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

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

As it turned out, Donnie and Mikey had been gone for almost a week, and Leo was beyond worried - he was enraged. The two younger Turtles did their best to explain the time difference, what had occurred on Mobius, and why Kay currently looked like she was on death's doorstep. After much discussion Leo finally calmed down, just happy to have his family back alive and whole. Master Splinter kept a constant vigil over Kay, and Raph watched her as well from the sidelines.

Mikey related the story of how Kay's "totally awesome magic powers" had gotten the three of them back to Earth at exactly the time she'd intended, going into over-the-top detail about how her eyes had glowed and the Warp Ring had submitted to her control without too much of a fight. When it was all said and done Donnie gave a much briefer, more accurate account of what had happened in those last few minutes on Mobius, but even hearing the simpler version did not keep all five of the underground dwellers from staring at the young human girl in awe.

Kay was unconscious for a long time - several hours, in fact, during which Mikey happily reclaimed his "lost sleep" while the others went about their usual business during the waiting period. Splinter was constantly at her side, murmuring healing mantras.

Even the ninja master was startled when the color suddenly rushed back to Kay's cheeks and she snapped her eyes open, sitting up abruptly. She was silent for a few seconds. Then, "I used too much power."

Raph and Donnie - who were within hearing distance - rushed over to make sure she was all right. She looked at Donnie and repeated the statement.

"Are you going to be okay, though? Do you just need to recharge?" he asked.

"I could if I were on Mobius, but I'm not," she replied matter-of-factly. "Earth has no Chaos Energy for me to draw on. What I have left is all I have left, as long as I'm here."

Raph was now staring at her for a whole different reason. "Kay, your hair...your eyes!"

She looked at him, still slightly dazed. "What about them?"

"Your eyes are green now," Donnie explained gently. "And your hair is shorter."

Kay frowned, reaching to feel just how short. Whereas it used to cascade down her shoulder blades, her hair now hung just above her shoulders. She grabbed a clump of it to examine as best she could and saw that it was still the same shade of brown, but now contained faint wisps of emerald green as well. She let it fall back into place and blinked.

"Huh. I wondered why everyone was so freaked out after that encounter with Tikal," she muttered, mostly to herself.

Raph was still stuck on the other feature. "Your eyes..." He said quietly. When she locked gazes with him again, he struggled to see past their color, but it was impossible. "It's like looking at a whole different person. Are you still you?"

Kay stole a glance at the palms of her hands - one of which still bore the mark that matched the shape of the Chaos Emerald's crack. She nodded. "At my core, I know I'm still the same." Kay lifted her eyes to his again and added, "But I am half-Mobian, and I am the Emerald's Chosen."

"Ah, she's finally awake, I see." Leo's voice carried to where they all stood or sat, turning their attention to him as he walked up to the couch where Kay was. He had taken the several hours she'd been asleep to meditate and cleanse his mind of any anger he harbored towards her; he knew it would to no good to be upset with her about stealing his brothers away when she had half-died trying to get them back. Softening his gaze, he asked sincerely, "How are you feeling?"

Like I'm running low on battery, and that's not a good thing when I don't have any way to recharge, Kay thought suddenly. Tikal said I'm supposed to use the Master Emerald's power to save the Earth now, but I've already used up over half of it just getting back here. How am I supposed to do anything now?

Realizing Leo was still waiting for an answer, she shrugged and gave him the only honest one she could think of. "Human."

Kay gasped sharply and sat up, feeling a shudder come over her out of nowhere. The Turtles and Splinter all stepped forward to make sure she was all right, asking what was wrong, but she couldn't hear them. All she could focus on was this intense feeling in her body she'd never experienced before, and the utter panic that came with it.

"Something's not right," she said, gaze darting all around the lair as though the answer was hiding right in front of her. Another shudder passed through her, and in the back of her mind she could hear the Master Emerald speaking to her for the first time in years. She snapped her eyes over to the TV. "Turn on the news!"

Raph snatched the remote and did as she asked, turning up the volume so they could all hear. The newscaster was speaking, but Kay didn't hear a word, and she doubted any of the others did either. The image on screen was something straight out of a Sonic comic. Kay jumped to her feet and stared hard at the TV.

Several Genesis Portals were all open at once right in the middle of a busy New York street during the morning rush hour, black tendrils climbing through them and scaring people out of their cars and away from the madness. Even in the brightening sky the arms were black as pitch - completely opaque and non-reflective. They were completely lifeless and evil. Beside one of the arms a tiny, one-seater hovercraft sat watching the terror unfold.

"Hey," Mikey said with a yawn as he joined the group around the TV, "isn't that Eggman?"

"Eggman," Kay confirmed with racing heart, clenching her fists, "and Dark Gaia."

Kay's mind was on fire. She pulled thought after thought from her brain with record speed, putting together the pieces of the puzzle that had so far eluded her. Why the Chaos Emerald remained with her when she returned from Mobius two years ago. Why she'd been unable to part with it all that time. How its presence on Earth had helped her return to Mobius. Regaining her Chaos power. Tikal telling her she would have to save the Earth. Leaving the Emerald in its rightful place with Sonic while she came back here with the Turtles. All of it made sense now, and with a gasp, the solution came to her - the final piece of the puzzle. The final chapter of her story.

She turned to the others. "I can stop them."