a nice scarf, and the rest is history.”

“I wouldn’t have been jealous!” Nel refuted, then looked down to her new scarf, admiring it briefly before speaking again. “Actually, you know what? I totally would have been. Extremely.”

“Told ya,” Sofia smirked at Mikey and he triumphantly put his hands on his hips.

“And if two siblings were getting scarves, then so would the whole family!” Mikey proudly announced, then devolved into a whisper. “But Draxum’s isn’t ready yet because I didn’t know the situation so; shhhh!”

“Will he even accept it?” Nel raised a brow.

“Ehhhh,” Sofia and Mikey shared a quizzical glance. “50/50 chance?” She said with a shrug.

“I am nothing but persistent - I’ll take those odds!” Mikey said, determined. “And speaking of odd, why hasn’t Donald joined us yet? DONNIE, GET YOURSELF IN HERE!” He yelled into the lab, waited, Donnie soon answering with a;

“I’m busy!”

“Oh yeah? I’m about to be busy with dragging your shell out here!” Mikey threatened.

“Don’t force him,” Nel stopped any more of Mikey’s well meaning ire. “I still have a ton of nails to paint anyways.”

The lively chatter continued as they soon returned to the original bonding purpose, Leo next in line to get his nails done. He was very indecisive; first wanting something ‘handsome’, then something ‘magical’, finally landing on Nel’s choice as his sensitivity to the brushes became apparent once again. A simpler design was in order, and after getting to know him a little better did Nel deliver. She managed to avoid making Leo cringe by keeping the graphic small, having little playing cards, aces, in the middle of his nails. He was just as thrilled as Mikey, if not more, though Nel could still tell he was wearing a mask of sorts. She didn’t dare bring it up, she didn’t feel it was her place, but Nel did notice that Vinnie was eyeing his twin skeptically, deciding it was best to leave it to him.

Hours passed, movies were watched, and every nail was amply painted, sans Donnie’s... and Draxum’s, Nel disregarding the elder Yōkai as she made her way into the lab. She entered within to a familiar sight, Donnie practically slaving over a Mystic panel, typing away as needed and then transferring data from it to a screen flickering from his wrist. Nel felt her chest tighten, remembering the interaction with her brother they had here, the palm of her hand tingling, her regret overflowing. She had yet to tell anyone else besides Raph what she’d done that day, how she wished it could all be taken back despite everything. But those memories were soon muted as Donnie noticed her presence and turned to meet her.

“I take it that the inevitability of my turn is upon us?” He said with no particular emotion, viewing Nel.

“Well, I’m not going to force you if you’re not into it,” Nel said with a shrug. “I’m more rain checking to see if you’re up to it at all.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m entirely opposed...” Donnie crossed his arms with a small scowl. “But there are two things preventing me from allowing this bonding exercise. One; I am incredibly busy trying to figure out how to cure your brother. It’s not a simple task and because we’re on a time limit, I’d like to get it done sooner than later. And two; I’m just honestly not a huge fan of being touched. It has nothing to do with you specifically, it’s just a ‘me’ thing. Hugs from familial relations are a fact of life, very enjoyable in the right circumstances, but anything else is... debatable. So, I’m sorry, Nelli, but I’d rather you didn’t paint my nails -but, I do take care of them myself, so you can put your worries to rest if that was your concern!” He showed Nel his nails, both hands in pristine condition.

“So you do,” she said with a giggle. “And you don’t have to apologize to me, Donatello. It’s fine and I’m really grateful for you going to so much effort for Gio.”

“It’s not out of affection or ‘twinsie’ bond, mind you,” he quickly corrected. “Quite frankly, your brother infuriates me.”

“Well, that makes two of us,” Nel said, then sighed. “But he is still my brother and I love him, so again, thank you for working through it to get him back.”

“Thank me after he’s no longer a gigantic mutant floundering around in the Hudson River,” Donnie flipped his goggles down and spun his chair back to his workspace. “And speaking of, Wednesday is tomorrow. He’ll surface briefly between nine and ten PM. I believe Vincent is planning on visiting him.”

“Is that so? Good to know. I’ll leave you to your work-” Nel turned to leave, only then just noticing something. She could see the light from the living room clearly, it filtering in with nothing to block its invasiveness. “Wait a second, I just noticed the lab’s door is gone? What happened to it...?” She asked and Donnie failed to hide a sigh.

“Indeed, what did happen to the door, Donatello?” Draxum spoke from his corner, not directly addressing the duo as his eyes were still set on his project.

“I blew it up,” Donnie replied openly, Nel blinking in disbelief as she processed the information.

“Why...? Did you not have the keys?”

“We did in fact, have the keys,” Draxum continued.

“Okay, mister, that’s not what happened!” Donnie flipped his goggles up and pointed at Draxum, who was still unphased. “You waltzed in with keys after I had spent hours cracking all of the stupid locks! Your reputation might be in tatters, but I still have mine to uphold!”

“Mmm, and a whole lot of good it got you. Your powers are impressive, but your lack of foresight is not.”

“Okay, kettle calling the pot black, you want to talk about lack of foresight with me-!?” Donnie's temper flared, Nel feeling her mediator urge triggered as she stepped between them.

“Alright, you know what? The door was always stupid. Too many locks, and way too many secrets Gio kept in here - okay?” She butted in, stopping any further argument. “I’m glad it's gone, and when we eventually replace it, It’ll be a normal door with normal functions, because enough of the Mystic mumbo jumbo unless it’s an absolute need. And on that note-” Nel walked over to Draxum, actually catching his attention as she approached. “I’ve been told Gio strapped a... bomb on you?”

Draxum absentmindedly touched his chest where the gofu slip resided, Nel taking note of the motion. “In a sense, yes. It is merely a contingency plan in the event I were to harm any of you.”

“Leave it to Gio to have everything taken care of except communicating with his family...” Nel rolled her eyes. “But, if you ask me, that thing has outlived its usefulness, and I’m not a fan of taking hostages,” Nel reached for Draxum, the Yōkai's eyes widening, expecting the worst before shutting his eyes and preparing for the impact of her strength. He had gone head on head with Nel before as she was often the one leading the charge in their encounters. Her potential always intrigued him the most, imagining what could have been if she’d been in his tutelage as originally planned. Draxum had already accepted his fate to be as he was until his usefulness was nil, and so he braced for whatever came next, but he felt no pain, no impact shook him, instead feeling an odd sense of relief. He opened his eyes to see Nel phasing back into her solid form, holding the poisoned gofu slip in her hands. “Wow, he even laminated it so it wouldn’t get damaged by the elements.” she said then ripped it in half despite the reinforced materials. It dissipated into a puff of Mystic, Nel dusting her hands off before smugly placing them on her hips, relishing the shock on Draxum’s face.

“...Why did you do that?” Was all he could manage and Nel shrugged.

“Basically everyone here has a fair amount of trust in you due to other versions of ‘Draxum’. I don’t have that luxury, so I’m instead going out on a limb and giving you a chance. Don’t make me regret it, because if you do something that ends up with me dead, I will haunt you for the rest of your life,” She poked at his chest where the gofu once was, giving him a threatening glare before turning away and towards the exit. “Donatello, let me know if you want to do literally anything else besides a manicure - I'm flexible.”

“10-4,” he replied back, watching her leave, then turning to Draxum with a smug look on his face.

“...That was very foolish of her...” Draxum said, pulling back part of his robe to confirm that he indeed had been freed.

“Was it? You’ve got nowhere to go and a list of responsibilities longer than history's greatest manifestos. The way I see it, Nel’s expectations for you are now through the roof, so you’d better not disappoint her, Dad Two.”

“Do NOT call me that!” Draxum fumed. “I am not your Draxum and nor will I ever tread his path!”

“Your mental gymnastics are adorable,” Donnie teased, Draxum getting up from his workspace in protest. “And where are you off to?”

“To have a shower! That talisman has been stuck to me for months!”

******

Leo mindlessly turned over in his bed, leaving the emptiness of the guest bedroom behind as he set his focus on the sewer wall. He wanted his mind to be anywhere but its current thoughts, wishing the enduring tightening of his chest ease up for just a moment. Today’s break quelled it for a short while, but the moment his mind would wander away from the living room did the encounter with Casey Jones play all over again, seemingly maliciously. Despite it not being his Casey, this place not being his world, he felt the burden of responsibility all the same. When it was just Sofia, the plan seemed so simple, so doable, but each day new elements were added to the mix, and it shook his resolve, though he would never admit it. They almost had the entire family back up, Splinter’s treatment next and being actively worked on by Draxum while Donnie was hard at work on Gio’s, - but then what? Did he willingly put his team into more danger? Did he risk having to harm someone who shared a face with whom he was family with? Leo felt sick, curling into a ball as he continued to weigh his options, knowing there was no true answer to be found in contemplation alone.

“Hey,” there was a knock outside the room, Vinnie’s voice accompanying it and forcing Leo into a sitting position, plastering on a fake smile in anticipation. “Can we talk?”

“Of course! Come in!” He sweetly beckoned Vinnie in, his twin entering, meeting his gaze, and immediately dropping his expression to that of frustration. “What’s up, Vincent?”

“Leo,” Vincent said, his tone as frustrated as the rest of him, Leo feeling a jolt of surprise from Vinnie using his nickname for the first time. “You know exactly ‘what’s up’.”

“W-what? No I don’t...” Leo deflected with a chuckle, looking away from Vincent’s gaze.

“Leo, I spent forty years inhabiting the you from another timeline - I can tell when you’re upset and hiding it,” Vinnie said and Leo felt a very specific nerve touched.

“Oh, and that just makes you expert on everything ‘me’!? Got me all figured out? Don’t act like you’re superior when you’re no more Casey’s sensei than I am!” Leo lashed back, his own frustrations bubbling over. Vinnie didn’t react, allowing the outburst to digest before answering.

“...You’re right,” he replied back with a twinge of defeat in his voice, Leo feeling his regret sprout and start to bloom. “But I want you to know that the situation with this Casey isn’t your responsibility - it’s mine. I’ll figure it out, so stop beating yourself up over it. That’s all.”

Vincent left the room behind, quickening his pace as his own thoughts started to plague him. He was a vast well of knowledge but master to none of it, himself included. Without the drugs he would slip back into being a captive to his powers. His trust with Gio was so broken he was convinced his Ninpō would never manifest, not that he was the pinnacle of trust either, hiding his powers from him. And he had the gall to try and lecture Leo out of his funk? He didn’t truly know the him of the here and now, just a ghost that he was never to become. A ghost that would always haunt him until the day he died.

“Vin, wait!” Leo’s call of his own nickname stopped Vinnie in his tracks. “I’m sorry. Let’s talk - for real this time.” He turned back to Leo, his twin leaning on the door frame with no attempt at masking his emotions. “I shouldn’t have lashed out at you.”

“...And I shouldn’t have made assumptions. I’m sorry too.”

“It wasn’t much of an assumption - that is what’s eating me... among other things. So, let’s talk, please. I think you might be the only one I can talk to about this stuff. Everyone, as in my dimensional family, knows. I know that they know, but they never bring it up because they don’t want to upset me - and I never bring it up with them because I don’t want to upset them. It’s like that snake that’s eating itself, Oberon, or whatever.”

“...Ouroboros,” Vinnie corrected after a short pause, figuring out what Leo meant and started his way back to him. “Oberon is the king of the fairies.”

“Okay, ‘Donnie’,” he joked, a small semblance of a smile returning. “Or should I say ‘okay Giorgio’?”

“Either or, I’m sure they both know,” Vinnie re-entered the room with Leo, taking to leaning on the wall as Leo sat back on the bed. “So, what is it specifically that you want to talk about? I’ll try to reign in my library of lives lived and just let you get out what you need to.”

“Actually, I was wondering, would you mind telling me about some of the other 'Leos'? I think maybe hearing about them might help change my perspective ...or something, I don’t know...”

“I...” Vinnie hesitated, truly wanting to help, but shook his head. “I don’t think that’s fair to them, openly chatting about their lives in detail behind their backs. It’s really not my place.”

“Right... you’re right. I just exploded on you for doing that...”

“However,” Vinnie continued, “why don’t you tell me what’s eating you exactly and I’ll see what I can convey. You said it’s not just about Casey, so why don’t we start with what you’ve been avoiding talking about with your family.”

Leo nodded, taking a deep breath before answering. “I... keep having dreams about failing to save New York and the Krang taking over. I know it isn't real, but it’s like I’m being taunted. Like ‘you almost caused this’ or ‘this could still come true’. Despite everything that happened, how things turned out - I just can’t escape the facts that we almost lost everything because of me. And then I stew and stew about it until it goes away. Seeing your Casey a few days ago is giving me the same ...vibe, for lack or a better word, and I can’t shake it. It feels like ever since we put the Krang away, more eyes are on me than ever, and I can’t stand to let anyone down.”

“Leo...” Vinnie said, various memories bubbling up as he started his answer. “Being a leader doesn’t mean shouldering all the responsibility - you know that.”

“I know, I know!” Leo fired back. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t still feel that way! I don’t know how to make it stop!”

“Well,” he approached Leo and knelt down to his level. “You could start by telling your family everything you just told me. You won’t be able to figure out how to ‘stop’ if you keep pushing them away. If I’ve learned anything since I’ve woken up, it’s that not communicating leads to misinformed solutions and problems that could have been solved through trust and spoken word. I would much rather have had my brother speak to me than be where he is right now.”

Leo’s lips pursed, finding himself starting to crack under Vinnie’s gaze. He was right, and it wasn’t as if he didn’t know all these facts already, but it was taking Vinnie to dig them up for Leo to accept them. “...And what about Casey?” He brought the conversation back to its beginning.

“It isn’t set in stone that Casey Jones is an ally of the turtles from the beginning in each dimension I’ve witnessed. He isn’t known as a vigilante for being the most agreeable guy. Just because my Casey Jones is starting out in the Foot, doesn’t mean he’ll be there permanently - that was the same with Cassandra, wasn’t it?”

“It was pretty down to the wire, but, yeah,” Leo chuckled.

“Exactly. There’s still hope regardless of how far gone he is, and I’m pretty sure I don’t need to repeat your Casey’s creed?”

“No, definitely not,” his smile had returned.

“Alright then,” Vinnie placed one of his hands on Leo’s, commanding his attention. “Talk to your family - this is non negotiable. The arcade in the back has been shut down for ages and is a perfect, quiet place for you to talk it out with them. Nel, Sofia, and I will give you all the time you need. Okay?”

“...Okay,” Leo nodded.

“And as for Casey Jones - he's my problem. The Kuroi Yōroi of this dimension is my problem. The E.P.F., M.o.B.; also my problem, MY family’s problem. You all shouldn’t even be here, period,” Vinnie stated and Leo’s expression started to sour. “Wait- let me finish,” his eyes were resolute, already talking Leo down. “But I am thankful for all you’ve done for us. None of us would have survived without you and your family, but I refuse to let you all shoulder the burden of another world on top of your own. There are a lot of threats out there, Leo. So, so many. The Krang are just one of many variables in a dimension housing our counterparts. Your plan was to stay until we got my family back on their feet - and it’s staying that way. No matter what is thrown our way in the upcoming days, weeks, months, - I want your heart and mind set on your home, not mine. By all means, help us as you see fit, but when it’s time to go home, you go. Understand?”

Leo wanted to refuse, wanted to pledge his support until the end of this New York’s troubles, but he knew Vinnie was right. They had to get home sooner than later and this set of siblings needed to learn how to support themselves and each other like they had. The foundation was there, and they could help them build it up, but only to a certain point - it was up to Sofia, Nel, Vinnie, and Gio to finish what was started. “I understand,” Leo replied with a nod, Vinnie smiling at him as he let his twin’s hand go and stood back up.

“Good. Now do you need some help wrangling up your family or-”

“A-actually, if we could table that for a little bit-” Vinnie glared at Leo in response. “I’m not stalling! I swear to you I’m not stalling! I just… need a little more time to mentally prepare myself? And maybe you could help me through that time? Hmm?”

“...Alright?” Vinnie said with a raise of his brow. “What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Spar with me?” Leo asked earnestly with a small smile. “We stopped right after Nelli’s and Raph’s fight yesterday, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little left out.”

“...We’re gonna ruin our nails,” Vinnie gave a non answer.

“We’ll be extra careful!”

“Nel literally just did them today…”

“I’ll apologize to her if there’s so much as a scratch on them!” Leo pledged, his eyes pleading, and Vinnie gave in with a sigh.

“I’ll fix them if there’s any reason to,” he said and gestured to Leo’s swords in the room, prompting his twin to excitedly retrieve them and open a portal to the stadium immediately. “I’m warning you though; temper your expectations. My specialty is disarming, not hand to hand combat.”

“Are you threatening me?” Leo smirked as he offered the portal, Vinnie walking through first.

“Maybe,” Vinnie smirked himself, depositing himself into the stadium with a shiver. The rarely seen winter sun was setting, dyeing the stadium in various hues and also urging the twins to finish their business quickly. Leo dropped in immediately after, putting some distance between himself and Vinnie as he got into his battle stance.

“So, do you want to make the first move or should I just go ahead and call your bluff?” He taunted, making Vinnie choke-laugh through his shivering. He went for the kusarigama on his hip, getting into his own battle stance, swinging the weighted chain and beckoning Leo forward with his head. “Alright, you asked for it!”

Leo lunged for Vinnie, both katana ready - throwing one into a wide arch as he moved the other to clash. It was as Vinnie predicted, knowing the exact mischief Leo was up to as the chain wrapped around the intended blade, watching the confident turtle blip out of existence, cheekily flashing a peace sign.

“Come on, now,” Vinnie clicked his tongue, quickly whipping up the chain and reclaiming it, turning himself around just in time to stop the second sword, and subsequently, the teleporting in Leo. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

“Huh!? How did you-?!”

“Frozen turtle says ‘what’.”

“What?!” Quicker than a blink, ice traveled from Vinnie’s fingers through the chains, and over Leo’s swords - hands included, freezing everything together. “What!?” Leo repeated as he pulled away, dragging Vinnie with him, the latter chuckling as the chains mockingly jingled.

“See? I warned you - I’m not fun to fight, Leo. I’m either on the defensive, or pulling crap like this. Nel leads the charge, I watch her back, and Gio throws his slips around as needed. That’s how it’s worked for ages with us - and now that Sofia is definitely not a frontline fighter like my brother wanted her to be, we’ll have to figure out a whole new strategy.”

“Oh, you are such a liar!” Leo struggled against the ice, continually attempting to be free of it by digging in his heels and pulling. “I’ve seen a video where you were sparring with your siblings! I know you can do so much more cool stuff than just freeze us into a stalemate!”

“Snooping through Sofia’s phone, were we?” Vinnie tutted, then released the ice, sending Leo back onto his shell. “Very rude.”

“Donnie was fixing it!” Leo defended himself.

“I’m sure,” Vinnie neither continued to tease or accepted Leo’s explanation. “But here are the facts, Leo; kusarigamajitsu was practically created to disarm swordsmen. Our weapon types are like oil and water. Any other weapon, I’m batting it away and gaining distance until backup comes or doing what I just did to you. I’m very easy to beat if you approach me with the right plan.”

“Is that a fact?” Leo pushed himself back up with a huff.

“It is, especially since I’m freezing. Drop the Mystic and I’ll do the same.”

“...Alright, but you’re gonna regret it,” Leo warned and Vinnie shrugged before readying the chain again.

“I have no doubt. Either tire me out or push me into a corner, and victory is yours.” Leo once again lunged, sure of his strike this time, though Vinnie didn’t allow it to land, flipping backwards, releasing the chain and creating a temporary shield as it spun around his body, dissipating as he landed and the weight returned to its preferred hand. If that whipping motion had hit either of his swords, Leo knew it would have knocked them out of his hands. “Almost,” Vinnie taunted, Leo feeling his eye twitch.

“Okay, quick question,” Leo posed and Vinnie tilted his head. “Does having all these other Leo memories give you an advantage? I can’t help but feel like you’re toying with me.”

“...Sort of?” Vinnie answered tentatively. “Their Splinters were a lot more into training their children compared to ours. I won’t lie and say that all that extra dream training isn’t lost on me, but I’m not some sort of expert either. That being said; you’re just frustrated against a weapon you’re unfamiliar with. Don’t blame your inability to break my defense on the other Leos, because I know you can beat me. Again, I’m easy mode, Leo, you just have to figure it out.”

“Figure it out...?” Leo repeated and went over Vinnie’s words once again, soon realizing what he had to do. It was so simple, and yet, he didn’t know how to trigger the requirements specifically. He had to force Vinnie to attack him while also remaining armed from the assault. Vinnie wasn’t attempting to fight since the beginning, he had told Leo so and he’d disregarded that fact in an attempt to have the same sort of blood pumping match he’d witnessed the previous day. Just lunging wasn’t going to cut it here, not in this gigantic stadium with more than enough room for Vinnie’s chain aided acrobatics. “...Alright,” Leo said after formulating a plan and changing his stance. “I think I’ve got this.”

“I know you do,” Vinnie encouraged and Leo restarted his approach, seeing Vinnie begin to clench the chain into movement, threw one of his swords, unaided by Mystic, forcing him to hit it away, and unfortunately for him, back directly into Leo’s free hand. With the gap almost closed, did Vinnie whip the chain again, this time sending the weight past Leo’s head, which he ignored in favor of the opening he created. Just as he was about to claim victory, his blades hovering above Vinnie’s vitals, did the chain satisfyingly snap into position, Vinnie’s fingers guiding it to loop around behind Leo, and then around them both, tying them together and slamming the duo to the ground. Vinnie heartily laughed while Leo yelled in frustration.

“I had you, I HAD YOU!” He angrily wriggled against the chains.

“You did!” Vinnie reassured and joked. “I just had you a little bit more.”

“Vinnie, you are so frustrating!” He continued to try and free himself. “You’re all trickery and no ninjutsu!”

“I thought you liked sleight of hand?”

“THERE IS NOTHING MAGICAL ABOUT THIS!”

“If it makes you feel better, this is a tie, I can’t move either.”

Leo groaned, giving up on freeing himself and flopping into the snow. “I don’t want your pity...”

“Holy crap, you’re so dramatic,” Vinnie snorted. “Would it make things better if each victor got a prize? Like... one request each?”

“...Maybe,” Leo said dejectedly.

“Alright, I’ll go first then; I want to know why you called Sofia ‘Turtle Titan’ today,” Vinnie asked and Leo cringed while sucking in the cold air through his teeth.

“She’ll kill me if I tell you. I promised I wouldn’t and I was just teasing her today. Why do you want to know anyways?”

“She’s not the first turtle sharing her mask color to be called such, and I know it’s not something she’d name herself, so I’m just curious.”

“Huh, really? Did another Mikey end up in a similar situation...?” Leo trailed off, Vinnie eyeing him expectantly, the former taking notice. “I mean-! Nothing, nothing happened! Ask her yourself and get these chains off me!”

“Is that your request?” Vinnie teased.

“It’s a demand!” He fired back. “I’ll save my request for something important!”

Chapter Text

Nel felt her eyes dully ache against the glow of her monitor. She’d had lost track of time in her information gathering, knowing she’d told herself multiple times to turn on her room's light to prevent eye strain, but an engrossed mind was a distracted one. There was just so much information to absorb that had manifested in her absence. Forget her socials, the whole world was watching New York City, or at least, attempting to. No one could get in thanks to the EPF, and the entire population plus its surrounds was evacuated soon after the incident happened, save the Hidden City. The Yōkai were a stubborn bunch, and having established this stronghold, they were not about to let it go, despite the difficulties that staying brought. The EPF and the Heads had come to an agreement, but part of it isolated the Yōkai even more than before. Supply and trade routes were sealed off until further notice, forcing the Yōkai to either become completely self-sufficient, or leave their homes, which they’d already pledged not to do. It wasn’t impossible, but it certainly kept things strained in the Hidden City, which Nel was specifically discovering via her intake of blogs, forum posts, and whatever else she happened upon.

She took a moment to rub her eyes, the absolute vitriol from the posts she’d just digested almost enough to touch a nerve. In the eyes of so many in the Hidden City, she, her family, and all the other mutants were villains. Raph had already told her what happened to him and Mikey whilst they were out grocery shopping, and the fact that mutants were Hidden City public enemy number one was never more clearer on the aged, worn screen. Nel could understand at length - they were trapped, they needed something to blame, someone to vent at or to, but in her eyes, and a surprising vocal minority, the mutants were just as much victims as they were. Would all these death threats being carried through really satisfy the anger of a mob? No. The Heads knew that, and that’s why all the mutants were in safekeeping and not strung up in the town square at the behest of the citizenry.

And then there was Nel’s socials. Donnie was right, they were still doing well, many apparently using her videos as a way to mentally escape the situation, but her silence for the past months didn’t go unnoticed. There was much speculation, some wondering if she’d perished in the incident, a few theorizing her mutant status, and the more aggressive of the latter had sent her many messages demanding answers, or just threatening her and her family’s lives. To them, the silence was damning, and to Nel, it wasn’t something she was going to ignore. But this wasn’t the time for violence, at least not yet, but in soaking up all this information, desired or not, she couldn’t help but feel there was something missing, something being overlooked. Maybe she was just paranoid, it could quite literally just be a funny feeling she’d latched onto, but her intuition was telling her to dwell on it regardless.

“Enough of this...” Nel pushed away from her desk, letting the chair continue to roll as she sighed. Her eyes went to the glow in the dark Atomic Lass wall clock - just past eight. In less than an hour she, April, and Vinnie would be off to visit Gio. A part of her didn’t want to go, especially with how her day had already been full of negativity, but Nel knew she needed to see her brother with her own eyes. Sofia was still recovering, but refused to join regardless, telling Nel all. She accepted today was going to be completely emotionally exhausting and mentally prepared for whatever was left in store.

“Knock, knocketh, is the queen currently residing in her kingdom?” Donnie’s voice sounded outside her door, the silliness of the greeting making Nel gigglesnort, rolling herself over to a lamp and illuminating the room.

“She is, come in,” she beckoned and Donnie entered with a small grin, happy his jest landed. “I suppose you’re here for deets I dug up on Casey Jones?”

“Yes and please,” he nodded and Nel pushed her chair back over to her desk, grabbing a prepared storage device, then rolling back over to Donnie and placing it in his hands. “And thank you. I’d usually just do this myself, but, well, so little time presently.”

“You’re welcome. I feel a little bad digging up so much on this kid, but I guess desperate times...” Nel weakly shrugged and Donnie immediately took note of her tired demeanor.

“You look exhausted, Nelli. Are you alright?”

“My mind’s just working through all the death threats against mutants I encountered today, because wow, there’s a lot of them...” She rolled back to the computer and went for its power button, shutting it down. “And I keep having the battle with my intuition that all isn’t as it seems in the Hidden City. Like... I dunno, something seems off about... all of this.”

“Off, how? I mean, it’s a right mess, but what else have you got?”

“Again, I don’t know, ignore me, it’s just ramblings.”

“No, no, hit me with your theories, I want to hear them. I once made fun of Raph’s intuition, specifically in regards to how he kept picking up on a presence stalking us, -Sofia, by the way, and how it just wasn’t scientifically sound to rely on such things - and yet, look where I am and who I’m talking to. I’ll always be more inclined to facts over fiction, but opening my mind is always on the table.”

Nel crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair as she struggled against her fatigued mind, wondering if she should wave off Donnie again, but the look in his eye very easily told Nel he wouldn’t let this go. Gio had so often cornered her with the same gaze when she’d deflect something, and if she couldn’t escape then, she probably couldn’t escape now either.

“I think... this was a set up. Like, everything. Someone or something targeted New York specifically and orchestrated it all. Like, I can rationalize Draxum messing up the formula, but he seems so sure he had it figured out at the same time. And why was this extra mutation so dormant for so long? I can work out that maybe the ‘whodunit’ is the M.o.B., but the ‘whydunit’ just... doesn’t exist? Maybe they wanted to get rid of the humans like Draxum, sure, fine, - but completely immobilizing the Hidden City too? Then there’s the weird medicine and- and- I don’t get it, Donatello, it doesn’t make sense. Which is why it’s probably not true and I’m talking nonsense,” she looked down at her hands, and then to Donnie ...who was furiously taking notes on a spiral notepad.

“No, no, go on, you might be onto something here! We’ve been operating on the assumption that this was all an accident, because that’s what it looks like - but if it wasn’t, this could be HUGE! Though, you are right on the whydunnit, but then again, there’s still so much we don’t know! This is FANTASTIC stimulation for my stagnating and overworked cerebrum! Enthused laugh!” He actually laughed after his stated intent.

“Alright, simmer down, please,” Nel almost begged, “I don’t nearly have enough energy to keep up with this. The rest of today’s reserve is for my visit with Gio.”

“Fair and valid,” Donnie replied and flipped the notepad shut. “However, as you rainchecked me yesterday, so too would I like to raincheck this topic another day - in lieu of the manicure.”

“O-oh... sure?” Nel hesitated. “But, really? You just wanna talk? About this?”

“Theory crafting with someone who has a vast knowledge of topics I do not is a worthwhile endeavor, Nelli. We’re not just talking - we’re forging paths to enlightenment!”

“O...kay, if that’s what you want...?” Nel nodded along and Donnie looked satisfied.

“Oh, dear Nelli, I am starved for intellectual conversation that isn’t with Baron Draxum, and I believe you can feed me a wealth of information to get me through this cold, barren winter. You also may like Atomic Lass just as much as me, and I would also love to talk continuity differences once we get our yarns crossed on the inevitable conspiracy wall. I’m gonna need a break from staring at your brother’s DNA anyways.”

Nel giggled into another snort. “I don’t think I’m much of an ‘intellectual’, but, okay, set up a date and I’ll talk your ear off if that’s what you want.”

“Brilliant! There’s a Mad Dogs family meeting tonight, but my schedule can be cleared tomorrow. I can’t put all this Casey Jones info to good use without Bishop’s permission, so let’s say after lunch? That gives me enough time to run a few diagnostics so I don’t feel terribad about not devoting the whole day to Giorgio curing. Are you game?”

“As long as we’re not hit with another crisis - sounds good to me!”

******

The serum for Splinter’s treatment had been finished ahead of time. In just under two days Draxum had created an ample amount for what was believed to cover someone of his stature. Logically, if Splinter was able to be put under with half a dose of the sedative, then he wouldn’t need as much as his children. Half didn’t prevent Giorgio from mutating, as predicted, but Splinter still slumbered in his cell with no changes. Having been free of Sofia’s pestering for translations this time around had certainly aided the process. While she was never asking for something that took more than a few moments to solve, interruptions, no matter how miniscule, disrupted Draxum’s workflow and interfered with his focus. She was close to the end of the books now and should be resting more than slaving over them, but still, Draxum expected a text message or her marching into the lab before long.

His stomach growled as he put the finishing touches on the serum and began closing down his station for the night. It was just past ten now, the lab absent of Donatello’s ever felt presence as he and brothers were preoccupied in a personal meeting. While it was more or less another free day for the children as they waited on word from Bishop, Donatello still spent the bulk of his day here. Draxum felt no reason to stray from the lab itself either, so he found himself in his current predicament of having eaten nothing all day whilst chipping away at his project. He had no issues eating with the turtles, though he didn’t join any conversation unless addressed... or insulted in the way only children tended to jab at adults. But once his meal was consumed did he return to the lab until prompted to leave again. As today was less organized, everyone fended for themselves, and Draxum simply forgot to eat.

He turned the lab’s light off as he exited into the living room, the emptiness of the sitting area reminding him that majority of the original residents were also away - out visiting their brother topside. A little voice inside Draxum whispered that if he were to ever escape, now would be his best chance, but he quieted it with a roll of his eyes while subconsciously touching his chest where the gofu slip once resided. Draxum was more than capable of escaping at any time given the right circumstances, especially if he put effort into a plan to do so, but Donatello was right. He no longer had a place to return to, and he was the harbinger of this whole situation. He wasn’t so juvenile as to throw a tantrum over a prison of his own making, and the letter penned by his counterpart often resurfaced to keep him in line. He didn’t want to be here, he wanted nothing resembling familial relations to his creations, but the routine he’d fallen into was beginning to formulate a normalcy he had little qualms with. On the contrary, despite everything, getting to observe both his and his counterpart’s creations, seeing how they acted and handled situations without any input was fascinating in itself - and Draxum left his feelings at that as he continued down this path with them.

Draxum entered into the kitchen with the remaining goods in the pantry on his mind, debating on eating something as is or actually bothering to cook, only for his stride to completely halt at the state of the room. The drawing board was flipped over, its markers scattered about alongside loose leaves of paper. The ancient book was also on the ground, opened to seemingly a random page as it was most likely forced to by the impact that brought it there. But among all this perceived pocket of chaos was a young girl’s weeping, and Draxum felt his heart drop at the truth he was being shown. Sofia’s research had ended in failure.

There wasn’t any guarantee she would find anything of note in regards to curing her unique condition, but Draxum could sympathize with the crushing defeat of failure all the same. He out of all of them had seen the most effort Sofia put into translating, comparing and contrasting the two dimension’s timelines for just a sliver of hope to free her. For what she lacked in strength, she made up for in determination, but it seemed even her boundless ability to continually pick herself back up had finally reached its limit, her broken sobbing even more telling than how she’d treated her research materials. She failed to even notice Draxum’s presence as he rounded the kitchen’s island, finding her curled up between the bar stools. Old memories of his own adolescence bubbled up from a long forgotten corner of his mind, and Draxum could hardly believe what he was feeling. Beyond understanding, there was genuine empathy for Sofia, a desire to ease her pain. The notion was ridiculous, not after all he’d done to harm her and her family - and yet, the feeling persisted, Draxum allowing himself to utter her name in a tone that neither admonished nor jeered.

“Sofonisba...” He said and Sofia gasped, looking towards Draxum warily, prepared for whatever verbal assault she anticipated would come to pass.

“Of all the people to find me...” She hiccupped, failing to dry her tears as more fell. “What do you want?”

“Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“Yeah, well-” she choked a sob back. “I get stir crazy.”

“Which brought you to continue your research - and led you to an unfavorable conclusion.”

Hearing the truth reiterated so plainly brought Sofia back to the moment of her realization that it had all been for nothing - pouring over the tomes, the translating, the false hope she allowed. Her sorrows overflowed once again, bursting into tears, her weeping harder than before as she buried her face into her hands. “Why did I even bother!?” She wailed. “What good are healing powers if I can’t stop myself from turning into a monster!? I swear, if you had chosen any other turtle, they’d at least have the smarts to have never gotten in this situation! Stupid, stupid, STUPID SOFIA-!”

Her sobbing continued as Draxum wavered slightly, digesting her words, then approached her with a sigh. “There were no other turtles,” he said and took to the counter on the opposite side of her, sliding himself down the floor, down to her level. “Or rather, none other worthy to become my experiments.”

Sofia’s sobs devolved into hiccups again, sniffling as she shakily asked; “What?”

“You and your siblings were the sole survivors of your respective clutches,” he revealed and Sofia tilted her head, urging Draxum to continue. “Part of my process to rise up against humanity was to also absorb information from the surface. One particular day, a newspaper caught my eye - and while I cannot remember the title, the article detailed a fungal infection that had broken out in a reptile rehabilitation center, claiming all the eggs, except four turtles of varying species. There was a photo, a human cradling you all in their hands, newborns, and while some may have found the show of this pitiable, I found it remarkable. The four of you deserved a higher quality of life - one benefiting your tenacity. The rest, as you know, is history.”

Sofia blinked as she thought on Draxum’s tale, her tears at the very least drying, though she was nowhere near back to normalcy, uttering; “‘Remarkable’... do you still think that?” She held up her transformed hand, unbandaged and injured - Draxum figured inflicted from her unseen outburst.

“Contrary to your emotions poisoning you against a better opinion of yourself - yes, I do still think that. While I did think your upbringing squandered your potential, I couldn’t have been more wrong, having borne witness to how tenacious you and your siblings truly are. You in particular, while being the smallest and arguably the least of the four, have more than proven that a falsehood. Traveling to another dimension, evolving your power in such a short time, returning with nary a scratch to show for it. With or without aid from my counterpart - your journey has been nothing but remarkable, and it's high time you let those around you help shoulder the burden of the Dragon’s Eye.”

She found herself betwixt confusion and disbelief, that it was her Draxum uttering these words. Still, it’s not as if he was completely deficit of his counterpart’s compassion, Sofia accepting his comfort as she sighed and sunk further onto the ground. “What is with me getting pep talks from pseudo father figures in kitchens...?” She weakly laughed, Draxum choosing not to inquire as to what she spoke of. “...And? Are you offering your shoulder, Draxum?”

“Naturally - I wouldn’t have spoken of it if I had no intention to pledge myself. Or is that displeasing to you?”

Sofia snorted into a giggle, shaking her head in disbelief. “Holy crap, you are such a little tsundere...” She muttered before looking to Draxum. “No, Draxum, it’s not displeasing, just a bit of a surprise.”

“That is the second time someone has described me with that unknown word...” Draxum said with a cross of his arms, his brow knit.

“What? ‘Tsundere’?” Draxum nodded and Sofia failed to hide another snort. “Who else called you that?”

“Donatello,” Draxum said and Sofia erupted into a bout of giggles, irritating Draxum, but allowing it, much more preferred over her sobbing again. “And what does it mean!? Are you calling me something derogatory!?”

“No, no!” Sofia quickly refuted, coughing away the rest of her giggles. “It's a Japanese term. While the definition varies a bit, in your case, it’s describing a gruff and tuff individual who actually truly cares for others deep down. You hide your love behind your temper - but let down your guard when others need you. Adorable,” She teased and Draxum tensed.

“Wh-!” Draxum began to refute, thoroughly displeased at the moniker, but swallowed his outburst, feeling red spread across his nose and cheeks in its place. “Do NOT call me that...!”

Sofia held back another tease, seeing the blush and how upset... or confused, Draxum was. “Okay, okay, I won't. I’ll put it up there with names you don’t like being called, like ‘Dad Two’.” Sofia said and Draxum groaned. “So,” she re-commanded his attention, “how exactly are you going to help with this?”

Sofia flexed her hand and Draxum scoffed. “Have you forgotten who I am? No one more than I understands mutations. Despite the... er, botched formula we are currently living in the consequences of.”

“True enough... on both fronts...” Sofia nodded. “The other Draxum couldn’t figure out a cure, but he might’ve if given the ample amount of time. Getting back was more important, and honestly, I’m your problem, not his. He probably trusts you to figure out what he couldn’t.”

“And I intend to,” Draxum stood up, hovering over Sofia, offering his hand. “Once your father and brother are cured, I pledge my research to ridding you of the Dragon’s Eye. Being the first in history to achieve such a feat may restore my honor.”

“...Fair enough,” Sofia smirked, reiterating in her head just how much of a tsundere he truly was, grabbing his hand and allowing Draxum to pull her back into standing. It was, however, a premature notion, a bout of dizziness assaulting Sofia the moment she was back on her feet. “Oh crap...!” she uttered and lost her footing - but before her knees hit the ground, was she suddenly elevated. Draxum had caught her, by the back of her shell, and was holding her aloft.

“What, what now!?” he huffed in frustration, Sofia weakly laughing in response.

“You were right, I should’ve been resting...” She said and Draxum sighed, rolling his eyes.

“And I suppose I’m to take you back to your room now?”

“That or leave me here - someone else will find me eventually.”

“And the mess?”

“I’ll clean it up in the morning, whether you leave me here on the cold kitchen floor, or not,” she hammed up and Draxum scrunched up his face in frustration.

“You little-” He started only to be cut off by a gasp, both him and Sofia looking to the source. The entrance to the kitchen housed Vinnie, Nel, and April, - back from their visit with Gio. The trio all looked on the scene with shock, Vinnie already going for his weapon, Sofia quickly scrambling her thoughts to stop the misunderstanding.

“WAIT, WAIT, WAIT-!” She pleaded, holding out her arms towards her siblings. “This is NOT what it looks like!”

“Sofia, if he hurt you-” April started and Sofia cut her off.

“He didn't! He didn’t do any of this - I did. The mess? Me. This;” she held up her injured hand, “also me. Draxum is helping me.”

“By holding you up like a scruffed kitten?” Nel asked but still dropped her guard.

“She cannot stand. She attempted to and I caught her thus,” Draxum explained and Sofia nodded.

Nel scoffed and approached, easily scooping Sofia out of Draxum’s grasp. “I’m too tired to hear the full explanation. You’re going to bed, now.”

“Yes ma'am,” Sofia said half jokingly, Nel and her exiting the kitchen, April close behind, but not without delivering a two-fingered glare to Draxum before disappearing after them.

Vinnie then approached Draxum, saying only one word; “explain”, and Draxum did so, figuring Sofia would tell the truth to her siblings soon enough. Her research had failed, she’d wrecked the kitchen in her anger, then he’d found the small turtle in her despair - offering his help. Vinnie seemed convinced enough, shaking his head at the whole exchange. “Look, I believe you, but you need to understand that the last time you held Sofia aloft ended up with you trying to kill her. So you’ll have to excuse the accusatory glares and cautionary stances.”

“This was happenstance,” Draxum defended himself.

“And we’ve all had a very emotionally charged night...” Vinnie went for the fallen drawing board, setting it back up straight. “Regardless, it’s OK. Get some rest and we’ll revisit the topic in the morning. I’ll clean up.”

“No, I will help you. I originally came in here to feed myself, and I am still unfed,” Draxum went for the book, snapping it shut and placing it on the counter.

“Wow, did Nel taking the talisman off make you nicer?” Vinnie teased and Draxum didn’t answer. “Just sit down,” Vinnie grabbed the paper Draxum was reaching for. “I’ll make you something - as thanks for looking out for Sofia without any prodding... and because I'd rather you didn’t stink up the lair with your attempts at cooking.”

Chapter Text

Leo adjusted the cloaking brooch, hiding it under his belt before activating it. Mystic buzzed all around him, then quieted, Leo facing the mirror in his room to view the results. He was Vincent once again, bringing his fingers to the similar but different markings, poking and stretching them for good measure. Sofia’s ruse with makeup worked just as well, but this was preferable in more ways than one - more foolproof, and less discomfort for Leo as a whole. He was feeling... light, despite what he was preparing for. Ever since he’d talked out things with his family, the stress of the situation became more manageable. That night in the silent arcade did Leo pour his heart out, repeating everything he had said to Vincent, word for word. He knew his family would understand, knew they would accept him no matter what - but he still found himself avoiding their concerned gazes, almost convincing himself that in showing fragility that he’d let them down. It was Raph who silenced the quivering of his brother’s heart, pulling Leo into an embrace, holding him gently, allowing Leo to pull away if need be.

Raph, too, had wanted nothing more for this air to be cleared between them. While he had taken on the role of keeping his brothers in line, safe, and generally cared for in lieu of Splinter’s inability to be fully present, -and they knew now why things had ended up as they did, but it didn’t make things any easier after the fact. Splinter was more active than ever in their lives now, but the damage had been done, and it left wounds and scars that were still needing to be tended to. It wasn’t as if Raph could just completely drop his pseudo parenting, a part of him didn’t want to, another part of him urged his responsibilities elsewhere - but in the here and now, Leo needed him, not to correct his behavior or chide him for his inaction, but to simply convey he was seen, that he understood, and that he loved him.

Leo more than accepted the gesture, returning it, burying his face in Raph’s neck as he softly wept. Mikey and Donnie needed no more reason to hang back any longer, joining the embrace and wordlessly letting their affections known. Mikey had wished it hadn’t taken traveling to another dimension for Leo to finally come clean to them while Donnie was more frustrated that it had come to this at all. Mikey most of all wanted whatever awkwardness had been hanging between them be talked out, but held back alongside his brothers, patiently, feeling it wasn’t his place despite it being all their business. Donnie, on the other hand, being the problem solver he was, had begrudgingly let Leo stew, knowing nothing he could cook up would get his brother to stop his deflecting. However, none of those regrets mattered now, the brothers finally able to let the burden go, finally able to face one another without fear of upsetting the fragile facade they had been living in. He almost felt giddy about it all - Leo not feeling this freed in quite some time. It didn’t mean the dreams would stop, it didn’t mean his anxieties would simply disappear - but he knew now it didn’t really matter. He had his family, they had him, and whatever the future brought, they’d face it together - for better or worse.

“Hey, Leonardo, are you almost ready to go-” Nel peeked her head into Leo’s room, her train of thought crashing on seeing the picture perfect doppelganger of her brother. “Woah! That is crazy. You sure you’re not Vinnie playing a prank on me?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Leo comforted, reaching for his coat.” Just let me get my winter gear on and I’ll be right out.

“Alright, Sofia and I will be waiting by the lair’s entrance!”

In seeing Nel and hearing Sofia’s name, Leo’s memories were further stirred. It was yesterday they decided to finally commit to walking into the M.o.B trap, thanks to Donnie and Nel’s crazed conspiracy theories that became a spectacle the further it endured. Even in Sofia’s drawing board being freed up - they couldn’t contain it all, Leo walking into the kitchen to find Donnie extending a line of red yarn onto the wall far removed from the core of the investigation. It was extremely amusing to watch this new duo bounce their ideas off one another, Donnie applying his knowledge of their world to this one, often being shot down by Nel as she corrected accordingly. Soon the whole blended family was in attendance, watching their banter with a whole slew of emotions. Some of their connections made sense, but they lacked crucial evidence to solidify theories into facts, finally hitting a rut once dinnertime arrived. Despite being forced into completion, Donnie and Nel continued their chat over their meal, most in their blast radius starting to feel exhaustion, except Vinnie and April, who were exceedingly glad for the distraction Donnie had gifted their sister. Their visit with Gio took a turn for the worse the moment he began another escape attempt. Vinnie had already witnessed the side effects of Gio’s attempts, April had mentally prepared for this visit after comforting Sofia through the last one - but Nel had nothing to buffer the horror of it all. She knew Sofia’s refusal to come went beyond her’s and Gio’s dispute, knew that beyond her exhaustion Sofia wouldn’t have willingly come along, and the truth of it was never more apparent as Nel watched her brother’s suffering.

Gio’s new form forced upon him, his desperation to escape, the wounds inflicted by the EPF, - his blood staining the Hudson River red. Nel’s guilt multiplied a hundredfold, believing her frustration-filled act had fueled Gio’s isolation. Combined with the stress over her information gathering earlier that day - it broke her, even further than Sofia’s sorrows when she’d first seen Gio in the present. She wept bitterly in her powerlessness, knowing that no matter how strong she truly was, Nel could do nothing for Gio. Nothing. It took April and Vinnie ages to quell their sister’s woes, never seeing her like this before - so fragile, so broken. Nel wanted nothing more than to find the solution, work things out as she always had - but she knew it was useless to think on such things. There was no easy out, there was no turning back the hands of time - but there was hope. Nel wouldn’t so easily forget their visiting siblings, how Gio’s own counterpart had promised a solution. As pained as she was, Nel eventually found herself again, re-emerging from the pit that was her sorrows, walking hand in hand with April and Vinnie as they made their way home. Silence endured between the trio all the way until they found Draxum and Sofia in the kitchen, Nel using what was left of her energy to put her sister to bed, knowing she’d make sense of it all in the morning.

It was that next morning that Sofia called a sudden impromptu mini family meeting while everyone was present in the kitchen either eating breakfast or preparing more of it. She was candid, all her dooming from the previous night long gone as her and Draxum explained the situation. No, there was no cure, but there would be - eventually, and while there was a round of empathetic encouragement, the boys (with Vinnie included) could barely hide knowing smirks at Draxum (the recipient of their smugness choosing to ignore them in favor of his meal). Still, Mikey didn’t let Sofia escape post breakfast clean up without delivering her a hug that needed no words, and she accepted it sincerely, hugging Mikey back - answering his sentiment with determination. With that, Sofia finally took her rest seriously, soon on her feet again, and the visit to the M.o.B decided.

“There he is,” Sofia announced Leo’s arrival, the entire blended family turning their heads towards him as he joined the crowd. Everyone was here to see them off, understandably, considering what all figured they were walking into. “Wow, the cloaking brooch puts my previous work to shame. Pity,” she teased.

“I dunno, there was a certain charm to the paint job that the brooch doesn’t quite capture...” Vinnie further teased, Leo playfully rolling his eyes in response.

“Creeps me right the heck out regardless...” April shuddered, Mayhem in her arms nodding in agreement.

“Are we sure Nelli doesn’t need the other brooch? Considering Raph sorta... punched the lights out a ton of the M.o.B goons?” Mikey asked. “They legit mistook me for Sofia, so I think she’s safe, but I dunno...” He looked back and forth between Raph and Nel.

“I was in my winter duds, my face was covered, and I only spoke two or three words at most. I think we’re good?” Raph answered then shrugged, Nel echoing it.

“If anything, I can prove things with a punch!” Nel punched into her palm.

“Very true - you’re both ridiculously strong,” Donnie nodded.

“But hopefully it won't come to that,” Sofia added, eyeing Leo, who took her cue.

“But if it does, we’ve got my portals,” he twirled one of his swords, stopping it to point at Mayhem. “And this one for backup if I somehow can’t teleport for whatever reason.”

Mayhem made an affirmative growl in response, Draxum looking doubtfully at the small Yōkai. “I don’t believe Agent 64 has the energy output to teleport that many bodies,” he said and Mayhem glared his way.

“Oh, he does, it’ll just exhaust him,” Vinnie confirmed. “That’s why he’s the backup plan.”

“And the backup-backup plan is to use your All Purpose Mad Dogs Buttons. I trust you remember your passwords?” Donnie asked and said confidently.

“...Unfortunately,” Sofia grumbled, earning a scowl from Donnie, which she returned by sticking her tongue out at him.

“Alright then, we’re as prepared as we can be, so let’s get this over with,” Leo opened a portal, then gestured for the ladies to go first, both Nel and Sofia taking the offer. He gave a nod to the rest of the family before leaving himself, everyone giving their own version of silent encouragement, urging him forward. Leo deposited them at the end of a long road, a private one belonging to the M.o.B. - a beautiful mansion peeking out from behind a tall tree line. There was still some walking distance between them and the presumed locked gate barring the way to their destination. While the invitation did tell them to present themselves at the mansion itself, Nel believed the gate wouldn’t be there for no reason, and so they walked, soon met by a lone, imposing draconic guard. Leo recognized him.

“Halt,” they said, not even bothering to look any of the trio in the eye, their gaze on the cigar they were in the process of cutting, then lighting with Mystic. “What business do you have at the Masters of Barbarianism’s headquarters?” Sofia held out the invitation for him to see, the Yōkai taking a deep drag and letting it out above them, finally looking up, and then down at the visitors. One ice blue eye glared at them, shifting his attention to the card before snatching it from Sofia’s hand. He read it, looked at them again, then folded it back before tossing it at Sofia - almost hitting her in the forehead in the process. “Are you lot blind? It says ‘orange’ and ‘blue’ - there’s nothing about a mutant in red being invited.”

“I was part of the altercation - I’m as equally involved-” Nel started to explain, only to receive cigar smoke blown directly into her face. She gagged and wheezed, staring daggers at him as Leo took a step forward.

“Hey, not cool! What’s the problem if we decided to bring a plus one? Does it really matter?”

“The problem, mutant scum, is that our leader sent instructions, and you’re not following them. So, either she stays here while you two go in, or all of you beat it. He’s a busy Yōkai-”

“Bruce,” a Mystic powered speaker attached to the gate crackled to life, the voice sounding from it striking fear into the guard. It was deep, weathered, and thoroughly irritated. “Stop being an absolute pill and let my guests in - all of them. And apologize for blowing smoke into a literal child’s face, you bumbling halfwit. That girl could snap your spine in two before you take another drag, and I’ll allow it if need be.”

“Y-yes, of course, sir!” Bruce snapped to attention, dropping his cigar and extinguishing it under his expensive dress shoe. “Terribly sorry for my rudeness...” he bowed and moved out of the way, the gate opening.

“Ye gods, man - apologize to her, not in her general direction! Were you raised in a barn!?” The voice snarled, Leo noticing beads of sweat starting to form on Bruce’s brow.

“I’m very, very sorry for blowing smoke in your face, young lady!”

“...And?” The voice further demanded.

“And I’m sorry for disrespecting your guests, therefore disrespecting you, sir!”

“...That will suffice,” the speaker fizzled out, Bruce maintaining his bowed stance as he used his hand to bid them welcome, the trio of turtles finally moving past the gate. There was still a long winding road littered with topiaries painstakingly trimmed into draconic beings; Nel finding her voice again once they’d gained enough distance from the gate.

“Geez, to think just the sound of his voice made that guy go from total jerk to banana pudding...” She said in a hushed tone.

“Yeah, especially considering that guy back there is the leader of the M.o.B. back in my dimension,” Leonardo said in matching volume, Sofia and Nel sharing a concerned look.

“...And you found nothing on this ‘Drako the Great’ in your deep dive?” Sofia asked Nel, the latter shaking her head.

“Nothing. It’s all either scrubbed or they’re actually clean.”

“I highly doubt that’s the case,” Leo took notice as the topiaries became more and more intimidating, gruesome even, the closer they approached the mansion.

“I guess we can rule out a nice calm meeting then,” Sofia half joked. “I haven’t used my naginata in awhile...”

“...Let’s not jump to conclusions...” Nel said, despite looking at a specific topiary that displayed a dragon with its jaws clamped around a giant turtle’s shell, disregarding how oddly specific it was. The doors to the mansion opened to their arrival, two lizard-like Yōkai bidding them inside, revealing a gaudy, yet dark interior befitting a clan of dragon mobsters. Leo stopped himself from commenting something witty about it - the thought immediately dissipating with the slamming of the doors behind them. The two Yōkai were now approaching them, all three of the visitors immediately feeling their guards raise.

“We’ll have to pat you down before you see the boss,” one said plainly.

“And we’ll be taking your weapons too,” the other added.

“Don’t bother,” a new voice boomed above them. From a grand imperial staircase they appeared, Drako slowly descending the steps towards the group as they spoke again. “My father wishes to meet with them immediately.”

“But, young master, what if they try something?”

“They are our guests, not our prisoners - and did you just insinuate that Drako the Great could be harmed by mere mutant children?” His glower set the two back a few steps.

“N-no! Not at all! We would never!” They flustered, Drako’s countenance returning to that of relaxed.

“At the very least you should have offered to take their coats before threatening frisking - honestly...” He shook his head slightly.

“It’s fine, we’re good, and if it's all the same to you, I think we’ll keep the coats on - it’s surprisingly cold in here,” Nel tried to end the small dispute, Drako's gaze falling on her. There was a brief pause in viewing her, but he soon turned away, beginning to ascend the stairs.

“...Indeed,” Drako replied simply, then snapped his fingers, a large hearth swelling to life with colorful flames, making the trio jump slightly. “Follow me.” They did as they were told, keeping a few paces between them and the dragon leading his guests down a dimly lit corridor - though with another snap of Drako’s fingers did adorning wall mounted candelabras illuminate the way to a beautiful, regal looking door. Drako took the door’s gigantic knocker in his hand, rapping three times before opening it, entering inside first. “Father, I’ve brought the turtle mutants.”

“Thank you, Junior,” the voice recognized from the speaker said gratefully. “Please, come in, all of you,” the three of them all eyed a distant figure at the end of the room, barely illuminated by the provided lighting, their outline revealing their gaze to be on the Hidden City through the window they were settled at. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to accept my invitation.”

“We’ve been surprisingly busy,” Leo said back, getting a chuckle out of the elder Yōkai.

“It’s hardly surprising, given the state of things,” he turned to meet them properly, looking at his guests with a perplexed expression still unknown to them. “Ah, yes, right, lights and warmth-” He snapped his fingers, the sheer volume of it dwarfing Junior’s as it echoed off the walls. The room illuminated fully, revealing a dining room set with all the trimmings, and the absolute titan that was Drako the Great. He was taller than Draxum, larger than Big Mama in Yōkai form, - and in flexing his wingspan did a gust of wind blow past them, the door slamming shut and Nel’s scarf slapping Leo in the face. They were briefly stunned into silence as they contemplated how to respond. “My apologies, Junior and I tend to run a little hot, so we keep the mansion livable, but colder than most are acclimated to.”

“It’s... fine...” Nel managed, then shook off her shock.

“Now, let Junior get your coats and we can start getting acquainted properly. I’ve very much desired to meet you all for some time now.”

“That’s really not necessary-” Nel started, only to stop on seeing Junior offering his empty hands to take their coats. She felt like denying him might be seen as rude, and she was thoroughly intimidated at the moment, so Nel gave in, Leo and Sofia following.

“...Why exactly?” Sofia responded back to Drako with a raised brow. “And you’ll have to forgive my further skepticism seeing as a bunch of your men jumped me in Draxum’s lab just to deliver your invitation.”

“Yet another thing I must apologize for. Many of those under me tend to think they have something to prove, like Bruce whom you met earlier, but you thoroughly schooled them on the error of their ways, or so I’ve been told,” Drako wore a wry smile. “But if you believe they require further correction, say the word and I can... remove them from the equation, permanently.”

“Woah, woah, no need. We can let bygones be bygones, right, Sofs?” Leo immediately shot down the suggestion, Sofia allowing forgiveness, especially considering where they were.

“...I guess I can.”

“Wonderful, then let that be the last we ever speak on it. Please, sit,” Drako bid, his son pulling out three chairs for them and offering, seating them like a gentleman would. Drako took his seat at the head of the table in a him-sized chair whilst Junior sat to the right of him. “And to answer your question, there is much we need to speak on tonight. But, before we get into all of it, may I have your names?” He asked, a twinge of genuine wonder in his tone. They saw no reason to deny him, knowing how difficult it would be for the conservation to continue elsewise.

“Vincent.”

“Nelli.”

“Sofonisba.”

“Absolutely fascinating...” Drako said as he leaned his head into his palm, a glint of awe in his eyes. “Pure mutants borne from Wyrm’s Blood - each with your own unique name, personality, and what have you. I believed you all dead from the fire in Draxum’s lab all those years ago...” he chuckled again, a smile stretching across his scaled maw. “But I’m getting ahead of myself - such things should be discussed over dinner. What would you all like to eat?”

The trio all shared an uneasy look with one another, Leo choosing to speak up. “You really don’t need to feed us or keep up whatever it is you’re doing right now. Besides, do you really expect us to trust food from total strangers who have us at their mercy currently?”

“You make a fair point, one can never be too cautious, but I assure you there is no facade in play. I am truly enchanted to meet you and wish you no harm... as long as we come to an understanding.”

“And there it is...” Sofia said with a small shrug. “Then how about this; if you’re so keen on this dinner party, then you won't mind me checking the food for poison?”

“Can you do such a thing?” Drako asked, more amused than insulted.

“Easily,” she snipped back, Drako giving into a small bout of true laughter from it.

“Very well, little one, do whatever you need to. So, what’s for dinner?”

Nel and Leo looked to one another, then both of them to Sofia, who clearly shared the same sentiment. “Pizza,” Leo said confidently, earning another laugh from Drako, and a roll of their eyes from his son.

“I will inform the chefs,” Drako Junior left his seat and the room, unable to hide a shake of his head.

“It shan't take long, so in the meantime, instead of us just staring at each other, can I persuade you to tell me more about yourselves?” He asked in all seriousness, but was quickly regarded with quizzical stares and silence. “...Dear me, have I thoroughly intimidated you insomuch that your lips are permanently sealed?

“It’s less about being intimidated, and more about us choosing not to overly engage,” Nel replied with a cross of her arms. “Considering the M.o.B. is either the cleanest organization of mobsters ever, or you simply make whatever threatens you disappear.”

“Yeah, and honestly, why would we be willing to tell anything to someone who’s actively spying on us while we’re out getting groceries and then uses an invitation thinly veiled as a threat to force us here? Your mob name is literally ‘Masters of Barbarianism’,” Leo added.

“Hm,” a small bit of smoke escaped Drako’s nostrils as he pondered. “That name was grandfathered in, but it seems our reputation is already in tatters with you.”

“Not to mention,” Sofia took out the now empty phial, rolling it down the table towards Drako, no change in emotion on his face as it reached him. “We know what was in here, and what it can do.”

“...Do you now?” He said with a small smirk surfacing, picking up the bottle with his thumb and index finger - lining it up with his guests, then thoroughly shattering it. Both sides waited for the other to act, a stalemate on the edge of confrontation - when the door reopened and Drako Junior returned. His stoic persona was forced into suspension at feeling the tension in the room, but it was quickly broken with a sigh, his father leaning back into his chair. “It seems I have underestimated you all. Today, I was simply going to warn you, but we’re far past warnings and threats now. Junior, sit back down - you’re as involved in this as they are,” he commanded and his son silently complied.

“Involved in what, exactly?” Nel urged as Drako folded his hands over his stomach.

“We will need to start at the very conception of Yōkai-kind,” Drako revealed. “Because this tale, the M.o.B.’s reason for existing, and my goals are all intertwined so tightly that every living being is caught in its giant web.”

“Father, do you really intend to tell them everything?” Drako Junior was mildly aghast.

“I do. I may as well get it out of the way now, rather than later. In a sense, they are my children as well.”

“...Excuse me?” Sofia said for all three of them, wondering if she’d misheard. Drako simply chuckled and replied;

“Children, do you know of the Utrom? Of what they performed on our planet?”

“...We do,” Leo answered and nodded.

“Wonderful, that makes explaining things much easier. It was because of them our world fractured by a meteor began to thrive again. Much life was lost, but with time, patience, and select life forms given Empyrean to sup on, Earth’s scars closed, and life began anew. However, not all was well, in both the ranks of the Utrom and the hearts of their creations. Those calling themselves the Krang arose from the Utrom, and thoroughly bloodied much of their brethren’s efforts.”

“The war among the Yōkai?” Sofia guessed, Drako nodding.

“A tad surprising that someone so young is aware of such a thing,”

“It’s a hobby,” Sofia lied and Drako shrugged, continuing.

“That war took place almost solely on a tropical island in the East - a place now known as Japan. The Utrom had chosen it as their base of operations due to its unique climate, general isolation, and wide array of wildlife. But when the war began, many fled, spreading their creations across the globe - my ancestors included, who eventually settled in Europe and scattered about every which way.”

“That more or less lines up with the information we have,” Leo nodded. “But what exactly are we gaining out of this history lesson?”

“I will answer your question with another. Children, how knowledgeable are you on the effects of Empyrean on reptiles specifically?”

“As in, Wyrm’s Blood? How it’s basically hyper refined Empyrean?” Sofia guessed and Drako smiled, very satisfied with her answer.

“Yes! I truly have underestimated you!” There was an odd sense of pride emanating from Drako towards them as he continued. “Empyrean is extremely well suited to reptiles, for reasons beyond me, but I have always believed it was a sign that we had been chosen. It roils within us, turning our very lifeblood into both poison and medicine. It makes us long lived - longer than any other Yōkai race. It allows a superiority that no other Yōkai can replicate!” The sudden zeal from Drako had taken them aback, another pocket of silence threatening to take over once again, when the door reopened, various reptilian Yōkai dressed in chef attire entering with their meal. The silence continued as everything was placed accordingly and until all the chefs had left. “But alas, I am getting ahead of myself again. Test for the nonexistent poison, my dear,” Drako motioned to the pizzas and drinks placed in front of Sofia, Leo, and Nel. Sofia said nothing, pushing her Ninpō over their food. She had become so used to doing such over living beings, forcing medicine to mix properly, that detecting something that shouldn’t be there was nothing to her. While the ingredients were clearly of Yōkai origin, there was nothing they couldn’t eat, retracting her energies.

“It’s safe,” Sofia said and Drako mockingly smirked.

“Interesting... how is it that you did that? Would it by some chance have something to do with the human genes tainting your blood?” He asked in an icy tone. “Mystic powers are nothing strange to us, but that one, it has a very... human touch to it.”

“Is that a problem?” Sofia bit back, Drako amused by her fiery spirit.

“It may be, especially if you intend to keep using it to ‘heal’ my efforts.”

“Your... efforts?” Nel asked with caution.

“Indeed,” Drako replied nonchalantly. “My efforts that have been centuries in the making. You see, even with the war being over, persecution towards Wyrms was just beginning. I’m sure you’ve heard it all before; the brave knight slays the dragon and earns the hand of the princess! Or; the wicked dragon terrorizes a great kingdom - a kingdom that neither considered what territory it was encroaching on nor cared to parlay, slaying the dragon for the good of mankind. Even those of us who just wished to slumber were exposed, slain, and then twisted into tales for human children to fantasize about.”

“...Holy crap,” Nel said as she understood what was being conveyed.

“Yes, you no doubt have been exposed to it in some way or form. Because of the righteous zeal to murder my kin, there are very few of us left. Most in the M.o.B. ranks have blood so diluted it cannot provide the miracles it was hardly known for. My own blood is so old now that it's aged into being purely poisonous. But Junior, here, he is the last known pure blooded Wyrm - and with his blood were you and every other mutant given life. He is your brother of sorts, or perhaps a cousin would be more fitting?” He revealed and Drako Junior said nothing, ignoring the shock on their guest’s faces as he went for his wine glass, taking a generous sip and keeping his eyes on the liquid as he swirled it mindlessly.

“O-okay, um,” Sofia started, gathering her thoughts. “So, I get what you’re saying, but I’m failing to see the ‘why’ of it all. Like, I get the human hatred at length, I can guess you want to get revenge or something, but why did a Yōkai have heavily diluted mutagen being marketed as a medicine? Why involve the Yōkai in... whatever it is you’re doing?”

“Oh, sweet, innocent child,” Drako said in a mix of mocking and genuine pity. “Where were the Yōkai when my kin were being slayed for sport and stories? While the Heads established themselves, they never once gave a thought to those who scattered from the war. They just... expected us to flee once more, abandon our homes, our land, for this stuffy prison of a city? Be not deceived, little one, this is no utopia or beloved melting pot of cultures - it is a last resort, and in being brought to its knees, it is only a matter of time until the long festering wounds of its people are healed, whether they like it or not.”

“...What does that mean?” Leo asked cautiously.

“Let me paint you a picture; a Yōkai discovers a way to harness Empyrean to mutate humans, but is forbidden from doing so. It is a very controlled substance, not much left of it, I’m afraid. Intrigued by this, I offer a fitting substitute, and then play the waiting game. For so long had I planned to rid the earth of the humans, to reclaim all that was ours, to spill their blood as freely as they had my kin - but, poof, everything is lost in a fire and almost a few decades pass before that Yōkai can try again. The results were... mixed, but then, it happened. The roar of a dragon.” Drako looked blissful whilst the turtles shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

“The... Kaijus, I’m guessing?” Nel grimaced.

“A ridiculous name, but yes! They’re beautiful, are they not!?” Drako sighed, his body full on the euphoria of his own words. “By some miracle, the first experiment wasn’t a total loss! Three reborn into a draconic lineage called out to their brethren, beckoning them to superiority! ...And then the Heads and EPF stuck their noses where they ought not - but the damage, the display of our prowess, has worked wonders in our favor.”

Nel resisted the urge to vomit, Drako's words, especially towards that of her brother, churning what was left in her stomach, exceedingly glad she hadn't partook of any pizza yet. She swallowed hard, finding her voice, as while she had every inkling of what Drako’s next words would be, she would pull them from him specifically. “So, from what I understand, not only are you aiming to take revenge on the humans, by either killing or mutating them, but the Yōkai as well for turning their backs on you. To do so, you’ve been disturbing the ‘medicine’, thus getting Wrym’s blood spread throughout the population.”

“Yes, very good!” Drako was still so drunk on his ego, that he praised Nel affectionately. “They come to me looking for medicine, so I send them to work making it. They come to me with money begging for the means to avenge their fallen, and so I provide. Even those most jaded towards us will eventually fall into line with the rest, be it the police, the other mobs, perhaps even the Heads themselves! However,” his eyes fell on Sofia specifically, staring her down. “The true reason I called you here today still looms around us.”

“The mutant with healing powers...” Drako Junior finally spoke, joining his father’s glare.

“A miracle brought about by Draxum adding a foreign contaminant into the recipe...” Drako’s tone was hiding clear anger. “He not only failed to fulfill his end of the contract, but chose to directly disobey my wishes - his benefactor!” Smoke rose from his nostrils, but dissipated as Drako cleared his throat. “But that is no fault of yours. I assume that the reason the three of you did not answer the dragon’s call is because of that healing power?” He asked and the trio didn’t answer, by proxy telling Drako all. “I thought so. You expelled all traces of Wyrm’s Blood from Hueso and his son, after all.”

“You-!” Sofia slammed her hands on the table, standing up. “How dare you! Taking advantage of people when they’re vulnerable! I swear, if you hurt Huseo and H.J., I’ll show you what else I can do!”

“Mmm, tempting,” Drako said dryly. “But rest assured, the bone man and his son haven’t been harmed. I have little interest in hunting down every single Yōkai when they will all eventually come back to me for succor. They are trapped here, resources dwindling, with no one else to turn to. It is only a matter of time, the day of our ascension grows ever closer, and I am a very, very patient creature.”

“Patient enough to draw out a threat over a history lesson and explain your fantastical revenge plan,” Sofia openly mocked, Drako not taking the bait, simply leaning his jaw into fist while lifting the other, two fingers raised.

“You have two options, turtles. One; oppose me here and you become my prisoners, which includes correcting your blood, and wait until Ascension Day is upon us. Or, two; go back home, stop using your power to oppose me, and live your lives peacefully until I come to collect you for Ascension Day.”

“What!?” Nel joined Sofia in standing. “Both of those options end with us in your clutches!”

“Well, yes, naturally, you belong to me,” Drako said matter-of-factly, so candidly Nel only managed to sputter in response. “Did you forget that Draxum was under contract? I was to have my pick of mutants from his efforts, and he never delivered. Therefore, any and all mutants belong to me as collateral for his debts. So, it truly doesn’t matter if I take what’s mine now or later. Make your choice.”

They were barely able to digest what they’d been told. Anger burned in within each of them, all in different intensities. For Gio, for this twisted outlook of life itself, for the threat against everything they loved. Leo, able to quell his more than the sisters, was the last to stand, opening a portal, giving Drako his answer. “We’re leaving,” he addressed Sofia and Nel, both of them stuck between compliance and defiance. “Nel, Sofia, we’re leaving, NOW!” He snapped them both out of their rage-filled daze, both of them complying, doing their best to not view Drako as they left the mansion behind.

“I look forward to seeing you all again on Ascension Day,” Drako waved goodbye, a triumphant look in his eye.

“Take your god complex and shove it,” Leo snarled, jumping through the portal, arriving back at the lair with a thoroughly disturbed family on the other side. Donnie was in the middle of receiving a bug he’d placed in Nel’s scarf, placing it on his wrist panel, uploading what it had captured.

“Did you guys hear it all?” Nel asked despite knowing the truth by viewing their faces.

“Every word,” Donnie said, continuing to type away. “And now we have a copy of it in HD.”

“...To think that his desire for domination would eclipse mine... and so overwhelmingly, at that,” Draxum contemplated, both disturbed and intrigued.

“Auuugh, you shut up!” Nel growled at Draxum. “I am so incredibly angry at you right now that I could caber toss you through SEVERAL WALLS! We’re collateral for your debts, you short-sighted, idiot! You make me, so mad sometimes-!” Draxum backed up a few steps as Nel took one forward.

“Breathe,” Sofia put a hand on her sister’s shoulder.

“In... out...” Mikey gently pushed, Nel following the breathing pattern before speaking again.

“However, I acknowledge that Drako was using you and orchestrated this whole situation, plus you’re helping us now - so I will keep my rage contained for other things.”

“Like yours and Donnie’s plan?” Raph asked, Nel raising a brow at him, Vinnie speaking next.

“He shared everything with us once Drako started going on his ‘everyone will become dragons’ speech.”

“And girl, we’re behind it all the way - I think it’ll work!” April encouraged.

“What plan?” Leo asked, Nel turning to Leo as she explained.

“Donatello and I cooked up a bunch while we were red yarning in the kitchen - and one in particular just became perhaps our only way out of this situation. But we’re gonna need some help. Sofia,” she looked to her sister. “How soon can you get Dad up?”

“Like, right now, if you want.”

“I do. We’re gonna need him... and Big Mama.”

Chapter Text

They had everything - fame, fortune, true love. To the average onlooker, their life was both an achievable dream and yet impossible to grasp. From nothing they came - a long lost to history clan that they cared nothing for. It took from them their mother, their autonomy, their future. And so they wrenched back what they could before leaving it all behind for a new life. From what their own home refused to give them did they rise and find what they’d desired. They were no slave to ancient hearsay.

But another set of shackles soon claimed them. The one they’d given their love to betrayed them, enslaved them once more. Their fame; worthless, their fortune; useless. A future filled with conflict and despair was laid out before them, and they fought against it, and fought, and fought, until the cracks that had been present since their mother left finally broke them. They would fight no longer, they accepted the futility of their life long struggle and gave into stagnation. From it, they wondered; truly, what was the point of it all? Were they only born into this world to suffer? To be given a taste of freedom only for it be ripped away so comically? In biding their time did it leave them even more vulnerable, stolen away again, used, and transformed into something they felt beyond saving. Any semblance of returning to their former life was made abundantly clear by just a glance at what they’d become. And yet, there was warmth here, there was love. Four tiny pairs of hands reaching out to them, unconditional affections that they answered as they could. They were not a guardian against an ancient evil, nor a movie star, or an underground gladiator, but now a sudden, but not wholly unwelcome;

“...Dad?” One of the voices he cherished called out to him. “Dad, can you hear me?”

Splinter managed a grunt in response, only now becoming aware of the odd sensation spreading throughout his body. His memories forcibly being replayed seemed to have a placebo effect of sorts, but now he resisted the urge to writhe. “Well, that’s a start...” April said quietly, watching both Splinter’s and Sofia’s struggles. Sat with her at the end of Splinter’s bed were her siblings, all a bit lost on what to do outside observe. They had assumed with the circumstances of Splinter only needing half a dose of sedative would mean Sofia having an easier time healing, but they were now discovering how wrong they were. Despite their father’s size, Sofia found Splinter had more energies flowing in him than Nel and that they were actively rejecting her. The theory currently standing was that his was pure Hamato blood whilst theirs was mixed, but it didn’t deter Sofia’s determination.

“Dad, try to open your eyes, please,” Sofia said through grit teeth, motioning to Nel with her head. Her sister was at her side immediately, holding Sofia up as she more aggressively mixed her Ninpō with the medicine. Splinter grunted again, managing to shake his head, though it didn’t seem to be in defiance, instead fighting whatever still shackled him.

“Don’t overdo it,” Sofia heard Nel whisper into her ear.

“I’m going to have to, or else we risk overmutation, or dragon mutation, or... whatever!” Sofia fussed, her eyes glowing alongside her crest. With Nel bracing her, did Sofia pour out everything that she could, letting out a yell of exertion as the palette knife spread more aggressively than she’d ever commanded it before. Abstract over meticulous strokes, causing Splinter to squirm and gasp - and it worked, forcing him awake, his consciousness bubbling, then bursting back into reality. But whereas his eyes opened, Sofia’s closed, splitting the room between relief and panic.

“Dad!” Vinnie went to his bewildered father’s side, watching Splinter’s eyes dart around helplessly as his chest heaved in fear.

“Sofia!” Nel cried as her sister fell limp in her arms. She quickly switched to cradling her, fingers going to her pulse, a sickening wave of dread crashing over her, but she wasted no time on fear. “DONNIE, DRAXUM!” Nel bellowed as she sprinted out of Splinter’s room with Sofia.

“Oh... no...!” April’s hands covered her mouth as she battled her own bout with dread. “No, no, no-!”

“April!” Vinnie snapped her out of the oncoming wave. “Go with Nel! I’ve got Dad!”

“O-okay!” She quickly followed after Nel, Vinnie’s attention completely back on Splinter.

“Dad, are you with me? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“W-what...” Splinter struggled to sit up, his head spinning as he tried to focus. “What is going on?”

“A lot. More than I could ever attempt to explain to you right now.”

“Did Nelli just run out of the room with Sofia? Did she say ‘Draxum’? And who’s ‘Donnie’?”

“Yes, yes, and they belong in that ‘too much to explain right now’ category,” Vinnie said and offered his back to Splinter. “We should follow. I don’t know how successful your treatment was so I’m taking you to the lab. Climb on.”

“O...kay...?” Splinter said and climbed onto his son’s shell, Vinnie supporting his father’s weight as they left the bed. “Treatment for what...?”

“Dad, look, you’re about to see and hear a ton of stuff that isn’t going to make sense and will probably distress you,” Vinnie said frankly, starting his march to the lab. “You’ve been out for months because of some crazy Yōkai’s plot to essentially take over the world, and surprise, his name isn’t Baron Draxum. And, surprise again, Draxum is helping us, so don’t go all feudal Japan on him, okay?”

“WHAT!?” Splinter yelled directly into Vinnie’s ear, forcing him to pause, shaking his head before continuing his stride. “THE Baron Draxum is here!? The one who mutated me into a rat!? IN OUR HOUSE!?”

Vinnied sighed. “Yes.”

“I WILL GO AS FEUDAL JAPAN ON HIM AS I LIKE!” Splinter raged, ready to pounce. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t!”

“That,” Vinnie said and gestured with his head towards a scene, now entering into the lab and joining the crowd of helpless onlookers. Sofia was laid on the ground whilst Donnie was performing chest compressions on her. Behind them was a scrambling Draxum, adding two liquids together in a phial then aggressively jamming a syringe into it, filling the tool then getting down to Sofia’s level.

“Move!” He ordered and Donnie obeyed, Draxum injecting the serum into Sofia’s neck. Seconds that felt like years passed in silence, soon broken by Sofia gasping for air and suddenly sitting up. Her hands went to her chest as life once again spread throughout her body, then noticing all the eyes on her and where she was.

“Uh...” She began, blinking against her bewilderment and heavy fatigue. “Did I do something wrong... again?”

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, Nel beginning to shed a few tears while April and Raph comforted her. The rest were split between confusion and anger - the angriest among them addressing Sofia first. “Yes, you foolish, reckless, child!” Draxum bellowed, making Sofia flinch. “Never in all my years have I seen someone more heedless than you! What did you think would happen if you used every last dreg of your energy!?”

“...I was warned to not go beyond my powers, but, uh, I thought I had it under control,” She confessed sheepishly.

Draxum sighed, shaking his head as his hand went to nurse an oncoming headache. “If the serum wasn’t enough, then you should have brought the rat to the lab where we could sedate him again until we were amply prepared.”

“I wasn’t aware we had more sedatives just lying around?” Sofia shrugged at him.

“Of course we do! Have you forgotten that I didn’t believe you would be able to heal them properly in the first place!?”

“No, but you never TOLD me that, Draxum! I’m not a mind reader!”

“If you had just a lick of common sense-”

“HOW!?” Sofia interrupted him. “How is any of this ‘common sense’!? I can’t believe you-” a sudden shockwave of pain assaulted Sofia, causing her to cringe and grip her body, silencing any more protests.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough!” Mikey inserted himself into the squabble, kneeling down to Sofia and placing his hands on her shoulders. “I’m gonna need you to simmer down, Draxum. I get it, we’re all upset, but you’re not helping,” he said sternly and Draxum's brow momentarily creased in frustration before swallowing his anger, standing up and moving away from the twins.

“You are hereby prohibited from using your powers until you are one-hundred percent recovered. Any attempt may further endanger your life. Your condition is already volatile as is, and I cannot cure you if you are dead,” Draxum said with a cross of his arms, earning a glare from a still heated Sofia, which he ignored in favor of addressing Donnie instead. “If you were looking for an opportunity to test out your healing protocols, now is as good a time as any.”

“Pfft, finally acting like a parent, are we?” Sofia muttered, only Mikey hearing it.

“Focusing on the wrong things here, Sofs...” He said and Sofia finally looked his way. Mikey’s eyes were admonishing, the look alone stopping Sofia from any more of her snit and pushing her towards what needed to be said. As Sofia recaught everyone’s attention and began an apology in earnest, Splinter's mind was racing. Had he just witnessed his daughter’s brush with death? And Draxum had saved her of his own volition? Furthermore, had he just scolded and punished her as a parental figure would? Baron Draxum parenting his child? But what perplexed Splinter even further was the presence of a doppelganger, no, three of them revealing themselves as he scanned the crowd. This all surely had to be a dream, there was no way a reality like this existed. But at the same time, it did. His eyes saw no lies, his ears hearing none, and the contradiction of it all caused his head to spin.

“Ooog, woozy...” Splinter wobbled on Vinnie's back, his consciousness fading.

“Woah, woah-!” Vinnie leaned forward, preventing his father from falling backwards just in time. “Help?” He eyed the crowd, Leo coming to his aid and grabbing Splinter.

“I’ve got em’,” Leo reassured and Vinnie stood up straight, taking his father back from his twin. “...Yeah, I think I’d faint too in this situation, especially with no context.”

“Well I wasn’t just going to leave him on the bed in confusion,” Vinnie replied. “Draxum, would you-”

“Bring him over here, I’ll run the necessary tests,” Draxum cut him off, already knowing what Vinnie was going to ask.

“...And you’re with me,” Donnie knelt down to Sofia, loading up his healing protocols. “Can you stand?”

“...No...” She barely managed to shake her head.

“Then we’ll stay right here. The rest of you; disperse. You have nothing to gain by staring us down as we work. So, shoo, ...please.”

“But... is everything alright?” Nel wavered, her attention split between her sister and her father.

“Well, your dad is out of comatose, I think, and Sofia is breathing, so little victories. I’ll keep you all posted. So, again; shoo,” Donnie made the accompanying motion with one of his robotic arms as he continued to work on Sofia.

“C’mon,” Raph patted Nel on her shoulder. “Donnie and Draxum got this. Let’s start working on that plan in the meantime.”

“...Yeah,” Nel took her eyes off Sofia, first meeting Raph’s gaze, then April’s, both giving her a confident nod. “...Yeah, let’s do that.” She led the rest of the family out of the lab and into the living room, each still working through the shock of the situation, but putting their mind elsewhere as Nel faced the group.

“So, what’re we doing first, and what can be done without your dad?” Leo inquired and Nel brought her fist to her lips, going through her options before replying.

“Firstly, we should let the Heads know what we’re planning to do. It might very well cause some chaos... and we might need their endorsement and resources in the long run.”

“Sounds like a job for your brother with the portals,” Leo offered. “They already know me too, so, bonus.”

“And I’ll go with you,” Vinnie added. “I’ll help fill in the blanks. ...Maybe we should also bring Mayhem considering he works for them?” He raised his eyebrows at the small Yōkai and Mayhem chittered in response, teleporting onto Vinnie’s shoulder. “Alright then, we have our heading. What else?”

“Next,” Nel turned to Mikey and April, “I’m gonna need a set to film in - something simple and completely untraceable. My previous videos have all been done around the house, but I want to give the illusion that we’ve moved elsewhere. The last thing we need is to be trackable.”

“Oh, I am all over that!” Mikey pledged. “I’ve been meaning to try out some minimalism styles and this is the perfect opportunity, baby!”

“And I’ll help you out. I got a C- in art last semester, but just give me some direction and I’ll get it done!” April shared Mikey’s enthusiasm.

“Yeah, girl, we got this!” Mikey held up his hand and April gave him a high-five.

“Which leaves me to work on the script. Raph,” She addressed her twin, and he perked up at the sound of his nickname. “Are you cool with me bouncing ideas off you? I don’t want to finalize anything until we’ve talked with Big Mama, but if we can at least get the skeleton of a script today, I’ll call it a win.”

“Yeah! Bounce all the ideas off me! And all the other stuff too! I can take it!” He said confidently, making Nel giggle.

“She doesn’t mean literally, Raph,” Leo smirked at his brother’s misplaced confidence.

“Doesn’t matter! We’ll get that skeleton like a boss! Ain't no way we’re gonna let Drako push us around!”

“Not a literal skeleton either...” Leo shook his head as his smirk endured, but he redirected into a confident smile as he addressed the room. “Okay, let’s go, team! Operation: Ruin Drako Senior’s Plan begins now!”

******

It was the middle of the night by the time Donnie started wrapping up his current project. He resisted the urge to sigh, but ultimately failed, letting out his weariness as he leaned back into the chair. He both applauded and cursed his genius, hating that his research had come to this, yet couldn't help himself from the sickening intrigue that made his pulse race. The path to saving his twin was to be paved by something he wasn't even sure existed - and if his theory was true, well, he was sure that putting it into practice would be a sin against some higher power... if he believed in such things. But the fear of something was in him regardless, hastily closing the window displayed on the Mystic panel as footsteps approached the lab.

“Do you two ever sleep?” Vinnie announced his presence, Donnie turning the chair to meet him while Draxum ignored him, continuing to monitor Splinter's vitals on his own screen.

“You already know I'm on a ‘as needed’ basis that is according to my own judgment,” Donnie answered and Vinnie disapprovingly shook his head. “But enough of your judgment - how did things go?”

“They're still going. Leo and I got our mission accomplished, but Michelangelo and April are still working while Nel is typing up a storm in the living room. Raphael at least gave into dreamland alongside Sofia... on either side of Nel, so I guess she's trapped regardless for now.”

“I'm surprised Sofia is sleeping at all considering... all the ribs I broke with the chest compressions...” Donnie cringed at the memory.

“I gave her enough painkillers to knock out a Bitan. She's fine,” Draxum revealed, eyes still on his screen.

