Dean paces angrily back and forth behind the couch, muttering incessantly under his breath. Splinter sits on the couch watching his soap opera, the other kids watching curiously.

"Oh David, I just can't do it! You know how much it'll hurt Evangeline..."

"Melissa, please...I need you."

"Why do you enjoy these?" Copeland asks.

Splinter shrugs. "I find them amusing, and I like imagining how I would've handled the same situations." His ears flatten a little. "See, if I were Melissa, I would stay faithful to my spouse."

Venus tilts her head a little. "Melissa is kind of stupid...a little."

"I think she has problems with her morals," Dakota comments.

"Or she's a Mary Sue that we don't need to care about," Asher guesses.

"True..." Mitch murmurs.

They all nod in silent agreement. Dean finally stops pacing as his tail flicks.

"We need to fight with them," he says.

"We can't," Asher reiterates tiredly. "They told us to stay behind, and we have to be obedient."

"Usually, I would agree with them, but not today," Dean insists. "I will say this once, but my father is wrong today. He needs our help...they need our help." He leaps over the couch and shuts the TV off. "So I say we get our weapons, go out there, and help rescue our friends. Come on team, I need everyone with me on this."

They all look at each other, then at Splinter. The aging rat strokes his beard, his eyes shut.

"Dean, I admire your courage," he admits. "But-"

"I know. We can't leave. You're going to try and stop us," Dean says, sounding defeated. "Sensei, we can't-"

"Dean, you just allow me to finish," the rat scolds gently. A teasing smile softens his face. "But, if you are going to fight, then I will come with you."

"Woah, seriously?" Copeland asks, hazel eyes sparkling. "You're letting us go?"

"If you are fighting, I will fight with you. It is as simple as that," he answers. He gets to his feet, readying his emerald staff as he easily towers over the teens and Venus. "All of you, retrieve your weapons and whatever medical supplies we may require. We leave immediately."

"Hai Sensei!" they shout.

Dean, Copeland, Mitch, and Venus dash off to retrieve their needed weapons. Dakota and Asher go to the laboratory, gathering bandages, scar treatment ointment, and other needed items.

"Hey, think we'll need anti-venom?" Dakota calls.

Asher arches an eyebrow. "For what?"

The white-haired girl looks at the label, her red eye flashing. "Fish bite."

They both think over what that might mean. Dakota shrugs.

"Can't be too safe," she says, putting the vial and syringe into her medical bag.

In record time, the Hamatos regroup at the front of the lair. Splinter folds his hands behind his back, his warm brown eyes staring off down the tunnel.

"My children, I hope that you are aware of the danger we are about to face," he says lowly. "What you said to your father was correct, Dean. You have been sheltered, and your experience in real combat is not as refined as those of your parents." He looks to each one of them in turn. "But...I still believe in every one of you, and I love you all very much."

Mitch hugs Splinter around the middle, his eyes squeezed shut. "I love you too, Sensei."

The other kids join in, each one not knowing how much they may be changed after today. All they know is that they're family and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. Right now is the perfect time to prove that.

"Let's go. I wish strength upon us all," Splinter murmurs.

🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕

The second wave of the Hamato Clan had no idea what to expect when they arrived at the battle scene, but they definitely didn't expect this.

Destiny is the only adult still fighting, but they can tell that she's weakening greatly. Her body is covered in bruises and cuts, each one staining her skin and clothing with blood. She pants heavily, her steps growing more and more sluggish with each passing second. She keeps trying to return to her wolf form, but her body is too tired.

"Mom!" Dean shouts.

She looks to him for a split second before evading Rocksteady's hammer. Her heart fills with fear at the sight of them, especially because Venus is there.

"Go! Get away from here!" she commands, still struggling against multiple opponents.

Rahzar punches her hard in the face, making her collapse with a grunt. The skeletal dog grabs her and holds her up, laughing a little as she struggles weakly in his grip.

"We mean it! Go!" Raphael shouts, wincing a little as he grips his bicep.

"We'll be fine, dudes and dudettes!" Michelangelo adds, although his tone suggests that he thinks otherwise.

