As soon as the fires were extinguished, the people of the town got started on rebuilding. The rebels wouldn't let fire destroy their lives or their rebellion. While others were rebuilding houses, the Turtles and Alpha Brigade saw that Mitsu's grandfather was working on a garden in the middle of the village. Mitsu was with him. Mike couldn't help but smile when he saw her; he'd never met a woman quite like her. When she saw the Turtles, she came over to explain.
"Grandfather is thanking the gods for sending you to us. And, uh, he asks that you stay to help us defeat the daimyo." Mitsu said, though she seemed a little embarrassed to be asking for their help.
Leonardo answered first. "Uh, sure," he began. "But we've sort of got a deadline to get home; or else we're history." he said.
"Literally." Donatello said.
"Especially us." Atticus added, referring to himself and his friends.
"What's a daimyo?" Patch wondered.
"Based on my knowledge, they were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords, who pretty much destroyed everything and called the shots in new places they would enter." Cherry replied as she adjusted her glasses.
"Hai!" Kintarō added in agreement and confirmation. "You are correct, Cherī."
"Of course I am," Cherry smirked. "I happen to know a lot, even if Math is my biggest educational weakness."
"Yeah, so we better head back home," Atticus said to Mitsu. "We'd love to help you out, but we should go back while we have the chance."
"We got time." Lionel shrugged.
"Uh... You sure that's a good idea, Lionel?" Atticus asked.
"Sure it is!" Lionel replied. "After all, unless we get that Scepter back, we're gonna be stuck here!"
"Well, all right," Atticus then said before facing Mitsu. "We'll help out in any way we can."
"It's a village worth fighting for." Cherry added.
"That's the warrior spirit," Mulan approved. "I've felt that same determination the moment I applied for the war to take my father's place since he was old and already fragile enough as it was."
"So you fought for him so that he wouldn't die too soon unlike someone younger like you." Atticus guessed, using his detective skills.
"Yes, of course," Mulan nodded. "To bring honor to my family and my village too even if I was shunned just because I was a woman."
"Very impressive, Mulan," Mitsu smiled before looking at the group. "And thank you all for offering to help stop the evil forces in my village too. Victory and hard work such as yours should not go unrewarded."
"The little guy's right, dudes," Mikey said to his brothers. "We aren't going anywhere without that scepter. So, until we find it, we can help Mitsu, okay?"
His brothers weren't so sure this was a good idea, but they could see the stars in Mikey's eyes. He was hopelessly in love!
"Thank you." Mitsu said.
"So, want to dance?" Mikey asked Mitsu.
His brothers corrected their impression. Mikey might be in love, but he was certainly hopeless! They yanked him away from her before he said something even dumber.
Mike didn't get the point. "Hey, she's a chick, I'm a guy. It's a hot night..." he tried to explain.
"You're a turtle." Leo reminded him.
"Oh, thanks for pointing that out, Leo. That would explain the large shell on my back." Mike retorted.
"Oh, Mikey..." The others said together like in an old-time sitcom catchphrase.
"How about we get something to eat while we're here?" Atticus suggested.
"Are we gonna make food randomly appear out of magic?" Cherry shrugged.
"Well... I don't mind cooking either way," Atticus said. "Maybe we could make some pizza to share with the Turtles if they don't hog it all."
"I think Mikey's interested in a different kind of buffet if ya know what I mean." Cherry then said with a smirk.
"Yup." Lionel chuckled.
"What, really? I could make something else..." Atticus stated.
"I mean, he's in love with Mitsu." Cherry replied.
"Oh..." Atticus said before glancing at Mikey as he kept trying to impress Mitsu somehow. "...I thought he liked April though?"
"It's probably complicated." Cherry shrugged.
"In these movies, April and Casey are married," explained Lionel. "So it wouldn't make much sense to hit on a lady who's already got a guy."
"Oh... All right then..." Atticus then said.