“...Yeah, I don't know what that is?” Donnie raised a brow.

“It's a large livestock Yōkai,” Vinnie explained.

“Ha, ha, wow, she's gonna be out like a light for a while...” Donnie mused, wondering how bad the side effects were going to be on someone of Sofia’s size. “Well, at least she's in no more danger of literally using every bit of her energy to the point of making her heart stop beating again. My healing protocols are seemingly forever in beta, but at least they came through today.”

“About that; how long have those been a thing?”

“Since after our fight with the Krang. I can't get them to heal anything but Mystic related injuries, so they're useless fifty percent of the time. I was able to use them for the first time when we... literally shot Sofia out of the sky and healed the Mystic inflicted injury. Flesh wounds, however, we learned the hard way that I cannot fix.”

“The ‘hard way’ meaning...?” Vinnie pushed and Donnie pursed his lips, followed by nervously sucking in air between his teeth.

“I am under a strict verbal contract to not reveal the incident in question.”

“Hoo boy, does this have to do with the ‘Turtle Titan’ thing Leo was so tight-lipped about?”

“...Maybe,” Donnie avoided eye contact, giving Vinnie his answer. He relented instead of pushing, changing his purpose back to why he came into the lab in the first place.

“Alright, shelving that for now, I'm actually here to check on Dad... and to thank the both of you. It's been an absolutely insane day and we're all still processing it, but the reality of Drako’s plan combined with my sister almost dying has finally gotten around to hitting me. So... thank you, I mean it.”

Draxum said nothing, though Vinnie spied the elder Yōkai's eyes divert from his task reflected on the screen, only for a moment, but it told him he got though, even if only slightly.

“...You’re welcome,” Donnie replied tentatively. “Usually I'd bask in gratitude, but you’re right; today has been a test to all of our sanity collectively. I'm just glad we're all still alright... within reason. However, still not fully understanding your Splinter situation, if I'm being honest.”

“It was a miscalculation on my part in regards to the rat,” Draxum confessed. “While his stature took to the sedative like I theorized, I wrongly assumed that the amount of treatment would be reduced also. I should have figured that Lou Jitsu had an abundance of energies considering our brief history, but I wrongly assumed his age and mutation had dulled them. So, you should not be thanking me. It was my oversight that put Sofonisba in danger.”

Donnie and Vincent shared a look of surprise - both shocked by the demurred tone of Draxum’s voice. Donnie understood at length, but he'd become so used to this Draxum's indignant nature that he'd almost forgotten his own's soft spot for him and his brothers. It seemed that this Draxum's complex had finally started to crack. While Vincent wasn't sure if it was the truth revealed that he'd been manipulated or the scare with Sofia, but he was more than familiar with who Draxum could be. Memories of future Leonardo and his relationship with Draxum in the resistance were always with him each time he interacted with him lately. He never quite regained all of his powers back, but the Draxum of the future timeline was both a force to be reckoned with and a pillar of the resistance's community. If he wasn't fighting on the front lines, then he was at one of their many bases helping cook whatever was scrounged up for food.

And the struggles against the Krang legion aged him greatly. His maroon locks shifted to ivory and laugh lines were joined by various stress induced wrinkles - but to Draxum it changed nothing. When his sons asked for council, he gave it. When there was loss of life, he mourned it. When Leo decided to put everything into one last assault, he supported him without question. Whether he truly believed they could prevail or not, Vincent didn't know, but what he was sure of is that Draxum, like Leo and Mikey, had decided to pin all their hopes on Casey Jones if they failed. Draxum himself had taught Mikey how to conjure portals, warned him of the consequences, but knew that if circumstances became helpless, the deed would be done. He no doubt perished in the resistance's struggles and then subsequently disappeared as the timeline was overwritten - but Vinnie would remember him, and in the here and now, he would foster the relationship anew.

“Look,” he approached Draxum, “I appreciate the transparency, but this was more of a group effort mistake. You should have told Sofia about the sedative stash, she shouldn't have pushed herself so hard, while I should have stopped the process the moment I thought something was wrong. Sofia has gotten increasingly more exhausted with each procedure, so when I saw her struggles with Dad, I should’ve been tipped off that she was reaching her limit. I think that saying ‘live and learn’ especially applies here seeing as everyone is still alive, and still OK, or will be.”

“Speak for yourself!” A new voice joined. In the brief moments Draxum had given Vinnie his attention, Splinter had awoken and left his sickbed, now facing his son and his mutator anew. “I am not ‘OK’ with any of this!”

“...How long have you been awake?” Vinnie asked, mentally preparing for the plethora of actions his father might take.

“Since you thanked the CRAZY YŌKAI WARLORD WHO TURNED ME INTO A RAT!”

“Warrior Alchemist,” Draxum corrected.

“Please, stop talking,” Vinnie hissed at Draxum.

“Yes, the time for talking is over!” Splinter took a fighting stance, eyes full of rage towards Draxum.

“You see, this is exactly why we woke you up last,” Vinnie stepped between them, Splinter’s stance remaining unchanged. “Are you going to even try and listen as to why he’s here?”

“No, because I can almost guarantee that he’s the reason for whatever this mess is! Not to mention my last memory ended with him knocking me out while you were in a cage!”

“And that’s a fair point, but Dad, please, I get that you’re mad, but this is so much more complicated than ‘Draxum bad’ and wanting to get revenge for being mutated. Could you at least hear me out?” Vinnie looked into his father’s eyes earnestly, hoping that through his disorientation Splinter would see reason, but his father soon shook his head.

“No, Vincent. Now move.”

“He will do no such thing,” Donnie called out from behind them, leaving his work station and standing shoulder to shoulder with Vinnie. “If you’re not willing to at least entertain the thought of listening, then I’ll remove you from the lab forcibly - that is, if your vitals are all green.”

“They are,” Draxum reassured, a twinge of irritation in his voice at sight of two children acting as a shield when he was more than capable of dispatching Splinter himself.

“Giorgio!? You as well!?” Splinter shook his head in disbelief, in betrayal.

“Look a little closer - I am not your son,” Donnie said and watched as Splinter’s eyes widened, then squinted towards him. Besides the obvious change in attire, Donnie’s markings were different, and ultimately proved his claim true. With it came another memory - that of the mutant turtle in front of him giving his daughter chest compressions, then the other doppelgangers that surrounded the scene.

“You... are not. Who... who are you?”

“Donatello Hamato,” he answered confidently, lighting up the crest on his chest for good measure, re-widening Splinter’s eyes. “I’m a member of the Hamato Clan from another dimension. I came here with my family after Sofia accidentally traveled to our dimension and was with us for several months. To summarize; your dimension needs help, we’re helping, and I need him;” Donnie pointed with his bō at Draxum, “very much alive to continue to do so. Therefore, I’d appreciate it if you kept your murderous impulses to a minimum, especially in the lab where I have all the materials needed to save your son, who is still in peril.”

Splinter blinked several times, dropping his stance as he attempted to take in all the information. One part of his mind attempted to convince him it was all some elaborate prank, something Nel had cooked up, surely, but the glow of Donnie’s crest was enduring and telling. His gaze then went back to Vinnie, the look on his face pleading. The combination of them wordlessly talked Splinter down, the weary rat sighing with a shake of his head. “Clearly, there is much more to this than ‘Draxum bad’ and my desired revenge, indeed,” he relented, Vinnie letting out the tension he’d been holding onto. “Vincent, would you mind telling me what’s going on?”

“If you’re willing to wait a few hours, we’ll gather everyone for a family meeting and go over everything - because after the day we’ve had, I doubt I could cover it all on my own. Would you do that for me? For Sofia, Nel, and Gio too?”

“...I can,” he answered, feeling his clarity fully return. He was in no way at peace with the situation, but he could at the very least place trust in his child who was conveying his own frustrations so earnestly. “Where are your siblings?”

“Nel and Sofia are in the living room. Gio is... going to require that family meeting to explain his situation.”

“O...kay,” Splinter raised a brow in regards to Gio, but didn’t ask for further explanation, beginning his walk away from the trio and out of the lab. “But if I find the information shared inadequate, I will continue where I left off and give Draxum what he deserves!”

Draxum opened his mouth to rebut, but Donnie quickly put his hand out, shaking his head at him, the Yōkai rolling his eyes in response and simply watching as Splinter left the lab behind with Vinnie following after. They entered into the living room, the quiet of the night broken by both snoring and typing - Nel still busily working on a laptop while her twin had long fallen asleep on her shoulder. Despite her furious finger movements, Raph was completely unphased and in deep slumber... alongside Sofia who was revealed to be using Nel’s thigh as a pillow rest, Splinter and Vinnie discovered as they rounded the couch. Nel failed to notice either of them until she stopped to observe her work - feeling eyes on her and looking up to see her father trying to make sense of the scene.

“...Dad!” She said in a hushed tone that conveyed both surprise and relief. “You’re awake!”

“I am, yes,” Splinter replied tentatively, his gaze shifting from Nel to who was asleep on her shoulder. Unlike Donnie who he mistook by accident, seeing Raph and Nel next to one another showed Splinter even more truths to the situation he still didn’t fully understand. “...They look exactly like you.”

“Named after a renaissance artist too,” Nel smiled, trying to ease her father into their new reality. “It seems their dad has the same tastes in naming conventions.”

“All of them do,” Vinnie corrected as he knelt down to Sofia, ignoring his father’s quizzical stare as he went to check her pulse and breathing - both steady. “We’ve really got to have a talk with you about overdoing it,” he said quietly as he went to pick her up, being careful not to aggravate her wounds. Sofia muttered softly in her sleep, but didn’t stir any further as Vinnie fully took her in his arms. “I’ll take her to bed and have a turn at watching over her. You should also go to bed Nel - you’re wearing my bags,” he lightly teased as he disappeared down the hallway.

“Hardy-har,” she placed her one free hand on her hip, delivering a small glare down the hallway before shaking her head and firmly closing her eyes. “Oof, you are right though, but I don’t wanna wake up Raph...” Nel reopened her eyes to view Raph still snoring away, now drooling on her shoulder, but Nel hardly minded, redirecting her attention to her father, patting the cushion beside her in invitation.

“His full name is ‘Raphael’, I’m assuming?” Splinter accepted her request, climbing onto the couch and attempted to get comfortable despite everything.

“Yep,” Nel confirmed and Splinter chuckled.

“I considered that name for you until I figured out you were a girl...” Splinter recalled, Nel holding back a giggle at the thought. “And the one in the lab is called ‘Donatello’. Would I be right in guessing Sofia and Vinnie’s counterparts are named ‘Michelangelo’ and ‘Leonardo’?”

“Wow, yeah, they are! That’s a crazy good guess, or, wait, lemme me guess now; they were all the names you had originally decided on?”

“Mmhmm,” Splinter sunk further into the couch. “Those four were my favorite artists, but when I changed one name, then a second once I realized Sofia was a girl too, I decided on a different set of names altogether.”

Nel let out her giggles this time, mildly shaking Raph with them. “So I’m a ‘Raphael’ after all? Oddly reassuring.”

“I’m glad I could help...?” Splinter shrugged, Nel giggling again as she pulled her father close, giving him a firm, reassuring side hug, which he accepted by curling his arm around hers.

“It’s gonna be OK, Dad. We’ll get you all caught up soon enough. I heard your yelling from the lab. Thanks for not immediately going for Draxum’s jugular.”

“It’s still very much on the table,” he assured through grit teeth.

“I know, I know,” Nel knowingly nodded, then closed the document she was working on. “But why don’t we just try to relax for now? Wanna watch one of your favorite flicks? I’ve got them all on here!”

“...You pick,” he said tiredly, getting more comfortable in response to his daughter’s gesture.

“Okay! Let’s see, which drive did I store them all on...” She made a few clicks with the touch pad, but with Raph suddenly snapping awake did she not only misclick onto something else entirely, but almost dropped the laptop in response. “GEEZ!” Nel barely caught it, taking a quick calming breath before facing her twin. “Raph, you scared the crap outta me! You good?”

Raph’s attention was completely on the lair’s entrance, straining his eyes against the darkness, a scowl on his face. “Sorry, I’m fine, but Bishop’s here.”

“In the middle of the night!?”

“Unfortunately,” Bishop’s voice sounded back, entering into the lair just as Raph anticipated. “I have zero desire to disturb any of you at this hour, but there are important matters I must discuss with Donatello as soon as possible.”

“That bodes well...” Nel said, trying to ignore a newly forming knot in her stomach. “He’s in the lab.”

“Still!?” Raph balked at the revelation himself. “We are gonna have another insomniac on our hands...”

“Thank you,” Bishop said and invited himself in, starting towards the lab.

“Oh no, don’t walk around here like you own the place!” Raph pushed himself up from the couch. “I’ll escort you to the lab, alright?”

“Whatever you prefer,” Bishop said plainly as Raph joined him.

“This, obviously,” he ignored the headache as he started walking with Bishop, pausing his stride to look back at Nel. “Sorry for falling asleep on you, Nel. I hope I didn’t drool...”

“It’s whatever, don’t worry about it!” She waved him off, smiling at the sound of her nickname from him. “If he does anything Krang-y, yell and I’ll come running.”

“As I have explained already, I am not a Krang-” Bishop started, only to be interrupted by Raph gently pushing him towards the lab, then gesturing towards it, shutting down any more of Bishop’s thoughts as the two of them entered within.

“...And who is that!?” Splinter asked, exasperated. “And please tell me I didn’t hear the word ‘Krang’!”

“He’s with the EPF,” Nel regarded her father with a calm expression. “He’s also an ‘Utrom’, not a Krang. Does that help?”

It did. Splinter was familiar with both names, some of his grandfather’s lectures resurfacing and easing his panic, albeit only slightly. “...A little bit.”

“Cool. He’s on our side too, but Raph has his reasons. We’ll get it all explained in the morning, but, for now-” Nel tapped on the laptop, bringing it back to where she was originally, scrolling down to a list of Lou Jitsu films. “How about ‘Chow Mine’?”

His daughter’s smile was both nervous and patient, Splinter giving in with a sigh and delivering his own smile in response. “A classic. Good choice.”

Chapter Text

“And that’s the summary - from the circumstances of Sofia entering our dimension, to the lovely revelations Drako dropped on us yesterday,” Leo collapsed the teacher pointer in his palms, the Mystic tool returning to the drawing board in response. Both he and Vinnie had led the family meeting again, his twin particularly observing the absolute hodgepodge of emotions his father was going through.

“You probably have a lot of questions, Dad. Hit us and we’ll answer what we can.”

“...Where to even start...?” Splinter rubbed his temples, tiredly and in an attempt to intake all he’d been told. “I feel like I’ve just been pitched a wild script to a movie I’d never agree to...”

“It's unfortunately reality,” Donnie piped up and Splinter groaned.

“I know it is!” His hands then went to his face, covering it as he sank down further into the couch. “I am just realizing how greatly I have failed in preparing for such a reality.”

“How could you have known?” Nel comforted. “Especially with the Wyrm’s Blood stuff? Not only did Draxum think we all died in the lab fire almost two decades ago, but he was completely in the dark about Drako's master plan too. Even in discovering that we were actually all alive, I don’t think there’s anything that could have stopped the seeds that were sown behind all our backs.”

“She is right,” Draxum added, Splinter’s ears flicking at the sound of his voice, still unable to process that he was present among them. “Even if Giorgio had shared his findings with you all, there would still be the other two in the domes above us. We were able to prevent Drako's plan from coming fully to fruition, but now it is only a matter of time until everything comes to a head.”

“I was more referring to failing to parent my children, therefore relying on one of them so badly that he’s now a giant turtle dragon.”

“Oh, well, yes, that is your fault,” Draxum replied frankly, Splinter’s glare leaving his fingers as he turned his head to direct it.

“Excuse me!?” Splinter hopped back up, one of his feet slamming down on the back of the couch, ready to pounce on Draxum, who was hanging back near the lab’s entrance as he always was.

“You’re excused,” Draxum answered with a raise of his brow.

“What!? NO!” Splinter flared. “You’ve got a lot of nerve pinning this completely on me!”

“...If you were expecting me to be your willing co-parent, firstly; no, I’d rather die, and secondly; again, I believed you were all dead. My first lab burned for days and there was nothing but ashes left.”

“And this time I am more referring to you creating this whole mess in the first place! Manipulation or not, you still kidnapped me and them!” Splinter gestured to Nel and Vinnie.

“Yes, and this is a problem, because...?” Draxum shrugged and continued, cutting off what Splinter was about to say next. “Are you unhappy being a father? Do you dislike your children?”

Splinter was completely taken aback by the sudden scathing question. Despite all his hatred for this creature, it was Draxum to thank for giving him the gift of a family again. He barely got to know his mother, his own father long gone before his birth, and he had refused to cherish his grandfather. The memory of escaping the lab resurfaced, his transformed hands mortified him, but within them were four tiny infants that made his heart swell. They were precious, they were his, and he loved them with every fiber of his being, regardless if he was a rat or a human. Splinter sighed and put his foot back down, glaring at Draxum anew, with resolution over animosity. “No. I love them. They are the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Aw, dad!” Nel started to tear up while Vinnie felt a small smile surface.

“Well then, you’re welcome,” Draxum said half mockingly, Splinter crossing his arms and sitting back down.

“But I’ll always hate you!”

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Hoo boy...” Leo shook his head.

“Baby steps,” Vinnie said in response.

“Great, we all love or hate each other, so can we please keep the yelling to a minimum from now on?” Mikey hushed. “We need to let Sofia rest!”

“I feel bad that she and April aren’t included in this...” Raph said, eyeing Sofia’s room from where he was sitting, April peeking out of it with a finger over her lips before retreating back inside.

“I’ll catch them up on everything, don’t worry,” Vinnie reassured.

“And I’ll have this meeting recorded for her too - especially your Splinter’s profession of fatherly love,” Donnie smirked as he typed on his wrist panel. “So, are we not doing questions after all? Because if we’re not, we should probably move on. Both Nel and I have a lot to cover too.”

“Dad?” Vinnie asked and Splinter shook his head.

“I’ll roll with it for now. I’m too angry now to remember my questions.”

“Then I’m up first!” Nel left her seat, replacing Leo and Vinnie at the drawing board as they sat down. “But I’m only gonna be talking, so, no diagrams, sorry,” she said and cleared her throat, preparing mentally what needed to be said. “So I’ll just come out and say it; we’re gonna do a smear campaign on the Masters of Barbarianism, and more specifically on ‘Drako the Great’.” The group all quietly cheered or gave their knowing affirmation, except Splinter who looked at his daughter in concern.

“Uhh, you are?”

“Yep! And we need your help, pops!” Nel said and Splinter pointed at himself. “Yes, you! Vin and Leonardo already got the permission from the Heads to do it. Donnie and I-”

“Wait, wait!” Leo put his hand up. “How come Dee is on nickname status with you, but I’m not?” He faked a hurt look, making Nel gigglesnort.

“Because you didn’t spend an entire day intellectually theorizing with her,” Donnie teased.

“It got a little tiring to keep saying ‘Donatello’, so I dropped it.”

“And I approved it!” Donnie added.

“But you know what; I think we should be all on nickname terms by now. Who wants to get it out of their system before I continue?” Nel offered and Mikey excitedly gasped.

“Me, me! Nel!” Mikey pointed at her, then Vinnie. “And Vinnie! Woo, that feels nice to finally do!”

“If you’re okay with it?” Raph looked to Vinnie who nodded.

“Go for it, big guy.”

“Vinnie, Vin, Vi!” Raph said and Vinnie finger gunned him back.

“Raph, Mikey, Donnie. Boom, done. Guess we’re officially a big blended family with this?” Vinnie chuckled.

“If calling you ‘Vinnie’ solidifies it, then consider it done!” Donnie added.

“Mikey, annnd Leo,” Nel playfully placed her hands on her hips. “Satisfied?”

“Why, yes I am, Nel!” Leo answered proudly, then gestured for her to continue. “Please, go on.”

While Draxum groaned at the diversion, Splinter found his smile for the first time that morning. Even though he was still coming to terms with the absurdity of it all, the fact remained that all present besides himself and Draxum were children - his fun loving and ever determined children. He only just recently was properly introduced to his counterpart's sons, but was already starting to feel an affinity to them, and a desire to protect them as well. Splinter knew from this day forward his days of inaction were gone, resolving to do whatever he could for all of them.

“As I was saying; smear campaign,” Nel turned her attention back to her father. “Donnie and I were trying to connect some dots before we jumped into Drako’s trap, and we came up with a bunch of hypotheticals and plans depending on how it turned out. We figured there’d be blackmail of some sort, so Donnie planted a bug in my scarf to capture audio.”

“Just in case he confiscated your Donnie Tech™ new and improved All Purpose Mad Dogs Buttons, which he did not, but we have some very crisp audio now regardless - which sounds like this;” Donnie pressed a button on his wrist panel and the entire meeting with Drako played - Splinter listening to it carefully. He could hear the controlled madness in the ancient Yōkai’s tone, was able to tell that it was Leo masquerading as his son, and that Drako truly believed he was untouchable. It felt like they were damned whether they took action or not, but as the audio finished, Splinter raised his eyes towards Nel, her confident yet troubled mug waiting for his thoughts.

“What is it exactly that you’re needing me to do, Nelli?” He asked and Nel took a large, calming breath before continuing.

“I want your help to rally Big Mama to our cause,” she said and watched her father’s expression fall from resolute to shock.

“WHAT!? WHY!?” he practically bellowed, Mikey quickly silencing another protest by aggressively shushing Splinter with a controlled glare. As Mikey's eye twitched in irritation did he back down, remembering his injured, slumbering daughter all over again.

“I know this is probably asking a lot considering... your history with her - but know that I’m only asking because my word won't be enough.” Nel pleaded. “We need to turn the entire Hidden City against Drako, but the majority of the Yōkai currently despise Mutants. Even with all the proof we have, even with my online fame, it’s highly likely I’ll be completely disregarded because I am what I am.”

“And we can’t rely on the Heads - at least, not yet,” Leo added. “Their metaphorical hands are tied as they can’t act without the chance of starting another war. The police won’t act on the words of a mutant and they’ll willingly defy the Head’s orders. Mikey, Raph, and I know this firsthand.”

“Which leads us to looking into another benefactor - one that currently has nothing to lose, but everything to gain regardless of how this goes,” Nel revealed. “We’re gonna kill two birds with one stone - getting Sofia’s contract revised and settled while also showing Big Mama the benefit of allying with us. So, it would help us immensely if her...” Nel stopped to clear her throat again, feeling mild second hand embarrassment from what she was about to say. “...Snuggle Muffin Beefcake, helped with negotiations.”

Leo made a noise of disgust while Splinter sputtered and flustered. “H-how do you know that name!?” he failed to hide the pink spreading across his cheeks. Nel pointed to the Blue Brothers, Leo shrugging while Vinnie shallowly nodded. “Ah, yes, right...” Splinter sighed with a shake of his head.

“We both learned it against our will, if that makes you feel any better,” Leo's tone was practically dripping with disgust.

“Not particularly...” Splinter's forehead creased as he continued to sink further into his cushion.

“I'm sorry, Dad,” Nel started, a discouraged twinge in her voice. “But this is the only out that has even a chance of working. The EPF barely tolerates us and human help is definitely off the table as well. We need your help, please.”

The look in his daughter’s eyes told Splinter that Nel was preparing for him to deny her, that she was ready for his usual hands-off approach, and the guilt that had slowly but surely built up tightened in his chest so firmly that there was genuine pain. The state of his family was less than ideal; one a raging, tortured beast, another captive to his powers unless taking drugs made by his mortal enemy, and his youngest almost lost her life mere hours ago. And his other daughter had to practically beg for his aid while he was hung up on his own insecurities? No. No more. He had already pledged to himself to protect them, to take action wherever he was needed. The time was now, sitting himself up as he met Nel's eyes resolutely.

“I'll do it.”

“Really!?”

“Yes, really. You don't need to reason or beg - it is my responsibility to keep you safe, and if that means having to face my kidnapping, imprisoning, ex fiance, then so be it.”

“Oh, dad, thank you!” Nel went to the couch and scooped Splinter up into a hug, the suddenness of it not wholly unwelcome, but he squeezed out of it as he spied the gazes of the rest of the crowd on him, mostly teasing.

“Don't thank or hug me yet! Big Mama is crafty and cunning! There’s no guarantee I’ll be able to get through to her.”

“It’s less about convincing Big Mama, and more about... conveniently trapping her in a way that ultimately benefits her and us. Trust me, Dad, we’re the crafty and cunning ones this time!”

“If you say so...” Splinter relented. “Just let me know what you want me to say and I’ll get it memorized.”

“You got it! We’ll go over it as soon as this meeting is over, which segues to you, Donnie,” Nel gave the stage to him as she sat down next to her father, Donnie taking it with a troubled look on his face, everyone taking note, Raph and Nel figuring about what while Draxum was already more than informed.

“I hate to kill the moderately good vibe we have going on, but I’ve been given no choice in the matter.”

“It’s what Bishop was here about last night, isn't it?” Raph questioned and Donnie nodded.

“It is. Our reluctant EPF ally finally came to update us on our two pending problems. He delivered to us bad news... and worse news - but let me be clear that they are manageable regardless, just... not exactly ideal. So,” he viewed the blended family, all eyes filled with worry or anticipation. “Which news do you want to hear first?”

“Start with the bad and ease us into the worse?” Leo suggested, Donnie’s finger curling over his lips momentarily in thought before reluctantly nodding.

“Okay, bad news first. As most of you will recall, I had been planning on getting the EPF’s permission to set up surveillance around the remaining pieces of Dark Armor so we could stop Casey Jones from swiping it, thus stopping the Shredder from reviving. However, it seems in the months Sofia was with us, he’s been very, very, VERY, busy,” Donnie revealed, typing on his wrist panel, then projecting an image onto the drawing board from it. There was a list shown, all describing various pieces of the armor and their location with the accompanying text written in red; LOST - all save for the helmet, which was described in green as ‘SECURED’. “Bishop was taking his sweet time trying to figure out how they’d all vanished without them noticing until now, but this dimension’s Casey Jones is full of mysteries already. Bottom line; it’s a no on the surveillance... and the Dark Armor is complete, except for the helmet still in our possession.”

“Oh...” Vinnie started

“...Crap,” Leo finished.

Splinter felt his stomach drop as memories of the Foot Clan, Kuroi Yōroi, and his duty that were ingrained into his entire being from birth flashed through his mind. The reality of the very real ghost he had spent his life fleeing from was upon him, upon his family. “...We are in big trouble and I can feel my ancestors rolling in their graves...!”

“We’re not in trouble yet!” Donnie stopped any more dooming. “I reiterate; we still have the helmet, which I have already placed many, many more security measures on - so please stay away from the back of the lab unless you fancy getting vaporized. It’s untraceable, contained, and protected.”

“Is there anything else we could do? Like, I dunno, destroy the helmet?” Nel asked and Donnie shook his head.

“If I could, I would. If I had the time, I would dedicate all of it to figuring that out, but as circumstances are, my hands are tied, especially considering the worse news,” Donnie pressed a button and the display changed, showing the blueprint for some overly complicated piece of technology, no one but Donnie and Draxum understanding what it was.

“...What are we looking at, Donald?” Mikey asked.

“A powerful Mystic weapon developed by the EPF to rid New York of the overmutated,” Donnie said with no emotion, everyone immediately understanding the direness of the situation.

“How long do we have!?” Raph asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“A week,” Donnie turned the display off, allowing the reality of the situation to sink in slightly before speaking again. “And while I have been working my shell off on trying to find a fix for Giorgio, everything has come up nil. It’s impossible to cure him - he’s a gigantic mass of Mystic dragon with no rhyme or reason. My healing protocols are, and I hate to admit this; very basic, while we all know what happened with Sofia yesterday - so those options are off the table. If I had years to develop a cure, then maybe I could figure something out - but in a week? I have a potential fix, but nothing concrete - and I need some help,” his tone was between exhaustion and imploring, but there wasn’t a hint of it that spelled defeat as he looked around the room.

“Well, what is it, Donnie!? Don’t just leave us hanging!” Leo urged his brother to continue.

“Before I announce this, quite frankly, ludicrous and possibly profane plan, Vinnie;” Donnie looked to him. “I want a confirmation or denial of something. In all the dimensions you’ve seen, has there ever been an instance of one of us having their consciousness transferred to another body?”

All eyes were on Vinnie, his surprise soon turning to understanding, casting his thoughts back and finding the answer he needed. “...Yes. There’s even more than one instance of it happening.”

“Woah, seriously?” Leo looked at his twin in disbelief, Vinnie nodding. “That’s crazy...”

“Yes, but it’s that craziness that we’re going to have to rely on. If our counterparts can manage it, then so can we,” Donnie said confidently. “And I believe we can go even further than just a consciousness transfer, considering Giorgio’s secondary power.”

“Hitodama mode!” Nel said, remembering with a snap of her fingers. “He’s been pushing his whole soul out of his body for years! We just gotta put it in something else, right? Donnie, you’re a genius!”

“I know, and thank you, but there are still a gazillion stipulations we need to work through. They can be boiled down having to re-anchor Giorgio’s soul to something, and that something needs to be inserted into a perfect replica of his body, or something emulating perfection. ...And I just lost half of you,” Donnie sighed, viewing confusion in his audience.

“I will take over from here,” Draxum left his spot by the lab, walking into the sitting room proper, ignoring Splinter’s glare as he erased the drawing board’s current occupants and replaced them with his own. After a small pocket of time passed, Draxum summoned the pointer and moved away from his drawn diagram, beginning his explanation. “A soul is what animates our shells we call bodies. If something fatal happens to our bodies, the soul can no longer do its job, therefore dissipates. Giorgio has the unique talent of switching the role of his soul, forcing it into a physical form. But when it becomes fatally wounded, it is forced back to the body it is tethered to. - Am I making sense?”

“...Yes?” Mikey tilted his head with a wrinkle of his brow.

“We’re at least keeping up - go on,” Vinnie urged and Draxum continued.

“As simple as I can put this; we must acquire Giorgio’s soul, tether it to something, then implant that tether into a new body that it will naturally adjust to - and it will only do that if it is a perfect match to his original body, or something tricking the soul into believing its perfect.”

“...And we do that, how?” Splinter eyed Draxum dubiously.

“Getting the soul part, we have this;” Donnie typed a specific code on his wrist panel, his battle shell responding by opening a small compartment, a gem on a floating platform landing in his hand. It was a deep purple and glowing slightly, Donnie putting a small barrier around it as he showcased it. “Giorgio had this relic lying around in his lab, and I don’t think he knew what it was because it’s extremely dangerous.”

“Obsidian that has taken a century long bath in Empyrean,” Draxum further explained. “In doing so, it has taken on its own mutation and adapted to its own powers. Mainly; having the ability to absorb the energy around it. In theory, Giorgio’s soul could be tethered to this stone, and we’re going to run with that theory as we have literally nothing else and a week to solve this.”

“And as for the body,” Donnie continued, “we have two options, neither of which we have all the materials for, and I’m not sure we could get them either...”

“What do you need? Tell us and let’s see what we can do!” Leo offered, and Donnie pursed his lips before answering.

“Option one; I build a mechanical body - but in order for it to emulate Giorgio’s original body, I’d need a massive power source-”

“Uranium,” Raph said knowingly with a cross of his arms, Donnie scoffing at him being cut off.

“Yes, Uranium, which I doubt we could procure safely or in a decent time frame. A mechanical body also has the downside of having to be maintained and upgraded, and I’m not going to be here forever to do that. So the better option would be for Draxum and I to cook up a Homunculus - And don’t look it up, I see some of you going for your phones! The ingredient list alone will scar you for life...”

“In layman's terms;” Draxum continued, “it is an artificial body made using alchemy and ingredients from living creatures; this one in particular using Donatello’s DNA. As he is almost a one-to-one twin to Giorgio, we have almost all the needed ingredients-”

“Which I implore you NOT to look up! Mikey, you put your phone down right now, young man!” Donnie threatened, Mikey slowly placing his phone down.

“You’re just making me more curious...” He pouted back.

“Regardless!” Donnie re-commanded attention. “I lack one thing that Giorgio has.”

“Wyrm’s Blood...” Nel said with a cross of her own arms. “But, wait, can’t we just take some from his kaiju body?”

“No, it needs to be pure and undiluted, the very same I used for your mutations,” Draxum shot down.

“Great. And where are we gonna get pure Wyrm’s Blood in this economy!?” Leo despaired. “Ask Drako Jr nicely? Before or after the smear campaign.”

“It doesn’t have to be from the tap itself. Ideally, we steal some, but I do not know from where,” Draxum said and the room was brought to contemplation.

“In the meantime,” Donnie broke the brief silence, one of his mechanical arms emerging with an old gas lantern. “I’ve modified this lantern to be a temporary body for Giorgio. I reinforced it to be indestructible with a mix of my tech and DNA - and it’s the perfect fit for the Obsidian chunk. He’ll essentially be limited to it, but it’s all I’ve got right now.”

“Oh, he is gonna hate that...” Nel viewed the lantern with a perplexed mug.

“The name of the game is; temporary - and now that we’ve gotten all of that out in the open, it’s time to talk about the rescue effort, because we might very well need everyone here in the living room to do it.”

“Even me?” Splinter wasn't convinced.

“Oh yes,” another one of Donnie’s mechanical arms emerged, a DVD box in its grasp that dropped into Splinter’s lap. “In my rare breaks, I’ve been catching up with the Lou Jitsu cinematic universe of this dimension, and this particular title caught my attention.”

“Rock n’ Roll the Boat?” Splinter picked up the DVD with a sour look. “This is my worst reviewed film! Critically panned for ‘incorporating too much of my hobbies into the script’, they said.”

“And where they merely saw the love of your hobby in a negative light, I see strong casting technique that’s integral to saving your son!” Donnie said in all seriousness, everyone looking at Donnie like he was crazy.

“Elaborate, you’re losing them again,” Draxum pushed and Donnie continued his thoughts.

“This is my plan; You will quite literally casting the Obsidian chunk into Giorgio via one of Leo’s portals. Once it absorbs his soul, reel it back in, then we’ll put it in the lantern. Simple enough on paper, but in practice...”

“Wait, you want me to make a portal to inside, Giorgio?” Leo asked and Donnie nodded. “Augh, gross, but, okay? If you think that’ll work?”

“Providing he stays still long enough for the absorption to come in contact with said soul,” Draxum further explained.

“Which is why Draxum, Mikey, and Vinnie are on ‘keeping Giorgio still’ duty. Once we get the EPF to lower the dome, Mikey and Draxum will bind him from the side while Vinnie freezes underneath to prevent him from diving.

“Uhhhh,” Vinnie and Mikey said in unison, the latter speaking first. “I don’t think my chains can bind something that big?”

“You tossed a skyscraper, Mikey - yes you can.”

“There is a big difference between a stationary building and a squirmy-wormy dragon brother!”

“And I can’t conjure that much ice,” Vinnie added.

“Sure you can,” Donnie pressed a button on his wrist, a playback of Sofia’s efforts in the Battle Nexus shown, the giant naginata piercing through the greater mimic. “If Sofia can do this without her Ninpō unlocked, I don’t see why you can’t exert the same amount of effort.”

Vinnie watched the playback, intrigued and contemplating, then reluctantly nodding. “I can try.”

“I will be exerting a great amount of power as well, so the three of us combined should be enough, hopefully,” Draxum added.

“Unless anyone else has a better alternative?” Donnie offered the floor, no one able to dispute him.

“...So what are Raph and I doing?” Nel asked, going along with the plan.

“Giorgio’s soul might be one hell of a big fish to reel in, and I expect it to reject being pulled out of its current body - tethered or not. Both you and Raph will be your dad’s anchor and aid in reeling if need be. While I’m also for Raph stopping Giorgio’s movements, be on standby - stay in position unless absolutely necessary.

“Got it,” Raph nodded.

“I feel like I’m being upstaged...” Leo whispered to Vinnie.

“It’s his twin, just let him have this,” he whispered back.

“And I’ll be waiting and ready to catch Giorgio’s soul to plant in the lantern,” Donnie finished his explanation. “Bishop has asked us to give him a full 24 hour notice before attempting this, so why don’t we aim for three days from now? That gives us today to talk with Big Mama, tomorrow to film, edit, and publish the resulting video, and the next; rescue time.”

“Having a whole team will certainly make the video go up faster,” Nel agreed.

“And I suppose Sofia, Mayhem, and I are warming the bench?” April’s sudden inclusion caught everyone’s attention.

“Not that I have a choice, I get it!” Sofia yelled from her room, clearly upset.

“I’m surprised the sedative wore off so soon...” Draxum said, raising his brow in surprise.

“Well, you’d better go mix some more. She’s upset AND stir crazy,” April revealed and Draxum sighed, taking steps towards the lab.

“How long is that gonna take? We’ve got our appointment with Big Mama in around an hour,” Nel asked the quickly disappearing Draxum.

“Only a few moments,” he answered.

“What? Why is HE coming with us too!?” Splinter asked, frustrated and confused.

“Are you gonna explain how mutations work to her? How you became a rat father to four turtles - blood related?” Leo asked, leaving his seat next to Vinnie, pressing the cloaking brooch under his belt and becoming his twin again. Splinter opened his mouth to object, then closed it with a cross of his arms and a grumble. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

"I'd really appreciate it if you kept an eye on Sofia, April," Vinnie gave her an apologetic look, April smiling back.

"It’s good, Vin. I don’t have any powers, and I’d hate to get shipped off by the EPF or somethin’. Just make sure everyone comes back safely today, okay? And get Gio back to us ASAP!"

Chapter Text

The elevator ride up to Big Mama’s office was dead silent save for the whir of Mystic machinery. The view from Leo’s corner showed Splinter and Draxum in theirs respectively, both having their arms firmly crossed, both disgruntled and avoiding eye contact. He let out a small sigh through his nose, looking to Nel who shared his sentiment before giving Leo a small shrug. They all knew their roles, what needed to be said, but the current state of those needing to convey the message irked Leo to the point of speaking.

“So, am I going to have to get Mikey to sew your scarves together in order for you to get along? Because I’ll get him to do it,” he threatened, both fathers regarding him with a mix of disgust and trying to figure out if Leo was joking or not.

“Give poor Mikey’s fingers a rest - he spent every free second finishing Draxum’s,” Nel said with a chuckle, giving Draxum a teasing eyebrow raise.

“I never asked him to do so...” Draxum grumbled.

“Yeah, that’s how gifts work, sheep-man,” Leo said. “They’re generally surprises - welcome ones. You’re wearing it, aren’t you?”

“Only because it is cold,” Draxum refuted, Leo scoffing in response.

“Uh-huh, sure,” he dropped any further teasing.

“I’m rather surprised your Orange made him a scarf at all...” Splinter remarked as he tightened his crossed arms.

“And that’s because you don’t know him yet. Mikey sees the good in everyone before the bad,” Leo explained and Splinter shook his head.

“Oh yeah, such a good upstanding citizen!” Splinter started sarcastically. “Known for such great feats such as; trying to mutate all of humanity and throwing my daughter off this very building!”

Silence fell again, but only for the briefest of moments as Draxum reacted in surprise, looking up in contemplation before the truth of the second statement hit him. “Oh... I did do that, didn’t I?”

“You FORGOT!?” Nel practically exploded. “I highly doubt she hasn’t mentioned it!”

“I’ve been very busy!” Draxum argued. “Your medicine didn’t just appear out of thin air!”

“Ohmigosh, you are ridiculous...” Nel shook her head. “Casually forgetting the attempted murder of his own daughter...”

Leo laughed. “Ah, yeah, when you put it like that, it sounds pretty bad, but if we’re being fair... I was the one tossed off a building in my dimension, and my Draxum forgot too. You would not believe how much grief I put him through for that, so,” he leaned towards Draxum. “Apologize to Sofia once she’s lucid again, or suffer the same fate from a much less patient turtle. Sofia’s endless ocean of patience is almost thoroughly tapped out, I assure you.”

The elevator’s bell rang out, punctuating the threatening smile on Leo that Draxum found no rebuttal to, the group then forced to enter into Big Mama’s office and do what they came here for. She was waiting for them, her conniving yet amused resting face present as always, viewing the four with intrigue and wariness behind her glasses. “Well, this is quite a spiffy spread you’ve brought me, Nelly-poo!” Big Mama left her desk, meeting them. “You, your brother, Draxy, and...” she viewed Splinter, tilting her head slightly at him. “...A rat! How quaint!”

“Not just any rat,” Splinter spoke and Big Mama felt her heart skip a beat. He grabbed her hand, twirled and dipped her - just as he had all those years ago. Their eyes met, her’s sparkling with absolute adoration as the full realization of who was holding her came to light. “Hello, my Sassy Sugar Badger~” Splinter gave her a smoldering look, Big Mama squealing in response as she tossed her arms around him.

“Lou! Oh, it really is you!”

“Aw,” Nel placed one hand over her chest. “This would be so adorable if there wasn’t so much kidnapping and manipulation involved...”

“I think you mean ‘ew’,” Leo corrected.

“Agreed,” Draxum’s face twisted, both him and Leo disgusted by the show of affection.

“But how!? And why are you a raggedy-rat!?”

“That would be my doing,” Draxum plainly confessed, ignoring the glare from Splinter.

“Yes, he kidnapped me and used my DNA with his weird ooze on four turtle babies... I’m pretty sure you can figure out the rest.”

“Oh!” Big Mama understood immediately, looking at Nel and Leo in a new light. “Biological children!? Four of them! Well, well, congratulations are in order,” She climbed out of Splinter’s arms, standing up straight again as she re-addressed the room. “Albeit almost two decades late, it seems. Pity. Big Mama loves a good celebratory shindig. ...But you didn’t arrange this meeting to just stir memories, hm? Best get to the point before I start feeling a bit hinky-pinky.”

“Trust me, we’re here strictly on business today,” Nel reassured. “I wouldn’t have brought both of my fathers just to show them off.”

Big Mama giggled at the two different levels of sour on Splinter’s and Draxum’s faces brought on by Nel’s words, but folded her arms regardless as she leaned against her desk. “If anything, this meeting will prove to be an amusing diversion. Am I to assume this isn’t about the nicked artifact that little Sofie-poo met me about?”

“We’re gonna settle that account while we’re here, but no, Big Mama, this concerns who turned our home into a mess, and our plan to take them down. We have all the info, the receipts, but in being what I am, I can’t do this alone - I need your endorsement, and it will only benefit you to give it to me.”

“...I’m listening,” Big Mama smirked, a tad of her Yōkai features slipping through her cloaking brooch at the prospects.

The explanation began candidly, Draxum detailing his dealings with Drako, the kidnapping of Splinter, and everything in between. Splinter detailed his life afterwards as needed while Nel brought everything around to where they were now, playing the recording of Drako’s madness and revelations. Big Mama’s eyebrows raised the more she listened, perhaps in surprise, or maybe disbelief, but with Donnie splicing the audio perfectly with the video taken from their hidden cameras, she had been thoroughly informed. Her expression was neither upset nor pleased, but somewhere between an expression no one in the room could quite place.

“Well, welly-well...” She said, smirk returned. “Drako has taken us all for rubes and practically has the world in his hands. I love it...!” A brief flicker of insanity gleamed in her eyes, but immediately fizzed out with a sigh. “But, I don’t love what it's done for business, nor do I have any intention of becoming a dizzy-dragon! Honestly, had Draky-poo organized this a bit better, I might’ve been on board for the dragon-dolling, within reason, but he’s thoroughly burned that bridge. Oh well,” She rounded her desk and took a seat. “All the better to tear him and his operation from limbity-limb for my own benefit. So, tell me, Nelly-poo, what exactly did you have in mind?”

“We tell the Hidden City everything using my platform while you endorse it. That way we get the message out, it spreads, and gets to as many people as possible. If we’re gonna turn the Hidden City against Drako, we need to go all in. While we have the Head’s permission, they can’t get involved due to their position, but yours, Big Mama, is much more flexible.”

“Mmm, yes, it is,” She agreed but then eyed Nel critically. “But what if this all goes belly-up? My entire brand is riding on a thin graft, and I need insurance.”

Nel nodded, prepared for this exact scenario. “Well, this goes one of two ways. If the video is a resounding success, Drako will be taken down legally and you’ll rake in the eventual profits. Being the face of the one who saved the Hidden City will no doubt bring in even more business - not to mention the patronage of other mobsters that’ll be overjoyed to have one of their main competitors out of the picture.”

“I’m not one for heroics, but the aftermath sounds absolutely scrumptious. Go on,” Big Mama urged Nel.

“And if things go badly, then you’ll have me to fall back on,” Nel said and approached Big Mama’s desk, putting down two pieces of paper in front of her, one with a large, red ‘x’ adorning it, Nel pointing to it first. “This contract you gave to Sofia is absolute garbage and you know it. There’s too many what-ifs, and you know that by Hidden City law, roping a minor into something like this is illegal. Tsk-tsk, very sloppy of you!” Nel crossed her arms and Big Mama simply smiled. “Which is why I’ve got a new contract for you - one that keeps some of your stipulations, but replaces them on me instead of my sister.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Splinter spoke up, interjecting himself into the conversation. “What is this about a new contract!? You didn’t mention this!”

“Probably because she knew you would do what you’re doing right now,” Draxum said and Splinter glared back at him.

“Dad,” Nel re-commanded his attention, “we stole from Big Mama, period. Until Draxum figures out how to get the Dragon’s Eye out of Sofia, that fact still remains. She isn’t built for combat and she’s already overdoing it with her healing abilities. In the event that Draxum can’t get the Dragon’s Eye out in good time, I’m not throwing Sofia to the wolves. She’ll kill herself in the Battle Nexus - I, however, am built for combat and within the terms of this contact, will be able to take each battle in stride.”

“Oh no, you won't!” Splinter rebutted. “She will squeeze you dry! Break every bit of your spirit!”

“Actually, no, I won't,” Big Mama refuted, her gaze on Nel’s contact as she began reading through it. “I thoroughly learned my lesson with you, Snuggle Muffin. It turns out pushing your fighters to their limity-limit is bad for business. Also, Nelly-poo is a born citizen of the Hidden City while you were not, and I do try to be law abiding as needed.”

“Kidnapping is not law abiding!” Splinter yelled.

“Kidnapping Yōkai isn’t law abiding, sweetie-tweetie. Humans are fair game, which is why I’ll look the other way in regards to Draxy stealing you from under my schnozzle. Fair is fair,” She said and Draxum shrugged.

“Ugh, I dislike both of you greatly...” Splinter pinched between his eyes before looking at his daughter again. “I still do not like this, Nelli. There has to be another way.”

“Look, it’s simple - either I’m a hero or a villain depending on how the video goes. Big Mama can headline it however she wants, I rake in the dough regardless, and we either pay off our debt slowly but surely, or we have a lump sum paid back to us on giving the Dragon’s Eye back to Big Mama. This is something only I can do, Dad. Being an internet personality was fun, but it means nothing if my family is in danger.”

“Then I’ll fight with you! I’m still Lou Jitsu and I can get butts in seats too!”

“Nuh-uh, no way!” Nel shook her head. “You’re one nap away from snapping your spine!”

Splinter gasped dramatically. “I am not!”

“Yes, you are! You literally have to do a conga line dance every time you throw your back out!”

Their arguing continued, Big Mama still reading through the contract while Draxum watched on with a tired expression, but his attention was soon caught, feeling a pair of eyes on him. Leo, who had been silent this whole time, was staring down Draxum, his hands on his hips as his pupils told all, accusing, yet encouraging Draxum to do the right thing, the elder Yōkai knowing what his gaze implied. He almost defiantly shook his head, almost gave a definite refusal, but instead gave in with a defeated sigh. He stepped forward, allowing the needed words to be said.

“Add me to the contract, I will also participate in battles at the Battle Nexus.” Nel and Splinter ceased their fight, Big Mama stopping her reading and looking up from the papers, all sharing the same look of shock while Leo’s mug was smug victory. “...What? Is this not the most logical step? I'll either be branded a victim or villain, or both, which leads you to a number of headlines you could plaster over your ridiculous arena. If I am unable to free Sofonisba, then I will have failed in my pledge to aid her, therefore needing to absolve her of the debt instead. Not to mention that I’ll never be able to freely practice my crafts again without heavy supervision, so I may as well throw my metaphorical hat into the ring. ...Unless that is displeasing to you?” Draxum asked while specifically eyeing an unnerved Splinter.

“It most certainly is not!” Big Mama answered for them. “No offense to you Nelly-welly, I respect your gumption, but I cannot ride every bit of this gamble completely on you - but if Draxy is coming with you as a package deal, then we, well, have a deal!”

“Your sudden enthusiasm is highly suspicious...” Draxum grimaced at her.

“There's nothing suspicious about it, Draxy! It doesn't matter how this video paints you - you're infamous and will be until further notice. And since that isn't going to disappear any time soon, why not capitalize on it until the well dries up? Oooh, I can practically hear my coffers refilling...! A father-daughter duo? A villainous father-daughter duo!? Just imagine...!”

“Please don’t automatically assume this is going to fail,” Nel addressed Big Mama who was practically bathing in her future prospects. “But, are you sure, Draxum? It wasn’t my intention to drag you into this.”

“I am already thoroughly roped into this family’s matters. You’ve dragged me into nothing outside of what I consider normal now.”

“Aw, that means he’s here to stay! For realsies! What-a-good-dad-you-are~” Leo teased in a baby voice, pinching one of Draxum’s cheeks, which he responded by slapping Leo’s hand away with a root. “Ow!”

“Let’s sign the contract before cognitive dissonance starts setting in,” Draxum walked past the still thoroughly shocked Splinter, Big Mama conjuring three quills for the participants, each signing in the provided lines.

“And, done! Pleasure doing business with you!” Big Mama put the contact away with a puff of Mystic. “Now, what do you need from me for this video thingamajig?”

******

“Thanks for taking over, Splints,” April stretched her back, it satisfyingly cracking in a few places as she left her chair behind.

“No, no, thank you for keeping an eye on Sofia.”

“It’s not like it was hard - she’s been asleep the whole time while everyone’s been out and about or getting the video done. How’s it looking, by the way?”

“Great! Nelli is putting the finishing touches on it now.”

“Nice, I’m gonna go cheer her through the rest of it,” April exited Sofia’s room, barely hiding a yawn as she passed the door frame. It aptly reminded Splinter how late it had gotten once again, trying to remember when he last had a day so busy. He took April’s seat next to the slumbering Sofia as his thoughts continued, but a small, sleepy murmur from Sofia broke him out of them. For the first time since he’d awoken, he was viewing his daughter for an extended period of time - no emergency treatment or being whisked away by her siblings to interrupt. She, quite frankly, looked haggard. Splinter wondered if all this drug induced sleep was actually helping, but as he saw the splints barely concealed by her blanket all over her plastron, he relented that rest was the best medicine they could afford at the moment. His eyes then fell on her afflicted hand, unwrapped and free, its draconic nature a stark contrast to the rest of her. No doubt she’d already become used to it by now, but to Splinter, seeing the scales and hearing his daughter’s labored breathing, made his heart ache. Vincent a slave to his powers, Giorgio transformed beyond recognition, Nelli signing away her future, and Sofonisba broken and bedridden. It was all too much, Splinter finally coming down from the constant chaos he was living in since waking. In the quiet of Sofia’s room, her father barely held back a sniffle and blinked away any oncoming tears, grabbing her blanket and pulling it up to its intended position.

“What a mess I’ve gotten us into...” he said quietly, continuing to try (and fail) at keeping his emotions in check, but no matter how much he silently commanded tears not to fall, they spilled all the same, frustratedly wiping them away before they reached his cheeks.

“...Dad?” Sofia’s sudden voice almost shocked him back into his faux normalcy. His concerns then snapped to her, seeing his daughter’s sleepy, but perplexed expression under the gentle night lighting.

“O-oh, you’re awake!” He finally successfully stopped his overflowing regrets - or so he thought, a few tears slipping past his defenses, clearly viewed by his child. “I should go get Draxum, no, Michelangelo, because you haven’t eaten since-” Splinter went to hop off the chair, only to be stopped by Sofia taking his hand. Through the drowsiness that she was still struggling to defog, she simply asked;

“Why are you crying?”

“I-I’m not crying!” he deflected with a cheery tone, dragging his sleeve across his face, tampering with the evidence, but Sofia’s glare that revealed itself as he tried to prove his innocence talked him down. “...Wow, where did you learn to look so mad? I’ve never seen you look like that before.”

“I’m going to guess this has to do with Draxum?” Sofia delivered a non answer and Splinter sighed, slackening his posture into the chair.

“...No. He’s been nothing but helpful and it's quite honestly making ME mad.”

“That he’s being helpful...?”

“No, because it’s making it glaringly obvious that I’m a powerless, hopeless, failure of a father!” He blurted out, immediately covering his mouth with his free hand. Their eyes met, Sofia’s eyebrows wrinkling at the statement as Splinter looked away, lips sealed against trying to refute his own claim, but in her hand squeezing his was he brought back.

“Help me sit up,” Sofia said as more of a command than a request, and Splinter silently obliged. She inhaled sharply at the movement, but kept her father’s hand in hers throughout the motion, knowing that if she let go he’d scamper off before she could get a word in. With a motion from her head toward the chair did Splinter sit back down, Sofia taking a few breaths to chase away her pain and any lingering drowsiness. Facing Splinter anew, she gave him a small, loving smile. “I’m going to borrow what the other Splinter said to me when I was losing myself in the other dimension. Dad, you’re not a failure.”

“The state of this family says otherwise...” Splinter said in a huff, but then perked up. “Wait, the other me...? ...Why did he say that to you?”

“I did a big stupid, convincing myself I was useless - but the other Splinter supported me through it, and I know you’d do the exact same, because he’s you. My time spent with the other family revealed a lot of truths, about me, about you, about everything. We’ve really been isolating ourselves from each other lately, but I know that we’re not alone in this, we never were.”

“All nice platitudes, Sofonisba, but you’re bedridden because of me.”

“Nope!” She delivered a familiar chop to his head, Splinter accepting it with a bewildered look. “I’m bedridden because of me. Besides, isn’t testing my limits a normal thing for teenagers to do?”

“Not when it almost kills you! Honestly, Sofia, just be angry and release me already...”

“Be angry, at you,” Sofia started, clicking her tongue playfully before she continued. “Be angry at kung-fu action superstar Lou Jitsu, who was kidnapped by the love of his life and forced to compete in the Battle Nexus until it almost broke him. Be angry at the man turned mutant who fathered four adorable abominations in NYC’s sewers instead of fleeing in fear of the situation. Be angry at the loving rat father who sewed me and Nel dresses when we were bummed we couldn’t go to the princess parade advertised on TV. Be angry at my dad who helped Vinnie and Gio build a lemonade stand, then bought and drank every drop of it - dressed and acting like a different customer with every transaction because he knew there would be no one to actually stop by.”

Splinter’s tears threatened to return, forcing out a laugh to mask their oncoming presence. “Heh, wow, you remember the dress thing...? You were so small...”

Sofia’s smile broadened, releasing Splinter’s hand and bringing both of hers to his face. “I still have it. I smile every time I see it. It reminds me how much you love me, and I love you too much to be angry with you, Dad. No one’s perfect. There’s a lot we need to work through as a family, but we’ll get there, yeah?” She said so resolutely, so warmly that Splinter felt his feelings swell up again, though they were no longer steeped in self loathing.

“Y-yeah...!” Splinter tried to scrunch his face up in an attempt to stop his tears, but it was futile, all his gloom disappearing and replaced with embarrassment and affection. Sofia viewed her father’s struggle against his emotions with relief, moving her hands away from him and outstretching her arms, giving him an escape.

“...Can I have a hug?” She asked innocently.

“OF COURSE YOU CAN HAVE A HUG!” Splinter accepted Sofia’s offer, pulling himself to her and embracing her small frame.

“Ow. Gently. Ribs. Broken...!” She reminded and Splinter eased up slightly with an apology, Sofia hugging him back with a light giggle. “Ohmigosh, Dad, I missed you so much. It was so hard being around someone who looks, sounds, and does things exactly like you, but wasn’t. It’s good to have you back.”

“...It’s good to be back...” he sniffled, then pulled away, wiping away his tears again, facing his daughter’s patience with a renewed resolve. “So you stay here and get better! No more dimensional travel, no more healing, no more using your powers until you’re fully healed! You’re grounded, missy! Just leave things to me, all your siblings... and Draxum too, I suppose.”

“You got it, Dad,” Sofia slightly rolled her eyes. “But am I still allowed to have my sketchbook?” she pointed to it on her night table, Splinter picking it up in response.

“I don’t see why not?” He handed it to her and Sofia flipped it open to a fresh page.

“Good! Turn on the lights and I’ll get your good side!” She freed the pencil from the spiral housing it.

“Oho! Finally in the mood to sketch your old man- wait, wait, wait,” Splinter put his hands up. “You need food, rest, and medicine, not to sketch me.”

“I’m not hungry yet and I’d like to be awake for when the video drops. Just sit still, Dad.”

Splinter couldn’t find a reason to further deny her, giving into a bit of vanity as he posed for the drawing. Soon enough they were graced by a visitor; Mikey, who in glaring at Sofia’s dismissal of food told Splinter exactly where she learned her's from. She was (gently) marched to the kitchen while Splinter made for the lab. The rest of the children were all sprawled out in the living room - some resting, but most watching the results of the video they slaved away all day on. They were in the waiting game now, but Splinter shooed them all to bed before long, reminding them of their mission in the morning, and they all dispersed with little need of encouragement. Splinter even blocked Donnie from returning to the lab, which his son’s doppelganger begrudgingly agreed to as he slinked away to his barely slept in bed. Now all that was left was to inform Draxum to prepare medicine for Sofia... or so Splinter told himself as he entered into the lab, yet somehow found himself stuck on how to even start a conversation with him. An exchange he had just had with Sofia echoed in his mind, Splinter unable to keep some questions to himself as she sketched.

“You’re not mad that he forgot about throwing you off a building?”

“...Eh,” Sofia shrugged. “A week or so ago, maybe, but the more I think about it, the more I feel I got him back plenty for that already. I left him blinded and rotting in a jail cell the entire time I was gone. I’d say we’re even. ...Wow, déjà vu, same vibes as with the other Draxum.”

“And what did he do!?”

Sofia laughed, stopping her sketching as she looked up to her father. “He accidentally peaked my anxiety to the point of making me barf. He later apologized and I said we were even, considering I cold opened our first meeting with my blade at his throat.”

“Woah, intense!” Splinter bubbled, impressed but concerned. “And this other Draxum... he gets along with this other me?”

“He does. I got the story from the guys, but they all as a family have been through a lot. Their Draxum was the Shredder for a hot minute, and later came over to their side when it mattered the most. Now they co-parent with slight amounts of playful animosity,” Sofia went for her phone, bringing up the group photo and showing it to Splinter. He eyed it curiously, his gaze first falling onto this other him, then to the other Draxum. There was not a hint of manipulation or villainy behind their smiles, and it stirred the uncertainty in his heart.

“Are you going to just stare at me, or is there something you need?” Draxum called out to Splinter, bringing him back to the present. He was still facing away from Splinter, typing on his Mystic console, strings of formulas flying across it with every tap.

“...Sofia is awake. She’s in the kitchen with her twin.”

“Unsurprising. I’ll make her another dose once I finish up here.”

Splinter felt himself fighting against his next words, but his locked maw was softening, allowing a quiet, almost unheard; “Thank you.”

But Draxum heard it clearly, though fully believing he heard wrong, turning to face Splinter. “What did you say?”

“THANK YOU, I said; ‘thank you’!” He fumed back. “I may hate you, but I don’t hate what you’re doing for this family. I would be doing you disservice to demonize you now.”

“...You do realize this started out as a hostage situation, yes?”

“And yet, you’re still here.”

“Because it will ultimately benefit me in the end. Between removing the Dragon’s Eye from your daughter and making your son a new body, they may very well help me pioneer new Mystic procedures to buy my freedom back.”

“Our daughter,” Splinter corrected, “Our son. They’re your children too. And if you really wanted your freedom, you wouldn’t have signed that contract with Nelli.”

Draxum turned away with a scowl, putting his attention back on his work. “I simply did what you could not.”

“...Sure, whatever helps you sleep tonight,” Splinter said sarcastically and turned back towards the entrance. “Just make sure you apologize to Sofonisba before you give her medicine again. She’s been far too forgiving to the both of us.”

Chapter Text

Their morning started without the usual wakeup call. Like they were some sort of ornery child, their father organized someone to knock on their door until they answered at 6 am sharp every day - but the insistent rapping was absent. When they actually were a child, it was the task of their nanny, but as they grew and their father's infamy spread, she was dismissed, much to their heartbreak, but a firm hand prevented any more thoughts on the matter. Now it was just one of their father's many expendable lackeys, so many and so irritating they never bothered to remember any of their names. With a weary sigh, they reached for their phone expertly hidden behind their headboard. Their father despised technology, especially that which was adapted from modern human minds, but they refused to isolate themselves entirely like him. Sure enough, it was well past their wake up call, wondering if this was a rare mercy, but their father was not one to grant such trifling matters. More likely, something had happened, something that had forced their father and the majority of their staff out of the house, and this was an opportunity they refused to squander.

Drako pushed himself off of his bed, not even bothering to change from his night wear as his hand nervously hovered over the doorknob. The cowardly part of his brain urged him backwards, pleaded with him not to take the risk, but he would take it all the same. He exited into the hallway looking both ways to reveal not a soul in sight. Truly, something was wrong if there wasn't at least one guard to urge him back into his prison, but Drako didn't dwell any further on this tiny miracle. His father's office was the aim, taking large purposeful steps towards it, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. He arrived in record time, knowing his father was far too proud to have sent a repairman to mend the broken lock, entering inside and finding exactly what he expected; Empty. It had been quite some time since Drako had last been summoned here - not since he last ‘acted up’ in his father’s eyes and was disciplined expectantly; with the back of his hand and threats towards what truly kept his son shackled to his fate. Drako let out a shaky breath as he found his goal - the large safe in the back adorned with an ancient Mystic key-bound padlock. He had seen his father procure the key from his desk many, many times - immediately making for it and rummaging through the drawers, gentle enough to not disturb anything’s order, just in case his plan was foiled, but the key thankfully surfaced before long.

Wasting no time, he fell to his knees and grabbed the padlock with quaking hands, missing the keyhole several times before finally successfully removing it. With an aged, metallic groan, the safe opened, and the singular treasure it housed was revealed. Within a translucent tube was a singular, large egg, one that was naturally painted in the same vibrant hues as Drako’s scales, and he gently, tenderly pulled it towards him.

“We’re leaving, you and I,” a small trace of relief spread in his chest, hugging the canister. “I’m sorry it took so long...” He stood up, recalling the rest of his escape plan he’d been working on for years, ready to put it all into action, but a singular sound brought it all crashing down. The mansion doors opening and slamming shut - the heavy, aggravated footsteps that followed and echoed. Every swear Drako knew exploded in his head at once, a few of them escaping as he scrambled to put everything back as it once was. He had been so close, so close! Had he known his father would’ve returned so soon he would have never even allowed himself to hope! Oh, how he wished he had woken up earlier, how he cursed the lethargic nature of his supposed superior breed of Yōkai! From the sound of the footsteps, Drako knew the location of his father, how fast his approach was, and ran to meet him, putting on a bewildered face, preparing to act the fool. No sooner had he turned the corner from the office did they meet; Drako Senior thoroughly wroth, silently telling his son not to approach.

“Father, what is-”

“What are you doing out of your chambers!?” He bellowed, Drako hiding a flinch.

“No one came to wake me and-”

“Return to them at once.”

“But-” Drako began as his father started to pass him by, the last dreg of patience spent as he pivoted back, grabbing Drako by the back of his neck with a crazed look in his eyes.

“Did I stutter, Junior? Or shall I start locking that door again?”

“No,” Drako tensed, “no sir, you did not.”

He was released, barely able to catch himself as his father continued his previously interrupted pace. “I will call for you later. Do not leave your chambers again until then.”

Drako felt his heart skip a beat with each stomp as he trudged away, forcing himself to take a breath to calm himself before obeying his father’s orders, but the curiosity remained. What could possibly have him this mad? The memory of his phone lying exposed among his sheets pushed Drako back towards his room, knowing the likelihood of it being found was low, but rushed back regardless. Drako overly gently shut the door behind him, not willing to incite any more of his father’s wrath no matter how small the infraction. As expected, his phone was where he left it, snatching it up and unlocking it, opening up the news application in hopes of finding anything relevant - and his heart stopped. It’s been said seeing is believing, but Drako couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Every article, every headline, mimicked the last, and it was both a nightmare and a dream come true. The Masters of Barbarianism, his father, and everyone and everything in between was plastered on the site with scathing titles and even more scathing comments. Drako cared less about the ‘whys’ and more focused on the ‘hows’, opening the top article - being met with a video and its thumbnail featuring a face he saw only a few days ago. Nelli Hamato.

In stark contrast to her usual comedic shtick, whatever she was trying to convey was in a much more serious manner. Drako was not a viewer of her content, but he had known of Nelli before their encounter in Draxum’s lab and subsequently in this house. Several mobsters had been caught watching her videos in the past and were fired on the spot if their leader happened upon them in the act. Investigating her himself led Drako to know that her content was not his cup of tea, but in finding out who she was, no, what she was, there was an opportunity that couldn’t be ignored. He tapped the play button. From a fade in from black was Big Mama, someone he only knew through gossip, but was keenly aware how much power she held in the Hidden City. Just as he was beginning to wonder what she was doing in this video did Big Mama explain and endorse the following message - and it was then Drako realized that they had messed with the wrong family, that his father was an absolute fool. For all his bluster, for all his power, his father was not untouchable - that fact alone allowing Drako to feel hope once again. He didn’t need to know the rest of the content in the video, it was obvious and time was of the essence. If he was to act, it was now, and even if he had to leave alone, it was checkmate anyhow, tightly gripping the key in his hand as he placed his phone down and opened a drawer in his nightstand. Hidden under a false bottom was a yellowed letter - never opened, its contents always tantalizing.

As he tearfully bid farewell to his nanny, did she slip this letter into his coat, whispering to open it if he was ever in need of help, and now, all these years later, did Drako finally break the seal. Perhaps he shouldn’t have delayed it for so long, but the weight of the key in his hand reminded him that there was no more opportune moment than the present. The letter contained a phone number and nothing else, Drako pocketing the key as he retook his phone and typed the numbers, rechecking it several times as he made his way to his closet. He knew no spells to muffle conversation, and in this antiquated house, he could take no chances, settling in between two hanging suits as he pressed the call button and shut the door behind him. It rang one, twice, thrice, his heart sinking, but there wasn’t a fourth ring, a click instead replacing it and a recently familiar yet unfamiliar voice answering.

“And who, pray tell, is calling Big Mama’s emergency line? Gracious, I almost plum forgot about this dusty old ruin...” She asked into Drako’s stunned silence. Of all the Yōkai to answer, he least expected her. “...Hello? Faulty line? Prank call? I'm a very dizzy-busy Yōkai, so I'll be hanging up now!”

“Wait, don't!” Drako finally got over his shock, thankfully able to stop Big Mama from disregarding him entirely.

“Welly-well, there's someone there afterall! I don't recognize your voice, So be spiffy quick about who gave you this number before I actually hang up this time.”

Drako swallowed hard, still fighting his anxieties, but managed to answer all the same. “I am calling on behalf of Sydney Quarry.” He revealed and there was a pause, Drako wondering if the call had disconnected, but Big Mama soon replied;

“Oh,” another pause, “Ohhhh. Truly?”

“Yes. She gave me this number and instructed me to call it if I needed help.”

There was a tiny puff of laughter from Big Mama, Drako wondering what kind of expression she was wearing after it. “So, nearly three ditty-decades later and she's finally cashing in that favor? Hm. I know who you are, darling,” a sudden portal opened next to him, freshy conjured and nearly making Drako jump out of his skin. “Walk on through, little Drako, we have quite a bit of chin wagging to do.”

******

The wind born from the Hudson River was biting. There was no sun to combat it that day, just an eternally stretching blanket of gray, and in the middle of the river stood Vinnie, a small patch of ice below him, the gigantic Utrom dome before him. On each riverside stood Mikey and Draxum - ready to bind Gio and relying on Vinnie to create a substantial dam if need be, meanwhile the rest of the team was on a yacht, finishing their preparations. A glance back revealed his father doing a few practice casts while Donnie watched on - Vinnie unable to make out their expressions, but figuring they were making adjustments as needed. The breeze picked up and slammed against his entire being, Vinnie cringing and kneeling down to wait it out, wishing he’d put on a few extra layers on top of the four he was already wearing.

“Hey, you okay? You good?” Leo echoed from Vinnie’s earpiece.

“As g-good as I can b-be...!” He shivered back. “Are you g-guys almost done?”

“Just waiting on Bishop’s go ahead,” Donnie answered.

“Well, he s-sure is taking his sweet t-time! How hard is it t-to get clearance to drop your own b-barrier!?”

“Apparently longer than it needs to be. Hang in there, Vin,” Nel attempted to soothe and he shivered out a groan in response, grumbling about his ‘stupid’ powers. Splinter watched his son’s struggle from the yacht’s bow, reeling in the obsidian from his most recent practice cast. Vincent had always been sensitive to the cold, Splinter’s thoughts being brought back to his children’s infancy. He remembered wrapping the tiny turtle in an entire scarf just to get him to stop shivering - so that fact that he now had developed ice powers was irony Splinter didn’t know if he should pity or laugh at.

“How’s it feel? Need any last minute adjustments?” Donnie asked, Splinter’s thoughts broken out of the past and to the present.

“O-oh, no, it’s great!” Splinter mildly flustered.

“Of course it is; it’s Donnie Tech,” Donnie said confidently. “Every atom of that fishing rod is enhanced with my Ninpō, so it’s both indestructible and state of the art!”

“It certainly looks impressive...” Splinter’s gaze went from top to bottom of the metallic rod with various purple embellishments.

“Hmm, yes, and? And!?” Donnie was relishing in the minuscule praise, so much so he failed to notice the portal opening beneath his feet, falling into it with a yelp.

“Stop fishing for compliments and get in position!” Leo called down into it, then deposited Donnie into the air above them. Donnie’s jetpack activated before he fell any amount of feet, glaring down at his brother, but accepting his leadership begrudgingly. It was almost time, after all, taking out lantern and setting his sights on the dome.

“I can’t tell if that pun was intentional or not,” Raph addressed Leo and his brother lightly chuckled.

“That one time, it wasn’t,” He admitted, getting a small laugh out of Nel, the remaining quartet then falling silent as they all anticipated Bishop’s voice to ring out in their earpieces any second now. Still, Splinter’s mind wandered back to the past once again, further this time. Fishing was a hobby he had picked up from his grandfather. While childhood memories seemed to fade even more and more as the years continued onwards, there was still one that was clear as the day it happened. His Grandfather Sho took him and his mother on a trip to Hokkaido, one of the biggest activities being trout fishing in one of its many rivers. While his mother stayed in the shade of the trees did Splinter spend a fulfilling day with Sho, igniting a passion for fly fishing that always stayed with him. Before his fling with Big Mama, his downtime was always fishing related, and while his hobby eventually fizzled out, there was still more than enough muscle memory to follow through with this plan. He would rescue his son, he would never fail him again.

“Turtles and company,” Bishop’s monotone voice sounded into everyone’s ears. “The needed preparations are finished. If you are ready, I will begin the countdown to lower the dome.”

Leo looked up to Donnie, his brother looking out to the further participants with binoculars, able to see both Draxum and Mikey holding thumbs up, then giving the same to him. He looked around the boat, no one wavering, and then out to Vinnie, who’d stood back up, their eyes meeting, showing Leo his readiness with a nod. They were more than ready. “Do it.”

******

April closed the book she was reading, softly placing it on Sofia’s night table, quiet enough not to make a sound even though she was sure her sister couldn’t hear anything through her drug induced slumber. She was officially out of activities that she could manage to do while also keeping an eye on Sofia, besides doom scrolling, which April refused to participate in. The video was spreading literally everywhere, and while the reaction was mixed, it was doing exactly as it was intended. Still, April didn't want to focus too much on it, letting it run its course while attempting to put her mind elsewhere. She wanted to work on the truck, especially to clean out the bed and maybe install some seats, but that was a project for later - much later, reality reminded her as the shrill of a pop song filled the once silent room. Despite it not being a ringtone she’d set for anyone, April went for her phone, finding the screen blank, then realizing it was Sofia’s that was ringing.

“...Where!?” She frantically looked for it, the source of it and it’s accompanying vibrations soon revealed to be coming from Sofia herself. “Girl, you did not store it in your shell!” April hissed helplessly as the song continued and Sofia involuntarily shook. She hoped she was wrong, peeling back the blanket, praying it was just next to her or exposed enough for April to silence it - but there was no such luck, Sofia stirring, an arm retracting and reemerging, answering without even looking.

“...’ello...?” She barely managed.

“Ah! Finally, one of the turty-poos picked up! And it’s the exact one I’m looking for!” April recognized the voice, her jaw dropping. Sofia also couldn’t believe what she was hearing, thinking maybe she was still dreaming. “Are you still there, Sofie-poo? Dear me, did I wake you?”

“Yes, you did,” Sofia forced her drowsy eyes open, holding out her free hand to April, silently urging her to help her sit up. “I don’t remember giving you this number...” She said with a strain as April followed through.

“My apologies, but Big Mama has her ways!” She answered with a giggle. “Now, tell me, are you free right now or are you glommed for time? None of your siblings picked up when I rang.”

“Uh,” Sofia looked to April who was just as confused as she was, shrugging. She remembered that Gio’s rescue mission was today, and if no one was home, then it was still ongoing. “I suppose I’m free? ...Why?”

“Fantumptuous! You see, I’m doing a teensy little favor for an old... friend, and it just so happens that I need you to fulfill it - and fret not, it comes with a transactional benefit.”

“Uh-huh...” Sofia barely swallowed a yawn. “And that would be...?”

“Wyrm’s Blood,” Big Mama replied and Sofia completely woke up. “The other day, right before Nell-Bell left after our contract signing, she asked if I knew any alternatives to getting some other than Drako, and I didn’t, but an opportunity just almost literally fell into my lap. They’re willing to do a flippy-flop trade with you.”

“A trade for what?” Sofia asked frankly, not willing to fall for any trickery.

“A chat, with you specifically, if you’d believe it. Well, at least I think it’s you. I currently don’t know any other mutants with healing powers, hmm? Meet us in the Sporting Lounge in ten?”

“Uhhh,” Sofia looked at April who was shaking her head. “...Can I bring April with me?”

“Of course! Safety in numbers and all that! Toodle-boos!” Big Mama hung up and April angrily yelled.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘CAN I BRING APRIL’!?” She huffed and puffed before speaking again. “I mean, I guess we can trust her, but what the heck, Sofia!? Don’t just volunteer me for something that might still be a trap! Not to mention; YOUR RIBS ARE STILL BROKEN!”

“April, I'm sorry, but it’s the possibility of Wyrm’s Blood - the one missing ingredient Donnie needs to cook up Gio a new body,” Sofia gently eased herself off her mattress, staggering slightly before finding her footing. “Everyone else is topside and apparently not answering their phones, so I’m making an executive decision and taking this risk. If it really is just a chat, I think I’ll live.”

April sighed long and wearily, sliding down her chair and reaching the floor, looking up at the determined Sofia. “...Fine,” she relented, “I’ll get my bat and mentally prepare for all the yelling once everyone finds out I let you out of your sickbed. Mayhem!” Their Yōkai companion blipped in, landing on Sofia’s bed. “Me and Sofs have some business with Big Mama. Think you could take us to the hotel in a few?”

Mayhem wavered for a moment, but nodded. “Thanks, buddy,” Sofia ruffled his fur, Mayhem allowing it, though not particularly enjoying the gesture. “Just let me get cleaned up quickly. A cold shower is going to work wonders for me right now...” she staggered off towards the showers.

“You are gonna get hypothermia,” April raised a brow and Sofia chuckled as she turned the corner.

“Cool, let’s add it to the growing list of things wrong with me.” One unpleasant, but rejuvenating shower later, the duo bundled up and Mayhem worked his magic, depositing April and Sofia into the lobby of the Grand Nexus Hotel. It was unattended and dim, the glow of the elevator’s call button guiding them to their destination. “Let’s get this over with and go home before my pain meds give out,” Sofia said, entering the elevator and pressing the correct button.

“Yeah, and I hope we’re not going home in body bags...” April grumbled, mindlessly tapping the bat hanging from her belt loop.

The ride up was quick, Big Mama ready to greet them as soon as the doors rolled open. “Oho, splendiferously punctual!” She sauntered over to them, the clicking of her heels echoing throughout the empty Sporting Lounge - all viewing orbs powered down as the bare minimum lighting kept the large room dimly lit. “I do apologize for the state of things, can’t keep everything ship-shape with no profits - but that’s all about to change thanks to that video of yours!” She giggled blissfully.

“Eventually,” April corrected but Big Mama’s delight was not to be deterred.

“Yes, yes, tis a scrumulent result regardless. Feel free to keep incubating that relic for me, Sofie-poo...” She trailed off on seeing Sofia, worn down and not doing a very good job at hiding her current state. “Goodness, are you quite alright? Oh, and this little one too...” Big Mama pointed at Mayhem, who went exhaustedly limp in April’s arms.

“Mayhem!” April held him up, the small Yōkai weakly mewling in response. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Oh dear, the poor thing’s probably exhausted his powers. I’ve put up some barriers to keep the big scary Drako out, just in case, but if this one zip-zapped you through them...”

“Aw, geez,” April took off her scarf and swaddled Mayhem. “Guess we gotta figure out another way home, huh? Just rest, buddy, I’ve got you.”

“-And don’t worry about me,” Sofia deflected. “I did just wake up, after all.”

“Hmmm...” Big Mama looked unconvinced, but relented as she turned away. “Well, no matter, best get onto what you came here for. They've been ever so patiently waiting. Come along.” She led and they followed, walking past the giant, now silent and inoperable fountain. To a table near the unattended bar they went, a large, hooded figure waiting for them - Big Mama nearly snorting into a giggle at the sight of them. “I gave you access to a wardrobe bigger than a bing - and that is what you chose?”

“The idea was to come off as inconspicuous,” they answered, Big Mama giving into her giggles this time.

“You look like you’re about to bizzy-brew us some potions,” She smirked. “Oooh, shall I make that your new vocation? Surely there’s a market for it-”

“Alright, enough!” They dropped the hood, revealing themselves to be Drako Junior, April gasping and unlooping her bat.

“I KNEW IT!” She held it aloft, ready to strike while still cradling Mayhem in her other arm. “I just knew this was some Big Mama flavor of double-crossing!”

“A human? Here?” Drako eyed April dubiously.

“Yes, she and the turtle-boos are thicker than thieves,” Big Mama explained, checking her nails instead of giving in to April’s threatening stance.

“Still, what is she doing here? I specifically only asked to speak with the orange turtle.”

“What am I doing here!? What are YOU doing here!?” April fired back, pointing the bat. “And you’ve gotta be crazy to think I’d let Sofia come here all on her own!”

“Okay, okay, simmer down,” Sofia put one of her fingers on April’s bat and lowered it. “If this was a double cross, we’d already be webbed up, April.”

“Indubitably,” Big Mama nodded.

“Then why the heck is the smaller Drako here!?”

“Because I’m giving him asylum,” she revealed and Sofia’s eyebrows raised. “You see little Drakey-wakey here is the child of a dearly departed childhood confidante and was nannied by a very much still living corrival I owed a favor to. That favor was recently cashed-in, and so he’s mine until further notice.”

“...Uh-huh...” Sofia said hesitantly, looking at Drako who was actively avoiding eye contact with her. “And he’s willing to give me some blood for... information? Considering our previous encounters, I don’t buy it.”

“Then I’ll say it plainly;” Drako finally met her gaze. “I need your help. Provide me with the information I need and I will give you as many drops as you need. No strings attached, no tricks up my sleeves. What you’ve done has ultimately aided me, so I am feeling rather generous.”

“The video... helped you?” April asked, lowering her bat the rest of the way.

“Yes. After decades of being a prisoner, only existing to provide blood for my father’s plans - you gave me an opportunity to claim what’s mine and flee. It was, however, a slightly botched effort. I was unable to bring my sister with me, but she is safe from my father’s idiocy regardless - for now.”

April and Sofia shared a look, both knowing there was a story here neither of them knew. With a purse of her lips did Sofia motion to the table, and April sighed, giving in and re-looping her bat. “...Fine, we’ll at least hear you out,” April said and took a seat, Sofia taking the one next to her as Big Mama moved away from them and to the bar, deciding to mix herself a drink rather than attend the talk.

“Thank you,” he said genuinely, taking a small breath before continuing. “I’m going to be very frank here - your power; does it have the ability to bring those back from the dead?”

Sofia’s eyes widened, completely taken off guard by the question. “I, uh...” she flustered, blinking a few times as her mind sorted the appropriate response. “I don’t think so, but I have brought people back from death-like status, if that counts?”

Drako took the answer in stride, his turn for contemplation, every so slightly tilting his head in thought, soon nodding. “...That just might actually be enough.” He said and took out the key to the safe, placing it on the middle of the table. “My sister... she...” He paused, shaking his head as he swallowed his more raw emotions. “She never hatched, and yet, she is both alive and stagnant inside her egg. My father holds her in a safe this key is for. I wasn’t able to take her with me, but the safe is impenetrable without this key. I fully intend to return for her, and with your powers, I believe you could finally coax her out of her shell.”

“Oh,” Sofia understood, looking to her hands, wondering if she could truly perform the miracle Drako sought. “I could try?”

“In a safe!?” April balked. “What kind of father stores his child in a safe!?”

“One that considers her a failure, one that knows he can use her to get whatever he wishes from me. If I so much as breathe wrong, he threatens to shatter her on the nearest wall.”

“Oh my god,” April said, horrified.

“And we add another layer to the asshole parfait that is Drako the Great...” Sofia scoffed, leaning back into her seat, looking for any indication of falsehood in Drako’s desperate plea. “So the encounter in Draxum’s lab?”

“An act. I was being thoroughly babysat by my father’s goons. I cannot leave the mansion of my own accord.”

“And I’m guessing you pushing to not have us frisked was in hopes to lead into something like this?”

“Yes, but my father is also a proud idiot, so he would’ve taken offense to it regardless.”

“Hm,” Sofia loosely crossed her arms, leaning further back into the seat. “You are appealing to a very specific heartstring, Junior, because while you need my powers to save your sister, I need your blood to save my brother,” she revealed and Drako widened his eyes in intrigue. Sofia answered the oncoming question by pointing upwards, then explaining. “One of the ‘dragons’ above us is my brother. He can’t be changed back, but we have a way to get him a new body - one that needs your blood to emulate his previous pre-transformed state.”

“...That sounds insane,” He replied plainly.

“We live in insane times,” April shrugged at him and Drako sighed with a nod.

“We do indeed,” he relented and retook the key. “So, do we have a deal then?”

“Yes,” Sofia said firmly. “If you’re willing to give me blood on my word alone, then you’re serious. When this all blows over, find me again and I’ll do whatever I can for your sister. I promise.”

“I will hold you to that,” Drako began rolling up the sleeve of his robe, revealing a thoroughly de-scaled arm, clearly overused and abused for taking blood. “Do you have anything to carry the blood in?”

Both of the girls were shaken by the state of Drako’s arm. It had to have hurt, it must be constantly paining him every waking moment of every day with all the scars and more recent scabbed incisions. Sofia’s own scaled hand panged in response, knowing just how forcibly losing one scale hurt - she couldn’t imagine losing as many as Drako had. “Here you are!” Big Mama slammed a cocktail shaker onto the table with one hand and took a generous sip of her drink with the other, shocking April and Sofia’s attention away from Drako and onto it.

“Geez, I don’t need that much!” Sofia looked at the shaker in horror.

“It’ll keep it fresh!” She said nonchalantly then watched as Drako took the shaker, twisting the cap off and hovering his wrist over the empty bottom. With one of his claws he drew a line across a yet to be soiled patch of skin, the cyan liquid free from its prison and draining into another. April winced at the sight, looking away while Sofia started to feel overwhelming guilt towards this transaction.

Drako soon finished, believing the amount to be adequate, taking a dining napkin from the table to staunch his wound. “That should do it. Big Mama, if you would?”

“I suppose...” She said and placed her drink down, re-capping the shaker and twisting it as tightly as she could manage without breaking it. She picked it up, feeling the warmth of what it held. “Literal millions of dollery-doos in the palms of my hands. I almost don’t want to give it to you,” She maliciously smiled at April and Sofia, but passed it to them regardless. “But I also don’t want one Miss Quarry coming out of hiding for my fanny specifically. I do owe her.”

“And I thank you for fighting your avarice induced craze,” Drako said, not looking up from putting pressure on his wrist.

“That obvious, hm?” Big Mama sighed. “Feel free to share a drop with me if you’re so inclined.”

“No,” Sofia shot down. “Don’t even think about it,” she chided Big Mama and shifted her gaze to Drako. “Hold out your arm.”

The question as to why almost reached Drako’s maw, but he soon realized, giving Sofia a glare in response. “I do not need your pity.”

