Tides of Reality| Ninjago | Monkie Kid | ROTTMNT

Chapter 48 - The Shredder

"So that means gram gram is in your head?" Mikey asked, immediately following it with screaming "Gram gram do you hear me?" at the top of his lungs directly into April's ear.

"Yes, she hears you and wants you to never do that again." April pushed Mikey away from the hug she was currently trapped in.

"Now, Karai wants me to teach you the art of pinpo." April started when the turtles finally let go of her and sat down.

"ninpo." Donnie corrected, to their mild surprise, at the same time as Shelldon and Sky.

"Right. Ninpo." April said. "Let's begin.

-

So they all ended up sitting on trees. The Hamato siblings all on small wooden platforms, for better stability, April flawlessly balancing on a single twig, Shelldon flying around and Sky levitating next to him.

"Karai says to access your inner power you have to stay calm and feel connected to one another." Well, let's just say that a vision of broken bones in case of lost balance wasn't the best condition to keep anyone calm.

Sky was ready to catch anyone if they fell, but the fear would still be very much present.

"How can I feel connected when there's no wifi!?" Ah, yes, there it is. The first sign of panic and all the emotions from today starting to hit.

"Should we hold hands?" Mikey tried to grab Donnie's hand, but they reacted quickly, not letting him.

April sighed.

"No, like connected in here." She gestured to her stomach. But the turtles didn't seem to get it. "When you first open it, it'll feel like 'WAaaaAAHh' and then it'll feel like 'OOHhhhHH'." She started gesticulating to show what she meant "You know?"

And this simple question was the final straw for Donnie.

"No, I don't know. This makes zero sense! Explain it differently!" And before April could respond with 'This is my first time having a weird ghost spirit lady in my head!' Sky chimed in.

"If I may." They flew closer to the group. "I've never felt this in my life, but! It should feel like something has opened in your stomach, weird at first but overall pleasant. Like you are free of some weight you've been carrying this whole time and buzzing with energy, ready to fight." She quickly supplied.

Donnie seemed to understand the concept this time, and visibly calmed down.

"That's... accurate. But how do you know?" April asked.

"Darling, I write in my free time. I have learned to expand and build on almost nonexistent fundaments in a way that feels right." Sky smiled and decided not to say she saw at least a dozen ways of ninpo being described through text.

"Okay! Is everyone feeling relaxed and connected?" April clapped, trying to move on with the training.

"Raph, I see you're stressed." Sky quickly hopped on into the role of April's assistant.

The truth was she didn't really see he was stressed. She just knew. And that was enough.

"I- I can't do it." He admitted, tears pooling in his eyes.

"Oh, Raph. What's wrong?" April stepped closer to him and asked in the softest voice Sky' s ever heard.

"We're runnin' out of time. And everyone's dependin' on me." he choked out through tears, now streaming down his cheeks.

"Relax, big guy." His big sister said, holding out her hand to touch his in a reassuring gesture. As soon as she did, their eyes started glowing.

Oh, so that's how this conversation looks from the outside!

A fraction of a second later their eyes stopped glowing, and Raph stood up. Mikey, Donnie and Leo followed, confused.

"Raph, it's okay, we'll figure this out" Mike reassured, in a voice full of hope and understanding.

"I know. 'Cause we' re not alone. None of us are." Raph smiled and rocked back to fall.

His sibling immediately rushed to catch him, to help.

Their ninpo, now unlocked, formed colorful shapes around the falling figures. New, black wraps appeared around their arms and legs, giving them a much needed new look.

Sky, who didn't react before, knowing those bozos (affectionate) were gonna unlock their power and Shelldon with April, who both just froze when Raph started falling, came down along the treeline and the cliff to cheer, as the turtles emerged from the fog around the waterfall with their marks glowing and their hopes high.

"Now it's time to save our family and take out Shredder."

And they did.

I mean, of course they did. There was, like, 0.1% chance of them failing.

The fight was... epic, outstanding, dynamic, astonishing and astounding to see up close, but also extremely hard to follow.

And if Sky was struggling to even make out what was happening, there was no way she could actually fight. So they settled for the next best thing - trying to free Splinter.

Cassandra was a bit of a problem, but a few questions about whether or not she actually wanted this solved it.

Finally, after more than 10 minutes of struggling, Skys' been able to free Splinter. And when Shredder reached for him to try and seize him again, Cassandra stopped him.

Then, after using the power of ninpo and friendship, everyone beat the Shredder, Oroku Saki's soul has been freed and he disappeared to whatever afterlife Hamato ghosts go to with Karai, it was time for hero poses.

And also fixing the lair. And healing. And building a portal so Sky can go back home. And letting all the people of New York out of the mystic orb.

Okaaay, looks like they had much to do :/