"Try telling that to Johnny Bravo." Patch commented.
The others then shared a group laugh at that before they started to cook some food while they were hanging around the village a little while as Mikey kept trying to hit it off with Mitsu.
"So, does anyone know much about that mysterious scepter that sent your friend away and brought April here?" Atticus soon asked Kintarō.
"It's a very long story," Kintarō replied. "I was with him when it was founded and how it was used before that strange incident occurred."
"What about Renet?" asked Lionel.
"I guess she would know about it too." Atticus then said.
"I can't tell you much about the scepter myself," Kintarō remarked. "A mysterious man came to us and said it would help get us away from the war and villains invading our village, then... He just disappeared. We never saw him again."
"What did this man look like?" asked Lionel, getting out a notepad and pencil. "Can you gimme a description?"
"Well, he was pretty tall," Kintarō began to explain. "Probably taller than you guys."
"Like about how high do you think?" Atticus asked. "Do you have a rough estimate?"
"A little under six feet," Kintarō guessed before shrugging. "Definitely taller than me and Kenshin."
"Uh-huh... Uh-huh..." Lionel nodded as he sketched.
"He also had kinda greasy and frizzy-looking hair," Shintō continued. "Also, I swear, he had giant eyes."
"Giant eyes?" The group asked.
"Yeah, they were hu-u-uge!" Kintarō nodded, trying to demonstrate with his own eyes. "Like they were bulging out of his sockets! Kinda made me think of eyes that crocodiles have and he even had scaly and golden skin and a pointy nose. I'm not officially sure if they were nails or claws, but he had dark ends on his fingers and wore some kinda robe. His teeth also looked like they hadn't been brushed in a very long time, almost fang-like."
By now, Lionel's pencil had a trail of smoke rising from it as he tried to keep up with the descriptive details, so he had to lick it to keep it from bursting into flames, and then continued drawing. "Anything else, or is that all?" he asked.
"That's all about I remember." Kintarō replied.
"Ah, I see," Lionel nodded before showing his sketch. "He look anything like this?"
"Yeah! That's him!" Kintarō nodded.
"Kinda looks like the guy I saw earlier for about three seconds," Cherry said before squinting her eyes at the drawing a bit. "...Waitaminute."
"Cherry, what is it?" Atticus asked. "You see something weird?"
"...He looks more familiar now that I got a second look at him," Cherry said as she pointed at the sketch. "...I'm not sure whether back home in Greendale or in The Netherworld/Supernatural Realm with Hilda and Zelda... Or... Or... Storybrooke? ...No way... It couldn't be... It can't be..." she then shook her head.
"Who?" asked Mo. "Who couldn't it be?"
"Lionel, can I see that?" Cherry requested.
Lionel nodded, letting her look at the drawing a bit closer.
Cherry looked at it before looking back at the others. "...I could be wrong... But I swear," she then said softly. "This creepy guy in the picture looks like that creepy guy who owns the pawnshop in Storybrooke."
"Maybe they're related somehow," Lionel shrugged. "It's almost ridiculous... At least, it would be to anybody else."
"Call me crazy, I just feel like there might be some kinda link we don't know about..." Cherry said before thinking about it a little. "...Leroy DID say that Storybrooke held a deep dark secret that the mayor's kid only believed in until they saw the light."
"This could be part of the secret." Lionel suggested.
"Yeah... I think so too..." Cherry agreed.
"Head's up!" Leo called out.
Cherry gasped as pizza dough came flying right at her, but luckily, Atticus caught it on a plate. "Phew..." she then sighed.
"Heh... Sorry about that..." Leo grinned bashfully.
"Meh, it's cool," Cherry shrugged. "Let's get some food though. I'm starving."
"Yeah... Adventures at this point always make me hungry." Mo added in agreement.
Everyone soon settled down to get some food together.
"So, uh... That time with the villagers..." Raph said as he approached Mulan. "You... You, uh..."
