Chapter Text
The prison dimension is an unforgiving place. It's cold and dark and the quiet was haunting.
Kraang Prime had gotten bored with him after he went unconscious. There's no point in beating something up if it's not awake to feel the pain.
Who knew when he would show up again?
It's a good thing this will be over soon.
'I did it, I saved them...'
'I'm paying the price for my actions now, so it's okay. Everyone is going to be safe now.'
'My brothers won't be killed for my mistake'
'There was no other way.'
Leo curls into himself as he clutches the photo of his family firmly to his chest. His tears silently abandon him floating into the dark nothing.
A golden glow lights up the nothing from above, squinting from the light, he tilts his head up to face... His brothers?
He reaches his hand out to them.
"Took you long enough."
He quips with a slight cough that follows.
Raph stretches his arm as far as it can go, activating his ninpo to take hold of his little brother despite the difference.
Relief washed over their expressions.
However, that relief was short-lived. An unmistakable roar could be heard from behind him as he twists his neck around to look, and there he was.
Kraang Prime.
He was back.
"Leo!"
Raphael rushes the pull on his brother's arm.
Kraang was quickly gaining on him. Donnie creates a luminescent, purple drill and fires it at the Kraang's face.
A cosmic butterfly flaps it's wings.
The drill had landed the hit, but the monster had already gotten a hold of Leo. Metallic claws hit the red-eared slider with such force and strength that they shattered Raph's holographic arm into fading shards, as Prime was also launched back.
Scattered.
His brothers cry out after him as Leo gets thrown back like a rag doll, slamming the carapace of his shell into an enormous scrap of the Technodrome, shattering the ship's debris into even more pieces throughout the nothing.
Leo became unresponsive as he drifted even further.
Kraang Prime was also thrown back in a flailing spiral, though he recovered far too quickly for anyone's liking. Clawing and grasping at the floating debris surrounding him in a desperate attempt to launch himself back through the portal to finish what he started.
Prime is too far out and he knows this but the blue clad turtle is even further.
If he can't leave, neither will the pest who trapped him there.
He raised his gill-like appendages and lets out another charged screech. The radiating waves ebbing away the powers of the Hamato clan once more in a fit of anger.
The golden cracks in Mikey's arms began to fade as his ninpo failed. The portal is slowly shrinking before the brothers' eyes.
"No... no no no!"
Tears start to form in Mikey's eyes.
"Come on mystic hands, you can do this! Please! We just got our powers back don't- don't do this to me! Just let me save him! Together!"
As soon as the cracks had finally lost their golden glow, a new one appeared.
An emerald-green glow soon began to shine through the cracks of Mikey's arms before it enveloped them in an explosion of blinding light before shooting out with a jagged strike that struck through the portal as though it were aimed directly at Kraang.
Kraang dodged the bolt, losing his momentum towards the opening in the process. The energy didn't seem to care as the lightning continued to flow past him and continued toward the unconscious turtle behind him.
The boys' expressions read of shock and horror as all they could do was watch the streak aim directly for their brother as it enveloped him whole.
Even Kraang looked stunned for a moment, before he let out a fit of maniacal laughter.
"Hahaha! What a pity. I was looking forward to exterminating that vermin myself, but the ones he so 'loved' took care of that for me! Oh, how fitting it is to see the ones he sacrificed himself for end up giving the final blow!"
He laughs at the despair on their faces framed by the light of the failing portal and Mikey fell limp held by his remaining brothers, on Staten Island.
Their brother was gone.
-Meanwhile-
The group lies in the grass facing the sky, looking at the stars that were no longer being dimmed by the lights of the big bright city of Neo Edo. All were exhausted and relieved that they had taken care of the Makkine once and for all after destroying the War Mountain Ship.
Everything can finally go back to normal.
…Or at least as normal as it can get with thousands of Yokai roaming the world once again, and some even wreaking havoc after being trapped inside a magical floating glowy rock for a thousand years.
