Chapter 21

The manic robot man approached while everyone else got ready to defend themselves. Stockman's psychotic laughter filled the room. "Do you know the most beautiful thing about my brilliant plan?" he didn't even wait for an answer. "I used you Shredder," he said and Shredder glared. "To transform me into this ultra cyborg you see before you. A truly superior work of genius, but all good things must come to an end. It's time to bid you adieu." he stated as one of his robotic arms takes aim at the ninja.

"Incoming!" Raph shouted right before Stockman fired missiles at them.

The blast from the missiles knocks everyone down including two Foot Tech Ninja hanging in the rafters of the tower.

April begins to get worried. "Don, Elisa, you guys okay! I'm picking up multiple explosions. Guys! Guys! Do you copy?!"

"Can't talk right now, April." Don said as he moved out of the way of more incoming missiles. He landed safely next to Elisa. "Kinda busy staying alive."

"Which is proving to be a little difficult right now." Elisa added. "We'll call you back." she and Don jump out of the way of a falling pillar.

Stockman approaches the Elite ninja who are defending their master. "Out of my way." he said and fired more missiles. Knocking them into a hole he, himself, had created. Shredder jumps up, aiming for the back of Stockman's robot suit. Before he could land, Stockman swats him away like he was nothing. "Now, where did Hun get to?" he asked, looking for the large blonde man. He finds him, standing alone. "There you are." Hun grabs a nearby torch and hits Stockman with it, to no effect. Stockman takes it away and leans in close. "I've been so looking forward to this. It's payback time." he lifts Hun up and slams him into a pillar. "Oh. That. Felt. Good. Now, I'm going to take you apart piece by piece. A lovely irony, wouldn't you say."

A look of surprise crossed his face as Shredder leaps up and strikes at the glass-like shield protecting his face. When he lands, he turns to find out that the marks disappear. "What?" he exclaimed, shocked.

"It's a self-healing polymer acrylic. Just one of thirty-nine patented items I developed using your resources." Stockman pointed out and Shredder responded with an annoyed growl. "You made it all possible, Shredder. And didn't suspect a thing. You pompous, overblown, ignoramus. But the time has come for you to be re-educated in my brilliance." one of the robotic arms extends and grabs Shredder. He throws the armored man against another pillar, then up against the wall before throwing him to the ground. All while Stockman laughs like a mad man.

"It took everything we had to beat the Shredder before." Raph said.

"And robo-nut just took him out in 4.5 seconds." Don added. "The Shredder and Hun."

"I can't lie. That's pretty impressive." Mari said.

"It's gotta be some sort of record, right?" Elisa asked.

"Um," Mikey raises his hand. "Can we go home now?"

"And now the freaks." Stockman approached the turtles. "It's most fortuitous that you're here, really. You're on my list of parties responsible for recent misfortunes in my life. The charges are: ruining my genius work, interfering with my brilliant schemes and hampering my destiny as the world's foremost criminal and scientific prodigy."

"Jeez, do you ever stop talking?" Mari blurted out with a roll of her eyes.

Stockman growled and shot some fire at them. They jump out of the way. He shoots lasers and missiles, all of which they dodge. Splinter hops up and attacks the face shield with his walking stick. Stockman easily swats him off. Stockman lifts him up off the ground.

"Master Splinter!" Don called.

"Nooo!" Leo cried as he and Raph moved in to attack. Stockman dropped Splinter and Raph helped him out of the way.

Leo continued his flurry of attacks, but that is quickly stopped with a robotic punch. Don and Mikey were knocked away when they tried to attack. "Is that all you got?" Stockman taunted as he shot more missiles. Leo quickly got up and moved out of the way. Don and Mikey wrapped a rope around the legs of the robot. "Rope? You try to stop ME with rope?" he laughed at the thought. "How positively primitive."

"I got your primitive, right here." Raph shouted as he kicked Stockman over. He fell through the hole that he came out of with a crash.

They stared down the hole. "Is it over?" Mari asked.

"I think so." Mikey answered.

"That's one minor annoyance disposed of." Shredder said. "Now to finish you fools."

As the turtles and the Shredder got ready to fight again, Stockman flew back up through the hole in the floor with the jet pack strapped to the back. "You insufferable nitwits. Dr. Baxter Stockman is not so easily dismissed."

"You lied to me." Mari said and Mikey simply shrugged.

"Kiss your shells goodbye freaks." more fire is thrown their way.

