The inner workings of cyberspace flow around them, lines and lines of blue circuits and flashing lights zooming along endless walls as the turtles, Casey, Destiny, and Annalise soar through. Awe marks every face. They move as if carried by an invisible river, bouncing and swimming through the air.

"THIS IS SO COOL!" Casey whoops, flinging his arms out in a t-pose.

Michelangelo laughs and mimics him. "TOTALLY!"

Annalise looks around at everything. "So, we're inside, but...what now?" she asks.

Leonardo flips himself onto his side and does a head-count as he thinks. "We need someplace to land," he says. "A website or an app or something."

"And how do we do that?" Raphael shouts.

Destiny grits her teeth and tucks her wings tighter against her back. "Maybe we can change our direction and..." She tries to wriggle herself, flapping her wings, but she merely wobbles in place and rolls over. She huffs and rights herself. "Okay, never mind, this is nothing like flying."

"Good to see that you're all online," Sarina's voice crackles into their headsets, making them perk up. "Give me a few moments while I find a website for you. You will have to be patient, as I haven't yet found Circa's whereabouts."

"What website are you thinking of?" Donatello asks.

There's no answer. A few seconds pass with nothing but silence and the steady thrum of electricity passing alongside them. Then, there's a jolt and they shoot upwards, earning a few screams. The lights around them get brighter and brighter until, just as swiftly as they changed direction, everything goes dark. There's a brief moment of weightlessness before they land with a hard thump.

Destiny is the first to open her eyes, her world hazy, and nearby she can hear the groans of her teammates. As she stands and looks around, she finds herself in a rather grassy area, dotted with trees and large rocks. However, the strangest thing about it is the giant wooden sign hanging from the sky, and as the others get up, some rubbing their butts, others groaning, others relatively unfazed, Destiny calls them over.

"Look at this," she says, moving closer to the giant sign.

The sign has a golden nameplate at the top that reads "Choose Your Animal" and beneath it is a selection of eight different animals. Each one is rather adorable, albeit childish.

"Sarina?" Donatello asks, tapping the side of his visor. "What is this?"

"I could explain..." she says. "But the game can do it itself."

Right on cue, an overly-cheery female voice booms around them. "Welcome to Animal Jam!" she chirps. "Check out all of these amazing animals and choose which one you would like to be! Then, click next."

Raphael frowns at the sky. "What kind of sugary sweet crap is this?" he demands.

"I guess we have to choose an animal," Destiny says. She reaches up to the top left corner and selects the wolf icon, making the back turn black. "No sweat there."

"I do admit, I did some hacking," Sarina adds. "So all of you can create an animal at once, although...only one of each animal is allowed. It was difficult enough trying to do multiple players."

The others get closer to Destiny, staring up at all the options. Leonardo rests one hand on his chin, stroking it as he hums to himself, and Raphael snorts.

"There's no turtle," he pouts. He taps his visor. "Sarina, can you hack me a turtle?"

"What? Couldn't you stand being a tiger? Or a rhino?" she responds coolly.

"I like being a turtle, woman!"

"I call the tiger!" Leonardo hops up and smacks the icon beneath the wolf, illuminating the portrait in blue. He flashes his brother a grin. "Snooze, you lose."

"I didn't even want the stupid tiger."

Raphael pouts even harder and there are a few chuckles from April on the other end of the communicator. Within a few minutes, another icon appears on the bottom row, right next to the monkey; a sea turtle.

"This is all I can do. It's a special animal that most people have to pay for," Sarina states. There's an edge in her tone. "Now, please focus on getting through this. I promise I will explain more once you're in the game."

Casey leans over to Raphael. "Someone's cranky..."

"I am trying to track down a psychotic virus, Casey. Perhaps I could focus if some of you weren't so cranky about animals," comes the quick response.

A gravelly voice comes in next. "Think you should shut up," Diaval mumbles.

Casey sighs. "Right...sorry, Sarina."

No response. Raphael mutters an apology as well before reaching over and selecting the turtle, making the square turn red. With their choices selected, Leonardo, Raphael, and Destiny back off and allow the other four to squeeze in. Michelangelo is the first to make his choice.