“It’s not pity,” Sofia started, holding up her bandaged hand and freeing it with a flex - the tatters fluttering to the ground as Drako stared at it in shock. “It’s empathy.”

“Fascinating...!” Big Mama pulled her glasses down to view the transformed hand better. She'd seen it once before, but never this close.

“So-fi-a-!” April hissed through grit teeth. “What are you doing-!?”

“I know how painful it is to have one or two scales plucked. To have a completely bare arm must be agony.”

“Okay, and I get that and I get wanting to help, but you are in no condition to be using your powers!”

“It’s one arm, it’s fine. Besides, this is more than my word. I promised, yes, but I’d like to do a little more than that too,” Sofia’s Ninpō manifested, crawling over the table and onto Drako, who flinched away from it. “Don’t move,” she commanded and Drako obeyed through still processing the sight of Sofia’s hand. With a flick of her wrist did the palette knife journey down his arm, scales regrowing and reforming. A few more of the same motion brought Drako’s arm back to its original sheen, beautiful ruby scales he’d long lost back as if they were never cut from him.

“Impossible...” He shook, disbelieving but finding understanding nonetheless.

“You’re welcome,” Sofia said and stood up from the table, seemingly no worse for wear. “And thank you for the blood. We won't waste a drop of it.”

“Indeed, because you will be returning it to its rightful owner this very moment!” A voice boomed over them, the source revealing itself. Heavy, crazed footsteps rumbled into the lounge, a thoroughly enraged Drako The Great living up to his namesake as he left a trail of destruction in his wake.

"Oh, we're in trouble..." April's eyes were like saucers.

“He made it through all my barriers!?” Big Mama was a mix of impressed and aghast, but then noticed his disheveled suit, his scorched scales, and his general fatigue. “Ooo, but not easily! Money well spent then - and I prepared for this!” She shifted out of her human guise, firing a web at a wall mounted light fixture, bending down its false nature and allowing it to give way to a hidden wall. Hidden City police poured out from it, Big Mama’s smirk deepening as they surrounded the intruder. “As predicted, Drako the Great has come to attack me in retaliation! Now do what all my tippy-taxes pay you for!” The elder dragon roared as the officers began their assault, Sofia seeing Drako flinch at it, but ignored any words of comfort as Big Mama turned around and towered over them. “Quick sticks and skedaddle, Sofie-poo!”

“H-how!? Mayhem is still down!” April cringed as another roar shook the lounge, shattering several glasses behind the bar. Sofia looked around desperately, all of the exits blocked or inaccessible. She redirected her panic to herself, looking for something, anything to help - and the bulge under her coat’s wrist caused her to wrench the fabric back. The T-Emblem.

“Get close to me, April! I’ve got something!” Sofia scooped up the shaker, giving it to April as she complied. “Hold onto that and Mayhem for dear life, because this is probably gonna be bumpy!”

“JUNIOR!” A bellow like thunder filled with anger akin to poison demanded the young dragon’s focus. “YOU TRAITOROUS WRETCH!”

Drako momentarily quaked in fear, but found his courage as he yelled back. “You don’t own me! I’m not your pet!”

“I WILL GRIND YOUR WORTHLESS SISTER TO DUST!”

“Oh, really?” Drako sneered, taking the key out, letting his father catch a glimpse of it. “Good luck getting into the safe without a key!” He pivoted, throwing the key to Sofia, the latter catching it. “GO!” he desperately bid, the struggle with the police starting to turn towards the ancient Yōkai’s favor. Sofia resolutely nodded and brought the T-Emblem to her face.

“BootyyyShaker9000 Rules, Neon Leon Drools!”

“Acknowledged,” a robotic voice resembling Donnie’s said back from the button. “Deploying escape pod.” Mystic sparked, joining all the mechanical panels springing forth from the button, building itself around Sofia and April. Everything clicked together and a satisfying chime rang out. “Preparations complete,” A belt suddenly restricted Sofia and April even closer together. “Destination; other dimensional lair. Have a safe flight.” The pod rocketed off, paying no object any mind as walls were destroyed, cleaning a path whilst its passengers screamed in fear, praying they’d make it home in one piece.

Chapter Text

“Do it,” Leo answered Bishop and everyone tensed in anticipation.

“Order received,” Bishop said back, a short pause following that increased the jolt everyone felt as the dome began pulsating. “Powering down in five...”

“Here we go...!” Mikey limbered up, cracking his neck.

“Four.”

“You can do this, focus, hot soup, hot soup...” Vinnie chanted to himself.

“Three.”

Donnie observed the lantern one last time, knowing there was nothing to be checked, but was simply fidgeting in his impatience.

“Two.”

“We've got this,” Leo encouraged the group on the boat, Nel and Raph nodding while Splinter nervously gripped the fishing rod harder.

“One. Godspeed, Turtles.”

The dome's power flickered then whirred wearily, its source cut off, layers collapsing and disappearing vertically until its remaining defenses were that of the panels underwater. Though unseen, Donnie counted and calculated how many more were left according to the display in the open air, tapping his ear piece once the last dissipated. “The dome is now completely down. He'll surface any moment now,” he informed everyone in complete confidence. As to why Gio only surfaced once a week at a specific time, Donnie didn't know and nor did Bishop. Perhaps it was some internal clock in his new biology or maybe there was something neither of them were privy to. However, both the EPF and Donnie believed that given the chance, Gio would make a move regardless of his schedule, and they were correct. Like a scene from any known kaiju film did he emerge - suddenly, loudly, horrifyingly. He was hurt, he was wroth. The otherworldly roar that followed, unfiltered by the Utrom technology imbued everyone with a new healthy dose of fear as it shook the very reality around it. Glass shattered from nearby buildings as the dragon's cry lingered, warning all who dared approach and thoroughly trying the resolve of all in its current attendance - but Donnie saw and heard none of it. No, what he was witnessing was a desperate call for help, one that Gio had been suppressing internally all his life, and only now in an uncontrolled feral state was he finally letting his grief be known.

It didn't excuse all that had been done - the distrust, the miscommunication, the unreal expectations set on those who could never fulfill them. But in spite of everything, these were all linked to a burden that he was never meant to bear, believing it was his and hoarding it rather than sharing as one should. Gio was no more a leader than Raph was, neither of them able fit into the role yet were forced into it due to their ages and father's hands-off approach. But while Raph had a certain soft touch to his nature, Gio did not, and Donnie shared that trait to the point of understanding. Donnie needed things to fall into place as planned and had trouble compromising when the situation called for it - stubbornly so, and those facts a leader did not make, but Gio tried to brute force those facts as law. Donnie would pity him if he didn't understand him so well, determined to have him live through this and thoroughly get him learned in the error of his ways.

“Restraints!” Donnie commanded as the echoes of Gio's roars died down and the dragon began to move. Several of Mikey’s Mystic chains answered the call whilst an explosion of roots followed from Draxum's position. They weaved around Gio's neck and into the waters in an attempt to grasp his entire body. The shock of the first chain locking into position triggered panic in Gio - not willing to give up freedom again so easily and began writhing as Donnie expected. Still, the skillful mystics followed through, able to restrain him, but both Draxum and Mikey were finding their own struggles. While Mikey could feel himself being dragged from the shore, Draxum could see his roots in the beginnings of unraveling.

“As predicted, we alone will not be able to restrain him,” Draxum informed the team, all available eyes now falling onto Vinnie.

“You're up, Vin,” Donnie reminded, looking down at his position, Vinnie getting on his knees and placing his hands in the water - subsequently freezing it around them.

“C'mon...!” Vinnie hissed as he forced his Mystic out and only managed small chunks of ice. “C'mon, c'mon, c'mon-!” It slowly began to grow, but Gio roared again, shattering Vinnie's efforts. Before he could even lament, a distinct snap followed - one of Draxum’s roots giving in to the strain placed on it. Vinnie heard another order from Donnie and desperation started to settle in. He was used to his ice powers being so miniscule that it was impossible to envision them otherwise. He didn't really understand how they worked anyhow. With Sofia, she at least had the understanding to grow or shrink her naginata pre Ninpō, but with Vinnie, the ice just... happened, the same as his other power. It automatically activated in bodies of water and froze whatever else in response to injuries or combat. Now, being expected to command it seamlessly - it was too much, he couldn't do it, and panic overtook reason. He started to back away, shaking his head as tears blurred his vision, but a voice forced him to pause.

“Vin,” Leo's calm but firm tone broke through. “Vinnie, take a deep breath and listen to me.”

“I-I can't-”

“No, you can, but I also know what you're going through right now.”

“What?” Vinnie said and Leo continued.

“Your brother's been taken away from you and transformed into something you don't have the power on your own to stop,” Leo said and Raph viewed the whole situation in a new light, his memories stirred and his heart going out to Gio and Vinnie more than before. “-And the two of you parted on bad terms, making this even harder - but Vinnie, you wouldn't be out here if you didn't love Gio. This isn't about how much you've fought or who did what, this is about getting your family back - and I know you can do this, you're me, and I trust you, I trust us.”

The beginnings of warmth brought on by Leo’s unwavering faith in him calmed Vinnie's racing mind, redirecting to the thoughts he instead needed to contemplate. This wasn't the first time one of their counterparts had transformed beyond recognition, hell, it wasn't even the first time a ‘Donatello’ had gone through another level in mutation. Vincent recalled how they did everything they could to get their brother back, even relying on their Bishop who was in no way an ally to them at the time. This memory had been with him since finding out about Gio, and for a time, Vinnie allowed himself to feel a patch of jealousy towards it. Unlike his rocky relationship with his brother, these turtles had a comradery he and Gio lacked. Of course he wanted his brother back, more than anything, but the past of their altercations shackled Vinnie, twisting his thoughts and believing that broken trust couldn't be renewed. But with Leo's words did Vinnie review various memories once more, bringing him to a conclusion that had always been there. No matter which versions of themselves he'd witnessed, they were always able to overcome their hardships together. Even if it wasn't their immediate family, there was always someone to ease the turtles through their trials. Fellow mutants, unexpected human friends, surprise allies from beyond - and if they could trust and rely on them through their troubles, so could he.

With a knowing smirk and a chuckle at how idiotically blind he'd been, Vinnie stood and faced the yacht. “Then I trust you understand that I need a portal on top of Gio?”

“Say no more, brother!” Leo enthusiastically portaled himself to Vinnie, grabbed him, and deposited them onto Gio's back. They both staggered slightly before finding their footing, but with a deep breath, Vinnie got back down on his knees, hovering his hands above Gio’s shell.

“Thank you, Leo,” he said, unable to allow a reply as a surge of energy took over, flickering, then flashing into existence, causing everyone to flinch and close their eyes against it. Upon reopening to witness the aftermath, each battled with what they were seeing. Gio was silent, his movement completely stopped via a translucent sheet of ice perfectly housing his shape. Understanding came first to Leo, who could be heard laughing triumphantly and congratulating his twin, then to Donnie who smiled at the physically shown truth of Vinnie getting past what was holding him back.

“For the uninitiated, that was a display of fully unlocked Hamato Ninpō. Congratulations are in order, but we still have a brother to save. Back to the boat, Leo.”

“I’m- w-woah,” Leo almost lost his footing, slipping around the freshly iced surface. “-On my way! Yeesh-!” He caught himself, digging one of his swords into it, Vinnie unable to hide a snort of laughter. “I’m allowing that and you and I are gonna celebrate over SO much pizza later! Adiós!” He freed his sword and jumped away into a portal, rejoining the party waiting on the yacht. “Okay, one portal to Gio’s insides, coming up!”

“Dang, Leo, first Sofia, then Vin? Are you a Ninpō unlocking wizard or somethin’?” Raph teased, Leo laughing as he conjured the portal.

“You know, you might be onto something. How ‘bout it, Nel, you feeling anything?” He lightly encouraged, Nel shaking her head with a shrug.

“I... don't think so?”

“Well, we’ll get you there sooner than later.”

“Just a heads up,” Vinnie sounded through their comms, “I don’t know how long I can manage this and don’t know how good of an idea it is to keep Gio frozen for an extended amount of time,” he revealed and Donnie followed up.

“Then let’s get this done. Other dimensional Papa, are you ready?”

“Y-yes! Yes I am!” Splinter shook off his thoroughly mixed shock, first from seeing his son’s transformed state and then from his other son’s show of power. There would be time to dwell on both of them later, gripping the fishing rod and getting into his casting stance. “It’s time to go home, Giorgio. Hot...!” He took a step back, slinging the rod into its upcoming cast. “SOUP!” The obsidian lure was flung, landing true through Leo’s portal, the rod’s line continually feeding into the unknown. Everyone fell silent, Splinter’s focus completely on waiting for the tug of Gio’s soul. According to Donnie’s predictions, with the soul being the biggest mass of energy inside of the dragon’s body, it would naturally be sucked into the obsidian before long, but the wait was trying regardless.

Raph and Nel got into position after sharing a nod, the latter looping her arms around Splinter while the former manifested his construct’s arms, ready to grab the both of them if needed. Finally, the lure settled, Splinter resisting the urge to start reeling it back it. There were no fish here to tempt or trick, just an old fashioned waiting game that had everyone on edge as Donnie and Draxum's theories were tried. Almost everyone wanted to speak up as this part of the rescue mission lingered on for longer than anyone anticipated - but patience was soon rewarded. Splinter anticipated the upcoming stress to the drag, feeling the vibration of Gio's soul entering into the obsidian, planting his feet and silently urging Nel to be ready. Suddenly, violently, the struggle began, Splinter almost taken into the portal despite his daughter’s best efforts, prompting Raph to anchor himself immediately.

“...Wow-!” Raph strained, feeling himself starting to be pulled forward. “This is... a lot!”

Nel dug her heels in, managing to regain some ground, only for it to be reclaimed in moments. “Yeah, and I don't think we're gonna be enough!”

“Steady! Just a little bit more!” Splinter reassured through his own struggles. “I can feel him starting to tire out!”

“Mikey, what's your ETA to get over here and help? I'd have Leo teleport, but I don't want to risk portal chopping the line,” Donnie asked in desperation.

“At least a few minutes, and I doubt we have that!”

“Just us then. How ‘bout this!?” Raph conjured his construct around his legs and broke them through the deck. “There, I'm not moving now-” he was cut off by being pulled further forward through the planks. “Oh, come on!”

“Gio, stop fighting us, please! We're trying to help!” Nel called out into the portal, hoping for any indication that she was heard, only to be met with more resistance. That figured, her thoughts mocked her. Of course he wouldn't give in on hearing the voice of the sister who struck him in anger. Tears stung her eyes as she shut them in frustration. It just figures, she once again mocked herself. Of course she was the odd one out again, desperately needing a boost of power and finding nothing for her efforts. If anything, it made her angry. She wanted to apologize, even if Gio didn't forgive her, Nel felt that she at least had the right to try - especially with all the secrecy her brother had been packing. But none of that could happen if she wasn't able to get Gio back in the here and now. All of this effort, a gigantic Hamato family sized effort was about to go down the drain because Gio, once again, would rather do anything but listen and talk - and Nelli was done, she'd had enough. “Would you just-!” She dug in her heels again, pulling Splinter back a few feet as her mind brought up more appropriate thoughts, ones not steeped in despair and self loathing. Sofia had forgiven her. Vinnie had come clean to them. Splinter was making an effort. Draxum, of all people, had come over to their side. Raph sought Nel out while at her lowest of lows, encouraged her, showed her she wasn't alone, even called her amazing after their spar. While she didn't fully believe the dub herself, Nel believed she could be amazing, that her potential to channel it into the appropriate motivations was limitless, and she'd start by being the sister she was always meant to be. Nel reopened her eyes, looking back at Raph with a gentle smile.

“Nel?”

“Let go, I've got this under control,” She said confidently, Raph opening his mouth to protest, only to be stopped by; “trust me.”

He briefly searched her eyes, relenting with his own kind, gentle smile, nodding and releasing his construct. “Go on.”

Before Leo and Donnie could object did the same flicker and flash grace them once again - Nel letting out a roar as she took the fishing rod from Splinter. “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, GIO! THIS ENDS NOW!” Her eyes were aglow, and with each step backwards did the deck creak and buckle, but she kept her pace up. Nel could hear Mikey and Vinnie cheering her through the comms while Raph, Leo, and Donnie continued it in person. Splinter was once again lost in shock, but found his voice too, keeping his eye on the line and instructing Nel on which way to pull. And finally, with one last hoist - a flickering ethereal flame burst out of the portal and into the open air. There was no mistaking it, the plan had worked - it was him. With lightning speed Donnie scooped Gio into the lantern, stabilizing it as Nel collapsed onto her back and the ice encasing the discarded body dissipated, Leo portaling off to grab Vinnie as it began sinking. As he returned with Vinnie, Mikey, and Draxum in tow, Donnie slowly descended onto the ship, his gaze firmly set on the flickering light from the lantern, everyone waiting for the verdict that he didn’t quite know how to convey.

“Did we do it? Is that Giorgio?” Mikey asked, a mild reflection of panic in his tone.

“It is,” Vinnie answered. “Without a doubt, but-”

“Why isn’t he talking?” Nel finished his thought.

“...I don’t know,” Donnie answered truthfully.

“It could be any number of things,” Draxum explained. “Suppressed ego, energy illness, ...or he could just simply be slumbering. The sooner we get back to the lab, the sooner we will have an answer.”

“Homeward bound then,” Leo opened the appropriate portal. They left the yacht behind, knowing Bishop would take care of it, filing back into the lair - out of the cold and ready to seek answers.

“I’ll go get Sofia and April,” Nel said and made for her sister’s room, everyone else still crowding around Donnie who held the lantern in his hands, wracking his brain as he waited for the trio of sisters to join them, but it was Nel’s panicked, rushed footsteps that returned instead. “They’re not here! Their coats and phones are gone!”

Everyone went for their phones without a second thought, Vinnie raising his brow in more confusion than panic. “I have a missed call from... Big Mama? I never gave her my number, nor did I add her as a contact...”

“I have one too!” Nel scrolled through her notifications.

“We have a lead then, should we-” Leo started, only to be cut off by a shrill alarm sounding from Donnie’s wrist panel.

“Proximity warning! Escape pod arrival imminent!” It said accompanied by its continued alarm, making Donnie gasp.

“Hit the deck!” He dove and grabbed who he could on the way down, holding Gio close to him, shielding Vinnie and Leo while everyone else managed to dodge in the nick of time. The escape pod roughly entered into the lair, knocking over furniture and taking a few chunks out of the wall before settling - collapsing noisily, panels rolling every which way as the passengers were deposited harshly. Sofia and April were thoroughly frazzled, both unable to decide between relief and enduring horror as their hearts refused to leave their throats.

“I’m gonna barf, I’m gonna barf-!” Sofia fell onto her side, immediately wincing. “And I think I broke even more of my ribs...!”

“Be free, my child...!” April said in her hysteria, setting Mayhem loose, who wobbly took a few steps before dizzily collapsing on the floor, blipping away right after.

“What in the world is going on!?” Splinter was the first back on his feet, running to the side of his daughters. “Where were you!? What were you doing!?” He demanded and April responded by sliding the cocktail shaker towards a still recovering Draxum.

“Wyrm’s Blood, shaken, not stirred,” She laughed weakly and crazily, causing Draxum to raise a concerned brow at her.

“Are you joking, or...?”

“DOES THIS FACE LOOK LIKE THE FACE OF A JOKER TO YOU!?” She erupted, coming back to herself. “WYRM’S. BLOOD. FOR GIO. TAKE IT.”

Draxum argued no further, not wishing to incur any more of April’s wrath, took the shaker and unscrewed the cap off, more humoring her at first, but his face dropped into genuine surprise as he viewed the cyan liquid. “There is enough blood in here to make several homunculi! How did you manage to procure so much of it!?”

“From Junior himself,” Sofia said, still lying on the floor, working through her pain and nausea. “He gave it to us willingly, before any of you start accusing me of something darker.”

“Long story short;” April stopped the inevitable barrage of questions. “He sought asylum at Big Mama's. Turns out Junior has a little sister that big Drako keeps locked away and uses as leverage over him. She's got a unique illness that he wants Sofia to cure once he can manage to rescue her, so he gave us some blood in return.”

“-And the key to her,” Sofia revealed and showcased it to everyone in her palm.

“What the-!?” Raph felt a spark of anger. “That horrible! Can't we do anything for her now!?”

“Probably not, considering the escape pod,” Leo pointed out, guessing correctly. “Why exactly did he go to Big Mama, of all people? Especially considering the past few days.”

“Something about doing a favor for an old friend? Junior's mom and somebody named ‘Quarry’?” April recalled, still trying to unscramble her brain.

“...Ah,” Draxum responded in understanding, lightly nodding his head alongside it. As all eyes fell on him, he held up a hand to stop any queries. “I will explain later. I need to get the blood stored properly before it spoils.”

He marched off into the lab, so quickly he failed to hear Sofia’s weak request of; “And make me some more painkillers, ...please...”

“You'll have to get in line, sis,” Vinnie said as he approached her, kneeling down and offering a hand. Sofia went to take it, first puzzled as to what he meant, then noticing the change of color to his wraps not quite hidden under his coat. She gasped as understanding hit her.

“You unlocked your Hamato Ninpō!” Her head whipped to Nel, seeing the same results. “And you did too! Does this mean-!?”

“Yes, we got him,” Donnie held up the actively flickering lantern, Sofia finally taking Vinnie's hand as her other went to cover her mouth. Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes as she approached the lantern with her brother. “But he's unfortunately unresponsive, so your meds are on hold until Draxum and I can get a read on him.”

“It's fine, I don't need them that badly,” she deflected, her attention completely on Gio, reaching for the lantern which Donnie relinquished without a second thought. “Oh, Gio... you must’ve really been fighting us if both Vin and Nel needed their full Ninpō...”

“You have no idea...” Nel shook her head. “But I’m over it - we got him in the end.”

“Do we have any idea why he’s unresponsive?” Sofia asked.

“Nothing concrete, but Draxum had a few thoughts. Best case scenario; he’s just getting his beauty sleep,” Donnie revealed and Sofia exhaled a small chuckle through her nose.

“Here’s hoping,” she said and gave the lantern back.

“Maybe we could try waking him?” Mikey proposed.

“Well, besides shaking the lantern, which I’m against doing, he didn’t stir during the whole escape pod debacle either. I don’t think we can get louder than that,” Donnie explained.

“What about the gong?” Mikey said and his three dimensional siblings perked up in remembrance. “Sofia, you told us the night we met and explained everything that Gio used to gather you all with a mini gong. That’s pretty loud, yeah? Put it right next to the lantern and WHAM-O, baby!”

Vinnie, Nel, and Sofia looked at one another, none finding an objection as Vinnie gave in with a shrug. “It’s worth a try. I think it's in his room...” Vinnie said and started towards it.

“That is going to be one rude awakening...” Leo cringed at the thought.

“Considering all the rude awakenings he gave me with that thing, I’d say so,” Splinter said with a cross of his arms, but then sighed. “As long as it works, that is.”

“Don’t worry, Splints, we’ll get Gio up regardless of if this works or not!” April encouraged as Vinnie returned with the gong and mallet.

“I got it. Do you want to do the honors?” He offered it to Nel and she shook her head.

“Nuh-uh, I think I sprained my wrist with all those fishing rod shenanigans.”

“Let me see-” Sofia reached out to her sister, only to have her hand gently batted away.

“No, no, no!” Nel lightly chopped Sofia’s head with each ‘no’. “Not only did Draxum forbid you from using your powers, but Dad grounded you! It’s been a crazy past few minutes, but don’t think we’ve forgotten that, Sofia!”

“It’s like you’re allergic to staying in bed when you’re hurt!” Raph added. “She did this back in our dimension too!”

“And while having the Wyrm’s Blood is fantastic, you’re still in trouble, young lady!” Splinter stepped in. “Running off to Big Mama’s in your state - at least you brought April with you, but come on, Sofia!”

“Mmmhmm,” April agreed, placing her hands on her hips, Sofia too tired and in too much pain to bite back.

“...You’re right, and I’m sorry. I won’t leave my room again until I’m fully healed up, ...especially since that escape pod ride was rather rocky, Mr. BootyyyShaker9000,” She lightly glared at Donnie.

“I may have neglected to fine tune the calibrations upon switching dimensions, but you’re alive and you’re welcome,” he said and both the escape pod passengers scoffed.

“And I’ll be making sure of that, Sofia. April's officially off of bedrest duty!” Mikey said with a threatening smile that clearly spelled out he was done with his twin’s antics, Sofia nervously nodding at it in an attempt to convince him.

“Alright, enough minor family drama!” Leo threw up his hands in frustration, tired of teetering on anticipation. “Hit that gong, Vin! Wake em’ up!”

“Here goes...!” Vinnie positioned the gong next to the lantern, winding up the mallet. “Wake up, Gio!”

The metallic song from the small instrument was still fairly loud, echoing through the lair as Vinnie hit it harshly. Not a word was spoken as everyone waited, their ears open, their hearts filled with hope. The sound tapered out, finishing its round of the room before disappearing entirely, and with nothing more than continued flickering from the lantern, everyone’s expectations began to drop. Perhaps they were too naive to think the solution was so simple, or maybe this went beyond the current thought theories, but as Vinnie’s arms fell to his side in defeat, was there a small sound, almost barely heard, but heard it was all the same. Some shared surprised glances, others cupped hands over their ears to see if it would happen again, while everyone else crowded around the lantern. It did indeed make a repeat appearance, louder this time, a clear grunt heard by everyone, the flame growing more active with it.

“...Ugh,” a voice heavily resembling Donnie’s arose from the lantern. “Who’s... using my gong...?” Relief and fanfare followed, everyone celebrating and thoroughly jostling Gio out of any remaining drowsiness. “Woah-woah-woah, what is going on!? Why am I seeing double? Why is everyone so tall?” There was a brief pause as he took in the room, his gaze falling onto something specific. “AND WHERE IS MY LABORATORY’S DOOR!?”

******

“Do I have your attention, Giorgio?” Donnie stared down the lantern, obsidian aflame within.

“...You do,” Gio answered him with no hesitation, but his mind was clearly elsewhere than whatever Donnie was currently prattling on about.

“Then I’ll bring up the schematics. Maybe having something to look at will keep you more engaged.”

Gio stopped himself from talking back, knowing that it would accomplish nothing, especially not with this doppelganger. He had been brought up to speed on everything, practically thrown into the current circumstances against his will. While his siblings (and to a lesser extent, his father) had been given ample space and time to come to terms with the situation - Gio was given no luxury. Not that he could afford it anyways, not like this. No body in need of rest, nor one to return to - just stagnating in a lantern until further notice. And this ‘Donatello’ ...Gio did not like him. Once the excitement of his rescue died down did his family explain everything that had happened in the past few months. To Gio, it felt like he had blinked - his last memory being of throwing himself into the Hudson River as he fled from Draxum's lab and fought against his overmutation. He figured he would cause the least amount of damage there, and he was right. Bishop reported no casualties from Gio's transformation, which was a load off his mind - not that it helped much with every other truth dumped on him more harrowing than the last. The reason for his transformation was boiled down to his miscommunication with his youngest sibling, who attacked Draxum in a fit of rage believing he was doing them harm. That fight led to a premature activation of her secondary power that whisked her away to another dimension that she subsequently returned from with picture perfect copies of her siblings that had been living here and aiding them since. Of course the true reason was due to Drako and his villainous tampering, but Gio still couldn't get past Sofia, and of course; Donatello.

This mutant not only shared his appearance, but he was sitting in his chair, typing on his Mystic panel, in his lab. While his family was patient in their explanations and the majority of the added siblings were kind but factual - Donnie was not. He was curt, his patience dripping with sarcasm, and there was a constant air of superiority each time he spoke to Gio. The family had long since split for the evening, exhausted from their adventures and promising to explain further in the morning, but Donnie was shackled by no such burden - taking charge of Gio and proceeding to explain the intricate process of making him a new body. While the concept of it all was intriguing, Gio couldn't get beyond his enduring irritation, the only thing keeping him from lashing out was the fact that he was, in fact, without a body. Hitodama Mode was never meant to be permanent, and even though he still had his mind and emotions, Gio didn't know if he had it in him to do anything but simple answers. The clinking of glass caught Gio's attention away from Donnie's explanations, viewing Draxum on the other side of the lab at the station he seldomly used. While Gio was still getting used to his enemy turned ally's new appearance, he could see Draxum was mixing liquids in a beaker, now stirring it with a glass rod. From behind the lanterns glass, Gio couldn't quite make out what the liquid was, curious, worried, prompting him to ask;

“What are you doing over there?”

Draxum didn't acknowledge Gio with a glance, instead going for a syringe as he answered. “Making medicine for your sister. She is in a great deal of pain due to her overexertion and I have been distracted today to the point of forgetting her needed dose.”

“And she'd probably rather suffer than pester you for it,” Donnie said as fact, Draxum nodding.

“Yes, Michelangelo just texted me such,” Draxum revealed and Donnie deeply sighed.

“Of course...” Donnie shook his head, stealing a glance at Gio, which was noticed.

“...What?” He asked Donnie, unable to hide the sharpness in his voice.

“Nothing,” he answered quickly, prompting Gio to dig deeper.

“No, what was that look for? I saw you glare at me just now.”

“You’re imagining things,” Donnie willingly gaslit him, in no mood for a quarrel. Gio felt his anger rise, ready to continue, but the sudden sound of hurried footsteps stopped him. As he cast his gaze to the lab’s entrance, Michelangelo sped inside, worry on his face, Sofia in his arms.

“Draxum, put a pin in the pain meds, because something's wrong!”

“What happened?” Draxum asked calmly, putting his tools down and moving to Mikey's side.

“I don't know! She was resting, I texted you about the medicine, then she suddenly started breathing heavily and-” Mikey stopped as Sofia's head shifted slightly, going from his plastron to his arm, making him wince. “-and she's hotter than a volcano!” He panicked and Draxum brought the back of his hand to Sofia's forehead, flinching away from the heat of it. He then took to observing her; breathing labored, eyes firmly shut, and she was quietly murmuring between breaths, as if in a trance-like state. Suspicions arose, Draxum crouching down to the twin’s level, bringing one of his ears closer to them.

“What’s going on?” Gio asked for both him and Donnie.

“Shh!” Draxum discouraged any more questions, tuning his hearing to listen only to whatever Sofia was saying. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but a specific entry from the Yōkai war history book that Sofia had him help translate was replaying in his mind. It detailed the symptoms from an outsider’s perspective of those falling to the Dragon’s Eye thrall - the biggest of them being rising body temperature and hysteria that included the host spouting off nonsense such as strings of numbers and unknown phrases. From what he learned about the Krang and their advanced, yet horrific technology, what was said during the known hysteria was probably the Dragon’s Eye’s programming taking command of the host, but Draxum didn’t know for sure. At first, nothing Sofia said resembled anything, just murmurs, but that soon changed, Draxum able to clearly hear;

“Medicinal and Mystic blockers... nonexistent... resuming distribution... of Empyrean... reserve... fifteen percent... seventeen percent... twenty-one percent...” He needed to hear no more, rushing to stand and scrambling to his workspace, pushing whatever was in his way to reach a small refrigeration unit and what was stored within.

“Draxum, what’s going on!?” Donnie repeated with more urgency.

“The Dragon’s Eye is transforming her!” He snatched the sought phial and a syringe, feeling like he was reliving the recent day of reviving Sofia all over again.

“Her arm!” Mikey cried out in horror, witnessing scales burst through her skin, the phenomena continuing to climb up to her shoulder and to her neck.

“Keep her steady!” Draxum ordered and Mikey brought them down to the floor, bracing Sofia as Draxum injected the side of Sofia’s neck unaffected by the transformation. The four of them waited with bated breath, Draxum prepared to try another method if there were further complications, but as Sofia’s breathing returned to normal, so did everyone else’s.

“She’s cooling off...” Mikey reconfirmed the medicine was doing its job, sighing in relief, looking Draxum in the eye. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. That was a prototype meant to make the transformation recede, which didn’t happen,” he placed the syringe down, bringing his fingers to Sofia’s pulse, then his hand to her cheek, slapping it slightly in an attempt to wake her. “Sofonisba, wake up.”

“Mmm,” she weakly strained out of her slumbering state, eyes lazily fluttering open, Draxum’s concerned but teetering towards an upset face to greet her. “What... what is it...?” She started to sit up on her own, inhaling sharply as pain wracked her body, giving up and falling back into Mikey’s chest. “Ow, ow, okay, what-” She started only to stop the moment her eyes landed on her now fully transformed arm. “Oh,” She understood, clearly horrified, but still understood. “Well, crap, guess it’s finally happening...”

Draxum ignored the quiver in her voice, getting straight to business. “Answer me truthfully; have you done anything to destabilize your condition recently?”

Sofia’s drowsiness fled as only one memory surfaced, unsure if it was the cause, but she answered regardless. “When I met with Junior today, the arm he gave us the blood from was completely bare from what I assume was years of abuse. I healed it - there was no way I could leave it after seeing it like that.”

“Sofia...” Mikey lightly chided, but knew he would’ve done the same in her position. Draxum pinched between his eyes, shaking his head before he addressed her again.

“You let your heart bleed for others so often that you’re setting yourself up to drown!” He fully chided, Sofia accepting it. “When I forbid you from using your powers, I meant it! The Dragon’s Eye responded to your desires where your Mystic couldn’t! It is exactly the same as the day we battled in my lab!”

Sofia had no fight left in her, no strength to try and refute truths, shallowly nodding, the only words allowing themselves to grace her lips being; “I’m sorry. I messed up, and I’m sorry. I didn’t think this would happen...”

Donnie's eyes were fixated on Sofia’s newly transformed arm, a hand covering his mouth as his mind bounced between working through what he’d witnessed and trying to find a fix, as he had conditioned himself to do. He knew that at this point it was probably out of his hands, the ball now fully in Draxum’s court of expertise, but his mind continued to race regardless. Meanwhile, the remnants of his twin was facing a similar crisis, terrified at both the display and for his sister. Sofia had been fairly distant in the few hours since his awakening. It had been mostly glossed over in favor of bringing Gio up to speed, but their fight over the Dragon’s Eye had led them to his moment. It had led Gio to his secrecy and his transformation, to being only a soul contained in a lantern. It had led Sofia to her misplaced heroics and to another dimension, to being partially transformed on his lab floor. These truths combined with the absolute shackles of his current form finally began to drive Gio’s tolerance to insanity. He knew what needed to be said, what should be conveyed, but the proper words failed him once again, as they always did, allowing poisonous anger to flow out of him in lieu of concerns and regret.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” Gio’s flame burst, fully illuminating the lantern, blindingly so. Sofia tensed, preparing herself, shutting her eyes as Gio’s outburst continued. “You go on a life changing dimensional journey at my body’s expense, and you’re STILL pulling shit like this, Sofia? Really!? ‘Sorry’ doesn’t cut it! Not over this! It NEVER will!”

The three not included in the verbal onslaught stared at Gio in disbelief, Sofia still refusing to open her eyes, shook in Mikey’s arms, not an ounce of her will left to stop her tears. Somehow, somewhere deep inside her, she’d hoped making up with Gio would’ve forgone their usual verbal brawls, but Sofia knew she was foolish to hope such. Her freely falling tears that she struggled to wipe away cooled a fraction of Gio’s anger, his thoughts then transitioning to the question of the last time he’d seen her cry. She’d stopped doing it around him at his behest, and in their place was he given empty compliance and rare pockets of anger on the occasion Sofia found the effort to call him out. But now, there was no compliance, no witty comeback, just defeated, broken tears. Gio’s flame extinguished slightly, unable to continue his thought, Mikey instead taking the initiative.

“Donnie, shut your twin up before I figure out a way to do it for him...!” He threatened, Gio’s flame shrinking further at the absolute righteous anger painted on the face of the one sharing his sister’s features.

“M-Mikey, no...” Sofia blubbered, grabbing one of his wrists in a feeble attempt to stop his ire. “I d-deserve this. It’s f-fine...”

“Sofia-” Mikey started, Sofia stopping him with a shake of her head, opening her eyes and looking to the lantern. With a deep breath she shook off the rest of her tears, able to speak normally.

“I love you, Gio,” she said so tenderly and remorsefully that Gio felt whatever was resembling his heart stop. “I won't apologize, you hate that, so instead, I’ll promise you that we’ll get this fixed. Donnie’s got your new body in the works, and I’ll make sure it’s fully pure of Drako’s meddling.”

“Not at the expense of your own body, you won't!” Draxum further chided, Sofia letting out a weak, defeated chuckle in response.

“What’s a few more scales if it means getting my brother back?”

Draxum tiredly groaned, moving to and taking Sofia from Mikey, standing up and walking her further back into the lab. “Then I suppose you have me to figure out how to stop scale growth.”

“Yes, I do,” her voice faded behind a half open door leading to a room that Donnie and Gio knew was used for tests, Mikey on Draxum’s heels, but stopped to deliver one more enraged glance back to the lantern as the door closed behind him. Silence followed, Gio’s illumination down to that of a tiny flicker, fully wishing he could take back his outburst, completely taken by surprise as Donnie grabbed the lantern’s handle. At eye level, Donnie stared into it, disappointment and vexation assaulting Gio before he even began to speak.

“Are you satisfied now? Did yelling at your sister, that’s literally willing to kill herself for you, lead you to a beneficial conclusion? Hmm?”

“I-I-” Gio stammered, all his previous boldness gone, further dissipating as Donnie refused to break eye contact. “I didn’t mean to... I didn’t...!”

“Enough,” Donnie scoffed, looping Gio onto his belt, starting towards the lab’s exit. “You and I are going for a walk.”

******

New York’s dark, snowy streets invited no one, only the EPF and their two remaining domes daring to illuminate the night, save for a distant lantern almost lost amongst the falling snow. It lightly creaked as the one who carried it jumped from roof to roof, careful enough to land gently and skillfully so as not to upset the contents within. Their destination was predetermined, decided upon in both curiosity and familiarity, - a certain, now abandoned pizzeria coming into view.

“Hm, yep, definitely not an Applebee’s,” Donnie said quietly to himself, descending to the double doors, beginning to make a lockpick, only to realize the doors were unlocked. He considered the state of the city on the day of the overmutation incident, all customers and workers no doubt fleeing with little regard to the restaurant - the abandoned, now frozen meals on several tables confirming his suspicions. He was thankful the majority of the elements were prevented from entering, actually locking the door behind him as Donnie took in the decor.

“...Why did you bring me here?” Gio asked in an empty tone, recognizing his siblings usual haunt.

“I figured you might appreciate being surrounded by something familiar while I assault you with the unfamiliar,” Donnie answered, taking the lantern off his belt and placing it on a clean booth, Gio wondering exactly what he meant by that.

“What? You’re not making any sense,” Gio said defeatedly.

“I don’t need to,” Donnie said, one of his battle shell’s mechanical arms emerging and depositing a tablet into his hands. He powered it up, found the desired application, then clicked the case’s stand into place before setting it down in front of Gio. “Here; enjoy ...or don’t, depending on how bad your attitude really is. I’ll be in the back foraging for food.”

“Wait, what!? You’re just leaving me here!?”

“Mmmyep,” he said and jumped over the counter. “That video is approximately twenty minutes long, so see you in a few.” Gio almost spoke again in an attempt to get Donnie to share anything, but the video starting its runtime cut off that thought.

“...Sofonisba... but my family called me Sofia.” The angle of the video was clearly taken from a bodycam of sorts, though the subject was his sister surrounded by the other dimensional family. She was practically skin and bones, dirty, and looked exhausted enough for five people. She spoke as eloquently as possible about her situation, no emotions breaking through, until their April asked if she was ‘OK’, prompting the show of tears brought on by helplessness and confusion. “Michelangelo, with all due respect, you’ve known me for less than a day. I’ve known myself for fourteen years.” The video switched to a new scene, the camera clearly from Mikey’s point of view, as the tangerine twins had a minor verbal scuffle with Casey Jones on the sidelines.

“Dog.”

“Cat!”

“DOG.”

“CAT!”

Then to Sofia and Leo fighting about Mayhem’s species, from the latter’s perspective, showing a chunk of the family meeting as well, revealing the reason for Sofia suddenly being raced off to the bathroom. “You have zero reasons to care! All of you!” A wrathful, desperate Sofia yelled as the scene changed again. “I’m not your creation, you’re not my father, and you’re not my siblings!” she pointed her naginata towards the camera. “If I want to die making a portal, then it’s none of your business!”

“But, Sofia, your family-”

“ARE DEAD. THEY’RE DEAD. I LEFT THEM BEHIND LIKE A COWARD! Why... why didn’t this stupid... relic... bring them... too...?! Why... do I always... mess up!?” Gio continued to watch the scene as Casey, Donnie, and everyone else thwarted Sofia’s suicide attempt, pledging their support, knowing that if he currently had a stomach, the pit of it would be churning with his remorse. Had he truly made her feel so unloved and useless that dying was the only option she considered? Never, not ever, did he wish death on his little sister. Gio wanted perfection for one reason only; to prevent situations like the one he’d just left in the lab. But now, it was his methods that ultimately led Sofia down this path. Before he had a moment to dwell on this further, Donnie’s voice and his point of view came next.

“Well, he’s wrong.”

“Good luck telling him that...”

“Oh, I welcome the challenge, and I intend to prove him wrong by returning you to him renewed and upgraded. The only failure here is his inability to use your potential properly - and I’ll give him a slight pass, because I’m going to guess he’s only your leader because he’s the oldest in your group. A genius he may be with Mystic, a leader he may not be.”

“Wow, if he could hear you right now.”

“Don’t you worry, I’ll be sure to tell him so.”

A sudden lightning round of various clips played in sequence. Sofia immobilizing the mimic, punching Mikey into a wall, beating Hypno with the chair, unlocking her Ninpō, then using it to heal Raph and open the portal with Mikey. It continued, now all from Sofia’s point of view. Healing Draxum’s eyes, attacking Donnie for breaking the lab door, getting Vinnie back, pouring over the translation of the history book, painting Leo’s face to look like Vinnie’s, successfully chewing out Draxum over the phone, healing Hueso and H.J., getting Nel back, and finally; threatening Drako without a hint of fear in her. The video ended, Gio fully understanding why Donnie had chosen to show it, but was still processing the content. In his mind, the Sofia he recently chastised in the lab was the same as the one he was always struggling with - but he was wrong. Where he saw failure, this other family saw potential. The promise given in the lab wasn’t lip service. His sister, the very same Gio believed was incompetent and complacent, was the true dark horse of their team, and he had been so stuck in his ways he failed to even consider the possibility of it all. And now, he’d lashed out at her, after she’d pushed herself to her absolute limit, for her family, for him. Blame game be damned, he was an idiot and he knew so now more than ever.

“So,” Donnie’s voice sounded behind him, “how would you rate your Sofia re-education? Very satisfied? Very, very satisfied? Or maybe we’ll just wrap this up with an ‘extremely satisfied’ and get on with it.”

“Having body cams on all your family is fairly concerning.”

“Don’t deflect, and no, it isn’t, not after everything we’ve been through.”

There was a sigh from the lantern, Gio not even sure he was actually performing the act, but this was not the time to dwell on such things, turning his gaze to Donnie and asking; “What do you want from me, Donatello?”

“That’s a loaded question,” Donnie said dryly. “Had you asked me a few months ago, it would’ve been your utter defeat in an intellectual battle of wits, but now? I want your cooperation, on my terms.”

“...Those being?”

“Another loaded question!” He chuckled and slipped into the booth. “But in all seriousness, now that I’ve thoroughly humbled you, I’m willing to admit to you that I’ve had my fair share of mistreating my brothers - the main difference being that I can admit my faults and improve on them.”

Gio scoffed. “As if you could understand me.”

“Wow, do you seriously still not get it? I understand because you're me and I KNOW you can do better! You’re already better than me at understanding the core of Mystic! I can’t fully access your panels, more than half of your equipment is a mystery to me, and I had to blow up your damn door because I couldn’t crack it! It’s frustrating to admit your faults, agonizing even, but it’s high time you got over yourself - and I’m more than willing to guide you through your entire pan of humble pie.”

“How generous of you,” he replied sarcastically. “And you’ll be doing this how? Do you really intend to keep carrying me around like a kid who won a goldfish at the state fair?”

“Oh no, I have something infinitely better,” another of Donnie’s mechanical arms emerged, dropping a small, spherical capsule into his palm, Donnie popping open its clamshell mechanism. “We’ll instead be taking a page out of Sofia’s book.”

“What does that mean-!” Gio stopped and gasped as Donnie opened the lantern and retrieved the obsidian, plopping it into the sphere and snapping it shut. “Wait, what are you doing!?”

“This,” Donnie said simply, throwing the sphere into his mouth and swallowing it whole, ignoring Gio’s screams of terror, smirking to himself as he counted down; “and three, two, one." A sudden gasp escaped Donnie, a feeling of terror mixing with the feeling of victory. Confusion came next. An empty lantern, familiar yet unfamiliar sensations, eyes falling down to their hands, disbelief fading into realization.

“Welcome to mi casa Donatello, population; me and you, Giorgio,” Donnie’s voice boomed inside their head. “Give the fingers and toes a few wiggles to make sure this all went well.” Gio obeyed, wiggling Donnie’s fingers and toes, relishing the feeling of having a body again, but elation soon turned to anger.

“Are you insane!?” Gio yelled, his gratitude lost in the absurdity of it all.

“No, I’m not, because I can do this;” Donnie said and Gio felt his consciousness be pulled back, now simply a viewer as his twin reclaimed his bodily function. “See? We can switch at will. Shower me with praise at your earliest convenience, because now you have a secure place to crash until your new body is finished AND you can help out as needed. I know, I know, I’m amazing.”

“Amazingly stupid! The obsidian-”

“Is secure in my Donnie Tech; Donnie Orb - name pending, currently workshopping it. We haven’t merged, Giorgio, you’re allowed to borrow my body, but I can take it back whenever I want.”

“YOU... YOU SWALLOWED ME!” was all Gio could manage to refute.

“And I can barf you back up if that’s what you want,” Donnie put one finger towards his gag reflex.

“NO!” Gio echoed in Donnie’s head, the latter able to feel every one of his twin’s emotions mixed with his. “No, don’t. I just... I just need a minute.”

“Take all the minutes you need,” Donnie said and switched back control to Gio. “And head on home once you're ready. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Chapter Text

Morning arrived as it always had, various stirrings throughout the lair slowly urging drowsiness away. They tried and eventually failed to ignore the noise, knowing they could drift off again if desired, but a distinct voice in their head jolted them awake.

“Good morning, Giorgio,” Donnie said to him peppily, Giorgio responding with a yawn rather than a frustrated sigh.

“Good morning, Donatello,” He replied with a slightly bitter undertone.

“The fam’s been up for hours now - breakfast is almost ready by the smell of things,” Donnie pointed out and Giorgio just then caught the smell of coffee and pancakes, pushing himself up and away from his desk.

“So, when I’m asleep, you’re awake? Is that how this works? That must be annoying for you.”

“Sure, but I’d rather not delve into your subconscious if I can help it. Who knows what types of dreams I’d be exposed to. Besides, my body is getting rest regardless. If anything, it gives me plenty of time to think, calculate, ...and monitor the currently growing test tube baby.”

Giorgio felt Donatello's gaze and followed it, both of them viewing the large tube-like pod containing the beginnings of Gio's new body. They had spent the past few days gathering the last needed ingredients from Donatello's body itself and then infusing as needed. The usual known recipe and method had been heavily modified via Draxum and Donnie, bypassing many of the incubation and purification requirements to the results they were now witnessing. Had they only gotten the needed amount of Wyrm's Blood, they would've taken no such risk, but in having an abundance of it, this was one they were willing to take. If predictions were correct, this new method would cut down the literal months needed to create a homunculus to a matter of weeks - and seeing was believing, a tiny, fully formed turtle-tot floating idly in the tube's fluids.

“Has there been any changes?” Gio asked.

“Nothing significant or worth mentioning. It'll probably be a few more days before it grows to the next stage. Why don't we check in on everyone before breakfast is ready? I'm willing to bet they're all over the initial shock by now.”

“...Even if I say ‘no’, you'll force me anyways,” Gio said defeatedly and started towards the lab's exit.

“Absolutely.”

It wasn't until the following morning that Donnie had revealed the temporary merge with his twin. The reactions were fairly mixed with his direct siblings more or less feeling this was normal in Donnie's usual standards, but it took a great deal of explaining to everyone else. Sofia, Vinnie, and Draxum were the next to process the information to understanding, while Nel, April, and Splinter needed a bit more convincing before accepting the circumstances. Regardless, the literal facts won the day and things more or less went back to normal - whatever that was Gio was still struggling to come to terms with, immediately finding the blue brothers in the living room. While Leo was sprawled out on a couch and snoozing away, Vinnie was forming ice on his palm into various shapes, stopping the performance of it at Gio's approach. He looked up to them, contemplated for a moment, but then greeted with a small, sympathetic smile.

“Good morning, Gio, and Donnie as well. Good to see you out of the lab.”

“You... can tell who's in control?” Gio was taken aback.

“I can, yes, but it's not ‘brotherly instincts’ or anything like that. Your pupils, they glow when Gio is in control.”

“Huh, do they actually?” Donnie mused in their head, his battle shell picking up on his brain waves, a mechanical arm emerging, making Gio jump slightly, but allowed it to drop a pocket mirror into his hands. Sure enough, in viewing their reflection, there was a glow to their pupils.

“So they do...” Gio said, blinking a few times, the glow constant. “...Weird.”

“But intriguing!” Donnie added. A few more moments of observation passed before the arm reclaimed the mirror, Gio's attention back on Vinnie and Leo. On this second look revealed winter clothes discarded around them, prompting Gio to questioning.

“So, what exactly are you two doing?”

“We just got back, from patrol,” Vinnie explained, getting a raised eyebrow in response. “...Right, you two were in the lab when we started this. Leo, myself, Raph, and Nel are doing patrols in the hopes of finding Casey Jones and-slash-or the Dark Armor. We're doing rotating shifts, so Leo and I have the night shift while Raph and Nel take the day shift.”

“The Dark Armor...” Gio repeated, his memories from the initial explanation resurfacing. “Any luck?”

“No, nothing - but we were topside which is mostly EPF territory at this point. Still, who knows, ya'know? Nel and Raph will be taking the Hidden City, but we haven't had any pings on the radar anywhere lately. Wherever Casey Jones is hiding, it's a really good spot - especially considering all the dirt Nel scraped up on him.”

“Hm, or there's Mystic interference, or its beyond the radar's range, or-” Vinnie interrupted Gio's train of thought with a yawn, Donnie able to see tears forming in the corner of his eyes as it endured.

“Sorry, sorry, that wasn't directed at you. Those are great ideas, but I'm exhausted. I'll be joining Leo in dreamland once breakfast is over with,” he explained and Leo snorted, turning over with a groan, Vinnie holding back a chuckle from the accidental comedic timing of it. “I think I'm going to give sleeping without Draxum's drugs a shot, considering the whole ‘fully unlocked Ninpō’ stuff.”

“Oh... right...” Gio replied almost robotically. Both the true nature of his brother's powers and Draxum's aid were two of the many facts of life he was adjusting to. At first he thought Draxum was still here due to the cursed Gofu Gio had shackled him with - only to find out Nel removed it within days of her awakening. To Gio, it was more than odd that he willingly stayed and so willingly continued to aid his family, especially that of Sofia whom he'd almost taken the life of. There was a great deal of adjusting to do, and a mountain's worth of trust to reclaim, Gio starting his path on with; “So, I know things were a bit rocky for a while, but, why didn't you tell me the truth about your powers? I could've done the same for you as Draxum is. Those blockers aren't particularly hard to make.”

“...Would you have believed me?” Vinnie replied, his tone as questioning as his eyes, Gio unable to meet them as he questioned himself.

“I...” he hesitated, then shook his head. “I don't know. Obviously I believe you in the here and now - it's impossible not to. I'm living inside my counterpart's body while yours is asleep in our living room. But as your brother, I would have at least tried to humor you. You did have insomnia for a long time... or is that not believable?”

“Honestly?” Vinnie shrugged at Gio. “I don't know either. You've always been a little... stuck in your ways. Nel and I told you to just leave Sofia alone, but you ultimately didn't. You couldn't be told, you thought you knew best, and we gave up trying to convince you otherwise. So you can imagine my... hesitation to reveal the truth to you.”

Vinnie's words didn't cut particularly deep, but Gio felt the wounds regardless. He already knew his blunders at this point, Donnie had showcased it so blatantly that Gio was no longer blind to the truth. In the past he'd easily foist blame to anyone but himself, but humbled as he was now, he could at least start the beginnings of forgiveness. “I'm... sorry, Vincent. I'll do better from now on. I need to do better for all of our sake.”

“Hey,” Vinnie's smile was back. “I'm sorry too. You took on way too many responsibilities and I didn't share the load like I should have. Not everything is your fault, Gio. Why don't we classify this as a ‘group effort fuckup’ and move past this already?”

“Language...” Gio said in a purely reactionary way.

“I'd say we’re all allowed a few swears considering the situation... but I'll put a crisp Abe in the swear jar later, okay? Why don't you go see what Nel's up to?” Vinnie gently shooed him away, Gio knowing it was more to prevent a prolonged awkward conversation than actually wishing his brother out of his presence.

“Yeah, uh, good idea...” Gio disingenuously agreed, walking away from Vinnie and towards the bedrooms, his last encounter with his sister before all this playing in his mind, Donatello unfortunately participating.

“Oh,” Donnie said in both surprise and understanding. “Nel really never came across to me as someone who would do that, but then again, considering you...”

“Yes, I know, I get it, I'm a horrible brother - and why did you get to see that memory!?”

“Firstly, no, you're not a horrible brother, you're a recovering horrible brother whose behavior was brought on by a mismanaged household and the frustrations stemming from that. Secondly, I saw it because you let your guard down and allowed me to. Remorse is your kryptonite.”

“You are so annoying-” Gio began to bite back, stopping his thought at the sound of a small snapping noise - then followed by Nel groaning in frustration.

“I did it again-!” She puffed out a growl. “How many does that make it now?”

“Uhhh,” Raph lightly shook a box in his hand, revealing it to be full of crayons as Gio peeked past the curtain. “I've never been good with numbers, but the label says there's 152 crayons in here, so you got a while before we go through them all.”

“That's besides the point, Raph,” Nel sighed. “Sofia lent us them and we're gonna return them to her in 304 pieces if this keeps up. Ugh, why is it so hard to control my strength now? I'm gonna make a note to get her another set-” Nel picked up a pencil, it shattering under her grip before she even grasped it properly. She inhaled sharply, then sat herself down on the floor of her room. “Raph, please take over. I am one more snapped crayon away from a mental breakdown.”

“Okay, okay, take a break, Raph’s got this,” he took charge, moving out of Gio and Donnie's view. “Where’d we leave off?”

“So, are we just gonna poorly spy on them all day, or...?” Donnie snarkily encouraged, Gio rolling his eyes and finally knocking on the door frame.

“Come in,” Nel beckoned and Gio pulled the curtain back, his sister regarding him with surprise as he entered.

“Good morning,” he greeted both of them.

“Good morning, um,” Nel's head tilted slightly. “To whom are we speaking to at the moment?”

“It's Gio-” he revealed, only for his consciousness to be ripped back.

“And now it’s Donnie. Watch the eyes-” Donnie made him and Gio switch rapidly, showing his pupils flickering in and out, stopping as Gio came back into control, shaking his head to alleviate the motion of it all.

“Would you quit it!? It's unnerving and you're making me dizzy!” He demanded, but Donnie switched back again.

“One last time, relax,” he more teased than soothed. “My pupils glow when Gio is in control. Neat, right? Back to him!” Donnie switched them again, Gio lightly groaning as he held his head.

“Donnie, I know it's your body, but be a little nicer to Giorgio,” Raph said in his parental voice. Gio leaned against the doorframe as the dizziness subsided, closed eyes opening to reveal the glowing pupils both Nel and Raph were acquainted with now.

“He said; haha, no,” Gio revealed and Raph scowled at his brother. “It's fine, I've accepted that for the foreseeable future that this is my life. Anyways-” he straightened up and re-addressed the scarlet siblings. “I'm just making rounds and checking in on everyone, considering there's been no communication since the initial reveal.”

“Oh, sorry about that, we jumped right into patrolling and got a little busy,” Raph pointed to a hanging poster behind him. Gio found it was a map of the Hidden City, though crudely drawn on with crayon - ‘x's and circles being used as clear indicators.

“Raph and I are figuring out where we're going today,” Nel said, then looked at her hands covered in Crayon crumbs. “Or, we were, but I can't stop snapping every writing utensil I touch...” she sighed and brought her knees to her chest. “Hamato Ninpō is confusing...” Nel mildly despaired, and as Raph gave Nel some gentle encouragement, did Gio’s desire to comfort his sister mix poorly with the need to bring up their altercation, Donnie unable to stop the combined thought before it reached Gio’s lips.

“Guess it's a good thing that you didn't fully have your powers when you hit me, huh?” He said with a nervous chuckle in an attempt to punctuate the joke. Silence, only dumbfounded looks and Donnie's internal scoffing answered Gio. If a pin had been dropped, it would've surely been heard. Gio soon realized his folly, clearing his throat and avoiding eye contact with his sister. “And that was a poor attempt at humor... my bad.”

Nel's surprise transitioned to exhaustion, another sigh escaping her as she searched for the right words. “I'd appreciate it if you gave me the full brunt of your lingering resentment over trying to make it humorous, Gio.”

“I... I don't resent you, Nel,” Gio sloppily tried to fix the room's atmosphere.

“Do you want me to leave...?” Raph offered and Nel shook her head.

“No, Raph, stay. It's not like you don't know.”

“You told him?” Gio said, feeling a tad betrayed.

“Yes, I did, because after I woke up from being tranqed, I ran off to my thinking room, and he came after me to help me work through things. To work through that we had so many secrets and frustrations with one another that you were now a giant, mindless beast being tortured once a week. When I first saw you in the Hudson River, I cried till my throat was raw, Gio. All I could think about was the day I hit you and how it led to that. So, yeah, I'm not in a real joking mood about it all, and I know you’re not too, so get it all out now before we split again.”

“There's nothing to ‘get out’, Nel,” Gio paused, taking a moment to gather his emotions and thoughts. “I honestly deserved it.”

“No,” Nel shook her head resolutely. “No, you honestly didn't. Despite everything, your frustration was a call for help, and I answered it in anger. Had I been more understanding or stepped up more when you, Sofia, or Vinnie needed me, things might’ve turned out differently. But that's neither here nor there at this point, so I'm ready to move on if you are.”

“But...!” He argued back, all the mistreatment and misunderstandings playing maliciously in his head. “How can we possibly just move on!? I'd rather you just be angry with me or hit me again! I thought I had everything figured out, but it ended with me overmutated, Sofia flung across dimensions, and the rest of you sedated in a dingy prison cell with no help on the way!”

“I know, Gio, and I've forgiven you for everything ages ago, but I'm also sorry, not just for hitting you that day, but for letting it get to that point.” Gio felt his heart skip a beat a Nel's words, so lost in his sister choosing to turn the other cheek rather than dole out more punishment. He remembered her look of betrayal in Draxum's lab, how he reassured her everything would be fixed when she woke up. Now Nel's expression was nothing but empathetic, truly set in compassion for her brother rather than the indignation Gio felt he deserved. His silence enduring as he processed it all brought Nel to speak again. “Gio,” she said and his attention was caught. “Don't agonize over this, alright? I think this conversation has run its course. We can pick it up again once you get your new body.”

“I...” he Initially attempted to respond back, But relented, stepping back out of the room with a nod. “Okay, we'll do that.”

“Good, I'll look forward to it. See you at breakfast.”

The conversation fully ended as Gio redrew the curtain, the initial dropped chat Nel was having with Raph continuing where they left off. He could feel Donatello's discontent, waited for his twin to chastise him, but it never came, Donnie instead electing to point Gio's attention elsewhere. “I smell burning, which might explain why breakfast still hasn't been served. We have our heading - onward,” he commanded and Gio obeyed, soon finding himself in the kitchen to an odd scene.

“Draxum, you're burning them again,” Splinter accused in a gentle tone that was clearly hiding irritation.

“I am doing no such thing. These panned-cakes are more aesthetically pleasing to the eye in darker, richer tones.”

Splinter further argued with Draxum, Gio walking into the kitchen to find them side by side at the stove, working on two separate piles of pancakes respectively. “The Purples brought us real flour from topside, and you’re burning that precious resource for ‘aesthetics’!? No one is going to want to eat your hockey puck monstrosities! Especially since-” Splinter paused, catching a whiff of the air, sniffing more purposely, then gasping dramatically as he ran for the oven. “The Bitan bacon!”

Upon opening the oven did a cloud of smoke assault Splinter, causing a coughing fit while Draxum held his nose in disgust. “Ugh, and I'm the one making kitchen monstrosities? Those can barely be identified as strips of bacon any more!” He insulted the charred, shriveled remains.

“It's fine, they're fine! Just a little... extra crispy!” Splinter deflected. “Though they're probably going to be a hard sell to the kids...”

“Not for Sofia,” Gio announced his presence with the claim, both sets of his father’s eyes on him, both questioning, Donnie feeling a slight rise in anger as Gio continued. “Ever since we were kids, Sofia happily ate any of your burnt cooking mishaps, because she oddly enjoys the crunchy texture. Did you never stop to think how or why they never made it into the trash?” He asked accusingly, Splinter’s ears turning down in response.

“Giorgio, easy, take this down a few notches,” Donnie warned, and Gio ignored.

“When we went camping at Todd’s, she purposely burnt every hotdog and marshmallow she consumed during the campfire - oh wait, you wouldn’t remember that either because you dumped us there and ran off to do who knows what! But I’m willing to guess it was another marathon of your ridiculous show that you’ve been addicted to since we grew out of being toddlers and gained an ounce of cognition. No need to parent any more because your eldest fell into a leadership role as instincts I shouldn’t have developed until adulthood were forced out. The last time I even remember you doing anything remotely parental was when April literally fell into our midst!”

“Giorgio. Stop.”

“So, was it worth it, Dad? Were all those asinine shows worth this mess we’re in right now? Had you at least put in the tiniest bit of effort, taking on the responsibilities you were meant to, I might still have my body! And you know what-!?”

“That’s enough,” Donnie forced Gio back, retaking his body. “I understand your frustrations more than you know, Giorgio, but I didn’t lend you my body to spew vitriol. Your anger is valid, but this is not the time, nor the place, and it certainly isn’t an appropriate topic to breach when you’re technically not yourself. Am I understood?”

There was a defiant silence, Giorgio still coming down from almost losing himself in rage, but he soon answered as prompted. “...Fine, but get me out of here. I don’t even want to look at him right now.”

Donnie sighed with a small shake of his head, pivoting back whence they came. “Excuse us,” he said politely as possible as they left Draxum and Splinter behind.

“Wait, Giorgio!” Splinter called out and Donnie stopped his stride. “I cannot even begin to apologize. I failed you - all of you. I am not deserving to be a father to such wonderful and talented children, but I love you, and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you - I promise.”

Gio said nothing, Donnie feeling his throat tighten involuntarily, clearing it before continuing his march out of the kitchen. “He heard you - let’s leave it at that for now.”

Donnie trudged away as Gio’s remorse and enduring anger mixed with Donnie’s mood - that of which he was still figuring out. Resentment had bubbled up and almost exploded like a long dormant volcano - the aftermath of it all almost still palpable. But Donnie continued, pressing onwards to their next goal, anticipating it to calm Gio before their inevitable last stop. “And where are you taking me now?” Gio asked with little to no emotion in his monotone.

“To the garage. We’re going to see April. I’m my universe, she and I are besties, and while I know it isn’t the same here, I think you’ll still appreciate seeing her... and what she’s done with the truck.”

“The... truck. Right...” Gio said in vague recollection, somehow completely forgetting, despite the whole reason for trying to get the Dragon’s Eye in the first place was for it. By the time he and Vinnie had managed to shake Repo Mantis and safely escape into the sewers, the monster truck was close to being on its last legs. For months it lay dormant, Gio fixing and outfitting it with Mystic wiring as time allowed, but it was, for the most part, a few more dents away from returning to the scrapyard. Going on missions topside without proper transportation was beginning to become a genuine problem, and that was when Gio happened across the listing for the Dragon’s Eye at Big Mama’s auction. The rest, as they all knew now, was history.

The closer they approached the garage, the more apparent an industrial machinery safety precaution's beep greeted them. Gazes were split in two directions as they entered the garage, Donnie’s eyes on April operating a small crawler crane, slowly lowering a set of six car seats into the bed she no doubt stripped from a not so minivan. Meanwhile, Gio’s was completely on the truck itself - renewed, painted, and truly looking the role of its given ‘Turtle Truck’ moniker. “WOAH!” Gio echoed through Donnie’s skull, his previous altercation with Splinter almost completely forgotten in his awe. “Switch with me, now. Please don’t make me beg. I NEED to check this out.”

“I had an inkling you would,” Donnie smirked and did as asked.

“Hey guys!” April called out to the approaching Gio, securing the seats into the bed, then powering down her machine. “I’m guessing that’s Gio who's in control considering the look of utter amazement.”

“You would be correct in that assumption,” Gio answered her, his eyes still stuck on the truck, placing one of his hands on the wheels in admiration. “April, did you do all of this?”

“Yep! You all disappeared and I needed something to keep me sane. What do ya think?” She approached him proudly with her hands on her hips.

“As Big Mama would say; Fantumptuous. I am beyond impressed.”

“I’d hope so! This was a lot of work!”

“Did you do anything with the wiring?”

“Ehh, just a little here and there - that’s not my forte and we found out via Sofia that it runs just fine.”

“Good, good - wait, what?” He finally tore himself away from the truck, April shrugging and nodding.

“She used her transformed hand one day like Mystic jumper cables - gained a few more scales from doing it too.”

“Vinnie and I already thoroughly scolded her for doing so. I’d advise you not bring it up with her again, especially now,” Donnie explained and Gio wrinkled his brow.

“Why did she do that...?”

“‘Cause she wanted to see if it’d work - ‘cause she wanted to help. It was stupid, but I get where her head was at. As it is, the truck is a gigantic Mystic hotwired paperweight without the Dragon’s Eye. I don’t suppose you have anything else that we could use as an alternative?”

“...Not on hand,” Gio said rested his head on the tire. “I’m such an idiot - why did I do this all so ride or die on the Dragon’s Eye? It’ll take months to rewire, not to mention finding a more suitable power source with the Hidden City as it is.”

April allowed Gio to bitterly sigh, placing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and crouching down into his view. “Or you could get that dumb relic out of Sofia?” She said and witnessed him tense. “...Have you visited her yet? Especially after blowing up at her in the lab?”

“No, I have not,” he answered. It was a thoroughly disgruntled Mikey who discovered the merge and relayed the information to a currently bedridden Sofia, now at least back in her room until Draxum required her back in the lab for more tests.

“I think you should go do that. I know Barry is working on it, but I bet he could use your help if you’ve got the time. Talk with her, Gio. Get a new perspective that only you can see... and maybe get an apology out while you’re at it. Lord knows she deserves one.”

He lightly scoffed. “The best apology would be removing it. My words mean nothing without the appropriate actions to back them.”

“Well then, there you go,” April motioned to the garage’s exit with her head. “Get over there and get something going.”

“She’s right,” Donnie reaffirmed and Gio nodded. “We gain nothing by moping here in the truck’s shadow - as cool as that shadow is.”

“I’ll see ya later, Gigi. Keep your head up,” April encouraged as he moved away from her, giving her one more nod as he turned the corner and out of sight.

“Just a mild word of warning; Mikey is absolutely unimpressed with you at the moment, so it may take a little convincing for him to grant you entry to Sofia. Be prepared.”

“Be prepared for what? Should I arm myself?”

“No, no, psychologically prepare yourself. If anyone has been Sofia’s number one cheerleader since the start of all this; it’s Mikey. Quite honestly, they adore each other, and our Mikester did not take kindly to your outburst. He is not nearly as compliant and meek as Sofia, and he will, without a doubt in my mind, throw hands at anyone who threatens her - brother or not. You have me as a shield right now, but-” Donnie nervously chuckled, “I installed extra padding into my battle shell just in case.”

“So, psychologically with a slight chance of physical.”

“If you don’t choose your words right, then yes.”

Gio blinked at the absurdity of it all, still barely having a read on Donnie, hadn’t given the other siblings much thought outside the initial introductions when he was still in the lantern. Mikey, at first glance, didn’t look particularly threatening - just a slightly taller Sofia with more embellishments, but he didn’t have a desire to find out the differences at the expense of his host’s body and further souring his relationship with his youngest sibling. Still, he gulped nervously as he closed in on the curtain housing the tangerine twins, hesitating for a moment before knocking, but followed through with the motion. There was movement from within, the sound of one lifting themselves up from a chair - the curtain gingerly peeled back slightly to reveal Mikey viewing their visitor. He was surprised at first, but upon seeing the glowing pupils he dropped the curtain back into place.

“No. Go away.”

“Look, Michelangelo, I just want to talk with Sofia-”

“And I said no. She’s resting.”

“Mikey,” Donnie took over for a brief moment. “Let Giorgio speak with his sister.”

“Why should I? So he can yell at her again? I have half a mind to-”

“Mikey,” Sofia’s tired but firm voice sounded. “It’s okay, let him in.”

“...You sure?” There was a pause, Donnie assuming Sofia gave Mikey another affirmation, and the lights turned on, filtering through the curtain briefly before it was pulled back. “Behave,” Mikey said threateningly with a look that could kill, Gio nodding on instinct. He was wrong - there was something terrifying about Mikey, merely discovering now in akin to Donnie’s warnings. He didn’t dare tempt fate as he entered into Sofia’s room, finding his sister in her bed, back propped up with pillows and her hands folded over her lap.

“What is it, Gio?” She asked him, a twinge of reluctance in her voice, a hint of fear in her sunken eyes. It was at that moment that Gio had viewed his sister for the first time since his outburst. No dimmed lab lighting to hide her condition, Gio was clearly able to see the shape Sofia was in. If it were not for Draxum’s medicine, he was sure she’d be in so much pain she could barely breathe. Not to mention, her morphed arm that had now spread all the way up to her eye - threatening to take it over at seemingly any moment. Any air that was in Gio’s chest escaped as shock took over and truths he’d been ignoring made themselves known. He had forced her into the ventilation system. He had her discard her belt bags to further aid her mobility. His attitude towards her had Sofia try and problem solve - carrying the Dragon’s Eye in a last ditch effort to escape another fit of disappointment from him. Her fear and defeatism would have rather risked swallowing a relic to please him than deal with the fall out consequences. And then he’d berated her, pushed her away, instead of expressing concern and apologizing. If there was one thing out of the pile of wrongdoings that was his fault alone - it was this. The proof of it now staring him in the face, preparing for another assault in between pained breaths - and it brought Gio to his knees. He could feel bile rising in his throat as his stomach twisted under his thoughts, covering his mouth in desperation. He couldn’t hear Donnie in his head nor Mikey who had moved to his side - deaf to anything but overwhelming guilt, and Donnie was having none of it.

“Would you get yourself together already!?” Donnie wrenched control back from Gio. “Your sister needs you, Giorgio! It’s almost refreshing to see you so gutted over what is yes; your fault, but get over it! What, literally what, is going to be accomplished by barfing on Sofia’s floor as opposed to, oh, I don’t know, apologizing? Pledging all those Mystic smarts to help Draxum find a cure? I’m not the annoying one; you are, by MILES. Now, get up.”

Donnie switched back control, Gio saying nothing as he took a sharp breath, letting out slowly as he lifted himself up, meeting Sofia’s unchanged gaze. His lips quivered momentarily, pursing them before blinking back tears, finally finding his voice. “I’m sorry, Sofia. I’m so, so sorry. You deserve far better than an idiotic brother like me, and I want to fix this. Give me a chance to get that stupid relic I practically force fed you out of your body.”

Sofia’s uncertainty slowly faded under a tiny smile, the smallest of laughs escaping her as she met Gio’s determination. “A simple ‘I love you too, Sofia,’ would have sufficed, Gio,” she lightly teased, Gio undeterred, but wishing he’d chosen his words more carefully. “I forgive you, but I expect a nice, big hug once you have that new body, alright? Don’t even think about trying to give it to me now - Donnie does not vibe with being touched.”

“I can definitely promise that much.”

“Good - I’ll get Donnie to mark my calendar.”

Chapter Text

It was one of America’s Wireless Emergency Alerts that jarred them awake at the current hour. At first they angrily groaned through their drowsiness, figuring it was yet another AMBER Alert miles upon miles from them - but in recollection did they force the remains of their drowsiness away. For what reason could present day New York City need a WEA? They snatched their phone and tapped the notification, revealing the truth.

Emergency Alert: Extreme

Imminent Threat: New York and its surrounding states are advised caution until 2:45 AM EST. Tremors and high winds are expected as the current threat in New York City is dealt with. Take shelter immediately in an interior room, basement, or lowest floor of a sturdy building. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter. Check Media.

“...What!?” Casey Jones sat up suddenly, panicked and dumbfounded. They were finally taking action? Now? His eyes shot to the window of his apartment, the glow from a nearby EPF dome still invasively making itself known. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary - yet, but he wasn’t about to stick around and find out. He left the warmth of his blankets, shivering as his feet hit the cold tiled floor and witnessing his breath appear then dissipate in his unheated apartment. He set his sights on his gear, then checked his phone - hoping he still had time to get down to the Hidden City before... whatever was about to happen. As he fully exited his bed, Casey quickly opened a streaming application and tapped the currently live news feed, letting it play as he started to suit up.

“This is Warren Stone of Stoneheads Media reporting to you live, unmonitored, and uncensored! Moments ago, a WEA was issued to New York’s residents and all the surrounding States as it seems the EPF is finally going to be dealing with those kaiju eyesores! It's been months since the incident and evacuation of New York City - and the whole world has been watching and waiting! Especially since the recent widespread of a viral video made by NYC’s other residents on how this whole hullabaloo came to be! Dragons! Yōkai? Mutants!?”

The feed switched to Nelli’s video, replaying the end of it. “-And that’s the jist of things. The giant monsters are a result of Drako the Great’s meddling on his path to create dragons and bring the entire world under his control - and he’s still at it. While my existence is a direct result of that meddling, with the right treatment, I’ve been spared of mutating further - but this isn’t over. I know for a fact that in the chaos of this, he’s been employing a lot of you, either manufacturing ‘medicine’, or distributing it - many of you even being paid in that cyan liquid. But, hear me, people in the Hidden City of New York - you’re being manipulated into becoming the next victims. If you have been exposed to or consumed any of this ‘medicine’, seek proper treatment immediately. You are in danger of becoming the next kaijus. We must act before Drako claims everything we hold dear. Don’t let him win. Fight back!”

Casey stopped the stream, storing his phone and grabbing his bag, opening the window to exit onto the outdoor staircase. His entrance to the Hidden City was several blocks away, and having to take the roofs to avoid EPF detection made the trip even longer. He would've taken time to admire the stars were the situation not so urgent - aiming his grappling hook skyward and letting it bring him to the roof. The full chill of the night greeted him, shaking off a cringe brought on by the wind. He didn't have time to be leisurely. He immediately aimed for the adjacent roof, zipping over to it and landing quietly on the accumulated snow. Even in his hurry, he stole one last glance at his apartment, wishing he’d had more time to pack up a few extra items, but Casey knew sentimentality would only deter him from his ultimate goal. There was no turning back, reaffirming his aim and taking off towards it.

The ever patrolling EPF vehicles were absent, no doubt cleared out prior to the broadcasted warning, making the night eerily quiet and Casey’s footsteps appear loud despite barely making a sound. He revisited his teachings, becoming one with the night, light as a feather, masking his presence further, not willing to take a risk of being found - and it was ultimately the correct action to take, the sound of voices freezing Casey on the spot. The questions of who and where assaulted his mind, locating their source soon after. On a nearby building stood two figures, both tall, and both male by the sounds of it. They were outlined by the nearest dome’s glow, and beside them was an intricate piece of machinery Casey couldn’t quite make heads or tails of. He went for his binoculars, barely creeping around the corner to spy on these two unknowns, sharpening his hearing to pick out their conversation among the wind. It was one of the EPF’s suits alongside either a Yōkai or a mutant - the second’s stature and appearance reminding Casey of his close call in Witch Town not so long ago.

“The WEA was sent out and I received mine,” Donnie said as he showcased his phone’s screen to Bishop.

“Good. Then we only need the final go ahead from headquarters,” Bishop replied and set his attention back on the dome.

“Explain to me how this works again,” Donnie’s voice switched out with Gio’s. “I thought this was all just tech, but, Ley Lines? I have powers pertaining to earth, so this is intriguing to me.”

“We, the Utrom, stabilized the Earth with Empyrean after its near destruction from a meteor," Bishop began explaining. "This gave way to the ‘Ley Lines’ the humans discovered and dubbed. As they are, they form a protective barrier through the entire planet, though they are hardly invulnerable, some areas on the planet trying it more than others. We have tried harnessing them in the past, to prevent natural disasters, and the results have been... middling. But the Ley Lines correct the destruction in time, it is their nature to do so.”

“Hm,” Donnie mused, then nodded. “Go on.”

“Despite this, they can still be used for various other means. Like any other form of Empyrean, it can both bring forth growth, or be converted to destruction. This device will fire a projectile into the overmutated that will stimulate the Ley Lines into believing those shot are to be ‘corrected’. We need only to let nature do its work.”

“Fascinating, if not a little horrifying, if I’m being honest. I don’t know if I actually want to watch this...” Gio confessed in an uncertain tone.

“No, I think you should, notably because of your powers,” Donnie reasoned. “Who knows, gaining understanding of how the Ley Lines work via visual demonstration might come in handy one of these days.”

“And I’m not disagreeing with that, but the fact that this almost happened to me is going to feel more than a little... uncomfortable.”

“Giorgio, we’re both wildly uncomfortable right now regardless of what’s about to be seen. At this point, just add it to the ‘uncomfy pile’ and we’ll work through it later. We’re not going anywhere.”

“Then you'd best brace yourselves,” Bishop warned as his index finger left his ear, “It’s time.”

“Alright,” Donnie crouched down, his Mystic building himself a shelter. “Thoroughly braced. Do it!”

“...Shit!” Casey stored the binoculars and started to sprint. He needed to get out of here - now! Curious as he was, he wasn’t about to stick around and be vaporized by whatever the hell he just heard about. The sound of the dome powering down punctuated his descent to the next building. The freed creature crying out had Casey repeat his expletive, this time in a continuous string as the world shook about him, then was seemingly muted as the large discharge of a weapon echoed off skyscrapers and the streets below alike. The silence only lasted a moment, the kaiju screeching again, pushing Casey forward as his panic from the day of their emergence resurfaced. He somehow knew that they were completely unrelated to the Foot’s plans. Their aim was always to reassemble the Kuroi Yōroi, to resurrect their imprisoned master and follow his path to crush the Hamato - to reclaim their honor. Casey never had an interest in the Foot, and his father, Arnold, respected that, for the most part. He always implied that Casey would inherit his duties, trained him in ninjutsu despite his disinterest, and even had several of his fellow members over often to not so subtly ease Casey into the idea - but all he wanted to do was play hockey. He was good at it, it was fun, but despite all the praise from Arnold, Casey could always see the flicker of disappointment in his father’s eyes. It was that constant fact that led Casey to lash out the night before the attack.

Arnold had promised to attend Casey’s next game in a rather nonchalant manner, which Casey knew translated to simply pacifying him until he ‘grew out’ of this ‘phase’, and that was the final straw that thoroughly snapped the camel’s back. The full brunt of his anger released, Casey calling out his father for his behavior, the lack of respect, and how much it hurt. He didn’t want to be a ninja. Casey had poured his soul into hockey, even gotten a scholarship because of it, and it wasn’t worth a damn to Arnold. It was heated; they yelled, things were thrown, and had Casey not removed himself from their apartment - something both of them would regret might have occurred. And so he ran off to a friend’s for the night, trying to put it all out of his mind, but then, the kaijus appeared. While everyone ran in panic, Casey returned to his apartment to find his father gone and a note indicating he’d be at the Foot’s headquarters until further notice. Having been taken there since he was a baby, Casey set off there next, fighting against the shaking brought on by the monsters and against the sickening unease he felt in his heart. He ran past whatever storefront they were swindling and took the stairs down past the basement, finding that he was too late. Everything had been caved in, all members of the foot taken by surprise as their lair collapsed inwards on them and knowing no help would be able to locate them in time. They were a small, dedicated group taking steps towards their goal, only to reach total annihilation at the hands of a mystery creature no one saw coming.

Casey found Arnold among the rubble. He’d long left the world by the time his son dug deep enough to find him - and in his arms was a gauntlet. With his dying breath he’d protected it, and it boiled Casey’s blood as he cried out in agony. Even in death, he was second fiddle to the clan. No thought to run and find his son, to check his safety - just all his effort to protect a piece of a stupid armor that may or may not have Mystic connection. Anger became Casey’s enduring strength as it drove him to keep digging, every evacuation order lost on him in a place no one would think to look. He found the Foot’s plans, their artifacts, and everything in between. There was an odd clarity as he looked through it all, Casey neither happy that the clan was gone, nor re-finding his rage as he buried his father. He found that among all of these circumstances, it was all tied to the creatures above, and they deserved to die for what they’d done. The gauntlet was just the beginning - he’d get the rest of it too. If the Shredder was as powerful as Arnold always said, then Casey would use him to settle the score. In a way he nor his father never envisioned, Casey joined the Foot Clan, taking the mantle out of revenge and carrying on what the rest couldn’t finish. He would rebuild the Shredder and set him loose to crush the kaiju and whoever was responsible for them. He had the means, he had the skills, and in this fractured city duology, no one could stop him. At least, that’s what he thought until recently - accosted by a turtle Yōkai that he’d recently learned was actually a mutant. He’d barely escaped with the last remaining piece outside of what the Hamatos hid, knowing he’d be further out of his depth if their paths crossed again. And yet, Casey was counting on it, now knowing and believing mutants to be the source of his suffering, and that they were coincidentally Hamato.

Nelli’s video not only informed Casey of Drako, but painted a target on her and her family - personally drawn by Casey Jones. He didn’t give a damn if she and her family had been treated, they were still mutants - the abominations that took his father away from him. They didn’t belong - not human enough to live among them, and too volatile to stay with the Yōkai. Ridding the world of them would be a favor to both sides, and the fact that they were Hamato was the icing on top that Casey didn’t particularly care for, but would indulge in nonetheless. Drako and all of his ‘children’ would be eradicated in time, Casey just needed a few more things to fall into place, and one of them had been practically served to him on a plate, but he needed to get there first in one piece.

In the present, Casey was fumbling with the artifact that opened the portal to the Hidden City, much like one would with their car keys in a high stress situation. The Kaiju screeched in a tone that clearly spelled out its anguish as an otherworldly green glow emanated from the streets below. Snake-like wisps emerged from the earth and flew by or through any obstacle, Casey shocked by the odd beauty of them - but the accompanying quake and rushing wind set him back to his task. He finally opened the portal, jumping through just as he felt his feet begin to involuntarily leave the ground, landing with a roll as he fumbled. The quake continued underground, a few pebbles raining around him, but a glance upwards revealed the Hidden City’s own Mystic precautions - a heavy barrier bracing the ceiling for all its inhabitants.

“Remain calm,” A voice boomed over the entirety of the city. “Seek shelter and remain there until the quakes are over. Remain calm-” It continued on repeat. Casey let out a sigh of relief, knowing he'd barely made it but was safe all the same. He wanted to take a few moments to calm himself, but the reality of the current situation was a perfect set up. He knew what he needed to do. Back on his feet, Casey ignored the shaking, his next goal within his sights from his current position. The Hidden City prison. He took out his phone again, switching it onto the Yōkai network and opening a news application. He smirked as the first article gave him the answer he sought, wasting no more time as he shot the grappling hook onwards.

******

“Sydney Quarry,” Draxum started then stopped, the quaking above pausing his and everyone else's thoughts. All except Donnie and Gio were sat on the floor in the kitchen - the structurally safest place in the lair to wait out the quakes. They had their own barrier up, but the shaking and its accompanying sounds remained. Raph had a protective arm over Leo and Mikey whilst Nel was doing the same for Sofia and Vinnie with the addition of April in her lap. They weren't taking any chances despite safety precautions, pots on their heads while Splinter wearing a colander on his - Draxum begrudgingly wearing a matching one to quiet their worries.

“I really wish those two hadn't gone topside for this...” Nel worrily stated with her eyes set on the ceiling.

“There’s no stopping Donnie once he's set on something,” Raph's overall tone agreed.

“They’ll be fine, they've got Bishop with them,” Leo gently eased their worries, putting his attention back on Draxum. “You were saying?”

“Sydney Quarry," he continued, "or rather, just the Quarry family in general is a name well known by many Yōkai in the Hidden City - because they own most of its land. Or at least, they did.”

“What? Seriously?” Vinnie eyes widened, Draxum meeting them with a quizzical expression.

“Am I to assume you are familiar with another dimension's counterpart?”

“I am, yes, but-” Vinnie's thoughts brought up the appropriate memories, how different they were, shaking his head at them. “It doesn't matter, go on.”

