In a split second, everyone reappears back where they started. Savanti is back, sending a bright light from the staff, the wind whipping at them. Diaval forces his skirt down against the gusts.

"You shall be forever stuck in the confines of time!" he proclaims.

"Get him!" Leonardo orders after a moment of confusion.

Only the turtles run forward this time, but Savanti fades away. Destiny doesn't go, reeling from what she feels is major déjà vu. They disappear again, popping up in the same spot with Savanti holding the sceptre.

"You shall be forever stuck in the confines of time!"

"What the heck is going on?" Raphael demands.

"Yeah, didn't this just happen?" Leonardo adds.

"Savanti must have stuck us in some kind of time loop," Donatello guesses.

"So...how do we get out?" Destiny asks.

They disappear yet again as the loop restarts.

"You shall be forever stuck in the confines of time!"

"Dudes, I'm starting to think we'll be forever stuck in the confines of time!" Michelangelo cries as he runs his hands down his freckled cheeks.

"Head...hurts..." Diaval moans as he keeps fighting with his skirts.

"Well, Headdress, you got us into this," Raphael says. Renet smirks and readies her energy knuckles as the loop restarts.

"You shall be forever stuck in the con—" Savanti's echo states.

Renet leaps up and nails him in the face, breaking the repetitive nature of the loop. An orangish-yellow orb surrounds them, then shatters as the duplicate Savanti disappears. As the broken pieces of the time loop vanish around them, Donatello gapes at Renet.

"You punched out a time loop?" he whispers, shocked. "That. Is. Awesome!" He lifts Renet into a tight side hug, grinning.

She smiles. "Come on, we have to find Savanti," she says as he sets her down.

As soon as she turns around, Michelangelo narrows his eyes and points to them, then at Donatello. He growls a little.

Renet dashes over to where the knights abandoned their four horses and climbs onto one. Leonardo follows her lead and takes another, Donatello taking the third. Raphael lingers by the fourth, but doesn't get on.

"Aw, man. Turtles on horses? This is just so weird," he groans. The horse whinnies in his face, making him yelp and fall over.

"Oh no, looks like there aren't enough horses for everyone," Leonardo says. His voice is slightly choppy, like he's faking his shock. "Looks like we'll have to double up. Anyone taking Destiny? No? Nobody. Cool." He smirks and looks to the wolf girl. "Come on, Warrior Princess."

Destiny wanders over to him, a coy smile on her face. "You know you're a dork, right?" she asks.

He arches an eyebrow. "I am not."

"You're wearing a blanket with a rubber ducky on it for a cape," she says. He snorts and she giggles. "But...I'm a sucker for a knight in shining armour."

He extends his hand to her. "My lady."

"Would you two stop flirting and get on the horse already?" Raphael snaps.

"Shut up, Raph," Leonardo retorts. Destiny grasps his hand and he hoists her onto the horse so that she's settled behind him, her arms instantly snaking around his waist so that she can hold on.

"Who's taking Mikey and who's taking Diaval?" Donatello calls, riding his horse up to the other mounted teenagers.

"I'll take Mikey," Renet says with a smile.

Michelangelo winks at her as he hops onto her horse. Diaval stands alone. Leonardo glances at him, then at the remaining horses, and shrugs.

"Lady's choice," he says. His sapphire eyes fall on the tall boy. "Donnie or Raph?"

"Not...a lady," Diaval repeats as he tugs at the sleeve of his dress. He looks at Donatello, then at Raphael, then back and forth again. Raphael snorts and crosses his arms over his chest. Donatello looks indifferent at best. "Uh..."

"Clock's ticking..." Raphael mumbles.

Diaval exhales heavily. "Guess...Raphael."

The red-masked turtle's eyes bulge. Donatello exhales. Leonardo straightens up and clicks his tongue, urging his horse forward.

"Great, now that that's done, let's try that way," he suggests, adjusting his shield as he points down a path with his sword. The others start off.

Raphael grips the horse's reins and gestures to Diaval. "You climb up first."

"Mhm," Diaval says. He shuffles to the horse, reaches out to grab the saddle, then halts. "Uh..."

"Diaval..."

"Hold on, just—" He tries to hoist himself up, but he can hardly get his foot in the stirrup with all the skirts in the way. He stops and shuts his eyes. "Crap..." he whispers.

Raphael lets out the heaviest sigh he can manage. "I can't believe that I have to do this, but..."