Dean shakes his head, readying his ninjaken sword. Copeland readies her chigiriki, Asher with his hanbō, Mitch with his kamas, and Venus with her hamadashi blade. Splinter folds his arms behind his back and straightens up, prepared to join his grandchildren in battle. Dakota looks to her little kunais, then at the giant mutants that they're going to fight. She feels her heart freeze with fear and doubt as she backs away.

A cruel laugh sounds as Shredder comes down to fight, blades at the ready. He watches the second group with mocking eyes, finally looking at his adoptive brother.

"Hamato Yoshi, you look old and frail," he comments, his voice sending icy chills up everyone except Splinter's spines.

"And you are supposed to be dead, brother," Splinter retorts smoothly.

Shredder laughs, his eyes glinting with insatiable rage and malice. "You have allied yourself with inexperienced children, a new low for you, I should say." He looks to the teens. "Spineless, weak, nothing but a desperate attempt to continue on the dying art of ninjutsu. This is what you and your turtles have left as your legacy? I would be ashamed."

Anger boils in Dean's veins, but he hides it. Copeland, however, isn't nearly as silent.

"Just stuff it in your shell, you oversized tin can," she snaps.

"That's my girl!" Tiki shouts from his cage.

Shredder looks to the pink-masked heroine, smirking beneath his helmet. "You are all beneath me. You have come here to watch your parents die, and that is all."

Each kid tightens their hands around their weapons. Dean's anger grows, building up inside him like a force that is begging to be unleashed.

"No," he growls, his voice low and terrifying. "I won't let you." He raises his face to Oroku Saki, his sapphire blue eyes blazing with the intensity of a thousand suns. "STAY. AWAY. FROM. MY. FAMILY!"

He lets out a howl, his fanged teeth gritted, and his body nearly explodes into a hulking black wolf, smaller than Destiny's, but still a wolf. His cousins' and little sister's mouths drop open in shock.

"ONWARDS!" he orders, scraping his claws against the concrete floors.

Pumped up by their cousin's transformation, the Hamato teens charge into battle with their weapons at the ready. Dean distracts Shredder, knowing that Splinter will need to heal Leonardo. Copeland takes on Karai, Mitch takes on Rahzar and Fishface, Asher takes on Bebop and Rocksteady, and Venus helps deter Emery. Dakota still finds herself too doubtful to join the battle.

Dean notices that Destiny has been released, her captor distracted by the new assailant. He moves away from Shredder, trying to reach her.

"Mom! Help Sensei!" he shouts.

Destiny doesn't hesitate, rushing to help defend Splinter while he utters his healing hands mantra. Dean turns back to Shredder, seeing Dakota on the sidelines. As Shredder attacks him again, he calls out to her.

"Kota! Help us!" he pleads.

She clenches her pale hands around her kunais. "I...I can't..."

"Yes, you can! Dakota, listen to me, right now. You're strong, you're brave, and we can't win this battle without you. Please!" He lets out a sharp cry of pain as Shredder catches his shoulder with his blades.

"Sentiment, how sickening," the armoured man snarls.

Dakota nods, knowing that her leader, her team, needs her. She knows that her knives won't prove useful against anyone except perhaps Emery or Fishface right now, so instead, she rushes to the cage holding her father.

"Dad! Dad!" she calls, moving to the bars. "I'm gonna get you out, just hold on."

Donatello shakes his head, gently touching his daughter's hand. "No, just help your mother. She's hurt, she needs more attention than me."

The young cyborg moves to Sarina, trying to push the metal bar off her arm. She struggles greatly, kicking and punching at the stubborn beam, but it won't budge.

A laugh sounds behind her. She spins around to see Rocksteady standing before her, a meaty fist clenched in his palm. She readies her knives, but he only laughs at her weak little weapons.

"Little girls shouldn'ts be fighting against the Rocksteady," he taunts her. "Especially the teeny ones like you. You don't stands any chances!"

She clenches her fists, her red eye glowing harshly. Then she feels the brown one tingle, and judging by Donnie's shocked expression, something is happening to that one too. She raises her hand, focusing all of her energy into one thought, and sure enough, her palm starts glowing red.

"Da?" the rhino mutant asks in confusion.