“Sydney was the heiress to the Quarry estate and was known for her kindness and general lax nature in allowing acquisition of land. One must not only require permission from the Quarries to build, but pay a fee varying on what was being built where. Anything without would be demolished by law.”

“Which I'm guessing didn't happen very often if she's as nice as you say,” Splinter added and Draxum nodded.

“As the Hidden City is meant to be a safe haven for our kind, Sydney most likely found herself hard pressed to deny anyone the right to a home. As for her involvement in the draconic family and Big Mama... hm,” Draxum stopped to think, another quake shaking them, Sofia involuntarily holding onto her sister in panic.

“It's all good, Sofs,” April pat Sofia's hand, comforting, then recoiling. “Geez, girl, you're super warm! Splints, if there's any popsicles left in the freezer, toss it over.”

“I'm fine,” she deflected and no one listened, Splinter shimmying and jumping to open the freezer door on their refrigerator.

“There's one left!” Splinter announced as he tossed it their way, Nel catching and opening it, smiling at the revealed flavor.

“Your favorite~” she teased and Sofia regarded the popsicle with disgust as she received It.

“Ugh, grape flavor...” she said sourly, and an even more sour face surfacing as she began to eat it.

“Still not over the whole grape flavored kids tylenol incident, are we?” Vinnie openly teased his disgruntled sister.

“The what?” Mikey raised a brow as Sofia tensed.

“Oof, that was not a good day for any of us...” Splinter added with a grimace.

“It really wasn’t,” Nel agreed with a shake of her head.

“They don’t need to know about this!” Sofia practically hissed at her family.

“Really? But I’m so intrigued!” Leo egged her on, Sofia glaring at him, Raph flicking his ear. “Ow-!”

“It was before my time, but I heard the aftermath was... messy,” April continued the tease.

“And we’re about to have round two if you all don’t shut up!” Sofia gagged slightly, reliving the memory, but chased it away with a shake of her head. “Draxum,” she eyed her second father with mild desperation. “Please continue, for all of our sakes.”

“O...kay...?” He tentatively obliged, feeling thoroughly out of the loop as Nel and April shared some giggles while Splinter looked both disgusted and nostalgic. “Anyways, the connection between the M.o.B. and Big Mama. This is mostly speculation but, with Big Mama, her hotel is unique in the sense it connects to both topside and below. I can only imagine the headache it would be to get all the permits and permissions for it to be built, so Sydney must have pulled those strings in exchange for the favor Junior just cashed in. As to why she was his nanny, I do not know, but what I do know is something that’s fairly common knowledge in the populace. The M.o.B. forcibly took over the Quarry estate, and the heiress herself has been missing ever since. It’s been nearly three decades since the acquisition.”

“Huh...” Raph pondered on the tale. “I hope she’s OK. I mean, thirty years seems like a long time, but I guess it really isn’t in Yōkai years.”

“And I’m guessing they found no evidence of foul play if you’re talking about this so casually?” Leo asked and Draxum nodded.

“I often worked with the police before gaining my current baronial status, and while the situation seemed less than amicable, Sydney simply vanished in a way that indicated she didn’t want to be found - or at least, that is how it was interpreted. That is all I know.”

“This seems kinda like a twisty mystery novel,” Mikey mused, his brow knit as he tried to make sense of it.

“But we’re definitely missing a bunch of plot threads...” April concurred as she readjusted her glasses.

Yet another quake shook the kitchen, grabbing everyone’s attention until it quieted again, Sofia sighing away her fears. “In any case, we won't be finding out anything anytime soon.”

******

Drako’s room shook all around him in tandem with the continuous loop of the warning vibrating against his windows. If there was sleep to be had, it was certainly not to be found here. He brought his palms to his eyes, groaning tiredly as he applied pressure and rubbed gently against their fatigue. In truth, sleep hadn’t come easily since the capture of his father. It all felt so surreal, like if he were to relax, then it would all unravel around him. Still, he wouldn’t drive himself to insanity, Drako lifting his hands from his face and setting his sight on his now healed arm. Even after witnessing it firsthand, he was still in awe of Sofia’s powers, especially considering the reality of finally being able to free his sister. He’d verified with Big Mama that she, the Yōkai, and the human made it safely to wherever they fled, but there had been no movement since then. Drako wasn’t an impatient creature, hardly, he was the complete opposite if his current circumstances were anything to go by - but he’d be lying if he didn’t feel antsy as of late.

All he could do was wait. With his father’s crimes now an open book to the entire world, Drako would be a dead man walking the moment one scale left the premises of the Grand Nexus Hotel. The M.o.B. mansion was empty, yet the people of the Hidden City surrounded it in protest - the only thing stopping them from invading it were the police sent by the Heads. They wanted answers, compensation, peace of mind. For a mercy, Big Mama retrieved the safe containing his sister, and Drako almost felt a fool for throwing the key to Sofia, but then again, who knew what the future held. Sofia would return in time, no doubt having to hide herself as well until the masses decided on if her family were victims or villains, and besides; Drako had no solid exit plan himself. Did he have Sofia hatch the egg, then he himself raise the child in the hotel? He knew nothing of child rearing, and he had his doubts Big Mama would tolerate their presence forever - even at Quarry’s behest.

...Gods he missed Quarry. Drako’s heart physically ached at the memories of when he was most happy. He knew not what kind of arrangement she had with his father, why he allowed her maternal affections for as long as he did, but Drako was forever grateful to her. Never knowing his mother, Quarry eased the young Drako through a brief piece of his childhood, and he was forever molded by it. He could only imagine why she was driven away like she was, recalling how secretive she was in giving him the letter. For a time, he resented her abandonment, with how much his father ramped up punishments without her there to shield him, but with that pain came understanding. Had Quarry stayed, things would have surely been worse for the both of them, and so he prayed for her safety, - and waited for the opportune moment to utilize the lifeline she’d given him.

A wispy, wistful sigh escaped his maw, another quake ever reminding him of the current situation finally forcing him out of bed. If he could not sleep nor be allowed to ponder his thoughts, then Drako would entertain himself elsewhere. A glass of wine sounded heavenly right now, a thought crossing his mind towards the half destroyed bar his father had demolished in his struggles. Surely Big Mama wouldn’t mind if he helped himself to the merchandise no longer fit for sale... right? Well, he wasn’t about to hunt her down and ask - she was impossible to find in this labyrinth of a building anyhow. It was only yesterday he’d finally memorized the path to his provided room and he hadn’t seen her since the initial tussle, all messages delivered via her handful of bellhops. Drako figured that if there was a problem, it would be brought up eventually and he’d resolve it as needed - he was probably being monitored anyhow. A trip down the elevator brought him to his destination, ignoring the police tape and walking forwards, eyeing the few bottles he could see in the dimmed lounge. None of them looked particularly wine colored, at least not in the way he knew. His father was always a stickler for the brand - absolutely had to be sourced from Yōkai wineries, from his country of origin, and so on. It was all Drako knew, so he was no connoisseur, but he stepped over the shattered glass behind the counter and grabbed a bottle, its dubious color less than appetizing.

“Making yourself a nightcap, Draky-wakey?” Drako let out an expletive in his fright, fumbling and nearly dropping the bottle. Big Mama giggled as she approached, her hair done up pairing with her robe told him she too had left her bed in frustration - the ever enduring quakes jingling the remaining hanging wine glasses, prompting her vision to them, and then back to him. “Ooo, that’s not a particularly good year you’re holding. Try the tippy-top shelf, flint colored bottle,” he obeyed and grabbed the appropriate bottle, Big Mama nodding. “Yes, that’s the ticket. Pour us both a glass, would you?”

“I am both wondering if you’re upset and how you knew to find me here,” he grabbed the glasses and appropriate tool, popping the quark.

“Goodness no, Draky, help yourself. The entirety of this room’s repairs will be taken from your father’s account, so drink up!”

“Fair enough... I guess,” He didn’t bother to overthink the stipulations, pouring the wine and pushing Big Mama her glass.

“And I always know where my guests are. This is my home, after all,” she stopped to admire the color of the wine before gingerly sipping, Drako following suit, only to immediately cough and choke it back.

“Ye gods-!” He coughed again, grabbing the bottle and thoroughly scrutinizing the label. “Are we drinking turpentine!?”

“1983 was a glorious year - very profitable. I took one of my canary clients from Portugal to see the last showing of Annie and she later gifted me with an entire crate of this particular bottle. It’s also a funny little coinkydink that it’s also the year your pippy-parents met,” she revealed and relished the curious look on Drako’s face, unable to fully hide her smirk behind another sip.

“...So, are you going to elaborate or did you drop that factoid on me so you can gleefully kick your feet at my reaction?” Drako asked as her sip endured far too long, Big Mama draining her glass and passing it back for another round.

“Well, how much do you know about your mother? I risk retreading familiar ground and boring you.”

Drako glared at her as he refilled her glass, absolutely knowing that Big Mama was teasing him, that she already knew the answer. “Nothing, in the absolute literal sense of the word.”

Big Mama sighed, Drako not at all expecting the dejected look on her face as she tapped her nails on the glass’ base. “The poor dear...” she said quietly, then took off her glasses, meeting Drako’s eyes without any hint of further teasing. “First and foremost, her name was Wick, and she was the loveliest doll I ever had the pleasure of knowing - myself and Quarry both.”

“...Wick...” Drako repeated, the name itself intriguing yet alien to his tongue.

“Being the last survivor of her clutch, she was adopted by the leader of the M.o.B. at the time, naming her heiress, and she grew up with nary a worry, except pertaining to the flimflam fragility she was unfortunately born with. Myself, Quarry, and her all came from money, so it wasn’t odd for us to meet and chinwag at whatever parties our betters were hosting. We were so young back then, so stupid, getting used to rivety-riding coattails that we settled into our roles before long.”

“Meaning?” Drako pushed and Big Mama took another generous swig before continuing.

“My line is a noble one, dating back to the great Yōkai war, and so I was raised prim and proper to not sully our name. Quarry’s family owned all the land the Hidden City was built on, so she became used to honied words and barrels of flattery. Meanwhile, Wick, knowing her lifespan was only as long as her ticky-time bomb body allowed, was meek and easily controlled. She was expected to produce an heir before her time ran out, but she wasn’t quite... ripe, for lack of a better word. Apparently dragons have very particular mating cycles and take hundreds of years to become fertile.”

“I see...” Drako grimaced at her wording and information.

“And so, with her abundance of free time whilst her father was picking out eventual suitors, she fostered many a friendship, both for business and due to her being a very lonely soul, - and Quarry was her rock, no pun intended. She loved Wick, a true sisterhood I did not share, but I’d be lying if I didn’t feel a tad green with envy. But it was impossible to be cross about it - who was I to insert myself? Not to mention your mother’s disposition was that of heaven sent angel. She was my biggest supporter as I took the reins of my fate and built this hip-hopity-hotel! In fact, had she not sweet talked Quarry into allowing me to have the land, you’d probably still be stuck in that room of yours right now. Ooo, the grand opening party was practically a jamboree!” She giggled at the memory, then deflated slightly.

“...Huh,” Drako digested her words, still unable to visualize it all. “Do you have any photos?”

“I do!” She perked up, clapping her hands and summoning a bellhop. “My office, behind the small portrait on the lefthand wall. Bring it to me.”

“Right away, Mum!” The bellhop saluted and ran off into the elevator.

“Now, where were we...? Ah, yes, let’s skip to 1983, shall we? Any objections?” She asked and Drako shook his head. “Good, moving right along then. A very profitable year for me, and the unfortunate availability of your mother’s fertility came to a head. In waltzes your father; handpicked by Wick’s adoptive parental, and they were fiancés within a day of meeting one another.”

“A day!?” Drako balked and Big Mama shrugged.

“It's not out of the ordinary among those waving around the largest wads of dough, Draky-waky. Your own father might’ve done the same if he were not so set on this draconic takeover of his. Anyways, he played his part beautifully - treating Wick like a queen both in front of the public and behind closed doors, thoroughly wooing her and luring the rest of us into his ruse. At the time, it looked as if he genuinely adored her, so I left them to it, but Quarry, she was not so easily deceived. I didn’t know it at the time, but she held a firm noose around Drako’s neck.”

“In what way?” Drako blinked back the statement in disbelief.

“The M.o.B. claimed and built their mansion without the Quarries go ahead, causing quite the kerfuffle - but in Quarry’s friendship with Wick, it was overlooked and forgotten - until that of the mysterious circumstances surrounding Wick’s father’s death. He was, very, very ...antiquated, so no one really questioned it at the time, but Drako’s rush into marriage didn’t go unnoticed, especially with Quarry. She was always sharper than a tack, that girl, and your father despised that about her.”

Drako stared down into his glass, his somber expression telling Big Mama all, but she still allowed him to further contemplate before continuing. With a small sigh exiting his nose, he urged; “I’m beginning to connect the dots, but, continue.”

“Unfortunately, little Draky-waky, there’s not much else for me to tell,” She answered him with a sympathetic glance. “Quarry moved in, no doubt swinging that noose around like a fully set revolver if Drako dared overstep, and I didn’t see hiddy-hide nor sissy-scale of them for several years. I was... busy with my own romance at the time, so the news of Wick’s death and your existence didn't manifest until Quarry suddenly showed up and gave me very particular instructions regarding you. And then; she was gone.”

“Gone?”

“Disappeared, love. Hopefully into hiding, but the further I looked, the more I found that anyone diving too deep into the M.o.B.’s business, specifically that pertaining to Wick, met with untimely deaths. Your father has always kept me at arm’s length with one hand and a blade hidden behind his back with the other, so I’ve been biddy-biding my time instead. I’m an entrepreneur, he’s gone mad - or perhaps he always was a few screws loose from the bucket...”

“Damn it all...” Drako let out a shaky sigh, his elbows resting on the bar as he ran fingers over his scales and through his spines.

“Oh, there, there, Draky,” she pat his shoulder sincerely. “Sydney is a tough cookie. Were she dead, I have this hunch-a-bunch your father wouldn’t stay quiet about it. Chin up, darling.”

“...Perhaps you’re right,” he didn’t give into what-ifs, calming his worry under her words.

“I brought the book, Mum!” The bellboy ran back in, offering it with a bow.

“Scrumptious!” She took it with an excited gleam in her eye, waving off the Bellboy and flipping it open in search of a specific page. “Ah, here we are!” She exclaimed, placing the book down and sliding it into Drako’s view. “There she is, Draky; Wick at her loveliest.”

The book revealed itself to be a photo album, one that only stored one picture per page, and this double spread showcased his mother in both. The first was just Wick, in her wedding dress with bouquet in hand and absolutely enchanting to look at, whilst the other featured her and his father together in a more commemorative stance - both looking rather stiff. Drako found himself drawn to her, placing his fingers longingly on top of the protective, plastic seal. She didn’t look sickly at all, if anything, Drako noticed he'd inherited her striking eyes and the particular sheen on his scales that he didn’t share with his father. His heart ached again, so greatly desiring to have met her and feeling the bitter anguish over whatever his father had done to her. Drako wondered if she even had loved him, no doubt Wick having some type of resentment towards his inception, but Big Mama inadvertently stopped those thoughts as she slipped her fingers under the cover and freed the photo.

“Here, it’s yours to keep,” she offered it and he hesitated. “Why, whatever is the matter? Take it.”

“I... somehow feel that I don’t deserve to have it.”

“Goodness gracious...” Big Mama rolled her eyes at Drako’s made up worries. “Had Wick not loved you, Quarry would not have loved you just as much, if not more. Take it, Drako. Treasure it as I’m sure she treasured you in her brief walk on this earth.” Drako swallowed the forming lump of sorrow in his throat, shallowly nodding as he received the photo, unable to take his eyes off it once wholly in his grasp. “Now then,” Big Mama raised her glass, then braced herself as another quake shook the bar, soon quieting. “Current circumstances notwithstanding, a toast; to Wick, to Quarry, and to your freedom!”

“‘Freedom?’” Drako replied with heavy irony, able to tear his eyes away from the photograph.

“Pish-posh, situational freedom with eventual dividends! Now don’t leave me the jump - it’s rude!”

Drako managed a small chuckle, lifting his glass and clinking it against Big Mama’s. “To my mother, to my nanny, and to my eventual revenge.”

Big Mama drained her glass, a malicious giggle echoing in it as she eyed Drako with a villainous glint. “Revenge? Do tell, Draky-Waky.”

“My sister and I will know no peace until my father is dead. Prison is too good for his ilk. Though, one does not simply kill ‘Drako the Great’ - he’s nigh indestructible.”

“Welly-well, what if I told you that you might not have to?”

“What?” Drako regarded Big Mama’s mischievous smile with disbelief.

“While I don’t know all the details, my sources tell me a very spiffy-specific individual with a unique set of circumstances is vying for Draky-poo, so why don’t we see how this pans out?”

Chapter Text

Broken. Restrained. Humiliated. All were apt descriptions for what remained of Drako the Great. In the lowest bowels of the Hidden City Prison did he lay, - any resemblance of his former dignity hidden under chains and beatings. He’d lost all semblance of time since his capture, many if not all the guards taking a turn at inflicting as much pain as possible, seemingly randomly throughout his stay. Drako's cries of rage and torment were lost inside his muzzle, and even if someone were to hear his hysteria, they would no doubt join in rather than discourage the torture. Still, he held onto his indignation. Towards all that had wronged him, in the past, in the here and now, and those who led him into this situation. His son and those turtles - those damnable turtles! Had he known they would be his downfall, he’d have slaughtered them the second they’d set foot in his mansion. Drako couldn’t believe he’d allowed himself to feel affection for them - thoroughly drunk on his own ruse of them being harmless. He was so close to his vision, possibly mere months from fruition, but it had all gone down the drain now. The mocking and jeers from the guards informed him of the shaking and what it meant. His dragons, his beautiful lifelines to the future, had been slaughtered. Drako did not know how or why, but they were gone, murdered for the world’s peace of mind. He’d weep if there was enough room among his ever burning hatred. But, alas, he was set to stew for the remainder of his lifespan, fully knowing not a soul would dare even think to attempt a rescue - but then, a sudden odd happening caught his attention.

On an unknown day into his incarceration, the guards around his cell, many in number spread throughout the spacious chamber, began sinking to their knees one after the other - none able to notice their comrade’s afflictions before it was too late. A shadow darted among them, incapacitating each and every one of them, not too long of a timespan spent until they were all on the floor. Drako could barely move as is, the restrictions only allowing his eyes freedom, and even then, there was only so much he could perceive. However, the shadow soon emerged, dropping itself in front of him with a silent descent. It was a Yōkai of sorts, if his eyes weren't deceiving him, Drako's thoughts on identifying the symbol painted over the white mask it wore.

“...Huh...” Casey Jones said through the voice changer in his mask, a hidden cloaking brooch in his clothes to hide his human features. “So this is ‘Drako the Great’?” There was a semblance of mockery in his tone. Drako merely glared in response, Casey exceedingly glad for his mask as he smirked back at it in response. “I’d like to have a little chat with you,” Casey knelt down to the restraints housing Drako’s maw, procuring a key from his gloves as he unlocked it and let it drop, the ground accepting it with a cloud of dust despite the small bit of gravity.

“Speak quickly, child, for my patience is spent!” Drako immediately snarled, Casey completely unphased as he took a few steps back.

“Geez, this is the thanks I get for infiltrating the prison just for you, huh? Some gratitude.”

“I will not extend one bit of anything towards you until you elaborate on your presence! Speak!” He demanded once again, Casey shrugging in response.

“Well, I didn't come down here to tango with you, old man. I'm just a vigilante looking for justice, and the two of us share an enemy - mutants of the turtle variety.”

Drako’s eyes widened slightly before returning to their glare. “...And? You think this puts us on equal standing? What could you possibly have against them that doesn't also extend to me?”

Casey chuckled nervously, the voice changer thankfully making it sound amused as he prepared to pepper his true plan with fibs. “My grudge with them has nothing to do with their mutant status,” he tapped the Foot Clan symbol on his mask. “Do you recognize this?” Casey asked and received silence in response. “What about Kuroi Yōroi? That ring any bells?”

More silence, but Drako tired of questions. “Get to the point already.”

“Alright,” Casey shrugged. “I won’t bore you with all the details, but those turtles, their human DNA connects them with the Hamato Clan - my clan’s sworn enemy since they disgraced us and scattered our founder's armor - the Kuroi Yōroi. Whoever wears it is granted blessings from the Utrom, as they gave it to us to level the playing field against the Hamato's ninpō powers. They didn't want another war, ya'know?”

Drako's knowledge didn't go beyond his focus in Europe for most of his life, failing to detect Casey's falsehoods. The Utrom were anything but stingy with their gifts, he was a direct result of their efforts, after all, and being shown the most basic of truths allowed his temper to fizzle slightly, stating; “But war between your clans was inevitable.”

“Exactly. We lost, they took the armor and scattered it, and now I'm the only one left keeping the Foot Clan alive. It's pathetic, but, I've managed to collect all the armor sans one piece on my own - and as long as I take the Hamato down in the process, I'll make peace about the Foot dying with me,” Casey expertly lied, knowing he was appealing to Drako's twisted sense of justice and his heartstrings.

“How noble...” Drako said sarcastically. “And? Where exactly do I fit in here, child?”

“Uh, in the armor? Obviously?” Casey gestured to himself before Drako could reply. “Do I look like I'm big enough to put on a giant suit of armor? I guess I could eventually grow into it, but you're clearly the better option.”

“Hah...” a chuckle escaped Drako's throat. “You wish for me to fight for you?”

“Yep. Considering we're both after the same people and we're both in our own respective pickles, I thought you might be interested.”

“...What a pity for you,” Drako shook his head. “Because I am in no way interested in your proposal.”

“Why?” Casey gently commanded, receiving a sneer.

“Because Drako the Great is no one's pawn - especially not of a child. Begone!”

Casey sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy. “You still have your pride after all this?”

“If there is one thing this wretched world must claim from my corpse - it is my pride. I will never willingly demean myself for you or any other! Get out of my sight!”

“...Fine,” Casey turned away. “But just so you know, the EPF have joined hands with the Hamato and together they killed your dragons. Each of those suits hides an Utrom, in case you didn't know, so you've not only been betrayed by your children, but also by your creators. I'm surprised you still have anything to pride yourself in.” Casey leapt away, out of sight, into hiding, relishing the look of dismay on Drako's face. “My offer still stands, but I guess you need a few days to think it over. Good luck with the guards when they wake up!”

******

“Progress is at... 77 percent!” Donnie gleefully proclaimed, smiling at the now preteen sized body in the vat. “Looks like our test tube baby is a prodigy at growing!”

“Please stop calling it that,” Gio echoed in his head, Donnie chuckling in response.

“Mmmno, I don't think I will,” Donnie smirked as he heard Gio scoff and felt a roll of his eyes. “But that's enough homunculus observation for now; back to the Sofia stuff,” he switched with his twin. Gio let out an affirmative grunt, flexing Donnie’s fingers and cracking his neck as he prepared to settle in. He hadn’t had control all day while Donnie had been running seemingly endless diagnostics. Now the evening, Gio was prepared to check on Draxum's progress and continue where needed.

“Draxum, send me your-” Gio pivoted in his chair towards Draxum's workstation, immediately stopping his train of thought at what he found. He was slumbering, arms folded over one another as they cradled Draxum's head. Gio was only taken aback momentarily, then came to understanding, recalling the past week. No sooner did the Kaijus go down did Draxum throw himself into his work - Donatello taking the bulk of homunculus duties while Gio helped Draxum as time allowed. Everyone had settled into their new routine at this point, so the plum pair thought nothing was out of the ordinary in Draxum's efforts, - but he'd clearly overworked himself.

“He's still breathing, I can tell me here,” Donnie’s voice echoed and Gio nodded, still leaving the chair to check on Draxum regardless. Sofia's condition had more or less stabilized, both Gio and Draxum able to create a Mystic blocker to prevent the Dragon's Eye from progressing, but they knew it would only hold out for so long. Not only was there the truth of bodies acclimating to medicine the more it was used, but they also needed to figure out a second bandaid for when Sofia purified the homunculus too. It was a complicated situation, one they were racing to find a solution to, but in seeing Draxum's exhaustion on full display, Gio decided to extend pity, at least only for that night.

“Hm,” Gio reached over Draxum and touched the Mystic panel, eyeing whatever Draxum managed to do before crashing. He input a few more commands then powered it down, Donnie's wrist jingling with a notification as Gio switched his attention to it. “Let's continue where he left off in my room - I've got a set up in there too.”

“Oddly thoughtful of you,” Donnie teased, Gio refusing the bait.

“He's like, a bajillion years old. I'll increase the risk of giving him a heart attack if I wake him now.”

“Pretty sure he's only got a few hundred years to his name,” Donnie corrected and Gio shrugged.

“Potato, potahto,” he dismissed, leaving the lab and entering into the living room, finding the scarlet siblings freshly returned from their patrol.

“I just don't get it...” Nel huffed into a sigh. “I did all that digging, found a ton of info on this kid, and we can't get a hit no matter where we search.”

“...Yeah...” Raph absentmindedly agreed, rubbing his head as the lingering cold disappeared under the lair's heating.

“Another less than fruitful day, I'm assuming?” Gio greeted them, Raph and Nel nodding at his statement.

“The kid's a ninja, that's for sure. Probably had a ton more training than all of us, so I get why he’s elusive, but it's starting to feel ridiculous. He's obviously in a place we can't reach, and the armor has got to be behind layers of protection or something, like our helmet is,” Nel reasoned.

“Well, regardless,” Gio viewed Nel and Raph, both clearly fatigued from a hard day's work. “Get some rest. Donatello and I will be in my room if you need anything.”

“Is there something wrong with the lab?” Nel asked, rarely seeing them not inhabiting it lately.

“No, it's fine, but Draxum crashed and it'd be best not to wake him.”

“Sheep-man down for the count, eh?” Nel smirked towards the lab's entrance. “Alright, see you in the morning, Gio and Don.”

Gio nodded, went to start his walk towards his room, but Donnie suddenly switched back, his eyes on Raph. “Just a second,” he reasoned with a mildly irate Gio. “Raph, you good?”

“-Huh?” Raph snapped to attention on hearing his name, fully viewing Donnie's concern. While he wasn't intentionally trying to hide his worries, they were noticed all the same. Still, what currently ailed him was a mystery he was still unraveling, choosing to deflect rather than voice any concerns. “Oh yeah, I'm good, just thinking - thinking hard!”

“Hmmmm,” Donnie’s lips creased as his eyes narrowed, but Raph didn’t respond with his usual sweat and stink that indicated he was trying to avoid being caught in a lie. No, what Donnie received instead was a pleading stare from Raph, one that spelled out he didn’t want it pried out of him. The rarity of it prevented Donnie from digging further, shrugging, knowing he’d eventually get whatever was bothering his brother into his knowledge. “Alright, but don’t strain anything!”

He switched back to Gio and their previously interrupted march continued, disappearing down the darkened hallway, Raph watching all the while, his gaze moving to another section of it once Donnie was out of sight. There was no mistaking exactly what he was feeling, Raph continuing to rub his head, now out of the willingness to soothe rather than chase away the cold. A familiar pang, fairly muted, but still present all the same - and the source of it; Sofia’s room. He didn’t want to believe it, twisting a knot so tightly in his stomach as he came to a realization of what it meant, - but she was waiting for him, her silent plea louder than any Krang remnant could screech in his mind.

“Hey, uh,” Raph caught Nel’s attention. “Mind if we check in on Mikey and Sofia?”

“Not at all - I was just thinking of doing the same!” They left their seats, Nel following behind Raph, slightly more chipper while his expression further soured the closer they approached Sofia’s room.

“Come in,” she quietly beckoned them inside before having the opportunity to knock, solidifying Raph’s theory, though Nel accidentally refuted it as they both entered.

“Can’t help having a little bit of a hefty amble - sorry if our fat feet woke you.”

“They didn’t,” Sofia shook her head, her eye, afflicted from her condition, closed, pointing her gaze purposely away from Raph and towards a deeply slumbering Mikey - passed out on duty, sprawled out in every way his chair allowed. “And you definitely didn’t wake Mikey up either.”

“Mikey...” Raph said slightly disapprovingly, but only got a snort and sleepy groan in response. “Pretty sure you’re supposed to switch out with someone before falling asleep,” He picked up his small brother like a burger, moving to pass him over to Nel. “I’ll take over, I’ve still got lots of energy, so, would you mind?”

“I don’t, but-” Nel eyed the snoring, ragdoll that was Mikey. “How do I carry him? Princess style like Sofia?”

“That, or I can do this,” Raph said, poking Mikey’s nose, causing him to cringe, then completely retract into his shell with a grumpy groan. “Works every time - now he’s travel sized.”

Nel giggled as she received Mikey from Raph, Sofia letting out a few of her own at this new revelation - the sound of it reassuring the darkest of Raph worries. “I’ll have to try that out with Sofia next time.”

“Don’t you dare,” Sofia jokingly warned her sister as she and Mikey left, Nel playfully sticking her tongue out before fully leaving. Both Raph and Sofia waited, listening to her footsteps continue down to the further rooms, making sure she didn’t return before addressing each other. Sofia gently motioned to the now free chair with her head and Raph reluctantly took it, settling slightly before taking a calming breath, their two concerned gazes soon meeting. The screech of Krang echoed in both their heads, both cringing against it, the feeling calming slightly as their respective infections were fairly subdued. No words needed to be said, Sofia willingly opening her eye and staring back at Raph with a condition he knew all too well. Yellowed sclera, red slit pupil - all Sofia was missing with the accompanying pink tentacles to frame it, but Raph supposed the draconic scales were the substitute.

“Sofia...!” he started, feeling the hot tears of fear and empathy begin to surface. “You gotta- we gotta do somthin’! Lemme go get-”

“Shhh-shhhh-shhhh,” Sofia stopped Raph’s panic and soothed him back into the seat, both her hands over his mouth. “Don’t panic, it’s OK, Raph.”

He looked at her like she was crazy, understandably, taking her own calming breath before removing her hands and letting him speak again. “What do you mean it’s ‘OK’!?” he hush yelled. “You’re not just transforming - you’re getting krangified!”

“I know,” she replied calmly, “and if officially not your problem, so I’d like you to keep this a secret from the guys - please.”

“...WHAT!?” Raph’s tone nearly left whisper status, staring dumbfoundedly at Sofia, refusing to digest her words, but with a threatening raise of her hands did he let her continue.

“Do you remember what I promised Casey Jones? That day we all decided not to bring him along?”

Raph searched his mind, remembering, his expression further twisting to anger. “That you’d get us home, even if it meant turning into a monster...”

“I was mostly referring to the first part of that statement, but the second is unfortunately coming true,” She said with a chuckle and Raph looked thoroughly unimpressed. “But, Raph, don’t you get it? It’s time for you all to go home. The Kaijus are down, my family is basically all back, big Drako's in jail forever, and we have our Shredder’s helmet secured. Everything you all came to do is done or is about to be - so I’d really appreciate it if you kept my krangy-ness to yourself. You and I both know Mikey would absolutely refuse to open the portal if he knew - and you need to get back to your world. You guys can’t be here forever.”

“I...” He wavered, pursing his lips as he failed to find the right words, Raph’s remnant constantly making noise to further muddle his thoughts. He eventually gave up trying to formulate something eloquent to dissuade Sofia, punching the side of his head to jostle things back in place. “That’s besides the point, Sofia! You don’t get to decide if I can help with this or not! What else am I supposed to do, just go home and think about this night for the rest of my life!?”

“You won’t have to, I promise,” Sofia said calmly, Raph able to pick up on the slight desperation in her voice. “Because once we’re done here, I’m going to go talk to Draxum about sedation - putting me to sleep like originally planned. Once I purify Gio’s new body and get the portal opened with Mikey, that’ll be the last use of my powers until Draxum and Gio get the cure done. That way, there’s no time limit, and you don’t have to worry about it. Please, Raph,” She grabbed one of his hands and squeezed, commanding his emotions towards her plea. He so badly wanted to refuse her, to continue to pledge support until her full recovery - but she was right. They had almost wrapped up everything, merely patrolling to both burn time while Gio’s new body grew and with the hopes of finding Casey. The latter would be a nice boon, but for Raph and his brothers, it wasn’t a need, and he knew that.

Raph sighed, giving in, reluctantly, squeezing her hand back. “This is still really unfair, ya’know? You fix my eye and shell, you got the brain squirmer to be quieter - but I can’t do the same for you.”

“You’ve done plenty. Coming here and then having Nel’s back when I couldn’t is worth more than anything, Raph. If I could have you guys stay forever, I would, but I can’t. I need to let you go, because I love you all too much.”

He swallowed hard, almost unable to hide the quiver haunting his lips, and fully unable to stop the singular tear that slipped past his defenses. With another sigh, he fully gave in, nodding, and meeting her gaze. “Fine, I’ll keep the secret, but I want you to do me a favor in return, alright?” Raph said and Sofia nodded. “When Giorgio and your Draxum get you fixed up, you start training your shell off and get your powers up to speed. Do that, and come visit us. We’ll be waiting.”

Sofia smiled, playing with the idea of visiting the dimension again for fun instead of being forcibly sent there. “...You’re asking a lot, but then again, so am I. I can’t imagine this’ll be an easy secret to keep from Mikey.”

“And Donnie,” Raph added, making Sofia giggle.

“Especially Donnie,” she agreed, readjusting her hand to shake, Raph following through with the motion. With the promise sealed, Raph left his seat, staring down at Sofia. She closed her krangified eye and threw her covers off, ready to hunt down Draxum just as she said. “Seeing as I’ll be telling Draxum everything, maybe he’ll have something for our... headaches.”

“Don’t worry about ol’ Raph,” He reassured, offering his hand again as Sofia started to ease herself out of bed. She took it and stood, inhaling sharply against her still healing ribs, but found her normalcy soon enough. “He’s in the lab. Want me to take you there?”

“Nope, I got this,” she reassured through a small cringe. “I think I’m due for some painkillers anyways...”

“I heard he was sleeping, so that would check out,” Raph recalled, Sofia nodding as they both left her room.

“Which is what you’ll be doing now, right? Goodnight, Raph,” Sofia waved nonchalantly and she continued onwards.

“...Yeah, goodnight Sofia,” Raph watched her leave, flexing the hand they’d shaken with, wondering if it was truly the right decision. It felt wrong, maybe he shouldn’t have added any stipulations, but the reminder of his job almost being done urged him to his room - telling him to further think on it after some rest.

In the lab, Sofia found Draxum as described; sleeping. It struck Sofia that this was the first time she was witnessing such a thing - both the slumber of her Yōkai father and this show of vulnerability. Of course she knew he rested, he wasn’t some immortal sleepless being, but in seeing Draxum asleep at his research station, Sofia couldn’t help but feel endeared towards the scene. He was working so hard for her - for the whole family that she almost felt bad for moving to wake him - but he needed to be informed sooner than later.

“Draxum,” she said in normal volume, looming over him. No response. She instead crouched down, Sofia able to see Draxum’s face partially hidden by the desk - bags for days and deep breathing. “You’re killing me with guilt here,” she said half jokingly, taking a breath to increase her volume. “Draxum!”

This time she was heard, Sofia witnessing his face scrunch up as Draxum's shoulders rose to herald his return from dreams. His eyes soon fluttered open, one obstructed by the desk, but the other clearly saw Sofia looking up at him, jerking himself upwards at the realization of where he was. “What time is it!?”

“Way, way past my pain med prescription,” Sofia teased, but it was lost on a still half asleep, now flustered Draxum.

“I didn’t finish my work, or your medicine, or-”

“Draxum,” Sofia grabbed the hem of his robe before Draxum could continue his tangent. “Take a breath - I don’t need the meds right now, I need to talk to you.”

“Talk... to me?” He was still coming down from his initial shock awakening, Sofia nodding to reassure him despite finding his flustered self highly amusing.

“Yes, it’s important, and I need a favor pertaining to it too, so, meet me in my room?” Her face suddenly contorted, catching a whiff of something unpleasant, realizing it was coming from the robe in her hand, and subsequently; Draxum. “...After you’ve gotten cleaned up. When was the last time you showered?” Sofia asked and Draxum was unable to give her an answer, Sofia releasing his robe with a disgusted look. “Ew.”

“I have been busy.”

“I know,” She held her nose, standing up and taking a step back from him. “But all that work will be for nothing if you poison me to death with your stank. Go shower.”

With that command, she left a speechless Draxum behind, - not at all shocked by her bluntness, but perhaps a little disgruntled by it. He did, however, obey all the same, silently agreeing as he trudged to his room for his needed amenities and then to the showers to be free of this ‘stank’ Sofia had dubbed him with. That day's events, or rather, the lack thereof paced through his mind under the running water. All day he had applied different methodologies to his medicinal prototypes, searching for answers and always finding nothing but what-ifs and nasty side effects. Never had he been faced with a challenge this broad before, and he’d be thoroughly intrigued if it were not for Sofia’s condition a hairline away from deteriorating. And he was positive she knew. To think he'd become able to read her emotions to the point of figuring out her thoughts in such a short time frame. Was it due to her simply being predictable or was there some inexplicable family bond he'd accidentally nurtured? Regardless, he was sure that whatever she wished to talk about and whatever favor she desired would start with or lead into her knowledge on the condition. The sooner it was over, the sooner he could return to solving it, his sense of urgency cutting his post shower routine short as he haphazardly toweled off and redressed.

He ignored all the night's sounds as he approached Sofia's room, the assortment of snoring punctuated by typing clearly coming from Gio’s room was something akin to white noise as Draxum's thoughts were elsewhere. He didn't even bother knocking, becoming so used to Mikey preemptively letting him in for Sofia's treatment. Draxum found Sofia sitting on the edge of her bed, her head turning to meet him, the eye she was favoring reassuring him to continue inside and close the curtain behind him. He knew she would act or speak first, allowing her the opportunity, though he least expected a giggle as Sofia beheld his appearance with more observation.

“You could have brushed your hair, Draxum, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Time is always shorter than we assume, and I have lost much of it today already. You wished to speak with me, so get on with it,” he said in a tone that portrayed his worries more than irritation.

“...Yeah,” she agreed, a small tremble in her voice failing to be lost on Draxum. It almost prompted a question, but Sofia quickly answered it, wordlessly opening her other eye and showcasing its beastly nature to him. His knowledge of the Krang started and ended with Donnie’s notes - but in knowing the Dragon’s Eye was of their origin, well, nothing more towards this display needed to be divulged. Draxum’s surprise was muted by his acceptance, ultimately frustrated at this development, but now knew what must be done, allowing Sofia to say it herself with the prompt;

“How do you wish to proceed? Name it and it shall be done.”

“Once we get Gio’s new body fixed and we send the guys home, sedate me until you have the cure squared away.”

Draxum nodded, though still felt it his duty to warn Sofia of the possibilities pertaining to her eventual outcome. “It may take years.”

“I know.”

“In truth, the cure may be beyond my knowledge and your brother’s.”

“Then I’ll trust you two to have successors to figure it out.”

“Even if that means waking up in an unfamiliar world?”

Sofia chuckled, clearly seen tears in her eyes blinked back with reckless abandon, causing a few of them to spill. “Well, I did it once already - what’s another round? Besides,” her unafflicted eye stared deep into his soul with a pure warmth that nearly broke Draxum then and there. “I trust you to make sure the Hamato Clan endures. You’re pretty good at it, after all.”

He was briefly taken aback by her statement, but accepted it, allowing a deep sigh through his body in lieu of his more raw emotions, giving Sofia a nod - a silent pledge that she knew he’d keep. “...And the favor you mentioned?”

There was bit of pep back in Sofia as she lifted herself off the bed, grabbing the chair next to it and replacing it back in its home at her desk - offering it to Draxum, which he took with a raise of his brow. “How’s your penmanship?” she lightly teased, pushing a large notepad and a pen into his view.

“Immaculate - why?”

“Because I can't write any more,” she revealed very matter-of-factly, attempting to pick up the pen with each of her hands - showcasing her inability to grip the object. “Probably a side effect from my whole biology changing, or something.”

“...Indeed,” Draxum figured what she was going to ask next, but still graced Sofia with; “And so you wish me to pen something for you. A will, perhaps?”

Sofia lightly slapped his shoulder at the dark humor, snorting out a giggle with it. “No! I want to give letters to everyone! Just... little reassurances, y’know? They won't be long and I’ll be out of your hair within the hour.”

“I see - and you’re burdening me with this as I’m the only one with full knowledge of your condition.”

“Raph knows, kinda impossible for him not to, but he’s going to keep quiet about it. Besides, I doubt his penmanship is as immaculate as yours~” She further egged him on, Draxum answering it by opening up the notepad to the first untouched page.

“Very well - to whom are we addressing first?”

Sofia began with whoever, rambling out her thoughts while Draxum organized them. With each finished letter did he have her review it, Sofia often teasing him about how tonally off his interpretations of her words were, but accepted them nonetheless, knowing she’d be understood regardless. Around four letters in, something Sofia could ignore no longer irked her to act; Draxum’s horrendously tangled hair. She went for one of her desk’s drawers, grabbing a brush she’d stored, announcing to Draxum that she couldn’t stand to look at his hair any more and started brushing it without his go-ahead.

“Why do you even have that!?” Draxum recoiled, but then accepted the gesture, especially on seeing how much effort Sofia was using just to grip the brush.

“I used to brush the wigs out for Nel when she’d wear one for a video. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. Anyways, where were we?”

They continued on their respective tasks, much more than an hour passing. Draxum expected Sofia’s attention to his hair would be more distracting, but he soon found that her patient, gentle technique neither disturbed his work nor did he mind it in the slightest. Carefully, each tangle was worked out as Draxum finished letter upon letter - some even to people he’d never met such as one ‘Cassandra Jones’ and even the other him. Eventually, Sofia’s efforts were rewarded with the usual wall of maroon, pleased with her work, but with hands now idle and letters still left, she continued with an idea in her head. Sofia rewarded herself with a simple braid down Draxum’s back, though mildly despaired on having nothing to tie it with - until a familiar spot of orange caught her eye. Her mask, something she’d stopped wearing since the progression of her transformation. It lay on her bedside table neatly folded, waiting for the day she’d don it again, but with how far that day would be, Sofia decided to give it a new temporary home. With a big, puffy bow she ended her efforts, snickering at how it both suited Draxum’s luscious hair, but overall clashed with his personality. She first wondered if he’d discard it, but Sofia knew that now, after all this, he surely wouldn’t.

“I’m assuming this was the last one,” Draxum folded the letter, sealing it with a sticker from a sheet Sofia had provided.

“Besides you? Yep, that’s the last one. Good job.”

“I do not need one,” Draxum said dryly.

“I know, so you can have this instead,” Sofia hugged him from the side, knowing she could never get her arms fully around him. Draxum flinched at first, surprised, but allowed the gesture, feeling particularly vulnerable in the moment, even returning it gently with his own arm around Sofia’s shell. “Thanks, Dad,” was all she said, releasing him and allowing Draxum to leave the desk. He didn’t dispute her, simply allowing it despite his previous outbursts towards the dub. “I’ll get them all organized and stored properly until it’s time to divvy them out.”

“I suppose I’m to distribute the ones to the immediate family?”

“When the time is right,” Sofia tiredly smiled. “See you in the morning?”

Draxum nodded, holding onto whatever emotions he felt bubbling up within him as he made for the curtain. He began to peel it back, ready to escape this warmth steeped in sorrow, but a specific memory paused his stride. He still hadn’t apologized for attempting to end her life, and she somehow still willed herself to feel affection for him? Perhaps this wasn’t the best time or place, but Draxum figured he should speak on it lest he lose the chance to.

“I’m... sorry,” he started, Sofia tilting her head at him.

“For what? It is what it is.”

“No, I’m apologizing for throwing you off of the Grand Nexus Hotel. Enemies at the time or not, it was brash and disrespectful - and I am sorry for it.” There was a brief moment of awkward silence, Draxum yet to behold Sofia’s face as his attention was still on the curtain. As if he expected any less; Sofia answered his apology with a snort and a giggle - the latter enduring to the point of Sofia having to hold her chest area as she was stressing wounds.

“You are...” she stopped to take a breath, calming herself. “So ridiculous. You’re forgiven and were even. Grudges are dumb, and if you don’t have one from me blinding you, then we’re good.”

“I do not.”

“Then I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Dad.”

“Goodnight... Sofia,” Draxum answered her warmth with a sliver of his own, escaping into the darkness before he allowed a reply. He was no longer in a state of denial. From hatred, to compliance, to devotion - there was no doubt in his mind; Draxum had developed an attachment to these children. Things were never meant to be this way. They were meant to be warriors - weapons to his conquest over the humans, but he’d doomed them with his pride before Lou Jitsu even freed them. And now, the only remaining feeling he could grasp after all they’d experienced was his desire to set things right - not as a warrior alchemist fixing his mess, but as the parent he chose to be. Desire for glory had diminished, instead replaced with... love. An unconditional love that his past hated him for, but his present encouraged him to follow. Doubts assailed him, discouraged him, stopping his path back to his room prematurely. He found his back flush with the sewer wall, sinking down to the floor as his thoughts jumbled, covering his face with a hand. The Great Baron Draxum, reduced to this husk of a Yōkai - and he didn’t hate it, which somehow upset even more, deaf to approaching footsteps.

“Draxum...?” Splinter’s voice sounded next to him, Draxum barely even acknowledging him as he further approached. “What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

“...What are you?” He replied back, no edge in his voice.

“Well, one; it’s my home, and two; I’m off to use the bathroom.”

“Then go,” Draxum bid.

Splinter didn’t feel his usual anger spark, witnessing what he assumed to be broken Draxum, or at the very least, discouraged. His eyes continued to wander, then noticing his change in hair style, following the braid all the way down to the adorning bow, first amused, then feeling a pang of dread as he realized what the material was made of. “What happened, what’s going on?”

Draxum scoffed, annoyed, but knew he wasn’t going to shake Splinter so easily, deciding to just be candid with him. “You know, life was a lot easier when I didn’t like your family.”

“And what exactly does that mean?” Splinter crossed his arms, unsure on what to expect with Draxum’s reply.

“It means our daughter is dying, and I can do very little to stop it.”

Chapter Text

Drako's key weighed heavily in Sofia's hand. It was old, large, and weighted typically like other keys in its make, but as she was now, Sofia could barely stand to hold it. Life had continued as ‘normal’ in the blended household - patrols for those assigned, lurking in the lab for progress and answers, while those left attended to their respective tasks. Meanwhile, Sofia did her best to hide her condition, results ultimately varying. Everyone knew something was wrong beyond the obvious. She refuted their worries with the claim of having to conserve energy for their future endeavors, but her lack of energy in general did not go unnoticed. More often she needed a shoulder to make it to meals, eventually giving up and allowing them to be brought to her instead. If they all weren't so set on their routines, perhaps they would have pushed back a little harder, but discouraged themselves from doing so, Sofia even chiding them to stop fussing when the worries would be made vocal. And to his credit, Raph kept his promise, even echoing the sentiment that they were homeward bound sooner than later - and while Leo and Donnie agreed alongside their twins, Mikey did not. A small family meeting was held on the day Gio’s new body had almost reached completion, detailing the plan to send them all home once the soul transfer was complete. Up until then, Mikey’s specific worries were shut down or disregarded, but he wouldn’t allow them to be silenced any longer.

“But... but that’s not fair! We’re not done here yet!” Mikey protested, standing up from his seat.

“What’s not fair, Angelo? And yes, we are,” Donnie refuted his brother’s claims, further stoking Mikey’s anger.

“Are you kidding me!?” He nearly exploded, causing some in the living room to widen their eyes. “We came here first and foremost to save our siblings - and Sofia ISN'T SAVED!”

“...He has a point,” Leo said reluctantly, knowing Vinnie was glaring at him, but his gaze was stuck on the scales invasively painting Sofia’s face. She immediately noticed him from her spot on the couch, refusing eye contact as Mikey continued.

“Exactly! We’re just going to leave her like this!? We’re making her heal me while opening a portal like this!? No. I refuse. I won’t open it!”

“Mikey...” Sofia said with a sigh, sharing a ‘I told you so’ look with Raph.

“Don’t you ‘Mikey’ me!” Mikey turned his ire on her. “I’ve spent the most time with you! I’ve watched you deteriorate! And... and-!” Tears filled his eyes, spilling freely. “And you’re not OK! You’re hiding something...!” He hiccuped, dragging his fists across the corners of his eyes. “...Why? Am I supposed to just... go home? Not think about you every time I see the mural at the half pipe? Just... be OK that my sister pushed me away in her time of need?”

“That’s... not what I’m doing...” She quietly fought back.

“Then what are you doing, Sofia!?” Mikey yelled, Sofia flinching, no longer able to keep her own tears back, hot manifestations of her frustrations making themselves known. He immediately regretted losing his temper, stuck in place, wanting to comfort his twin, but found himself unable to move.

“It is beyond your power,” Splinter spoke up, approaching Mikey with a somber expression. “The Janome is not an artifact that has a known cure to those it afflicts. This is knowledge that you have known.”

“Of course I know that, but-!” He pivoted to where Donnie and Draxum were standing. “Can’t we figure something out? Like we did with Giorgio?”

“Mikey,” Donnie said sincerely, doing his best to convey he was hearing Mikey despite what he was about to say. “This is beyond me, beyond us. The fact that the Dragon’s Eye was forcibly taken from our dimension by some all knowing timelord should say enough.”

“-And my situation was a unique one - practically one in a million,” Gio tagged in and added.

“Which is why,” Draxum stopped another objection from Mikey, taking a small breath as he prepared to take on the whole family’s anger, “Sofia will be sedated as soon as the four of you are home. That is what she is hiding.”

The room erupted sans the four in the know, Draxum accepting all of it with a tired, but determined expression. The days past since his heart to heart with Sofia had brought him to a new state of mind that he’d ultimately accepted. Splinter became his accomplice in keeping her secret, soon understanding that his enemy was sincerely changed, his hatred not gone, but buried under empathy of past mistakes ultimately bringing sorrow. Things were more productive if Draxum’s time was better spent working than the two of them continuing to be at each other's throats. Their daughter needed help, help perhaps only Draxum could provide, and that’s all they needed to put their grievances behind them until further notice, most noticing the change.

The change in his hairstyle and its adornment also didn’t go unnoticed - some teasing, others endeared, but everyone accepted that Draxum had finally been worn down into his fatherly role. Draxum took it all emotionlessly, no time or energy to bite back, but it's not as if he disliked the change either. He continued to keep the braid, finding it more agreeable than his usual topknot - though he could never quite get the bow exactly how Sofia tied it. Both Nel and Vinnie took turns at fixing it, showing their support towards this change in what little way they could. It was still a fresh transformation, one they each contributed to in their own way, but they’d continue to nurture it all the same. They figured Gio would eventually join in as well, but in the current happenstance, he was the first to badger Draxum with a question.

“Why am I just now hearing about this!?” He glared at an unphased Draxum.

“Because no one was supposed to know yet...” Sofia’s frustration was transitioning to anger, betrayal in her eye that she refused to direct as she shut it next to her other.

“Sofia...” There was pain in Gio’s voice. “I told you I’d fix this. Do you still not trust me...?”

“Is not that she doesn’t trust you,” Draxum reassured. “It is that time is short. Our blockers aren’t adequate for long term treatment. Despite her Mystic energies being returned, her state is still less than ideal. We cannot afford to take unnecessary risks - especially with Sofia having to use her powers to both heal your new body and aid Michelangelo in opening the portal.”

“Well, do we at least have an estimation on anything!? Or are we just committing her to comatose with no reassurances and-”

“Gio,” Nel said firmly, pointing with her eyes to Sofia, showing her brother the continued upset state she was in. With a shake of her head he backed down, clicking his tongue in irritation before switching back with Donnie.

“Oh crap...” April gasped. “What about Junior!? Sofia was supposed to look at his sister!”

“Leave him to me,” Draxum said. “There was never any guarantee she would be able to cure the egg, and it would greatly benefit having full knowledge of its condition before making any further promises.”

“Okay, okay, everyone calm down,” Leo stood up from his seat, joining Mikey and Splinter. “Breathe, and get your bearings,” he commanded and gave everyone time to calm before speaking again. “Regardless of personal feelings, we came to this world to wake you all up and get your New York back on track. We’ve done that - period.” He shifted his attention to Mikey. “And if sedation is the choice that Sofia has made, then we need to respect and trust her, okay?”

Mikey felt his anger fizzle but still found himself saying; “...It’s still not fair...”

“Yeah? Well, neither is all of you knowing about this!” Sofia angrily choked out, using what strength she had to lift herself off the couch and leave the gathering behind.

“Sofia, wait!” Mikey ran after her, the duo disappearing further into the lair.

“Should we...?” Raph asked.

“No. Let them go,” Vinnie shook his head.

“Sofia!” Mikey called out and she quickened her pace, wishing her speed would return as she attempted to sprint. “Please wait!” He stopped his pace as he realized Sofia wasn’t going to heed him, though her running ended regardless, involuntarily, tripping and landing roughly. “SOFIA!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Sofia said on instinct as Mikey arrived at her side. “I’m... fine...” She lied, sniffling pathetically as she hugged her knees. “I just... wanted to see you all off with no drama... Gio said he was gonna work on it, so why did you have to...!?” She sobbed, knowing exactly the amount of care Mikey had for her, he himself demonstrating it all over again as he helped Sofia sit up.

“I’m sorry,” he said, Mikey wrapping his arms around her.

Sofia shook her head against his plastron. “...You were just trying to help.”

“A whole lotta good it did...” He huffed, Sofia not responding outside trying to quiet her sniffles. Only the sound of the sewers and the distant muffled conversation of their family filled their silence - Sofia eventually finding her voice again.

“You need to go home, Mikey. You need to get back to Casey.”

“I know that.”

“So open the portal. Don’t give it another thought.”

Mikey felt his own tears returning, hugging his sister tighter. “...Okay, I will,” he gave in, Sofia about to relay her gratitude. “BUT-!” he pulled away, placing his hands on her shoulders. “If you’re still asleep once I get my portal powers figured out and visit, oh missy, I ain't going nowhere!”

Sofia’s shock wore off into a chuckle, remembering her agreement with Raph. “Who knows, maybe I’ll get mine figured out first and beat you to the punch!”

“Oho, is that a challenge? Is Ms. Sofoniba Hamato challenging Mr. Mystic Portals himself to a portal race?” He raised his eyebrows teasingly. “We’re 3-1 in my favor, soon to be four.”

“Pfft, please, I’ll more than catch up once the Dragon’s Eye is gone!”

“You’d better!”

******

The day of Mikey’s fourth foray into portals was upon them, Sofia waiting in her room for Draxum to come fetch her, Drako’s key in hand. “Man, I hope you don’t have your dad’s temper...” Sofia tried to curl her fingers around it, giving up when there was too much resistance.

“Me too,” Draxum said, entering and eyeing the key.

“At least open with an apology from me, please?” She bid and Draxum shrugged.

“Apology or not, he’ll just have to be patient regardless. You are my priority.”

“Awww,” She teased him, taking the hand he offered, both placing the key in his palm and letting Draxum help her stand. “Here’s hoping I don’t wake up in a singed lab!”

“Very funny,” he said flatly, his expression turning serious. “Are you ready?”

“...Yeah. Let’s put this long adventure of mine to rest - figuratively and literally.”

“Can you get there on your own?”

“I feel surprisingly good today, so, lead on, Dad.”

Draxum nodded, pulling the curtain back for her, waiting for Sofia to take one last look at her room before leaving it - grabbing the bundle of letters for Leo’s crew on the way. The two of them continued in silence all the way into the living room, everyone present - Gio even back in his holding lantern for the procedure. With an expectant eyebrow raise from Donnie did Draxum give him the go ahead.

“Alright, we’re all here, so let’s go over this one more time. I have already freed Giorgio’s new body from its prison and it needs only healing from Sofia, and me to transplant his soul into it,” he showcased the lantern as he kept speaking. “After making sure all is well with some tests, we’ll all say our goodbyes, Mikey and Sofia will open the portal, and we’ll split back to our universe as nature intended. Any questions?”

“No, but, I have something to give you guys before getting the lab stuff going,” she approached Leo, holding out the bundle to him. He received it, regarding it quizzically before staring back at Sofia.

“What is this, a will? A really chonky one?”

“NO!” Sofia stomped one of her feet. “They’re letters! For you guys and everyone back home!”

“Ooohhhh, that seems more likely, yeah,” Leo corrected his assumption, all of his brothers shooting him a less than impressed look. “Can I open mine now?”

“Ah-ah, no!” She further shut down with a waggle of her finger. “Do not open them until the portal’s closed or I will get very, very angry!”

“Roger dodger - message received!” Leo met Sofia’s threat with a smile, talking her down into a sigh.

“Let’s get to the lab before I start leaking Mystic energy from mental exhaustion...” She turned from Leo, being the first to step past the lab’s door frame.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Sofs,” Leo quipped back, spying Sofia shake her head before disappearing into the darkness.

******

A knock at his door urged Drako away from the book he was idling the hours away with. Before he had the chance to reach the door, it rang out again, more desperate this time, Drako opening it with mild irritation.

“Mum wants you in her office - on the double!” A bellhop announced then quickly removed himself, task done and obviously something else requiring his attention. In fact, Drako spied several more bellhops milling about the halls in stark contrast to their abandoned nature as of late. Drako figured there was no time to question his command from Big Mama, leaving his room behind and taking the elevator up to her office. There was certainly an odd tension in the air, and Drako felt it only spelled trouble regardless of what caused it.

“...Yes, yes, I know,” Drako found Big Mama pacing in her office, an old-fashioned phone’s line trailing behind her as he held each piece of it in her hands. “Mmm, well, I suppose we’ll have to see. Ta-ta for now,” She hung up and pointed a sigh upwards, pushing one of her bangs out of place.

“What’s going on?” Drako asked, getting a tired smirk from her.

“Do you remember that night in the bar, the one where we jabbered on about your mother?”

“...Yes?”

“Do you also remember when I implied someone else wanted your father pushing up daisies?”

“Yes, then you refused to elaborate and drained what was left of the bottle.”

Big Mama giggled, continuing. “Welly-well, it turns out my sources were on the nose. Look what I just got faxed over,” she threw a paper down on the desk, Drako approaching and staring down at it. A photo, but the pixelation was horrendous. At first the only obvious thing about it was the location being somewhere topside due to the showcased snow, but the true focus was the figure in the middle - large, imposing, armored, and a pair of red wings sprouting from its back.

“What the-!” Drako snatched the photo up, squinting at it, confirming his fears. “My father!? What is he doing out of prison - and what the hell is he wearing!?”

“That was the slammer on the ring-a-ding just now. He has indeed escaped.”

“How!?”

“To answer that and as to what he’s wearing; the Foot Clan and the Kuroi Yōroi, as long as my pippy-peepers aren’t deceiving me, but they do go hand-in-hand.”

“They do? Because I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Easy now, little Draky-waky, your father is practically six feet under now - we should celebrate! Especially if the scales tilt in my favor...” She maliciously grinned at dumbfounded Drako.

“Stop speaking so cryptically! A clan broke my father out of jail and outfitted him with armor!? For what purpose!?”

“To use him,” Big Mama said plainly, but she knew by the look on Drako’s face that fact alone wouldn’t pacify him. She was simply too excited about the prospects, but calmed herself, allowing an explanation. “Oh, very well, I’ll ‘elaborate’ for you. Back to the 80s again we go!” She sauntered over to a hanging portrait, lifting and taking out a familiar photo album. A quick flip brought her to the sought photo, stopping to admire it momentarily before showing it to Drako. “This bromide depicts myself and a human known as Hamato Yoshi. He’s more known by his stage name; Lou Jitsu, but that’s besides the point.”

“...Is this the ‘romance’ you mentioned in passing?” Drako cringed at how flirtatious the photo was.

“The very same! And the romance aspect of it was, well, an accident. You see, for what feels like eons now, I’ve been sissy-searching for a fighter to put in my nexus that could be an eternal champion. Something that never tires, something unbeatable, something... immortal. Said search led me to stories of a human war between clans with Mystic powers - The Foot, and the Hamato. It ended quite anti-climatically, considering the fizzy-Foots had the advantage with the very armor your father is now wearing.”

“And what does it do?” He urged Big Mama on.

“It houses a vengeful spirit, one who’s catching some zzz’s thanks to the Hamato dismantling it and spreading it around like Eastertide eggies. However, if one were to say, gather the armor and set it on the spiffy-shoulders of a powerful Yōkai, it would both grant them power whilst whittling away at their lifeforce until the inevitable! Give it enough time and -poof! Pip pip patriarch!”

“...Oh,” Drako came to an understanding.

“Yes, ‘oh’,” Big Mama echoed him. “And once that’s that, I plan to swoop in and take the Kuroi Yōroi for myself! I already have the Mystic baubles to keep him in line.”

“And this Foot Clan is just going to allow that?” Drako raised a brow at her enthusiasm.

“There’s only one member left and he’s barely a threat. I expect your father to slaughter him sooner or later, with him being a human and all.”

“Wait, wait, - a singular human broke my father out of prison? You’re joking.”

“I am not. He’s skillful, he’s cunning, but he’s also a child who’s very soon to be out of his dippy-depth. Teenagers...” She scoffed with a roll of her shoulders. “Anyways, Draky-waky, you’re in the know now just in case Draky-poo tries another break in. If I were you, I’d sit back and wait for the good news.”

“Hm,” Drako affirmed, but still felt uneasy. “You certainly have this all thought out.”

“You bet your bottom dollary-do!” She giggled. “Because I plan on having good ol’ Lou’s daughter pit herself against Mr. Spooky Armor as much as possible for maximum profits! And with her sister to continually heal her up, it’s an endless waterfall of profits!”

Drako's brow knit as he further thought on her words, coming to a conclusion, but... surely not, right? “...Are you speaking of Nelli and Sofonisba?”

“Why, yes! Did I not mention? Nel-bell, Sofie-poo, and two other brothers are biological children of Hamato Yoshi. You have Draxy to thank for that. After I couldn’t find the Kuroi Yōroi’s helmet - the one piece the clan had and my lovey-dovey was supposed to own, I gave up and kidnapped him - and then he was kidnapped from me! Now he’s a mutant rat living in the sewers with his children.”

Drako picked up the printed photo of his father again, looking closer, spying something both he and Big Mama had overlooked. “Big Mama,” he said, flipping the photo towards her. “He isn’t wearing a helmet.”

“...Oh,” It was Big Mama’s turn to come to an understanding, a nervous smile replacing her previous fervor. “Oh dear. I believe you’re right, Draky-waky.”

“Which means he’s looking for it.”

“And just because I couldn’t find it, doesn’t mean Lou-boo doesn’t have it...” They shared a nervous look, both sets of eyes wide. Big Mama jumped for her phone as Drako started towards the elevator. “It’s not like me to count my chickens before they hatch, but I’d better give Sofie-poo a ring just in case! ...And straight to voicemail...”

“Where in the sewers do they live!?” Drako asked while repeatedly pressing the call button.

“Bully if I know! The humans made it into a mitzy-maze and I didn’t need the knowledge until now!”

Drako groaned in frustration, the doors still yet to open. “Just look after my sister! I’ll find them!”

******

Bishop stared out into a quiet New York City. Had this body the capacity to sigh, he’d indulge in one to indicate a job well done. The danger had long passed, and now, with all the needed inspections and procedures finished, rebuilding could begin.

“Queen to Bishop, come in, Bishop,” his earpiece sounded, Bishop raising his hand to it, opening communications.

“Bishop here. What is your command?”

“Return to base once your observations have finished. There is much to discuss with the human ambassadors.”

“Orders received. Over and out,” he cut communications, deciding to take in the view once more before opening the appropriate portal.

“Who’s ‘Queen’, your girlfriend?” An unknown voice sounded behind him, Bishop immediately meeting it with both of his pistols. Casey Jones was completely unphased by the threatening barrels, chuckling from under his mask. “Careful, you’ll take someone’s eye out with those.”

“...You!” Bishop’s tone turned irate, eyeing the Foot Clan’s emblem. “You’re the interloper who stole the Mystic metal!”

“Is it really stealing if it belonged to my clan in the first place?” Casey shrugged.

“Insolent child - you do not know what powers you are playing with!”

“Nor do you,” another new voice boomed, taking Bishop by surprise. He should have anticipated a pincer attack - why else would the child ninja make his presence known? But those thoughts turned to regrets, Drako crushing the robotic shell beneath his armored foot, forcibly releasing the Utrom inside. “There you are,” he sneered and scooped the disoriented Bishop up by his tentacles. “Traitorous slug! I will wipe your kind off this planet if it's the last thing I do!”

“I’m absolutely loving the vengeful energy, but we need him alive,” Casey reminded. “And I think we lucked out, because I remember this guy specifically talking to one of the turtles.”

“Unhand me! Yōkai and humans are prohibited from entering New York City under code-” Drako tightened his grip, causing Bishop to cry out in pain, falling limp to his new injuries.

“He doesn’t need his legs, I'm assuming?” Drako said blithely.

“Probably not,” Casey poked at the upside-down Bishop. “Hey, I’m gonna need you to be conscious, alright? We’re looking for the mutant turtles.”

“I will...” Bishop glowered through his pain, “...tell you nothing!”

“You sure? What about if I have this?” Casey went for his belt bag, taking out an item that stole away what remained of Bishop’s breath. The Krang key. “Ya’know, just before the kaiju absolutely decimated my clan, they set up a stage with a horseshoe-like statue that this thingy fits perfectly into. You wouldn’t happen to be in the know about what that is, would you? Because it, beyond all odds, survived and I’ve been getting pretty curious about it.”

“No! You mustn’t-!” Drako tightened his grip again, Bishop’s pained terror in stark contrast to the gleeful smile Casey hid behind his mask.

“‘I mustn’t’ - what? Everyone put so much effort into making it. Be a shame if I didn’t at least give it whirl,” he lied, knowing exactly who waited in the cell this key was made for.

“You will doom all of this solar system! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“Maybe not,” Casey playfully tossed the key before storing it again. “But how about those mutant turtles, hm? I could be persuaded to forget about the creepy setup - hell, I might even take it down, but that really all depends on you. Make your choice.”

Chapter Text

“This is surprisingly easier than I anticipated...” Sofia said as she commanded the palette knife down the homunculus’ body.

“...Probably because you’re hopped up on drugs,” Gio’s voice vibrated from the lantern.

“And it feels amazing...!” Sofia opened her eye momentarily, showcasing how dilated her pupil was. “Why didn't you give this to me earlier!?” She jokingly asked Draxum.

“Because not only did I develop it just for this occasion, but I’m not turning you into an addict.”

“What a caring and responsible father you are,” Donnie smirked, knowing teasing no longer had an effect on Draxum, but relished in vocalizing it regardless. “But this is also easier due to the fact that the homunculus is essentially a newborn hunk of flesh. There’s nothing to resist your treatment.”

Gio looked over the body on top of a surgical table, its lower half covered with a blanket whilst the entirety of it was engulfed in Sofia’s ninpō. He was past the uncanniness of it by now, having lived inside of his counterpart while watching the growth of it. If anything, while he was excited to finally be himself again, Gio couldn’t help but notice it mirrored Donnie too much. He knew it wasn’t anything they could control - neither of them were skilled enough to dictate what went where and it was a miracle in itself that they managed the replication so seamlessly. Still, Gio couldn’t help but speak on a tiny bit of his grievances.

“Gotta say, while I’m glad this has all gone smoothly so far, I can’t say I’m a fan of my markings being identical to yours.”

“An unfortunate quirk we’ll both have to live with. We'll truly be ‘twinsies’ down to each and every string of DNA. At least you’re 100% more handsome now.” Sofia and Gio both made a gagging noise in unison, Donnie stuck between committing that his joke fell flat or admitting he was genuinely offended, deciding on the latter - clutching his pearls with a sharp gasp. “Well, I never!”

“Don’t make me laugh...!” Sofia’s shoulders briefly shook. “I’ll mess up!”

“And we can’t risk Sofia missing a percentile of handsomeness,” Draxum mocked, Sofia letting out laughter through her nose.

“Gasp, not a singular percentile! God forbid I have even a molecule of individuality!” Gio continued the joke, causing Donnie to pout with a cross of his arms.

“You know, you’re all being awfully cheeky to the turtle you still need to surgically implant the soul into the body!”

“You started it,” Gio simply said, Donnie glaring down at the flickering remains of his twin, but soon relented with a small sigh.

“In actuality, it’s a relief you’re all getting along so well. I had some worries about leaving so suddenly after everything, but honestly? You’ll all be fine. Though I’d definitely have ‘making up with Splinter’ be at the top of your to-do list, Giorgio.”

Gio didn’t answer him, but Donnie knew it wasn’t out of stubbornness, but in silent agreement. While it was fairly involuntary, the two of them knew one another more than Donnie initially anticipated from the temporary merge. Gio did want to make things right with his father, but time had simply not allowed while Splinter was also giving him space to sort out his feelings. Besides, Gio wanted to talk in his own body, not puppet another’s, and Donnie completely understood the sentiment now that they were separated again.

“...I’m done,” Sofia said, taking a liberating breath and stepping back for Donnie to take over. Draxum immediately attended to her, checking all her vitals while Donnie took her place, putting the lantern down next to the homunculus with the intent to show Gio his process.

“You ready? This isn’t going to be pleasant for either of us,” Donnie declared, two of his mechanical arms emerging - one sterilizing his hands and outfitting him with gloves while the other snapped a mask to his face.

“Just cut your corpse twin open and get this done!” Gio said nonchalantly, a show of trust, and his impatience.

“Gross, but not inaccurate,” Donnie replied, his Mystic forming into a small bone saw, taking it in one hand as he used the other to shoo Sofia and Draxum back further. They obliged and he began, Donnie remembering all the plans in his head as the incision went deep past the plastron. There was no literal known place where the soul resided, but if it was put up to debate, most would choose the heart. With his healing protocols loaded and every movement being that of Mystic, Donnie painstakingly reached his destination, reforming the current tool into a pair of surgical tongs and grabbing Gio from the lantern. All was going well despite the silence unnerving Sofia and to a lesser extent Draxum. Only Donnie and Gio knew the full extent of the procedure, so there were many questions, but they didn’t dare vocalize, Sofia afraid of messing the surgery up while Draxum was more intrigued by the intricacy of it all. With a hum of Mystic and occasional spark from whatever Donnie was doing, everything continued for an unknown amount of time, all trying to edge their anticipation into pure patience as each prayed for success. Soon, a relieved sigh graced the room, Donnie giving a small nod to what the onlooking duo assumed was Gio.

A few moments passed, no movement from anyone, - but without warning, the eyes on the homunculus sprang open, blinked, then shifted their gaze to Donnie. “...Wow...” Gio’s voice both came from its mouth and from the still exposed chest. “This is... super unpleasant.”

Sofia excitedly gasped while Draxum found himself smiling, nothing but respect for what he’d witnessed. “Don’t move too much yet - I need to stitch you up. Not that you probably can with the body just starting to function.”

“Mmm, yeah, okay,” Gio said, his brow knit as he continued to find normalcy and ignore the sensation of Donnie’s Mystic in the shape of a needle gliding through his skin.

“I’ll be done soon,” Donnie reassured with another stitch, pushing his healing protocols to their limits as they followed his every movement. Everything so far had gone to plan, and was continuing to, though there was an unfortunate side effect to his current efforts. Maybe it was due to the speed of patching up the body, or perhaps it was due to the nature of the materials, but as the incision sealed, a scar followed, noticeable and no doubt to be seen by any and everyone who passed a glance at Gio. Had he Sofia’s powers, Donnie would’ve been able to make such a thing disappear - but this was the best he could do, readying an apology as he shed the surgical gear. “...Okay. You no longer have a gaping hole in your chest, so you may proceed with the movement of your head, shoulders, knees, and toes - or what have you.”

“...Help me up...” Gio weakly raised a hand, Donnie taking it and doing more than just lifting him, placing a hand on his twin’s shell as they balanced the new body. Gio took a turn at looking between his hands, balling them into fists before doing the same motion with his toes. “Yeah, this is still wildly unpleasant... but I’ll get used to it.”

“Including the horrendous scar I’ve saddled you with,” Donnie said apologetically, Gio’s hand going to his chest and finding it. “Sorry.”

“...Eh...” Gio weakly shrugged his shoulders as he finished tracing a finger over it. “It’ll help differentiate us. I actually kinda like it, for some odd reason...”

Donnie was a tad taken back, but accepted the judgement, a smile replacing his regrets. “Well, in that case, you’re welcome. You’re also welcome for the whole procedure.” He said cheekily, Gio inhaling sharply, bringing up one hand to Donnie’s forehead, flicking it with whatever strength he could currently manage. “...Ow?” Donnie regarded it with confusion. “And what was that for?”

“My door,” Gio said wryly. “Been wanting to do that for awhile, and now it’s out of my system,” Gio readjusted his hand, outstretching it to Donnie. “Thank you, Donnie. You saved my life, and I won’t ever forget your kindness.”

The pure and unlaced with contempt gratitude from his twin nearly brought a tear to Donnie’s eye, blinking it back with determined zeal, taking Gio’s hand with confidence. “You are, once again, welcome, Gio. Enjoy your new lease on life!” They shook, Gio chuckling at seeing this new side to Donnie, but soon turned his attention to Sofia.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a sister to hug,” Gio pushed himself off the surgical table, Sofia misty eyed as she viewed her brother, but it suddenly turned to horror as she gasped and hid behind Draxum.

“You’re naked, you’re NAKED!” She shrieked, burying her face in Draxum’s robe.

“So he is...” Draxum raised a brow at the accidental display.

“Huh... guess I am?” Gio fully observed his body, the cover hiding his lower half on the floor. “It’s not like you haven’t seen this before, Sofia.”

“We were BABIES! It’s different now!”

“I’ve seen your sketchbook! I know you snuck into figure drawing classes at colleges!”

“Gio, I will literally scream so loud I’ll call everyone in here to witness you nude - is that what you want?”

“No, no! Got it, joke too far-” his vision was suddenly covered, Donnie’s mechanical arm depositing appropriate attire. “Hm, board shorts, nice. I’ll need to wear these again whenever I manage to take a vacation.”

“Ohmigosh, finally, someone gets it!”

“Though I question as to why you didn’t put these on me before the surgery,” Gio slipped them on, tying the drawstrings.

“Firstly, I am not your mother, and secondly... I forgot,” Donnie admitted, Gio rolling his eyes. “It’s all good now, Sofia, he’s decent.”

She peeked out from behind Draxum, meeting Gio’s gaze, leaving her hiding spot with a relieved sigh and rounding off the motion by spreading her arms. Gio took her invitation, pulling his sister close and squeezing her gently. “We’ll get this fixed, Sofs. I’ll have you up before you know it.”

“At least take a breather - you just got a new body, Gi,” She squeezed him back the best she could.

“Do not let the board shorts deceive you - I am in no mood for relaxation. You’re also not my mother, so, no,” he said confidently, Sofia accepting his stance with a tired groan, leaning into the hug a little more, when a sudden beep from one of the lab’s consoles demanded their attention. Sofia was the only one in attendance unfamiliar with this particular sound, Gio pulling away from her confusion as he and the others shared a look.

“That was...” Gio recalled.

“The proximity alarm,” Donnie finished.

******

“I hope everything is going OK in there...” Raph cast his gaze into the lab, unable to see anything of note, though he knew at least Sofia was still active if his brain’s squirming was anything to go by.

“I’d say if it’s quiet, then everything is going fine,” Nel reassured. “Besides, Donnie is a genius. I’m sure he’ll see this through.”

“Oho, be careful saying the ‘G’ word around Donnie,” Leo sarcastically warned. “You’ll make his head grow bigger than it already is!”

“Or do say it, helping give back the chunks of confidence Leo constantly chips away at with his antics,” Vinnie corrected, Leo scoffing at his twin.

“Antics!? You wound me, brother - I keep Donnie grounded! Any more confidence and he’ll inflate like a balloon! Right, Mikey?” Leo looked to his brother for reassurance, but Mikey’s attention and thoughts were elsewhere. “Riiiight, Mikey?” He repeated, Mikey snapping to attention.

“Huh? What? Uh, sure, whatever you say...” He shallowly nodded before setting his mind back to where it was. The room collectively shared a worried glance with one another, Splinter deciding to try and break the awkwardness.

“Why don’t I go make us some tea while we all wait? April, could I have some assistance?” He asked and April accepted the out.

“You got it, Splints,” she followed him into the kitchen.

“And why don’t I go grab all my nail stuff? I could give you all one more coat for the road. What do you say, Mikey?” Nel leaned herself into his vision, Mikey noticing her, taking in her empathy of goodbyes soon arriving.

“...Sure, that sounds fun.”

“Help me carry it all?”

“Okay.”

The next duo left down the hall, leaving only Raph and the blue brothers left, Leo finding himself starting to feel his own uncertainties. “It's... not like we won't ever see eachother again, right?”

“Who knows,” Vinnie shrugged. “If Lord Simultaneous hasn’t given this gathering a second thought, then I’d say we’re open to future visits down the line - within reason.”

“Two siblings with portal powers, but neither of them can use said powers without injury,” Leo added. “If they can get them mastered...” he trailed off in thought.

“They will,” Raph said confidently. “I know they can master their powers.”

“Your confidence is mildly suspicious... but I agree,” Leo said, then threw an arm around Vinnie’s shoulders. “And speaking of mastering powers - how goes it with the astral projection stuff? Did you manage to get it activated again minus the whole ‘inhabiting other us-es’, thing?”

“No, not yet,” Vinnie admitted. “I can still use ‘Locator’ in the waking world, and I haven’t been forcibly in another universe via nightmare since unlocking my ninpō, but I just can’t seem to figure out how to control it otherwise...”

“Sounds like you should get Draxum’s opinion,” Raph suggested.

“Or, in the meantime while we wait, we try and get it figured out now!” Leo further suggested, Vinnie giving him a hesitant look. “C’mon, where’s the harm in trying? But, full disclosure, because I know you can see straight through me - I am worried about Case back home.”

“Pfft-” Vinnie shook with a chuckle. “You’re literally about to see him again! Like, within the hour!”

“I know, I know! But I also know you’re worried too, eh?” Leo smirked and Vinnie gave him a tired look before pushing him off.

“Fine, give me some space,” he moved to the floor, crossing legs and closing his eyes. “No promises.”

“I believe in you~!” Leo imitated the cheers of a crowd, making Vinnie snort.

“I believe in me too,” he quipped back.

Leo gave Raph some thumbs up from behind Vinnie, his brother regarding him with a tired shake of his head. He couldn't decide if Leo was projecting his own soon to be shared loneliness, trying to tie up loose ends, or just goofing around to lighten the mood. Maybe it was a mix of all three, but Raph’s focus was soon back to the ever squirming of Krang in his head. He hadn’t become used to it, not by a long shot, and he could tell Sofia was also willfully ignoring it just like he was. While parting was sad, it would be better for the both of them as Raph knew they were both reaching their limit of tolerance - Raph himself specifically feeling the fatigue of it even more today than usual. Though he wasn’t sure if it was just exhaustion, the remnant feeling fairly more active than usual, eyeing the lair’s entrance for the possibility of Bishop showing up. It didn’t seem likely - he hadn’t been called and for what reason would Bishop have to associate with them any longer? Raph disregarded it, convinced he was overthinking it, instead bringing himself back to Vinnie and Leo.

“Think ‘Casey’ thoughts,” Leo encouraged with a side of teasing. “Hockey mask, rugged cape, scraggly goatee-”

Vinnie grabbed Leo’s lips at lightning speed, opening one eye from his meditative efforts. “You are not helping.”

“My bad,” Leo gingerly rubbed his lips as Vinnie released him, his twin getting back into position as he attempted to throw his gaze starbound. It could be done, Vinnie knew so, but in lacking the proper training, his consciousness was wrenched back to earth, defaulting to another ‘Casey’ - the one he had been searching for with Leo in this past week or so. Vinnie had tried to locate him several times before the patrolling even began, but was always blocked by something. He figured it was some Foot Clan meddling or some type of Mystic tampering, but now, he could see him clearly, and this world’s Casey Jones was currently in the sewers.

“What...?” Vinnie’s eyes snapped open.

“What? What’s wrong? Is something going on with Case?” Leo asked like a concerned father.

“I don’t know, I didn’t see yours, but I saw mine.”

“Really? Couldn’t you not get a read on him before?” asked Raph.

“Yeah, I couldn’t, but I just did, and he’s closeby in the sewers...”

“Who’s in the sewers?” Nel returned with Mikey in tow, their arms full of nail supplies.

“Our Casey Jones. I was finally able to see him with my power.”

“What!? After all that searching, and he’s in the sewers!? I doubt he lives down here too!” Nel scoffed in irritation.

“More likely, he’s looking for the helmet,” Raph stood up, eyeing the entrance again, wondering if his Bishop worries weren’t unfounded. “Was anyone with him?”

“Not that I saw-”

Vinnie was interrupted by hurried footsteps, Donnie rushing into the living room with panic on his face. “GET DOWN, INCOMING!” He desperately commanded, all initially confused, but a sudden gust caused everyone to cast their gaze towards the lair’s entrance. It was warm, and accompanying it was an orange glow that was getting brighter, closer. All obeyed in the few seconds afforded them, realizing a calamity none of them could stop was upon them - Raph, ignoring the increased pain of his affliction, summoned his construct in one last act of desperation. He covered everyone in the living room as a wave of fire arrived and exploded. Their entire world shook, the ringing of their ears muting the arrival of the one who created the blast. Through it all, Raph confirmed the safety of Nel, Mikey, Vinnie, and Leo, looking up to the lab’s entrance to see Donnie staggering out of it from his own protection while April and Splinter had escaped it all inside the kitchen - now exiting to see the cinders that were once their home.

“Oh, now that simply won't do,” an aged, jovial voice tutted, referring to the mound of red Mystic protecting those they wished to harm. Drako the Great, clad in the majority of the Kuroi Yōroi, stepped into the turtle’s lair, a nearly lifeless Bishop tightly in his grasp. He held the Utrom aloft, pointing at them, sneering and commanding; “Do it.”

Leo’s senses came back too little too late, able to spy the yellowed, webbed organs emerging from Bishop. “No-!” He went for his swords, “no, no, no, no-!”

“...I’m sorry...” Bishop said feebly, averting his eyes as he dropped his jaw and bellowed a nullification scream. It’s sheer volume and strength pinned all under it in place, helplessly watching their powers drain. Raph dismissed his construct, able to find his footing to launch himself at Drako, but he easily batted the giant turtle away, sending him into a far, charred wall.

“RAPH!” Leo called out to him, Raph landing on all fours as he processed the impact. “...You traitor! I knew we should've never trusted you!”

“This is for... the good of all humanity...” Bishop reasoned, though of what wasn’t broken in his body was clearly shown wracked with guilt.

“He wants to destroy humanity!” Leo pointed one of his swords at Drako.

“Well, it was either him, or the entire Krang legion,” A voice sounded from behind Drako. Casey Jones revealed himself, mask down and spinning the Krang key on his index finger. “Tough choice, but for the price of leading us to you, it’s the one he chose.” Both Leo and Vinnie felt their hearts skip a beat upon seeing the Krang key, their chests filled with dread on Casey’s counterpart being so blithe and indifferent to the horrors they’d seen.

“That isn’t a toy!” Vinnie found his voice, going for his weapon.

“Obviously,” Casey tossed it, caught, and stored it. “But I’m past giving a damn. You Hamatos have something that belongs to me, and I’ve come to reclaim it. If you hand it over now, maybe Drako will go easy on you.”

“Unlikely,” Drako corrected. “Especially the orange one - she needs to go,” Drako eyed Mikey with a glower that made him flinch. “However,” Drako looked around the room, doing a quick headcount. “There is a surprising amount of you, isn’t there? What an unexpected boon. Perhaps killing all of you is too hasty. Yes, half of you will quell my rage while the rest can ascend as planned.”

“You will do no such thing!” Splinter took a step forward, Drako barely hiding a puff of laughter as he stared down the small rat mutant. “Don’t you breathe another word about my kids, or you’ll regret it!”

This time, Drako let out his laughter, shrugging at the still approaching Splinter. “And what is a powerless rat-man going to do to me; Drako The Great?”

“Oh, I’m not going to do anything yet, and I never had powers to begin with,” Splinter placed his hands on his hips, looking past Drako, “But he sure does!”

Before Drako could react, a giant, purple root whipped him from behind, sending him and Bishop flying towards Raph - the turtle dodging back to his siblings before the impact. Another root suddenly grew around Casey, restricting his movements and thoroughly immobilizing him - Draxum passing him by without any regard, his aim on the recovering Drako. “Try not to ruin the surprise next time,” he stood next to Splinter, both taking a battle stance.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the father of mutation himself!” Drako sneered, peeling himself off of the wall, a clear indent where he’d been. “I’ve come to collect my mutants as originally agreed via our contract,” he picked up the fallen Bishop, pointing him at Draxum. “Little Utrom, you missed one.”

Bishop’s eyes fluttered open, still reeling from the impact, but the first thing he witnessed was the mix of fear, betrayal, and hope from the gathered children, his conscience finally catching up with him. “I... will... take no more part in this...”