He stomps over, hoists Diaval into his arms, and lifts him onto the horse. Diaval sits sideways on the saddle, his face less red and more uncomfortable now. He lowers his head and pouts his lip out as the horse shifts.

Raphael climbs on, making the horse snort at him, and he snorts back. The turtle settles behind Diaval, allowing the taller boy to have more of the saddle, and he slowly reaches around to grab Diaval's waist. Diaval is stiff to the touch. The low swooping back of his dress allows Raphael to see the muscles quaking.

"Never. Speak of this. Again," Raphael utters.

Diaval grasps the reins and manages a weak nod. "Mhm."

He clicks the reins. The horse, seeing how far ahead the others have gotten, breaks into a gallop. Raphael screams and clings to Diaval for dear life as Diaval tries to hold on, white with terror.


"Ah! Easy fella!" Raphael screams. "AHH! AAAHHHH!"

They go careening past the others. Destiny cranes her neck over Leonardo's shoulder as the other three horses stop, everyone taking in the scene of Diaval and Raphael cavorting about on a seemingly uncontrollable horse.

"Should we help them?" Destiny asks.

"Is it bad if I say no?" Donatello replies, an amused smile curling onto his lips.

Leonardo sighs heavily. "Let's...let's just try to catch up."

They keep going. As they ride, Michelangelo leans a little bit to the side so that he can see Renet's face.

"So, now we're riding a horse together," he says. "Is this our first date?"

"Mikey, aren't you a little old for me?" Renet asks with a shy smile. "I haven't even been born yet."

Michelangelo's face pales. His brothers stifle any laughter.

----------

"Savanti's tower is just past this über-creepy cemetery," Leonardo says.

Thunder cracks, lightning splitting the sky in a brilliant white flash, as if signifying the horror of the gated graveyard before them. Destiny squeaks and hugs Leonardo tighter, burying her face in his ducky blanket cape.

"I hate lightning," she mutters.

"Hate's a strong word," Raphael teases.

"I strongly dislike lightning," she snaps, but another flash silences her instantly.

Leonardo urges his horse through the wrought-iron gates, an unnatural, chilling darkness closing in on the group the further they go inside. They pass under a rotting archway, passing through a sea of withered gravestones and leaf-barren trees.

"Can't we go, like, around the über-creepy cemetery?" Michelangelo asks as he tries to use Renet as a hiding place.

"Big bad elven prince...scared?" Raphael taunts, flashing a large smile. Diaval stays quiet, head drooped forward, still enough to be dead. The only indication that he's alive is the rapid rise and fall of his shoulders.

There's a crack of lightning that nearly blinds them for a second and Savanti appears. Raphael yelps and falls off his horse, nearly taking Diaval with him. Destiny flinches.

"I'll protect you," Leonardo murmurs.

She pokes his shell. "I don't need protection."

"Fools!" Savanti bellows. The horses whinny in fright. "Do you think you can sneak up on the greatest Time Master ever? Savanti Romero rules everything, even death."

He raises the sceptre, causing the ground to rumble. Undead, skeleton hands erupt from the ground as long-deceased warriors appear from the dirt.

Destiny's face goes pale and she scoots closer to Leonardo. "Okay, maybe a little protection is good."

The horses rear back, neighing, bucking off their riders in the process. They race away, disappearing into the distance. More and more skeletons appear with their weapons ready as the teenagers right themselves.

Donatello screams as a few undead hands grab at his beard and hat. Leonardo steadies Destiny as they both stand back up. Raphael and Diaval refuse to go within a foot of each other.

"Dudes, this is like my worst nightmare times ten!" Michelangelo exclaims as he helps Renet up.

"Even worse than a world without pizza?" Donatello inquires, gripping his staff tightly.

He thinks about it for a second. "Okay, second worst."

The skeletons attack and the turtles, Renet, Destiny, and Diaval go back to back in a protective circle. Then, they split apart to take on lots of warriors at once. Donatello and Raphael chop and smack any skeleton that gets too close into pieces, grunting with each movement. Diaval clambers onto a flat-topped stone and starts firing off arrows like there's no tomorrow.

Renet dashes through large crowds of skeleton men, punching them with her energy knuckles and shooting them with a small gun on her wrist gauntlet. Just as she turns around and shoots one, a skeleton comes up behind her. An arrow pierces its head before it can hurt her, and the Time Master apprentice looks to where the arrow came from. Michelangelo winks at her before turning around and firing off more arrows into any skeleton that comes by.