Okay, so maybe "normal" wouldn't be the right word for this, more like "The world is no longer in immediate danger of being enslaved and or destroyed by a mechanical alien race from another dimension" but there's no singular word for that one.
Usagi stretched and closed his eyes, relaxing on top of the soft green grass alongside his friends. Pointing out existing constellations and even making a few new ones. Chatting amongst themselves and laughing with one another. It was nice.
A loud thundering boom! could be heard not too far from where the group lay followed by a few seconds of rumbling that followed.
"Thunder?"
Usagi sits up.
“There aren't even any clouds tonight…”
Everyone began to stand, getting ready to head inside for the night wanting to avoid an oncoming storm.
That is until a very worried-looking Tetsujin came floating frantically, shouting.
"You all must come to the temple quickly, The Keystone! She's in a fuss and I can't get a word in with her!"
Tetsujin panics.
"Is that where the lightning is coming from?!"
Gen asks as he's getting up.
"C'mon, whatever it is we have to hurry!"
Usagi calls as he gets a running head start toward the temple.
"Ikuzo!"
"Kitsy can I come with?"
Kiyoko begged her sister.
"No you stay here, I don't want anything to happen to you again."
”But-”
Kiyoko starts.
Kitsune puts her foot down and interrupts before she can continue.
”But nothing, please just listen to me, I don't want a repeat of what happened last time… please?”
"Aww okay, you never let me have fun!" Kiyoko whined.
"We literally have fun all the time!"
Kitsune rebuttals.
"No going near weird lightning with that battery strapped to your back. I feel like that should be a given."
"Kitsune now is not the time for this, we need to go!"
Chizu interrupts.
"Kiyoko, stay here and uh, help Auntie get the kittens settled in for the night. That sounds like a responsible older sister thing to say right?”
Kitsune looks to Chizu for assurance, to which Chizu answers with a silent nod.
"Ugh, fiiineee"
Kiyoko let out a pout and crossed her many arms as everyone was already on their way to the temple.
-The Temple-
There is an electrical storm surging inside the temple; green bolts of lightning strike every surface in the room, harsh enough to leave scorch marks on the stone.
One bolt races toward Kitsune and she barely dodges the blow.
"Hey, watch it!"
Gen skids behind one of the large pillars and a bolt strikes the opposite side. He peeks out to see a black mark had been left behind and his eyes go wide.
“Sometimes I really wonder if the keystone really is on our side.”
The Rhinoceros's complaint goes ignored as everyone is currently focused on dodging the bolts and trying to get to the Keystone but the electrical storm is too dense to get close.
Another bolt makes its way near Tetsujin as he's distracted.
"Watch out!"
Usagi shouts.
Tetsujin doesn't dodge it in time.
"Hey, that tickles!"
He laughs as it passes through him.
Being intangible must be nice when you don't have to dodge for your life.
Chizu jumps off the support beam evading what would've been a nasty blow as scorch marks etch themselves into the ancient wood.
“What are we even supposed to do here?!”
She shouts.
The strikes become an organized chaos in a semi-controlled spiral like the world's most dangerous swing carousel. Rising whips of green lightning from the floor into an upward motion. Scorching floors and walls as the energy travels before blasting through the open roof above the magic stone like a beacon.
The room was lit in a green hue that was emanating from the mystic stone that resided in the center of the temple.
For a moment, everything stood calm.
Despite the calm, tensions rise higher.
A sudden blast strikes down in front of the group. This one's different; there were sparks of blue within the green blast.
Lightning that stood still.
The blow made what were only seconds feel like hours as the physical mass of energy stood in place.
A strange heavy feeling of anxiety grew in the chests of everyone within the temple as a dark figure could be seen standing tall within the light, the glow of red slits for eyes and yellow marks adorning its body.
Frightened and on edge, Usagi popped his ancestor's sword Willowbranch, still in the holster but ready to draw.
"Get ready!"
He shouts.
Everyone followed his lead, stepping back and preparing their weapons all the same.