She blasts the energy, nailing Rocksteady right in the horn. He roars and stumbles back, holding his snout. Dakota, feeling powerful and able, leaps forwards and launches herself into the air, firing off two more blasts from her hands as both her eyes glow red.

Only then does she realize that she hasn't come down. She looks to the floor below her, her lips stretching into a grin when she realizes that she's hovering. She spurs herself forwards, firing off shots at all the mutants attacking her family members and catching them completely off guard.

Nearby, Leo wakes up as Splinter finishes his healing. The blue-masked turtle groans weakly as Destiny helps him to his feet. Splinter nods to them and dashes off into battle. The rat moves like lightning, knocking Fishface and Bebop into submission within a few seconds. Emery notices this, growing even more infuriated when she sees that the odds are evening out.

Copeland swings her chigirki, nailing Rahzar in the face. The dog howls and snaps at her, but the turtle evades him easily. Asher helps her, swinging his hanbō smoothly as he helps Dakota with Rocksteady and Karai. Mitch fights against Emery, his agility proving to be useful. Venus fights Baxter Stockman, who was still on cage duty until she tried to save her friends.

Dean still struggles against Shredder, the boy now in his humanoid form again since his anger faded. The armoured man is still strong and deadly, leaving tiny lacerations all across Dean's body. He doesn't back down, his ninjaken flashing relentlessly as he blocks Shredder's attacks.

Shredder swings downwards as Dean flies backwards, his wings flapping. However, as the wolf-raven lands, Shredder lunges forwards and rakes his blades across his chest. He screams, the cuts painful but not deep enough to kill. He stumbles, placing a hand over the wounds as he grits his teeth. Shredder laughs coldly, raising his hand and going for the killing blow.

There's a flash of red as Splinter leaps in front of his oldest grandson, taking the blow himself. He cries out as the blades slice across his body, going rigid as a sort of cold invades his entire being.

"SENSEI!" Dean wails, struggling to his feet as the rat collapses.

Blood pools around him as his breaths grow shallower and shallower. His warm brown eyes look up at Dean, a weak smile twitching on his face as his eyes fall shut and his chest stops moving.

"NO!" Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey scream. "DAD!"

Destiny clings to Leo even tighter, her chest aching horribly as tears dribble down her scarred face.

The other kids look behind them, only enough time to see their grandfather laying there, dead. Tears almost blind them as they force themselves to keep fighting. Shredder cackles, his vendetta finally finished.

Dean, however, uses the newfound rage inside him to return to wolf form and attack the Foot Clan master ferociously. His mighty claws rake across the Shredder's armour, but they merely leave dents and scratches. It's not enough to take him down, and the wolf-raven is weakening far faster than his family's old enemy.

Dean pants heavily, looking over his opponent's shoulder. To his surprise, the metal supports of the building are starting to creak and weaken noticeably, some of the concrete pillars crumbling too. His mind snaps into a plan seamlessly, looking to his cousins.

"GUYS! FOLLOW MY LEAD!" he shouts.

They all nod, wondering what he has in mind. Dean swipes Shredder across the face, making the man scream and rear back. In that moment, Dean turns and races towards his family.

"Asher and Dakota, get those cages open," he orders, seeing that Venus managed to take down Stockman. "Everyone else, help me with Shredder."

The twins obey the order and leave. Asher attempts to short out the locks after hacking into the system, his fingers flying across the keyboard effortlessly. As he works, he looks up at one of the upper levels. His eyes narrow when he notices a familiar glowing substance, and a gappy grin spreads across his face as he rubs his hands together.

"Oh, Asher, I love your mind," he whispers in a deep voice.

Dakota blasts a hole in Donnie's cage, freeing him as she turns and blasts the metal beam pinning Sarina down. Her parents freed, she drops herself to the ground.

"Get everyone out of here. Go!" she orders.

Donnie nods, scooping Sarina up into his arms. He gives his daughter a weak smile.

"I love you. Fight hard," he says.

She nods and smiles. He dashes from the building.

"Dad! Take mom and go!" Mitch orders.

"You too, dad!" Copeland adds.

Raph and Mikey, although hesitant, nod and lift their wives up. They smile weakly at their children and leave the building as swiftly as humanly possible.