Leo dodges more firepower as he goes in and slices off one of the arms. "My robotic arm!" the scientist exclaimed. "Nooo!" he angrily shoots more missiles. They land near Leo, but the shock wave knocks him back into a wall. His sword, sticking into the wall right above his head.

"It's nothing. Just a momentary nuisance. My back up systems..." Shredder runs up and slices off his robotic leg with his gauntlet. Now, completely off balance. Don, Mikey, and Raph kicked him through the glass window and began his descent to the street below. "This is just a minor setbaaaaaaaaaack." he screamed before crashing to the floor.

"I'm gonna miss that guy... not."

They all took their weapons out once again. "Alright Shredder, let's finish this."

"I intend to." Shredder responded.

But before they could get started, who should show up, but Stockman... again. Blowing his way through the window and flying in with his jet pack. "My internal jet pack array. I spared no expense. After all, you were footing the bill, Shredder." he aims and fires more missiles.

The explosion sent Mikey flying into a pillar. "Man, can somebody please shut down that giant, flying toaster oven?" he asked while rubbing his head.

"And shut up the man inside said toaster oven while you're at it." Mari added.

Donnie deflects two more missiles with his bo, causing an explosion behind him. "Maybe we can pull his plug. Leo, his exosuit's power supply. Those radium power cells on his back."

"On it." Leo made his way toward Stockman.

"You peons stand no chance against my vastly superior intellect." he continued talking as Leo jumped over him. "I, Baxter Stockman, shall..." he was cut off as Leo sliced through the cells on his back. His jetpack shut down and the exosuit crashed to the floor.

"Finally!" Mikey exclaimed. "Shut him down and shut him up!"

Stockman starts to get up again and Elisa rolled her eyes and groaned. "This is so very annoying now."

"What do we have to do to stop this guy?" Leo asked.

"I have asked myself that question many times." Shredder answered.

"That ploy may have worked against a lesser mechanoid, but as always, I'm one step ahead in my design work. In addition, to the central power nodules, each component of my cyborg armor has its own internal backup power source. Ha!" he boasted.

Donnie walked up to one of the robotic arms that were cut off a while ago. "So, what you're saying is, this arm should still be fully functional, right?"

"Oh no." Stockman begins to hop away.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Don exclaims before firing.

The missile forced Stockman out the window in a fiery explosion in the sky. "That. was. AWESOME!" Mari exclaimed.

"Now, where were we?" Shredder asked. "Oh yes." he turns and kicks Don and Raph.

He leaps toward Mikey, getting ready to strike with his gauntlet. The orange banded turtle shields himself. "Michelangelo, no!" Splinter bounces off of his son's shell, knocking him away safely. He lands and glares daggers at Shredder. The armored ninja charges and kicks the rat through the window.

"Master Splinter!" Mikey called out.

"No!" Don shouted as their father began to fall.

Thinking quickly, Leo grabs a grappling hook and latches it onto a pipe right above the hole in the window. He dives for Splinter, catching up to him and grabbing his hand. He swings and pushes off another building before landing on the outside of Shredder's tower with Splinter in his arms.

Leo carefully placed him in a safe area.

Meanwhile, his brothers and sisters had knocked the Shredder out into the gardens of the tower.

"You're going to be okay, Master Splinter. We'll get you help. I'll get the others. Elisa will fix you up." Leo said.

Splinter shook his head in response. "No, Leonardo. Worry not. This is no longer about me."

"Master Splinter, I-"

"You must return to the battle. Protect your brothers and sisters. Defeat the Shredder." he placed a furry paw on his son's hand. "I will be there with you, in spirit. Now go, leave me."

"No, Master Splinter." Leo said, defiantly.

"I know you will lead your siblings well, my son. My son..." he began trailing off.

Leo placed the walking stick in his father's hands. "It's going to be all right. We'll be back for you, I promise. Just hang on." Leo stood up, not wanting to leave his father alone. He sniffles and wipes at his eyes. With a new determination, he returns to the fight.

Raph moves in to attack the Shredder, who just kicks him away. He then makes quick work of Don, Mikey, Mari, and Elisa. At the other end of the gardens, Leo slipped on the protective glove and pulled the Sword of Tengu out of its sheath. The glowing electricity caught the attention of Shredder who was about to strike Don. "Get away from my brothers and sisters." Leo demanded.

"The Sword of Tengu."

Leo gives off a wave of electricity that knocks the Shredder through a bridge over a pond. The armored ninja pulls himself out of the water. "This cannot be happening. I cannot lose." he sees a post and makes a move toward it, pressing a button on the inside.