"Definitely gonna be the monkey!" he says with a grin, highlighting his choice in orange.

Donatello hovers his hand between the panda and the koala, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth as he thinks. He takes a deep breath, shuts his eyes, and starts muttering eenie-meenie-miney-moe to himself as his finger bobs between the two options.

It lands on the panda, illuminating it in purple.

That leaves Casey and Annalise. Annalise stares at everything, conflicted, muttering to herself about choices. Casey, on the other hand, is pretty confident.

"I mean, come on, I'm definitely gonna be the rhino," he says with a gap-filled grin. "Big? Beefy? That spells Casey Jones all over it."

All four turtles share a look that screams "seriously?" Raphael eyes Casey, winks at his brothers, and starts forward. As Casey reaches up to touch the icon next to Destiny's choice, Raphael reaches over and gives him a small push. Casey yelps, wobbling, and his hand slips to select the rabbit. The background turns brown.

"What?!" He whirls around. "Raph! You made me a freaking rabbit!" When Raphael bursts out laughing, Casey clutches his chest. "Betrayed by my own bro..."

While the boys laugh and taunt one another, dissolving into a round of boy-related humour that Annalise doesn't care to listen to and that Destiny seems far too used to, Annalise reaches up and selects the seal, turning the square pink. With that complete, only the koala and the rhino remain untouched.

"Okay, done," Annalise says. She turns to the group with a tiny smile. "Where's the next button?"

They find it rather easily and Leonardo takes the liberty of pressing it. No sooner have they done that that the animal selection screen whisks away and a new one falls into place. This one is more of a slot machine, with a lever on the side and three sliding panels. "Create a Name" decorates it's heading. The slots spin with a clunky noise, landing on the name "Mutant Kawaiifruit." There are a few visible grimaces from the group.

"Click the arrow buttons to create a fun new name for your animal!" coos the overenthusiastic Animal Jam woman from the sky.

Raphael cringes and covers his ears. "I'm going to kill something," he mutters.

Leonardo goes over first, reaching up to the blue arrows decorating the bottom and tops of the slot windows. "Guess I'll make a name, then?"

He scrolls through each name part, settling on Captain Spiritninja. Proud of his choice, he backs away and allows Destiny to choose her name. She decides on Infinity Moonpaw. Annalise is a lot more eager to do this one, choosing the name Empress Prettylily.

Seeing that, Michelangelo is quick to make his name start with Emperor, then adds Loopyturtle for laughs. Annalise is the only one who thinks his name is kind of funny. Donatello goes next, although he keeps fussing about how illogical the names are and how he has no clue what to do.

"Dude, it's for a short time," Michelangelo says. "Do something like Doctor Magicstone. That's totally a play on your LARP outfit."

Although annoyed, Donatello takes his advice and dubs himself Doctor Magicstone. With that out of the way, Casey takes the stage and swiftly picks out the totally-not-pretentious name of Handsome Daringhero.

Casey shoots down the arched eye-ridges from the turtles with a steely glare. "Hey, I'm already a fluffy little bunny. I need a name that's somewhat cool."

"Calling yourself handsome is...cocky," Donatello says, choosing his words carefully.

There's a voice in their headsets, this time belonging to April. "I don't know, I think he's handsome," he says. "Besides, it's just a game."

Donatello thinks it over, then shrugs. "If the girlfriend agrees, it goes." Casey grins and fist-pumps the air.

With most names chosen, the only one remaining is Raphael. He refuses to look at the name machine, arms crossed tightly over his chest, and only when he notices the expectant gazes of his family members does he give in. He stomps over to the machine and scrolls through his options.

"These names are weird," he mutters. "Kookyfriend? Moving Jazzyfox?" He shakes his head. "Unbelievable."

Even with his endless complaints, he sticks with Commander Strongninja. Leonardo tries to convince him to chose "ghost" as his last word, annoyed at their similar surnames, but Raphael argues that the double "g" is too weird.

Destiny, for one, can confidently say that she's never seen them be pettier about something so silly in all the time that she's known them. She mulls over this as she presses the "next" button. Another sign appears, replacing the last one.

