Index | Rating: Mature
Chapter 21
Raph fell to his knees.
The ground wasn’t ground. It was soft, damp, warm. It pulsed beneath his weight, as if it had a life of its own. His eyes burned. He coughed.
He looked up, but there was no sign of the portal Mikey had created, the one that had brought him there.
“Great,” he muttered. “Perfect.”
He forced himself to stand. Tried not to think.
At least he still had it in his hand. Safe.
The Krang key.
Raph stared at it as if it might bite him.
“Okay, Raph. Breathe,” he told himself quietly. “You know how to control this. Everything will be fine.”
He inhaled. The air tasted wrong. He exhaled. His pulse was still fast, but it slowed a little.
And then he realized where he was.
The Krang Dimension.
A shiver ran through his entire shell. He didn’t need confirmation. Not just because of how the place looked, but because of how it felt.
Fragmented, blurry memories slammed violently into his mind. He tried not to think.
“Yeah, sure…” he growled. “Of course it had to be here.”
He thought of Mikey. Of the portal.
Did Mikey know where he had sent him?
Did he even know what he was doing?
“They’re fine,” he told himself. “Leo always pulls through. Donnie always has a solution. Mikey… Mikey isn’t that little anymore.”
He tightened his grip on the key.
That was the real problem.
“Trapped here with this,” he muttered. “Perfect.”
A more tangible memory slipped into his mind without permission.
Krang structures wrapping around his arms. Entering his body, his eyes, his mind. The pressure in his chest. The darkness. His body obeying orders that weren’t his.
Raph squeezed his eyes shut.
“No,” he said. “That already happened. That’s not happening.”
He moved forward so he wouldn’t think.
Although there were many structures, much of the place was empty. Until he saw it: a massive techno-organic sphere.
Raph stopped.
“No…”
The air caught in his throat.
“That’s the Technodrome,” he whispered. “But… we destroyed it. We destroyed it when we closed the portal.”
Had they already prepared another one?
There was no answer.
Voices.
Raph crouched instantly. He pressed himself against a viscous formation and closed his eyes.
Don’t think, don’t think, don’t think.
He recognized the voices.
It was Krang… and the other, smaller Krang.
“Two…?” he thought. “That can’t be.”
He peeked out just enough.
The first was the one who gave the orders, the one they had fought. He was whole, as if time hadn’t passed at all.
The second…
A chill ran down Raph’s shell.
“I thought it wasn’t possible to survive that…” he murmured.
The tech Krang. The one who piloted the ship.
They were arguing with each other, inspecting weapons embedded in the living structure of the Technodrome. Adjustments. Upgrades. As if nothing mattered more than efficiency.
“Okay, Raph,” he told himself, backing away. “As long as they don’t see you…”
The ground made a wet sound beneath his step.
The voices stopped.
Two gazes locked onto him.
“Damn it.”
Raph didn’t wait. He launched himself at them.
His energy exploded in a red flash around him. He jumped, spun, attacked with everything he had. He struck first, knocking the tech Krang backward.
“Whatever you’re doing, I won’t let it happen!” he roared.
Then vines burst from the ground. Fast. Alive.
They coiled around his arms, his legs, his neck, immobilizing him completely.
“No!” he snarled, struggling. “Not again!”
The pattern was identical. Too identical.
“Oh…” said the main Krang, approaching calmly. “What a familiar scene.”
Raph gasped for air. His muscles trembled. Feeling those structures on his body again sent him spiraling into panic.
“Let me go,” he spat. “Cowards.”
Krang observed him with curiosity, moving his tentacles with elegance.
“Always so expressive,” he commented. “I suppose it’s part of your charm. Poor inferior creatures.”
His eyes lowered.
To the key that had fallen to the ground.
“Well, look at that,” he said, smiling maliciously as he picked it up delicately.
Raph tried to move. He couldn’t.
“You truly are extraordinary,” Krang continued. “Carrying objects you don’t understand… believing that gives you control. You’re so foolish.”
Raph felt a knot twist in his stomach.
“You can’t use it,” he said tensely. “Not from here.”
Krang smiled. A slow, viscous smile.
“Oh, really?” he replied. “I’m afraid you underestimate our creativity.”
He took the key and handed it to the other Krang.
“You,” he said softly, “would you mind checking whether we can open the portal from this side?”
The tech Krang let out a wet laugh as he examined the key.
“Of course not,” he said. “It will be simple.”
His tentacles moved with precision.
“Very simple,” he repeated. “Almost insulting.”
Raph felt cold.
He thought of his brothers, who were already dealing with so much—too much—to have to face something else. And he was trapped. He couldn’t help them. He wanted to trust them. He did trust them.
He tried not to think.
The main Krang turned his attention back to him.
“I must admit,” he said, “I didn’t expect the opportunity to settle accounts to arrive so soon.”
Raph clenched his teeth.
“What… what are you going to do to me this time?” he asked. “Because I have no intention of becoming one of you. I already know how to get out of that.”
Krang looked at him as if the answer were obvious.
“Oh no. You were far too unhelpful last time, we don’t make the same mistakes. And killing you would be… uninteresting,” he replied. “Besides, we learned something valuable.”
The vines tightened.
“Confinement is far more… educational. And fair.”
Raph struggled with all his strength. He tried to summon his powers, but only managed a weak, unstable flicker. It wasn’t enough.
The tech Krang kept talking, distracted.
“The Technodrome’s weapons are sufficiently ready,” he commented. “This time there will be no mistakes.”
“When we cross,” added the other, “we will close the portal forever. We won’t allow ourselves to be imprisoned again.”
“And without keys,” said the technician, smiling. “Destroying it in the process is trivial. I already have several ideas.”
Their laughter overlapped.
They walked away.
The vines didn’t.
Raph was left there, breathing hard. He thought again of his brothers. Of everything they would have to face.
Bishop.
T.C.R.I.
The Triceratons.
And now… this.
Raph didn’t know what to do. It really seemed like they were going to leave him like this.
Raph couldn’t move.
Raph hated the sensation of those living, viscous vines.
Raph remembered things…
Raph tried not to think.
But two facts were clear.
Raph was alone.
And Raph was surrounded by Krang.
He felt his mind split in two.
Beside him, with the little mystical energy he had left, two Raphs were created: Savage Raph and Krang Raph.
But Raph couldn’t think or do anything.
Index | Chapter 20 | Chapter 22