Mulan looked up at him with a small smirk.
"You fight... Good," Raph told her. "I can see why you were chosen to come help us out during this adventure."
"Hmm... You fight pretty good too," Mulan smirked as she polished her sword. "All in a day's work though."
"Is Raphael falling in love with Mulan?" Atticus asked suddenly in the background.
"I... I don't think she's his type." Cherry remarked.
Atticus looked a bit confused.
"Sometimes I can tell with women." Cherry said like it was obvious.
"Um, okay?" Atticus shrugged. "If you say so."
"...How's the food coming?!" Cherry soon called out.
"We'll have something ready soon," Mo smiled. "As well as some vegetarian options."
"Or, here's a crazy idea: maybe they're just becoming friends," Lionel suggested. "Raphael never struck me as the romantic type. Probably cause he never met a lady who'd be interested in someone with green skin and a shell."
"I still say she's not his type anyway." Cherry replied.
"Are you talking to me?" Mulan smirked as she looked over at the group.
"No, actually, we were talking about you," Cherry smirked back. "Are you hungry? We've got some food cooking."
"I could eat," Mulan nodded before smirking at Raph. "Let's see if you can eat better than you fight." she then playfully bantered.
"Bring it on, Buckshot." Raph snapped back, cracking his knuckles.
Mulan punched his arm before smirking, sticking out her tongue, and pulling down one of her eyelids.
"Ooh! That's it!" Raph laughed before running with her to get some food. "You asked for this, girly!"
"Bring it on, Slowpoke~" Mulan smirked as she raced him.
"Oh, so now we're bringing out stereotypes, eh?" Raph remarked. "Low blow! Real low!"
Mulan just laughed as she ran with Raph.
"Always good to see new friendships being made." Cherry smirked before she helped herself to some homemade pizza with the others.
The others nodded in agreement as they took their brief lunch break before continuing their adventure.
Raph soon made it over first before laughing. "I won!" he then told Mulan.
"Darn," Mulan pouted and crossed her arms. "I guess I owe you a few yen."
"Sure. Whatever." Raph shrugged.
Everyone then sat down together.
"Perhaps you guys would like to try my everything pizza experiment." Mo smiled hopefully.
"Sure, why not?" asked Lionel. "I'll try anything but anchovies!"
Mo beamed as she made a pizza with about every topping possible, holding the anchovies though as no one seemed to want any.
"Whoa! Mo, you made this yourself?" Mikey asked the tomboy.
"Mm-hmm," Mo smiled and nodded. "I thought it would be nice for all of us. Thanks for helping with the dough though and making it so big so that everyone can share."
"Plus it was made from scratch," Cherry added. "Sometimes the extra effort is more appreciated and better than just zapping something up... Kinda like how an Amish family would make a pizza if I had to guess."
"And sometimes it feels more suitable." Patch added as he dug in.
Everyone began to chat and smile a bit as they ate up their lunch while taking a brief break during their crazy adventure so far.
"This stuff you call pizza is very interesting." Mulan remarked.
"Oh, yeah," Raph nodded. "It's the greatest."
"Maybe I should share some with my buddies back home if I run into them again," Mulan smirked before sighing a bit softly. "I haven't been back home in so long... Especially since Shan Yu practically wiped out everyone in my home village. I was very lost and alone... Until I met Lancelot. Sure, I'm glad I stopped and defeated Shan Yu, but... At what cost, really, when there's no one really waiting for you back home? Even if I was fighting to take my father's place to avoid him getting killed."
"Well, if there's nothing waiting... Maybe that means it's a decent time to look for something new," Raph suggested. "Just saying. No sense wallowing in old memories, if they keep you from making new ones."
"Yes, you make a very good point," Mulan nodded. "Especially with my heartbreak that I had to experience before you all showed up in my life."
"So are you gonna tell us about this lost person or what?" Cherry wondered.
