Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide (A Sonic-TMNT Crossover)

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

The static in her head was there even before she woke up, and when she opened her eyes it intensified. A searing pain shot through her skull like a bullet from a gun, making her gasp and wince as she waited for it to die away. Then her head started pounding, and Kay groaned and sat up.

Suddenly the static became a mass of voices. She gripped the edge of the bed and listened in horror and confusion. She could not pinpoint any one voice; they all blended together. It was like she was in the cafeteria in high school again. The voices got louder the more she tried to muster the strength to stand.

What is going on? she wondered in alarm. I haven't experienced anything like this since I first arrived on Mobius. Kay shook her head, making the pain worse, before finally turning her attention to the luggage on the opposite end of the room.

Silence.

Kay gasped again, surprised at the voices' sudden ceasing. She kept her eyes trained on her lump of belongings, afraid to look away lest the headache return. Chaos Energy?

It was then that she remembered what she had to do today. Her heart sank while her pulse quickened. She was not looking forward to this, but it had to be done. She knew that, of course. The guys deserved to know the truth, especially now.

With a deep breath, Kay stood and slowly made her way to the door. She was just about to enter the hallway when she heard a loud, sighing whisper behind her. She whirled around, and again the silence was immediate. She stared at her luggage, denied the urge to retrieve the Chaos Emerald from the bottom where she'd stashed it, and then quickly slipped outside before the voices could return.

"Evening, Kay," someone said, making her jump. She relaxed when she realized it hadn't been in her head this time. Donnie interpreted the look on her face differently, though, and said quickly, "I promise I haven't just been standing here. I was just now coming to check on you."

How on Earth? she wondered, then let out a frustrated sigh and leaned against the brick wall of the hallway. "I don't know why I'm so nervous about this. Mobius was the highlight of my life. This should be easy for me."

"Sometimes it's difficult to remember places we've been if they bring bad memories as well as good ones," Donnie said with a shrug. Kay was silent. She hadn't thought that the negatives she experienced on Sonic's planet would affect her this much, but maybe they were doing more to her than she realized. Presently the Turtle continued, "I won't say a word, but I will stand behind you on everything so my family will believe you. Not that they wouldn't anyway."

"Thanks, Donnie."

The trip down to the foyer seemed to take forever, Kay's apprehension rising with every step. Still, she somehow managed to slide down the fireman's pole with Donnie right behind her and make it to the couch where everyone but Splinter already sat waiting. Thankfully the rat finished his morning meditation quickly and joined them, and then all eyes were on her.

Best to just get it over with.

Kay took a deep breath, let it out slowly as Splinter had taught her. "Well," she began in a shaky voice. She cleared her throat, forced herself to sit up straighter. "I haven't always been human."

By the time she was finished speaking, Kay's resolve had grown stronger, and the Turtles' eyes were trained on her in rapt and fascinated interest, though she could tell there would be questions to follow. Splinter sat quietly with his eyes closed, thinking hard.

For several moments there was nothing but the rush of the sewer river to fill the emptiness. Then Leo cleared his throat, and everyone's attention shifted to him. "Let me get this straight...you came back on the same day you left? So it was like none of that ever happened?"

"Yes." Kay bit her lip. Two years.

"Then how does this Doctor Eggman know who you are?"

She took a moment to consider this as if she had never thought about it before, when in reality, she'd spent countless hours pondering over how in the world the madman knew who she was or why he had singled her out. To Leo she replied, "He somehow knew who I was long before he actually took action and brought me to him. Chances are, when Mobius reset, he still had that data in his computers. Only he and Sonic remember what the world was like before, so he remembers that I was a huge thorn in his side and has decided to broach the situation differently this time around. I bet he wouldn't have even bothered at all, except that I have what he needs."

This is when Donnie spoke up. He, too, had listened to her story in utter disbelief. It was a fantastic tale, but of course, it wasn't like he hadn't traveled to other worlds. Now he asked, "What does he want with the Chaos Emerald now?"

"Eggman has always wanted the Chaos Emeralds. Always. From the day they were discovered he's had his eyes on them," Kay answered, surprised at herself for leaving out the importance of the seven gems. "Whoever possesses all seven Chaos Emeralds can potentially become the most powerful being in the universe. He is always tracking them down in an effort to expand his empire. Sonic's job is to keep him from getting all seven."

"But you have one," Mikey said.

"Exactly."

"Wouldn't Sonic want to know where it is, too?"

Kay felt as though the breath was being squeezed from her lungs. "Probably."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I still haven't figured out how Eggman got a hold of me," she replied. "He said something about Genesis Portals, but I'm a little behind on my history right now...I need to do some reading in order to figure out what those even are, or how to use them."

"So..." Raph started, then seemed to reconsider. But he took a breath and powered on anyway. "Are you still the Emerald's Chosen?"

"Yes, I am," Kay said. Admitting that out loud felt so liberating, for reasons she couldn't quite understand. But it was a great feeling. I am the Emerald's Chosen.

"What does that mean, though?" Raph's golden eyes stared at her in frustrated confusion, and possibly a bit of awe, if she wasn't mistaken.

Kay frowned. "I don't know. I kind of altered history by even being on Mobius in the first place...I'm sure my being the Chosen means something different now."

Again there was silence for several minutes as everyone either pondered the answers she'd given or came up with new questions to ask her. Then, for the first time all evening, Master Splinter spoke.

"How do we defeat this doctor?" he asked.

Something in Kay stirred, and she realized that she had forgotten to tell them a fairly crucial part of her story. "We can't let him get his hands on the Blue Chaos Emerald," she replied. "Except...I kind of made a mistake and made a deal with Karai..." She sighed. "I promised to deliver the Emerald if I lost a duel against her. I think we all know how that battle went."

Leo stared at her. "You promised the Chaos Emerald to Karai? Why?"

"I didn't know she was working for Eggman!" Kay cried in self-defense. "I never would have done that if I'd known. I was just so tired of having more questions than answers, holding on to this dormant gem that was capable of magnificent power...I didn't know what else to do."

"Calm down, Kay," Splinter said gently, rising from his sitting position and making his way to her. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for trusting us with this information. I know it was not an easy tale for you to tell. But we understand so much more now, and the answer to this new problem will come in time." Here he turned to his sons and spoke to them as well. "Have patience, my students. This is only the beginning."

"Dude, worlds are gonna collide," Mikey muttered after a brief silence.

And Kay knew that he was right.