“Is that so?” Drako clicked his tongue. “Well then, I suppose you’ve outlived your usefulness.” In one swift motion, Drako took hold of Bishop’s jaw in one hand whilst the other gripped his head, pulling in opposite directions, tearing the creature in twain. A liquid resembling blood rained around the dragon, discarding the corpse by his feet. Mikey covered his mouth with a gasp, Nel and April shrieked in terror, whilst the rest beheld the cruel scene with illness and shock. Reveling in their panic, Drako started towards the group, but it was a premature notion - Draxum pinning him back into the wall with several roots. His eyes darted around the room, able to place all present, and to his relief, one missing he would place all his hopes on.

“Agent 64!” Draxum yelled out, and the cat-like Yōkai answered his call, blipping in, at first disgruntled towards the one who’d summoned him, but then screeched on seeing Drako. “Focus, you fainthearted fuzzball!” He chided and Mayhem snapped to attention. “Get the children to the garage - NOW!”

“Wait, what are you doing-!?” Vinnie started to ask, Mayhem agreeing and blipping all the kids out of harm’s way.

“Hah! Do you really think they can escape me!?” Drako strained against Draxum’s roots. “It is only a matter of time until you tire and I am free!”

“Keep an eye on the Foot brat,” Draxum said to Splinter, the latter shifting his focus. “And I’ll keep Drako busy.”

“I’ll be out of this before you know it, old man,” Casey angrily spat. “I will have what’s mine!”

“You will claim the kabuto over my dead body!” Splinter seethed, Drako laughing in response.

“That can be arranged, I assure you!”

******

“This way, we’re almost there,” Gio encouraged his sister, practically dragging her along while his other hand was occupied with his Shakujō, a small gofu labeled ‘light’ attached to it. Through a darkened, small sewer tunnel they jogged, Gio’s lab coat trailing behind him, his eyes set on the goal they ultimately arrived at despite difficulties. Sofia’s drugs were wearing off sooner than anticipated while Gio’s new body was still fairly stiff. Both exhausted, took a singular moment to recover before Gio procured another slip from a pocket, slapping it on the wall before them and causing it to open like a door. Light from the garage filtered in, the duo entering into the empty room sans monster truck. “...Plan A or B, Don?” Gio tried to figure out the situation, and was soon answered by the sudden inclusion of all his other siblings blipping in with Mayhem. He briefly looked at them all, locking eyes with Donnie, his twin giving him a somber nod. “B it is...”

“Everybody in or on the truck, right now - chop chop!” Donnie ordered. “Gio and Sofia are secure - we’re getting out of here!”

“What, and just leave the Dads behind!?” Nel protested. She viewed Raph’s face, somber and full of regret. “...Holy crap, this isn’t the first time you’ve had to do this...”

“C’mon,” Raph said and took her hand, leading Nel to the back of the truck. “We don’t have our powers and we’ll just be in the way.”

“Your Draxum is ridiculously strong and I wouldn’t count Splinter out either. Things are gonna be OK! They’ll catch up!” Leo encouraged through the fear pooling in his entire being.

Gio threw his weapon into the bed, picking up Sofia and taking her to the passenger seat, sitting her down with a deeply apologetic look. “I’m sorry Sofs. Hang on for a little bit longer and don’t overdo it.” Her lips quivered, but she nodded, knowing what she had to do, and what they were about to do.

“Mayhem!” April picked up the worn out Yōkai, Mayhem letting out a weak mewl in response. “You’re all worn out again!”

“April,” Vinnie addressed her as she cradled Mayhem. “You know how to drive this?” She nodded, about to object about the power source, only for the truck to roar to life - everyone knowing what it meant. “Then drive,” he said harshly, April not taking it to heart, moving to take her seat while keeping Mayhem in her lap.

“That’s enough, Sofia!” Mikey yelled through the truck’s back window, watching more scales spring forth on her other arm.

“...Is it?” she asked April.

“It’s enough to get us to Todd’s - which is enough for now!” She revved the truck, everyone bracing themselves as she switched gears. “LET’S GO!”

******

Gio scribbled on a gofu, his mind swimming with formulas among the anxiety in a desperate attempt to rectify the situation. “Hey,” April managed to catch his attention, eyes on the road, but her heart reaching out. “No one got to say a thing back there, but, welcome back Gio. You look great.”

“...Thank you,” he said sincerely, but his concerns muted any further conversation on the matter. Sofia made a small, pained noise next to him, her consciousness slipping in and out since their flight from the lair.

“...How is she doing?” April asked tentatively, already knowing any answer would be negative.

“Not great,” Gio answered candidly. “Draxum slipped me the sedation serum before we went our separate ways, and I’ll probably need to administer it sooner than later. If she starts mumbling numbers, then the administration will be immediately.”

April gripped the steering wheel hander as she bitterly sighed, the beauty of Long Island’s snow covered nature a continuous eyesore to her building irritation. “What in the hell happened? Everything was good, things were on track to get back to normal, and now we’re driving up to Todd’s abandoned puppy hotel while Splints and Barry-!” She didn’t finish her thought, swallowing it back with a frustrated grunt. There was a knock on the rearview window, interrupting any more of April’s thoughts. She saw it was Mikey in the mirror, Gio sliding it open to answer him.

“What’s up, do you all need more warming gofu?” Gio assumed his previous had lost their effectiveness, Mikey shaking his head.

“No, I’m just checking in with you guys up here,” He said and Gio knew the inquiry was mostly towards his twin.

“She’s resting and I’m keeping an eye on her, don’t worry. ...How’re you all doing?” He diverted the concern back, Mikey looking tentatively back at the truck’s bed full of teenagers sick with worry or stewing with anger.

“We’re... managing, and planning.”

“Okay. Let me know if any of you need anything,” Gio ended the conversation and Mikey accepted it as the window shut again.

“-We just need to get our powers back,” Mikey heard Leo say as he rejoined the conversation. “We did it once, we can do it again.”

“The question is; how. It was a high stakes, high emotional moment for all of us, Leo, and to this day, none of us understand how we broke the Krang’s spell outside of our familial bonds hitting a specific wavelength,” Donnie explained and continued. “Hamato Ninpō thrives on said bonds, but to harness those bonds in a way to break free from a mystically bound prison is something I’d need to observe more than once to figure out a proper usage and fix.”

“It started with Raph, so let’s start there,” Leo looked to his older brother, Raph lost in his own thoughts. “Do you remember? A big... wave pulsed out of your body once you started getting control back from the Krang.”

“Then we all started fighting it... and it all came back,” Mikey recalled as he retook his seat.

“I... do and don’t remember,” Raph admitted. “I remember hearing Leo’s voice, I remember coming out of the Krang hivemind, but I don’t recall being a trigger to getting our powers back. By the time I was fully lucid again, Leo was opening a portal for me to punch though, and the rest was history.”

“Vin, any thoughts?” Leo urged his twin who’d barely breathed a word since their departure.

“No,” he replied sharply.

“‘No’? What do you mean ‘no’!? You have all this knowledge of other universes and other mutant ninja turtles, and you have nothing to contribute to this conversation!? What about the other me!?”

“Because I don’t know!” Vinnie erupted back. “I didn’t live through your life, I didn’t see triumph over the Krang, okay!? The version of you I lived through never got his powers back and Mikey only got his back through rigorous training that aged him so badly he looked to be in his eighties by the time they returned. And then everyone died anyway!” Leo was taken aback by Vinnie’s outburst, never having borne the full brunt of his frustrations since their first meeting with Bishop. “...I’m sorry,” he said after a bit of sanity returned. “I’m just... so angry at myself right now and I can’t do anything about it. I should’ve taken Casey more seriously, trained more to get past whatever was blocking me from finding him - because now both of my fathers are at the mercy of Drako, we don’t have our powers, you’re all not supposed to even be here, and my sister is a ticking time bomb while Casey has the Krang key. We’re absolutely fucked and I have no idea what to do.”

His words caused Nel to let out a shaky sigh, her eyes stuck on her feet. “Why did I just sit there and scream like some ditzy damsel-!?” She balled her fists and shook. “I should’ve done... something!”

“Nel,” Raph moved closer, placing one of his hands over hers. “It's OK to be afraid. Drako swatted me away like a fly - and I’d rather it was me than you. Trust Draxum and Splinter - I do.” He gently squeezed and Nel shut her eyes, clearly fighting back tears, but nodded, her throat too tight to say anything else.

“Okay,” Leo took a breath, trying to chase away his fears and lock back in on leader mode. “This isn’t hopeless. Once we get to Todd’s, we get situated and we start working through all this. Let’s just... sit tight for now.”

“That’s all we really can do...” Mikey affirmed, glancing back to the window to see Gio placing a slip on Sofia’s forehead.

“Not liking that fever...” Gio printed ‘cold’ onto the gofu with the appropriate ink, watching Sofia’s expression change in reaction to it, opening her eyes, clearly in a daze. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up.” She weakly shook her head, Gio watching her eyes search the car for answers before stopping on April. “We’re almost there, just hold on a little longer.”

“What...” Sofia cringed and blinked, making sure whatever she was witnessing was truly there. “What is that?”

“What is what? April? You know April-”

“No, the mirror,” Sofia pointed past April to a side mirror, Gio moving his gaze towards it. In their haste, April had definitely hit a few things and turned it away from its intended position - now showcasing an odd dot skyward. Gio squinted at it, noticing it wasn’t stationary, moving out of view. He then went for the back window, sliding it open and pushing his head through it, finding the dot again much to his dismay.

“Gio, what are you-” Donnie looked at his twin with his own dismay.

“Look up!” Gio commanded and everyone obeyed, all finding the dot within moments.

“...What is that?” Mikey stood up, attempting to get a better look. No one had an answer, but its movements were fast, erratic, then would pause for brief moments before starting all over again.

“Is it... looking for something?” Nel questioned, and the realization of what this mystery dot was hit a few in the group.

“It’s looking for us - It’s Drako,” Vinnie said as Gio swore and pulled himself back into the car.

“Stop the car, April!” Gio demanded and she slammed on the breaks.

“What? Why!?”

“Drako’s out there looking for us, and we’re a big moving target! We need to bail!” He opened the door, slinging the barely aware Sofia over his shoulders before jumping down. “Split up! No more than three in a group! We’ll meet at Todd’s! Go, go, go!” Gio barked out an order and ran off into a trail of pine trees while all else went in the opposite direction.

“I'm coming with you!” Mikey joined Gio, relieving him of Sofia as they continued to run onwards into the wilderness. They said nothing to each other as they would stop briefly to catch their breath or hide under a tree when the sound of Drako’s wings grew closer. Gio wanted to kick himself for not having the hindsight to have April park the truck out of sight, or to cover their tracks, but panic had unfortunately won that day. The reality of Drako being free and what it meant was not lost on them, but as they were now, Mikey hudding close with Gio as they both protectively guarded Sofia, there were no other thoughts than survival. To their relief, the wing flaps ceased, indicating Drako had moved on, Mikey letting out a relieved sigh as Gio took a step towards leaving their hiding spot to check the surroundings. All was calm, no sign of danger, Gio looking back to beckon Mikey - a nightmare in his place.

“Hello, children,” Drako's voice mixed with that of the Shredder's sounded next to Mikey. He screamed, lost on how he appeared so suddenly without a sound, fully unable to escape the whip of Drako’s tail that sent him and Sofia flying into Gio. The three of them hit a nearby tree, scattering, reeling from the force of the blow. Sofia fully returned to her senses as she landed in the snow - cold, pain, confusion, all mixing into fear as she saw the Kuroi Yōroi fully adorned with his helmet. Drako approached the three of them at light speed, none able to react as he picked up Gio and Mikey. “You’re new...” he said to Gio, then tossed him aside. “And you’re not her...” he said to Mikey and did the same, shooting an otherworldly glower at Sofia. “...Ah, there she is. I’d know that defiant look anywhere,” he gleefully said to her own glare. “Let us start by fixing that attitude of yours!” He delivered a swift kick to Sofia’s chest, sending her flying away, rolling harshly until another tree stopped her. She wheezed and coughed, the air thoroughly knocked out of her, feeling the warmth of her own blood escape the feeble cage she called her body. Sofia didn’t dare look down to where she’d been struck, her hands occupying it desperately as Drako was upon her again. “You look quite different, close to an ascension, though a very botched one, if I may be so bold.”

“You...!” She coughed again, ignoring the red splatter that came with it as she managed to get on her knees. “...Don’t know anything!”

“I think I know enough, and one thing that’s for certain is that there is no place in my world for a meddlesome brat such as yourself,” he lifted a talon, ready to strike, Sofia flinching.

“You leave her ALONE!” A gofu slip hit Drako and exploded - no damage to be seen. Drako's attention was drawn, Gio holding more slips between his fingers, Mikey joining his side with chucks ready to strike.

“You are all so adorable...” Drako mocked, redirecting his talon towards them, extending it and capturing them both, squeezing with no regard to their discomfort. “Did you think that would work? Truly? The Utrom’s spell somehow missed you, but this is the best you can muster? Pathetic.” He squeezed again, Sofia hearing a pop amongst their cries.

“STOP!” she begged and Drako playfully obliged, loosening his grip somewhat. “You just want me, right? Stop with the theatrics, get it over with, and leave them. I can’t spoil your plans if I’m dead, right?”

“Sofia-!” Mikey objected, but a quick shake from Drako stopped any more words.

“Your whole accursed family has a hand in this. Do you think me a fool? You are no mastermind, Sofonisba, just another piece to the puzzle. You are no more important than Draxum and the rat. You’re all fodder for the soil to nourish my world to completion - but while you’re ‘fathers’ at least provided me with some entertainment, I must say, this is truly a bore!”

Sofia felt her chest tighten, refusing to believe Drako’s words - Gio even moreso. “You’re bluffing! There’s no way you-!” Drako tightened his grip again, silencing Gio.

“Believe whatever makes you happiest, for soon your lives will be forfeit and there is now only joy in delusions. But perhaps I ought to spare you - I did say I would only kill half. Hmmm,” Drako’s smile laced with the kabuto’s was directed at Sofia. “Perhaps there is entertainment to have here yet!” he opened his free hand, conjuring a knife that he swiftly threw down to Sofia. “I have a simple proposal for you; your neck,” he pointed his talon into Mikey’s neck, drawing blood, “or theirs.”

“Don’t listen to him, Sofia!” Mikey fought against the claw pressing into him.

“Sofia, don’t you dare! I’ll... I’ll figure this out!” Gio desperately pleaded.

Sofia stared at the knife, hands leaving her chest as she gripped hilt. It was just her size, as if Drako had made it to her specifications purposely. Gio and Mikey’s continued attempts to deter her actions went uninterrupted by Drako - reveling in their desperation and taking joy in toying with those who once brought him so low. As instructed, Sofia brought the blade to her neck, hovering it over vitals, meeting her brother’s concerned gazes before directing a determined, calm smile at Drako. Unbeknownst to them, Sofia had reached her limit - the Dragon’s Eye spouting off percentiles only she could hear, the number ever rising. She would transform sooner than later, but she needed immediacy, and Drako had just gifted it to her, like the proud idiot he was.

“Gio,” she said firmly while still having her gaze locked with Drako's. “Things are about to get a little wild, but I know you can still figure this out. I’ll keep this asshole busy in the meantime.”

“W-what...?” Gio failed to comprehend Sofia’s words.

“Indeed, just what on earth are you talking about?” Drako humored her.

“I’m changing up your little game. Instead of 'my neck or theirs', we’re going to play; The Kuroi Yōroi VS the Janome. Best of luck!” She committed to the deed, life leaving her eyes as Sofia’s body crumpled to the ground and gave way to a sickening red puddle the snow earnestly accepted.

“NO-!” Gio cried out in grief. “NO, no, no...!”

“So...fia...?” Mikey couldn’t believe his eyes, couldn’t believe this was reality, shutting down as Drako bellowed into a malicious laugh.

“Is that all? Was something supposed to happen!?” He continued to laugh as he turned away from the fresh corpse.

“Let me go, LET ME GO-!” Gio helplessly squirmed, Drako not even bothering to silence him, suffering music to his ears.

“Now, where could your other siblings be?” Drako spread his wings, ready to begin the hunt anew.

“WARNING.” A sudden voice from behind him turned Drako around, aghast at what he saw.

“Impossible...!?”

“WARNING,” the same monotone alert sounded again, its source from Sofia’s body, standing amongst the soiled snow, no life in her eyes as her mouth continued to move. “FATAL WOUND IN HOST DETECTED. INITIATING EMERGENCY MUTATION.”

“What the hell...” Gio watched in horror as scales grew at blinding speeds and the blood that once left his sister poured back into the wounds before disappearing entirely.

“HOST’S MUTATION AT 67%... 75%... 89%... 100%. EMPYREAN RESERVE EVENLY DISTRIBUTED. GLORY TO THE KRANG.”

“Whatever trickery you are planning, do not forget I hold your brother’s lives in my-” The creature resembling Sofia got down on all fours, launching itself towards Drako, using a speed similar to that of Shredder’s to perform an act. In a blink, Mikey and Gio went from trapped in Drako’s grasp to free in the snow, rolling out of the gauntlet that was now detached from Drako. The dragon cried out in pain, unable to mourn the loss of his arm before the creature’s own mutated further and batted him away deeper into the forest. Gio and Mikey ignored the explosion of snow and pine needles, eyes locked to whatever their savior was.

“...Sofia?” Mikey asked earnestly and it answered him with a glance. He gasped in panic, knowing those eyes, knowing a krangified being. With the addition of Gio beholding them in horror, whatever was left of Sofia’s heart shattered to pieces. If this was to be her fate, if it meant the safety of her family, - even if they couldn’t bear to look at her, then so be it.

“gOOdbyE,” the creature gurgled and looked away, tapping into the powers they wished from this new host.

“Wait, Sofia!” Mikey reached out, attempted to stand, only to be assaulted with a sensation of falling. His view changed, the world disappearing out of view through the whir of Mystic in an equal shade to his own. Portals opened, then closed.

Chapter Text

“Great hustle out there today, Case...” April punctuated her compliment with a yawn, practically collapsing into one of the lair’s couches.

“You too, Commander...” he echoed and repeated the same motion. They shared a sigh once settled, both exhausted, but neither willing to complain about the obvious.

“I can’t believe Manbun and Scor-Pion teamed up, -and that they gave us that much trouble!” April instead focused on their most recent mission.

“Well, Master Splinter and Mom had their hands full with Mrs. Nubbins getting loose, so I guess fair is fair...?”

“UGH,” April slid further into the couch. “I think I’ll take the mutant mantis cat over poison and bunny kicks next time.”

“Hopefully there isn’t a next time,” Draxum emerged from Donnie’s lab upon hearing their voices, April perking up slightly at what he’d implied.

“Ooo, does that mean what I think it means!?”

“It means mostly what you think it means,” He corrected and April deflated again.

“Barry, do me a favor, and don’t get me excited about your Retro-Mutagen project until it’s done-done, alright?”

“But it is almost done-done,” he argued. “My progress has been unusually rapid. The boys have been gone mere weeks and I am on the cusp of reversing mutations brought on by my bugs.”

“It’s probably because they’ve been gone - not a lot to distract you outside your school gig,” April pointed out.

“Not to mention, it’s with them being gone that we realized how much of a problem they’ve become. Without NYC’s resident turtles keeping the peace, we’ve had our work cut out for us,” Casey added. “Though, I wonder how many of them are going to be receptive on turning back to normal...”

“Most of the animals and plants don’t get a choice - they’re getting it by default, but the mutated humans? I say if they wanna stay mutated, they can, but they gotta full stop on the crimes. I can’t keep missing study sessions because Warren and Hypno are trying to rob a bank every other Tuesday!” April grumbled, recalling her last encounter with the mentioned mutants.

“‘Disappear’ a bank,” Splinter corrected, he himself entering into the lair with his own look of exhaustion and Cassandra trailing behind him. “They were very particular on that and I will respect a fellow entertainer’s craft, despite the criminal nature of it all.”

“And I am very particular on how much PAIN I am in!” Cassandra stated with her usual vigor. “I thought I was a cat person, but after today, I am rethinking my stance.”

“Ice, meds, or a first aid kit?” Casey asked as he stood up from the couch.

“All of them...!” She admitted, painfully, Casey nodding his head as he entered the kitchen.

“Sit tight, I’ll get them.”

“Some for me too, please!” Splinter called out. “That oversized fur ball thought I was a cat toy!”

“Got it!” Casey called back, opening up the appropriate cupboard, jumping slightly when he found Mayhem in the place of the first aid kit. “Woah, what are you doing in here?” he asked the sleepy Yōkai who barely acknowledged him, yawning whilst giving into a big stretch before exiting the cupboard onto the kitchen floor. Casey chuckled as he watched Mayhem leave, hearing April happily greet her pet in the room over. “...Maybe Sofia was right about him being more of a cat.”

He continued to muse over the thought as other memories surfaced. Their encounter with Sofia and the subsequent departure of his Senseis all felt so long ago now to Casey. Like some sort of chain reaction, mutant and Yōkai activity ramped up in New York City, leaving the B Team to be busy more often than not. Casey was even more grateful that he’d been talked into staying, especially considering Draxum’s current aim. After several nights of them throwing themselves against whatever flavor of villain, Draxum decided it’d be a better use of his time to dip back into alchemy to fix the problem at the root. Now down another member, they delegated themselves into two separate groups; Casey and April being the first while Splinter and Cassandra would be back up or delegated elsewhere when needed. With the addition of Piebald and Frakenfoot helping on occasion, it was still manageable, but it was a secret to none of them that they were worn out.

Casey finished filling two bags with ice and returned to the living room with his arms full, divvying out everything between Splinter and Cassandra before attending to them - a particularly bad scratch on his mother’s arm. She inhaled sharply as Casey swiped it with disinfectant, making a sour face to hide her pain. “Sorry, sorry!” He apologized, Cassandra shaking her head.

“This is nothing! A mere scratch will not fell the leader of the Brownie Clan!”

“OW-!” Splinter let his pain be known, glaring at Draxum who was dressing his wounds. “Why do I always end up with you?! Casey, switch out!”

“No need, I’m finished,” Draxum stood up, crossing his arms at the glaring Splinter. “The bandages need to be tight. Do you want the boys to return to you bleeding out?”

Splinter sighed with a roll of his eyes. “No... but who even knows when they’re getting back...”

There was a brief moment of contemplation between them, most certainly anxiety prodding at certain possibilities, but before the usual reassurances started - a portal opened. As if to humorously follow Splinter’s statement, it emerged just outside the sitting area, everyone first shocked into silence, but all shared an excited, hopeful atmosphere once realizing what it meant. Another opened next to it, similar in size, and just as questions bubbled up in everyone’s minds, did distress sound from the portals. The first deposited Mikey, dropping him onto the floor, showing his obviously battle worn body.

“Mikey!?” April said in shock, more for his appearance than his sudden return. His eyes shot up and locked with April’s, but the voice from the adjacent portal commanded his attention, Mikey moving quickly as Gio was the next to be dropped, catching him moments before he hit the ground. They both cringed, still in a great deal of pain from Drako’s torture.

“Donnie!?” Splinter said next, Gio responding to the incorrect dub. After having endured both his and his twin’s name being said towards their merge, it was almost natural to do so. But in responding to this Splinter, they both automatically knew they didn’t know one another. “No... you’re not Donnie...”

Another portal opened before any explanation could begin, and another to be its twin. The first gifted yet another turtle, Vinnie falling through and barely landing on his feet. He let out a pained grunt on having endured the long fall directly onto his heels, keeling down to circumvent some of the lightning traveling up his legs. “...Sensei?” An unsure, familiar voice addressed him, Vinnie feeling his heart skip a beat as he lifted his head to meet it. He was stunned into silence. Confusion, relief, dread - all surfaced then immediately dissipated as April’s voice rang out from the other portal above him. Vinnie caught her, Mayhem in her arms as they appeared. She was still too rattled by the portal ride to acknowledge her savior while Mayhem was unconscious - most likely still drained from his actions earlier that day.

“Oh... oh no...” The present April addressed the currently evolving scene, her eyes on the doppelganger. “Something... something is wrong...!”

The four current portals closed, barely a second passing as four more opened - the one weaving them seemingly getting more adept as Raph, Nel, Leo, and Donnie all fell in from them one after another - each reeling from the fall in their own way.

“Ow-ow-ow!” Leo rubbed his shell tenderly as he stood up, the portals closing. “What is going on-” he froze, realizing where they were, looking back and forth between the two groups, and realizing who was missing. “...No...!”

“Where are we now!?” Nel asked desperately in her panic. “One second Todd’s is in view, the next, we’re...” She trailed off once viewing the audience, all in the same amount of shock as her. She at first stared down the other Splinter and Draxum, almost allowing relief, but it was soon clear they were strangers to her. “You’re... you’re not... w-which means...!” She snapped her attention towards Mikey and Gio, All freshly portaled in doing the same. Whom she sought wasn’t present, just as she’d expected.

“Mikey-!” Raph went to his wounded brother, Mikey flinching at his touch, - terror still raw as he beheld Raph with unease. “What happened to you two - and where’s Sofia!?”

Tears welled up in Mikey's eyes at the sound of his twin’s name - the entire encounter playing all over again in every inch of his being. The cold of the snow, the pain of Drako's grip, and the fleeing warmth of Sofia's existence. Everyone more or less figured out Sofia's fate from Mikey's anguished silence, but Gio answered regardless. “Drako found us,” he said in a way that sounded factual, but edging into his own fright. “He had the helmet, he caught us, and used us as leverage to goad Sofia into giving her life for ours...” his own tears surfaced as the words sunk in, remembering the absolute agony in his sister's eyes as Gio beheld her transformed state. “But then she... she used the Dragon's Eye. ...And now we're here. She said she'd keep him busy and just-!” The rest of his words failed him, tears falling as he yelled and slammed his fists on the floor - tormented by inaction and despair. “We couldn't do anything but watch! She killed herself to force the transformation to completion! I don't even know if it's her any more!”

Mikey let out a broken sob, shutting his eyes fast. He didn't want to see everyone's disappointment and distress - still unable to work through his own as it tormented him endlessly. He was no stranger to loss, to the struggles against the Shredder and Krang both - but this was too much. Sofia's calm but determined creed, her lifeless body reanimating, the monster that took her place and beheld him with such agony before sending him from harm's way. He would be forever haunted, he would always wish it had never come to pass. Mikey had no strength to reject Raph's arms scooping his broken body up, no awareness to hear the rest of his siblings start their own woes. But his attention was recaught - the sound of portals once again gracing them, all looking above to a duo of Sofia's energies manifest. They were silent, giving way to the group's own silence as anticipation hit all of them in a wave of concern. To whom was about to enter into this dimension was unknown, but as the lifeless, bloodied bodies of Draxum and Splinter deposited themselves into their midst, that day's hellacious tribulations multiplied one thousand fold.

******

An unfamiliar bed surrounded by unfamiliar sounds. Were they to guess, this was yet another dream, their brain exhausting what they knew to cycle into whatever else - but pain soon proved them wrong. Aches and stinging further stirred them, trying to find the strength to combat them into willing their eyes open. That one simple motion turned into a monumental task, their consciousness practically begging to rest once more. But they fought it, knowing all was not well, and that they were needed in some way. Finally gathering what will they had, eyes forced themselves open, beholding a ceiling unknown and feeling a presence just out of their sight. The sound of a page turning further proved their existence - finding another untapped well of strength to move their head towards the source. And there, he saw himself, giving into the repeat theory that this was a dream after all.

Draxum flipped to the next page in the journal he'd found on his doppelganger. He knew it was a gross breach of privacy, even with this other being him, but desperation for answers pushed him forward. There were alchemical notes, scribbles pertaining to ancient Yōkai translations, and everything in between. From a doodle to remind him of his kitchen duties with Splinter, to a scrawled out page pertaining to a cure to Sofia's situation he could no longer make out - Draxum could see the evolution of his other. With a small sigh, he closed the worn book and moved to place it back by his patient's side - their eyes meeting through the motion. There was confusion and understanding as the wounded Draxum beheld his mirror image, the current dimension's deciding to act first.

“I am not our father, if that is the thought currently assailing you,” he said bluntly, the other Draxum responding with a relieved but irritated sigh as thoughts fell into place. “You are safe, though I'm sure you have many questions.”

“...The...” the bedridden Draxum barely managed, finding speech another hurdle to conquer. “The... children...”

He creased his lips into a small frown, viewing Sofia’s mask he'd folded neatly next to his wounded twin. “Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you.” He assured the safety of Vincent, Nelli, Giorgio, and April alongside his own resident turtles, but told all in regards to Sofia. If Gio's recount was to be believed, she was now fully under the thrall of the Dragon's Eye, though kept enough of her will to send them all here. The rest was unknown - the resting Draxum's expression turning wroth at the news, his fists balling though the pain.

“...And Splinter?”

“In worse shape than you. Giorgio is attending to him while everyone else is scattered to their own worries or attempting to find a way back,” he revealed and his wounded twin shut his eyes in frustration, surely visualizing the entire encounter all over again. “I’ve done what I can for you and him, but you’re not out of the woods yet. I’d recommend resting more.”

“...No,” he immediately shot down, Draxum expecting such as they started attempting to sit up. “How long... have I been-” He was cut off by his own pain, various areas imitating the sensation of molten lava spreading through his veins.

“You arrived in this dimension roughly five hours ago,” Draxum offered his hand and they desperately took it, taking a breath before using every bit of their strength to sit up and swing their legs over the bed. They felt like their age for the first time in hundreds of years, dreading how much of a chore walking was going to be. Their hand left Draxum’s, eyes falling to their belongings next to the pillow they had just left. The journal, Drako's key, and Sofia’s mask. He moved to reclaim them, storing the first two, then moving to braid his hair. “If you can, explain what happened after you sent the children away.”

The other Draxum finished his braid before answering, finishing it off with the lopsided bow. He forcibly swallowed the rest of his pain, refusing to focus on it as he began to speak normally. “Casey Jones escaped his prison and led Splinter into the lab, where Donatello had hidden and secured the Kuroi Yōroi’s kabuto. Their battle was unknown to me as I had to keep my focus on Drako. But what I do know is that child is skilled far beyond his years. He soon emerged, battle weary, but with the kabuto in one hand while dragging Splinter with the other. My attention was split between the rat thrown to my feet and trying to prevent the completion of the Kuroi Yōroi - the result obvious. I do not recall what happened afterwards, but if Splinter’s wounds go beyond what Casey Jones inflicted, then Drako most likely toyed with him after he finished with me.”

“...Then it is a miracle you both still breathe,” Draxum mused as he placed the story with the retelling from the children.

“I have no use for miracles that come at the expense of my daughter!” He bit back, Draxum allowing it, even feeling the same rage bubbling deep within him - but there was no time for a pity party. Instead, Draxum began a spell, his roots emerging then forming into a specific shape - hardening as he claimed the makeshift crutch.

“But it is a miracle you are living in regardless,” Draxum offered the crutch to him. “And if you will not rest, then join me in sorting the Wild Cats and Mad Dogs back into their unified group.” He took the familiarly woven spell in his grasp, using it to stand up, fighting against his wounds until he was stable, Draxum allowing him to exit first into the unknown, briefly taking in the new surroundings. “Most are in the living room, which is to your left,” he instructed and then followed after his limping twin. Draxum felt no irritation on having to slow his usual pace, instead observing his counterpart for the reopening of wounds or to perhaps catch him in the event he stumbled. But to his relief, neither came to pass as they entered their aim, none noticing their presence as an altercation began.

“I said no!” Vinnie lashed out against both Leo and Casey, all eyes on the trio.

“Listen, I want to help!” Casey refuted Vinnie’s order. “If this other me caused this, and has the Krang key, then I feel it’s my responsibility to help! I have a rough idea of what might be going on in his head...”

“No, no you don’t,” Vinnie immediately shut him down, redirecting his anger to Leo. “Did you put him up to this? What have you told him!?”

“Vin, Casey came to this conclusion on his own, and how could I have told him anything yet?”

“Tell me what?” Casey regarded them both with a knit brow, Vinnie and Leo’s lips sealed towards his query.

“It doesn’t matter - the bottom line here is that you’re not coming back with us,” Vinnie reiterated, Casey again refusing that answer.

“Yeah? And who the hell are you to stop me? I get the apprehension because of what this other me has done - but I can help fix this! I might have only known your sister for a little while, but she needs help and I want to give it. So where do you get off commanding me!?”

Vinnie felt his nerve touched, Leo unable to stop his next motion as he grabbed Casey by his clothes and got in his face. “Your senseis didn’t kill themselves for you to galavant off to another dimension to right a wrong that isn’t yours. Stay in your lane, Casey, this doesn’t concern you!”

Casey felt something else amongst his anger - an odd sense of nostalgia he couldn’t place as he viewed Vinnie’s desperate anger. Was it his inflection or what he said that caused his confusion and hesitation? He was unable to fully work through it, Leo separating them and dragging Casey back a few feet. “Stop, stop, stop!” Leo stepped in front of Casey. “This is not the way to go about this, Vin. We’re all upset, and taking it out on Casey isn’t helping. Go cool your head.”

Vinnie begrudgingly obeyed, turning from Leo and Casey in his anger, leaving the lair behind without regarding any of his other scattered siblings. He knew he was too heated, too scared to act rationally, and Leo knew it too, hoping that removing him from the equation for a while would calm things, but Casey was still stuck on the oddity of it all. “...What was all that about...?” He asked once Vinnie’s presence faded. Leo’s shoulders lifted and fell with a sigh, pinching between his eyes as he tried to find the right words. In looking around the rest of the living room, Casey found that all present were avoiding eye contact. There was clearly a secret being kept from him.

“If you do not tell him, I will,” the other dimensional Draxum said threateningly, irritated at the display and most likely from the continuous pang of his injuries. “We do not have time for drama.”

“Barry!” His April addressed him. “A-are you OK? Should you be up?”

“Nevermind me - there is much to do and little time. Gather everyone, including Vincent who’s left in a huff, no thanks to your cryptic secrets.”

“He’s right,” Draxum concurred. “The longer we are scattered and in despair, the more time Sofonisba spends fighting the Shredder alone. Powers or no - we are not helpless to find a solution. So, whatever it is you need to tell, do it now and get it over with.”

“Okay, okay!” Leo reluctantly agreed, facing Casey with an uneasy expression. There was no way he could skirt around the issue, knowing he'd have to tell all in regards to this situation. “Case, Vin... has a lot on his mind, and for good reason. He cares about you more than you know.”

******

They woke to the smell of smoke and blood, to the pain wracking their body they couldn’t ignore. This place... was unknown to them, trying to remember where they were and what they’d been doing. Their mind cleared with a gasp - Casey Jones recalling his battle with Splinter, his narrowly won victory as he barely managed to both combat the Hamato leader and navigate all the traps keeping the kabuto. Getting past Draxum was all the more easier upon throwing Splinter to his side, outfitting Drako with the final piece, thus giving him the full strength of the armor, soundly unleashing it, and knocking Casey back and out cold. He had obviously been left behind, no doubt not giving a care to Casey as Drako went on to pursue the turtles.

Casey cringed as he stood, giving the surrounds another look to get his bearings - stopping his gaze on a horrifying sight. Splinter and Draxum lay amongst the ash and rubble; broken, bleeding, dying. Drako had no doubt unleashed his frustrations on them both before departing, cruelly and as promised. Casey’s memories flickered back to when he’d found the Foot Clan, shaking them off with a deep breath. This... is what he wanted. This was only part of the revenge he desired - and there was still more to do. Just one last step to solidify the return of the Shredder. He didn’t even need to associate with Drako any more, but the sudden sound of wing flaps told Casey their partnership might still be a shackle for the time being. He put his attention towards the lair’s entrance, expecting the usual dragon to make his presence known - but an entirely new face arrived.

Junior entered into the lair, out of breath and thoroughly frazzled. Had he known scouring the human’s sewers was to one day be an activity he would participate in, he would’ve taken cardio more seriously. However, despite his speed and growing concern, one look into what he assumed was once the turtle’s home told all. It was the scent of his father’s embers that brought him here, and that alone should have tipped him off towards failure. “I am too late...” He beheld the destruction, the two fallen bodies - and Casey Jones who stood between them. The marking on Casey’s mask revealed to him the truth, Junior delivering a glare that was so alike to Drako’s that it made Casey laugh.

“You have your father’s scowl.”

“Be silent, you foolish child!” He snarled. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done!?”

“Uh, ridding the world of the Yōkai menace ‘Drako the Great’? Considering all I’ve read, I figured this would be a net positive for you.”

“My father’s death is a boon, yes, but the turtles and I had an accord - one that your clan’s grudge has shattered and turned me into your newest enemy! Where are the children!?”

“Ooo, scary,” Casey mocked. “And last I checked, they all left through the garage before your dad-” a chilling wave of intuition hit them both. While they had no rhyme or reason to believe their pseudo sense - Casey and Junior felt... something was coming. Their quarrel ceased as they dispersed in opposite directions, each finding a hiding spot from whatever was upon them. There was silence, then a sign of life as a creature unknown emerged into the lair from the entrance Junior was just standing in. A mass of scales and flesh walking bipedally ambled in - pained, heavy breathing emitting from it. Junior immediately noticed the cyan liquid staining what he assumed was one of its arms, but didn’t dare do anything but observe as this living atrocity approached Splinter and Draxum. A mournful noise escaped its throat, falling to its knees as liquid fell from it and onto the floor. Shakily, it outstretched a tendril, and a whir of Mystic began. It was strained, the creature exerting itself, but whatever it was attempting to do refused to come to pass.

The Dragon’s Eye was as strict as it was benevolent. Granting the desires of its host was what the Krang designed it to do - for a price. And it was no equivalent exchange, but the continued deterioration of the body, mind, and soul for even the most miniscule wishes. Why would the scourge of the universe bother playing fair when it was so much more amusing to watch their subjects squirm? Imbued with a will of its own, not having a host in thousands of years, this round had made it rather selfish. Great strength and dimensional powers in tandem was a greedy notion, and so, the Janome restricted all else. It didn’t wish to be dormant again so soon - healing powers for it and it alone. No matter what shape their current host took, it was invincible like this - it was free, finally, at last!

“S-Sofia...?” An almost silent query came from one the beast hovered over. The Mystic struggle stopped, Splinter reaching out and grabbing onto the creature. There was no terror in his face, only love, and grief. “My tiny turtle... do not weep,” he understood, he did not judge, feeling nothing but affection for his daughter despite everything. Sofia was unable to follow his request, more liquid falling as broken moan reverberated through the lair. “Shhh, the battle is not over...” he winced, taking a deep breath to chase away pain and prepared him for what needed to be said. “Send Draxum and I to your siblings, and we will return to you. There is hell to pay... and you will not be cashing that cheque on your own. Hurry now, before... it is too late,” he pleaded, Sofia doing something resembling a nod as she drew closer. He gently nuzzled her in response. “I love you,” were his final words as the portals opened, losing his consciousness again as he fell backwards into it.

As if Junior needed anything else to prove the theory building in his head - he recognized the color of Mystic woven into the portals as Splinter and Draxum disappeared. The scales were his first forewarning, hell, even the noises it was making had a semblance to whom he sought - but now he knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was Sofonisba - or whatever remained of her. “It’s not pity, it’s empathy,” echoed in his head, recalling her draconic hand she showcased as she brought the scales back to his. Fear melted away upon seeing her father’s affection, the unwavering trust they both held with one another. Junior left his hiding place, having found who had arrived to protect.

“Sofonisba,” he said and the creature snapped towards his voice. Its eyes were swimming with fear, anger, and sorrows that he didn’t know how to calm, Junior managing a step forwards with a pledge. “I’m here to help. I don’t know what my father has done to you, but let me help you.” It groaned with a shake of its head, taking a step backwards. it rejected him, crying further as he took another step forward. Junior wondered if his visage was distressing or if he was recognized at all, but the truth was known only to Sofia. The price had to be paid - further mutation upon her for the portals she'd just conjured. A tail forcibly sprouted, scales following as she writhed and accepted whatever the relic decided to burden her with. Overall growth to the beast followed, the speed of it making Junior finch, closing his eyes. She was gone upon reopening them - like some spectre that had faded from view. Casey Jones had vanished as well, most likely taking advantage of the chaos to slip out undetected. Junior’s fears were beginning to catch up with him, but he was still resolved to act further, grabbing his cell phone and dialing the appropriate number.

“Draky!” Big Mama answered immediately. “What's in the wire topside!? Did you find them!?”

“Big Mama,” he said sternly, looking around the lair again, finding Bishop’s body. “I have a missing family, a scorched lair with an Utrom corpse, and I just witnessed Sofonisba transform further beyond recognition. If there is anything else you’ve neglected to tell me, now is the time to come clean.”

******

Drako lay still completely still in the mound of snow and pine trees Sofia had dispatched him to. The shock of sudden defeat from one he’d had complete power over immobilized him - stunned over enraged. The blood he was so proud of fell freely from his severed arm, the pain numbed by the winter’s elements. This wasn’t how things were meant to go - how his plans were meant to find fruition. Time and time again, he was thwarted - always. From his wife’s failure to provide him with more than one worthy heir, to the prison that was the Hidden City, to the mutants and Utrom destroying his dragons, - all to where he was now; buried, bleeding, bitter. That everything would oppose him at every turn - he saw it as a needed challenge, conquering them all to prove the worth of his hunted kin. He was not wrong - he couldn’t be, not after all these years! The world was what he deserved after all his struggles and efforts - why could no one else see that!? He’d donned this armor, allowed its power to mingle with his - and for what; a botched mutation to mangle him? To lose his life in an honorless wilderness? It was all so pitiable that his shock endured.

“Yōkai designation: Drako the Great!” A voice accompanied by many footfalls surrounded him. “By order of the Utrom council and for the murder of John Bishop - you are hereby ordered to unequip the Kuroi Yōroi and surrender quietly!” Many in suits pulled weapons of various firepower towards Drako, at the very least urging him to sit up. The trees fell from him like twigs, eyeing the circle of disguised Utrom with no emotion in particular. “You are advised not to struggle.”

“I'm sure,” he replied, knowing how easily he could dispatch them, still feeling nothing as he teetered between compliance and action. But a chill not brought on by the seasonal breeze directed Drako's attention elsewhere. Beyond the snow squalls and flurries - he saw her. Sofonisba had returned - for his head no doubt, reigniting Drako's will. “Unfortunately, you will all have to simply wait your turn.” The suits all showed various signs of confusion or hesitation - none predicting the sudden show of power as the Janome's host descended upon Drako, scattering them all every which way. He was prepared this time, catching one of its talons in his, dodging the other alongside a bite from their tooth filled maw. Drako felt it in the armor he bore, some odd connection to the beast, and the feeling was mutual from the commands mixing with Sofia’s motivations. Both creations from the same masters - both bid to spread chaos in their wake, but neither wishing to submit to the other. This world had no need for the two of them vying for superiority - either or soon to be brought low, just as their masters weeded out the weak before them, their battle just beginning. “I suppose that threat back at our little dinner party wasn’t all bluster!” Drako accepted the challenge, throwing the beast back and spreading his wings to pounce. “Now, let’s see if you can follow through!”

Chapter Text

The sun was rising in New York City. The newly deposited snow twinkled and glistened, welcoming the new day as the night skyline started fading out. It would be a beautiful sight to anyone, but in Vinnie’s anguish and regrets, he found it completely ignorable. On top of a high-rise he sat, kusarigama tossed to the side after its aid to bring him here. His focus was on nowhere in particular, accepting the cool winter air in an attempt to follow through on Leo’s orders. But it was useless, Vinnie’s mind set in anger towards the situation, his stomach churning for what his sister had done and what she was currently enduring. He knew lashing out wasn’t the proper thing for him to do, that now more than ever they needed to band together in overcoming this trial - but he was so, so tired. Vinnie never expected everything to go so wrong and for Sofia to act so drastically. With his powers sealed, he couldn’t even check in on her, to see if Gio’s claims were true - but then again, he’d failed to send his gaze properly once and couldn’t even find his universe’s Casey Jones until he was mere paces away from their home. He was furthermore haunted that Sofia had chosen this path despite promising she wouldn’t. Of course Vinnie knew she didn’t plan this, that in activating the Dragon’s Eye so violently it was the only out she saw, but still, she had ended her own life for theirs, and that hurt more than anything else.

A grappling hook sounded, catching its aim and restricting as it pulled the owner up and over. Vinnie managed a sigh, knowing the exact make of the tool and who owned it - having heard it time and time again. Casey Jones entered onto the roof, hockey mask down, stopping his stride as he viewed Vinnie nearly collapsed and his weapon sprawled out around him. “You should have at least put on a coat before you left...” Casey said, observing his master’s doppelganger bare skin to the intense temperatures - shivering, yet willfully ignoring it.

“...Go away,” Vinnie said, knowing it wouldn’t be obeyed, Casey responding by lifting up his mask. An uncertain look met Vincent’s exhaustion, eliciting a sigh as he turned away from Casey. “And that’s the look of someone who’s been told everything. Wonderful.”

“Leonardo said for me to tell you, and I quote; ‘Vin, I’m cashing in that request from our draw at the stadium. I told him the basics, now you fill in the blanks.’”

Vinnie scoffed. “Mighty bold of him to do this when he couldn't even follow through with the request I gave him. What does the ‘basics’ even mean...?”

“That... you have the power to inhabit other Leonardos... including the one from my timeline,” Casey answered, rubbing his arm as the awkward exchange continued. “But, I...” he wavered, “I just don't fully get it. Like, it doesn't seem real.”

“Then forget about it and move on,” Vinnie bid harshly. “There's nothing dictating that we have to talk about this.”

“But you're against me going back to your dimension because of... this.”

“Yes. Because he wanted you safe. It's all he could think about when he threw you through the portal. Not ‘we failed’ or ‘the world is ending’ - it was ‘did I throw him hard enough’, ‘did we make it in time’, ‘is he through yet’. His final memory was looking back to see the bottom of your boots disappear, how relieved he was that you were off to the world he always knew you deserved.” Vinnie stood up, facing Casey’s expression that was transitioning from uncertainty to melancholy. “But I, having been severed from the connection abruptly, didn't share your master’s peace. You were always in the back of my mind, I never knew if you made it. I was never forced into inhabiting the Leo you and I both know - so only once he showed me photos did I finally see that you were safe. -And now you want to throw yourself headfirst into a problem that honestly doesn’t concern you.” Vinnie defeatedly chuckled as he turned back to the sunrise, shaking his head. “You... you seriously haven’t changed a bit... and that’s a relief in some ways.”

Casey felt his heart skip a beat from the familiarity in Vinnie’s tone, almost reaching out to him, stopping himself and fighting back his more raw emotions. The believability of Vinnie’s powers was no longer in question, Casey taking a calming breath before starting his argument. “Well, my tendency to never give in didn’t come from nowhere. Hope is a ninja’s greatest weapon.”

“I know.”

“-And Sofia didn’t hold up her end of the bargain,” Casey said, catching enough of Vinnie’s attention to turn his head. “She was supposed to take them to her dimension, get it saved, then send them back. Not only are you all here now too, but your world sure as hell doesn’t sound saved.”

“Still doesn’t concern you.”

“Yes, it does!” Casey fought back. “What happens if Shredder gets Sofia’s Hamato essence? If you know me as well as you say you do, then you know I so badly wanted Mystic powers when I was younger! With what little research materials we had, I tried and tried, studied until I passed out - but I couldn’t do it. It was through Master Leonardo’s teachings that I learned being Hamato was more than Mystic powers, but it’s not like all that studying was lost on me either. Commander O’Niel gained Karai’s powers by receiving her Hamato essence, what Shredder then tried to do with Master Splinter - so where does that leave your Shredder if he gets Sofia’s energy manipulation and dimension hopping powers?”

The realization hit Vinnie like a sack of bricks, his obstinate mood dropping as he mulled over Casey’s reasoning. He was right - this wasn’t just a dimensional familial matter at its core. The entirety of all universes as they knew them were in danger, and they needed to act before all was lost. “...You’re right,” Vinnie nodded, Casey taking note of his tonal change. “In fact, you’re 100% right. I’ve been so stuck in my own head that I didn’t even think about that possibility. Damn, if he makes it to Turtle Prime...!”

“Turtle Prime?” Casey questioned.

“It’s the source dimension for every single timeline where ninja turtles exist. A duo of Shredders once almost destroyed it and erased everything, but was thwarted by three sets of us. The last thing we need is a repeat of that.”

“So we get back to your dimension, save Sofia, take down the Shredder, and get everything back to normal!”

“In layman’s terms, yes, but actually getting back there first might be our biggest challenge. Not only are our powers sealed, but Mikey’s wounded, and we don’t have anyone to heal him even if he could get a portal going...” Vinnie started wracking his brain, Casey finally finding a moment to bring up why he was sent after him in the first place.

“Hey, your Draxum is up and wants everyone to gather for a strategy meeting. It’d do more good working things out with everyone rather than all the way up here with just me.”

“Is... he alright?” Vinnie asked with a wince, remembering the state his fathers were in.

“Hard to tell, but he’s definitely less than pleased at you running off,” Casey revealed and Vinnie lightly scoffed.

“Guess it’s best to head back then. Casey,” he addressed his other’s pupil. “I’m sorry for losing it on you. I let my personal feelings get in the way and that’s the last thing either of us needed.”

“It’s alright,” Casey outstretched his hand, Vinnie accepting the offering. “I can see where Sofia gets her stubbornness from.”

Vinnie laughed as their hands separated. “I heard that you stopped her from doing something really stupid while she was here, so, thank you for that - I mean it.”

“It was nothing, really,” he deflected, but Vinnie shook his head.

“No, you’ve already saved her once, and I’ll always be grateful to you for that. I’m... not your Sensei, Casey, but I know he’s proud of you - I sure as hell am,” Vinnie said, then immediately regretted, seeing Casey’s face drop back to melancholy. He knew he’d overstepped, parting his lips again to voice an apology - but it was muted by a sudden embrace from Casey. It brought both of them back to turbulent yet simpler times in the quiet moments of the invasion. Vincent didn’t even hesitate on holding him back - this child he’d watched grow, whom he felt endless affection for.

“You might not be my Sensei...” Casey muffled into Vinnie’s shoulder. “But he’s living on in you - you’re carrying his will, and you have all his memories. Knowing... knowing I’m not the only one who remembers him...!” He sobbed, Vincent holding him tighter in response.

“...I’ve missed you, Casey Jones. You’ve... you’ve grown...!” Vincent gave into his own tears, fully allowing this reunion across space and time. “Damn, you’ve grown so much!” The sun rose on their reconciliation, both crying themselves out and separating before long. There was full acceptance to their respective situations, Vinnie playfully ruffling Casey’s hair, the latter allowing it with a nostalgic smile. “Let’s get back - before they send out the search party... or hypothermia sets in.” he went to pick up his weapon, snapping it back into shape before looping it back onto his belt. “How’d you find me up here anyways?”

“You have a phone made by Donatello, right?”

“Ah,” Vinnie nodded. “Say no more.”

“So... we’re cool with me coming back with you? To your dimension, I mean.”

“Mmmm,” Vinnie hesitated, but deterred Casey no further. “Let’s just say; I won’t stop you. I still feel like Leonardo wouldn’t want you there, but again, I’m not your Sensei. You get to make your own decisions from now on.”

“Well, good, because this other Casey needs a talking to, or a pummeling.”

“Probably both.”

******

“...There you are.”

Raph entered into the room housing the halfpipe, its lights off, but still finding the solitary turtle he sought. Mikey was sitting at the edge of it, knees to his chest, hugging them with one hand occupied by a piece of parchment. Among his bandages was a tired gaze, his eyes red from heartache - Raph taking notice as he sat down next to him. Mikey was clearly focused on the mural, his mind replaying the night it was brought into existence. It gave him no comfort, some of the paper buckling under his grip as he failed to calm his woes. Raph recognized it from the bundle of letters Sofia had given to Leo. It had obviously made it back with them, but was likely forgotten about in the chaos they were currently living in. He wouldn’t scold Mikey for taking and reading what was his, but Raph certainly wondered if whatever it said was helping at all.

“Did you know?” Mikey finally spoke, Raph giving him his full attention.

“Did I know, what?” He asked and Mikey’s expression further soured.

“Did you know that Sofia was being Krangified?”

Raph shut his eyes momentarily, taking a shaky breath in before nodding. “I did. She... asked me not to tell anyone because of the sedation - because she didn’t want to worry us.” Mikey felt his lips quiver, his eyes fogging for the umpteenth time, burying his head in his arms in response. “I”m sorry, Mikey. I don’t know if it was right or wrong, I don’t know if it woulda’ changed anything, but she wanted to see us off smiling, and I decided to respect that.”

Mikey shook his head, sniffling helplessly as he continued to hide his face from Raph. “W-we... we need to g-go back...!”

“And we’re gonna! Their Draxum is up and at em’ and wants us all in the living room ASAP. It’s not hopeless, Mikey - we can rescue her, I know it!”

“...You weren’t there...” Mikey choked out. “She... she died, Raph. Can... can we really?”

Raph wrapped his arms around his shaking brother. “We need to try. Nobody ever got anywhere without trying. We can’t give up on her even if things don’t make sense.”

“I’m not, I’m not! I just, I just-!” Mikey lifted his head, tears falling as he tried to find the words.

“I know, ...I know,” Raph further comforted, letting Mikey cry, holding fast until broken sobs devolved into hiccups.

“I’m...” Mikey used his free hand to wipe away the remaining of his tears. “I’m okay... but I need a few minutes.”

“Alright,” Raph released him, wiping a stray tear away before standing back up. “Join us when you’re ready.”

Raph left the halfpipe, Mikey blinking back any more stray sensitivities as he left his ball-like stance. Swinging his legs over the halfpipe, he started re-reading his letter from Sofia. He could tell Draxum wrote it for her, but her voice was still heard regardless. She truly just wanted to reassure him, thank him, and at the bottom of the letter was a small gift. A sticker decal of the Wild Cats’ logo, an exact match to the one she had on her plastron. Mikey took it off from the tape keeping it stationary, admiring the render of Mayhem’s ears as a small smile returned, then changed to a determined mug. He peeled it, placing it on his own shell in the same place his sister had - smoothing and securing it.

“Okay,” he briefly struggled against his injuries as he stood up, shaking off his pain as he started towards the living room. “You’ve got a sister to save, Mikey!”

******

Cassandra and April stood stuck in place as they viewed a nearby scene. Nel had completely hidden in her shell for hours while her April had stayed by her side the whole while, the still exhausted Mayhem in her lap. Upon being charged by the Draxums, the girls had come to collect them to the living room, but they found approaching them harder than anticipated. April now truly understood how Sofia probably felt having seen Mikey for the first time. She was nearly one-to-one with this girl, albeit a little older and with different accessories, but it really changed nothing.

“Okay, okay, breathe, April O’Niel,” she lightly squeezed Mayhem in her arms as she psyched herself up. “She’s you, but she’s not, and she’s in a whole lotta hurt. Be cool, be kind.”

“The gifted dog bed for her Mayhem will surely help break the ice,” Cassandra said while eyeing said gift under her arm.

“I hope so - the poor thing looks beat...” April said and her Mayhem made an affirming whine. “I know, buddy. Let’s go check up on them and see if we can get them to the living room.”

Their approach didn’t go unnoticed by the other dimensional April, lifting her eyes from stroking Mayhem to meet them. “Hello,” Cassandra started the conversation. “I am Cassandra Jones, and I doubt she needs any introduction.”

“Haha, yeah...” April gave a tiny wave from next to Cassandra.

“...Yeah,” she responded with a nervous smile.

“U-um-!” She snatched the dog bed from Cassandra. “My Mayhem wont sleep on this and yours looks like he needs it more than him, so we brought it for him and- and-”

The other April giggled, stopping April’s thoughts. “Looks like you are me and have the same freak-outs too,” her smile made April smile, both coming to an understanding. “Thank you for the bed, I’m sure he’ll like it.”

“I hope so, because this ungrateful little gremlin would rather sleep in cupboards than the fancy-pancy pet bed!” April placed the bed down, her other gently lifting her Mayhem off her lap and onto it. He took to it silently, readjusting his tail as he re-curled up. April’s own Mayhem whined, leaving her arm and joining his twin, April staring at him in disbelief as they cuddled. “Oh, so now you want it? Unbelievable...”

“Wow, this would be so cute if it weren’t for the circumstances...” She observed the mound of blue and yellow fluff. “...Still gonna take a pic to show Sofia later...” she snapped the photo with her phone, Cassandra noticing Nel’s shell flinch on hearing the sound of her sister’s name.

“Is she alright?” Cassandra gestured to Nel, the other April shaking her head.

“No, she’s not, but there’s nothing we can really do about it,” she placed a hand on Nel’s shell between her spikes. “Usually, Nel’s got a place she can go to work out stuff, or at least use her powers to go into a wall when things get too overwhelming, but, well, yeah...”

“Please just leave me alone,” echoed from Nel, a crack in her voice telling all present her mood.

“I really wish I could, but your Barry is awake and wants us all in the living room, stat.”

“...He is?” Nel slightly emerged, both Aprils able to see her eyes.

“We should go check on him, Nel. He probably needs us more right now than he's letting on.”

A deep, long sigh reverberated through her shell, Nel emerging fully. “He can't even tie his ribbon properly without us...”

“Exactly,” she reaffirmed, holding her hand out to the now standing Nel, her sister helping her up. “So let's make sure he's as lucid as this other me says.”

******

“Gio,” Donnie addressed his twin gently, viewing him absolutely wracked with worry as he watched over his father. “Draxum is awake,” he revealed and Gio didn’t react. “He wants us all in the living room to talk strategy.”

“Go ahead without me,” he replied, Donnie holding back a sigh.

“I can’t do that, Gio. You’re the only one with powers currently, and you’re most likely an integral part to figuring this all out.”

“I’m out of ink. I’m as useless as everyone else.”

“Gio-” Donnie said a little more harshly.

“I will watch over him,” Splinter said, surprising both of them with his presence. Gio looked back to the mirror image of his father, his fur unsullied by blood, his visage unbroken. “If anything happens, I will fetch you in a heartbeat. Please - go to your siblings.” Gio looked primed to reject his plea, but reluctantly gave in, leaving his seat, marching out and past them both. Donnie gave Splinter a nod before following after, matching Gio’s pace and saying nothing as they reached the living room. Almost all had gathered, Gio’s able to tell at a glance how much pain Draxum was enduring. Nel was fixing his bow as they closed the distance, Gio also able to see how truly overwhelmed she was, coping, not so much different than his current headspace. Draxum raised his eyes at their arrival, his face betwixt bitter remorse and righteous wrath - all towards their enemy dimensions away.

“We are just missing Vincent and this universe’s Casey Jones-”

“-We’re here!” Casey accidentally cut Draxum off, both he and Vinnie returning, out of breath, stopping momentarily to view the group before joining it.

“Are you...?” Leo asked them hesitantly.

“We’re good,” Vinnie reassured, Casey nodding along.

“Good, then we can forgo any more drama and start this gathering properly-” He coughed, then cleared his throat, ignoring the taste of iron as he re-addressed the group of concerned faces. “Time is short, so save your concerns until later. Your sister is in peril, and our world as we know it.”

“Actually, It’s worse than that,” Vinnie corrected. “Casey brought something to my attention that needs to be known.” Vinnie told them all Casey had, expanding on it with his own knowledge, further emphasizing that they needed to return sooner than later.

“An interesting, yet horrifying anecdote, Vincent, but it changes nothing to the ultimate goal of rescuing your sister,” Draxum mused sternly.

“I know, and I’m not raising the stakes haphazardly, but if these other turtles could figure it out - so can we.”

“Hear, hear!” Leo cheered. “So let’s get this big brainstorm brewing! C’mon!”

Leo’s encouragement led into first a hesitant, but eventual heated discussion. Dimensional differences, past altercations compared to current happenings, listing possible allies, and everything in between. They didn’t have the Mystic drawing board to sort their thoughts as one, so Donnie instead took to taking notes, being the group's willing scribe. Eventually, all were talked out, leading into the needed reasonings and strategy to finding a way home and reassuring all was not lost yet.

“By the sounds of things, this ‘Drako’ has yet to fully be engulfed by the Dark Armor,” the current dimension’s Draxum theorized. “I know not exactly what happens to whomever bears the armor, but I assume he will eventually be consumed and give way to Oroku Saki’s spirit. Had I not been forcibly ejected from our own, the same would have most likely come to pass.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Cassandra corrected. “Being consumed, yes, that was a given, but the Foot Clan didn’t nearly have enough information to know all the ins and outs of Shredder revival.”

“Plus, Gram-Gram was keeping his spirit sealed,” Mikey added.

“Which made him all... ‘flux-y’” Leo recalled. “Zip-zap-zopping all over NYC.”

“Right,” Vinnie nodded “and whether the same is for our dimension - I don’t know, but I’m more concerned about the... benefits Shredder will reap from absorbing Drako.”

“Meaning...?” Casey urged and Vinnie continued.

“The Wyrm’s Blood - the very substance that started all of this,” he roughly explained as he put his attention on the other Draxum. “The armor drained you of your power, and thus fueled it. I’m spitballing here, but the stronger the Yokai sacrificed, the stronger the armor will become. If we’re too late to stop the consumption and awakening, then we might have something our other counterparts have referred to as a ‘Super Shredder’. Faster, stronger, and a whole lot more trouble to put down.”

“Well, that’s just great,” Nel fumed.

“But there’s more of us this time,” Raph quickly attempted to diffuse her anger.

“But with the lack of powers, sans Gio and our April, it’s not advisable for us to rush in at the moment,” Donnie stated, not looking up from his writing. “So, we should workshop a fix for that first.”

“Any ideas Dee?” His April asked and he shook his head.

“Still haven’t figured it out yet. Given the current time crunch, I’m willing to start looking into more drastic measures.”

“Such as?” The other April raised a brow, Donnie finally looking up from his notes.

“For one, there’s Big Mama. She might have a fix, she might not. I also hesitate to say it, but our EPF might also have something, but considering what their Bishop did to us, I doubt any of us are in the mood to risk it. Finally,” he looked to his twin who had been silent this whole time. “I’ve had some theories about manipulating Ley Lines.”

“...What?” Gio broke out of his funk, looking at Donnie with a tired expression.

“The Ley Lines,” he repeated and continued. “They can be manipulated to ‘correct’ things - they literally protect and heal the Earth, and your powers, in theory, could tap into them. If you can enchant rocks, then you can also enchant the stuff in them too, especially if they’re so interwoven they might even be the same element, just in different forms.”

“Where did you come across such information?” Donnie’s Draxum asked.

“The Kaijus, remember?” He answered. “The weapon they created to kill them stimulated the Ley Lines. Gio and I had a front row seat to it while Bishop explained it all.”

“But do we dare trust him? We made that mistake once before,” Leo reminded and the group briefly fell silent.

“...Regardless,” Donnie continued. “Dad Two, do you have any knowledge of where Gio and I could get close to some Ley Lines?”

“Don, I can barely enchant the rocks for my ink - I highly doubt I have it in me to command Ley Lines,” Gio refuted.

“So what?” He shot back. “We won’t know until we try, unless you have a better idea?” Gio wrinkled his brow at Donnie’s bluntness, but didn’t speak further. “Besides, I know you, I know us, and I know we can figure this out - we're geniuses.”

“As luck would have it,” Draxum answered the query, “in the furthest depths of my lab, there is a hollow that leads further into the Earth. I dared not venture too far, as I didn’t fancy angering whatever powers emit from it. They may very well be these Ley Lines you seek.”

“Yes!” Donnie pumped his fist. “Having a mad scientist father really comes in handy sometimes!” He said and neither Draxum bothered to correct him. “Sure, it might not be a Ley Line, but a lead’s a lead! Gio, let’s-”

“Kids-!” Splinter’s voice rang out, the boy’s variant rushing into the living room. His expression was panicked, looking at all the visitors. “You must go to your father’s side, -now!”

The dread on Gio’s face quickly echoed onto all of his siblings, the former getting up and breaking into a sprint, all else addressed not far behind. “What is happening?” The other Draxum struggled against his crutch to stand.

“...You as well,” Splinter moved to help him. “He does not have much time left.”

Chapter Text

A figure ran through the streets, night aiding their mission as they held a large bundle to their chest. Their path was set, the end in sight, but sudden voices forced them to pause. Teenagers past their curfew wasting the hours away with mischief - usually no cause for concern, but tonight of all nights, it was best to avoid them. A brief moment of hesitation passed, another route found and taken, their ultimate aim found and entered into. From the streets of New York City to its underbelly sewers - safety was almost secure. They stopped to take out a piece of paper from their tattered clothes, rereading it carefully before setting off again. While the print of newspapers was more dubious these days than ever, they chose to believe this article, praying it was safe regardless of the headline expressing the opposite. Past the warning signs and cautionary fine listings they went, further, deeper, - to the bowels of where no human would dare step any longer.

Arriving brought them a sense of peace, finally able to catch their breath, observing the abandoned man-made clearing. All because of structural damage the city found too expensive to upgrade was it forsaken, and there were no plans to revisit it until well past their lifespan. With all of its connections severed, it was useless, a hunk of wasted taxpayer dollars - but to them, it was home, or at least it would be. With a weary sigh they gently placed the package down, unwrapping it to reveal a less than subpar hamster cage - four tiny turtles within secured in various empty fast food boxes behind the painted white bars. They excitedly cooed upon seeing their parental again, the smallest among them letting out a desperate sob as they reached out. The largest immediately began biting against the bars before they had a chance to remove them, eliciting a chuckle.

“Hold on, hold on!” Yoshi popped the plastic bottom away from the bars, pulling and prying off the biter as he lifted the cage away. “Why do you always bite everything?” He asked the babe as he rolled it onto its back. It responded with a happy babble that evolved into trying to bite again, the target this time being Yoshi’s thumb. “Annnd back into your box you go,” he stopped the attempt, no distress from the child as they moved onto biting the fast food cardboard. “And why are you always crying...?” He lifted the smallest turtle up next, it immediately snuggling into his palm as its tears ceased. Yoshi sighed at sight, his feelings still stuck in regret, but the tiny heartbeat in his hand caused him no end of adoration. His eyes went to the remaining two turtles - one shivering whilst the other wasn’t facing him. “But it’s summer...?” he mused but didn’t question further, ripping a chunk of the sparkly fabric off his tattered costume and covering the little red-eared slider. It accepted the fabric , hiding underneath it while Yoshi went to pick up the final turtle.

It hissed at him, Yoshi flinching from it, blinking in disbelief before grabbing it and turning the tot around. “You’re a cranky one...” he said and the tiny reptilian ball’s glare endured, Yoshi putting the tiniest one down next to it like a peace offering. “But then again, you all haven’t eaten in a while. I’m cranky too when I’m hungry!” He said and unbuckled the worn rucksack on his back - rummaging through it until he found what he wished. “The usual dumpsters were a bust, but thank goodness for lazy teenagers forgetting to lock up after their shift!” He held out an extra large order of french fries and an accompanying burger - still warm, the smell catching each of the turtle’s attention. He started making the fries into tiny pieces, depositing them to each turtle individually, watching them gum away at the processed potatoes. He unwrapped the burger next, peeling off the tomatoes and doing the same, Yoshi chuckling a bit towards their changes in expression at the less palatable food. “You can have more fries once you eat the tomato,” he said like a parent would, catching himself, memories of his grandfather resurfacing from a part of his mind he’d thought locked away - the reality of his situation hitting again.

Years in Big Mama’s Battle Nexus, nothing but a rat for company - only to be kidnapped, again. Instead of being forced to fight, he was to be the DNA donor to some wild Yōkai alchemist’s mutant army - and now he was a father of four while morphing into some rat creature. Yoshi looked at his unrecognizable hand holding the burger, grimacing before taking a generous bite of whatever variant of fast food slop they dared dub food. Thankfully, his mind was redirected towards the overabundance of mustard on the buns, now knowing exactly why this particular burger was tossed out. He swallowed the pungent, bitter assault to his senses, gagging slightly, but took another bite regardless. The lingering, stinging sensation was something he could endure. Being picky was no longer a luxury Yoshi could afford. However, the fries were perfectly fine, most likely just that night’s leftovers, and genuine relief graced his senses as the over salted potato sliver started to balance things out. Yoshi went for another, but four sets of expectant eyes were following his every motion - the turtle tots having finished their tomatoes and were waiting for their promised next fry. He chuckled and divided it, endeared all over again as they practically inhaled their second helping.

“Hm, let’s see, now that you’re all content and distracted,” Yoshi organized them into a line with little to no resistance. “I should probably name you all. You’re all green, so I should probably drop the color names... for now,” he pondered, searching his head for good pet names, then corrected himself, knowing these were no mere animals. Further back went his thoughts, to one of his many fixations as a child - remembering a large book on renaissance artists gifted to him by his mother. “Oh, I’ve got it!” he gasped, the four turtle’s attention caught. “You will be Raphael,” he pointed at the bitey one, moving his finger away just in time, “you will be Michelangelo,” to the weepy one, “you’re Leonardo,” to the shivering one, “and you’re Donatello!” he finished by pointing to the last, receiving another hiss in reply. Yoshi nodded, appreciating his own genius, until another thought occurred to him. He grabbed ‘Raphael’, picking them up and turning them over and around, gasping again, this time dramatically. “YOU’RE A GIRL!?” he fussed and ‘Raphael’ babbled gleefully, enjoying the motion her father was doing. “...Uh oh, hold on,” Yoshi went to ‘Michelangelo’ next, doing the same observation. “You too!? Are all of you girls!?” He put the current two down, grabbing the next pair. To his relief, they were boys, letting out an exhausted huff. “...Two girls, two boys...”

Yoshi divided another french fry to keep them occupied as he took time to rethink the names. He could just keep them, but ‘Raphael’ wasn’t very unisex and he couldn’t imagine a little girl enjoying being named after a man from the 1400s. No, if he were to stay with the renaissance artists theme, he could do better. There were plenty of female artists in that time, most overshadowed in favor of the prolific males. He once took Big Mama to an art display of only these woman's works, it being one of the most fantastic dates they had outside of the disco techs and roller rinks. Yoshi briefly wondered if Big Mama had ever even loved him, but shook away his nostalgia as he looked down at the babies again. There were two names to be changed, but on second thought, if he were to change one, then he was going to change them all. The second time was the charm, he told himself, and allowed the second set of names to flow.

“Nelli, Sofonisba, Vincent, and Giorgio,” He said confidently. “Yes, that will do!” he scooped them up, holding them close to his face as he cuddled them gently. “That will do...” he admired them, at how perfectly they all fit in his hands, acceptance mixing with the blues he couldn’t shake. In spite of everything, he loved them and would continue to, come what may.

“Dad,” a familiar voice echoed around him, the memory rippling and fading away. “Dad, we’re here,” it sounded again, Splinter opening his eyes as a few stray tears escaped alongside the wistful dream. Where his hands once held four infants, they were now occupied by hands larger than his own. “Dad,” the moniker repeated, Splinter’s eyes trailing up the arms of who held him, revealing Gio; his face full of concern. Despite this being the first time he'd seen his son in this new body, he knew immediately.

“Giorgio...” he smiled, his breath shallow as he looked around the room. “Nelli, Vincent, April...”

“Dad!” Vinnie said as they all got closer, knowing, yet not believing their eyes. He wanted to hold them, dry their tears, but knew there was simply no time and no strength to do so.

“You must listen to me,” he bid and his children hung on every subsequent word. “Your sister... is alive,” he said and there was a sense of relief in his words. “-And you must return to her before the Shredder Beast fully awakens.”

“We know, Dad, w-we’re working on it...” Gio reassured, sniffling and blinking his tears back.

“Good. Only when the Hamato are together can he be defeated. Do not keep her waiting overlong, my children.”

“We won’t, and you’re coming back with us!” Nel said, even in knowing its falsehood.

“Yeah, Splints, we ain't Hamato without you!” April further drove the point home, making Splinter chuckle.

“I will always be with you...” he smiled warmly at them. “With my amazingly talented children I did nothing to deserve...”

“No, no, no, what are you doing, don’t do this...!” Gio held his father’s hands tighter. “I still haven't apologized for blowing up at you, and... and it’s not fair to Sofia if you leave now!”

Splinter chuckled weakly. “She and I have already said our goodbyes,” he revealed, then moved one of his hands from Gio’s grasp and to his cheek. “And all is forgiven. I love you.” Splinter’s unconditional love reached Gio and broke him, tears falling from his face as he struggled to come to terms with this reality. “I love you all,” he addressed Vinnie, Nel, and April, all falling to their own heartaches as they watched the color fade from their father’s eyes. “...Draxum,” he said in almost a whisper, his reluctant yet tolerant coparent stepping into the room from out of sight. “Take care of our family.”

“I will,” he pledged without hesitation, and with a satisfied smile, Hamato Yoshi died.

******

What is the emotion between acceptance and despair? What is the state of mind between pain and paralysis? Does one’s heart beat to encourage its bearer forward, or to remind it of the inevitable? These dilemmas amongst many more assaulted the inside of Gio’s skull - a sensation so constant it forced his state into restlessness. He sat in the same room his father had passed away mere hours ago - his siblings and other parental present, all resting on the floor with him. Nel had wept herself into slumber with April and Vinnie in her arms whilst Draxum remained close by, the amount of his grief unknown as his wounds forced him back into deep sleep. There was no time for a funeral dirge or burial - the disturbed bed empty as the other adults pledged to take care of things while their other siblings graciously gave them space. Amongst all this, everyone, every soul, was frustratingly aware of the lack of time until they lost yet another loved one. It was reality - Sofia, despite proving a patch of immortality, was not invincible. How long until her healing gave out? How long until she was morphed beyond the point of no return? There wasn’t a moment to spare, no time to shed another tear, no more reason to hesitate.

“Gio,” Sofia’s final words returned to him. “Things are about to get a little wild, but I know you can still figure this out. I’ll keep this asshole busy in the meantime.”

With desperation expertly hidden under stoicism, Gio stood, silently leaving the room, none noticing his departure. He walked with his hands firmly in his lab coat, playing with a patchwork design he’d, at the time of application, begrudgingly had sewn into it. The ‘Wild Cats’ - a dub he’d thought up on the fly after he and his siblings had their first trip, battle, and fulfilled a mission to the Hidden City. With Mayhem being at the center of it all, it only made sense he be part of the group’s identity. Gio remembered Sofia tracing the Yōkai head, painstakingly replicating his mane with paints, digitizing it all, and ordering a pile of stickers and patches. Her’s went on her shell, Nel chose a scarf, Vinnie’s was on his belt, April's her bat, and Gio’s had the ears ever so slightly peeking out of his lab coat’s pocket. He truly didn’t want to sully his coat, so the compromise was made. In the present, it felt like a precious gem he should have cherished, something that deserved to be showcased to the world. Gio wondered if Sofia still had any kicking around as he aimlessly followed a path.

He passed through streets known and unknown, all senses focused towards a flicker of hope, oblivious to everything - save the constant beat of his own heart, a heart he didn’t even have until under a day ago. His life was once over, enduring his own transformation, but from the brink he was brought back, forcibly, lovingly. While Gio knew that he was loved and he also loved his family, it wasn’t until he’d witnessed Sofia’s sacrifice that the truth of it all clicked. Three. Three times now their family had stared into the jaws of death in its grisly glory, but only twice had they lost. When he’d thrown himself into the Hudson River, Gio accepted his fate. When Splinter stayed behind with Draxum as they all escaped, he accepted his fate. But when Sofia; broken, beaten, and toyed with did as Drako petitioned - she taunted fate. To have such unwavering faith even with the helpless circumstances, was something Gio lacked, something he truly didn’t understand, but there was something that urged him forward anyways. He had been damned once, rescued twice, and humbled to a number he couldn’t possibly calculate. Splinter’s death muddled and cleared his mind simultaneously, knowing it was real, knowing he and Sofia should have gone before him, but while they were extended miracles - he was not. It wasn’t fair, but neither was he and sister cheating death in their respective ways. Was this... karma? Inevitability? ...Destiny?

Gio didn’t know - he didn’t want to. In this moment, this second as he beheld the exposed Ley Line, all he desired was the means to stop whatever the hell was toying with his family - for it to get its comeuppance. Be it Drako, the EPF, or any other - they would harm the Hamato no longer. Great is the fury of those scorned unjustly, greater still are those who weep and wade through their grief. With a flick of his wrist, a wisp left the Ley Line and swirled around his arm, Gio wasting no time in pivoting his stance and pointing the primordial power at the one who’d tailed him down here. Donnie. As if he expected any less. There was no surprise from his twin, no inkling of anxiety - just patient determination, their eyes locked, no regard given to the glow that could unmake him in an instant.

“What are you waiting for?” Donnie urged, taking a step forward, almost forcing Gio’s hand to be flush with his plastron. “Prove your intellect, show me the cumulation of your convictions - any less would be an insult.”

“...You suck at comforting people,” Gio replied unenthusiastically, a surge of energy welling up, flickering, and flashing into existence. Donnie bore witness to the awakening of Gio’s Hamato Ninpō, neither flinching nor looking away. He felt the earth shake around him, the invasiveness of the Ley Line as Gio forced it into his chest. A snake-like crawling sensation assaulted him, and then, in an instant, the Utrom shell housing his own ninpō shattered - all corrected, all as it should be. Donnie’s crest resurfaced, his markings glowed, and his wraps dyed back into black. He marveled, then cheered, Gio able to manage a small smile in reply. “...We should go get everyone...”

“No,” Donnie grabbed Gio’s shoulders and forced him to sit. “You rest, and I’ll call them to come and meet us.”

“Just go and get them, don’t waste your cellular data trying to strain wifi down here.”

“Yeah, no, I’m not leaving you alone down here - not after today,” he sat down next to him, Gio feeling his consciousness begin to fade. He heard Donnie talking on the phone, yet failed to absorb any of the conversation, nodding off. He mildly awoke as his head fell onto Donnie’s shoulder, an apology almost reaching his lips, but his twin allowed it, even wrapping a comforting arm around his back.

“Mmm, I thought you... didn’t ‘vibe’ with being touched...”

“I make exceptions on occasion.”

Gio snorted into a laugh, a few tears resurfacing and escaping. “I’m honored...” he said sarcastically, Donnie answering by resting his head on top of Gio's.

“Rest,” Donnie said and they welcomed the silence together, knowing it was fleeting, readying to return to their struggles before long.

******

Leo looked out into a living room filled with anxious faces, the tension palpable. Tragedy had visited this family, hope renewed with their powers returning, but no amount of reassurances would return what was lost. Still, all of them knew the direness of the situation, agreeing to pick up on their meeting from where they left off. While Leo’s parentals were still absent, everyone else was present, staring at him expectantly, sans Vinnie and Draxum who were in the process of trying to get a handle on his astral projection power off to the side. If he could view the situation at length, they could plan better, and ultimately reach their goal with the least amount of complications, in theory. The reality of Mikey not being able to open portals without injury was still present, and he wasn’t exactly battle ready either. Despite being in the same grip as Gio, he’d taken the brunt of Drako’s strength, causing a few fractures and breaks that clearly hindered his movements. As Donnie expected, his healing protocols were still no help, unable to compare to Sofia’s output and keep up with Mikey’s self destructive spell weaving. There had to be another way, and it was one of the many topics Leo prepared himself to speak on.

“First and foremost,” he began, scanning the crowd again. “I want to express how truly sorry I am that this happened. You go over and over things in your head, you try to find a solution that could have possibly changed the outcome, but the sting of reality is always there. Splinter protected all of us. I wasn’t even directly his kid, but he didn’t hesitate, making sure we all escaped, and without a doubt gave us this opportunity to strike back. If there was time for a full eulogy, I’d give it, but we can’t squander another second. Sofia needs us. Your world, hell, possibly even the entire multiverse as we know it is in danger. The sooner we put Drako down, the sooner we can start working through this. And so, I open the floor to suggestions pertaining to portals, plans, and everything in between.”

Gio raised his hand, Leo pointing to it and starting the conversation proper. What was being discussed wasn’t completely lost on Vinnie, but his focus was elsewhere as he tried again and again to do as his dreams used to command, success seemingly beyond him as he opened his eyes from another failed attempt. He gave Draxum a small shake of his head, his father contemplating momentarily before beginning a small interrogation in hushed tones.

“You ceased taking the blockers, found yourself able to use the lesser ‘Locator’ version of your powers still - with the exception of Casey Jones being hidden from your sight, yes?”

“Yes.”

“But your dreams have been silent, and any attempt to view another dimension has been met with rejection.”

“...Yes.”

“Troubling...” Draxum grumbled, contemplated again, then relented into a sigh. “But not helpless. I think that perhaps you’re focusing on the wrong things.”

“Huh? What else should I be focusing on but my sister or Drako?”

“Vincent, listen to me,” Draxum instructed and his child complied. “It is not unusual for those with more than one power to favor and excel in one over the other. All of you do it, to an extent. Donatello and Sofinisba, for example - both have access to creation and healing properties, but only excel in one while the other is still usable, but unable to attain a level equal to or greater than their focus. You are under the impression that your astral projection was the greater power of the two, when in reality, it was merely mismanaged due to the oddity of the Wyrm’s blood. Your power over glacial masses is extremely impressive - much more than a safety net that you previously treated it as. It has been hundreds of years since I've seen such mastery.”

“...Draxum, this is all very flattering-”

“Let me finish,” Draxum placed his index finger over Vinnie’s lips. “I'm leading up to something here. In all your accidental forays, what is the one thing every instance had in common?” He removed his finger, allowing Vinnie to ponder, then answer.

“Leonardo...?”

“Yes, exactly, he in any shape or form has been your anchor. And what did this dimension, and now ours not have in your attempts to view recently?”

“No Leonardo.”

Draxum nodded. “Your crutch is gone, Vincent. You must instead make yourself the anchor and throw yourself to whatever will hold your gaze. You already do it when using your powers minimally to find those seen and acquainted with. Ice comes naturally to you, it always has, but now you must ease yourself away from your old, forced ways and renew your perspective. Do that, and you will find your sister, Drako, Casey, or whoever else.”

Vinnie’s lips pursed, agreeing, knowing Draxum was right - but as to how he could put this into practice still eluded him. What he first perceived as a prison was indeed a crutch, but without it, sending his mind through time and space seemed impossible. It wasn’t, Vinnie knew it wasn’t, and the current time crunch wasn’t aiding the flow of methodical thought. “Make myself the anchor...” he repeated, Draxum picking up on his hesitation.

“Yes, because that is what you are,” he poked at Vincent to further attest to his point, though Vincent still regarded him with doubts. “...Okay, let me put this in a way you can better understand. What is that human athletics idiocy called... the one that takes place in the stadium you all were using for sparring...”

“...Baseball?”

“Yes, that,” Draxum confirmed with a nod. “That ball is your consciousness, you throw it to where you wish, and with the correct direction, you will arrive at your destination and be free to cast your gaze wherever you please. A ‘homerun’, or whatever.”

Vinnie raised a brow at him, but it was soon accompanied by a small puff of laughter, gently wheezing out his worries. Draxum’s face maintained his usual resting unamused scowl, but he allowed Vinnie’s tiny moment of whatever tickled him - surprised he could manage a smile at all. “Already settling into your fatherly role with metaphors, eh?”

“I...” Draxum hesitated, unaware if he’d overstepped in a way unknown to him. “I apologize if I’ve done something derogatory to Spinter’s memory.”

“No, no,” Vinnie shook his head, “you haven’t done anything wrong. I just... wasn’t expecting it. It’s been this non stop deluge of just... well, more than I should be able to handle, and you just hit me with a metaphor like any other dad would. I think you simultaneously broke something in my brain while also fixing my mental block.”

“Is that good or bad?”

Vincent lightly shrugged. “I don’t know, but it certainly sounds more doable now. I feel as if I should be more broken up about all this - but in all honesty, I’ve seen Splinters die before, more than I’d like to admit. It being my own dad is... surreal. Maybe I’m desensitized, or maybe there’s something wrong with me... but after my initial cry and now you hitting me with a baseball analogy, I get the feeling that we’re going to be OK - that this is all going to work out.”

“Then it is time to try again, Vincent,” Draxum encouraged, Vinnie giving him a smile before closing his eyes again.

“Yeah, let’s see how good of a pitcher I am.”

“-I hereby pledge the Shell Hogs to our efforts,” the meeting continued, Donnie adding his thoughts. “We have two members of this family not in fighting condition, and if they’re going to be joining this effort-”

“I am,” Mikey confirmed sternly.

“-Then they’ll need handlers. Methinks one April with monster truck driving experience would be a good choice for our Mikester,” he looked to the April in question.

“I am up for whatever,” she replied confidently, her and Mikey sharing a glance and nodding at one another.

“It’s honestly amazing that you restored and can drive a monster truck. Like, girl, I have my crane license, but I haven’t even gotten my learner’s permit yet!” The other April marveled.

“Thanks,” she took the compliment. “I wish I could do more, have powers too, but I’ll do whatever else I can instead. But... damn, a crane license? That’s a good idea.”

“It’s 100% worth it!”

“Nnnaugh-!” Vinnie let out a pained yelp, directing all attention onto him. “N-no, stop-!”

“What’s going on!?” Leo took a step towards Vinnie and Draxum, the latter putting out a hand to stop his approach.

“He is doing as expected and asked. Do not interrupt the process.”

“S-Sofia, don’t-!” he was cut off by a gasp, Vinnie’s eyes open and aglow as tears fell down his cheeks. His breathing was labored, all watching in concern as their brother was tormented by what he saw.