Its hand reached out as it took a staggering step forward.
Once the energy dissipated they saw the face of the dark figure and realization met their expressions.
The figure was just some kid.
A boy, looking no older than them stood with glowing marks along its face and body with a distant look in his eyes.
A bright wave of green energy pushed from the keystone like a puff of fog. The soft wave of energy spread throughout the temple and the city in a gentle blast.
“Please… help my grandson…”
The fog whispers without explanation.
The soft puff of energy was enough to push over the unknown figure.
The figure stumbles, and Usagi leaps forward to catch the hurt stranger.
A hurt stranger who was much heavier than he had initially thought.
Both of them came crashing down onto the stone floor. The surprisingly heavy weight slammed down onto the rabbit's chest knocking the air out of his lungs but cushioned the fall for the injured party.
"I could use a little help here..."
The samurai wheezes as he reaches his hand up from underneath but they were all too occupied staring down at the unconscious… What was he?
'He came out of the keystone...'
The rabbit brainstorms
'Scaly green skin and a hard shell so… Kappa yokai?'
'There was no dip in the top of his head, so it couldn't be.'
'Kappa... or Kame...?'
He argues with himself
'I would really like to be breathing right now...'
"Guys...?"
Usagi's pleas fade into the background.
"I don't think that a shell is supposed to look like that..."
Kitsune remarks.
"He needs a doctor."
Gen suggests.
"You don't say?"
Chizu remarks.
"Great idea. Gen, can you pick him up so we can get him to the hospital?"
Usagi interrupts, voice strained by the weight on his chest.
"...and maybe so I can breathe...?"
"Oh yeah, on it. Sorry about that Usagi."
The rhino goes to lift the unknown Kame "Alrighty green guy, let's get you some help..."
Gen cradles the unknown stranger much like a newborn on its belly on his arm, supporting its head but careful of his carapace while holding him by the plastron. A feat easy for a rhinoceros of his size.
He was wearing a strange blue bandana over his eyes and torn black wrappings along his arms and legs.
A small colorful piece of paper falls to the ground from the stranger's other hand in front of Usagi as the group starts their way out of the temple.
A colored photo. The detail in it looks amazing compared to what's in Neo Edo. Where is this guy from?
Wasting no time, they quickly made their way to the hospital and let the three shiba doctors handle the rest.
Things were far from over.
-The mansion-
As the team arrived home, sunrise was not far behind them.
Usagi's auntie had stayed the night in one of the mansion's spare bedrooms since the invasion happened fairly late and wrangling a bunch of sleepy kittens to go to a farm where accommodations haven't had the chance to be made was not ideal. And truth be told, that it's not something she could do properly for them all on her own on such short notice.
She'd be lying if she said she wasn't partly there to keep an eye on her nephew for a bit longer as well. Considering the events of that night, she was justified in her worries as his auntie.
The group walks through the door, trying their best to be quiet but their tired minds and bodies aren't on the same page as they stagger through the house bumping into things.
Gen went to bed with a thud, landing on top of his bed and passing out before his head even hit the pillow.
Kitsune followed Chizu to her bed after seeing that the kittens had disabled all the traps and taken over her room with Kiyoko. Though it didn't seem like Chizu minded the company one bit. Nights were getting colder and Kitsune is good at keeping the bed warm. That was always their go-to excuse, anyway.
Usagi was tired. Absolutely drained from yesterday's events and the events of early morning. He nearly forgot to take off his gear before crawling under the covers of his unmade bed. He was only half awake when he felt a fuzzy little lump by his leg as he got in. Checking under the sheet in the dim light he sees Hana already sound asleep on the corner of the bed with Spot curled up against her.
"Goodnight Hana, you too Spot... Glad you both are safe..."
A tired but soft smile grows on the rabbit before he gives her the blanket that she's hidden under and reaches lazily for the one he kicked off onto the floor the night before and gets some of that much-needed rest.
Snores fill the old mansion's halls as the sun rises to wake the rest of the land.