"Only if I can be promised no judgment," Mulan replied before eating up. "Though you do make a very good point, Raphael. It was very hard for me to go through that pain back in China and even more pain in The Enchanted Forest when I helped some old friends of mine."
"No judgment, promise," Lionel replied. "And that goes for the rest of us."
The others agreed and nodded as they ate up their pizza just the way they liked it.
"Well... All right," Mulan replied before she sat up and looked a bit soft and distant due to her rather saddening moment that still stuck with her, even today. "Well, as you know, I served The Emperor of China in my father's place and proved myself worthy in battle, even if the other men didn't believe women should be fighting like that. Then, of course, I had to track down the beast named Yaoguai."
"Yeah, we know that part of your story." Atticus nodded.
"Do not interrupt," Mulan scolded him before she continued her backstory. "Eventually, after a woman who was from France blew my chance at defeating and stopping the Yaoguai, I scolded her, but soon, she found out that the beast wasn't a true beast, but he was a man... A prince even, named Phillip. We met with Sir Lancelot and Lancelot suggested we become traveling companions, and we soon left for a new journey together as he was on a journey himself to wake up the love of his life, Aurora, who was put under a sleeping curse."
"Oh, my..." Mo frowned and gasped softly.
"Eventually, we traveled near and far and soon, I had to help save Prince Phillip from the Wraith that hungered for his soul, so I had to go alone to save and collect Aurora for him until the curse would be broken." Mulan then continued.
"So, did you fall in love with Prince Phillip?" Atticus guessed, raising his hand.
"Not quite," Mulan shook her head. "We have fought many battles together though, but I never had any romantic feelings for him. Eventually, Prince Phillip was restored and he was reunited with Aurora and I believed that they were just friends. I then began to feel something around Aurora I had never felt around anyone before in my life. After their reunion, I met a man named Robin Hood and he offered to let me join his Merry Men, but I told him that I would have to tell someone very important before it became too late, so he let me go."
"So what did you do next?" Raph asked, a little bit calmly.
"I soon looked all around and found Aurora and we both had news to share with each other," Mulan then continued, her tone turning somber a little as the group began to tell what was probably going to be said next. "Aurora decided to share her news first, so she told me that she was pregnant with Phillip's child... I was struck and hurt, but I congratulated her... Then I left to go see Robin Hood again and I accepted the invitation to join his band of Merry Men."
"And... What happened to Aurora after that?" Atticus asked.
"I don't know... I haven't seen her ever since that night..." Mulan said softly as she wiped her left eye as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"That's pretty rough; finding out the person you love is with somebody else." said Mike.
"Yeah; our buddy Thor knows what that feels like." Mo nodded.
"Yeah?" Mulan asked softly.
"It was complicated," Cherry said before sighing sharply. "I didn't think he'd be able to get over it."
"Luckily, he did." Lionel declared.
"Yeah..." Cherry said softly before facing Mulan. "I thought I had a feeling about you too."'
"How did you know?" Mulan asked her.
"I can sometimes sense that sorta thing around people," Cherry replied. "Mostly girls, more often than guys though."
"Impressive." Mulan nodded.
"Thank you," Cherry said. "But don't worry, Mulan. I'm sure that someone new might come around. Did you feel anything for Robin Hood?" she then asked.
"No, like Prince Phillip and Sir Lancelot, we were just allies," Mulan shook her head. "Robin Hood said I was a great honorary Merry Man though and a good caretaker for Roland."
"Roland?" Atticus asked.
"Yes... Robin Hood's son." Mulan nodded.
"Whoa... I didn't know Robin Hood had a son." Atticus remarked.
"Well, think about it; he and Maid Marian were definitely a thing... Or whoever it was he ended up with this time." Lionel stated.
"Yes, Maid Marian." Mulan nodded.
"So, yeah." Lionel then added, though mostly to Atticus.
"I just didn't think that he probably had time for a son." Atticus shrugged.