“Is there anything we can do to help...?” Nel asked.

“No. Be patient and wait for him to return to us,” Draxum discouraged her concern. Vincent’s eyes closed again as he continued to writhe, all eyes on him, all anticipating his homecoming with suspense and dread, considering the name uttered. With another gasp, he came back to himself, breaking into a cold sweat as what was seen blended into his current reality. “Vincent,” Draxum gently addressed him. “What did you see?”

He regarded his father with a horrified look, seemingly unable to speak as distress had yet to wear off. But he suddenly jolted up, looking at the gathering. “We have incoming - MOVE!” He commanded, all present hesitating momentarily before complying- and as heralded, a portal opened above them. A few stragglers scrambled out of the way just in time for the portal’s occupant to be deposited - a blur of red falling amongst them, buckling under the impact and falling to one knee. The portal closed immediately after, its absent whir begating into stunned silence, though a few in attendance recognized their interloper.

“Junior!?” Nel addressed him. “What in the hell are you doing here!?”

From behind his wings covering his body did he peek, observing his surroundings fully before answering. “By the gods...” he gawked at each and every one of them. “Just how many of you are there!?”

“Answer the question!” Raph backed his sister up, Drako wearily sighing in reply.

“Your sister has sent me to your side,” he unfurled his wings, revealing a woman in his arms. “And I believe this belongs to you.”

The boys all shared the same bout with shock, instantly recognizing who Drako held, and what it meant for the dimension she had just left. “Gram-Gram!?” they said in unison, the one presumed Karai not stirring from the commotion that followed.

Chapter Text

“I must say, Sofonisba,” Drako said sneeringly, shaking droplets of blood from his gauntlet. “This song and dance of ours has become dreadfully unremarkable.” The beast responded with a growl from its current incapacitation, any blood spilled retreating back into its wounds abnormally. In a matter of moments it was back on its feet, prepping for another assault. “I have fatally wounded you six, no, seven times now - each time you grow more grotesque, and each time I strike you down yet again. You had your advantage in taking me unawares once, but now, spilling your inexplicable blood has left me bored. Do you really intend to continue this to infinitum?” He asked and received his answer, the creature growling and snapping.

Drako sighed, truly tired of the farce, but he supposed it was his turn to endure. How many times had humans scribed their efforts against his kind - reporting taking literal days to fell the ‘dragon’? It was most likely embellished to further enrich the writing, but in knowing how annoyingly tenacious humans were, Drako could find believability as well. But whereas his kin could be worn down, he was seemingly invincible - the armor an endless wellspring of power that Sofia couldn't quite match. Like a prototype versus the finished product. Still, she had taken his arm, so he could not be complacent. If this battle were to last for days, he would endure it, if it eventually meant freedom from this stalking beast.

Their battle continued to an onlooker of one - Casey Jones exiting a portal and finding himself where he wished. Close enough to view the scuffle, but far enough to continue his mission uninterrupted. The final step; the Twilight Realm. Within it held the core of the Shredder’s imprisonment; Hamato Karai. Casey had followed everything he’d managed to recover from the rubble, - to where each piece of the Kuroi Yōroi was stored, to how one finds the perfect host to fuel it, and now to freeing the soul of Oroku Saki. He ignored the continuing bout, the fate of a mutant and a Yōkai of no consequence to him, however, hesitation found him regardless. Amongst his tools and weapons did Casey take out a secured box - unlocking it to reveal rows of empty phials. The Foot Clan had prepared for their Master’s awakening for decades, but there was an unfortunate reality begat from the Hamato and Foot split - the latter lacking the powers which the former held and begat through generational means. They had other talents, but their abilities that could be beneficial towards their ultimate goal were few - even fewer now with their clan being reduced to a single soldier.

They sought other means, more than willing to demean themselves for their ultimate goal, and this box was the cumulation of their efforts. A cyan liquid diluted with various other elements swirled as Casey plucked the last phial from its foam casing. With a calming breath, he uncorked it, ready to take the final dosage and reap whatever it sowed. While he’d known its ingredients since unearthing the box and its directions, it wasn’t until Nel’s smear campaign that Casey fully understood what he was ingesting, and what its lasting effects could be. He chose acceptance over rage, instead choosing Drako to be the Shredder’s host rather than straight assassination - to give him the most painful death possible for his entire involvement. If it all ended with the Shredder unleashed, then he’d welcome mutation, death, or anything in the like. Rarely was there hatred as deep as his, and Casey would take it to his grave if he must. Down it went, burning his throat as always, Casey at least able to forgo a gag this time around.

The empowerment came instantly, remembering the memorized incantation as every cell in his being forced the door to the Twilight Realm open. It was agony - Casey feeling his body change, willfully ignoring it as he stared into a mystical abyss, and it stared back. There it was, the very essence of the Shredder - tightly bound with chains and an ornate katana at its heart. The gold embellishments caught the new invasive light, sparkling almost mockingly as Casey readied his grappling hook. He couldn’t hold this door open forever, so Casey aimed his shot carefully, using his free hand to stop his other’s shaking. Realistically, he could afford one foiled attempt, maybe two if his body continued to hold out, but Casey wanted this all to end, placing his index finger over the trigger and squeezing - only for a sudden rush to whiff his shot and knock him down. Bewilderment hit him first, but soon turned to anger as he beheld the inside of the Twilight Realm. Junior - his wings carrying him to the hilt of the sword, freeing it with slight resistance before using the cage as a foothold to push himself back into New York. He returned at blinding speeds, kicking up powder as he distanced himself from Casey - the disgruntled teen closing the portal with a yell.

“What are you doing!?” He roared, taking a step towards the young dragon. Junior didn’t answer, instead looked to the sword, watching it flux into light momentarily before reforming into that of a human woman.

“...As Big Mama predicted...” He said and readjusted her accordingly, delivering a tired, but effective glare to Casey. “I’ll be taking this.”

“The hell you will!” Casey launched himself at Junior, only to receive a strong wingflap in return, pushing his worn body back down into the snow. Junior took flight, finding his aim immediately, witnessing his father tear a chunk off of the beast, locking into his plan as he knew he could take them unawares. Time was short, very short, and so he braced the woman as he dived at his father, striking true as Drako tumbled away from the impact, his son ignoring the pained groan and cloud of disturbed snow as he approached the healing Sofia.

“Sofonisba,” he said calmly, but firmly, one of the creature’s eyes opening to look on him instead of their wound. “This woman is important to you - your family, is she not?” There was a pained noise in response, the eye focusing on Karai as whatever was left of the original’s mind raced. The brothers. Their struggles. Run of the Mill Pizza. The Shredder. Gram-Gram. The night of their get together at Hueso’s came back, urging a nod, Junior sighing, relieved he hadn’t been duped or misled by Big Mama.

“Junior!?” Drako recovered, standing himself up with a snarl. “How dare you-” he began, then stopped, feeling something was truly off. His boon; the armor, restricted - robbing him of air and digging past his scales to his vulnerable flesh.

“Enough!” a voice boomed through every wrinkle in his brain. “Centuries I have waited - and I shall wait no longer!” Purple Mystic sparked, the armor reforming itself - physically swallowing Drako whilst also keeping few of his features; wings specifically.

Junior at first morbidly marveled at the devouring of his father, but tore his gaze away, knowing his mission was in jeopardy. “Sofonisba, I need you to survive for my sister and I need your family to cure you. If it will aid them, send this woman away like you did your fathers, and I will remain by your side to fight. This is equally my battle!” There was brief hesitation from the beast, but it became acceptance with another nod. “Good, now hurry!” He commanded and Mystic swirled as the armor finished its transformation - Drako's green irises disappearing into a black void - red, ethereal orbs taking their place.

“I am FREE!” The Shredder announced to the world he would conquer, maniacal laughter echoing through New York City - the first step to his conquest. “Karai! You have lost! The game is over, child!” He said triumphantly, his steely gaze soon finding her in Junior’s arms. “How fortuitous that you would be so near in your time of reckoning!”

“Sofonisba-!” Junior urged desperately as the Shredder prepared to lunge, but the spell was cast, enveloping Junior in his entirety with the portal. “Wait, what are you-!” he was cut off, the portal closing, Shredder’s enraged shock meeting a blithesome chuckle from the beast as they clashed.

“You-!” He easily pinned down the creature, the once lost arm springing back into existence. “You’d dare rob me of the Hamato essence I so justly deserve!? Where is Karai!?”

“Quickly - immobilize the Shredder Beast and the Janome's thrall!” The EPF reappeared after lying in wait for the battle to calm. They fired their weapons, various ammunition of alien origin hitting both the armor and the beast. Drako's stolen wings protected and deflected their efforts, the Shredder sneering as the bombardment stopped.

“You demand The Shredder’s attention,” the wings folded, eyes darting to every hidden Utrom as his tendril embellishments deployed. “You have it!” He declared and the assault began, each Utrom’s mechanical body pierced by spears hidden beneath the snow. Few lived, even fewer attempted to escape, but those who managed to touch the snow with a tentacle were soon dispatched by another - Casey expertly pinning them with kunai, then finishing the job with his favored naginata. He was spent, quite honestly about to pass out - but the revival of his master granted a second wind - and the Shredder extended a morsel of gratitude upon seeing the symbol painted on Casey’s mask. “An unneeded contribution, but I accept your offering.”

“You wear those wings well,” Casey replied, resting the bent naginata on his shoulder.

“An embellishment I suppose you had a hand in. Show me my Foot Clan!”

“It’s just me,” Casey revealed, then pointed his naginata at Sofia. “Because of creatures like that.”

The Shredder made a pondering noise whilst turning his gaze back on Sofia, her body recovering from the Utrom assault. “And this very beast also took the leader of the Hamato from my sight. I must destroy her if I am to be truly unstoppable.”

“Or,” Casey started, re-catching Shredder’s attention, “you could just take its Hamato essence instead. I don’t remember reading anywhere that it absolutely has to be Karai’s.”

“This creature is Hamato!?” He balked in disbelief, then observed Sofia more closely. Yes, in her, he saw it - the lifeblood of the Hamato, weak, but could surely be drawn out with the right tools. He laughed, strengthening his grip on Sofia, causing her to cry out. “So it would seem. I need only the proper ritual to extract its essence.”

“I think I know the one - I’ll get it ready.”

“Good. We shall eradicate the blight that is Hamato,” he said and Sofia struggled under his grasp. “But first, I will bring this beast to heel!”

******

“Karai,” a voice so unlike yet similar to their own called out, beseeching them. “Karai,” it repeated, and the one whom they called to harkened, opening her eyes for the first time in centuries. Their blurred sight cleared, fighting their weary body into sitting as they viewed their surroundings. An inky plane not so unlike their imprisonment greeted them, but here there was no pain, no continual battle with her demonized father - a different figure in his place. The calming green glow of Hamato eased her panic, then reignited it as they realized the figure staring back at her was a mirror image.

She gasped. “What sorcery is this?!”

“One of the Hamato making,” Gram-Gram answered her bewildered other. “Be at peace, you are safe here, and we have much to discuss.”

“Oh no, have I... failed? Is the Shredder free!?”

“I do not know, for your dimension’s fate is unknown to me.”

“My... dimension...” the further perplexed Karai failed to absorb her words.

“Yes. You have been displaced by your descendant to another dimension. You currently reside in mine, where Hamato Karai was freed, merged her ninpō with another’s soul to survive, and prepare her own descendants to fight the Shredder. They succeeded, and I am currently using the one I merged with to speak with you.”

“I... I do not understand...”

“That is understandable,” Gram-Gram chuckled. “But you know such things are possible, and that a Hamato would never mislead one of their own. I ask that you suspend your disbelief and listen.”

“I-” she hesitated, the fight with her father centuries ago still fresh, her struggles to keep him caged still assaulting her, but slowly ebbing. “...Very well. Tell me of the circumstances.”

Gram-Gram nodded, then began. “Mere months ago, one of your descendants used a relic that caused her Hamato Ninpō to activate prematurely, and sent her into my dimension. She became part of the family, and her worries became ours. Four of my descendants pledged themselves to solve the crisis your dimension was facing - and so they went. However, it was ultimately beyond them, taken unawares, forcing the hand of your descendant to use the relic again - sending you, your family, my family, and another ally who arrived with you in his arms back to this dimension. And now she fights alone for their benefit.”

“...What!?” Karai said to the absurdity of it all. “Why did such a thing come to pass!?”

“From what I have gathered, a remnant of the Foot orchestrated the happenings leading to your family being misplaced here. Your family, alongside my own descendants solved the initial crisis, but were blind to another - a child known as Casey Jones retrieving the scattered pieces of the Kuroi Yōroi and tricking a powerful Yōkai into it.”

“Oh no...” Karai held her head, thinking of all the implications. “All of it? Even the pieces held by our allies - the part of the Kabuto entrusted to our clan’s head?”

“Unfortunately...” Another voice joined, a wisp appearing next to Gram-Gram, forming into the small stature that was Splinter. “And I am to blame for that, being so engrossed in my own miseries that I didn’t even realize it was a piece of the Dark Armor!”

Karai squinted at Splinter, his dubious appearance causing her to question this whole exchange further, Gram-Gram noticing, stepping in. “Karai, this is Hamato Yoshi, the head of the Hamato in both our dimensions.”

“You are... a rat?”

“And his children are turtles,” Gram-Gram further explained, Karai opening her mouth in question, only to be stopped by her other’s held up hand. “We do not have time to explain, it is reality.”

“Also, I was the head in mine - past tense. Shred-head got me good, though, technically it was Drako, the one who put the armor on,” Splinter corrected as he approached his own Gram-Gram. “But it doesn’t matter now - I’m here to help you.”

“While he is Hamato, he does not belong here,” Gram-Gram said Splinter nodded.

“The Hamato spirits here are very friendly, very welcoming, but I’d rather be with family in my own dimension. And if it's alright, I’d like to hitch a ride back with you - not for free of course. Please,” he held out his hands to Karai. “Take my essence and heal your weary body. Guide my children alongside their other father - unite them against the Shredder.”

Karai’s doubts and anxiety melted away with Splinter’s plea, taking his hands, accepting him. “Dare mo hitori de tatakau koto wa arimasen...” she said in comfort as Splinter faded into her. “We will return to your daughter’s side.”

“Thank you,” his presence merged with hers, then quieted, Karai feeling renewed and ready to fight once more.

“I must go,” she addressed Gram-Gram, receiving an affirmative nod.

“Farewell, Karai. Anata wa hitori janai.”

Karai blinked, then woke, the abyss gone, and in its place a living space completely unknown to her. “Guys, guys, she’s waking up!” A hand that was in her’s left, the owner of it backing away into the onlooking crowd. She sat up suddenly, making the majority of them flinch - Junior off to the side stopping a roll of his eyes. Karai scanned the gathering - seven turtles, four humans, two Yōkai. Many of them shared appearances with one another, giving truth to the other Karai’s words, and with a sigh, she removed her hood, meeting their gazes properly.

“Did the whole Gram-Gram connecting thing work?” Leo whispered

“I think so...?” April replied.

“It did,” Karai confirmed, all eyes on her more intensely than before. “But if I am being honest, I do not know how to tell which turtles are mine, and which are not.”

“Sort yourselves accordingly!” Donnie ordered and the living room split into two sides. “That means you too, Junior,” he glared back at the dragon, receiving a scoff, but also compliance, standing himself next to Vinnie, Nel, Gio, Draxum, and April. Karai started committing their appearances to memory, noticing the difference in family members - specifically the absent Splinter on Leo’s side.

“And where is your Hamato Yoshi?”

“Preparing our father’s ashes,” Vinnie replied curtly.

“Alongside my counterpart,” Draxum added.

“I see...” Karai said, touching a hand to her chest briefly, standing herself up with determination. “You father has gifted me with his Hamato essence that I may fight by your side. I am Hamato Karai, daughter of Oroku Saki, whom inhabits the Shredder. The Karai of this dimension has informed me of what led to this very moment. Children of the Hamato and our brave allies - we must act, for none of us fight alone!”

“That’s what we were doing before you and Drako dropped in on us...” Nel said and pointed her thumb at him. "Good to know you've got dad with you though..."

“O-oh, of course,” Karai mildly flustered.

“However, loving the energy!” Leo encouraged the slightly deflated Karai. “Your guy’s Gram-Gram is ready for action! Let’s get introductions out of the way and back to planning. Name and powers - go!” he pointed to Gio.

“Giorgio Hamato,” he complied. “I can control the element of earth, including Ley Lines, and I can separate my soul from my body.

“Nelli Hamato,” she continued. “Super strength and I can phase through stuff.”

“Vincent Hamato. Astral projection and glacial control - and yes, before you ask, I can see our dimension, and yes, Shredder is awake,” he revealed and Karai’s expression darkened momentarily before reverting back, shifting her gaze onto the next family member.

“April O’niel - no powers, but I have a little ninjutsu under my belt and I fix machines pretty good!”

“And I am Baron Draxum, Warrior Alchemist. I created these children using a method that included his blood,” he gestured to Junior, “and Hamato Yoshi’s DNA.”

Drako sighed, irritated that he was included, but complied again. “Drako Junior. My father donned the armor and was consumed by it. I hold no desire for revenge, but this my fight as well for reasons there is no time to explain.”

“Lightning round!” Leo decided to speed things up. “Leonardo - I have portals, I’m fast. Donatello - tech extraordinaire, you know it, he can make it. Raphael - energy constructs, can get big, can make shadow cones. Mikey - chains, fire, and occasional dimensional portals, but the latter is off limits until further notice. April - merged with our Karai and has a Mystic bat. Cassandra - Ex Foot Clan, ninja supreme. Casey, boy wonder from the future. And the dog-cat thingies resting over there are Mayhem and Mayhem, respectively. Did I miss anyone and/or thing?”

“That covers everyone here,” Vinnie said and Leo took a breath to re-inflate his lungs.

“I will commit them all to memory,” Karai vowed, her determination undeterred. “And your sister?”

“Sofonisba,” Draxum answered, his face clearly hiding concern. “Energy manipulation and dimensional portals. We must stop the Shredder before he claims her essence and terrorizes other dimensions.”

“We will,” Karai reassured. “What are our plans?”

“Nothing concrete, but we’re about to solidify them,” Gio eyed the group, still split, but all in agreement.

“Donnie; keys,” April said and one of his mechanical arms threw her the appropriate key ring. “April, Mikey, Barry - you’re with me. We’re gonna check up and tune up the shell hogs. Anyone else who wants to participate can come along too.”

“Then maybe I should?” Donnie asked, but received an arm in his way.

“No, you’re with me,” Vinnie stopped him. “You and I are going to figure out a portal back.”

“We are?” Donnie raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, we are,” he replied firmly, then motioned with his eyes to the lair’s exit, Donnie picking up on his intent.

“Alright, lead the way,” he started following Vinnie out.

“Do you need some assistance?” Leo called after them.

“No, get with Casey to figure out what he’s doing,” Vinnie replied back before disappearing.

“Right!” Leo hit a fist into his palm. “Nel, do you still have all that info on the other Casey?

“Yeah, it's in my phone’s storage.”

“Perfect! Let’s you, me, Cassandra, and Case have a meeting on the subject.”

“Good idea, let us pick apart this other Casey piece by piece! -via info,” Cassandra's said with her usual zeal.

“Fine by me!” Casey chimed in as they split off.

“I’m going to return to Draxum’s lab - back to the Ley Line. I’m going to need some very specific ink for the upcoming battle,” Gio paused and turned his gaze on Junior. “And if you’re going to be fighting with us, I have an important role you can play.”

“...Go on,” Junior urged.

“Walk and talk,” Gio beckoned and he followed.

“Which just leaves you and me, Gram-Gram, er, Karai, -sorry,” Raph corrected himself, Karai giving him a gentle smile in response.

“It is alright, Raphael - what shall we do?”

“I’m thinkin’ we go check on my Pops - both of em’.”

“Very well, that works out. I wished to speak with this dimension’s Hamato Yoshi before we departed.”

“I’m sure he’d like to speak with you too. Let me ring up Draxum and get their location.”

******

“Alright, you led us into Grand Central Station because...?” Donnie asked Vinnie, who replied by holding out his hand.

“Do you still have that bishop piece Bishop gave you?”

“...Yes?” Donnie said tentatively and handed it over, Vinnie cranking it immediately. “Woah, woah, what are you doing!?”

“Testing a theory. We’re in public, undisguised, so we probably already got his attention, but that chess piece will definitely get him over here for sure.”

“And WHY are we trying to call my dimension’s Bishop!? I thought we agreed none of us were in the mood to contact the EPF!?”

“Because he’s Plan A. That chess piece is Utrom technology - ergo, if he responds to it, we can assume your Bishop is also an Utrom. The Utrom hail from a dimension made up of portals and can create them - we saw that firsthand the night you buried me in snow. It was lesser, common, but that doesn’t mean it's all they have access to.”

“Speaking from other Leo’s experiences again?” Donnie asked, Vinnie nodding. “And Plan B?”

“Big Mama, I guess. I’m honestly banking everything on this because I don’t think I want to deal with her.”

“Mm, samesies,” Donnie leaned back onto the wall as the crowds bustled and the clock chimed, heralding in a new hour. “...You have a plan for this specifically? What if he does something drastic?”

“He won’t do anything here, not around all these people - and yes, thanks to Casey, I have a plan. It’s desperate, but I think it’ll work.”

“...Holy Christmas tamales - there he is,” Donnie saw the approaching, familiar man - fine suit, sunglasses, slicked back hair. He even had the same gait as he expertly weaved through the crowd, reaching Vinnie and Donnie in no time.

“Agent John Bishop,” Vinnie said calmly as he finished closing in.

“Who are you?” He demanded in his monotone, glaring at Vinnie, locking their eyes. Vinnie brought the chess piece into their view. “And why do you have that?”

“I’m from another dimension - one where you’ve put the entirety of humanity in danger.”

“Unlikely,” Bishop spat.

“I can tell that you know I’m not Leonardo,” Vinnie started. “And I know that you’re an Utrom - one that’s pledged his life to protecting the Earth from invaders, and I get it, I’m the invader here, but I wouldn’t be here if your counterpart didn’t fuck up so extraordinarily. I need to go back, and if you help me, then I’m out of yours and the EPF’s hair forever.”

“Or I could just eliminate you here and now. You are a foreign contaminant, and I have every right to dispatch you.”

Vinnie’s scowl turned upside down, a chilling smile that was lost on Bishop, but Donnie prepared himself. “Donnie, got a gadget to hide us?”

“Mmmyep,” he deployed a mechanical wall that camouflaged the trio.

“Thank you. Also, I’m about to be very hypocritical - don’t tell Leo.”

“About wha-” Donnie started only to be cut off by Vinnie roundhouse kicking Bishop. Taken unawares, the agent fell to the ground, Vinnie wasting no time prying off the chest hatch, wrenching Bishop from his containment, locking eyes with the Utrom as he got in his face

"Listen, you obstinate asshole, this goes beyond wanting to go home. If my sister falls and our Shredder gets her Hamato Essence, every single universe, dimension, timeline - whatever, is doomed. Not only does she have curative energy manipulation that she is currently using to continually heal herself and buy us time - but there's also her ability to conjure dimensional portals. Do I need to spell it out further for you!? Or do you want Lord Simultaneous on your ass too?"

"...You should have led with that," Bishop narrowed his eyes at Vinnie.

“I shouldn’t have needed to! If I was a threat, would I have called you here in public? Honestly, for being ageless dimensional brain aliens, you Utrom really have problems with thinking things through.”

“And why is it you know so much about us?”

“Astral Projection is a bitch. So, are you helping or not?”

Chapter Text

Draxum stared at his phone, the continually updating family group chat gone silent in the recent hours. He could harbor a guess as to why - his current location in a waiting room at Hidden City cremation service. The other dimensional children were a fine mix of heartbroken and angry when he’d left them with his counterpart, and Draxum could only imagine how things evolved in his and Splinter’s absence. He expected an update sooner than later, but still felt the urge to check in, figuring Raph would be the safest one to contact. Draxum usually wasn’t one to be calling anyone, used to texting by now, but still found the appropriate application and name. His finger hovered over the call button, but he was beaten to the punch - the one he sought to call popping up on his screen as Raph was in the process of calling him. The phone’s sudden vibrations almost made Draxum fumble it onto the floor - catching it and answering, his heart practically in his throat - hoping this was just a check-in and not another announcement of further troubles.

“H-hello!?” He answered, straightening himself out in reaction.

“Hey, Dad Two,” Raph said calmly, picking up on his father’s mild panic. “You good?”

“...As good as I can be,” Draxum answered, viewing the hallways both Splinters entered into and neither had returned from yet. “Is... everything ‘good’ with you all? Within reason?”

“Yeah, just about. A lot has happened since you and Dad took off. I’ve got someone here you two should meet. Mind if I drop in?”

“Splinter is still engaged with the mortician, but I’m assuming he’ll return soon. You can wait until we return or attempt to meet now.”

“It’s... pretty urgent. We’ll be right over. Hey, Leo!” Raph called out to his brother, slightly muffled as fingers covered the speaker. Draxum heard Leo reply back, then one of his portals appeared before him. “Thanks, brother,” he said into his phone, appearing through the portal, his and Draxum’s eyes meeting as they both hung up.

“Your powers have returned...!” He marveled at the portal and Raph’s appearance.

“Yeah, and that’s not all that’s new,” he stepped out of the way, Karai entering after him.

“Karai!?”

“Hello,” she bowed as the portal closed behind her. “I am the Hamato Karai of the presumed twin dimension. I am... still wrapping my head around things, but I met your counterpart moments ago, Baron Draxum.”

Draxum was briefly frozen in shock, able to take Karai’s introduction in stride, but still craned his neck back to Raph. “We have been gone for mere hours! How much has actually happened!?”

“Let’s see;” Raph held up all six of his fingers - balled. “Gio went to the Ley Line and unlocked his ninpō, he used it to get all of us our powers back, we resumed the family meeting, Vinnie witnessed the Shredder awaken, Drako Junior got portaled over with Karai, and now we’ve all split off to prep our way back,” He finished with his all his digits up.

“Furthermore,” Karai added. “My Hamato Yoshi has bestowed unto me his essence so that I may fight with you all. Both he and I wish to speak with this dimension’s counterpart before we depart.

“I... see...” Draxum took all that was said at face value, digesting it further.

“So that is how it is...” Splinter’s voice joined them, the stout rat approaching them with an ornate box in his arms. “I should’ve known you weren’t our Gram-Gram, but I nearly dropped the urn on seeing you...”

Karai bowed at his arrival, Splinter echoing it on principle. “Hamato Yoshi, I apologize for any distress I have caused.”

“No, no, it’s fine!” He flustered. “It is just... good to see you again, even with it not being you-you. But,” Splinter shook his head. “Forget this old man’s ramblings - you said you wished to speak with me?”

“Yes, we do,” Karai crouched down to his level, placing her hands over his - and Splinter was transported to the same plane Karai had been in with her counterpart. In her place was Splinter’s reflection in Hamato energies, looking a bit sheepish towards his living twin.

“H-hey there, other me...” He said, a clear shiver of uncertainty in his tone.

“H-hi...” Splinter replied, feeling the same sentiment.

“I uh, don’t really know how to go about this. Like, this is really awkward, right? Not just me?”

“No, I feel the same. This is exactly how it all was for little Sofia at the start of this, huh?”

“Oh, Sofonisba...” he said sorrowfully, but shook it off. “I wanted to thank you for taking care of her in her time of need. -And for what you are doing now,” he eyed the urn.

“It was no trouble at all! There were some expected growing pains, but she was a delight! And...” Splinter looked down to the urn, then back to his twin. “This is the least I can do for you. When my boys were in peril, you protected them with your life - and I will never forget that.

“Heh,” he chuckled. “Your kids were a delight too. Giorgio would not be alive if it were not for your Donatello’s amazing mind, Nelli and Raphael are like two peas in a pod, Vincent and Leonardo share a deep trust I’ve never seen the likes of before, and I don’t think Sofoniba would have held on for as long as she did without Michelangelo. All I could do to repay them, - repay you, was making sure they had a chance to make it back home. I do not deserve thanks, not after what led to this meeting.”

Splinter shook his head. “I would have done the same for your kids in a heartbeat. They’re our family, Yoshi. Karai barely knew us here, and yet she gave up her life without hesitation to make sure the boys could escape our Shredder. Different circumstances, different people - but the same love regardless. That is what it means to be Hamato.”

The spirit’s eyes closed, first in contemplation, then to try, but fail to stop the few tears that escaped his defenses. “You’re right,” he admitted with a sniffle. “You’re absolutely right.”

“So, ready to stop the pity party and go save our daughter? It sounds like the kids are cooking up something big!”

“Yes, I am,” he reopened his eyes. “She has braved the Shredder alone for long enough!”

“Then let’s go! It’s time for some, say it with me now;” Splinter smirked and so did Yoshi.

“HOT SOUP!”

******

RE: Everyone

As per the discussed plans; here is a basic mock up of what we need to accomplish in order to get the perfect ‘kill shot’ on Shredder. Remember your roles and stick with your partners!

Shed_The_Shredder.pdf

Gio pressed the send button on his phone and got back to work, going to his pockets for empty ink wells as he painstakingly crushed his chosen rocks into liquid. It was easier now with his ninpō unlocked, but still a delicate process nonetheless. He wondered if the current amount of bottles would be enough, placing his hand in a different pocket and pulling out what he assumed would be another - but he was tricked by the glass’ touch. Sofia’s sedative, somehow still intact after the assault from Drako. While Donnie had provided Gio with all the needed materials for ink making, this syringe had been with him this whole time - forgotten, but standing the test of time. Gio refused to dwell on ‘what-ifs’, storing it again, continuing his work, knowing it was useless for her now anyhow.

“Fascinating,” Junior said as he watched the process. “And I’m to use one of these ‘gofu’ slips as my weapon?”

“Yes, a very specific type of one. I once made and used one laced with poison to keep Draxum in line.”

“Uh...”

“We were still enemies back then - ancient history now,” Gio waved off and continued. “The point is, I'm recreating it with modifications, and I'll need you to apply it.

“Because you have need of my blood?” Drako said tiredly, readying one of his claws to draw an incision.

“What? No, no, stop!” Gio slapped the would-be victim hand away. “I need YOU to do this because everyone else is busy doing other roles in this fight! The last thing any of us would want you to do is shed more of your blood - especially Sofia! ...And especially me too.”

“...Ah,” Drako understood, memories of his meeting with Sofia at the hotel lining up with her claims of a brother needing rescue. “You were the one Sofonisba made the accord over.”

“Yes. Your blood was integral to my rescue. We wouldn't even be talking now if you hadn't given her that shaker. So, no, Junior, I don't need your blood for this gofu slip, and if I can help it, it won't be needed ever again.”

“Are you... threatening me?” Drako failed to comprehend Gio's words, causing the latter to deeply sigh and pinch between his eyes.

“And why would I be threatening you?”

“I...” he hesitated then mildly exploded, “I don't know!? I don't know you! This has all been... too much already, and you expect me to pick up on the nuance of your tone - a stranger to me? Kaijus, Hamato, different dimensions!? Ye gods, I just want my sister saved and for all of this to be over!”

“Ditto, big guy, ditto,” Gio shared the sentiment. “As soon as Sofia's back and settled, let me take a look at the egg too. If she can't heal it like you think she can, then I'll find another solution. Mystic and anything pertaining to it is kinda my thing.”

“Is it now?” He replied, intrigued.

“Mmhmm, and now you know that about me. And you know what else I can do with all my Mystic smarts?”

“What?” Junior continued to humor him.

“Find out where Sydney Quarry is,” he said so casually whilst still working on his ink that Junior thought he heard him wrong.

“...What?”

“Find out where Sydney Quarry is,” Gio repeated in a more explanatory tone. “I learned it secondhand later, but according to Draxum, she disappeared in a way indicating that she didn't want to be found - my theory that she was hiding from your father for yours and your sister's sake. Now that he's gone, well, why not at least tell her the good news?”

Junior stared at Gio dumbfoundedly. This turtle mutant he'd barely met was offering services he'd previously had no access to and would have no doubt been severely punished for seeking. For what reason? How would it ultimately benefit Gio to find his nanny? It didn't make sense, prompting Junior to say so. “...Why? Why would you do that for me? Do you need me in your debt for some reason or another?”

“...Wow,” Gio said sarcastically, beginning to cork each bottle. But it was lost on Junior, his posture clearly showing defenses raised and suspicion present as Gio looked to him. “I'm doing it because I want to - because like it or not, you're family, and family looks out for one another. Your father did one hell of a number on your psyche...”

“Family...?” Drako replied with a shudder to his voice. Of course he'd considered it in passing - his father even referring to them as such on occasion, but Junior knew they were nothing more than sacrificial pawns at the end of it all. ‘Cousins’ they were once dubbed, only in aid to an explanation, but now, truly, what were these turtles to him? After his sister was hatched - what then? If he were reunited with Quarry, would he still have need of them? No, no, he stopped that thought, not ever wishing to share his father's stance.

“Yes, family,” Gio reaffirmed. “We're blood related and we all despise your father, so, win-win. When the battle is over and the dust settles, I'd rather we all stick together, but if you want to split off after getting your sister hatched and Sydney back, then that's fine too. But for now, we're in this together,” he held out an ornate gofu to Drako. “Because I learned firsthand what trying to take the entire burden is like, and I'm not letting anyone do that garbage ever again - brother, sister, cousin, or whatever.”

Junior received it and said nothing, his eyes on the script he couldn't read as Gio's words swirled within his thoughts. Amongst them was the fact that Splinter was slain by his father’s hand, and that Sofia had turned herself into a beast to combat him. “Do I really deserve the title of ‘family’ after what's been said and done?”

“Your father is dead too, Junior,” Gio said as he finished gathering his tools. “And we're both essentially orphans because of him. I'm angry at him, not you, and I'm angry for you as well. Nothing about this is easy for either of us. And it shouldn't be - this shouldn't have to be our new normal, but it is, and it's not your fault. It never was, and it's never going to be.”

The rare sensation of his throat tightening assailed Junior - Gio's words touching a part of his mind long since locked away. Big Mama had briefly rattled the chains, but this new dub had thoroughly ripped them apart. Not... his fault? Surely at least some of it was, but he could see in Gio's eyes that this wasn't up for debate, and Junior found no will to fight him currently. “I need... some time to think on all this...”

“As long as you slap that gofu on the Shredder when I give the signal - you take all the time you need.” Gio's phone buzzed, prompting him to take it out, reading the message. “But you might want to hold that thought - because it's go time.”

******

The engines of four Shell Hogs revved - ready to carry their warriors into battle. “Oh, Donald, how he spoils us!” Leo said affectionately in a joking, posh tone from on top his. “Not only did he make two more ‘hogs, but he customized them to our colors!? When was he gonna break out these bad boys!?”

“I think they were supposed to be this year's B-day gifts,” His April tentatively revealed.

“Well, happy early Birthday to us!” He swung a sword, opening a large portal to their destination. “Vamanos!”

The four four cycles started their short journey, Leo leading the charge as they arrived into a specific part of the city. Casey particularly felt his nostalgia tickled as he viewed the memorial monument with its renewed (though now wilted for the spring) grass. It did feel like a fitting place to meet, a united front readying themselves to rescue the sister who brought them together in the first place. Be it accidental or some odd hand of fate guiding them, it mattered not, all arriving near the monument with the trio of Donnie, Vinnie, and Bishop waiting for them. Temporary walls were being put up all around them by various EPF members, hiding the current happenings and future acts from the people of New York - possibly a futile effort, but there were procedures to follow nonetheless, and an extra layer of caution was needed regardless due to the nature of the operation.

The Shell Hogs quieted as each driver and riders left their vehicles, finishing their approach, Bishop lowering his sunglasses to observe all the new faces and doppelgangers. “The Heads spoke no falsehoods...” he marvelingly muttered.

“They’ve been in our corner since the beginning, but as predicted, you share the same shaky relationship that my dimension has. Does me calling you out in public make even more sense now?” Vinnie said tiredly.

“...Your methods are brutish, but an overall means to an end,” Bishop gave him a non-reply, Vinnie shrugging, not caring now that his haphazard plan was coming together.

“And how are the new Shell Hogs?” Donnie greeted the group.

“They run like a dream! ...Mind if I keep one?” The other April joked, receiving a playful glare from Donnie. “Darn. Guess I’ll just modify the truck taking some... artistic liberties.”

“Just make sure you file the proper patents - I don’t want to sue someone across space and time,” he replied half joking, half seriously.

“B-R-B, grabbing the rest of the fam!” Leo jumped into one of his portals, blipping away, Bishop watching the act warily.

“And many Mystic related incidents in New York City are beginning to make sense...” He said, shaking his head. “Vexatious mutants...”

“...What, you thought a group of teenagers suddenly getting super powers weren’t going to test them out?” Mikey asked Bishop in all seriousness. “AND, we were helping with the whole mutant mayhem outbreak!”

“Hindering,” Bishop corrected, but shook his head. “But the past is the past. When all needed are present, we shall begin the operation, but you all must follow my instructions and accept the stipulations.

“Not sure I like the sound of that,” Nel raised a brow at him, Cassandra nodding with a cross of her arms.

“Whether you ‘like’ it or not does not factor into the regulations that we must follow-” a blue portal opened, Leo returning with Raph, Splinter, Draxum, Karai, Gio, and Junior - everyone sorting themselves into their respective families for Bishop’s benefit. He ignored a light banter that occurred as he fully understood the entire situation. “Am I to assume this is everyone?”

“It is,” Leo confirmed. “So let’s get this going! -And I swear, if this is a double cross, you’re grossly outnumbered. Thanks to your counterpart, I officially don’t fully trust you on principle.”

“This whole operation has been officially backed by the Hidden City’s Heads once contact was made. If I betray you, I betray them, and we in the EPF desire as little conflict as possible. This other Bishop’s actions do not dictate my own - however, as I mentioned to this group while you were absent, there are rules you all must follow before we commit to opening the portal.”

“...Which are?” The other dimensional Draxum pushed, a twinge of impatience in his voice that his twin shared.

“Organize yourselves accordingly; those who have traveled dimensionally to another universe or timeline, and those who have not,” he ordered and the group complied, leaving this dimension’s April, Splinter, Draxum, and Cassandra to Bishop’s left away from everyone else. He faced the separated four with his hands behind his back, planting his feet into a professional stance as he declared; “The four of you are hereby prohibited to enter into the portal.”

“WHAT!?” April dropped her bat in shock, Mayhem growling from her shoulder.

“Indeed! EXPLAIN!” Cassandra demanded.

“We risk polluting the time stream further by adding more foreign objects into it. We Utrom have painstakingly done our work within the limitations given to us by Lord Simultaneous and endeavor to keep Earth’s time stream clean whilst his gaze is elsewhere. Under any other circumstance, you all would be detained until cleared of your space time continuum related crimes, but as the situation is dire and threatens all life, I am allowing this portal - but all mercy has its limits. Remain here, or you will be labeled criminals and treated accordingly.”

“Wow, harsh,” Splinter said, then faced the other group. “I guess we don’t have much of a choice.”

“How much does this affect the plan?” Draxum addressed Gio, who crossed his arms in thought before answering.

“Less fire power to defend Karai and the other you, but other than that, it’s still manageable. Can you adjust accordingly?” He asked his Draxum.

“As long as Casey Jones keeps his counterpart busy and you all keep the Shredder away from Karai, I see little issue. My wounds prevent me from doing much else, and keeping your sister from further harm is my given role.”

“I’ve got him, don’t worry,” Casey reassured to both Draxum and Cassandra, the latter deflating from her lack of inclusion to the battle, but nodded at him knowingly.

“And I will do as instructed; summoning the Hamato clan to our side to empower our efforts. If Draxum has lost his ‘handler’ in April and my defender in Splinter, then the two of us shall gather around Sofonisba and continue as planned.”

“Agreed,” Draxum nodded. “Anything else?”

“In regards to those with dimensional travel experience; those belonging to this dimension must return as soon as the Shredder is defeated while the others will remain in their home dimension. This portal will remain open at a safe distance and will not close until all residents return. Do not dilly-dally. Am I understood?”

“Yes,” Vinnie answered firmly for everyone.

“Good. T-minus five minutes until the portal opens. Be ready,” Bishop walked off towards another in a suit, the group re-blending as told, Splinter approaching the other set of children.

They all regarded him with either awkwardly avoiding eye contact or mixed sorrows - no one really knowing how to address him, Splinter feeling nothing but empathy towards them as he held out their father’s urn. “Here,” he offered and Vinnie took it from him. “You are loved deeply, and he is proud of you all. We are all Hamato, and as I considered Sofia my child, so too are the four of you. Our time has been short, and I know your pain, but he is with you. Trust in Karai - in the Hamato, and you will overcome the Shredder and whatever else life throws at you.”

“...Thank you,” Vincent said, smiling at Splinter.

“Wow...” Their April took off her glasses to wipe away some tears. “No wonder Sofia had to stop herself from bawling when she first met you.”

“No kidding,” Nel sniffled, blinking back her own tears. “I get that he’s still around, but...”

“It doesn’t make it any easier,” Gio added. “But, we hear you, and we’ll be borrowing your kids for a little while longer.”

“By all means! They’ve got one Shredder under their belts, so watch their backs and they’ll watch yours! I know you all can do it!”

“Yeah, we can. Thank you,” Vinnie nodded, and Splinter nodded back, moving to his designated group while Karai took his place.

“Vincent, Giorgio, Nelli, April,” She said and they each perked up at the sound of their names. “I know this has been rather... jarring for all of you, and I thank you for taking your father’s decision to empower me in stride.”

“I mean,” Nel lightly shrugged. “We get how Hamato works, and we were all told what happened here in this dimension, so it was easier to swallow knowing what we did. Still...”

“It’s still... kinda hard,” April finished her thought. “And it doesn’t help that we don’t really know you.”

“But we can change that,” Gio added. “It might take awhile with everything going on, but we’d all like to get to know you, Karai. Afterall, you are our Gram-Gram.”

“I would like that very much,” she said genuinely, admiring her descendants as she gently placed a hand on Splinter’s urn. “Perhaps we could start by making your father a Butsudan together.”

“A what?” April asked.

“It’s those buddhist altars. We’ve seen them a lot in anime. Like a fancy looking cupboard, if I’m remembering correctly,” Gio explained.

“Oh, those!” Nel understood. “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea! We can make it all fancy!”

“If Drako didn’t scorch it, I have the perfect photo of Dad we can use,” Vinnie recalled.

“And I know how to make the appropriate incense,” Gio added.

“Which leaves the decorating to the girls! I bet Sofia will have some great ideas!” April further encouraged.

“Then it is settled. I look forward to learning more about my family. Now, please,” she held out her hands. “Take hold of my hands - your father wishes to speak to you all before we depart.” They all shared a look, complying hands joined, and so too did their consciousnesses, both Draxums watching from a short distance.

“Will you not join them?” One urged the other, the addressed shaking his head.

“Splinter and I have nothing more to say to one another. He bid me to take care of our family, and I shall. I have no need of a pep talk from his specter.”

“Fair enough,” Draxum relented. “So I shall give you this instead,” he held out a pocketbook to his other, receiving a raised brow before taking it.

“And this is?”

“A copy of the personal project I’ve been working on; Retro-Mutagen. Considering Sofonisba’s plight and the state of your Hidden City, you may have need of it.”

He flipped through it quickly, stopping to ponder on a few pages before closing it. “Thank you, I’ll find use for it amongst my own notes. The Alchemy methodology is different, but that may be just what I needed for a breakthrough.”

“Then there is nothing else left to be said between us now either. Good luck,” he separated back to Splinter, the two of them witnessing a group hug between Karai and her family as they all found a piece of closure together.

“I think we could use a group hug too, Dad, y’know, for good luck?” Leo teased his father who regarded him with an unimpressed look.

“We are past the need of conditional hugs, Leonardo. Besides, you have all done me proud in your efforts with our other dimensional family. If any of you wish hugs, you may have them-OOF!” He was suddenly smothered by his family, accepting his fate and using a free arm to force Draxum into the pile, which he begrudgingly accepted.

“...What the hell am I witnessing?” Junior said to himself, observing the two groups separating.

“Unconditional love - the best kind!” Raph answered from his pile.

“Which too can be yours for the low, low price of free,” Gio teased and Junior rolled his eyes. “Oh, so you don’t want to hug your sister? How sad!”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Well, we must get your own sister back first regardless,” their Draxum said. “Take your positions, everyone.”

“Right, let’s do this!” Leo clapped his hands and got everyone's attention. “If you’re on a Shell Hog, get it running and grab your partner. If you’re not, you’re on standby while I place you where you’re needed. I’m going to drop Mayhem off at the lair as soon as the portal’s open, so keep your wits about you until I’m back.”

“Take Dad too,” Vinnie said and handed the urn to Leo. He accepted it alongside the still exhausted Mayhem from April.

“Okay, I’ll make sure they’re both safe.”

“Turtles and associates!” Bishop called out to them. “Make ready!”

The wind picked up as sparks began to form, indicating their much needed aid was following through, quietly confirming their roles in anticipation. “Here we go!” Leo called out and all braced themselves as the portal started ripping through reality. “Next stop; Operation Shred the Shredder!”

******

Casey looked down upon the magic circle he’d prepared in the snow. The young, misguided ninja had memorized it some time ago, one of the many pieces of Foot Clan related materials he’d unearthed among the bodies. One would usually write it with chalk and activate it with pure Empyrean, but in the current circumstances, they’d make do. He placed his naginata down and rolled up a sleeve, finding what he expected, but still inhaled sharply at the sight of it. Scales. Mutated. Casey was more numb to it the more he thought on it, knowing it was an inevitability, but also knew he could now use his own blood to activate the ritual. If Wyrm’s Blood was really as all he’d heard about, there should be little complications in using it as a substitute.

“It is done,” Shredder announced behind him, Casey just then realizing the sounds of battle had ceased. He turned to greet his master, eyes immediately falling onto whom he was dragging instead. A barely recognizable mass of flesh was tightly scruffed in his gauntlet - shallow breaths only discernible via the temperature catching them. Sofia could heal herself no longer - the Janome meeting its match.

He roughly tossed whatever was left of her into the middle of the circle, no ears to hear, no eyes to see - only breathing was allowed, the bare minimum needed to tether her soul for extraction. But her thoughts were still intact amongst the pain and terror - both so beyond imagination that they’d looped back into whatever numbing sensation Sofia was currently experiencing. In her darkness she wondered; how much longer. How much longer until her family came for her? She still believed her father’s words, they would come for her... but how much longer did she have to endure? Was she even worth saving at this point? Was she even still Hamato with how tainted she felt? Maybe... maybe they weren’t coming back. Mikey’s and Gio’s horrified expressions haunted her, heart still on the mend as her father hadn’t shared their fear. Would they accept her just as easily as he had? Would they... still love her? She had no strength left to cry, and yet, the tears came; scared, lost, lonely Sofia having no answers for her troubles, and the two onlookers cared nothing for her state beyond what little usefulness was left of it.

“Begin the ritual before it weeps itself to death,” he ordered and Casey managed to tear his eyes away from the creature, picking up his naginata, lining it up with his wrist to make an incision. “...Wait,” he was stopped, his master looking warily around them. “Something is afoot.”

Casey tried to sense whatever the Shredder was, either nothing at all to be detected, or it was already upon them. It turned out to be the second of the two - giant motorized bikes whipping past them. The first two amply caught their attention, both watching them ride off, setting up the diversion perfectly. The second pair were literally chained together, whizzing over Casey’s head and hooking into the Shredder’s neck, clotheslining him, taking him unawares - dragging him helplessly away from his conquest and to a destination unknown.

“PUNCH IT!” April ordered her fellow driver, Mikey keeping his chains steady behind her.

“You don’t gotta tell me twice!” Raph replied and matched her speed, Vinnie maintaining the connection with his ice keeping the chains in place.

Casey stared at the happenings, dumbfounded, and his attention was caught once again by another inexplicable occurrence. There were blue blips of Mystic shining around him, failing to place them before they disappeared then reappeared again. They were too fast, too planned, and just as Casey figured out that portals were their origin, did he feel a sudden hand on his shoulder. It pulled him backwards, Casey lacking the strength to retaliate as he fell into a portal, seeing the back of a familiar turtle shell just before it closed. He fell out of it into a new location, unable to catch himself as he landed in the snow. Were it not for his hockey mask, he’d have involuntarily eaten snow, Casey shaking the bulk of it off as he refound his footing. Judging by the current wind and the echoes of battle below, he’d been taken somewhere high - and his path to view the presumed position was blocked by someone unknown - their back to Casey.

“...Are you proud of yourself?” Casey Jones said through his own mask, his eyes on the magic circle as Draxum and Karai ran into it, the former summoning an unreal amount of roots into a dome around them.

“And just who the hell are you!?” Casey hissed through his pain and rising anger. Casey Jones didn’t answer, instead turning to face him - identical masks with mismatched markings meeting. “What... what the hell? Where did you get that mask!?”

Casey Jones flipped his up in response, Casey’s shock multiplying to levels beyond his comprehension towards the one staring him down. “Why don't you tell me?” His words were caught in his throat, unable to believe what he was seeing. Not young enough to be his twin, but not old enough to be his father. Did he have a brother? No, his mother died not long after he was born - Arnold had told him so. “You have five seconds to give me any kind of reaction before I start swinging,” Casey Jones threatened, winding up his chainsaw hockey stick. “Because I’m out of patience for your bullshit, Casey.”

“I-I,” he complied in pure reaction, coming back to himself, somehow piecing the truth together in what he could manage to believe. “H-how...? And why?”

“How? You put the Shredder back together, you can revive an ancient evil for shits and giggles, you can make yourself undetectable - but you can’t figure out how your future self is dropping in? Really? And as to why, -well, that should be obvious,” Casey Jones expertly lied while peppering in his own genuine anger. “So, again; are you proud of yourself? Is this what you wanted?”

“...If it gets the job done, then sure...” he replied as his own anger returned and shock was starting to ebb.

“The ‘job’ - what job? You think losing your Dad makes it OK to unleash the Shredder on the world? Will other kids losing their parents to the demon warlord as he takes over make you feel better, Casey? I promise you; it doesn’t.”

“THEN WHAT WILL!?” He screamed and threw off his mask, revealing his mutation laced with anger. “IT’S ALL I HAVE LEFT! THEY TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!”

Casey Jones’ shock was momentary, not fully understanding the circumstances, but it didn’t matter in the slightest, keeping up his verbal assault. “No, Casey; Drako took everything away from you - and he’s dead, you killed him, but not before he killed and took away their Dad too,” he motioned with his head to the continuing battle below - icicles whipping out of blue portals, causing explosions of snow and dust in their wake.

“And why would I give a damn about a mutant’s father!?”

“Because by your logic, you’re next on the chopping block - an eye for an eye, right? You’re ready to die already, I know that, but those mutants down there; they aren't your enemies; they’re your family.”

“...What...!?” he glared at his supposed ‘future self’.

“Trust me - in every dimension, in every timeline, Casey Jones befriends the mutant ninja turtles. They care about you more than you know, and you owe it to them to at least give peace a chance.”

“I will never, ever become friends with those abominations!” He was undeterred, Casey Jones deciding to use his trump card, having weaved a lie with the help of Nel and his own personal experiences.

“Here are the facts, Casey;” he began, throwing down his weapon to further prove his point. “They’re going to defeat the Shredder, and in the original timeline you, or I guess ‘we’ run off to the Krang portal platform in desperation. The entire Krang legion descends on Earth, takes it over, the remaining humans, mutants, and Yōkai being forced underground to try and create a resistance. In our despair, realizing what a fool we’d been and essentially dooming millions to their deaths, tried to end it all - but our mutation is a hard one to crack, especially with all that Wyrm’s Blood. Enter the turtles, putting aside past grievances, nursed us back to health, healed the mutation, and turned the other cheek despite everything. I’m here now because of them - do you think I’m wearing this for fashion?” he knocked on his turtle plastron chest plate. “You might not care now, but you will, and that’s why I’m here to stop you. Things can get better, Casey, or horrendously worse.”

Hot tears of stubbornness ran down Casey’s cheeks, attempting to swallow all he’d told, still unable to find resignation as he gripped his naginata towards Casey Jones. “I don’t believe you!”

“Then we’re doing this the hard way,” he kicked his weapon back up into his hands, one of them going for his earpiece. “Giorgio, plan S.”

“Roger,” he replied back. “Leo? When you have a moment.”

“I’m on my way!” he sounded strained, but warped himself to Gio, then Casey, depositing a syringe into his student’s hand.

“Thanks, Sensei.”

“Anytime, Case,” he said between huffs and puffs, facing the other Casey as he started taking backwards steps towards the cliff’s edge. “And YOU enjoy your nap! You’re heckin’ cranky, kid!” He dropped off, Casey Jones paying Leo’s theatrics no mind as he uncapped the syringe with his teeth.

“The hell are you trying to do-!?”

“Sedate you, cure you, and let you wake up in a kinder world.”

“As if I’d let you-!” He started, only for Casey Jones to knock the worn, bent naginata out of his hands.

“Please, you can barely stand,” he took steps towards Casey. “This very syringe was meant for Sofia, to stop her mutation, and it survived in her brother’s pocket all this time after you sicced Drako on them. I don’t believe in divine intervention, but it survived for you, Casey - I believe that.”

“I’d rather die than become you! Don’t touch me!” He attempted to take a step back, tripping back into the snow, Casey Jones pinning him before he could resist, injecting the serum into his neck where the scales had yet to reach. “NO-!”

“Goodnight, Casey.”

Casey’s struggling tapered, then ceased as his forced slumber began, Casey Jones heaving a sigh of relief as his mission was complete. “Oscar worthy performance, Case, bravo,” Donnie sounded in his earpiece. “You said your minor was still undeclared, right? I legit think you have a talent for this.”

“I’ll uh, think about it?” he sheathed his weapon, patting down Casey, finding what he sought. “Regardless, Casey, and his Krang key are secured. Awaiting further instruction.”

“Standby,” Gio answered, continuing his task next to Donnie on their own distant cliffside. He commanded the enchanted ink onto the gofu, then threw them towards his twin - affixing and settling, Donnie accepting each of them as he waited for the process to be finished.

“Are you done?” He asked and Gio clicked his tongue in response.

“Are you covered yet?”

“...No?” He checked himself, still able to see green spots here and there.

“Then no, not yet. Why, is everyone in position already?”

Donnie flipped his goggles down, able to view the distant, ongoing battle. “No, they’re still in the chains phase.

“Well, I’ll be done before the pillar phase. Keep me updated and I’ll keep wrapping you.”

“Here's hoping everything's going alright in the dome...” Donnie switched his gaze to it.

“Even if Karai has difficulties, which she might with how long she's been gone, if we’re lucky, we might not even need the whole clan after you’re done with the Shredder.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it. Our perfect blend of science and Mystic will seize the day! -And I was referring more to Sofia. I barely got a glance at her before Draxum locked in...”

“...We made it in time. Draxum is with her. She'll be OK, she has to be...!” Gio said, applying ink more aggressively, not even willing to entertain the worst. He wished there had been more time to prep, and while he trusted Draxum to take care of Sofia with what knowledge and skills he had, Gio knew a few well penned gofu slips would have helped his sister as well. But he was needed here, with Donnie, ensuring that his twin had ample protection and aid for what he was about to attempt.

Inside the dome itself was an expectantly struggling Karai and an equally panicked Draxum. Her attempts to connect with her people’s spirits were being answered with silence while Draxum felt true helplessness as he staunched countless wounds with tightly woven roots - Sofia responding in pain with each stitch - unsure if she was being aided or attacked again.

“Shhh, Sofia, let me do my work,” he attempted to comfort her with a steady hand, knowing from his observations she could no longer hear nor see him. His blood boiled for her and at himself for allowing this to come to pass. Months ago, he wouldn’t have cared, another failed experiment to ultimately trash, but his past self was blind to the wonders of fatherhood, and the visceral pain of failing his children that came with it. He felt every pained breath from Sofia in his very soul, wanting nothing more than to tear the Shredder apart himself, but Draxum was painfully aware at how outmatched he was.

“...They will not answer me,” Karai said from her position, sighing in frustration as her focus turned from her efforts to Draxum and Sofia. “What can I do to help? If I cannot gather the Hamato of yore, then I will aid those here as I can instead.”

“I don’t know,” Draxum shook his head, gently holding Sofia down as he forcibly closed another wound. “Sofia was our designated healer - quite honestly overworked in her role, and none among us can match her level, especially with injuries this grave.”

Karai knelt down to the beast, feeling Splinter’s heartache mix with her own compassion. She brushed her fingers against the sullied scales, witnessing her flinch from it, giving way to a theory as Karai fully got down on her knees. “She does not know she is no longer alone. Sofonisba is lost in despair.”

“And she is too injured to know otherwise,” Draxum added somberly.

“Then we will tell her directly - Splinter and I both,” She placed both her hands on Sofia, eyes aglow as Karai’s Hamato crest surfaced - hers and Splinter’s essence pouring into Sofia. The known blank, black plane greeted Karai, Splinter separating himself from her as they ventured forward. Sofia did not greet them, perhaps so lost they would have no choice but to find her, but the task was not impossible. They soon found invasive ripples - Krang tendrils stretching every which way, leading them to an expected and inevitable scene. Sofia’s essence stood idly - trapped and merged with whatever remained of the Dragon’s Eye. She regarded the intruders accordingly, screeching at their approach - everything and anything a threat until proven otherwise.

“Sofia!” Splinter called out, brief recollection in her eyes before Sofia’s guard rose again. “We’re here, Sofia - all of us!”

“Child of the Hamato - you are fighting alone no longer. Calm your rage, your sorrow!”

Sofia’s mouth opened, mulling over their words, but pursed her lips with a shake of her head. Clarity had returned to her eyes, and with it, a truth that prevented their comfort. “Do.. I,” she struggled out. “Look like a... Hamato to you? I am... I am...!” She couldn’t bear to say it - ‘tainted’. For all her efforts, she was consumed, first her body, and now her soul - powerless to stop it.

“You are Sofonisba Hamato,” Splinter started taking steps towards her. “The tiny weeping turtle that grew up stubborn and headstrong. An artist of many mediums, an absolute whiz in energy manipulation, and one who holds an incredible, deep love for her family. No relic or ancient evil will change that. There is fight left in you yet!”

Sofia eyed her father as he held out a hand to her, almost taking it, but stopped herself. “I’m... tired, Dad. I’m scared. I don’t want to do this anymore...”

“I know, Sofia, I know,” he said, feeling the weight of her words.

“But your family - they fight on. Rest your body, but not your spirit, Sofonisa - they still need you!” Karai encouraged and joined Splinter in holding out her hand.

Sofia snorted. “Do they really?”

“Hey! Any more talk like that and I’ll get Michelangelo over here! Don’t think I won't!” He threatened and there was a spark in her eyes, knowing Splinter’s words to be true as memories of her twin resurfaced - all the time they’d spent together, his absolute unwavering enthusiasm - but at the end of it all, she recalled his horrified expression as he beheld her transformed body. The spark extinguished as soon as it appeared.

“He doesn’t want to see me...” She shook her head. “We’re not even twins anymore...”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Splinter switched his offered hand to a firm chop, disciplining his obstinate daughter. She reacted more in shock than actual pain. “Do you think Michelangelo would abandon you just because you gave him a little fright!? He fights with your siblings, injured, and only you on his mind! He and everyone else don’t care about how you’ve changed, Sofia - they care about getting the Shredder done and dusted so we can all go home together. You are Sofia, you are Hamato, and you are loved. Now, come on, no more wallowing in self pity. We are with you and Draxum will keep you safe until the battle is done.”

Sofia’s doubts started disappearing as she beheld the hands offering her comfort once again. She reached out to them, firmly grasping each in her hands, - Karai and Splinter pulling her from the Krang cage and embracing her as Hamato energies thrice combined caused the tendrils to flee. On the outside of it all, Draxum noticed Sofia relax significantly, figuring Karai had gotten through to her, but his attention was caught elsewhere - the distant battle’s shockwaves rattling the root dome.

“Missed me again!” Nel taunted as the Shredder punched through her, Raph taking the opportunity to land a blow as she flipped away and rematerialized.

“Which means another knuckle sandwich!” He delivered the punch, staggering Shredder for a mere moment, his attention on the Scarlet Siblings with pure rage as he’d been thoroughly knocked around by them.

“Your games end now!” He roared, taking flight, Mikey and April on him in seconds.

“Nuh-uh! Get back down here!” Mikey whipped his chains around one of the wings, April switching the Shell Hog into reverse and giving the gas all she had.

“Pardon me, copying your technique for a tick,” Vinnie said and formed his ice into chains, taking the other wing and then jumping back into a Leo provided portal.

“Chain portals!” Leo echoed through another as April entered into it - Nel and Raph choosing one each, adding their strength to the tug of war as they wrapped their arms around the chains - ultimately bringing the Shredder down, telling him these new additions were more of a hindrance in this situation.

“To think mere children would cause me such difficulty,” He stood up, undeterred, surrounded by the group again.

“Sorry, didn’t catch that - I couldn’t hear you through all the snow and dirt caked on your face. How’s the ground taste, by the way?” Leo joked, tapping his swords on his shoulders playfully.

“If only he was actually taking damage...” Leo heard Vinnie growl under his breath. “We’re tiring ourselves out instead of the other way around.”

“Yeah, I’m,” Leo stopped to take a breath, “admittedly feeling it. This Shredder coked up on dragon’s blood is a super something, alright.”

“Super pain in the neck...!” Nel hissed, cracking her own.

“Then it’s time to deviate slightly and move onto the next phase,” Donnie sounded in their earpieces. “If he can’t be fatigued then chained for the poison, then we’ll do a little switcheroo instead. Same endgame, but you’ll need to make an opening for Junior, then string up the Shredder. Considering our own Shredder didn’t take physical damage until the big ol’ Hamato family spear, this was always in my calculations.”

“What do we do, Don?” Raph asked in a way that awaited orders.

“You and Nel keep him busy while Mikey gets into position. Oh, and Vinnie, since you can more or less copy Mikey to an extent, you’re helping him out now too, just in case.”

“Got it,” Vinnie agreed, locking eyes with Mikey, both of them nodding.

“Leo, get ready to get everyone out of there. I am mere moments away from being ready to fire, and everyone needs to get as far back as Draxum’s dome at least.”

“I hear you loud and clear. Nel, Raph, he’s all yours for now,” he disappeared into a portal, taking a more advantageous position to quickly evacuate the fighters while Vinnie, April, and Mikey backed off to where they were required.

“Culling your ranks or are you simply accepting the doom of your clan?” Shredder taunted, flexing his gauntlets - the stains upon them particularly touching a nerve in Nel. “Your beast was no match, and no matter how many you number, neither shall you be.”

“Would you just shut up!?” Nel’s temper flared, finding a foothold and launching herself at the Shredder. They wanted a diversion, she’d give them one, putting everything into her strength - deaf to cautionary plea from Raph, the Shredder delighted his provocation was successful.

Nel’s scream echoed and shook all to their core - a spear emerging from the ground where Shredder stood, catching on her skin - where exactly revealed as her bandana ripped loose and flew past Raph’s vision. “NELLI!” Raph rushed to her side, grabbing her away from another blow.

“JUNIOR, NOW, GO NOW!” Gio ordered as Raph prepared to take a hit to his construct, shielding his wailing sister. Junior’s approach didn’t go unnoticed, but being unable to deviate from his current task in tandem with Junior’s speed was the Shedder’s downfall, the sudden appearance of the dragon and his hand to his chest telling.

“Begone,” he calmly commanded, sticking the specialized gofu as instructed, then pivoted back to Raph and Nel, picking them up effortlessly and flying them to safety. There was visible confusion on the Shredder’s maw, but just as its previous incarnation had done, the gofu sunk past the armor - activating immediately as all the requirements were met. It brought the Shredder to his knees, feeling the poison spread - knowing it wasn't fatal to this form, but effective nonetheless, unable to dodge or perceive Mikey’s chains. To a pillar he was tied - it emerging from another gofu Mikey had placed earlier. He struggled through the poison, pushed against the chains, but another round of them further trapped him, Vinnie delivering a look that could kill before hopping on the passing Shell Hog - the trio disappearing into a portal.

“You will not succeed, you will not!” The Shredder continued his struggle, coughing, wheezing up cyan blood as his host’s body betrayed him. From the cliff housing Donnie and Gio did the Shredder spy a gleam - Mystic machinery sparkling in the sun, revealing to him the rest of their plan.

“Locking on,” Donnie said, his calm exterior hiding any leftover panic from Nel’s sudden injury. His Mystic was formed into an exact replica of the EPF’s kaiju felling weapon. He knew it intricately, studied it from the moment Bishop had given him the blueprints in warning. The demonstration solidified Donnie’s theory - he could recreate it with his Mystic, but he couldn’t power it without repercussions. The memory of doing chest compressions on Sofia when she’d used every bit of her energy came to mind. He would be in the same position as her if he’d dare try to fire it completely on his own power - but Donnie wasn’t alone, practically looking like a Halloween mummy once Gio was finished with him.

“Fire at will - I’ve got you,” his twin reassured and Donnie needed no more encouragement.

“Eat Ley Lines and get shredded!” He declared, he fired, - the discharge of the weapon echoing, the recoil of it knocking Donnie back as the gofu did their job, letting him live, but still in need of another’s help - Gio catching him, checking his vitals, then jumping them through the provided portal as the Ley Lines activated.

The initial blast did not harm the Shredder, completely unaware of how it had ultimately changed his biology and marked him for death. The poison ran its course, able to break the chains and find freedom again, but it was a short lived victory. The ground shook - the Earth came alive, and the Shredder was faced with an enemy he’d never anticipated. Like a pack of crazed, hungered hyenas did the Ley Lines descend upon him, the blended Hamato clan ignoring his frustrated, agonized screams as they gathered behind Draxum’s roots.

“Donnie!” Leo went to his brother. “Donnie, are you OK?!”

“M’fine,” he slurred, cringing, but recovering, crawling out of Gio’s arms.

“And Nel!?” Gio redirected his attention to his sister, Raph having shed his own bandana to staunch the bleeding.

“I’m fine!” she spat, angry at herself. “I got a giant Shredder gash on my forehead, and I can’t see with all this blood in my eyes, but I’m fine!”

“ACCURSED HAMATO - THIS WILL NOT END ME! I WILL ANSWER YOUR COWARDICE WITH INDIGNATION!” Shredder's voice desperately howled, each of them flinching under it, then bracing themselves as the earth shook harder, more and more Ley Lines snaking past them to combat the Shredder.

“Literally what cowardice - I just threw myself at you like an idiot...” Nel further growled at her poorly timed temper.

“It's not cowardice; it's ingenuity,” Junior corrected. “The Krang created him, so why bother cleaning up their mess?”

“Yeah, that's just the sound of a sore loser,” Casey added.

“He hasn't lost yet - don't lower your guards,” Vinnie lightly chided, knocking a specific pattern on the roots, Draxum opening them in reply.

“Get inside!” he commanded even as they were already filing into the dome. Draxum closed it behind them, all finally taking a moment to catch their collective breaths despite the building chaos. He opened his mouth again with the intention to get an update, but Draxum stopped on seeing where everyone’s attention fell. Sofia’s appearance had stunned them all into silence - even Junior, who was acquainted with this form, but it has changed even more drastically since his departure. Draxum could feel all of their mixed emotions clearly, changing his words accordingly as he addressed them. “I have done what I can for her. Sofia lives, and she is fighting, but the sooner we wrap this up, the sooner we can apply proper treatment.”

“Show her that you are here,” Karai pleaded, her eyes conveying how their sister needed them now. “The Hamato Clan will not answer my summons - but we are here, we are Hamato.”

Mikey was the first to approach, Gio right behind him, both placing a comforting hand on her. Sofia didn’t shy away from their touch - a low, calm growl acknowledging them, thanking them for their warmth, relieved to know they were near. The rest of followed suit, sans Junior, who hung back next to the unconscious, defeated Casey. His mind was still mulling over Gio’s words, not feeling it was his right to claim familial relations despite not hating the idea of it.

“We’re back, Sofs,” April failed to hide a quiver in her voice and lips. “Sorry it took us so long...!”

“We’ll get you all fixed up, just a little longer!” Mikey further reassured, tears spilling as he brought his forehead to her. “Just a little longer...!”

The Shredder let out another tortured bellow, all realizing how close it sounded, each feeling their hearts skip a beat - and Junior jumped in front of the group with an order; “Split the roots! NOW!”

Draxum saw the sparks beginning to emit from Junior’s mouth, understanding, obeying, allowing the stream of fire to hit its target - the Shredder upon them. He was barely being held together by the decaying remains of Drako, the realization igniting Junior’s flames brighter, hotter, - his own twisted grief allowing this burst of power. “THis wiLL nOT-!” The Shredder struggled, yet persisted, Ley Lines lapping at his existence, attempting one last desperate attack to finish the Hamato off once and for all - but the sudden flames prevented him entry. They were out of tricks - exhausted, injured, and very few among them with fight left, leaving Junior to his desperation - but he soon realized he was not alone.

Sofia’s crest surfaced, feeling all her family present, unaware of the continued peril, but wanted everyone to know she had felt them, known their love, and Karai knew what must be done. “Everyone, together!” She touched one hand to Sofia and the other to Junior, nodding at them, knowing Junior’s flames would not last forever. With first reluctant but renewed hope, all followed suit, all siphoning their strength into Sofia, transferring it to Junior, empowering him with the Hamato’s will.

The root dome burst from the surge of power, Junior’s flames exploding and changing color to that of the Hamato’s essence. With eyes aglow, he took a step forward, ignoring the screeching emitting from the fading creature. He heard his name uttered from it, a mix of the Shredder’s and his father’s voice attempting a plea, but it only further stoked the flame, feeling one more pool of energy dredge itself from the depths of his being - Junior’s long sought after, abused blood allowing the final push. Alongside the cheers from these unlikely allies, these creatures he once only saw as a means to an end, - Junior incinerated the Shredder.

The Ley Lines retracted as Junior fell to his knees, unable to utter a word from his parched, damaged throat. Vinnie and Leo moved to catch him as he fell backwards, the well timed combination of their powers allowing him a fall without injury. From the fleeting, leftover flames, stood a figure over them, Karai meeting its gaze with melancholy. Oroku Saki.

“My daughter...” He looked disoriented, viewing all those around her. “What has become of the Hamato? I sense them... no longer...”

And just like that, a theory she’d kept to herself arose to validity. All Hamato had essentially vanished from this dimension - Sofia’s essence severed on her initial sacrifice, thus the connection to her people long lost to the passage of time was gone. But all was not misplaced, the glow of Hamato still present around her in a new generation. “You are beholding them, father. The Hamato lives on.”

He accepted her answer, apologizing with a bow while uttering; “Indeed, and it, as it ever will be, is beautiful. Farewell, Karai,” he faded away to whichever afterlife would take him - the battle won. All shared looks with one another, as if they were still confirming it was truly over, Karai soon quieting their worries as she nodded to them with a small, reserved smile.

“...We did it,” Leo confirmed for everyone.

“Thank you Ley Lines and Junior!” Donnie heralded.

“Y-you're-” Junior coughed, “welcome. Ow.”

“Right, medical attention!” April snapped out of her initial relief.

“Start with Sofia, I think DJ and I will live,” Nel said and Junior received the nickname with a sour expression, not willing to refute with his voice as the pain was constant. “What? Everyone in the fam gets a nickname. Accept it, you’re one of us now.”

“Okay, okay, where am I taking her - Draxum’s lab? Gio’s? Some Hidden City hospital?” Leo primed his swords.

“...No,” Draxum answered somberly, removing his hands from Sofia, balling them, Leo about to question further, but understanding reached him first. “She is gone.”

“...What?” Gio said, his gaze snapping to his sister, feeling the warmth leave her, but undeterred, began his demands. “No, no, no-!” don’t do this, Sofia!” He desperately turned to begging. “Please, please! We can’t lose you too...!”

Woes blended with refusal to accept reality - none anticipating this despite it being a very real possibility. Amongst the whirlwind of each trying to process the current happens was Vinnie petrified in his thoughts. Losing Splinter was one thing, but they were so determined and sure they could save Sofia, that losing her also didn’t even factor into anything they foresaw. Sofia had intended for them to get to safety, believed in their return, but they were ultimately too late. Vinnie started shaving off seconds, minutes, hours from their trip that could have given Sofia a better chance at life. His tantrum over Casey - had it never happened his sister could still be breathing. His mourning over Splinter - harsh as it seemed, if he’d powered through it better, would Sofia have survived? Could he have approached Bishop sooner - could the portal back been done while Sofia was still combating the Shredder? If he could turn back the hands of time, Vincent would - all of them would.

“What’s going on over there...?” Cassandra squinted into the portal, the left behind quartet so far away from viewing the battle that all they could manage to observe were the flickers of Mystic and hear the cries of the Shredder. “It's... too quiet.”

Bishop responded by putting his arm out in front of them, his stance unchanged. “They will return soon. Do not attempt to-” The portal rippled, then disappeared in a blip, Bishop turning to where it once stood, confused and astounded.

“What the-!?” April threw up her hands with a scoff. “WHY did you close it!?”

“I... did not,” Bishop admitted, then took out a device with a dial attached - its needle spinning endlessly. Draxum grabbed it from him, observing it and understanding.

“Someone, or something, is interfering,” he said.

“Oh no...” Splinter eyed the monument, feeling his chest tighten. “What’s happening now...?”

Vinnie involuntarily welcomed the numbness brought on by attempting to check Sofia’s vitals. Cold - there was nothing to check. Tinnitus flared, muting everything around him as Vinnie still kept trying to find a fix while truth slapped him in the face. But something else muted everything - quite literally pausing reality, and it went unnoticed until Vinnie witnessed one of his tears fall, then pause midair, alerting him to the phenomenon. The abrupt sound of clapping forced Vinnie to his feet - whipping his body around to find the one delivering the applause. A short man clad in white robes with a forked hat stopped the gesture as their eyes met.

“Bravo, you all actually pulled it off,” he sounded genuinely impressed, Vinnie still stuck in his shock.

“I-I’m sorry...?” He replied, his attention shifting to the rod-like weapon planted in the snow next to the mystery visitor, confirming who he was.

“Vincent Hamato,” he said in a more serious tone. “You know who I am, don’t you?” Vinnie nodded, and he continued. “Good, saves us some time, though, not a lot. Anywho; let me paint you a little picture, okay? I’m busy cleaning temporal spillage from various time periods, when suddenly more starts to spew from who knows where, so I send my apprentice to figure it out and then report back. Still with me?”

“Y-yes,” Vinnie nodded again.

“Fantastic. I love the well informed! Anyways, I didn’t get any report - nada, zilch! I figured, ‘fine, guess it’s just another hiccup’ like, maybe I missed a lesser universe imploding or something. But NO, I should’ve trusted my gut, because what do I find once I finally have a moment to check in? My apprentice is watching this marriage of universes like it's the newest soap opera INSTEAD of alerting me to it! She just couldn’t tear her eyes away from all the drama - really rooting for all of you and making predictions like some crazed fangirl.”

“Um,” Vinnie managed, nervously avoiding eye contact as he tried to place a name and a face.

“It is exactly who you’re thinking of, Vincent,” He chuckled, Vinnie giving into a sigh as he faced Lord Simultaneous properly. “Now I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here, why I’ve stopped time for just you.”

“Honestly, yeah, I am. I-I don’t even know what you could possibly want from me.”

“I’ll be frank, Vincent, this Earth and eventually this universe, is doomed.”

“...What!? How!? Why!?”

“I don’t know,” Lord Simultaneous shrugged. “There are some things even I can’t see or predict. All I know is that this universe has been sorted accordingly by Null-Time and wasn’t considered worth observing - until now. You have your sister to thank for that - flinging herself across space and time to cause enough spillage for me to notice. Had my apprentice done her job, I would have corrected her place in the time stream and we’d all have gone on with our lives, but now things are a little more complicated, and a little more positive in the grand scheme of things.”

“Positive...?” Vinnie repeated the word, its meaning betraying him as he shook his head. “What’s positive about this!? My sister is dead! And my universe is doomed!?”

“I implore you to calm yourself, I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it,” Lord Simultaneous gently talked Vinnie down. “In educating myself about this universe, about where the temporal spillage was coming from, I found you, and I find your power very interesting. I couldn’t help but think; ‘what kind of Time Lord would someone with astral projection powers make?’ - a damn good one, that’s what!”

“Me...?” Vinnie pointed to himself, Lord Simultaneous nodding.

“In all technicality, it’s actually kinda unfair. You shouldn’t have all this knowledge and I should take it from you - but seeing a lot of this is partially my fault, I’d like to cut you a deal, Vincent. Will you hear me out?” Vinnie saw no reason to refuse him, not in this situation, nodding along. “Great, let’s cut to the chase. Become my apprentice, use your powers for the benefit of all time and space, and I’ll do you two favors in return. One; I’ll use the Time Scepter to get Sofonisba back on her feet.”

“-Seriously!?” Vinnie perked up. “I-I’ve seen the Time Scepter do... crazy stuff, but, can it actually?”

“Yes, it can, but I must warn you; it has a mind of its own, and it’s not particularly pleased with all the pollution she’s been causing lately. I’ll make sure she’s returned to you alive, stable, but I can’t promise anything more than that.”

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll do it, I’ll become your apprentice!”

“Slow down, let me get to the second thing too. Putting the eventual doom of this universe into perspective, it’s not necessarily set in stone. See, you all weren’t supposed to defeat the Shredder today. In fact, all of you were supposed to die, but you brought outside help, which is again, a little unfair, but I’ll allow it. As this other set of turtles haven’t done anything to damage their own timeline, they’ll get off scot free, but they must return sooner than later - they’ll be needed again soon.”

“I’ll bet...” Vinnie could only imagine.

“So,” Lord Simultaneous carried on, “usually when apprentices have downtime, I give them various chores to keep everything running smoothly, and yours will exclusively entail figuring out who or what threatens your universe. It’ll help hone your power further, and who knows, that threat, whatever it is, might need actual monitoring so it doesn’t leak into other dimensions. All of this will make you into a great Time Lord for Null Space, so it benefits me, and you. Are you still on board?”

“...Yes, I am,” he pledged resolutely.

“Wonderful,” Lord Simultaneous plucked the Time Scepter from the snow. “Let’s get started on the right foot then, eh?” He pointed it at Sofia, the gem atop of it and sands held within shining as the light transferred over to her, consumed her, then floated over to Vinnie. The light reformed and burst, a whole, unconscious Sofia falling into his arms, Vinnie crying out in relief as he caught her. She was heavily scarred, but she was breathing - she was alive.

“Oh god...!” He held her close, hearing her heartbeat, feeling her breath. “Thank you, thank you-!”

“You may not be so thankful after what I put you though, but, eh, you’re welcome,” he approached the siblings, kneeling down to grab something else the Time Scepter dropped. “So this is where it ended up...” Standing back up into Vinnie’s view revealed the Dragon’s Eye in Lord Simultaneous’ palm. “A bunch of artifacts I’d confiscated were lost during Savanti’s shenanigans, and I never even gave a thought to check the doomed universes...”

It cracked, then split in half, both he and Vinnie surprised by its sudden destruction. “Well... shit,” Vinnie lightly despaired. “Guess we’re paying that debt back after all. ...Mind if I have that?”

“It’s useless now, so, sure. Maybe Big Mama will go easy on you seeing as she didn’t say it had to come back in one piece,” he dropped it into one of Vinnie’s belt bags.

“I doubt it,” Vinnie said and Lord Simultaneous shrugged.

“Oh well, no use crying over the spilled Milky Way,” he took a few steps back from Vinnie and Sofia. “Anyways, I gotta get back. Oh, and I’ll tell that Bishop guy to relax and reopen the portal tomorrow - so you can all get your goodbyes in. I’ll come for you when the time is right, Vincent, but for now, you should probably get your sister out of the cold.”

Lord Simultaneous disappeared in a flash of light, the world coming back alive as the wind picked up and hit Vinnie - realizing he now had a blue cape down his back. The panic of his family continued, then abruptly stopped as they all realized Sofia’s body had vanished. The rustling of Vinnie’s new cape caught their attention instead, their brother facing them with the renewed Sofia in his arms.

“...What!?” Gio didn’t wait for an explanation, at his sibling’s side in seconds. He found Sofia’s pulse, gasping in disbelief, then hugging both her and Vinnie. “...She’s alive! She’s alive!”

“But... how?” Draxum viewed Vinnie, feeling something otherworldly about the cape, figuring something beyond comprehension had taken place. “What did you do, Vincent?”

“I uh...” His tears resurfaced. “...might have made a deal with a higher power. Whether it turns out to be angelic or demonic, I guess we’ll have to wait and see...”

******

Raph held Splinter’s urn as he looked around the scorched, destroyed lair of his other dimensional family. It wasn’t livable anymore, similarly to how the Shredder destroyed their first home. Leo had dropped off the Urn and Mayhem here before rejoining the battle, the latter already returned to April’s side as everyone was getting things sorted. While the majority of their party regrouped at the abandoned M.o.B. mansion at Junior’s behest, Raph and Nel offered to pick up Splinter - their sister in particular offering her powers to get to where everyone else couldn’t. They were gathering odds and ends, things that were needed, things that survived Drako’s assault, and everything in between. Nel had piled up a decent amount of items around Raph now, taking a trip into Sofia’s room to grab one more thing at Draxum’s request. Rubble covered the entrance, Nel easily phasing through and returning to her brother; a bundle of letters in one hand, and Sofia’s sketchbook in the other. Raph instead found his eyes on the bandages covering her head, one of her eyes covered too as the assault nearly took it.

“Found em’,” she said, dangling them briefly from what bound them. “I also grabbed her sketchbook. She’s gonna need something to do when she... wakes up...” Nel trailed off, taking a deep breath to chase off her emotions. “A-anyways, this should do, for now. I doubt DJ wants us loading every little thing into the mansion. And-” the sketchbook slipped from her hand, landing on its spine and opening to a page. “Ugh, butter fingers,” she clicked her tongue. “That’s why you’re carrying Dad and not me-” Nel stopped the motion of picking up the fallen book - the particular sketch on display that of her father. For some reason or another, it was the final straw that broke the camel’s back - Nel unable to stop her shaking as she began to weep.

“Hey, hey...” Raph placed the urn down and pulled Nel into a hug. “Come here, it’s OK, Nel, it’s gonna be OK,” She accepted it, their slight height difference allowing her to bury her face in his plastron. “It’s been a long few days, - you’ve done real well keeping it together.”

She sobbed, then managed a laugh. “My mangled face says otherwise...”

“That coulda been any of us,” he reassured and held her tighter, letting Nel cry herself out, only letting go once he felt her start to pull away.

“...I’m glad it was me,” she said with a hiccup. “It’ll keep me humble - I’ll need that in the Battle Nexus.”

“I’m sure Sofia will fix you up as soon as she sees it,” Raph said and Nel shook her head.

“No, I'm keeping it. I don’t need a pretty face anymore anyways. I doubt the Hidden City will change their stance on us any time soon, so I may as well own being the ‘scary’ mutant.”

“Nelli,” Raph disputed, but she giggled in response.

“It’s good, Raph, you’re right, it is going to be OK. It’s not going to be easy, and I’ll miss the hell out of you and your brothers, but we’ll be OK,” she spread her arms. “How about a one more hug before we split - one that doesn’t come packaged with a breakdown?”

He answered her earnestly, knowing this was inevitable, but still felt his own tears surface. “I’ll miss you too, Nel. You’re a big, beautiful bruiser - and aint no scar is gonna change that, you hear me?”

“Okay, okay-!” she responded to his squeezing with a laugh. “You’d better take care of your nails while I’m gone.”

“I won't ever skip a step!”

******

“You’re giving this to me...?” Gio marveled at the expansive, empty room Junior had led him, Donnie, and Draxum into.

“You and Draxum, yes,” he corrected. “With your home destroyed, and subsequently; your lab, you’ll be in need of a new one. Besides my sister, there is also the need of producing cures for the detained mutants, and I’m sure many other issues will arise that will require your expertise as well. I may also take you up on that other matter we briefly discussed.”

“It’s certainly large enough,” Draxum took a turn at appreciating the sheer size of the room. “However, are you sure you want to house us? It may cause irreparable damage to your public image.”

“Hah, what public image? Did you forget who my father was?”

“Be that as it may, you have the opportunity to denounce your father, and keeping mutants in your house may backfire it completely.”

“I honestly don’t care at the moment,” he made for the door. “It’s a worry for later, and right now, I want to fetch my sister from Big Mama before she starts getting any ideas. Besides, I’m not about to throw family out into the streets.”

Junior left the trio behind, Donnie smirking at the development. “What a sweetie pie.”

“You’re just jealous,” Gio stated.

“I AM - LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS PLACE! Oh, the tech I could manufacture in here!” He willingly admitted.

“I already have to share it with Draxum, so, sorry, no vacancy,” Gio teased and Draxum rolled his eyes.

“Very funny,” Donnie crossed his arms, but lifted one of his fists to Gio with a smile. “It’s been a gas, Gio. I didn’t think I’d miss you, but honestly, now I’m starting to feel it.”

“You sure you’re not just having post Shredder fight anxiety?” Gio raised a brow, but answered Donnie’s fistbump.