The side of the tower opens up and ninjas riding on the flying vehicles from earlier came flying out. "Guys, can you hear me? I've got a dozen or so unidentified flying objects headed your way." April reported.

"We see them, April." Don said.

"Yeah, and they see us." Elisa added.

As the ninja fire lasers at the turtles, who are trying to get out of harm's way, the guardians watch the light show from down below. One of them uses a device on his wrist to make contact with someone. A holographic screen pops up from it and three figures are shown. Two men and one woman, but all of them had unnaturally bright blue eyes. "My lords, it's the turtles. They're alive. They have engaged the Shredder in the heart of his lair. And they've brought the Sword of Tengu with them."

All three figures took turns speaking in a monotone voice. "The Sword of Tengu!?"

"This could-"

"-prove disastrous."

"With respect, the Sword of Tengu could be their salvation." the Guardian said.

"Or-"

"-our destruction."

"Ready your men, guardian."

"See that the turtles are victorious."

"As you command." the guardian said with a smile. He shuts down the device and looks up toward the tower.

A ninja fires a missile at Leo, making him drop the magical sword and the protective glove. Raph jumped up and hijacked one of the flying vehicles. "Come to papa." he goes chasing after another ninja over the city before taking him out with a direct laser shot. "Yeeehaw! I'm starting to get the hang of this." as the ninja slowly descends to the ground via parachute, another begins shooting at him. A missile aims for Raph and before it could connect, Raph hopped off, kicked away another ninja and hijacked his vehicle.

During all the chaos in the air, The Shredder makes his way toward the Sword of Tengu when Leo lands in front of him, swords drawn. "Ah, Leonardo, it is unfortunate that you did not join me when I offered you the chance. You could have served me well."

"I'd rather fall in battle with honor than serve you."

"So be it," Shredder said. "Elite Ninja, to me." the Elite Ninja appear behind him from a cloud of smoke. "Finish this." he ordered.

Leo growled and they charge at him immediately locking blades with them.

Back up in the air, Raph is suddenly hit by someone else's laser. A missile fires and takes out one of the flying ninjas. As Raph looks back, another missile hits, taking out another ninja. Raph looked to the source and saw Elisa holding one of Stockman's robotic arms. Don stood nearby. "Yo, Lisa!" Raph called out with a thumbs up.

"Don't thank me, thank Baxter Stockman." Elisa waved back.

"And you can thank me for letting you use it this time." Don said with his arms crossed.

"Whatever makes you feel better little brother." Elisa teased.

Leo managed to kick down one of the elite before he's taken down by a sneak attack. The elite guard with the trident traps one of Leo's hands while the one with the battle ax moved in to attack. Leo managed to bring his free hand up to block. He looks off to the side, remembering Master Splinter. He growls and kicks the elite ninja away, freeing himself so he could stand up.

The Shredder makes for the magical sword again. "Geronimooooo!" Raph shouted from above. He jumped off his flying vehicle which collided with another one. The flaming debris fell and covered up the Sword of Tengu. He landed near his brother and twirled his sai. "Hey, save some for me, Leo."

"I can finish this Raph." Leo told him.

"I know." Raph deflected an attack. "But where's the fun in that, bro."

Don kicks on away. "We're family."

"We finish this together." Mikey said.

"Or we don't finish this at all." Elisa stated.

"Besides, the cable's out at the lair anyway." Mikey added. He wraps his nunchaku around the ax-wielding elite, while Elisa took him out with her tonfa.

"When are you gonna get that through your head, bro. You're not alone in this." Mari said.

Leo sliced a weapon to pieces before kicking his opponent down. One was caught mid-air by Mari's manriki, causing him to face plant on the ground, hard. As soon as he stood up, Raph kicks him and collides with another elite that Don had taken out. With only one left standing, Leo made easy work out of him.

Meanwhile, The Shredder is searching for the Sword of Tengu through the flaming wreckage that Raph had caused earlier. "The Sword. I must have it."

The turtles step up to the metal ninja. "It's over, Shredder." Leo said.

The Shredder suddenly laughs in response. "You are fools. This is my fortress, my stronghold. Did you believe you could defeat me here?" he turns an orb on a dragon statue nearby. The floor opens up, revealing even more ninjas.

"Aw, gimme a break." Mikey complained.

"You've gotta be joking." Elisa rolled her eyes.

"No one said it was gonna be easy." Raph said as he raised his sai.

