Splinter found April inside Shredder’s main chamber. She was locked in rusted shackles. Opening his special ninja lock-picking kit, Splinter approached her quietly.

“April, it is me,” he whispered. “Do not make a sound. I will have you out in a moment.”

Splinter reached for her wrists and gasped. His hand passed right through April’s as if she were a ghost. She wasn’t really there. He had been deceived by a hologram!

From the shadows behind him came a laugh he had not heard in decades: a deep gurgle that would send chills up anyone’s spine.

Splinter spun around to look his archnemesis, Shredder, in the eye. This was no hologram. The spikes before him were real, and the dangerous foe beneath the armor was flesh and blood staring back at him. It was a nightmare come true.

“Hamato Yoshi, I am so glad you accepted my invitation,” Shredder said maliciously.

“What have you done with April?” Splinter demanded.

Shredder’s voice boomed from inside his metal mask. “Now that you are here, Miss O’Neil is no longer of any use to me.” He then added, “I gave her to my new friends . . . the Kraang.”

Splinter knew that with April in their possession, the Kraang were one step closer to achieving their plans for world domination. He was stunned. “You fool! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”

“Yes,” Shredder retorted. “I took your family away, and now I’ve lured you here so I can put an end to you once and for all!”

Splinter heard the crash of the chamber doors slamming shut, followed by the click of a lock. These two ninja masters, who had been at war their entire lives, were now trapped in a concrete cage with no chance of escape.

Prepared to literally face his fears, Splinter removed his hood, revealing his rodent face to Shredder for the very first time. The Hamato Yoshi that Shredder once knew—a man, a husband, a father—was now a mutant in sewer-soaked rags.

“A rat? A rat?” Shredder laughed wickedly. “I see you are as hideous as those Turtles that surround you. How fitting. You’re a rat who has been caught in my trap.”

Splinter could feel his anger rising. He knew the only way to finish this fight was the way of ancient ninjutsu—where fist meets foot, good meets evil, and only one warrior is left standing. Through his teeth, Splinter muttered, “Look closely at this face, Shredder, for it is the last thing you’ll ever see!”