“You’re joking, but I swear that might actually be a thing. I had better not have to deal with a third Shredder down the line, because I’m feeling my stomach churn at the very thought!”

“Once was enough,” Draxum said Gio’s exact thoughts, his son nodding in agreement. “I’ll begin cleaning up here - you two should be off to the portal.”

“Aw, too bashful to say goodbye properly?” Donnie teased.

“You have your own Draxum - I am needed here and nowhere else. This was an interesting diversion, and working with you was enlightening, but our relationship ends here. Have a safe trip home,” he went further in, inspecting a pile of forgotten boxes.

“I’d be insulted if he didn’t follow up the diversion comment with a compliment,” Donnie sighed through his nose. “There are easier ways to say ‘I’d like to be alone.’”

“And you think he’s eloquent enough to convey it?” Gio snorted, then opened the door. “Come on, after you.”

******

“So, does the cape come off or is it now just a permanent part of your body?” Leo scrutinized the fabric harshly, making a round of Vinnie. They’d settled in the mansion’s library while waiting for Leo’s Casey to return - the subject of Vinnie’s currently being discussed.

“I have no idea - I’m too afraid to touch it,” Vinnie nervously admitted.

“It even matches your mask. I’d love the look if it didn't come with the stipulation of being a slave to a Time Lord! Seriously, Vin, are you gonna be OK?”

“I... don’t know, but it doesn’t matter,” Vinnie said with determination. “Sofia’s alive, and if this family is going to have a future, I need to figure out whatever is threatening this universe.”

“All by yourself...?” Leo made his worries known, Vinnie giving him a thankful smile.

“I’m sure I’ll have other apprentices to help me out. In fact, I think there’s another ninja turtle who’s a Timestress. I wonder if I’ll get to meet her...”

The door to the library opened, Casey Jones peeking his head in before fully entering. “Case! How’d it go, buddy?” Leo greeted him.

“Good, I think. Casey is gonna stay here instead of being put with the other mutants in the prison. Karai is going to take care of him, and Draxum is going to get some Retro-Mutagen in him... once he figures it out. Regardless, he’s sedated until further notice. I think if we woke him up now, he’d... try to kill everyone again.”

“Hoo boy, not able to talk-no-jutsu him away from the murder hobo life, huh?” Leo asked half jokingly.

“I tried - I almost got through to him, but, well, I’m sorry,” he addressed Vinnie.

“Don’t apologize, you did great-” A sudden pain assaulted Vinnie, his head pounding as the back of his eyeballs felt like they were being stabbed. He staggered from it, both Casey and Leo catching him before he fell.

“Woah, woah, easy, easy!” Leo lowered the three of them to the ground. “What’s wrong, Vin - Time Lord stuff!?”

“No, no,” he sucked air past his teeth in an attempt to force the pain away. “I think... everything just caught up with me at once. I’ll be alright.”

“Well, Case and I are staying right here for now, okay? We don’t need to be off to the portal immediately.”

Vinnie weakly laughed. “But the longer you’re here, the harder it’s going to be when we have to say goodbye.”

“C’mon, it’s not like we’ll never see each other again, right? Especially with your new shiny time and space job,” Leo mused.

“Again, no idea.”

“Alright, but, if you are in our dimension again, make sure you drop by. If you’re in our neck of the woods and I find out you didn’t, I’ll be really mad at you,” Casey added in all seriousness, making Vinnie snort into laughter, pulling them both closer.

“I wouldn’t dream of missing the opportunity to hang out with you guys again.”

******

Sofia lay motionless in a guest room provided by Junior, the bed quite frankly comical to her size, - the room itself too. Besides the slight rise and fall of her chest, nothing had changed since given her second lease on life - Mikey by her side all the while. He had hoped, prayed, that she’d wake up before it was time for him to leave, but he suspected something about this sleep was supernatural. It was a gifted miracle, and of course he was overjoyed she was alive, but there was a hidden cruelty to it all - the reasoning behind it a mystery to everyone but the Time Scepter. Still, Mikey attempted to reach her, saying what was on his heart.

"I don't know if you can hear me..." Mikey started, stopping to blink tears from his eyes before continuing. "But, I want you to know that this isn't over. You and me, were twinsies, and the time I spent with you is always going to be with me. Training together, sharing our sketchbooks, enduring those long tests at Draxum's lab - and of course, our prep and perfect execution of the Lightning Round. I'll always think of you when I see the mural, so, I-" a few tears escaped, Mikey ignoring them with a sniffle, knowing his time was almost up. "I want us to make a promise," Mikey looped his third finger into Sofia's, her body giving him no reaction as he gently curled it around hers. "I'm going to go home and train my shell off so that I can open and close portals without needing help - like we talked about. While I'm gone, you're gonna get better, and when we reunite, I'm gonna give you the biggest hug ever - the absolute biggest! So, please, Sofia...!" Tears fell freely, Mikey unable to stop his shaking. "Pinky swear, okay?" His finger squeezed hers, one more last attempt to break through, but no response was given. Mikey released Sofia, replacing her hand closer to her body before grabbing a blanket and tucking her in.

There was a knock at the door, April letting herself in quietly, their eyes meeting. April beckoned him, mouthing “it’s time to go,” - Mikey responding with a nod.

With his arm he wiped away his tears, swallowing the lump in his throat and taking a deep breath. A small smile surfaced in stark contrast to his swollen, red eyes, but he continued to wear it as he bid farewell with; "I'll be back before you know it."

Chapter Text

-Six months after the defeat of the Shredder-

Fifty coins. Fifty measly coins. For all his trouble; the pounding of his skull, his aching knuckles, and the countless bruises that would surface later, - he expected a better payout. It wouldn’t even cover rent and pickings were slim for work on this side of town, so he’d have to make do, ...somehow. For now, he wanted his bed, he wanted to sleep away his worries - it was all there was to look forward to. No matter how much he fought, how many different fight clubs he’d frequent, there was never enough money to go around in the Hidden City’s underbelly. All those born there attempted to claw their way up to whatever the rest of the Yōkai considered a normal life - but unless they fancied becoming a mobster goon or a pawn in the Battle Nexus, it was absolutely impossible. Police patrols were scarce, the Heads spread thin despite their efforts to aid all under their gaze, and it was a known, growing problem. The mutant uprising certainly didn’t help - so many of them having ended up here for one reason or another further fractured what little community there was. Now, all these months later, times were tough, tougher than they had been, and Leatherhead was exhausted.

He shoved the sack of coins into his hoodie, ignoring the rumbling of his stomach, ordering himself not to spend one thin coin as he had to save it. Still, a beer was tempting in more ways than one - his pain ever present and his desire to pass out as soon as possible still constant. No, he shook his head at himself. If anything, he should try to get a meal, hoping one of the few charity kitchens were still open... or still had anything left to give. He sighed and left the fight club behind, exiting into the sticky summer heat even those underground couldn’t escape. This was his type of weather, frankly, he loved it, but he didn’t love what it did to the city. It reeked, the odor of trash, sewage, sweat, and whatever else amalgamated one hundred fold - especially when the humidity kicked in. He should be used to it, Leatherhead having been here his whole life, but he figured this was just his one pet peeve he was allowed to have. It almost killed his appetite - almost. He could still feel his hunger pangs regardless, deciding to try his favored kitchen a few blocks away first for whatever scraps they had.

He resisted the urge to plug his nostrils as he passed by an alley practically flooded with trash - the provided dumpster overflowing to the point its owner didn’t dare try to lock it. It was ripe for a dive, but Leatherhead didn’t feel desperate enough that day, passing it by for someone else to poach - but a sound gave him pause. It was such a tiny sound he was surprised he heard it at all. A literal infantile cough. Leatherhead pivoted on his heels, expecting to see a passing parent with a child in arms, but he was alone - it was the middle of the night. It sounded again, with a more desperate plea for air that devolved into the full wailing a baby was known for. Another pivot, another empty street, Leatherhead feeling his heart sink as he realized where the babe was.

“...Are you shitting me!?” He didn’t hesitate, desperately wading through the heaps of trash and hurling the overstuffed bags out of the dumpster. One, two, -five bags thrown, the blubbering becoming louder and louder - until finally; there it was. He still couldn’t believe it, seeing this living, breathing creature atop of trash, like it was some discarded toy - and subsequently, the babe could hardly believe its own eyes, crying ceased as it beheld its savior. His adrenaline was still high as he scooped the baby up - small enough to be held in one of his hands. Its heartbeat trembled into his palm, Leatherhead gently taking a finger to part the grimy blanket it had been wrapped in.

He managed to free its face fully; revealing a lizard newborn, a gecko, if he was recalling species correctly. It was still staring at him as Leatherhead freed an arm next, and as it naturally felt led to do, grasped onto him with the little strength it had. Leatherhead felt his heart skip a beat - breath hitched in his throat as time stopped. The new, unknown feeling blossoming in his chest went beyond lending aid in the moment, denial forsaken as Leatherhead realized what it all meant. There was no way he could possibly make this work, but as the babe coughed, and coughed again, did desperation set in and reason flee. He needed a hospital - Immediately!

******

The dimmed, empty waiting room had been Leatherhead’s home for the past five hours - eyes set on the yellowed tiles, discarded blanket hanging from his hand. He couldn’t stand sitting despite every seat being empty. His heart had been in his throat ever since the nurses had snatched the baby from his hands - desperately begging them to save it. Leatherhead knew how it looked, how he looked. A brawler in rags shows up with a newborn not even matching his own species. He understood the glares from the staff were delivering, knowing he wouldn’t be understood even in telling the truth. Despite this hospital being in the underbelly, it was hardly frequented by anyone - it belonging to that of the now deceased Drako the Great. It was under new management, but the damage had been done. Running on a skeleton crew, set to close for good sooner than later - but Leatherhead was desperate. He only had a singular sack of coins to his name, and he’d been slammed with bills from the other available hospitals before. Most if not all people in this side of the city would rather weather their wounds and woes than be saddled with debt - Leatherhead included, but an abandoned baby had no will or wish either way.

And so, he paced the waiting room, the irritated secretary closing the shutter on her office to ignore him further. Leatherhead wondered if he’d gone back in time to tell himself this is how his day would end if it would be believed. He didn’t even care about the potential debt, it was a worry for tomorrow - right now, he wanted this kid to live. Leatherhead had seen coughs like that take young and old before, he even thought he was numb to yet another preventable death, but not here, not now. His heart leapt back into his chest as the ward doors opened, a large Yōkai exiting with his attention completely on the clipboard he held. To Leatherhead’s surprise, he was bigger than him. He was used to being pit against Yōkai his size or bigger to even the odds at fight clubs, but this literal elephant man was draped in a non threatening lab coat with a stethoscope hung over his neck. One of his ears twitched as he failed to feel Leatherhead’s gaze, penning a few more lines before his trunk took the pen from his hands and replaced it in a pocket. He finally looked up, first viewing the expectant empty seats, but then found Leatherhead among them, much to his surprise.

“Hrm, you stayed. Interesting,” he said and flipped a page over the clipboard. “Am I to assume you’re the-” he stopped to clear his throat as he read the written note. “‘Crazed crocodile reeking of trash’ who came in with the infant?”

“Y-yes, that’s me,” he admitted sheepishly, but found his concern immediately. “Is the kid-!?”

“He has RSV,” the doctor said flatly, realizing after a moment that the uneducated Leatherhead failed to understand. “Which is a common virus that affects babies of all stages. You were right to bring him here, but his life isn’t in danger.”

“...Oh, good, that’s good...” Leatherhead heaved a sigh of relief.

“But he’ll have to stay here for a week, maybe two if it’s a heavy strain. If you’re lucky he’ll be out in a few days, and judging by your attire, I’m assuming that’d be the best bang for your buck,” he said flippantly and Leatherhead avoided eye contact, hiding in his hoodie. “...Am I also to assume he’s not yours?”

“N-no... he,” Leatherhead started to play with a hangnail in his nervousness. “I found him in a dumpster...”

“I see,” the doctor flipped the page down, then tossed the clipboard onto the secretary’s office ledge. He leaned onto it, crossing his arms as he further scrutinized Leatherhead. “What is your name?”

“Leatherhead.”

“Age?”

“Eighteen.”

“Occupation?”

“I’m uh...” he inhaled sharply as he tried to find the right words. “...A freelance fighter...”

“Uh-huh,” his trunk readjusted his glasses, delivering a tired, knowing glare. “Look me in the eye, Leatherhead,” he commanded and was heeded. “I am Dr. El, this hospital’s administrator. You’re not the first to bring me a dumpster baby and you certainly won't be the last - but, so far, you’re the only one who’s stayed. You're either still in shock from this unfortunate frequent happening, or your heart is bigger than your brain. I’m willing to bet it's the latter as you don’t have the look of someone who’s still blindsided.”

“I just... wanted to know if the kid was going to be OK,” he answered truthfully. “And where he’s gonna end up...”

“He’ll be placed in an orphanage, of course,” Dr. El said and watched Leatherhead’s face twist from concern to disturbed.

“Are you serious?”

“Do I strike you as a jokester, Leatherhead? Neither me or my nurses have the means to care for every abandoned child brought to us. If he’s lucky, he’ll get picked up by some well to do couple baby shopping for their perfect family.”

“No,” Leatherhead shook his head, remembering how small and vulnerable the baby was - his own memories invasively flooding his consciousness. “He won't survive. He won't.”

“Well, that’s just how it goes down here, isn't it?” Dr. El said and easily endured the nearly murderous glint from Leatherhead’s eyes. “He was in the dumpster for a reason, Leatherhead. He at least has a slightly better chance now, but it’s out of our hands - that is, unless you, the ‘freelance fighter’, is offering to take him in? Have a particularly lucrative night? Hmm?”

Leatherhead took out the sack of coins, knowing how futile this whole endeavor was, but for some reason felt it in his gut he couldn’t back down. “This is all I have right now, but, I’ll get more and-”

Dr. El closed the distance between them in a few large steps, snatching the bag away from Leatherhead, counting its contents, sighing with an expression that told all. “Leatherhead, honestly, why do you care so much? Go home and I’ll forget I ever saw you.” he pushed the bag back into Leatherhead’s chest, moving to retake his clipboard.

“And I’m just supposed to forget about the kid!?” He bit back.

“Yes, you softheated idiot!” Dr. El snapped. “It doesn’t matter how much you think you care about that baby - you’re enchanted with what cannot be! You’re broke, living hand to mouth, and you think you’re fit to raise a child!? What world are you living in, Leatherhead? Will you leave it at home to weep and soil itself while you go get your daily dose of brain damage? That sack of coins can barely afford formula and diapers! Be pleased with your good deed and go home - now!”

Leatherhead flinched from the outburst, truly not needing the situation reaffirmed so strongly - but he stood firm with a shake of his head. “No.”

“Are you seriously going to make me call the authorities over this?”

“Like they’ll come!” Leatherhead scoffed knowingly. “I’m not letting that kid get lost in the system. I’ve been there, Dr. El - how do you think I ended up like this, huh!? How many do you think I saw get snatched up and sold off? I had my size, my strength to keep me going - but that kid has nothing! If there’s even a chance of me being able to change that, I’m gonna do it!”

“Bleeding your heart dry still doesn’t change the facts, Leatherhead. You’re penniless, you’re stuck in an endless rut, and frankly, you’re not father material.”

“Then what can I do to change that!?” Leatherhead bellowed, a perfect mix of desperation and determination echoing off the waiting room’s walls. For a moment, Dr. El felt swayed, but it was fleeting. At this point, he wasn’t ridding himself of Leatherhead in the way he wished, and he felt truly irritated that this exchange was still going. However, in that brief moment of compassion did Dr. El allow his better judgement rest, pinching his eyes beneath his glasses as he started to speak again.

“You know, they say there’s a fine line between stupidity and stubbornness,” he huffed, his shoulders heaving with it. “And you’re dancing on it Leatherhead... while I find myself your begrudging partner,” he reached for a well stocked pamphlet, plucking it from the holder and passing it to Leatherhead. “Can you read?”

“W-well enough,” he received it and attempted to understand, scanning the bold title. “‘M-O-B Incident Insu...rance’...? -What is this?”

“Yours and the tot’s meal ticket,” he replied with a thick amount of irony. “The very organization that nearly killed us all is paying out money to everyone affected by the mutation incident.”

“What!? Seriously!? Why am I just hearing about this now?”

“Because word fails to spread when the hand offering aid is still firmly grasping that of the perpetrators,” Dr. El said and Leatherhead gave him no indication of understanding. “...You lack access to social media.”

“I can’t afford a phone or cable...”

“Shocker,” he replied sarcastically, but continued regardless. “Drako Junior took over his father’s estate after the whole Wyrm’s Blood incident. While he’s freely offering aid and compensation to the Hidden City residents - that also includes the mutants, pledging to pay for their treatment, and that obviously doesn’t sit well with most of the populace.

“Oh,” Leatherhead understood.

“Mmm,” Dr. El agreed. “And so, not many are keen on the idea of money going freely to victims and murderers alike. It’s free money regardless, but again, that thin line rears its ugly head. It’s not like the mutants had a choice, but a grieving city is a fractured one. They never belonged in the first place - neither human nor Yōkai, many of which ending up here to try and make a living, but now they’ll never be accepted despite the facts. A pity for them, but an opportunity for you, Leatherhead.”

“But... It’s been months since the incident and I just found the kid tonight...”

“Then lie,” he said tiredly. “Weave a tale of how your wife was injured in the attack and succumbed to her wounds after holding on for so long just to give birth to your son. Ham it the hell up, and with my endorsement, I’m sure you’ll get your money. If you truly care for this child, then do whatever you need to.”

“Endorse me? You would do that...?”

“If it gets you out of my hospital as soon as possible, then yes, I would. Now give the child a name so I can get a birth certificate printed. You’ll need it to fill out the needed forms.”

“Oh, uh-” Leatherhead wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot so suddenly, looking around desperately for inspiration. His gaze fell to the blanket, his grip on it still constant. A single tag stuck out from it featuring the brand, Leatherhead finding it unique enough for a name. “Mondo,” he read it aloud, then lifted his gaze back to Dr. El. “His name is Mondo.”

******

-Eight Months after the defeat of the Shredder-

“Allie!” The call of a doting mother reached the one who was beckoned. “Alopex, it's time to come inside!” They recklessly attempted to finish their task, knowing not to try the patience of their parental, but young hands and haste rarely mix well. The result was obvious as their mother saw stains on the handmade summer dress, hiding laughter behind a scoff. “And someone was into the mulberry bush again... How many times do I have to tell you that you’re going to spoil your dinner?” Fuzzy red ears drooped alongside a white tufted tail ceasing its wag. This time Alopex received a sigh, knowing her mother was easily weakened by her amber eyes showing the slightest amount of remorse. “Come here,” she scooped the child up in her arms. “Let’s get you cleaned up, then down for a nap. Sleeping off those mulberries ought to get your appetite back!” she stated as fact, hoping it to be true, but the lack of cranky reaction from her daughter brought her pause. No, Alopex’s attention was elsewhere, her mother following the child’s line of sight, seeing nothing beyond their picket fence garden. She was about to disregard it as child-like intrigue on a passing bug she’d missed, but as Aplopex’s hackles raised did her mother go on full alert. “Stay here,” she ordered, placing Alopex inside and locking the door for good measure. It had been many, many years since needing to brandish her claws, but they were as sharp as ever.

Without wasting a second, she left the garden and turned towards her house, seeing the fleeing figure for a mere moment, igniting the fury to protect her daughter. Very few knew about this place outside its inhabitants, and yet, there was someone here - someone unknown. Whether they were friend or foe didn’t matter, her speed increasing, leaping with violent intent as she rounded to the front door. Not one, but two, were in her sights, picking the larger of them, giving into her Yōkai instincts as she pinned them down, screeching so inhumanely she was sure if Alopex had witnessed it, she’d be scared of her for weeks. The smaller of them brandished a staff of sorts, ready to strike, but was instantly deterred.

“Gio, don’t!” he ordered, wincing under her grip, and in the sound of his voice did another emotion flicker to life. She stopped the prepared assault of acid pooling in her throat, finding a sliver of reason as she observed who was trapped in her grasp. The color of his scales almost had her default back to her previous aim, but his eyes, they were a different story. Bright blue, more striking than the sky itself, yet full of sorrow for circumstances that forbid them freedom. Wick’s eyes - her beloved Wick.

“...Drako...?” She said, still in disbelief.

“Junior, to be more accurate,” he attempted a smile through his pain. “Hello, Ms. Quarry. It’s been... what, over twenty years?”

A gasp bordering on a sob escaped her, eyes losing their murderous pall. “Gods be good, Junior...!?” She climbed off of him, allowing DJ to sit up, letting out a relieved sigh as he was no longer crushing his own wings. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry, did I hurt you!?”

“I’m fine, no harm done,” He flexed his wings before folding them back into position.

“What...” Quarry took a moment to collect herself, still unable to fully believe what she was seeing. “What are you doing here!?”

“Where to even start,” Gio answered for him, sheathing his weapon onto his back, but Quarry didn’t hear him, still focused on DJ.

“Wait, nevermind why you’re here - if your father finds out, he’ll-”

“He’s dead, Ms. Quarry,” He said and waited for Quarry to digest the news.

“Dead...?” She repeated, DJ nodding. “I’m... I’m sorry, Junior.”

“Don’t be, he got what he deserved,” Gio said venomously, that statement finally catching her attention.

“And you are...?” She eyed him suspiciously.

“This is Giorgio. He is... part of my family, and the one who found you.”

“Hi,” he briefly waved. “I was under the impression that we all hated Drako the Great here, but I apologize if I said something insensitive.”

“I don’t think you did, but-” DJ shook his head, refinding his focus. “Ms. Quarry, I apologize for disturbing you. I asked Giorgio to find you so that I could know if you were still alive or not - nothing more. I had fully intended to leave as quietly as we arrived, because I didn’t wish to dredge up anything that would bring you pain. You are clearly happy here and the last thing you need is-” He was cut off abruptly by Quarry throwing her arms around him, embracing DJ with love he hadn’t felt in years.

“Oh gods, Junior-!” She laughed, poorly hiding a sob in it. “Look at how much you’ve grown!”

He held her back gently, answering her affection with his own. “And unfortunately resembling my father strongly...”

Quarry shook her head before letting go, a few tears falling down her cobalt cheeks. “There is so much more of Wick in you than you know, Junior,” She stood herself up, taking DJ’s hands in hers as she did, urging him up as well. “Please, come inside! -Both of you!”

“I wouldn’t want to impose-” Gio started, Quarry going for a pocket in her apron as she ascended the steps to her cottage.

“You’re not imposing on anything! Family of Junior’s is family of mine! Come in, I insist!” The aged key turned and the heavy wooden door creaked open. “Alopex, sweetheart! Everything is fine!”

A desperate scampering answered her, a panicked “MOMMY!” following as the little fox Yōkai nearly fell over herself to be in her mother’s arms again. Quarry caught her with a small groan, her old bones a tad too brittle to be taking on the whole brunt of a child’s desperate affection, but she accepted it nonetheless.

“Easy, darling, easy,” she stroked Alopex’s fur. “We have guests! Isn’t that exciting?” Quarry attempted to soothe, Alopex peeking over her mother’s shoulder to view the strangers. She buried her face into Quarry’s chest, hiding bashfully, getting a chuckle out of her. “And now I know you’re the shy type,” She turned back toward the duo stuck in inaction, delivering a smile that confirmed their invited presence. “Wipe your feet,” she said both playfully and purposefully, moving further in as Gio and DJ finally entered inside. “Just walk straight and take a seat! I’ll make some tea as soon as I get all this mulberry juice off of Alopex...”

They followed Quarry’s instructions as well as the sound of running water, entering into a kitchenette area with a decently sized dining table - Alopex on the counter as her mother was wiping her face. The small fox still regarded them warily, eyes watching their every movement as Gio and DJ found their seats. While Gio started making silly faces at her did DJ find himself instead focused on his long lost nanny. Her features had hardly changed - still buglike and intimidating at the first glance of any one not knowing her, but as always, her kindness shone through. Locks had transitioned from teal to pure white, DJ hoping more from age than stress, but nothing besides that caused any alarm - relieved she hadn’t been harmed by his father.

“I just sewed this dress for you too...” Quarry tutted, but lifted Alopex off the counter and down to the floor. “Can you get changed and get yourself to bed without me?” Alopex shook her head no, still staring down the two intruders to her home. “Then can you go play for a little while longer? Mommy has a lot to talk about with our guests, and it’s not for little foxes to hear.” Alopex shook her head again. “Hmmm, what to do...?”

Quarry pondered, not ever anticipating this situation, and Gio took the initiative. “You know, I’ve never had a mulberry before,” he overemphasized his pretend plight. “Are they even real...?!” Alopex gasped and glared, the very notion of her favorite snack being make believe enough to upset her. “If only there was someone who could show me!”

“You hear that?” Quarry knelt down to her level. “Mr. Giorgio needs your help! Why don't you take him out to the garden and show him your mulberry bushes!” Excitement gleamed in Alopex's eyes, easily giving into her mother's goading. She ran over to Gio, grabbing one of his fingers and pulling him towards the back door - Gio allowing himself to be pulled, giving DJ and Quarry a wink before leaving. DJ chuckled through his nose at the sight of the unlikely duo, one so small guiding another so tall, - Quarry taking delight in seeing a smile on him.

“She'll definitely have no appetite for dinner now...” Quarry said musingly.

“Apologies,” DJ replied with a meek look.

“There are worse things she could be eating. Besides,” Quarry grinned. “You'll be staying for dinner, won't you? We always have leftovers, a little fox full of berries or no.”

“I...” DJ minorly hesitated, feeling he shouldn’t, but relented all the same. “If it would please you...”

“It would, Junior,” she reassured. “So let me get this tea brewed and we can start catching up! No doubt you have plenty to tell me!”

“...You have no idea...” he said with a sigh, Quarry lightly chuckling in response. She soon joined him at the table, two ornate teacups for him and her delivered. He thanked her and took a moment to appreciate its scent, soon bringing the aromatic liquid to his maw.

“So, this ‘Giorgio’, is he your spouse?” Junior inhaled the tea and choked, coughing through the sudden question. “Oh, goodness, was I way off the mark?”

“Very...!” DJ coughed once more, freeing his windpipe of irritation. “Why was that your first guess specifically?”

“Well, considering you do not share species and he was quite protective over you, I had just assumed. But I suppose you would have introduced him as such. ‘Family’ is such a broad term that it's hard to pin down what until fully explained.”

“...Indeed,” DJ agreed, looking out the window to see Gio playing with Alopex, like she'd always loved his presence. “Giorgio and his siblings are the direct result of my father's plans for revolution. He was created via an alchemical cocktail that included my blood. Therefore, we are blood related.”

Quarry stared at him, stunned, DJ anticipating something in the like as he knew how ridiculous it all sounded. “Revolution...?” She said, baffled, but urged him to continue.

“Let me start at the beginning. It began not too long after you left.”

DJ recounted the entire happenings - from his father’s gathering of his blood, to the defeat of the Shredder. Quarry listened all the while, never interrupting, but accepting what she heard despite confusion. She had known Drako for a large chunk of her life, Quarry always knowing there was something sinister behind his facade - but she never imagined this. Quarry wondered if Wick were still alive would this have all come to pass - having absolute faith her friend would have never allowed such a barbaric notion of covering the world in dragons. She was sorrowful for her species and what had become of them, but there was too much love in her to paint everyone a perpetrator. Especially that of children - the turtles created to bring Drako’s world to reality, suffered greatly for defying him, and that in itself would have broken Wick’s heart most of all. Quarry felt her’s do so in Wick’s place, now knowing their suffering in full, but felt the pain ease slightly as DJ had taken them under his wings regardless of their initial accord.

“Ye gods...” Quarry said as DJ finished.

“I know much of it sounds fantastical, but it's all true,” DJ said in confidence.

“No, I believe you. When you get to my age and seen what I have, not many things surprise you any more. What vexes me is that my leaving was what triggered Drako’s plans into motion. I should have just taken you and your sister and ran.”

DJ shook his head. “Ms. Quarry, you did more than enough. Big Mama told me you loved my mother deeply, and I’m honored you allowed some of it to pass down to me. I can only imagine what my father did to push you out of the mansion.”

“Everything he could,” she confirmed. “But it was your sister who was the final straw. He wanted her disposed of while I was willing to wait until the end of time for her to hatch, -and your father knew that. We... made a trade, that he would allow her the time she required, if I were to give him the Quarry estate, and disappear from your lives. I knew his game, and I did everything I could to ensure she would be safe, but the moment the ink dried on the contract was I out the door. The last thing I was able to do was to contact Lena - ‘Big Mama’ into getting you a way out. She followed through, thank goodness, but... still,” Quarry looked at DJ with remorse in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Junior. I’m so, so sorry...! Wick must be absolutely livid with me-! To be here living my life while you two suffered...”

“No, no, Ms. Quarry!” DJ went to her side, kneeling down on a knee as he took one of her hands in his. “If anything she is relieved I’ve found you again. I would not be who I am today without you. I was able to weather everything my father brought my way because of you. If you had stayed or attempted to take us, I’m sure we wouldn’t be speaking like this right now. I only know my mother from photos and what Big Mama told me, but I know this to be true.”

Quarry sniffled, placing her free hand over his, shutting her eyes fast. “She loved you both, deeply and sincerely. She wanted to be part of your lives so desperately, but a clutch of two was more than her frail body could handle. She passed with you two unhatched in her arms, whispering adoration and apologies to your shells.”

“To know that...” DJ felt his throat tighten, swallowing hard before continuing. “Is a great comfort, and I felt her love through you all the while you were my nanny. So please, don’t cry, Ms. Quarry. My father torments us no more.”

She reopened her eyes, a small, accepting smile surfacing as he nodded at him. “Sydney,” she said with a mild correctional tone. “You are an adult now - you may call me by my name.”

“O-okay, I will,” he nodded. “I have been going by ‘DJ’ lately. One of the turtles dubbed me with it, and it stuck. I think the less all of us hear my father’s name, the better.”

“It is a good name, very modern,” she said and got a chuckle out of him. “Well, DJ, I suppose this starts a new page in the book of our lives. I never dreamed I would reunite with you, much less you be so well adjusted!”

“I could say the same, Sydney. I definitely didn’t expect you to have a child...”

“She is mine by adoption,” she admitted. “And it is quite the tale that brought her to me.”

“I would love to hear it.”

******

-10 months after the defeat of the Shredder-

“Good afternoon, Sofia,” Draxum addressed his daughter as he entered her room. She gave him no response, as expected, only the continued whir and beeps from the various machines connected to her filling the silence. “I apologize for not coming at my usual time. I’ve made great strides in the Retro-Mutagen and I simply could not tear myself away. You may scold me as you see fit once you awaken,” he said factually, no doubt in his mind that she would one day wake up. Draxum moved to every machine first, checking their status, noting no changes as he went to take his usual seat next to Sofia’s bedside. A table nearby housed what he sought next, gently pulling the drawer open to fetch a journal he’d made a habit of writing in. He stared momentarily at Sofia’s unchanged face before bringing his attention back to the lined pages. This was his routine in this room - taking time to jot down Sofia’s status and then organize his thoughts to keep the upcoming conversation as concise as possible. He was soon satisfied by the entry, ready to convey it all to Sofia as he laid the journal down in his lap.

“I will first begin with the good news. Sydney Quarry has joined our household alongside her daughter; Alopex. They are still in the process of moving in, but I’m sure you will hear the pitter-patter of the child throughout the house before long. I believe this was inevitable ever since your brother located her,” his finger went down the page to the next sentence. “Also, I do not know if I would define this as ‘good’ news or not, but the Battle Nexus reopens next week. Nelli and I will be fulfilling our contract with Big Mama, so I apologize in advance if our visits become less frequent as we adjust to our new schedule.”

Draxum continued working through the journal page making mention of everything relevant. Vinnie’s visits were becoming less frequent, Gio was diligently looking for a way to hatch the egg in her stead, Karai was in Japan searching for anything pertaining to their clan, April preparing for her college entrance exams, and as expected, there was no news pertaining to the dimensional twins. Life was ever moving, ever changing, but they would not let Sofia get left behind despite everything. If Draxum could not do this, then Nel or Gio would in his stead, and they were all sure she could hear them, nothing deterring them from this task.

He was soon to the last sentence, closing the book and storing it again. “And that is all for now. I’m sure in the coming days there will be much more to discuss. Perhaps the tales of whichever Yōkai is after my head in the arena will be rousing enough to wake you,” he reached out to her, gently taking one of her hands. “But there is no rush. You have earned your rest, Sofia, but you are missed. There is nothing to fear any longer, and we all look forward to your return.”

******

-12 months after the defeat of Shredder-

The scent of wood burning through a stove roused them from their slumber. It was an unfamiliar smell, the blanket housing their body heat an unknown sensation - Casey Jones whipping himself out of slumber the moment the rest of his senses returned. He immediately shivered once exposing himself to the room, quilted blanket falling to the floor. No windows to indicate his location - tatami doors surrounding him, the similarly dubbed flooring beneath his feet.

“What the hell...?” He was so disoriented, trying to remember how he’d gotten here. Memories swirled through his brain fog, feeling a twinge in his neck, - suddenly, fully recalling the battle with his supposed future self. Casey gasped as he went for a sleeve, revealing his perfectly pristine wrist. Not a scale to be found, like it had all been some bad dream. But, no, he knew better, it was all real, and the sounds of life on the other side of the sliding doors would give him answers whether they liked it or not. With a high kick did he knock them out of place, clattering them noisily to the floor as the living room came into view. Within was Karai, gingerly sipping at her seasonal tea from under a kotatsu - Mayhem on her lap. They both regarded him with expressions devoid of surprise, Karai sighing as she placed her cup down.

“That was entirely unnecessary.”

“Who are you!? Where am I!?”

“I suppose you’re still half asleep or my modern ‘grandma’ clothes have thrown you off,” she pinched at the sweater she was wearing. “But I am Hamato Karai, Casey Jones. The very same you attempted to wrench from the Twilight Realm,” she revealed and Casey went for his weapons - or rather, where they usually would have been, finding himself to be in simple sleep wear. “And you are currently in Hokkaido’s countryside in a small home.

“...What...!?” His gaze went from her to a nearby window, revealing miles upon miles of snow blanketing rolling hills and forests.

“It’s quite a walk to civilization, but we’re plenty stocked up on food and firewood thanks to the local community,” she said in no way to lessen his shock.

“...Why?” Casey couldn’t understand, still working through the battle that, to him, he had just left. “Why am I here? What... what...”

“What happened?” Karai filled in his next thought. “Your attempt on my family’s lives failed, and they chose mercy.”

“The Shredder...”

“Is gone. Defeated.”

“Impossible...! T-that’s not possible!”

Karai lifted herself up from the kotatsu, placing Mayhem in her spot (much to his delight) before picking up one of the fallen doors. “And yet, you are here, with me. How do you explain that?”

“You kidnapped me, obviously,” He hissed and she chuckled, able to place the door back on its doorsill with a little effort.

“That I won’t deny, but you are more in my care by order of both the Hidden City’s Heads and those of the Earth Protection Force. You are a mutant no more, but you are still the one who resurrected an ancient evil and nearly doomed the world. I am to rehabilitate you, so we are here.” She picked up the other door and started replacing it as well.

“Rehabilitate me? In your dreams! I’ll tell you exactly what I told that ‘other’ me - I’d rather die than become some mutant-hugger!”

“You do not necessarily need to become one,” Karai refuted. “Right now, you are counted among those dead in the attack on New York, so returning you to human society would be a simple feat for those in higher power - but they refuse to do so until I can prove that you’ll not harm another human, Yōkai, or mutant.”

“Then I guess you have your work cut out for you,” Casey said, then launched himself at Karai, ready to hit her vitals - but received a perfect counter instead. She quickly pinned him to the floor, her hand close to his neck, humming with Hamato Ninpō. He was more stunned than angry, completely stupefied by the expert takedown.

“Misguided child of the Foot,” she said gently, in a tone that more conveyed kindness than admonishment. “You will find neither death nor enemies here. In your grief, you took upon the very thing you so despised - just as Oroku Saki did all those many years ago. I know your mind, Casey Jones, I know your heart,” she ceased the flow of her energy, climbing off of him. “Losing a loved one, especially that of a parent, is something no child should have to go through. There is so much unsaid, so many things undone, but your heart still beats while theirs stands still for eternity. No amount of tears, rage, or begging will fill the void in your soul, Casey Jones, but I can help you lessen the pain it brings - if you will allow it.”

Casey sat back up, Karai’s words talking him down from biting back, but he refused to look at her. “...Why even bother...” he mumbled defiantly.

“Because the Foot and Hamato were one, once upon a time, which makes you family, and family does not allow one another to stray far from where they belong,” She said and witnessed Casey tense. He responded in defiance, pushing Karai away, going for the door and taking whatever winter wear was in reach as he haphazardly left. She accepted it, but still went to her partner, tapping the dozing Mayhem on his head. “That is your cue ‘Agent 64’,” she said, getting a disgruntled mewl from Mayhem, but he complied, exiting the warm blanket with a big stretch. “Bring him back before he gets frostbitten.”

******

-15 months after the defeat of the Shredder-

“Ughhh, what am I even looking at...!?” April despaired over her textbook. “Why did no one warn me college amps the education vibes up by 500%!?” She collapsed onto it, letting out another groan, no one in the library paying her any mind as they were engrossed in their own studies. She was content to stay there for a little while longer, but the buzzing of her phone pulled April back up. She fixed her glasses back into place as she unlocked her screen. It was from Nel, - April feeling her spirits raise before even opening it.

Hey, girl! How’s college life treating you?

A loaded question, though April knew Nel only meant the best, replying with a sticker depicting a tired Jupiter Jim and Red Fox, then typing her reply.

I’m hanging in over here! How’s the Battle Nexus been with Barry?

Nel started replying, April watching the ellipsis icons bounce in anticipation until the message surfaced.

Eh, same old. Big Mama rigs my matches to whatever gets me (her) more dosh. Though, if Sofia could see all these new scars on me and Dad, she’d probably flip. When we start ‘losing’ these Yōkai go absolute cray-cray sometimes...

April shallowly sighed, doing her best not to get lost in sorrows, quickly typing her reply.

More like WHEN she sees them, amirite? Sofs is defs gonna get you both fixed up good as new once she’s up and at em’!

This time there was no immediate indication Nel was replying back, April suddenly feeling she maybe shouldn’t have brought up Sofia more than Nel had - but it was all in her head, the bouncing ellipsis gracing her screen again.

Yeah, you’re right! Welp, gotta go - we’re fighting Bebop and Rocksteady again...

She punctuated the message with a sticker depicting a less than impressed Atomic Lass. April sent an appropriate encouraging meme in response, Nel hearting it before the conversation stopped.

“Well, well, O’Niel, you must be acing your classes so far if you have time to play on your phone right before midterms,” a mocking voice called out to her, two figures approaching the table April was sitting at. She unfortunately recognized it, unable to hide her own less than impressed look as she met their gazes. “And here I thought the double majors needed every second to cram!”

“Is it a crime to text my family, Kendra?” April said back with an edge, storing her phone.

“That depends - which ones? Your actual blood relations or the underground abominations?”

“Kendra, I am not getting into this again with you!” April nearly snarled. “What do you want!?”

“Temper, temper, O’Niel. Is it a crime to say ‘hello’?”

“No, but usually people don’t start greetings with snark!”

“Ladies, ladies!” The other spoke, moving himself between Kendra and April. “You both forget that we’re in a library.”

“...Baxter?” April squinted through her lenses. “Baxter Stockboy, is that you?”

“In the flesh,” He straightened out his coat in response. “It’s been awhile, April.”

“I’ll say - when did you get so tall? And what are you doing in the Eastlaird University Library?”

“...Really, O’Niel? We’re both in your Automotive Tech Theory class,” Kendra scoffed.

“There’s like, a jillion people in that class,” April said with a roll of her eyes. “I was more asking why a middle schooler is here during midterm crunch - wait, did you just say Baxter is in the class!?”

“I am!” He said proudly. “Turns out putting genius towards rebuilding the city gives way to academic hunters. I skipped a ton of grades and got my growth spurt! A full scholarship too!”

“Wow. Huh. Honestly, good for you,” April said with the tiniest resemblance of a smile. “Am I to assume you’re done with evil genius crime stuff now? ...I guess maybe not since you’re hanging around with Kendra.”

“Watch it,” Kendra warned, crossing her arms. “You know good and well what happened to the Purple Dragons.”

“...Sorry,” April said, disgruntled, but genuinely.

“To answer your question,” Baxter reclaimed the conversation. “More or less.”

“...Huh?” April raised a brow and Baxter shrugged.

“Due to mine and Kendra’s involvement with the turtles, we, just like you, have the EPF breathing down our necks - for better or worse. Can’t really get my ‘evil genius’ juices flowing when they’re corked up at the source. So, playing the perfect student is in our best interests - for now. Isn’t that what you’re doing too?”

“No,” April flipped her textbook up, tired of the conversion. “I’m trying to change the world, starting with NYC.”

“By double majoring in Journalism and Automotive Tech?” Kendra laughed snidely. “What, so you can get your EPF possessed hunk of junk running again? Is the roar of a monster truck going to move all the hearts in the city? Will it make them forget all the death... and destruction your stupid mutants-!”

“Kendra,” April cut her off, the glower behind her glasses demanding silence. “You’re not the only one who lost someone, okay? The sooner you accept everyone was a victim to a singular, insane, now dead Yōkai, - the sooner we all move on. Hatred isn’t a good look on you.”

Kendra felt her last line of defense keeping her patience back snap, slamming her hands on the table, knocking down the textbook and getting into April’s face. “What if I don’t want to move on, O’Niel? What if hatred is all I have? What then!?”

April didn’t flinch throughout it, holding her stance as Kendra waited for a reaction. “Kendra,” Baxter put a hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her back. “People are staring. We are still in the library.”

She clicked her tongue in irritation. “...Whatever,” she trudged away, April’s eyes following Kendra until she was out of sight.

“And I should be off too,” Baxter gave April a smile that clearly spelled out malicious intent. “See you in class, April,” he left in the same direction as Kendra, April letting out her tension as he disappeared around corner.

“...First Casey, now Kendra...” She mumbled, picking her textbook back up, noticing whispers and various pairs of eyes engaging the finished scuffle from afar. She swallowed her anger and resisted the urge to snap at them collectively, - instead giving her reading material another shot, her motivation thoroughly sparked.

******

-??? Months after the defeat of Shredder-

The cosmos swirled and sang, a pair of ever watching eyes viewing it at a distance. It was a rare moment of nothing needing guidance or correction - just observation as life of all forms flickered in and out of existence. A particular universe caught their attention, one they’d recently been acquainted with. It was still sorted accordingly despite showing no more signs of its fixed future, - but something else caught their eye. Usually, Lord Simultaneous would pay something of this no mind, but this variable directly affected one of his apprentices, and the last thing he needed was another bitter student causing chaos. He could foresee what would come to pass if he left this be, so with a weary sigh did he make his decision.

“Renet!” He called out, and her surprisingly diligent footsteps answered him. Her usual hood was down, long blonde hair trailing down the blue cape of her uniform.

“Lord Simultaneous!” She entered into his observatory with the Time Scepter in hand. “I was JUST coming to see you. The Time Scepter, it’s-”

“Not doing what you want, right?”

“Yes, exactly! Frankly it’s being a total brat! What is up with you today!?” She hissed at the silent rod.

“Well, riddle me this; do you think it wants to work on its first day off in eons?”

“Day off? Seriously? It gets those!?”

“Yes, seriously. Every once in a while, time and space align to the point of needing no guidance for a small juncture. That’s a day off in its book. You should know this, Renet!”

“I do! I totally do!” She refuted, then deflated. “Man, what a total bummer for me though! I finally get a chance to breathe and wanted to take a peek into Third Earth...”

“Let me guess - the barn wedding again?”

“It makes me cry every time!” Renet defended herself. “A girl needs a good cry every once in a while! It’s just...” She sniffled, leaning her head on the Time Scepter “-So beautiful!”

“Uh-huh,” Lord Simultaneous snatched the Time Scepter from her. “Do both of us a favor and go get Vincent, would you? I need to speak with him about something.”

“Ooo, Little Vinnie?! Where’s he at?!” Renet excitedly gushed at the prospect of seeing her underclassman.

“Probably in the study, per usual.”

“Okie-dokie! I’ll go get him!” She happily skipped off, Lord Simultaneous shaking his head slightly.

“Sometimes I wonder if I promoted you too soon...” He muttered and mused to himself, waiting patiently as he always did, both Renet and Vincent soon returning to him.

“Lord Simultaneous,” Vinnie slightly bowed before addressing him again. “Renet told me you wish to speak with me?”

“Lil Vin, you don’t need to be so uptight!” Renet lightly punched Vinnie’s shoulder, his own cape moving with the surprise of it. “Lighten up a little!”

“And you should really brush up on your manners!” Lord Simultaneous chided to Renet.

“Ugh, such a tyrant!” She rolled her eyes, Lord Simultaneous deciding to allow it over giving himself more wrinkles via attempts to correct Renet in an endless loop. He shook his head and redirected his attention back to Vincent.

“Yes, Vincent, I do wish to speak with you - alone,” he attempted to shoo Renet away with a glare.

“Aw, come on!” She huffed like a child. “First I can't check in on my favorite turtle buddies, and now I can't be in the know with my Timelord-to-be turtle buddy!? He's my, -what was that word again...? Right! He's my kohaku! Right, Vin?”

“Uh,” Vinnie's brain sorted the word, correcting it accordingly as he found what Renet meant to say. “I think you meant ‘Kohai’? Like I'm your underclassman.”

“Isn't that what I said?” She said innocently, Vinnie finding himself holding back some small bit of laughter while Lord Simultaneous groaned.

“OUT!” He pointed aggressively to the exit and Renet turned on her heels with an angry growl.

“Tyrant! Absolute tyrant!” She obeyed defiantly.

“What's that? You want to use your day off to dust all the timeworn artifacts?” he threatened and Renet gasped while starting to sprint.

“Nope-nope-nope! I'm gone, totally gone!” she disappeared through the door frame, Lord Simultaneous spying a smile on Vinnie before it defaulted back into his serious resting face.

“I hope she hasn’t been pestering you too much in your studies,” He said and Vinnie shook his head.

“Renet’s been very helpful. Everytime I think I get stuck in a rut, she pops up with a solution. ...Maybe I’m relying too much on her? Should I stop that?”

“Nah, it’s good for you two to bond. After the incident with Savanti Romero, she’s gotten so busy and honestly, probably a little too lonely for her own good. As long as she’s not impeding your progress, I’ll allow her well meaning shenanigans. -And speaking of progress; what do you have for me, Vincent?”

Vincent avoided eye contact briefly, his reluctance to speak clearly shown on his face. “Admittedly, not much. I’ve shifted my focus to Dimension X, but our materials on said dimension are... lacking.”

“Hmm,” Lord Simultaneous crossed his arms. “And why Dimension X specifically?”

“It has to do with something my Bishop said to us on our first meeting,” Vinnie started to explain. “He said that it was ‘no longer’, like it had been destroyed, but that's impossible. Dimension X is one of the few time-spaces that has a connection to every dimension. I know this first hand thanks to my Astral Projection. So... what happened in my dimension to make the Utrom believe they no longer have access to it? Because Bishop didn’t sound like he was lying.”

“That is rather interesting...” Lord Simultaneous allowed himself to ponder briefly, knowing this meeting of theirs wasn’t happenstance. “Tell you what, Vincent, if you can prove yourself in this assignment, then I’ll grant you permission to investigate Dimension X in person. It’ll be a lot easier to get answers that way, eh?”

“What assignment?”

“Right, right, putting my cart before the space horse,” He corrected himself, then swiped his hand into his observatory, bringing a singular planet into his palm, then letting it float freely. “It actually concerns your Earth.”

“Is that on purpose, or oddly convenient?” Vincent eyed the orb, then met Lord Simultaneous’s gaze.

“A mix of both, but mostly the former,” He admitted. “Vincent, I chose you as a student because like Savanti and Renet, you have amazing potential. While Renet might drive me up the wall, she’s perfect for this job. I had high hopes for Savanti as well, but he couldn’t overcome his greed. I want you to become more of a Renet than a Savanti - not that I’m implying you’re greedy, but I don’t want to give you a reason to steal the Time Scepter and give me eons of temporal spillage to mop up.”

“Lord Simultaneous, I would never-”

“Ah-ah-ah,” He cut Vinnie off. “Never say never, Vincent. All variables are possible - especially if your theft was due to the destruction of your world and the death of your loved ones.”

Vinnie’s eyes widened, realizing where Lord Simultaneous was leading this conversation. “What’s happening, what do I need to do!?”

Lord Simultaneous’ free hand went back into the observatory, grabbing another object, then placing it in the air aways from the Earth. It was a cluster of... something, Vincent unable to make it out. “I want you to know that whether you succeed or not doesn’t change the path your universe is currently set on, however, the less destruction these guys do will probably be beneficial overall.”

“Who are they?” Vinnie squinted at the cluster.

“The Triceraton Legion,” Lord Simultaneous said and Vinnie felt his heart skip a beat. “Looks like you’re already familiar with them.”

“...I’ve seen what they’re capable of in other dimensions...”

“Then we can speed things up a little. If I were to dub them on the universal scale of crazies, I’d call them ‘well meaning brutes’.”

“‘Well meaning brutes?’” Vinnie questioned. “For wanting to destroy Earth?”

“That’s not their aim. They see themselves as a liberation front, destroying Krang infected planets and weeding out Utrom still hiding on others. To them, they’re one in the same, and you know where that puts your frenemies the EPF.”

“...Crap...!” Vinnie tensed at his own thoughts.

“Mmhmm,” Lord Simultaneous agreed. “But, they can be reasoned with, in the only way well meaning brutes know how. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

Vinnie’s thoughts came together in a way that made him exasperatedly sigh. “A trial by combat?”

“A trial by combat,” he reconfirmed. “What a pain, eh? Both figuratively and literally.”

“I’ll say...” Vinnie grumbled. “How long until they reach earth?”

Lord Simultaneous squinted at the cluster, rubbing his chin in thought as he started to calculate. “Take the milliseconds, divide by four, carry the month... hmmm...” He faced Vincent again. “Roughly five years from this conversation - and I only say ‘roughly’ instead of giving you a set time because of various happenings that could either delay or speed up their heading to Earth. I’ll keep you updated the closer they get.”

“Okay...” He took a breath to calm himself. “Okay, I gotta get back and get a solution going. How do I approach this...?”

“What does your training say you’re supposed to do?”

“To...” Vinnie’s brain brought up all the appropriate rules he’d had drilled into his skull since being brought to Null-Space. “Only inform those who are needed, keep it hidden from plain view, and do not involve myself more than necessary.”

“Especially that last one,” Lord Simultaneous reiterated. “As a Timelord, even in being just an apprentice, you cannot take things into your own hands even if they don’t go your way. Cleaning up messes comes with the job, but if you helped make it, you’re in for a world of hurt. You’re a neutral party, Vincent, like that country on your Earth, whatsit, Swizzy-land?”

“Switzerland,” Vincent corrected.

“Right! That one - fantastic chocolate. -Anyways, you have your work cut out for you. They’ll most likely do a three round trial, which means you’ll need three separate combatants ready to take on gigantic dinosaur aliens. Your sister, Nelli, she’s got round one done and dusted already, but the other two, ehhhh,” Lord Simultaenous let his reluctance be known with a ‘so-so’ gesture. “Giorgio hasn’t been training with Draxum and Nelli like he should be, and Sofonisba is, well, still not up. I wouldn’t put Karai against a Triceraton at her age, the same goes for Draxum, and both Drako Junior and his nanny aren’t fighters.”

Vincent grabbed his arm anxiously, eyes set on the floor. “Does it have to be my family?”

“What? Are you, Timelord-in-training, insinuating that you would involve outside help? Who, Vincent? The Yōkai who hate your family’s guts? The EPF who would probably lock Earth down into a panic - ultimately doing more harm than good? And don’t even think about getting that other set of turtles involved! This is your fight, Vincent - your test!” He brought Vincent’s gaze back up using the Time Scepter. “Either you get your family’s rears in gear, or we forget this conversation ever happened - and I inevitably have to deal with another Savanti Romero down the line.”

“Lord Simultaneous, you’re going too far!” Renet stomped back in, hands on her hips.

“Somehow, I knew you’d be eavesdropping...” He crossed his arms again, particularly towards Renet.

“Lil Vin’s other sister just woke up, -and you want her to fight a Triceraton!?”

“...What?” Vinnie felt his heart skip a beat for the second time that day, Lord Silmutaneous dragging a hand down his face in irritation.

“RENET!” He yelled, and she squeaked, hiding behind Vinnie, hands on his shoulders. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop peeking into worlds that aren’t in your jurisdiction?!”

“I’m sorry! I just get so curious, and then so excited! I came back here to tell Vin the good news, but you’re over here like; ‘rawr, Triceratons!’”

“Is she actually...?” Vinnie looked back at Renet, and she giggled, shaking him excitedly.

“She is! She is! She like, JUST woke up though, so she’s super disoriented. And uh...” She trailed off.

“...What? What?”

“It’s nothing...” she let him go. “You should probably go see her for yourself to understand.”

“O-okay...?”

“Alright, enough!” Lord Simultaneous cut their conversation short, putting the Time Scepter down as he went to massage his temples under the forked hood. “You’re giving me the migraine of the milenia, Renet!”

“Not on purpose...” She said and Lord Simultaneous held up a hand, still massaging his head as he began speaking again.

“Vincent, your family and only your family can know about and combat the Triceraton Legion. Anything else will cause temporal spillage - am I understood? There may be some odd exceptions down the line, but I'll allow them IF they come into play!”

“Y-yes, I understand,” Vincent accepted, though still didn’t like the prospect of it all.

“Alright, good, got that squared away, so now I can give you a little info. What you choose to do with it is up to you,” he cupped the cluster indicating the legion. “The Triceraton Legion refer to themselves as the ‘Herd’ as they’re all of one mind, but they are, in fact, constantly having an internal conflict between their originals, and the clones they’ve created.”

“Ew, clones? Why make clones?” Renet scrunched up her face.

“Because they’ve lost the ability to reproduce normally,” He answered her tiredly.

“What? Aw man, that’s so sad!” Renet sniffled at their plight, Lord Simultaneous ignoring her.

“Therefore, they make clones, and they’re very often looked down upon until earning their place in the Herd. One guess as to how a clone might earn their place in a group of well meaning brutes.”

Renet tilted her head in thought as Vinnie answered; “Combat.”

“Exactly. The first two rounds of the trial will no doubt be clones, ones specially handpicked for their prowess, so prepare your family accordingly, however,” Lord Simultaneous’ expression turned grave. “It’s the third round you ought to keep most of your focus on.”

“And why is that?” Vinnie picked up on his tone.

“Because once the younglings fail to put you all in your place, they’ll send out an original so fierce that no amount of strength or brains have ever defeated him. You’ll need a wildcard, Vincent - and you know exactly whom I’m referring to.”

Vincent felt his teeth grind at the implication, forcing himself to not get lost in anger as the situation kept seemingly spiraling. “...And? Are you going to tell me who this undefeatable champion is? I’ll need to size him up if we’re doing this.”

“The hero turned traitor,” He revealed ominously. “The eternal prisoner; Zog.

Chapter Text

The sun was warm, the air sweet, the dew a loving blanket. The long winter was finally over. The forcibly dormant village bustled to life again - children squealing with delight as they ran off to check their usual haunts while their parents started that season’s work in earnest. It was a simple life - that of farming, hunting, and craftsmanship, but all needed to follow their role diligently as to prepare for the inevitable next winter. Hardships were plentiful, but there was even moreso sweeping victories with each consecutive year conquered. Their herd was ever growing, and amongst those welcoming new additions was a particular odd couple aptly dubbed by all who knew them. He was a hunter - gruff, intimidating, and a force to be reckoned with. She, a weaver - quiet, the runt of her clutch, but never was there one with a kinder touch. He believed himself content, following routine season to season, but when she chose him, no one, including himself, could nary believe it.

And yet, there they were, exiting their hut, welcoming the spring sun with grateful hearts and hopes for the future. Affection did not come naturally to him at first, but in his mate's eyes did he learn, giving her everything she desired and deserved. A kiss promised his return, a gentle caress to their unborn clutch made both their hearts flutter in excitement. They both had work to do - he in gathering nutrition to strengthen their children's shells, and she in building their nest with the finest materials. In a few months, they would be a family of three, four, or perhaps even five. With a spring in his step he'd never felt the likes of before, he was off into the woodlands.

The following months brought them many delights towards their impatience, and a great unavoidable sorrow that neither could have predicted. He held her for days as she wept - their clutch lost -save one egg. He didn’t dare leave her side, warming it together with her as they prayed, longed for their child to breathe its first breath. She blamed herself - her small body, but he would not hear it. To him, he had failed her - his darling mate he left day after day alone in this hut. The one who’d brought him joy, he’d brought to anguish. But as the first cracks surfaced on the egg, did their sorrows cease. A son - beautiful and healthy, bearing his father’s scales and his mother’s eyes. He was perfect, he was theirs, and with a name echoing an ancestor’s honor did the world welcome him.

Time passed, the boy grew, ever by his mother’s side weaving at his father’s behest. To say he didn’t wish to share his father’s vocation would be lies, but in knowing he brought both his parents comfort stayed his thoughts. His father could hunt with peace of mind knowing his mate was not alone. Returning home to both of them was all he ever thought about - it was his greatest happiness. It was on a particularly hot summer day he’d stayed out overlong. He’d found his son’s favorite treat by chance, rare in this heat, gathering as much as he could and weighing down his burden far more than usual. It would be worth it to see his smile, and even in knowing how his mate would scold him for spoiling him so, well, he looked forward to sealing his apology with a kiss.

The stars guided his way home that night, and the scent of fire the closer he approached the village. Odd, considering the village rarely burned anything in this season, -and there in that moment did dread take hold of his heart. Discarding his hunts and treasures did he run down the path back to his home, being met with more than an uncontrolled blaze. It was a warzone decorated in slaughter. Blood flowed, screams were silenced in moments, and the transgressors who brought this all to pass were unlike anything he’d seen before. Otherworldly creatures puppeteering skeletons made of cold metals - unmaking anything they touched. He overcame his shock as his family’s status was unknown, running with reckless abandon to their hut - holding faith that they were safe.

He returned to their corpses - perfectly in view from the ajar door. She had shielded their son, desperation on her face while his small hands were still clinging to her dress. But the blade cut deep, cleanly rendering them in twain cruelly. He could not accept it, could not believe that their warmth had already long left this world. But rage soon replaced disbelief. These beasts had taken his people unawares, but not him. They had made a grave mistake not picking him off first, and now, all in his reach would learn why he was given the duty of hunting.

******

-15 years before the defeat of the Shredder-

It was the continual flash of their communications console that woke them from their slumber. It had been muted, - a long, grueling battle finally been won, and they needed their rest. But it seemed someone else didn't share that sentiment, knowing they'd be unable to return to sleep until the flickering ceased. With a low groan towards their still healing wounds did they leave their bed, - ambling to the communication console and turning it on. The missed calls log loaded up, all attempts at communication in the past three days from the same source. It soured their mood further, this particular individual not their preferred conversation partner, but they knew these calls were important enough if they had been continually attempting to get through. They sighed and pressed the callback button, mentally preparing themselves for whatever was in store.

There was a crackle indicating the receiver had answered his call, hearing a noise of irritation before they were addressed. “Zog,” a weathered, annoyed voice fizzled through the aged speaker. “When I call you, I expect you to answer.”

“Did I not just finish a crusade on Krang infected worms? Or all my bandages just for show, Zarus?”

“You ought to retire. You are far past your prime and-”

“Zarus, get on it with it already,” Zog growled through his drowsiness.

“Don’t interrupt me, Zog, I was leading into something,” Zarus snapped back. “We, as originals, are aged beyond our intended lifespans at this point. Drugs keep us going for the most part, but we are past our primes - and many others agree.”

“I do not care. I’ll slaughter Krang until my final breath.”

“Yes, I know, but others do care, and you’d best come to my lab immediately before this gets out of hand.”

“Can you not just convey whatever rambling scientific slop to me here and now?”

“No, it is too sensitive a matter. I’ll be waiting,” the comms ceased, Zog inhaling the entirety of his lung capacity before sighing it out in irritation. He just wanted to rest his old bones, indulge a dream or two before the inevitable next target - but Zarus was not one to be ignored, nor was he one to contact anyone in the Triceraton Herd unless absolutely necessary. If Zog thrived on the battlefield, then Zarus thrived in isolation with his erudition. They never even breathed near each other on their home planet until the Krang’s siege forced them together. To both the other originals and all the clones - they were old war ‘buddies’, envious of their friendship, but in reality their relationship was that of convenience. Zarus developed tech and weapons for the Herd and Zog was ever the willing guinea pig if it meant more Krang lay at his feet. This odd partnership led their leader to more or less leave them be, following their wishes as it benefited literally everyone; but a very specific line was about to be crossed.

Zarus swiveled in his chair as Zog entered into his lab without knocking - as he always had. Wordlessly he beckoned him over to a screen, Zog obeying and waiting for whatever Zarus wished to convey. “Jog my memory, but you have never submitted samples, nor consented to having clones made of you, yes?”

“Yes,” he answered curtly, like the question was one of the stupidest things he’d heard in years.

“Mmm, thought so,” Zarus input a string of code on his console, a video feed beginning to play. “Then what the hell are these?”

Four images loaded up, each showcasing a youngling Triceraton with numerical designation - and Zog felt his heart stop from a mere glance. Each were a mirror image of him in his youth, but the last one in particular, the smallest of the four, was the cruelest joke of them all. Zog didn't wait for an explanation, practically bursting out of Zarus’ lab and marching to the bridge. It was bustling as always, clones and originals alike busy with their tasks - a leader standing amongst them dolling out orders as needed. He was barely even able to acknowledge Zog before he was in his grasp.

“Zanramon, you backstabbing snake!” Zog snarled, toe to toe with his so-called leader. Those assigned to security drew their weapons, but Zanramon deterred them with a held up hand. “What have you done!?”

“You'll have to be more specific, Zog. I do a lot of things around here.”

“You know exactly what I'm referring to! The clones, Zanramon, - my clones! How dare you!”

Zanramon rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. “Let me guess, Zarus is up to his usual snooping? If he wasn't so useful, I'd have him court-martialed for this…”

“Zanramon!” Zog tightened his grip.

“Stay your wrath, Zog, they're not yours,” he said in an admonishing tone, Zog regarding him with disbelief. “They're your son's.”

Disbelief devolved into denial. Zog released Zanramon, the look of complete betrayal on his face. “But we… w-we burned-”

“The village, yes, but not before gathering every resource we could. If I recall correctly, you were busy with Zarus in acquiring the Krang’s ships while we scavenged.”

“You… YOU-!” Zog found his wrath again, Zanramon allowing his security to do their job this time, crossing their spears to prevent his approach.

“Zog, please, enough already,” Zanramon smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes. “It was a simple decision for the betterment of the Herd. You, our decorated war hero, are approaching retirement whether you like it or not. You have given us no means to a successor to continue the fight, so I made some from the second best source. It's really no concern of yours.”

He was speechless, dumbfounded. Zanramon had always been a thorn in Zog's side since they were children. They never saw eye to eye - the Krang invasion being the first common ground they found, but this went beyond playground scuffles and jealousy over potential mates. While his words rang true to all on the bridge, Zog knew there was malicious intent behind Zanramon's honied, regal declaration. After all these years, he hadn't changed at all - the tiny sliver of trust fostered all but evaporated with this act.

“Zanramon, you will regret the day you crossed me.”

“Oh please,” he scoffed. “Stop acting like you’re the only one who's hurting, Zog! If our people are to have any future in this war, we'll need these clones!” Zanramon approached a console and pressed a button, bringing up a live feed on a large screen for all to see. It showed three of the clones currently in their intensive training, Zog overtaken by their uncanniness now seeing them in motion. “They are nearly ready to join you on the front lines.”

“Where…” Zog's mouth was dry, stuck between anger and remorse on seeing their struggles. “Where is the fourth?”

“The runt, you mean?” Zanramon raised a brow. “Too much of Zera's DNA, I'm afraid. He's set to be disposed of with the rest of the failures.”

The sound of his long lost mate's name coming from Zanramon's beak was Zog’s limit - seething with rage as he almost lunged past the guards. “Don't you ever speak her name!”

“Zanramon,” Zarus’ voice crackled through an intercom. “This is going too far.”

“Ah, the snoop himself!” Zanramon announced mockingly. “You just can't keep your nose out of anything, it seems!”

“For good reason. Do you intend to desecrate the dead in front of everyone for a grudge hundreds of years old?”

Zog saw Zanramon's eye twitch, but a smirk surfaced before anger. “All I do is for the good of the Herd! You two are the only originals left without replacements due to your selfish decision to forgo samples for cloning - over grief that you should have gotten past years ago!” Zarus was silent while Zog still seething, Zanramon keeping up the assault. “So you've forced my hand. In fact, since you're so interested in the rejected sprog and I still need to punish you for digging too deep, the child is now your replacement, Zarus. Pick him up at your earliest convenience.”

“-WHAT!?” Zarus’ own wrath echoed through the bridge as Zanramon forcibly cut the connection.

“Now get off my bridge, you sentimental old coot,” Zanramon commanded, Zog refusing to reply as the guards dragged him back whence he came. Tossed out of the bridge, unable to catch himself before the doors shut, then locked - Zanramon answering what he perceived as a tantrum with one of his own. Zog slammed one fist into it defiantly, denting it for good measure as he once again tried to make sense of the situation. It was ludicrous, absolute insanity, but very few would be on his side. For years he was pestered for DNA so that the Herd might use his potential clones to continue on his legacy after death. Zog never liked the use and adaptation of the Krang’s technology in regards to the whole cloning process. The more Zarus learned and deciphered, the more the truth of their whole existence came to light.

Tricerations were creations of the ‘Utrom’ - the Krang’s less destructive brethren. Once they found their creations stable enough, they were abandoned to fend for themselves. Those who would have still remembered their benefactors were long dead before Zog, Zarus, or Zanramon were even hatched, and now they were the elders to mere imitations of what the Utrom accomplished. Clones were half of what their originals were. While original Triceratons had been found to live for hundreds of years, clones were seemingly locked to that of seventy, maybe eighty if there was some luck involved. Furthermore; they were sterile. The Krang knew exactly what they were doing going for all the women and children first in their raid. Their plans were to gather up the grown males, subjugate them into laborers, and then clone them in infinitum until they eventually died out. They were not the first race that the Krang had targeted for this reason, nor would they be the last, but they were the first to ever successfully rebel.

And so that rebellion continued, converting stolen technology into their everyday life, seeking out Krang infected planets, liberating them, and taking them into the fold of the future Triceraton Empire - Zog leading the charge all the while. However, in truth, Zog cared not for his status, nor did he wish it on any other - stubbornly refusing his DNA and wishing for nothing more than to take it all with him to the grave. Perhaps he was sentimental, but if he was, then so too was Zarus. He had been the one among them to understand the technology and convert it. Once everyone else was made to understand did he go back to his solitary ways. Before the attack he was a loner just like Zog - a weaver who kept to himself, yet knew everyone’s name. Some argue that his life is one of hypocrisy, but now, at his age, many left him be on principle. He never offered his DNA because there was never a need for his legacy to continue. Everything he could do, another could easily do if they so desired, and that was that, but it was clear now that Zanramon wanted to be petty - to watch the two of his tribe who never gave him the time of day kneel to his authority after all these years. The pride of being the Chief’s son was something he could never seemingly let go.

“What are you doing here…” Zarus said with a sigh, finding Zog at the entrance to the incinerator. He received a glare in reply, Zarus rolling his eyes as he moved past his mountainous confidante. “Let me rephrase; I understand why you’re here, Zog, but you don’t need to be. The child is now my responsibility. You have nothing to gain by accompanying me. You’re merely torturing yourself.”

But nothing deterred him, Zog following silently behind Zarus as they both made their way into the facility. As it always did, the air reeked of burning flesh - both of them witnessing a mangled, failed clone be tossed into the core of the ever burning flame. It was a reminder that they were not perfect in creating life. For every near flawless Triceraton clone, there were piles of failures. They were nothing but malformed monstrosities, wastes of resources, and so they were treated like the garbage they were. Another failed clone entered the fiery drink as they continued onwards, passing by cells filled to the brim with them - some aware of their fate and acting out as such, while most were just piles of flesh with no cognition to be found. The closer they approached their goal, the more constant a clear, barely aged sobbing was heard - and it struck a long forgotten chord in Zog’s heart.

Witnessing the discarded clone strummed it further - Zog almost completely taken in. It looked at him and Zarus the same way his own child did. When he’d fallen and scraped his knee, when he’d fussed at his father for being gone so long, or when he’d awoken from a nightmare and crawled into his arms for comfort. If ever his convictions were tested - it was at this very moment, and Zog knew what had to be done, for both their sakes. The leftover anger from his conflict on the bridge was channelled into his actions. With a look that could kill did he slam his fists on the bars to the cell, towering over the child who viewed him in horror.

“You should have never been born-!” He spat filled with venom, severing any ties with this child. “You’re a failed clone - nothing more! Do not ever approach me, or I will end your life!”

“ZOG!” Zarus chastised despite knowing the exact meaning behind his words. But the message was thoroughly received, the child terrified into further weeping as Zog took his leave, finishing the task he’d forced himself here for.

******

-10 years before the defeat of the Shredder-

“Eighty-Six, come here,” a grumpy command was issued and obeyed, a child at their side in mere moments. “Your tasks for today,” an electronic tablet was handed down to them. Zarus watched the list of tasks reflected in the child’s eyes as they scrolled through it, showing no indication of confusion. “Do you have any questions?” They shook their head. “Then go on.”

The child nodded, storing the tablet and returning to their bed to fetch a bag full of tools. In that small corner of Zarus’ lab did the clone foisted on him live. While Zarus had expected having to parent the boy, he had been pleasantly surprised at how meek he was and how easily he took to tasks once learning them. Though, considering what Zog had saddled him with, the boy, dubbed ‘Eighty-Six’ after his designation, viewed his daily tasks as survival. He was, after all, a failed clone given a chance at life due to a disagreement. All viewed him in pity or disgust, Zarus included, and so he worked and worked to increase his chances of not returning to the incinerator.

A full five years had passed since the double-edged nature of his rescue, Zog reducing his communications with Zarus to text only while the scientist himself was more or less numb to it all. Eighty-Six was obedient and intelligent, and outside giving daily tasks, they barely spoke. Sometimes he even failed to realize the child had returned until he heard him weeping through his dreams. Zarus learned the hard way there was no putting a stop to his nightmares - waking only delayed them slightly before Eighty-Six slipped back into them. He figured it would be something the child would grow out of eventually, leaving him be and allowing the sniffles and sobs to blend into the rest of the lab’s ambiance over time.

With the tool bag firmly over his shoulder did Eighty-Six leave the lab and start on his way to his first task. They were all maintenance related; doors not closing properly, leaking pipes, or haywire circuitry. The Krang’s vessel showed its age in places both visible and hidden, and it was Eighty-Six’s job to fix it all. A task so daunting was nothing to him - it was all he knew, so day in and day out did he chip away at the ever growing list of problems until it was lights out. Bigger problems were not his forte, and Zarus refused to teach a child about weapon creation and construction. He would eventually be given bigger things, possibly better tasks, but for now, this was his life, and he lived it to the best of his knowledge.

Some hindered him - many teased or spoke in hushed tones as he passed by, and Eighty-Six would be lying feeling if it didn’t affect him. His fellow clones, the three he was born beside, relentlessly mocked and tormented him if their paths crossed. They’d all been given proper Triceraton names - already proving themselves in battle and were lauded to become the next ‘Zog’. He couldn’t and wouldn’t dispute them, enduring their abuse and believing it all the while. There was no point in trying to do otherwise - no one would save him from it, so Eighty-Six endured and worked. A small cog he was, but it was still a needed wheel despite everything, at least, he hoped. It’s not as if there was anything else for him until further notice anyhow.

******

Zog stared out into the landscape of another liberated planet, a dead Krang in his grasp. They were fortunate this time - able to catch the creatures before they’d infected everything, but the battle was still hard won. He winced against his wounds as his attention was caught elsewhere, finding his gaze fallen onto a particular part of the Herd’s battalion. The three he so despised were laughing, playing with a Krang’s corpse, one of their many trophies. Zanramon showered them with titles and gifts for every Krang slain by their hands, keeping up their morale where Zog would not. But in truth they didn’t want glory bequeathed by their leader, no, they wanted recognition from what they were made to believe was their source; their father.

One of them noticed Zog’s eyes on them, perking up happily, hoping for any bit of praise, but as he always did, Zog regarded the trio with disgust, moving away from them and back to the ship for debriefing. They deflated expectantly, kicking the Krang’s corpse with pure furstration.

“What do we have to do to get anything from him!?” He snarled and huffed. “We’re HIS clones! We kill just as much as him! What is his problem!?”

“Clearly, we’re still disappointing,” his brother shrugged, but still shared his sibling’s anger.

“We shouldn’t be. I mean, look at all our medals…” the third refuted, both of his brothers agreeing with a nod. “Everyone else thinks we’re great.”

“But Zog doesn’t. Our father hates us no matter how many Krang we kill! How are we supposed to take over if he won't even acknowledge us?”

“I’ll bet it’s not even our fault…” He sighed. “There’s only so much we can do while our little brother drags our reputation down.”

“Ugh, that annoying little piece of-!” He kicked the corpse again. “WHY do they even keep him around!? Anyone could do his job! We bust our asses out here while he mends pipes and doors! What a joke…”

“Yeah…” His brother stretched, speaking his thoughts through it. “He probably wouldn’t even be missed if he were to just disappear.”

He had declared in indifference, egging on him and his brother’s snit - but when neither continued did he realize his statement held water. “...You might be right, brother,” his sibling smirked. “Who would miss him, truly?”

“Zarus? Maybe?”

“No, he barely even tolerates him. We’d probably be doing him a favor.”

“We’d be doing everyone a favor,” they corrected, all nodding in agreement, then sharing the same glint in their eyes.

“So,” their smile was malicious and playful. “How should we do it? Throw him in the incinerator where he belongs?”

“No,” they shook their head. “That’s too quick a death for him, dishonoring us and Zog all these years. I have a better idea…”

******

A small, shrill alarm jolted Zarus out of his doze, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he realized and remembered he was still working. The monitor showcased whatever weapon he was currently finalizing, groaning against his aged brain as he tried to make out its inner workings while also trying to find the source of the alarm. Surprisingly, it was from the tablet he used to divvy out Eighty-Six’s daily tasks. Each morning Zarus would look through reports, sorting them into what was dire, to important, to something only to be done if there was extra time on his hands. With a tap Zarus loaded into the seemingly endless reports - the one on the top of the list highlighted peculiarly in a way he hadn’t witnessed before. The color indicated urgency, Zarus finding out why as he expanded and read the report. It was certainly something not best left until the morning, and, in his opinion, best left for the actual engineers on the ship - but it has made its way to Eighty-Six instead. He wasn’t about to get into a verbal scuffle with whoever wrote this report in, so Zarus left his chair and approached Eighty-Six’s bed.

“Get up,” he said gruffly and Eighty-Six was immediately awake. “You have a job to do,” he tossed the tablet down and Eighty-Six barely caught it through his drowsiness. He stared at the red dyed text, squinting as he came to an understanding. “One of our oxygen valves has critically failed. Best not to leave it til morning,” Zarus turned back to his station, Eighty-Six agreeing with a nod and a yawn. He slid out of bed, not even bothering to change into his usual attire as he shouldered his tool bag. “Hurry back - we’re entering asteroid territory in a few hours.”

Another nod and yawn, the child practically stumbling out of the lab and down the corridor. This wasn’t his first night job, but if he were allowed to complain, they were his least favorite type of job. It was impossible to tell night from day in the dead of space, but he had his sleep routine regardless. Furthermore, he had checked the oxygen valves a few days ago and there was nothing indicating a lead into sudden critical failure. But Eighty-Six kept his sleepy grumbling to himself, ready to get the job done and then return to his sheets. His aim was on the far end of the ship, past a block of living quarters and out of the way so all the machinery wouldn’t be heard. To him, it wasn’t particularly loud, but apparently most who lived in this part of the ship often complained about loud clanks from the aged technology. In fact, if Eighty-Six remembered correctly, most of the living quarters were empty here - many of that belonging to originals that has now long since passed on. He gave the doors a quick glance as he passed them by - very few lights indicating they were lived in, maybe only two or three out of the entire line. Newer and improved quarters had been built, so Eighty-Six assumed they were preferable despite having little frame of reference.

With a sigh, Eighty-Six arrived at the door labeled with many warnings, opening it to a loud hissing sound he was unfamiliar with. It must be the valve, he figured, moving in further to find the culprit of his interrupted sleep. Sure enough, it had critically failed - spewing oxygen which Eighty-Six quickly silenced by shutting the valve off. However, the more he looked on it, the more it looked like intentional sabotage. But.. why? He couldn’t fathom as to why someone would intentionally break something this important, but he soon received his answer.

“Hey there, runt,” a voice he knew well struck terror in him, Eighty-Six unable to react as one pair of hands covered his eyes and mouth while another pinned him to the ground. “Wow, this was too easy.”

More jeers reached his ears as he was gagged, both his hands and feet firmly tied before he was thrown against the very tank of oxygen he was sent to fix. Through his pain blurred vision did he see his usual tormentors - his brothers. “Crying already?” One of them laughed. “Man, you’re such a wuss.”

Eighty-Six struggled against his bindings, hoping the show of it would convey they were going too far this time, but in viewing the malicious cheer on their faces did he realize this was meant to go beyond their usual teasing. He tried to scream, but his rarely used voice alongside the gag only managed a sound that caused the three of them to roar in laughter. “and here I thought he might actually be able to squeal or something-!”

“Doesn’t matter anyways. Everyone’s holed up for the asteroids and-” he kicked the broken valve, reigniting the hissing. “We’ve got this for insurance. Hear that, Eighty-Six? Scream and cry all you like - no one can hear you.”

There was questioning between the fear in his eyes, one of his brothers picking up on it with a sneer. “Oh, why are we doing this? It’s simple; you’re a failed clone bringing shame to us, and by proxy, to Zog. As long as you’re around, he won't acknowledge us. You’re literally the weakest link and we’re simply severing the chain. The Triceratons don’t need you, Eighty-Six, but they do need us, and we need Zog to give us the time of day before we go insane. Okay? Did your runty little brain catch all of that?”

Eighty-Six shook his head and struggled with it, quickly receiving a firm hand across his face in response. “Figures. You're weak and stupid.”

“Yeah, you’re not even worthy of your horns, runt,” they stated accompanied by flicker and tiny discharge of power. Eighty-Six's eyes widened as they approached with a plasma knife in their grasp. It was commonly used as a multi-tool, he even had one of his own in his bag, but they touched it to one of his top horns, Eighty-Six flinching from it, and getting hit again in their frustration. “You don't need these, you don't wear Zog's likeness well at all, so let's get you put in your place.”

******

The pitter-patter of asteroid debris hitting the ship was keeping the majority of its occupants awake - Zog included. While those on the bridge were busy breaking them and charting a path through the hazard, most everyone else was forced into sleeplessness. Many hunkered down in their rooms, as instructed, but there were some groups who would gather in the mess hall, taking bets on how many asteroids would be destroyed or drinking themselves into slumber. Zog didn’t ever feel the urge to participate, instead passing the time by simply staring out his window. He despised this view. The infinite, cold reach of space was nothing to marvel at after spending hundreds of years with it. When he was young, when he and Zera were still newly coupled, they would often take in the night sky together - silently enjoying each other's warmth as the heavens above provided its beautiful gifts for their viewing pleasure. Zera’s small gasps of delight whenever seeing a shooting star would always make Zog jump and command his attention to wherever her gaze was. Back then, space debris was practically magical, turning itself into a show as it breached their world, but now, it was merely an irritating obstacle.

Zog sighed as he drummed his claws, forcing his thoughts elsewhere, but it unexpectedly devolved into a coughing fit. He managed to catch his breath, at first cursing his age, but then realized it was genuinely getting difficult to breathe. A small alert muted any concerns that his health was failing, Zog finding a lit up panel close to his quarter’s doors and reading its flashing text. Sure enough, the oxygen levels were dropping to dangerous levels. He figured the asteroids had jostled something loose, holding back an irritated grunt as he pressed the button to open his doors. It instantly became easier to breathe once stepping out, Zog breathing deeply as he took in the surrounds for any obvious damage. Nothing within his initial sweep, figuring this was something better reported than investigated, but in taking another deep breath did he inhale something in the air that brought him to pause. Blood. The scent of blood.

He turned towards its source, his nose so inadvertently trained after all the hunting he’d done and the battles he’d seen. Zog hadn’t recalled the ship lurching to the point it could toss someone violently enough to injure. No, this was something else - blood being purposely spilt, by who or what, he didn’t know, but he retrieved his weapon before following the scent. It led him to a pair of doors he’d never ventured through, warning signs and stickers indicating it was beyond his knowledge. But it was here, he was sure of it - Zog deciding to forgo the buttoned panel and pry the doors open himself, quietly, only a crack to observe first and foremost. It was the hiss of lost oxygen that hit his ears first, answering one question, but the sounds that followed as the scent of blood thickened confused him. Delighted giggles, ones from younglings. They were sounding by a corner he couldn’t observe from his current position, instead turning his ears to their conversation.

“Did he pass out again? Seriously?”

“Guess the third horn was more than he could handle.”

“Pathetic. Pass me the knife, I’m gonna carve my initials into his face.”

“Wow, egotistical much?”

“Shaddap!”

Zog needed to hear no more, forcing the doors completely open, the noise of it freezing the trio. They never expected to get caught, especially not by the one they were doing this act for. They allowed themselves to feel relieved as Zog entered their presence, beginning their hasty explanations with smiles on their faces and blood on their hands. They were so sure of themselves, determined to prove to their father the benefits of this act, but Zog’s attention was completely on Eighty-Six. Bound, bleeding, his horns removed and scattered. The child’s eyes were glazed over, unconscious from the pain, but the sight sent Zog’s mind elsewhere. His burning village, his desperation, his morbid discovery. He was there again, reliving the horror, and while Zera’s body was missing, his son’s was before him, eyes glazed with death, reminding Zog of his failure and pain - and it was more than his mind could process.

Again. It had somehow happened again, and he needed to hunt the Krang who robbed him again. He roared as his sanity snapped, his weapon brandished as his mind echoed the same phrase over and over; no survivors - kill them all.

******

The news shook all in the Herd to their cores. Many couldn’t believe it, it went beyond all logic and reason, but the reality of their hero turned traitor would sink in eventually. The fact that he gave no resistance as he was clapped in irons solidified it for many, but most knew there was more to the story than how it appeared. To be found as he was; the scattered corpses of his clones around him while he cradled the smallest and wept, well, it was baffling for sure. The only ones who even had a clue were Zarus and Zanramon, but while the former had the tiniest bit of empathy, the latter was too enraged to care. Zanramon had lost four warriors that night, four of his very best, and he would make sure Zog knew it for the rest of his days, however many or few they ended up being as he rotted in a cell.

An eternal prisoner, a mere shell of his previous glory, and Zog accepted it, too worn down to carry his burdens any longer. Zanramon would get use out of him yet, if not to make clones, then to at least point his strength elsewhere if needed. No, as things were now, it was deemed too ‘risky’ to make clones out of Zog’s DNA, including using the remains of his son. The investigation revealed Eighty-Six’s injuries to be maliciously inflicted, not by Zog, but from a plasma knife containing the fingerprints of all his fellow clones. To say the Herd was mortified would be an understatement, all truly wondering if their DNA was unstable and prone to acts of violence. It was all hearsay, Zarus especially knowing it, but he was too old, and frankly too busy to defend a traitor. However, just once, he found his way to Zog’s cell, there to impart something, then never return.

Zog was barely recognizable with all the restraints that bound him. It was frankly overdone, Zarus knowing Zanramon’s spite fueled the cruelty, but it was out of his hands and not worth fighting for. Zarus had always been curt with Zog, but for the first time in their relationship did he feel hesitation, turning himself away from the bars and leaning his back into them.

“...Zog,” he said, finding his voice, hearing some of the chains rattle in response, knowing he was heard. “Eighty-Six pulled through. He will continue to be in my care. Zanramon wanted him tossed in the incinerator, but considering he is the victim in all of this, it was a bad look, despite his relation to you.” No response, not even another chain sounded, Zarus accepting it as he pushed himself up from the bars. “Goodbye, Zog. I pray death takes us from this nightmare sooner than later.”

Chapter Text

-2 Years after the defeat of the Shredder, 4 years before the arrival of the Triceraton Legion-

An axe satisfyingly hit its target, wood splitting in two directions. Their task was finally finished with this log, resting the axe and picking up the pile of firewood under their arm. Snow tickled their nose as they went back to their house, taking a moment to observe the view they’d hadn’t seen in a while. The sky threatened a blizzard, just as the news had warned, and they took note to do one more round of firewood after breakfast.