They all got ready to fight when a guardian landed in front of them. "Easy, no, but perhaps we can offer you a little assistance."

"We?"

As if to answer Raph's question, about seven more guys dropped down all sporting the same trench coats, sunglasses, and gold medallions. They pulled out their glowing swords. The first one glanced back at the turtles. "Hurry! We must keep The Shredder from the Sword of Tengu."

"I'll take care of Shredder." Leo said and ran ahead toward the Shredder.

"Guardians. Go." the first guardian ordered and they all jumped into action.

Leo runs ahead toward The Shredder as he continues to search obsessively for the Sword of Tengu. "The sword, the sword."

He eventually finds it as the rest of the turtles join their brother. The electric energy surrounds it as well as himself, as soon as Shredder touches it. "Ah, the power. I had almost forgotten. The Sword of Tengu. The sword with which I laid villages to waste, brought castles to ground, vanquished armies. The sword that I used to conquer Japan and give power to the Tokugawa clan. It is mine once more." with a single swing, the energy from the sword knock the six turtles back, scattering them across the back gardens.

Don lands near the protective metal glove and grabs it. The guardian watches as Shredder makes his way toward the closest turtle. Which happened to be Mari. She glares up at the metal ninja as he points the sword at her. "No!" Leo shouted as he deflected the blast away from his younger sister. He struggles against him. Mari recovers and lands a hit to his side, distracting him. They all duck as Shredder attacks again. "Get in close. It's the only way." Leo ordered and rolls away from another blast.

They speed their way toward their metal foe, dodging oncoming attacks. Leo manages to knock him back. Another blast from the sword causes to dodge again. Leo catches the magical blade with his own swords, pinning it to the floor. Raph tossed it into the air using his sai. Don held his bo staff right behind Shredder while Mikey took him down with a kick to the chest. Leo sees the sword flying overhead and makes a jump for it, leaving his own swords behind. Elisa grabbed the protective glove off of Donnie's belt. "Yo, Leo." she called out before tossing the glove toward him.

Leo caught the glove and put it on before capturing the Sword of Tengu. As he begins to land, he aims the sword right at Shredder. Which was expertly dodged by the ninja master. Shredder picked Leo's katana out of the ground and readied himself. The two sword-wielders stare each other down, tension building between them. They both leap at each other and as soon as they are close enough, they strike at each other before landing.

The Shredder is eerily still before his metal head just slides right off his body. The body drops Leo's swords and collapses, finally defeated. Leo sheaths the Sword of Tengu and picks up his katana as his siblings join him.

The defeated Foot soldiers groan in pain as the Guardians put their swords away. "They've done it. They've defeated the Shredder. Incredible." they all bow before taking their leave.

"They did it! Yes!" April excitedly hopped out of her chair. "They did it!" she hugged Casey.

"Wahoo!" Casey hugged her back.

Don began looking over one of Stockman's robotic arms. "Just one thing left to do." Leo said.

"Make sure the Foot can never use this building for anything ever again." Raph finished.

"Stockman radium power cells coupled with the power of the Sword of Tengu," Don began explaining as he pulled some of the wire from the arm to an electrical box. "should fry most of the tech in this building." he turned to Leo. " Let 'er rip, Leo."

Using the sword's power, Leo plunged the blade into the robot arm causing an electrical surge to surround the entire building. It shut down everything inside and destroyed the sword in the process. With that final task out of the way, the turtles could get out of there. "Let's get Master Splinter and go home."

However, when they get to where Leo had left Splinter, he wasn't there. Only his walking stick was left behind. "Hey, wait a minute. I don't understand, I left him right here. He was in no shape to move." Leo said, confused.

"That's crazy..." Mari said.

"How could he be gone?" Mikey asked.

Elisa and Don ran to the edge of the building when they heard sirens. "Guys, we've gotta move." Elisa said as police and firefighters pulled up.

"We can't stay here." Don added in.

After taking a moment to think Leo points. "Donnie, the helicopter."

Leo picks up the walking stick, all worried for their Master's well being and they climb into the helicopter. Donnie starts it up, and they fly away.

"We did it, Leo. We defeated Shredder."

"But the price was too high." Leo murmured sadly.

"You don't think Master Splinter is..." Mikey stopped himself as couldn't finish the question weighing on his mind.

"I don't know, Mikey. I truly don't know." Leo answered.

Back at the Foot tower, Shredder's body suddenly stood up on its own as the fire still raged on. It grabbed the severed head and wandered off through the fire.