"Enter your birthday and tell us if you are a boy or a girl!" the woman says as if they're a Kindergarten class learning their ABCs. "Then...create a unique username and password for your account! Ask for a parent's help if you need to!"

"I'm not six!" Raphael snaps at the sky.

"I don't think she can hear you," Donatello retorts with an eye-roll.

Thankfully, the next part goes swiftly, as an email, username, and password have already been inputted alongside the "girl" option, October 18, and age sixteen-plus. They hurry by and press the button.

"Almost there!" the woman celebrates. "Enter and confirm your parent's email address. Finally, review the Animal Jam code—"

"Yeah, yeah, moving on!" Raphael shouts. He smacks the button and cuts the woman off.

All at once, the world spins around them, going black for a second before reappearing. They stand in a small grove, except now, each of them is in their chosen animal form. Casey sits up on his haunches and gazes at his paws, then spins in little circles as he wags his little cottontail. He tries to let out a shriek of terror, but it merely comes out as a squeak.

"It's worse than I thought!" he cries.

"Welcome to your new home!" says a new voice. They turn around to see a purple rabbit standing at the foot of a small bridge, hopping in place as she stares at them, unblinking. "My name is Peck! Follow me!"

She hops away, leaving a trail of golden footprints. Leonardo and Destiny trot off after her, followed closely by everyone except Raphael. He tries to drag himself on his flippers, but can just barely scrape himself across the earth.

"Should've taken the rhino," he mutters to himself.

Michelangelo hops back to him, a grin on his monkey face, and he reaches out and lifts Raphael up. "Don't worry, I've got you, bro," he says.

Raphael keeps his snide comments to himself for once.

Just over the bridge, a crowd of brightly-coloured animals stand on the side of the road, hopping and dancing and cheering, saying things like "you're here" and "hello!" There are foxes, lions, penguins, leopards, eagles, and more.

The teens stand and watch while Peck talks about the style of animals in Jamaa (which they assume is the world they're in) and shows them how to colour their fur. Each of them goes with what you would expect, keeping their real eye colour, the turtles going with their mask colours, and Casey and Destiny both choosing black and white options. Annalise sticks with pink.

Peck gushes on and on about parties, games, adventures, and gives them a treasure chest of multicoloured coins. As Peck urges them to follow her to their new home, they burst into a sprint and race ahead of her.

When they emerge, they're in a plaza dotted with straw huts, rocks, and sand. Leonardo, enjoying his dashing blue tiger maybe a little too much as he prances around, ushers everyone to a more secluded spot with a fountain, some benches, and most importantly, less actual Animal Jam players. Michelangelo steps away from the group for just long enough to get an orange smoothie from a nearby machine.

"Mikey," Leonardo snaps, baring his teeth. "Come on, we need to talk to Sarina."

Michelangelo shrugs and offers a sip of the smoothie to Annalise, who props herself up on her flippers as she takes it. "Dude, I can hear her if she talks. Let me enjoy my five very flexible fingers," he says.

Raphael keeps flopping along on the ground, cursing his luck, and Destiny eventually tires of his whining and picks him up, tossing him into the fountain. He swims about in a huff. Donatello flops down next to the fountain and takes some time to examine his paws and fluffy tummy.

"I am back," Sarina says. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, um...what the heck is this and how do you know about it?" Casey asks.

"You're in a website called Animal Jam. It's powered by National Geographic," Sarina states. "I came across it once when I was very young, but since I was emotionless, I did not care for it. Later, I rediscovered it while browsing and, you know me, I am helpless when it comes to National Geographic."

"Okay," Destiny says, hesitant. "Can I ask why you sent us here of all places?"

"Of course you can."

Destiny frowns. "Sarina, please don't do this right now. I'm tired."

She laughs. "Only teasing," she says. "This place is very safe, what with being full of young children, plus there is a whole section where parents can log in and see how their child is doing. For Circa to be here would be very unlikely, and thus, I dubbed it safe for you to spend the night."

"I don't know," Annalise says, slapping her tail against the pavement as her whiskers twitch. "I think Circa thinks that kids are vulnerable. She could use them really easily." The others stare at her and she blinks, looking up as she turns red beneath her fur. "Uh...what?"