“Thank you for doing that, Casey,” Karai greeted him with gratitude as he entered into the house with a shiver.

“It’s literally my chore - no thanks needed,” he bit back tiredly, going for the stove and depositing several logs onto the glowing embers.

Karai merely chuckled in response. “Breakfast is almost ready, and I have something to speak with you about today.”

“Yatta,” he said sarcastically, closing the stove’s door and making his way to the kotatsu, glaring down at what he found in his chair. “Why are you always in my seat!?” He snarled at the dozing Mayhem, rolling him off the cushion and taking his place before it could be reclaimed. Mayhem grumbled out a growl before defiantly returning, forcing himself into Casey’s lap and back under the kotatsu’s blanket. “Yeah, whatever, make yourself comfortable...” Casey grumbled to himself, used to Mayhem’s stubbornness, electing to ignore him kneading with claws as Casey used the remote to turn the TV on. The weather channel blipped into view, Casey mindlessly watching the forecast reiterate the upcoming blizzard. His view was soon blocked by Karai placing down their breakfast. She’d forgone the usual Japanese traditional dishes, Casey raising a brow at the omelette rice on his plate. “...Wow, I’ve seen these in animes before. What happened to our usual fish-miso-rice combo?”

“I was unable to get the proper ingredients due to my own chores taking longer than usual yesterday. I will go to the grocery store today before the blizzard settles in.”

“Mmm, and I’m guessing the reason for them taking so long has to do with whatever you want to talk about?” Casey guessed and Karai nodded.

“Let us eat first. Itadakimasu,” she briefly put her hands together, Casey mimicking the motion then digging into the meal. They were both sampling the dish for the first time, Karai mulling over the flavor profile while Casey continued to shovel it away. “...Too much ketchup in the rice...?” She pondered and took another bite.

“It’s fine,” Casey reassured. “Perfectly edible.”

Karai sighed, taking one more bite and swallowing before responding. “Perhaps I should stop dabbling in modern recipes.”

“I just said it’s fine...” Casey scoffed at her. “It’s not like I can cook for shit.”

“Language,” he gently corrected and he rolled his eyes. “And it’d be preferable for it to taste good beyond just being edible.”

“I think you’ve vastly overestimated my palette. Plenty of Americans practically drink ketchup.”

“Do...” Karai’s face twisted into disgust. “Do they actually?”

“No, not actually,” Casey amended with a sigh. “But if there’s a reason to use it, true lovers will. Hotdogs, hamburgers, potatoes, eggs, steak, - I could go on. I swear I even saw a ketchup flavored pop...”

“Pop?”

“Soda; a fizzy drink.”

“Ah,” she nodded in understanding, then grimaced. “That is truly disgusting. Fizzy... Ketchup...? Why?”

Casey laughed into his next bite, swallowing it harshly to prevent himself from choking. “Yeah, it is, but I doubt it’s in high demand - probably more of a gag gift. But, anyways, again, this is fine. It tastes like breakfast. If there was bacon or sausage on the side, it would almost taste like home.”

“Two proteins for breakfast?” Karai asked and Casey chuckled.

“Man, you’ve gotta go to an IHOP the next time you're stateside - it’ll blow your mind.”

“...I’ll add it to the list,” Karai finally gave in, smiling as Casey finished his final bite, moving to finish hers as well, breakfast soon behind them as she cleared the dishes and returned to her spot. Casey turned the TV off as she returned, bracing himself for whatever Karai was to impart on him. “I believe what I’m about to tell you may be softened if I begin with a story.”

“You always do,” Casey reminded her, so used to her teaching methods by now. “Though I’d prefer if you cool it on the metaphors this time around.”

“All of this story is truth with no need for symbolism. It concerns Oroku Saki, but mainly focuses on his sworn brother; Hattori Tatsu.”

“...I’m listening,” Casey leaned in, a glint of genuine intrigue in his eyes.

“Then I shall begin. Before the founding of the Foot Clan, when my father was a child, my grandfather was a Lord of a fair bit of renown. It unfortunately invited strife, and on a particular day was Saki kidnapped by bandits.”

“Oh, damn,” Casey's eyebrows raised, Karai choosing to ignore the expletive as she continued.

“They fled on horseback, most likely with the intent to return to their hideout, but they were soon to encounter something no one anticipated. A child stood in their way, and with no intent to stop did they urge their horses forward, but they instead found themselves on the ground - their horses suddenly dead, and the one standing above them all was the child. Anger ignited, weapons were drawn, but as the child stood between them and Saki, did he reveal his eyes devoid of sight - merely two voids in their place.”

“...What?” Casey cringed, Karai smiling.

“They believed him a vengeful spirit, a curse to be feared, and so, they fled, leaving behind their target with his savior. And thus did Oroku Saki meet Hattori Tatsu; a ninja in his father's employ, blind from birth yet able to see all through his sharp hearing.”

“H-how exactly...?” Casey let his confusion be known, Karai closing her eyes in response.

“You learn to rely on what senses you have, balancing out into an equilibrium,” she knocked on the table, Casey feeling Mayhem move from his lap. He teleported in, above Karai, and she caught him expertly. He did the deed again, from the side, from below - the same result, again and again until the Yōkai tired and collapsed in defeat. She reopened her eyes to a thoroughly impressed Casey.

“Woah,” he said, casting a slightly pitied look to Mayhem.

“And so,” Karai proceeded with the tale. “They made friends, grew up like brothers, and when Saki decided to begin his own clan away from his father’s influence, Tatsu followed. While I have no memories of my mother, I have many of him. Tatsu was both my loving uncle, and my harsh sensei. Everything I know is because of him - my father becoming a very busy man as the Foot Clan grew and prospered. He was not completely absent, but I certainly shared a table more with my Uncle.”

“So...” Casey wavered slightly, sorting his thoughts. “This is a cool story and all, but why exactly tell me all this?”

“For two reasons,” Karai gently smiled at his curiosity laced with suspicion. “The first being that I truly believe that my Uncle’s death is what caused my father to don the Kuroi Yoroi,” she said and Casey’s attention was recaught. “Tragedy begat sorrow and revenge. The attack on the Foot was premeditated by the Krang that they might lure Oroku Saki to their creation. The tragedy of losing his wife and now his brother was too much for him to bear. Like you, he only saw the path of revenge, but while his path was set, yours can still be diverted, Casey Jones. I believe your desire has fizzled, but not entirely extinguished. A year has passed since you were woken up into my care, and I want nothing more than to set you free, but we’re not quite there yet.”

Casey rolled his shoulders with a sigh, already figuring out where Karai was leading. “And this directly leads into the second reason...”

“It does indeed,” Karai nodded. “Because another is in need of my help, and they’ll be coming to stay with us shortly.”

“...Who?” Casey asked with a tone that was bordering on irritation.

“Sofonisba,” Karai revealed and witnessed Casey tense. “Her situation is beyond Draxum’s and her brother’s expertise, so they have reached out to me and I accepted.”

“Are you serious right now...!?” Casey practically hissed. “In what world is this a good idea?!”

“Your reaction is exactly as I expected, and it is even more clear to me now that you still harbor hatred for my mutant kin. You cannot and will not be free until you work past this demon that haunts you so.”

“Karai, we killed each other's fathers! Forcing us under the same roof is a recipe for disaster!”

“The mutant that took your father’s life is gone, Casey, and Drako, who took Splinter’s life, is also gone. Do not weave your wrath into a web so thick you cannot see reason. You are both victims to a dead mandman’s schemes. If my grandchildren believed you were a threat to their sister, they would not have allowed this arrangement.”

“As if they know me!” Casey growled, crossing his arms.

“But I do know you, Casey Jones,” Karai soothed. “You are a sweet lad under all your shackles, and I know you can overcome your burdens with enough time... and I believe this exposure will be overall good for you.” She left the kotatsu, grabbing a notebook before returning. She slid it over to Casey who eyed it with contempt.

“And this is...?”

“A copy of the observational notes Draxum kept ever since Sofonisba awoke from her comatose state. It would be in your best interests to familiarize yourself with it before she arrives. I am off to get groceries and have no tasks for you until I return.” She went for her winter coat and accessories, nothing more said between them as she suited up and left the small home behind. Once her footsteps faded did Casey let out his anger, slamming his head onto the table with an angry grunt, making Mayhem jump and scurry away. Of course he knew she was right, but it didn’t just make everything disappear. He glared at the journal from his position, playing with the idea of tearing it to shreds in his tiff, but he knew better. With a deep, calming breath, emulating the process of how Karai taught him to calm his mind, did Casey lift his head. He even chastised himself for the headache he’d made, not all contempt gone, but Casey took the notebook in hand, and began to read.

February 4th, 202X.

Sofia has finally awoken. It has been a whirlwind since I walked into her room to find her sitting up after a year of her slumber. Due to the unique situation of her body, I will be continuing to use this journal to observe her progress, or lack thereof. In Lord Simultaneous using the Time Rod to revert her state from a thrall, we believed the surface level scars were all she bore for the price, but we were wrong. Sofia is blind, and her powers lessened to the point of being unable to heal herself. Furthermore, all mine and Giorgio’s medicinal efforts have been completely ineffective. Vincent theorizes that this is what the Time Rod chose in balancing out her existence, that it is more or less a punishment for Sofia toying with time itself. Punishment or not, it will not deter me to aid her back to normalcy.

B.D.

February 20th, 202X.

I had been under the impression that Sofia’s lack of speech had been another result of her fight with Drako and the Shredder, but I was mistaken. After a thorough diagnosis, her vocal chords are completely fine, it is just that she refuses to speak, or perhaps, she cannot find her voice after all she’s endured. She knows her name, she nods and shakes her head towards basic questions, but interactions do not go beyond that. She also had no appetite. Sydney has practically taken the entire household over, becoming a doting mother to all of the children, but even her culinary prowess doesn’t move Sofia. I don’t believe she does it maliciously, but rather she cannot fathom moving past her current state. Nelli spends every moment not in the Battle Nexus at Sofia’s side, cleaning her up and keeping her company. I cannot tell if any progress is being made, but it is perhaps too soon to make any judgments.

B.D.

March 8th, 202X.

She has begun to attempt to venture from her bed. I arrived a few mornings ago to find Sofia on the floor, her IVs disconnected as she attempted to drag herself to the door. I nearly stepped on her and she was less than pleased when I placed her back in bed. She did not tell me so, but the discontent was clear on her face. I believe she is finally coming back to herself, slowly, and in discussing it with her siblings, rehabilitation will begin as soon as we believe it safe enough to proceed. Sofia needs a proper routine, nutrition, and if I must bargain with her to eat, then I shall. She is not helpless, she is not unintelligent, but she needs guidance and discipline if she is to overcome this. I can’t help but wonder how Splinter would have approached this. I pray I am not too hard on her in the coming days.

B.D.

April 15th, 202X.

Rehabilitation has begun in earnest. It took quite a bit of convincing, but Sofia is eating meals and learning to walk again. Drako Junior allowed the construction of parallel bars to aid in her recovery. I had thought he would be more impatient towards all of this, especially considering Sofia’s promise towards his sister and Giorgio ceasing all work on the egg in favor of Sofia’s recovery, but Drako Junior’s patience is seemingly endless. I theorize having Sydney back aids this, but even with all the work and drama he deals with, he has never shown an inkling towards irritation. And on that note, Sofia surprisingly has shown no irritation towards that of Alopex. She has developed a fascination with Sofia despite her mother’s chiding to leave her be. I more often than not find the pup curled up with Sofia in her bed each morning. I am no expert in therapy, but perhaps the innocence of a child with no ties to the entire situation is soothing to Sofia. Regardless, I see little reason to separate them, though Sydney is still undecided on the bond.

B.D.

May 30th, 202X.

Without prompting, Sofia healed all mine and Nelli’s scars from the Battle Nexus today. She walks again with a cane, Alopex often taking her free hand to aid Sofia with stairs. Her recovery has been shocking lately, all the effort shining through, though the healing exhausted Sofia thoroughly. I am writing this as I watch her slumber, her bags enormous and her breathing deep. Moderation is certainly something I will have to discuss with her, though I don’t know if she’ll listen. Sofia is stubborn, no, all of them are, but she is the worst of the four. It is both a help and a hindrance, but I do not know how to convey that she must stop pushing herself to the absolute limit of her abilities. Was my chiding the day she cured Splinter not enough, or has she forgotten? Or is she willfully ignoring me while she picks up the pieces of her cognition? I am pleased with her progress, but I do not wish it to become her destruction.

B.D.

August 24th, 202X

Vincent visited and upon observing how far Sofia had come, did he reveal his information pertaining to the Triceraton Legion and Sofia’s part she is meant to play. She has still not said a single word to any of us, but it was clear on face how she felt about the situation. I agree with her frustrations, that she have such a task thrust on her, but if Lord Simultaneous has bid only Sofia able to defeat this Zog, then it is the only chance we have. I do not know if it was continued frustrations or fear, but for the first time since her waking, Sofia wept after Vincent departed. No amount of comfort or reassurances dried her tears, but Nelli held her until she tired herself into slumber. That we have been given such a monumental task while we still lick our wounds is ridiculous, but I must train Giorgio and Nelli in anticipation for this invasion. Sydney will watch over Sofia when I cannot, but I am at a loss on how to proceed. I know what Sofia must do, what she must learn to topple this foe, but I am unsure she is up to the task.

B.D.

October 31st, 202X.

Sofia’s plight has officially reached a point where I can aid her no longer. Her mobility is more or less back, still using the cane as needed, but her blindness presents a problem I cannot rectify. She cannot live her entire life being led by Alopex, and she certainly cannot hope to defeat Zog as she is. Her powers need to evolve if she cannot regain them to what they were. I can explain to her how to do so at length, but they will be impossible to put into practice if her blindness holds her back. I brought these concerns up to Karai during one of our general update meetings, and she has offered to take Sofia with her to Hokkaido to overcome this. Opinions in the family are mixed. Drako Junior encouraged it, still in no rush to force Sofia to hatch the egg, but the presence of Casey Jones gave more than a few of us second thoughts. However, if we are to mend, if we are to move forward, then trust is the first step. I know this firsthand, Sofia being the first to trust me after all I had done, inviting me into this home despite my actions and words. Time is ever moving, and the Triceraton Legion will not wait for our squabbles to end, so Sofia will depart for Hokkaido to be with her Grandmother. I pray Splinter’s presence in Karai be a comfort to her and that she return to us renewed. All of Earth is depending on us.

B.D.

“...Fucking hell...” Casey snapped the journal shut. “What the hell is a Triceraton Legion...? ...Fuck!” He leaned back into his chair, hanging his head lazily. He was a deep mix of confused and remorseful. The hate was not completely gone, but even back when he witnessed Sofia under the Janome’s influence did he know he’d done wrong. The cries of her beast-like form as the Shredder tore her apart over and over haunted his dreams. He would awake in frustration, but his tears told him how he’d truly felt as they fell. And now he had to share a roof with her, Karai no doubt putting all of her lessons from Tatsu into practice so that Sofia could function again. Casey... didn’t want to, at all, his stance still unchanged, but he had no choice in the matter.

He wasn’t about to have another tantrum and throw himself into the wilds of Hokkaido again. Had Mayhem not taken him back when he did, Casey would have succumbed to the cold. A part of him wanted that, wanted to die and leave all his sorrows and mistakes behind, but Karai would not allow it. She nursed him through the resulting sickness, her compassionate touch melting a portion of his icy heart, and Casey gave into her whimsical nature as they lived through a year together. He knew he’d be set free as soon as he proved himself, but Arnold’s death was still too fresh in his mind to fully forgive anything. However, the ones he’d set the Shredder on were choosing to trust him; him. Casey wanted to scream at the absurdity of it all, angry that they were giving him this chance at all, but he chose to breathe again, reminding himself that another pile of firewood still needed to be chopped. He threw the journal down into Karai’s spot, putting his mind elsewhere as he decided to work out his temper on logs instead of thinking too harshly towards the future.

******

She looked worse than he thought, yet also somehow better than he imagined. Through a portal Sofia had arrived with Draxum, a bag slung over her shoulder that she refused to let her father take despite his fussing. Her other hand was occupied by a cane, Casey recognizing it, having taken several blows from it as he had fought against Splinter those few years ago. Just as the journal had described, she was silent through all the discussion between Karai and Draxum, her eyes closed, but somehow Casey felt her gaze on him. He’d elected to hang back at the entrance to his room, the house small enough as is, but giving space to the new arrival as he could. Casey still felt a spark of... something upon looking on Sofia and Draxum, but he wouldn’t act on it. If anything, he was more frustrated that Sofia was more or less dead weight until further notice. She couldn’t help Karai with the household, and she couldn’t share any of Casey’s chores as she was. He mentally prepared for the increased workload, the irritation of the realities that came from living in an old Japanese country home already annoying enough.

“Jones,” Draxum suddenly addressed him, Casey straightening up on instinct. “I am glad the retro-mutagen was able to aid you. I will accept any and all contempt you have for me and my hand in all this, but I ask you bear no ill will to my daughter,” he said and Casey saw Sofia’s lips purse before moving her head away from his view.

“I, uh...” Casey crossed his arms, refusing eye contact with Draxum. “It’s... whatever...” he said, words failing him as his chest tightened.

“That will do, I suppose…” Karai eyed Casey briefly before turning her attention back to Draxum and Sofia. “She is in good hands, Draxum. Feel free to visit any time to view her progress.”

“Thank you. Sofia,” he gently cupped her face as he turned to his daughter. She accepted it but made no other motion. “Rest your body, train your mind. We will all eagerly await your return.”

Sofia slightly nodded, Draxum accepting her answer, releasing her and reopening the portal. After a light bow directed at Karai and Casey, Draxum departed, the buzzing of the portal dissipating and leaving the trio in silence. “Right then,” Karai picked up back where the conversation had stopped. “Sofia, you will be staying with me in my room. It is late, and the blizzard still rages, so allow me to guide you,” she took Sofia’s hand and led her, the two of them slowly approaching their goal, Casey choosing not to watch and retreating to his room. “Goodnight, Casey,” Karai caught him just before the sliding door closed.

“...Night,” he forced out, choosing to stew in his futon rather than speak his mind. He could clearly hear Karai explaining how to take out the futon and how to properly store it in the morning before she and Sofia finally settled, the house going dark as the three of them attempted to sleep through the storm.

It was ridiculously cold in the house upon waking, a string of swears falling from his mouth as Casey shivered towards the stove. The embers were out, the house’s warmth fleeting as he stuffed newspapers for kindling inside and started to reignite the fire. He sighed as it roared back to life, tossing in one more log for good measure before shutting the stove’s door. He chose the kotatsu rather than returning to his bed, turning on the heating element as he settled. It was early still, around 4 AM if he was reading the analog clock right, Casey reaching for a cellphone that he no longer had, clicking his tongue at himself for muscle memory. The blizzard’s winds were still howling, hitting the house and rattling its windows. Casey was sure he wouldn’t be getting any more sleep, though still laid his head down on the table. Every noise reached him like a shout, he was trained that way by Arnold as to not be taken unawares by the enemy - though now knowing this ‘enemy’ was a group of young adults barely older than him made it all feel laughable.

Casey knew it wasn’t their fault, knew deep down Sofia and her siblings were brought into existence for schemes that they ultimately conquered, but he couldn’t figure out how to make it hurt less. He didn’t even have a particularly good relationship with his father, but the potential of having one was gone, forever, and that fact was always in the back of his mind. It may have been a delusion, there was never a guarantee they would see eye-to-eye, but Casey wanted to at least have the opportunity to find out. But, one thing was sure now, clearer than ever before; none of his actions after the death of Arnold made Casey feel any better. If anything, this past year with Karai gave him a taste of true parental love. At first he followed her around disgruntled, taking on the chores as a way to repay her being at his sickbed, but as spring arrived, Karai was truly in her element, and Casey couldn’t help but be caught up in her efforts.

They labored over a garden both on their property and below it near rice paddies. It helped Casey regain his lost muscle and kept his hands busy lest he fall back into despair. The bounty was plentiful, more than they could possibly eat, so to all others in the community it went, Casey meeting more elderly families each day, all stubbornly refusing to move to the city. He couldn’t understand a lick of Japanese outside the usual greetings and expressions, but he was doted on by all of them nonetheless. Casey could count the days on his hands when someone wasn’t visiting - dropping off their own veggies or a portion of whatever they cooked. They would praise him for being so diligent, none of their own children or grandchildren nearby to dote on, Casey receiving more care than he knew what to do with. He only ever got anything close to this from his hockey team back in New York, but even then, Casey knew the admiration only went as far as his skills could take him. He wondered if having Sofia around would destroy this dynamic, the world still undecided on the presence of Yōkai , but he chose to focus on that question later, starting to feel himself drift off again.

He was unfortunately jolted back awake by Mayhem jumping onto the table. Casey sighing as he felt the small Yōkai ’s approach. “Do not sit on my head,” he warned, anticipating Mayhem’s goal, but Casey found he was soon mistaken. Mayhem sat himself down in front of Casey, gently whining like a distressed dog would. This got him to sit up, Casey looking down at the creature barely illuminated by the stove’s glow. “...What? What?” He questioned, Mayhem responding with a bird dog’s point towards Karai’s room. “...Okay? Just teleport in?” Casey shrugged at Mayhem, receiving an irked growl in response. For whatever reason, he was refusing to do so, though Casey figured it was something he wasn’t privy to. He gave in as Mayhem urged again, telling him to shut up in hushed tones as he approached the sought door. Casey quietly slid it open, just enough for Mayhem to slip through, and what he heard froze Casey on the spot. Soft, almost unheard sobbing, muffled by a blanket. It was obviously Sofia, Casey even hearing her briefly stop her sorrows to gasp as Mayhem invaded her space with the intent to comfort. Silently, Casey closed the gap he’d created as Sofia’s weeping continued, avoiding all the floorboards he knew creaked as he moved back towards the kotatsu.

However, he didn’t retake his seat. Now having heard Sofia, it was all his ears were willing to heed. Casey’s memories were cast back to when he witnessed her farewell with Splinter, how he lovingly comforted her as he begged a boon to be sent away. He couldn’t bear to watch it back then, and he couldn’t bear to hear her crying now, Casey’s own tears beginning to fall as his breath began to quicken. Both his memories and the here and now blended together maliciously, tightening his chest as he rushed over to the house’s entryway. He hastily dressed, leaving the tortuous noise behind, welcoming the gale to mute his own lamentations. His tears froze against his cheeks as they flowed indiscriminately, sharp breaths devolving into wailing. Not since he’d found Arnold amongst the rubble had he cried, but this sudden bout was neither cathartic nor freeing, Casey’s resentment melting away into remorse he didn’t know how to handle. How could he possibly even begin to apologize for what he’d done? Sofia was like she was now because of his actions, that was fact. He wasn’t forced to share a roof with her, it was the opposite, having to figure out how to live with the boy who went out of his way to inflict as much pain as possible - himself from the future being the only one able to stop Casey’s misguided rampage.

“Shhhh, Casey,” Karai’s arms were suddenly around him, embracing his shivering, sniveling figure. “Forgiveness is a hard road traveled, paved with healing that springs from many sources. The first steps are always the most difficult, and I am proud of you.”

Her words only gave way to more tears, Karai pressing his head into her chest, stroking Casey’s hair with tenderness so foreign, yet so inviting. He didn’t recall what happened afterwards, but he awoke back in his bed, fully tucked in, the way Karai had done so when he was ill. A singular burden of many had fallen that night, Casey swallowing a still present lump in his throat as he sat up. His emotions still felt raw, vulnerable, but he would accomplish nothing staying in bed. His morning routine was ruined, but he salvaged it as best he could, emerging into the living space and finding whom he expected. His seat was unoccupied, several wrapped onigiri at his place for breakfast, he assumed. Karai looked up from her book, an urging smile beckoning him forwards. Casey briefly battled with hesitation as he viewed Sofia. She was in a large hoodie, hood up, head down, eyes closed, -but her hands weren’t idle. A large, thin, slab of wood was before her on the table, Sofia dragging her fingers across it, not giving Casey a single thought through her focus.

“Good morning, Casey,” Karai broke him out of his funk, Casey taking a calming breath before answering.

“‘Morning,” he answered her, Sofia flinching under the sound of his voice before continuing her task. Casey found it to be a braille tablet as he took his seat - the entire alphabet and numbers zero through nine all protruding from it. Having a third person in the kotatsu presented a bit of a squeeze, but Casey shifted himself away from Sofia as much as possible, attempting to respect her space.

“It seems we should invest in a larger kotatsu,” Karai said what each of them were thinking.

“...The secondhand store might have one...” Casey spoke through the awkwardness, doing his best to be casual.

“Then we will make an effort to visit once the storm has passed. Sofia, if there is anything you need or want, please let us know,” Karai addressed her, Sofia stopping her reading to shallowly nod. She then went for her cane, briefly struggling to stand before moving towards the front door. “Oh, bathroom?” Karai asked, another nod. “Do you need help?” she offered and Sofia shook her head, patting around the coat rack, finding hers, then doing the same around the shoes, the fuzzy rim of her boots found and slipped on. Both Karai and Casey watched silently the whole while until Sofia exited, the storm noticeably thinned, but still present.

“Is she gonna be OK?” Casey minorly fussed.

“I gave her a tour this morning while you were asleep. She is very capable even with her disability. Still, I may look into getting another toilet installed. It is a bit cumbersome...”

“It’s a lot cumbersome,” Casey corrected. “I still can’t believe outdoor toilets are the norm around here. At least the tub is inside...”

“It is still more convenient than what I grew up with,” Karai mused with a chuckle, but changed her focus completely onto him. “How are you feeling?”

“I...” he wavered, but soon answered. “I don’t really know. Better? Not necessarily worse? I just... I think I need a little more time.”

“Well, time you shall have, as much as you need of it. Come spring, my focus will be shifting to getting Sofia healed and trained, but I will always be here when you need me, Casey Jones.”

“...Thank you,” he said, a rare, yet to be seen smile gracing his face briefly before dropping. “But, uh, I have a quick question. A thought occurred to me this morning; are we going to be OK with her being here? We have a lot of... nosy neighbors, and she’s, well, not human. She can’t wear that hoodie all the time.”

“Oh, Casey,” Karai chuckled again as she leaned her chin into her knuckles. “Now that you have gotten past your anger, I advise you to work on your perception next.”

“What does that mean...?” He narrowed his eyes at her.

“You will see.”

Chapter Text

The sensation of cold water assaulting their pores was the last needed piece of the puzzle known as their wakeup routine. They cringed against it, but accepted the sensation, reaching for a towel as the final dregs of their cleanser dripped away into the sink’s drain. Only after patting each remaining droplet away did they finally critique their work in the vanity mirror, - Nel’s eyes always going straight to her scar first. She blinked a few times, poking at her eye’s bags, trying to remember if she’d gotten her full eight hours or not. Her gaze fell down to her makeup bag, full of bottles and tubes she salvaged from their previous home and various gifts from Quarry. Nel had a thought to use them, but took out her phone instead, checking the calendar app, causing her to sigh bitterly.

“Why bother...” she grumbled, grabbing her bandana and tying it snuggly around her head, hiding both scar and bags with it. She turned to leave her bathroom, attention re-caught by several scarves hanging from a hook on the door. She lifted one in her hand, it being the one Mikey had made for her, and then another, bearing the applique of the Wild Cat’s logo Sofia had drawn. While she tried to decide between one or the other, a memory struck her and made her neck practically itch. Her last battle in the Nexus had a Yōkai with flight named Wingnut who had latched onto her scarf and attempted to strangle her with it. Had Draxum not whipped him off with a timely root, Nel might have actually died. With a frown she let them both drop back into position, leaving her bathroom back into her bedroom. There would be times to enjoy past hobbies, but today would not be one of those days.

With a yawn she exited into one of the many long, sprawling hallways of the M.o.B’s mansion. She was almost used to the view and location, almost, and figured with enough time it would truly feel like home. DJ had shocked them all in offering his home after the battle was won, but they were not ones to refuse when they literally had nowhere else to go. All things considered, they were family, and DJ certainly also didn’t want to deal with the coming complicated days on his own either. They, as a unit, had become an odd neutral zone within the Hidden City, at the Head’s order, no less. Combined with Nel’s initial smear campaign, the EPF was able to recover footage from their fallen comrades corpses, Bishop’s included. It was spliced together in the turtle’s favor, in apology for Bishop’s actions, and to show the world those they had demonized had in fact saved them all.

Opinions were split. Those on the positive side saw the turtles and DJ’s actions as more than enough proof they had done enough to right wrongs that weren’t even theirs to correct in the first place. But many wounds were still fresh, both humans and Yōkai on the other side fully set in their opinions. Many wanted DJ to answer for all his father’s crimes in his place, it being his blood that caused all of this. Nel had discovered an entire online forum dedicated to keeping tabs on them, hoping and taking bets that Nel and Draxum would succumb to their next opponents at the Battle Nexus. For a mixed blessing mercy, Gio had been declared publicly dead - all footage having neither him or Donnie in it while it was public knowledge he was the now dead river monster. Gio decided to own it rather than correct, becoming a full homebody as his focus switched entirely to the egg, and now subsequently training for the upcoming Triceraton invasion.

DJ himself, with the help of Draxum and then Quarry, once being found, had been doing everything in his power as the new leader of the M.o.B. to sort out his father’s wrongdoings - and some of his grandfather’s as well. The M.o.B.’s fortune was grand, its ledger thick, and so much of it was drenched in blood. DJ spent the majority of his time finding more problems in his father’s office to add to the growing pile. He would solve one outstanding problem; canceling a victim’s debt, paying for a grave that his father’s actions caused the death of, amending contracts that were tilted away from the signer’s favor, and so on - only to have ten more crop up. DJ wished there was such a thing as a ‘solve everything’ button, but he knew things would never be that convenient. Thankfully, the insurance fund he’d established with any money he found not affiliated with illicit activities was finally being used. He understood the wariness, but the promise of free money eventually had people come forward for aid, and DJ was happy to give it.

Regardless, their situation was dubbed by the Heads as follows; victims to be respected for their efforts. They no longer needed the sigils, publicly declared protected, and the outcry for their blood died down outside of online spaces. The rest of the mutants were given the Retro-Mutagen and placed back into society, monitored by the EPF topside, leaving only the turtles left. The forum’s belief was that there would be no peace until they, Draxum, and DJ were dead, and because they were such a small group being targeted by a seemingly vocal minority, it remained live. Nel and April kept their eyes on it, knowing how fast hate could spread with the right platform, but for now, Nel struck it from her thoughts, entering into another room.

The scent of her father combined with incense tickled her nose as she closed the door behind her. What had been left of Splinter’s room was brought here, recreated in memory of him - a Butsudan awaiting near his bed. Nel gingerly opened it as she sat down on her knees, beginning the ritual as Karai had taught her. She made a mental note to get another candle as she lit the current melted own one, figuring Gio had been making his own visits after her. She lit the incense next, extinguishing the flames and letting the smoke rise respectfully, then hit the bell bowl, placing her hands together in lieu of chanting a sutra, knowing Splinter wouldn’t sweat the details. After a small bow, she raised her eyes to the mementos of her father. Inside the Butsudan was both a picture of Lou Jitsu alongside the sketch Sofia had made of him - Splinter never being one for photos and all of them realizing they didn’t have any appropriate shots once trying to seek them out. The scarf Mikey made was also present alongside several knick-knacks Splinter favored, charred, but recognizable. The urn containing his ashes sat comfortably between it all, his staff usually being knelt nearby until recently too, but it was given to Sofia to aid her recovery. With a deep breath, Nel found her voice over shedding tears, smiling as she began to talk.

“Hi, Dad,” her hands found their way to her lap as she ceased the praying gesture. “Sorry I haven’t visited in awhile. It’s been a busy week for all of us. Vinnie came and went, as he always does now, while the rest of us are gearing up for an apparent alien invasion in a few years. You’d think after all this kaiju and Shredder nonsense nothing would be surprising anymore, but, well, I’m still kinda processing it. Vin’s got it worked out that we stop the invasion via a trial by combat, but for it to work out, according to his boss, Sofia has to take the last bout against some undefeated guy named Zog...” Nel rubbed the back of her head as she continued. “And Sofia is... well, fine, I guess, but we had to send her away, and I don’t like it. I mean, you probably already know, being with Karai and all, but I feel like we’re abandoning her - like we pushed her out of the way because she can’t keep up. And I just-”

“Auntie Nelli! Auntie Nelli-!” A voice echoing through the mansion cut Nel off. “Where are yoooou?!”

Nel stood up, opening the door and answering back. “I’m right here, sweetpea, what is it?”

“Breakfast is ready!” They eagerly replied. “It’s gonna get cold!”

“Okay, Allie, I’ll be right there!” She pledged and heard excited scampering in response, chuckling at her highly food motivated niece. “Well, I guess I’d better get going. I’ve got a big fight today, so wish me luck, okay?” She extinguished the incense and closed the Butsudan doors. “Bye, Dad, love you.”

She left Splinter’s room, closing the door gently before starting towards the kitchen. They had converted what used to be the area for servants to eat into their dining area, none of the mansion’s residents wishing to use the lavish dining room no one had pleasant memories of. Besides, the kitchen-dining hybrid had plenty of room and allowed for whoever was cooking to be nearby - that day it being Quarry, who greeted Nel as she arrived.

“There she is, good morning, Nel!” She said while pouring the contents of her pan onto a plate.

“Good morning, Quarry. That smells great! Do you need help with anything?”

“No, no, sit down! You have work today, don’t you?”

“Unfortunately...” Nel relented with a frown, taking her seat next to Draxum - Alopex and DJ sat across from them. “No Gio yet?” She looked past Draxum to her brother’s seat, her father’s attention completely on the newspaper he was reading.

“Give him a few more minutes. He’s probably in the middle of something, like always,” Draxum replied as his eyes entered a new paragraph. Nel found herself reading a few of the headlines, though her own eyes were caught by a splash of orange - Draxum’s hair done up as usual with a near perfect bow adorning the braid.

“Wow, Dad, did you actually finally manage to tie your bow properly?” She admired it teasingly.

“Alopex fixed it for him,” DJ corrected before taking a sip of his coffee, the mentioned fox practically bouncing in her seat with pride.

“Amazing, Alopex, good job!” Nel praised her.

“Lookit my tail!” Alopex held up the large, fluffy mass. It was covered in bows, plastic rhinestones, and streaks of bright colors.

“W-wow...!” Nel’s surprise was laced with dread, knowing this mess that Alopex was so proud of was her fault. “So beautiful and... bright! You’re really getting some mileage out of my old bedazzler kit!” she smiled through grit teeth, turning her head to Quarry and mouthing ‘I’m sorry’.

Quarry smiled knowingly, rolling her eyes playfully as she approached the table with plates in her hands and on her arms. “Tail down, sweetheart, we’re eating now.”

“Okay!” She instantly complied, ready to dig into her plate as her mother placed it, Draxum folding down his newspaper as they all prepared to eat.

“Thank you, Sydney,” he expressed his gratitude as she sat down next to her daughter. “I can alleviate some of the cooking pressures tomorrow.”

“While I appreciate the offer,” Quarry viewed everyone grimacing at the thought. “The one who loves your cooking the most isn't here to enjoy it, and it wouldn't be fair to her.”

“Hmm, true enough...” Draxum relented, much to everyone's relief, though Quarry spied her daughter's ears droop ever so slightly.

“Oh, darling, don't fret. Sofia will be home before you know it,” Quarry reassured while petting Alopex’s head.

“-I’m here, I’m here!” Gio rushed to the table, taking his seat on the other side of Draxum, Alopex perking up out of her funk at his arrival. “Sorry, I was wrapped up in something.”

“As you always are,” DJ lightly teased and Gio accepted it, all the family finally gathered as they began their meal in earnest. The usual conversions ensued, talking about their plans for the day as food disappeared from plates.

“That’s right, Nel, may I ask you a favor?” Quarry ended her thought with a recollection.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind picking up a few things on the way home? Our usual store should have everything.”

“As long as today’s battle royale doesn’t get too wild, I don’t see why not? I’m guessing it’s something our garden and chickens can’t produce?”

“Yes, and you’ll see why and what once I get the list written up. I’m sorry to ask this of you, but DJ and I will be out and gone til who knows when...”

“It’s fine,” Nel waved off Quarry’s concern. “Which means grandpa Draxum gets to babysit today~”

Alopex’s decorated tail wagged at the prospect, Draxum regarding the child with wariness. “My hair will not be a repeat of your tail, young lady,” he warned and she made a discontent sound in response, as if to say ‘we’ll see about that’.

“Behave,” Quarry tutted.

“And you be careful today,” Draxum addressed Nel with concern in his tone. “I do not know why Big Mama decided to exclude me from the roster for this event, but keep your wits about you.”

“I know, I know,” Nel nodded. “You good if I dip into our Hamato ninpō reserve more than usual today, Gio?”

“Go for it, I doubt the rest of us will need it,” he said candidly. “I’ll be going back to my lab to a ninpō-less project, so don’t worry about me. -And speaking of,” Gio looked to DJ and Quarry. “Before you two leave today, I have something to show the both of you. It’s nothing urgent or bad, but I’ve made a discovery in regards to the egg.”

“Is she gonna hatch!?” Alopex excitedly asked.

“Not yet, kiddo,” Gio smiled at her enthusiasm converting to disappointment.

“We’ll stop by shortly after breakfast,” DJ said and Quarry nodded, both determined to hear this update.

******

“This is called a Polygraph,” Gio began the explanation towards the machine hooked up to the dragon egg, DJ and Quarry listening intently. “It’s a human invention meant to measure specific vitals to find various results. It’s most well known as the ‘lie detector’, as it’s believed to detect lies of the subject depending on the results - but today I’m just using it to demonstrate the heart rate of our reluctant sister. Observe the needles,” he gestured to the antiquated machine, the paper feeding as the ink bled onto it. Gio approached the egg, holding out his hand to it, the needles bouncing slightly in response. “Now, Quarry, you do the same, then DJ after,” he stepped back and Quarry took his place, the needles scribbling a little bit more than before. She backed away, DJ replacing her and repeating the motion, -and the needles went chaotic, deep pits as they roughly went back and forth.

“...What does this mean...?” DJ asked as he backed away, his concern clearly shown on his face.

“It means she’s afraid of us,” Gio said, his lips pursing briefly as he viewed DJ and Quarry’s shock. “She won't hatch because she feels threatened. To her, it’s safer to stay in her shell. I’m just theorizing here, but she lost her mother, her father imprisoned her, and now she’s trying to figure out what’s going on from her little fortress. I’m new, of course she’s afraid, maybe a little curious, but you two are a different story. She knows you, Quarry, or at least, she did, but you left and now you’re suddenly back - so she’s confused.”

“Oh, my darling, you poor thing...” Quarry eyed the egg with compassion.

“And you, DJ, have the unfortunate fact of looking a lot like your father - whom we can theorize she’s terrified of, especially considering the Polygraph’s reaction. While she probably can’t see us fully, a familiar silhouette, a shadow, is more than enough to cause distress.”

“Oh gods...” DJ shakily sighed, full of regrets having realized he was accidentally terrorizing his sister all this time. “...What can we do, Gio?”

“I...” he hesitated, but shook it off. “I have theories, nothing concrete, but the reality of the situation hasn’t changed; we need Sofia. With her energy manipulation, she could ease the egg, heal her fears, and encourage her to hatch. In the meantime, we should stop treating her like a test subject. She’s alive, she’s scared, and she needs support. You’re busy - almost literally up to your eyeballs in paperwork, so I get why this hasn’t been a priority and in my care instead.”

“But how do I support her when I cannot approach?” DJ asked with a twinge of desperation.

“You set her up somewhere comfortable,” Gio explained. “You give her space, you speak gently and sincerely. These methods are all used with animals who have experienced abuse topside -and I’m not comparing her to a dog or cat, but if we have to wait until Sofia is back, then it would behoove us to at least try. She spent twenty some odd years locked away in a dark safe with only your father’s rage for company, wondering where her mother had gone and why her brother and nanny had disappeared.”

Quarry’s heartbreak elicited a sob, covering her mouth to mute any more as DJ placed his hands on her shoulders. Gio chided himself for causing the reaction, but he received no admonishment from the pair, DJ looking into his eyes earnestly. “Gio, if you have any further suggestions, please, let us hear them.”

Gio’s shoulders rose and fell with a sigh, crossing his arms as he looked at the egg. “Well, you can start by giving her a name. Hatched or not, she deserves one.”

******

Nel inhaled sharply as she left the Grand Nexus Hotel, the battle royale over. Her new injuries ached, specifically the one delivered to her head. She had placed sixth out of thirty combatants, which was both respectable to her personally and within the limits Big Mama had placed on her.

“Top ten is a good medium, but don't get too jazzed and pizzy-punch your way into the top three, okay, Nel-bell?” Big Mama’s instructions echoed in her head alongside the headache, Nel cringing into it before finding a livable equilibrium.

“Groceries, groceries,” she repeated to herself, then limbered up, shelving her brawler mode and breaking out the ninja as she took to the roofs. Nel had barely even had a second to breathe throughout the whole fight, let alone use her Shichishitō. Under Draxum’s tutelage and fighting alongside him had shifted Nel’s overall combat style more towards his. When he wasn’t weaving roots, Draxum could easily switch to hand-to-hand combat - and Nel knew that from all the way back in their past as enemies. She was the biggest, she was the only one able to come close to matching his strength, and it was almost funny looking back on it now. But it wasn’t as if her ninja skills were completely rusting away - Karai herself promising to train all four of them once circumstances permitted. Nel was still able to blend into the night as needed, and it was truly needed when she was on her own like this. Had Draxum been part of the bout today, he’d have teleported them to the store, then home. Nel would contact him for a portal home once she was done these errands, but she as herself; Nelli, the Mutant Menace of the Battle Nexus, well, the less she was seen in public, the better. She didn’t want to give the forum any more ammo nor place herself in any unnecessary danger, so to the roofs she went until arriving at her destination.

A small, aged building came into view, Nel descending near it and walking the rest of the way. Ever since Donnie had found this place, had it become a staple in their needed shopping. It was only canned and dried goods, but that was all they rarely needed since Quarry moved in. Her garden back at her cottage was plentiful, Yōkai ingenuity making it easy for her to come and go as needed, not wanting to abandon all her efforts - especially considering Alopex’s palette. April also gifted them chickens, her uncle in North Hampton owning a farm that was apparently over encumbered by chicks that found their way into the turtle’s care. Gio took care of them with Alopex hot on his heels to learn, DJ finding their presence hilarious and taking mirth in how angry it would have made his father to have farm animals on his property. Finally, if they were in need of anything else beyond what they could acquire normally, Quarry had a supplier, but for a simple list as this, Nel could easily take care of it.

The door creaked as she opened it, the shopkeeper bell jingling, which the shopkeeper itself paid no mind, per usual. Nel grabbed a basket and took out her phone, bringing up the picture of the list Quarry had written for her. She smirked as she realized what the list was for. Alopex’s birthday was around the corner, and the very specific cake she favored required a wide array of ingredients. Considering how busy Quarry kept herself, either at DJ’s side or in keeping the house in order, Nel could see why they were lacking this long list of baking staples. She figured picking up a few extra to keep in the pantry would be a good idea, putting her phone away as she prepared to find the needed aisle.

“Um, excuse me,” a voice sounded from behind her, Nel feeling a large presence from it. There was rarely more than a few customers in this small shop, it being in a rougher area of the Hidden City where most everyone barely gave each other the time of day. The voice was male, most likely within the same age bracket as her, but their simple attempt to grab her attention made Nel's blood run cold. Was he a Yōkai trying to lower her guard? She’d been attacked before for merely existing in the same space as another. The forum had even had threads on giving directions to her position in the past. Nel readied herself to fight her way out, but another sound melted away her fears in an instant. A cranky babble of a baby. She whipped her head around, finding a large alligator Yōkai with a small baby in a sling across his chest. “Shhh, Mondo, it’s OK, buddy, we’ll be home soon...” he soothed, patting the baby’s back. His attention returned to Nel, looking at her apologetically. “Sorry, it’s way past his bedtime...”

“...I’ll bet,” Nel had come back to herself, panic fleeing and endeared by the child. “Is... everything OK?”

“O-oh, yeah, it’s cool, but, I uh, can’t find anything in this store. I can tell you don’t work here, but I also can’t find any staff and I’m starting to get desperate.”

Nel giggled, knowing this Yōkai’s exact plight. “It definitely takes a little getting used to and the owner won’t leave the register for anything. What are you looking for?” He passed her a piece of paper that had clearly been ripped from a notebook, Nel reading the penned list. “Well, you’re in luck, we need to go to the same aisle. Follow me.”

“Thank you,” he said with an exasperated sigh and did as he was told.

“It’s no problem! Are you baking a cake too?” Nel joked.

“Not exactly. I live above a restaurant around here and they ran out of ingredients mid catering prep. Since the rent is so cheap and the kiddo was crying at the time, I figured a quick trip over here would be a good idea.”

“Awww,” Nel looked over her shoulder at the baby. “Well, let's get you your stuff and get him back in bed,” she turned a corner, gesturing to the aisle they entered. “You'll find it all here.”

“Thank you so much, really!” He thanked Nel again, moving past her to his needed items.

“Again, it's no problem,” she reiterated and started gathering her own list. Nel spied him throwing a few bags of flour over one shoulder, quickly gathering cans of whatever else he needed before disappearing from her view. She smiled as their exchange fully ended with the sound of the door's bell. “Cute kid,” she mused. “...Cute guy too. Maybe I should've put some makeup on today after all...” Nel laughed at herself as she picked up another item. “But who're you kidding, Nelli. No one wants to date a mutant - especially not you.”

******

“-And they lived happily ever after. The end,” Draxum quietly closed the worn, well loved story book, casting a glance down to the slumbering Alopex leaning against his chest. He placed the book aside and moved to cradle her with the intent to take Alopex to her room. The mansion’s library was quiet, warm under the fireplace's blaze, but it was certainly not her bed. A quick glance to a wall clock revealed the time, Draxum wrinkling his brow at how late it was and that DJ and Quarry had still not returned. But there was no reason to panic, knowing where they were and what business they were no doubt solidifying. With a snap of his fingers, the fire extinguished, Alopex stirring slightly, but settled again as Draxum started his stride. Her room was nearby, Draxum quickly entering in and depositing Alopex under her covers. He made sure to silently close the door behind him, letting out a sigh of relief as his task for the day was done - but another one appeared as his phone vibrated. A wave of relief hit him as he saw Nel’s profile icon on his lockseen, knowing exactly what the message would be.

Heya, Dad. Can I get a portal home? Preferably to the kitchen? I’m outside the store.

Draxum immediately complied, focusing and conjuring. He wasn’t as adept as Leo, but he was more than capable in this simple request. A few seconds passed before the notification buzz sounded again.

I’m through! Thanks!

Draxum stopped his spell and stored his phone, putting his mind towards his next destination, deciding to aid Nel with the groceries. They were both their own shade of exhausted, but it was his fatherly pangs pushing him forward, truly worried over his daughter’s wellbeing. He found her rustling through brown paper bags in the kitchen, stacking cans as she freed them from their temporary home. “Allow me to help you,” Draxum announced his presence.

“Thanks, Dad, but you don’t need... to...” Nel trailed off as she looked up. She poorly hid a snort as she turned around to brace herself on the nearest wall. Draxum watched unamused as Nel shook with laughter, doing her best to keep it in. He knew the cause of her sudden battle with gleeful convulsions - Draxum’s hair even more bedazzled than the culprit’s tail.

“Nelli, don’t hold it in, You’re likely to pop a blood vessel doing so.”

She wheezed into laughter, wiping away a stray tear as she turned back to him. “She... she really got you...!” More wheezing followed as Nel beheld her father’s state again.

“It was indeed a mistake giving her that old toy...” Draxum concurred with Nel’s apologetic notion from breakfast.

“You’re such a good grandpa...” Nel said genuinely between giggles, grabbing a chair from their table. “Sit down, I’ll get them all out.”

Draxum took the offered chair, sitting down and letting Nel begin the intricate process of gently removing all the embellishments. She started with his braid, taking out Sofia's mask first and foremost, folding it neatly next to them on the table. “...How did things go today?” Draxum asked as Nel began to lightly tug on a few jewels.

“Same old, same old,” she admitted. “I came in sixth place. Some new guy called Rahzar punched me across my jaw and I passed out. I think he came in second...?”

“Are you alright?” He looked back to her, Nel shrugging.

“I'm fine. The medical staff gave me the OK. I just have a wicked headache now. I'll take some ibuprofen later.” Draxum winced against a particular mounted jewel as Nel freed it. “Sorry, that one was really in there.”

Draxum slightly shook his head. “This is paltry in comparison to not sharing the burden of the Battle Nexus.”

“It's fiiiiiine,” Nel dismissed. “You’re so dramatic sometimes. Getting to dip into more of my essence today helped plenty anyways.”

Draxum said nothing in reply, deciding to be with his thoughts as Nel continued to free him. How he wished his current project had any amount of success. With the help of his counterpart, Draxum had finished the anti-mutagen and applied it to all necessary victims, leaving him with an abundance of time. When he wasn't in the Battle Nexus or taking care of the resident child, he was in his side of the lab with a new aim; attempting to reestablish the Hamato’s connection to their ancestral pool. Karai's struggle in their battle with the Shredder was telling, unable to contact the Hamato of yore and leaving them to fend for themselves. Ever since he'd taken on this task was he in contact with Karai as they tried to fix this issue.

His theory was thus; the connection was severed in its entirety. This left all present day Hamato limited to a pool of ninpō shared between them and was easily exhausted if not monitored. In the final battle with his children's counterparts at their sides, the pool expanded slightly, but the overuse was present. Leo was heavily fatigued by the overuse of his portals while Donnie had nearly drained what was left with his Ley Line construct. Had DJ not been there, had he not used his own blood to enhance what little drops were left in their combined efforts, they all would have surely been slain. Furthermore, as they were now, they could no longer enact large shows of energy such as Vinnie's monstrous sheet of ice he'd coated Gio in.

As to how the connection was severed, it wasn't entirely obvious until Karai told her account of reaching out to Sofia. She and Splinter had found her coiled and corrupted by krang, only coming back to herself after encouragement and admonishment. She cheated death and paid the price - sending all ties to her ancestors away via portals, and then her essence could no longer support the connection. And so, their ancestors departed. The Hamato Clan in this dimension was only the four children, their grandmother, and Splinter’s spectre. As far as Draxum knew, he was still merged with Karai and had no power to help outside lending his essence. He may have even done so today with Nel's extra effort.

“...No, it is not ‘fine’,” Draxum continued the conversation from silence. “I told Splinter I would take care of you. You are not indestructible and I'm not being overdramatic.”

Nel pried the last gem from his hair, taking a moment to observe his figure as his words sunk in. She replied by wrapping her arms around Draxum and resting her head on top of his. “It’s been two years,” she stated wistfully. “And you’re doing just fine, Dad. You know I can take a few punches, and you almost care too much at times. I’m worried we’re wearing you down. Between the Nexus, Sofia waking up, the Anti-mutagen, babysitting, and now whatever you’re up to in the lab - you’re taking care of us all just fine.”

Draxum responded to her comforting affections by gripping her forearm. “And yet, I know you are displeased with me sending Sofia to Hokkaido.”

Nel scoffed. “You’re not happy about it either, and yeah, I hate it, but I also get it. We... we can’t do anything else for her right now. No amount of DJ’s money can be thrown at the problem, and us smothering her clearly wasn’t helping either. But, she’s strong too, Dad, we know that, but I’m still pissed about this whole ‘Zog’ thing. Why the hell does it have to be her? Why can’t it be me so we can give Sofia a freaking break? I’ll take all three of these alien assholes on...!”

“You pushing yourself to your limits will not alleviate the problem any more than Sofia’s bad habits, Nelli,” Draxum chided. “...And I am certain I know what Sofia must do,” his grip on her tightened slightly, Nel waiting for him to explain his thoughts. “Her forte is healing, though she has lost a portion of it that she may never get back. For every medicine, there is an equal poison, and it is that fact she must harness to strike down this supposedly undefeated enemy.”

******

“You’re much more agreeable than your father, kid,” a critical voice rimmed with gratitude spoke as DJ penned his name on a piece of paper. “Color me surprised.”

DJ looked up from it, meeting the one eye of the ogress before him. Boss Beverly of the Makers of Brutality was looking on him and Quarry with relief and interest. “I aim to repair what I can from my father’s idiocy,” replied, getting a laugh from her.

“Well, you’re doing a bang up job, Junior. Opinions on you are divided, but with this, I’m officially on your side,” Beverly took the paper, admiring her signature next to DJ’s before storing it appropriately. “That includes you too, Sydney. It’s a shame about Wick, I always liked that gal.”

“Many did,” Quarry concurred with a nod.

“And I’m honestly glad to see you too - really,” Beverly said with no animosity. “We wouldn’t even be sitting in these cushy seats if you hadn’t let us have this land in the first place.”

“It was nothing,” she deflected tiredly, Beverly picking up on her fatigue.

“Welp, it’s been a pleasure,” she stood up from her desk, rounding it to her guests. “I expected today to run long, but yeesh, look at the time!”

“I will begin the transfer of all the assets my father stole from you first thing in the morning,” DJ reassured, but Beverly waved him off.

“Don’t worry about it, kid! As long as it all gets back where it belongs, you can afford a day off or two, eh? Word on the street is you’re running yourself ragged. These past two years have been hard on all of us, but you especially seem to be throwing yourself at every problem your father so much as breathed near.”

“...Can you particularly blame me?” He replied candidly, making Beverly laugh again.

“No, I guess I can’t!” She held out her hand, DJ taking it and firmly shaking. “But maybe let the populous solve some of their own problems too. They’re not entirely helpless.”

“...I’ll keep that in mind. Goodnight, Boss Beverly,” he turned to leave, Quarry at his side, but a large, recollecting gasp from Beverly stopped them both.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Beverly recaught their attention. “I know it’s late, but just one more thing, Junior. It has nothing to do with our contract and I’ll make it quick.”

He and Quarry shared a quizzical look before turning back. “What is it?”

“It concerns that Nelli of yours,” Beverly revealed. “She’s amazing, all my girls and I absolutely adore her.”

“O-oh?” DJ replied, taken aback.

“Yeah! Female combatants in the Battle Nexus are slim as is, but Nelli, woof, she packs one hell of a punch! What do you think about her joining the Makers of Brutality? She’d fit right in and we’d treat her more than right!”

“Goodness...” Quarry too was taken aback. “She’d assuredly be flattered by all this, but inviting a mutant into your midst would no doubt cause strife.”

“Ah, whatever!” Beverly ignored Quarry’s concerns. “Mutant-scumant, who cares! If you ask me, all this hate towards literal kids just trying to live their lives is way out there. People are acting like your turtles are out to get them. It’s stupid! Just leave em’ be, that’s what I think!”

DJ quickly overcame his surprise, feeling moved that a Yōkai outside of his inner circle would accept his family so readily. However, correction and education was needed. “Boss Beverly, I thank you for your offer, but you are slightly misinformed. Firstly, Nelli doesn’t belong to me, nor do her siblings, or Baron Draxum for that matter. The former are blood related, and I treat all of them as family.”

“Of course, of course! I won’t make that mistake twice,” she reassured.

“And secondly, she is currently bound by a contract to the Battle Nexus with Big Mama. That automatically puts her in contention with your organization. She has a debt to pay off for an action she participated in when she was younger.”

“Bah, leave it to Lena to hold stupid grudges against children!” Beverly growled, Junior spying Quarry roll her eyes in agreement. “I tell you what - I’ll pay off her debts, freeing her from that spider’s webs!”

DJ shook his head. “That would not please her. I already offered the same and was met with refusal. It’s not something for us to poke our noses into.”

“Huh,” Beverly crossed her arms and closed her eye, contemplating before uncrossing and reopening. “A strong, independent woman! I love it! I want her even more now!”

“I will at the very least mention your interest, but please don’t get your hopes up too high,” DJ relayed, but promised nothing more. “It will be years before the debt is paid off.”

“I’m a very patient woman, Junior,” Beverly smirked. “But, in the meantime, how about this; if she ever needs anything, send her my way. No contract needed - just my own good will for free. I don’t think it’s an understatement that Nelli lifts our spirits around here - we try to go to all of her matches! I just wanna do something for her, ya hear? Give her my card,” she quickly grabbed a business card from her desk, scribbling a note on it before handing it to DJ.

“You have my word, it will be delivered.”

******

“You’re so popular, Nel,” Gio teased her, spinning the business card between his fingers.

“Uuuugh,” She replied into the table, all gathered for breakfast once again.

“I mean, isn’t this what you wanted? The whole point of your videos was to get popular, right?”

“I WANTED to be an ENTERTAINER,” she snarled at her brother. “You know that!”

“You kinda still are?” He continued to tease.

“Shut up...!” She said, then regretted, hearing Alopex gasp from across the table. “I-I mean, be quiet, Gio!”

“Yeah, be quiet, Uncle Gio!” Alopex backed Nel up, everyone at the table having to hide their smiles or laughter because of it.

“Alopex!” Quarry scolded through it.

“...Sorry...” She said with her big, remorseful eyes.

“No harm done, Allie,” Gio reassured, then frisbeed the card back to his sister. Nel caught it, taking a turn at spinning it.

“If anything, it's kinda nice to know someone out there is cool with me being a mutant.”

“You have fans!” Gio reminded and Nel scoffed.

“There's way more ‘boos’ as I step into the arena than anything else.”

“So you'll join a gang because of that?”

“NO! Geez, Gio, gimme a little credit!”

“Uh-huh,” Gio held out his hand. “Your phone, madam.”

“What, why?” She eyed her brother suspiciously.

“Because you've been doomscrolling on that stupid forum again!”

“No I haven't...” she dismissed him.

“Phone, give,” Gio continued holding out his hand.

“No,” Nel pushed it away.

“Don't make me take it by force! I'm gonna make sure you can't access the URL.”

“Pfft, okay, ‘Donnie’. Way to be a control freak.”

Gio gasped. “You take that back! Don't bring him into this!”

“He modded these phones for us! Tech isn't your thing and I don't want you breaking it! Just drop it, Gio. You're making me mad.”

Gio crossed his arms, refusing to relent. “Nel, You don't need to keep tabs on the crazies. Leave that to me and April.”

“Giorgio, for the love of the gods, she asked you to drop it!” DJ finally butted in.

“You’re all upsetting the child,” Draxum warned, the trio each looking to Alopex whose ears were down and her eyes full of distress.

“It’s nothing but a sibling squabble, darling,” Quarry eased her daughter through it.

“...Sorry, sweetpea,” Nel apologized to her, pushing herself up from the table. “Thank you for breakfast, Quarry,” she left the kitchen in a hurry, Gio eyeing her with irritation.

“We’ll talk more about this later!” He called out to her.

“No we will not!” She firmly replied back, Draxum stopping Gio from standing up.

“Enough,” he shook his head. “I understand your concern, but you’re being a nuisance.”

“She’s going to overwhelm herself! We’ve discussed this before, she doesn’t do well under all this stress!” Gio practically hissed, trying to keep his volume down so as to not upset Alopex even further.

“You are defaulting back into your old ways, Giorgio,” Draxum said and Gio finally gave up his concerns with a sigh.

“Sorry, Allie,” Gio also apologized. “Nel and I do that sometimes, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Okay...” Alopex nodded.

“I’ll do the dishes,” Gio offered, gathering all the plates and utensils as he escaped towards the sink. The rest of the group dispersed as suds began to form, Gio forcing his thoughts elsewhere as he started to scrub a pan. In a few days, he'd help DJ and Quarry to set up the egg comfortably somewhere in the mansion, he also still had to feed the chickens, and so on, his mental list continuing as the drying rack started to fill. His soul nearly jumped out of his body when Nel suddenly hugged him from behind.

“I know you're worried about me,” she said and squeezed gently.

“...Of course I am. They clip footage from the battles and use you for their memes. They take bets on how much you'll bleed. They pay other combatants to injure you in specific places...!”

“I know.”

“And we can't do anything about it because no one out there gives a damn about us; a handful of mutants.”

“...Yeah,” Nel agreed, but argued back; “But I don't need to be coddled, Gio. I've got the results of my temper between my eyes and if I really get overwhelmed, I've got a place - DJ prepped one for me just in case. So I'm not giving you my phone, okay?”

“...Okay, fine,” he yielded in his sister's arms, and she released him.

“I'll dry,” she grabbed the appropriate towel. “And I think we should both play with Alopex today.”

“...You know,” Gio smiled as he passed a dish to Nel. “I've been thinking of making her a playground. What do you think?”

Nel snorted into laughter. “I think you'll solidify yourself as the favorite uncle.”

Chapter Text

-Fifteen years after Quarry’s departure from the M.o.B. household-

The summer winds mixed poorly with the scent of low tide, as they always had, the smell no longer a bother to the singular inhabitant in a tucked away cottage. It actually reminded them to pick up their weekly supplies before they were inevitably submerged, stopping their gardening and preparing to leave their secluded spot. Of all the places for their family to have prepared a safehouse, Sydney Quarry never expected one to be in Canada. Then again, there was no Hidden City here, and this specific spot invited no visitors, save the courier whom she’d never met. It was a simple process she had to follow, Quarry now approaching the marked sandbar only available during low tide. There was a large dry box tethered there - Quarry needing only to leave a note of what she needed, then return to find the box filled come next low tide.

A cloaking brooch made her look no different than any other fisherman one would find in Nova Scotia, Quarry wading her feet through the mudflats towards her goal. The small, attached flag was up, indicating her delivery was present, and she wasted no time in applying the combination to the padlock. It was mostly all toiletries this time around - her garden’s summer harvests plentiful while the stock of canned goods was ample enough for a week or two. Quarry clicked the last number into place, freeing the lock and opening the dry box - but sudden motion from it caused her to slam it shut in fear. Did it really just move or was she imagining things? She had spent the last fifteen years in solitude - perhaps she was starting to lose it, but a whine not so unlike a canine’s echoed through the dry box. It prompted her to open it again, slowly, and from a corner of it did Quarry see a pair of eyes looking back at her.

She flipped the box’s top up entirely, everything she ordered in tatters, and amongst it was a fox kit - no, a kitsune kit, it’s proportions that of a Yōkai. It stared up at her in fear, the visage of a human perhaps too negatively stimulating as the baby began snarling as best it could. Quarry got over her initial shock and dismissed the brooch’s spell, revealing her true form which shocked the babe all over again.

“Shhh, it’s alright,” she reached for it. “How did you get in here...?” Quarry received a bite to her hand in response - though the child had no teeth yet, Quarry able to forgo any flinching as she used her other hand to gently stroke the fox’s head. “It’s alright,” she repeated and continued the calming motion until it relented, realizing she wasn’t a threat and allowing Quarry to pick her up. She doubted the child was placed here purposely, especially after fifteen years of no hiccups with this service. Quarry sometimes left gifts when her garden produced more than she could eat or freeze, but she was never reciprocated outside an anonymous thank you note. Regardless, high tide was on its way and she knew the courier was long gone by now. With one arm now cradling the baby, she used her free arm to find the provided notepad, leaving a simple note on top of the ruined goods and closing the dry box. Quarry let out an exasperated sigh as she looked back down at the baby, still coming to terms with the situation she was in. it was sniffing the air, curiously looking around, but making no effort to leave her arms.

“It’s a miracle you survived in there...” Quarry stood up and repositioned the child. “And your mother must be sick with worry. Gods... how did this happen...?” There was a gurgle from the babe’s stomach, and as if they just remembered they were hungry, did they start crying as any baby would. “Oh, dear little thing,” Quarry rocked it and quickly started making her way back to the cottage. “That was scary, wasn’t it? Shhh, let’s get you cleaned up and fed, hmm?”

Quarry didn’t even bother wiping her feet as she entered her home, desperate to help this creature with what she had on hand. Her time as a nanny came back to her naturally, though with the lack of supplies she would make do. An old sheet became a diaper while the rest of the fabric was used to swaddle the baby. Quarry hoped powdered milk would be enough as she started to search for something to make into a bottle. To her relief, a syringe she’d used for oral medicine surfaced, cleaning it thoroughly while the baby kept its wailing constant. She didn’t allow herself to get panicked, this was no different than her time in the mansion at its core, and soon enough, Quarry was slowly syringe feeding the baby, burping, then laying it down to rest.

“...That was surprisingly easier than Junior,” she stepped away from the makeshift crib she’d thrown together with pillows and rolled up towels. “I had to rock him for hours to get him to sleep...” Quarry sighed and sank to the floor, laying herself down next to the crib as she watched the baby’s breathing. “...You’re a girl,” she said wistfully, her fatigue catching up to her and lulling Quarry into her own rest, giving way to dreams - memories weaved within.

“Make him stop crying!” Drako snarled at her, the weeping, baby Junior in her arms.

“Babies cry, Drako,” she responded in a low voice. “Yelling is not helping.”

“Do you have any idea how busy I am?” Drako neither stopped nor lowered his volume. “How impossible it is to entertain guests with that constant wailing!?”

“You have an entire mansion filled to the brim with rooms. This is the nursery. Wick herself chose it and decorated it for your children. Simply move your meetings to the library or one of the thirty odd sitting rooms on the opposite side of here.”

“If you can't quiet one child, then what are you even here for, Sydney!? When the other hatches, will I have to endure this twofold!?”

“...Gods be good, Drako,” Quarry looked at him with disbelief. “Do you even love your children? Did you even love Wick?” She asked in all sincerity, and Drako didn’t answer. She admonishingly shook her head, disappointment her eyes and pooling in her chest as took steps back into the nursery. She shut the door in his face, knowing he could continue this verbal assault if he wished, but to her relief, she heard him trudge away. She found the rocking chair and began the routine of rocking the small dragonet to sleep. “Shhh, hush, my love, it's alright, everything will be alright...”

A knock at her door jolted Quarry awake. It was such a foreign sound given the cottage had never been graced with visitors in all the years she'd been here. She quickly got up, seeing the baby was still asleep and not willing to risk another knock to wake her. Quarry opened the door to what she presumed was the courier company, surprised they responded so quickly, knowing she couldn't have been asleep for that long. A tall, blue eel Yōkai greeted her, their appearance something akin to punk-esque, but a patch on their leather jacket bore the same symbol on the dry box.

“U-uh, hello,” she nervously addressed Quarry. “We usually don't do this, making contact with our clients, but um...” she wavered, twiddling her thumbs nervously. “Was there really a baby in your shipment? I-I can see everything was trashed, and we'll replace it, but...”

“Please come inside quietly,” Quarry moved to the side to let her in, the eel complying. “This way,” she led them down to where the small fox was sleeping, a gasp escaping their throat on seeing her.

“Oh my gosh...!” She inhaled sharply as she bit down on her fist nervously. “I-I gotta call someone...!” Quarry watched her leave, quickly slithering out of the front door, and she followed, knowing that the presence of whom received this child would be needed. The low sound of a phone ringing invited Quarry closer, the click of the call being answered causing her to briefly pause. “Sal? We have a problem - a big one! One of our clients on the east coast of Canada got a baby in her shipment. ...Yes, an actual Yōkai living baby! ...I don't know any more than you! Look, the client is here with me, I'm putting you on speaker,” she pressed a button on her cellular device. “Okay, Sal, she can hear you now too.”

There was a tried sigh from the phone, but it soon addressed Quarry. “I apologize for this. Our company’s policy is complete anonymity - but, you somehow got a baby with your shipment?”

“I did indeed,” Quarry replied and waited out the silence.

“Lee, we gotta sort this out. Get back here ASAP.”

“D-do I bring the baby with me...?”

“And do what with it?!” ‘Sal’ yelled back. “Are you gonna put it back in the dry box? Are you gonna swim all the way back here while you hold it above your head?!”

“Right, right, - you’re right. Sorry, I’m a little frazzled right now...” ‘Lee’ replied back.

“We all are,” Quarry concurred.

“Miss,” Sal spoke again. “I hate to ask this of you, it’s probably the last thing you need right now, but until we can sort some stuff out, please keep that kid safe. We’ll make it worth your while.”

“I have no issue with doing so; I’ve raised a child before. But I’ll need supplies. Diapers, formula, a proper bottle for that formula, and so on.”

“And you’ll have it. I’m making you a list of everything you need right now and I’ll send my fastest courier. You’ll get everything by nightfall!”

Lee placed her hand over the phone’s receiver. “He’s got TONS of kids, major super dad - he’ll get you and the kiddo taken care of, don’t you worry!”

“Lee, get your fins back here! You’re still on the clock!” Sal boomed through her palm.

“Okay, okay, I’m on my way!” She ended the call and stored her phone before looking back at Quarry. “I’m really, really sorry about this! We’ll get this figured out and you’ll be fully compensated!”

“Worry more about the child’s parents, please,” Quarry said and Lee gasped again.

“You are so right...! They must be going nuts right now! I gotta go!” Lee slithered through the trees and out of sight.

“Goodness gracious, what a mess...” Quarry said to herself. From the cottage echoed the cry of the baby, Quarry sharply exhaling as she re-entered her home. “And that’s probably another mess. If only the diapers had arrived already...”

******

“Well aren't you just the cutest little thing!” The baby giggled as she was tickled. “Yeah, there’s that smile! Goochie-goochie-goo!”

Quarry watched on the scene with a mix of surprise and endearment. After a week of chaos as Quarry converted her living room into a nursery and the couriers attempted to find the source of the baby, were both Lee and Sal now in her home, sitting on the couch across from her surrounded by baby supplies.

“Uh, Sal, we haven’t even properly introduced ourselves yet...” Lee said with a puff of laughter, looking at Quarry apologetically.

“Oh!” Sal’s little bubble with the baby burst, coming back to himself. “I’m so sorry, she started crying and I just... couldn’t ignore it,” he said apologetically. “You have as many kids as I do and your body just starts moving on its own!”

Quarry chuckled as Sal handed the baby back to her. He too was aquatic and done up in punk attire, sharing the same leather jacket as Lee, but the main difference being Sal was that of a seahorse, beautifully pink and proud. “It’s quite alright. I’ll have to remember she likes being tickled,” Quarry repeated the motion and got another giggle from her.

“Such a cutie-patootie...” Sal was enchanted all over again, Lee delivering an elbow to his side to snap him out of it.

“Focus,” she reminded him.

“R-right, right!” Sal straightened himself out and cleared his throat. “Ms. Quarry, I want to formally apologize on behalf of the East River Express. My name is Mustang Sally - I’m in charge of all our Canadian and northern States distribution. Please call me ‘Sal’.”

“And I’m Lee. I’ve been your courier for the past five years. I know I’ve said it in note form, but I want to say it again; thanks so much for the veggies! Your zucchinis are amazing.”

“Did you use those same zucchinis in that bread you made for the office party last year?” Lee nodded. “Dang, that was some good bread.”

Quarry chuckled again. “You’re very welcome. I’m glad they got some use, but-” She gestured with her eyes down to the baby.

“...Man we are all over the place today,” Sal admonished himself. “But it’s also not every day someone gets a baby in their package.”

“And we found out where she’s from... but it’s not all good news,” Lee followed up.

“Ms. Quarry, the East River Express started in New York City and expanded all over North America. We get shipments for whatever our clients ask from everywhere in the world. While the bulk of our deliveries are by Yōkai handpicked for the job - via land or water, but our international goods are usually brought in by portal. And that kiddo was planted into one of our shipments from Japan.”

“From Japan?!” Quarry balked, looking down to the babbling babe. “You are a long way from home...!”

Sal nodded. “We caught her on camera crawling out of a box and into Lee’s shipment to you. She’d already confirmed the contents, so off she went with a baby in tow.”

“And that’s not all,” Lee continued. “We contacted the distributor of the product, and they were able to figure out where the baby came from at the source. Turns out they had a runaway teen mom in their employ who purposely planted the kid and ran. They found her, found her parents, and long story short; none of them want the baby, and the father isn’t in the picture either.”

“Despicable, absolutely cold hearted!” Sal seethed. “To treat such a precious life like that!”

Quarry felt her heart twist as she beheld the child, brushing one of her talons across her cheek. “It was an act of desperation. If the grandparents aren’t even willing to entertain the thought of seeing her, then I can only guess how they treated their daughter to the point of making her run away.”

“...Yeah...” Lee said, concurring remorsefully. “So, this is where we’re at. We can’t really take her back to Japan. Our boss’ suggestion was to set her up in an orphanage in a Hidden City, but uhhh, personally - they’re kinda trashy. I wouldn’t feel right dumping her there.”

“And I’d definitely take her myself, but the wife and I got a lot going on already. Still, we came here today to collect her, Ms. Quarry. We’ve interrupted your life enough already, and we’re sorry this all happened.”

“It’s alright,” she attempted to ease, her focus still completely on the baby. Quarry’s entire being was stirred the more she beheld the bundle of joy. For a week she’d been sent back in time, an old routine renewed as Quarry doted on a child all over again - so much love yet to give that she was unable to shower on her beloved’s little ones. There was no doubt in her mind upon hearing the story behind the fox found in the box, Quarry lifting her eyes to Lee and Sal. “I will keep her.”

“What? Ms. Quarry, we couldn’t possibly ask you to-” Sal fussed.

“You have asked nothing of me. I’ve decided to keep her.”

“A-are you sure?” Lee asked, more taken aback than trying to convince Quarry otherwise.

“Yes, I am. I believe these long fifteen years of solitude have left me rather lonely, and I welcome her company. Maybe it was fate that brought her to me, and now that she is in my arms, I find myself not wanting to let go.”

Sal was moved to tears, sniffling and wiping them away before they spilled. “You’re a good person, Ms. Quarry...!” He said and she responded with a melancholic smile. “We’ll get everything sorted for you - and I mean everything! From now on, everything is on the house! Anything that kid needs, it’s yours! I’ll make sure of it!”

“O-oh, you really don’t have to...” Quarry attempted to stop Sal’s generosity, but he would have none of it.

“No, I won’t hear it! If you gotta pay anything, then just drop a few more veggies in the dry box, eh?” He winked and Quarry gave in with a laugh.

“Very well.”

“What are you going to name her?” Lee asked excitedly.

“Hmmm,” Quarry looked into the little fox’s face, her hands eagerly trying to grasp something. She slipped one of her fingers into the tiny palm as she began to ponder. “You’re a kitsune, so perhaps a fox-like name would suit you? Vulpe? Foa? Wait, no, ...Alopex. I can call you Allie for short!”

“Awww, little Allie!” Sal gushed. “You're in good hands, kiddo!”

“The East River Express is at your service!”

******

-Twenty years after Quarry’s departure from the M.O.B. household-

“Darling, you needn’t be so frightened!” Quarry laughed at Alopex burying her face in her mother’s legs, hiding behind her. “Look, Mr. Giorgio and DJ are here, you know them!”

“Mister Giorgio?” Nel quietly teased her brother, Gio responding by crossing his arms. They had all gathered in the foyer of the mansion, the grand imperial staircase stretching behind the group as they attempted to greet their visitors. Alopex was understandably overwhelmed, only knowing her mother’s cottage her whole life so far, and the sheer size of the M.o.B. mansion was staggering - not to mention the new faces blended with the familiar. Nel knelt down to Alopex’s level, determined to grab her attention. “Hey there, Alopex,” she said gently, the mentioned fox peeking out slightly. “My name is Nelli. Do you wanna play? I can paint your nails like mine!” Nel showcased her current designs, catching Alopex’s eye. She nodded, overcoming a bit of her nervousness. “Great! We’ll have a ton of fun, okay?” She stood up and extended her hand to Quarry. “-As long as it’s fine with your mom.”

“It is,” Quarry echoed Nel’s smile, shaking her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nelli.”

“Likewise. It’s great to put a name to the face,” she backed away and Draxum took her place.

“I am Baron Draxum, though, just Draxum will suffice,” their hands joined and shook.

“Wonderful to meet you too, despite all the, er, odd circumstances that led you to DJ’s side.”

“...Indeed,” he concurred. “I assume you have been told everything.”

“Mostly everything,” DJ corrected. “But now that introductions are out of the way, we can elaborate where need be.”

“I thought there were four turtles...?” Quarry asked, noticing Nel and Gio reacting with two different shades of downcast eyes.

“Vincent’s job keeps him from home most of the time,” Draxum answered her query. “And we will discuss Sofonisba’s situation,” he viewed the small fox attached to Quarry’s leg, “...later on.”

Quarry picked up on his meaning, Nel acting before she could. “Alopex, do you want to go play now? We can bring Mr. Giorgio with us too! He needs a break from his lab,” She said the last part through grit teeth, indicating Gio couldn’t escape, having been nagged at by Nel for some time now.

“Y-yep, sure do!” Gio locked into his persona most befitting Alopex’s current mood.

“Go on, darling,” Quarry eased her daughter off her legs, Nel kneeling back down to Alopex.

“Do you want me to carry you?” Nel offered and Alopex shook her head. “Okay! Just take my hand then. This place is big!” She offered her hand and this time Alopex complied, curling her small hand over one of Nel’s fingers. Nel matched Alopex’s pace as they walked off, Gio following behind them, waving to Quarry before they disappeared down a hallway.

“Your children are lovely,” Quarry said with full admiration. “Alopex will come out of her shell in no time with them.”

“I unfortunately played very little of a part in raising them,” Draxum revealed openly. “Their late father conveyed his wish for me to take care of them, and I shall do so for as long as they need me.”

“...Let's move this conversation elsewhere, lest little ears hear something they shouldn't,” DJ peered down the hallway cautiously, Draxum and Quarry agreeing with a nod. “The sunroom is free of our mess as I endlessly sort out my father's estate. Shall we?”

“I remember the way,” Quarry said, but still let DJ lead, The trio soon settled within. The Mystic light filtered in pleasantly that day, allowing the sun room's temperature to be agreeable, though, if Quarry were to be honest, her focus was on the thick layer of dust both in the air and coating everything in sight. She decided to say nothing about it, knowing with the situation as it was, DJ was without housekeepers - not to mention the fact he’d been locked in his room for the majority of his life and having no experience in cleaning either. “...Have you been eating properly?” She instead asked, realizing that said topic was seemingly out of nowhere, but DJ took it as Quarry merely voicing concerns, while Draxum most likely noticed her wandering eyes and had figured her out.

“Well enough...?” DJ tentatively answered.

“...I’m not sure I like that answer,” Quarry said truthfully, watching Draxum and DJ give each other a side-eye.

“The pantry is stocked for a good few months, we’re not starving, but our options are limited until further notice,” Draxum further answered.

“It would be unwise for any of us to enter the public eye, and even with a cloaking brooch, the Hidden City is too volatile right now to be taking risks. Draxum is, in all technicality, in my custody by order of the Heads. His children are absolved of his crimes, but to the populous, they’re guilty by association. No one is really keen on fetching milk and bread when every corner danger lurks,” DJ explained with a twinge of annoyance in his tone.

“And while we do have two human contacts, one is getting her affairs in order topside while the other is currently the caretaker of Casey Jones. Having them take risks in regards to us is not advisable.”

“Hm,” Quarry crossed both her arms and legs as she digested the situation. “You’ve more or less been backed into a corner. Is what’s available able to be cooked with? ...Do any of you cook?”

Junior snorted into a laugh, a habit he’d picked up from the turtles, while Draxum nervously avoided eye contact. “Well, Draxum somehow manages to burn water.”

“As if your attempts have been any better!” Draxum shot back.

“-While Giorgio and Nelli have the basics down. From my understanding, their late father cooked for them, or they fended for themselves - usually frequenting a pizzeria topside.”

“I have... attempted to replicate what I learned from their father, with... middling results,” Draxum admitted and DJ rolled his eyes in agreement. “And with the youngest, who actually enjoys overcooked food, being as she is currently, it’s in all our best interests that I do not waste more resources.”

“Good grief,” Quarry viewed the two helpless bachelors critically. “I will give DJ a pass considering everything, but you, Draxum; you can create life and mold it - yet cannot cook. I can’t tell if this is irony or idiocy...”

“A mix of both, perhaps,” DJ said and ignored the glare from Draxum.

Quarry rubbed one of her temples before speaking again. “...Regardless, let’s table this discussion for now. Tell all of what you weren’t able to back at the cottage before I get a headache by association from all the nutrients you’re lacking.”

******

“Thanks for coming with me, Quarry,” Nel said to her escort as they approached the Grand Nexus Hotel. “I should be able to handle this myself, but, yeah...” she rubbed her arm nervously as each and every Yōkai’s eyes were on her. The fear and hate was palpable, Nel doing her best to ignore them as she opened the door for Quarry. “Let’s get inside before they start throwing stuff...”

“It’s absolutely no problem, Nelli,” She entered first and thanked Nel as the door closed behind him. The circumstances were as described and expected, but Quarry couldn’t believe people were being so openly hostile towards a teenager who’d done no wrong. Nel was a little intimidating to look on, being as large as she was, but now having spent a few days with her, Quarry could only see her for all the love she held. Nel had painstakingly painted all of Alopex’s claws in a variety of colors, giving in to her daughter’s whims, no doubt, and it continued. When she fell asleep on Nel, she refused to move. When Alopex had touched one of her shell’s spikes and gave way to a small cut, Nel apologized and comforted her through it all - bandaging her up and holding the small fox until she stopped crying. And these Yōkai knew none of it, boiling Quarry’s blood further with each subsequent misplaced glare.

“Hey there, I have a meeting with Big Mama,” Nel addressed the bellhop guarding the elevator, and they moved away with a sneer filled with scorn. “Thank you,” she said graciously and passed the sliding doors, Nel ignoring the continued glowers from the hotel staff until they shut. She let out a relieved sigh once the elevator started its climb. “All this stress is gonna take years off of my life...” She joked, but Quarry’s face was wroth.

“This is ludicrous...!”

“Yeah, I’ll talk with Big Mama to see if we can have Dad teleport us inside the hotel from now on.”

“The fact that this is even a worry you have to face goes beyond comprehension. Are people truly so blind to the truth?! Drako is dead - why do they need a scapegoat in you?!”

Nel shrugged. “We anticipated this. It’s not fair, but it is what it is...”

“Well, it is not something you should have to endure. I can’t believe what’s become of the populous - to demonize a fellow victim when all are hurting.”

“At least, it’ll get butts in seats once people learn they can pay to see me and Dad take some punches. The sooner the debt is gone, the sooner this is all over.”

Quarry dragged her hands over her face at Nel’s jaded, yet accepting attitude, shaking her head as her gaze hit the elevator’s roof. “Why will you not let DJ pay it off?”

“Because it’s not his problem. The Dragon’s Eye mess was and is mine and my sibling’s own thing. Besides,” Nel’s expression turned somber, “I need something to do. Vin’s off at his job, Gio’s working on the egg, April’s got college coming up, Gram-gram’s busy in Japan, and Sofia’s... well, not up yet. I do what I can around the house, but I’m best suited to tackling a problem. I’ve got Dad watching my back, so, it’ll probably be fine - hopefully.”

“...We’ll see,” the elevator’s chime rang out. “Lena’s schemes rarely are.”

The doors opened to showcase Big Mama at her usual haunt, putting the receiver down on an aged phone as she leaned back into her chair and raised her eyes to greet them. “There's my Nel-bell! Fantumptuous to see you, dear!”

“Hi, Big Mama, I'm here like you requested, but Draxum got wrapped up in helping DJ with something. I hope it's fine that I brought someone else?” Quarry moved out from behind Nel, revealing her presence.

“Hello, Lena. It's been quite some time since we last met.”

“Sydney?!” Big Mama sprung up from her seat, her glasses falling down to the tip of her nose. “...Gracious gobstoppers!” She quickly left her desk and met the duo. “It IS you!” She grabbed both of Quarry’s hands as speculation became reality.

“In the flesh. You've certainly kept yourself busy these past twenty odd years.”

“Oh, darling, you have no idea! Come, sit! We can get Nel-bell’s things sorted and catch up at the same tizzy-time! Though, why is it you’re here with my newest Battle Nexus starlet?” Big Mama flicked her wrists and two chairs mystically manifested in front of her desk, one of them being Nel-sized, which she was appreciative for as they took their seats.

“With the help of his family, DJ found where I had been hiding. Seeing as Drako is no longer with us, the need to hide is gone, and I am here as a guardian for Nelli in her father’s stead. And I must thank you, Lena, for following through with our agreement with Junior.”

“We had a deal,” Big Mama re-took her own seat. “And it ended up being highly beneficial for me in the leggy-long run. Draky-Wakey has not only paid for all the damages his father caused, but even went out of his way to settle any accounts that had even the tiniest of threads connecting to him! My coiny-coffers are filled and the Battle Nexus is grizzly-gearing up to reopen!” Big Mama squealed with glee.

“Ah, this meeting makes sense now,” Nel nodded. “Guessing it’s time we solidify my marketing?”

“Abso-posi-lutely!” Big Mama grabbed a rolled up poster, spreading it across the desk for her guests to see. “I know we were tippy-teetering between ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ depending on the reception of the video and suchlike - but I believe we should go all in on your mutant identity, Nel-bell!”

“O-oh?” Nel looked over the poster, bold titling reading; ‘Mutant Menace of the Battle Nexus’ - accompanied by concept art for a costume she was presumably to don. “...Well, the title itself certainly rolls off the tongue - but do I have to wear a costume?”

“Aw, you don’t like it?”