"Heads up!" he calls as he bends over backwards and shoots an arrow into an undead creature's head.

Leonardo and Destiny fight a little ways away. Destiny's uchigatana flashes as she slices and dices any skeleton that dares cross her path. Her cape whips around her shoulders as she zips from place to place. Leonardo battles near her, grunting with effort as he kicks one skeleton over his head. He leaps back onto a moss-covered platform as he faces off against yet another assailant.

The two ready their shields and swords. The skeleton lunges first, bringing its sword down and clashing it against Leonardo's shield. He reacts instantly, swinging his sword and almost catching his opponent with the tip. The skeleton parries, then kicks out and catches Leonardo in the knee. The turtle skids back with a small noise of pain.

As the skeleton advances, Leonardo gets back up and lunges. Their swords cross, then their shields clash. As they shove against each other, Leonardo shoves upwards and knocks it off balance. He takes the moment of hesitation to sweep forward, completely taking the skeleton apart with his sword and shield combined.

He poses heroically as the bones clatter to the ground, dust settling as his enemy's sword falls uselessly to the side. Silence blankets them as the teens stare at the decimated remains of the skeleton army.

"That was easy," Diaval says.

He spoke too soon. The bones of the fallen warriors piece themselves back together slowly until they're fixed and ready to fight again. Destiny readies her trusty blade, eyes wide as she backs up to where Diaval is standing.

Renet punches a skeleton as it reanimates right next to her. Her weapons buzz, then die. "Well, my energy knuckles have burned out," she says. "The only weapon I have left is a single entropy dart; one last resort to destroy the sceptre."

"Destroy the sceptre?" Donatello repeats as he smacks a skeleton. "But we'll be trapped here forever!"

Six of the seven teenagers come together, skeletons closing in on all sides. Right when all hope seems lost, Leonardo bursts through the crowds on horseback, slicing enemies as he goes. Three other horses follow him.

"Come on, Mutant Warriors of Legend!" he shouts, his horse rearing up on its hind legs. "Let's ride!"

Destiny leaps onto the horse's back and holds on to Leonardo for dear life. Donatello snatches his, Renet and Michelangelo mount another. Raphael stares at his horse and gulps. Diaval races to Donatello and manages to drag himself onto the horse, earning a confused look from the purple-masked turtle.

"You're scary, but you control the horse better," Diaval mutters. Donatello blinks, then laughs.

"Ai yai yai yai yai yai yai!" Renet hollers as her horse rears back.

The group gallops away, Raphael screaming the entire time as his horse bumps and jostles him around. Diaval exhales heavily and keeps holding onto Donatello. They head for Savanti's clock tower castle, battle cries ringing out across the dark sky as the skeleton armies give up their chase.

----------

"Hm, I suppose I could conquer the twenty-fifth century fairly easily," Savanti mutters to himself, perched atop his throne at the top of his tower, "but I really want to see the look on the other Time Masters' faces when I neutralize them!"

He cackles. The gears in the clock creak with the vibrations of his voice. Above him, the turtles and their allies watch him and prepare to strike. The demon sighs and rests his chin on his hand.

"Come on, attack. I haven't got all the time in the world," he calls. He gazes at the sceptre for a moment. "Most of it, yes." The teens yell and leap down, weapons flashing, but the yellow aura of the sceptre surrounds them and ceases their fall. Savanti chuckles. "Toys are such fun."

He flicks the hourglass on the sceptre, reversing time and rewinding them back to where they started. Leonardo looks to his family, eyes narrowed.

"Okay, guys. We'll sneak across the chandelier chain and—" He stops and shakes his head. "Wait, didn't we just do this?"

"Oh no, he's messing with time again," Donatello groans.

"Get him!" Raphael shouts.

They try to leap down again, but Savanti waves his staff. This time, they disappear briefly before popping up in yellow bubbles that suspend them in midair in a circle around his throne.

"You make it all so easy," he laughs. He climbs from his seat and starts walking around, looking at them as if they're little prizes. "Hm, shall I freeze you in time forever? Devolve you back into four little sea dinosaurs and some monkeys? Ooh! Or, perhaps, primal sludge."

He moves past, still muttering to himself. Destiny kicks at her bubble, but the sphere doesn't break.