Nearby, Asher succeeds in getting their friends from the cages. Casey, who had just woken up again, races over with April and scoops Blake into a tight hug. The boy returns the embrace, trembling noticeably. Dean also notices that they've gotten out and looks to Mitch.

"Mitch, take Venus and our friends out of here!" the wolf-raven orders.

Mitch nods, moving to the group of terrified teens. He smiles weakly, ushering them from the building as he grabs Venus' hand. She struggles against him.

"No! I have to help Dean against the scary guy!" she cries, trying to turn and help her brother.

"You can't! He needs you to leave, and he needs you to help him save our friends. We have to go," the blond tells her forcefully.

When she still doesn't budge, he lifts her up and runs, carrying her with him. Destiny and Leo look to Dean, who smiles weakly at them.

"We'll be fine. Just go," he says.

"I can't just leave you here!" Destiny insists.

"Please, mom. Go, take dad to safety. We'll be fine."

She hesitates for a moment more, watching her son. He fights bravely, his eyes glowing with determination and showing just how much he's like his parents; stubborn, but with boundless courage. Leo looks to her and nods, his face still showing weakness from the poison. She morphs into her wolf as Leo pulls Master Splinter's body onto her back and climbs on. They flee, their hearts breaking.

The remaining four Hamatos hold their ground, bruised, beaten, and bleeding, but everything in their core keeps them strong and willing. The only mutants left standing are Rocksteady, Emery, Karai, and Rahzar, but they stand back and await Shredder's orders. Bebop, Tiger Claw, Baxter Stockman, and Fishface groan a little as they come back to reality, holding their heads and wincing.

Copeland, Dakota, and Dean glare at their enemies. Dakota is still charged up, Dean still in his wolf form, and there's no way that Copeland is going to back down. Shredder laughs, his blades stained with both Splinter's and Dean's blood.

"Foolish children," he taunts.

There's a whirring sound from above as Asher comes into view, a giant syringe-like gun on his shoulder. Inside his a familiar orange substance.

"BOOYAKASHA!" he whoops, firing off the gun. "EAT MUTAGEN, LOSERS!"

The retro-mutagen splatters over the remnants of the Foot Clan, making them scream and fall to the ground as they slowly return to their human states. Shredder spins around, his eyes blazing with anger.

"WHAT?!"

"Surprise!" Asher laughs, chucking the empty gun away.

He launches his grappling hook, swinging down and landing beside his cousins and sister with his hanbō raised. They prepare themselves, Dean waiting for the right moment.

The wolf nods, and both him and Dakota race to opposite sides of the room. His powerful hind legs smash into the crumbling supports as she blasts them, trying to weaken them enough to bring the building down. Copeland and Asher hold off Shredder. The structure starts to tremble, making Shredder's mutants tense up.

"NYET! I'm nots staying around! Buildings is coming down!" Steranko panics.

He grabs Zeck, throwing the skinny African American over his shoulder and sprinting from the building. Tiger Claw and Emery nod and follow them, realizing that this battle is a lost cause. Bradford and Xever flee directly after them with Baxter Stockman and Karai trailing behind.

Dean pants heavily, seeing that Shredder is slowly overtaking Asher and Copeland's attempts. Copeland swings her chigiriki relentlessly, Asher's hanbō hitting him, but it isn't enough. This building isn't coming down in time.

Then, there's a loud booming sound as an explosion rips through the building, blowing apart the supports in a ball of fire. The building trembles and creaks, debris started to rain from the ceiling.

Dakota whirs and collapses to the ground, her eyes falling shut as she powers down. Dean launches forwards, pulling his three cousins beneath him as he shields them from what's to come.

🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕

Outside, the mutants-turned-humans wait with the turtles and their wives, neither side bothering to fight anymore. Leo still leans on Destiny, his body heavy with grief. Taylor is back on her feet, having used the venom antidote the kids left in their medical bags. Annalise's middle is bandaged, but she still uses Mikey as support. Sarina's left arm hangs uselessly at her side, her and Donnie staring at the building in horror. Tears trickle down every Hamato and Jones' face, the still and peaceful body of Master Splinter still laying nearby.

Everyone tenses as an explosion blasts one of the building's walls apart, and they can only watch as the entire structure collapses into a giant heap of twisted metal, concrete, and dust.