"Circa thinks kids are vulnerable?" Donatello repeats. "How do you know that?"

"W-What?" Annalise shakes her head, waving one flipper frantically. "No! I meant she could think they are! Didn't I say that? I thought I said that..."

They glance at one another. Before the silence stretches further, Sarina says, "Perhaps it would be best for you to head to your den. I did a bit more hacking and got you a member's only one. I do hope that it is to your liking."

"Is it that late already?" Raphael asks.

"Around one in the morning, actually." As they observe the other players, Sarina adds, "Time zones, of course, make the website consistently busy."

"Sounds legit," Michelangelo says with a nod.

"If anything happens, one of us back here will alert you," she continues. "Stay safe and have a good night."

She clicks off. A few animals dash past their meeting spot, although they don't seem to care about their presence, and Raphael's eyes narrow as he observes one of them, a turquoise and purple striped horse decked out in a tiara and various other clothing items.

"I'm surrounded by twelve-year-olds, I just know it," he mutters, flapping his fins against the water. "Can we just go to this den thing? I'm tired."

"Yeah, I agree," Leonardo says. "Hey, Donnie, you got any idea how we get there?"

"Hold on," Donatello replies. He reaches out and touches a space before him, activating a small holographic map, and he touches the house icon with one careful paw pad. "Here we go!"

The entire group is instantly transported to the den area. Before them is a large castle with a drawbridge and from the looks of it, multiple floors. There's even a moat. Despite that, it seems cozy, and the group sighs at the thought of getting inside and resting. While their time in the Internet hasn't been long, their days were.

"Oh, boy, I hope there's furniture in there," Raphael groans. "Goodnight, guys." He drags himself to the moat and hops in, swimming away to the basement section of the castle.

Seeing him already finding somewhere to sleep, the others hurry across the drawbridge and go inside. Sure enough, Sarina set them up with beds, beanbags, and more than enough for a night. Casey hops over to a beanbag and climbs on, curling into a tight ball. His whiskers, nose, and ears twitch as he starts to fall asleep.

Destiny prowls over to a fluffy cushion tucked in the corner and climbs on, padding at the material with her paws before flopping down and curling into a tight ball. Leonardo trots over to her, lingering for a second as his tail lashes.

She looks up at him, cocking her head. "Leo?"

He paws at his face as if he tried to rub the back of his neck but forgot that he isn't upright or anthropomorphic anymore. "Can...I share that cushion with you? The castle could get cold and...I..." He bows his head. "Just in case you...you know—"

She nods and shuffles over, tail thumping. "There's lots of room."

They situate themselves, paws intertwining, and start to drift off. Donatello finds a hammock and climbs inside, shutting his eyes and folding his paws over his stomach as he takes a deep, cleansing breath.

Annalise and Michelangelo stay outside, lingering on the drawbridge. Michelangelo is aching to get inside and swing around on the ceiling, but the look on Annalise's face is too worried to ignore.

"What's wrong?" he asks, moving to her side.

She purses her lips. "I keep thinking about Circa."

"Me too, dudette," he says, nodding. "We know so little about her, but...I think we can beat her. We've got Sarina helping us, we've got you, it'll be great!"

She bows her head. "I still don't think I'm an asset," she admits. She sniffs. "I...I feel like this was a mistake."

The sorrow in her eyes is unmistakable, strong enough that Michelangelo almost doesn't notice the fear hiding beneath all that pale pink fur. He scoots closer to her and rests his hand on her back.

"She's really got you freaked, huh?" he whispers.

She hugs herself. "You have no idea," she says, a shudder rolling through her. "I don't think I can face her again."

He dons a soft smile. "When I'm scared, it helps to be surrounded by people who make me feel safe, like my brothers and my sisters and my dad," he says. "When they're around, I feel braver because I know that they've got my shell no matter what." She looks up at him, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I want you to feel that way about me."

"Well...I already do." She slaps her flippers against the ground as she turns herself, an embarrassed look on her face. "I would hug you, but..."

"I've got you," he laughs. He embraces her around the neck and she does her best to return it. As he pulls away, he adds in a soft whisper, "I've always got you."

She nuzzles a little closer to him at his words.