"Primal sludge doesn't sound so bad," Michelangelo admits.

"Primal sludge is real bad, Mikey," Renet whispers. She taps her gauntlet as her dark eyes spark. "At least I have my entropy dart." She readies the dart, aiming for the sceptre.

Donatello, held in the bubble to her left, presses his hands to the sleek surface as he gazes at her. "Don't use it," he begs. "We'll never get home."

She pauses for a second, then launches the dart. It sails through hers and Michelangelo's bubble, dropping them to the floor with synchronized yelps.

"What?" Savanti exclaims.

Michelangelo's kusarigama chain wraps around Savanti's arms and body, making the sceptre collapse to the ground. "Aw, yeah!" the turtle whoops.

"NO!"

The other bubbles pop, dropping the remaining teenagers. They get to their feet as Renet dashes forward and tries to grasp the sceptre. Savanti roars, causing the clock gears to whir to life. The sceptre goes tumbling off the edge and down into the inner depths of the tower.

The gears split apart beneath their feet, sending them tumbling downwards. They grunt as they land on different platforms. Renet peers over her platform, quickly locating the sceptre and racing after it. Savanti follows her. He lands hard enough behind Renet that the sceptre gets knocked off the edge and out of Renet's reach. Michelangelo leaps down and kicks Savanti in the face, making him snarl and grab the orange-masked turtle's head.

Raphael and Destiny appear on the landing as Michelangelo ploughs into Donatello, the pair flying off the nearest edge. Raphael and Destiny lunge for Savanti, swinging at him relentlessly, but he dodges the blows. Leonardo drops down and attempts to aid them, but the yellow-skinned demon puts up a forcefield before they can hit him. The two turtles hack at the orb, tiring themselves over while Destiny searches for a different vantage point. Savanti sends the orb's energy out at them and they careen towards the edge. Raphael is the only one that goes over.

Destiny lunges and grabs his hand, wincing as the rusted metal digs into the exposed skin of her legs. A rush of breath leaves Raphael's mouth as he stares at the drop below, his hand tightening around Destiny's forearm.

She puffs a little, her forehead already beading with sweat. "Geez, lay off the pizza, will you?"

"Shut up," he returns as his grip tightens even further.

Leonardo dashes over and helps her pull Raphael to safety. They turn around to find Savanti chasing down Renet and the sceptre. Each time she gets near the staff, he stops her. Donatello and Michelangelo reappear on the same level as their family members.

"Has anyone seen Diaval?" Destiny asks, her gaze starting to flit around the winding gears.

"No time for that. We've gotta stop him first," Raphael says, pointing to Savanti.

The five mutants give chase. Below them, just as Renet is about to retrieve the sceptre, Savanti knocks her off the precipice and sends her tumbling downwards with a scream.

"Renet!" Michelangelo shouts.

Savanti goes for the sceptre, but four shuriken lodge in the metal beneath his fat fingers and cause him to jerk his hand back with a low gasp. He turns as the team appears, wielding their weapons, eyes glowing fiercely.

"I'll get Renet!" Destiny says as she disappears down the spot where the assistant Time Master fell earlier.

The turtles launch their attack, Savanti retaliating against their blows with blasts of flame and his forcefields. Michelangelo bounces against the yellow ball, stumbling towards the peak of the platform before Savanti grips his head and throws him into Leonardo. Meanwhile, Donatello races towards the unmanned sceptre.

"We just need to—" he starts as he reaches for the staff.

Savanti lunges and grabs Donatello by the head. He hoists him over his head, snarling as smoke and heat billow from his fanged jaws. Raphael tries to go for a blow, but Savanti again shoves him back.

There's a whistling sound that pierces the air as an arrow appears. It hits its mark on Savanti's armband, shattering the stone set in the metal with precision and disabling his forcefield generator. There's a blast of electricity as Savanti drops Donatello, roaring, and the bolts spread throughout the entire clocktower, causing the gears to grind to a screeching halt. Savanti collapses to his knees with a heavy groan.

"Oh dear," Savanti mumbles.

"What the..." Leonardo starts.

They look up in the direction the arrow came from to find Diaval standing on a much higher level, his empty bow aimed at Savanti. He lowers it and gives them a thumbs up.

Destiny and Renet climb back onto the platform as Donatello retrieves the sceptre from him. Michelangelo grins and gestures to Savanti.

"You're the one with the awesome kick," he offers.

Destiny's fangs glint and she rushes forward. "HIYAH!"

She spins and nails Savanti in the face with her signature high-kick, sending him sailing off the edge with a scream. She smiles and dusts off her hands as there's a resonating thud from down below.

"That's my girl," Leonardo whispers.

They clamber to the edge of the platform to find Savanti laying down below, too beaten to move.

"It's the blue button, Donatello!" Renet calls.

Donatello spins the sceptre at it starts to glow. "Let's see how this thing works," he says.

"Turtles, let's talk before you make any rash decisions," Savanti pleads, bracing himself as his arm shields his face.

The turtles' eyes go white as Donatello launches a beam of yellow light at the demon. The light hits him and he shrieks as a white square of light opens and he plunges into it. The window closes and his cries cease. Diaval lands next to Destiny and wobbles, making the wolf mutant snatch the sleeve of his dress and yank him back into place.

"So, are you sure this time? Is he gone for good?" Raphael demands tiredly.

"Absolutely," Renet answers. "Sort of. Ninety-six percent certain?"

There's a clap of thunder as the same bald head as before appears behind them. Destiny barks in surprise and hides behind Diaval, tail fur spiked.

"RENET!" Lord Simultaneous bellows. "You must come back to the future now! You are grounded!"

"Oh grok," Renet mutters. She straightens up and addresses her teacher. "On my way, Lord Simultaneous. Just have to drop off the mutants first."

"Oh! The Mutant Warriors of Legend!" Simultaneous says, looking over each of them. "Very cold." He disappears, leaving the teens alone again.

"Okay, everybody," Renet says, taking the sceptre from Donatello. It starts to glow. "Let's go home."

"Renet, um..." Michelangelo starts, flicking one elf ear nervously. "Can we kick it in the future together? Just you and me? For a little while?"

Renet gazes at him with an understanding of what's to come in her eyes. "Aw, I would love that, Mikey," she answers. "But...trust me, you're a lot happier with someone else. You've just got to wait for her."

His face softens with wonder. "There's someone else? Really?"

Renet nods. "Someday, Michelangelo," she promises. She readies the staff. "Let's go home, mutant heroes."

She opens a time window. Five of the seven teenagers jump inside, Michelangelo letting out a happy, "Cowabunga!" Renet is about to jump through when Diaval taps her shoulder.

"Renet?" he asks.

She turns around and smiles at him. "Is everything okay?"

He tugs at his dress sleeve, bowing his head. "Am...I...part of your history?" he asks.

She blinks a few times, her pupils swivel up, then she nods. "You're not as well known, but...the Sorcerer is known for his dedication to the Tracker. You're a part of it, Diaval." His lip twitches and she offers him her hand. "Ready to go home?"

He hesitates for a second before accepting her hand, nodding. "Yeah."

They jump through the time window and it slides shut behind them.

----------

Thunder booms as the team soars through the inner reaches of time. Lightning cracks as the sceptre starts buzzing and the sand in its hourglass starts bobbing up and down at random intervals.

"Oh no! Time interference!" Renet shouts. "Something's wrong!"

There's sparks of electricity as the turtles and Destiny are pulled backwards. Diaval tries to reach for Destiny, but she's moving too fast and he isn't moving at all. Renet spins around and aims the sceptre, trying to get them back as their screams echo around her.

"Guys!" she exclaims.

A spiralling storm cloud opens up behind them, sucking them into a void and snapping shut as soon as they're all in. Renet and Diaval are left alone.

----------

A time window blasts open, dropping the turtles and their wolf into an unfamiliar forest. They mutter to themselves as they stand up, trying to situate themselves.

"Where the heck are we now?" Raphael asks.

"Where's Diaval? Did he get left behind?" Destiny demands.

"The time stream must've been messed with," Leonardo says. He jogs up to a break in the foliage to see the shimmering buildings and flashing advertisements of a city. "Now we're in..."

"Japan?" Donatello utters, noting the characters on the nearest billboards. "Well, at least we're back in modern times."

Destiny places a hand on her forehead, eyelashes fluttering as she lets out an exhausted breath. "I'm seriously rethinking my dream of becoming a time traveller."

Arrows launch into the dirt next to them. They instantly go back to shell, weapons out and ready as ninjas clad in red appear all around them.

"Dudes," Michelangelo whispers. "Ninjas."

"I think we're in deep trouble," Leonardo says.