"Oh, he probably made the time." Cherry smirked slyly.
"I try very hard to move on from Aurora, but it can be hard to mend a broken heart." Mulan said with a small sigh.
"Alone, sure," Raph replied. "But it's a little less difficult if ya got friends to help you out."
"Yeah... You have a good point about that..." Mulan smiled softly. "I appreciate your help."
"Hey. What're friends for?" Raph shrugged calmly.
Mulan smiled before they continued to eat up until the food was gone.
The turtles laughed as they were riding their horses, some better than the others, but Leo seemed to be really skilled at it.
"Boys..." Mulan rolled her eyes a bit playfully.
"I know a thing or two about riding horses from my Wild West Cowboys adventure." Atticus remarked.
"I was raised by a horse-trainer and I barely know anything about horses myself." Cherry scoffed at herself.
"You know, sometimes I hate that guy," Donny playfully huffed as Leo was very skilled in horseback riding. "Let's see-"
"Wait. Let's just hold it here, okay?" April said to him. "If the scepter wasn't in the woods maybe the Daimyo has it."
"Wasn't he looking for it too?" Mo asked.
"So what are we going to do?" April wondered, almost helplessly. "How are we going to get home?"
A child-like giggle was heard at the sudden hearing of that question as everyone looked around from the random sound.
"Alright, who was that?" asked Mo.
"Beats me, but it sounded really creepy." Lionel replied.
"Definitely didn't sound quite cheery for a giggle." Cherry added.
The Turtles soon gathered around with a paper that had a model of the scepter on it.
"This is quite a curious case," Cherry said as she paced around. "Getting back home and being here... Not to mention we're on summer vacation. Things seemed so simple this morning."
"Everything seems simple in the mornings," Lionel nodded. "Then by lunchtime, things get confusing."
"Thank you for closed captioning my migraine..." Cherry sighed before narrowing her eyes. "There's gotta be a way to solve this."
"Well, we'll definitely find a way," said Mo. "Just hafta mull it over."
The giggling then continued.
"Seriously! Who keeps doing that?" Cherry glared. "Show yourself!"
"Ooh, I might know a thing about the scepter and can help you find your way home... But the question is... Will you find yourselves during this journey... And who can you trust?~" The giggling voice asked, sounding very childish.
"That voice..." Patch muttered.
"Almost reminds me of Jaq and Gus." Cherry commented.
"Well, do you know or not?" asked Leo. "Enough with the runaround and get to the point!"
"Show yourself!" Cherry demanded.
"Hello~" A voice right behind her smirked.
Cherry flinched before turning around to see a certain man who was exactly how and like Kintarō described.
"That's the man!" Kintarō pointed out. "That's the man who gave Kenshin the scepter!"
"Hello, deaires~" The man grinned. "I hear someone's in need of some serious help."
"You heard correctly." Lionel replied.
"So, can you help us with this scepter thing or what?" Atticus asked.
"Oh... Of course I can~" The man smirked. "I've been around the for the last few centuries, so I know my way around anything that someone might come across and get their hands on... For a price of course~"
"Okay, what's the catch?" asked Mikey.
"No catch... Not too much of a catch..." The man smirked as he walked around innocently.
The others simply looked at him, unsure about trusting him. Patch even growled at the man to scare him.
"Ooh, down, boy~..." The man chuckled, unafraid of Patch's efforts to be like Thunderbolt. "I've seen quite a lot in my travels, adventures, and journeys to be afraid of someone like you trying to be like The Big Bad Wolf."
"What do you want in exchange for helping us?" Cherry demanded as she put her hands on her hips.
"Well... I suppose there is one thing~" The man smirked as he faced her, holding up one finger.
"I knew it!" Atticus glared.
"Easy, boy~..." The man smirked. "Let's just say I help you, I'll come find you again someday, and then you'll help me for a big favor whenever the time comes. Nothing too drastic or overwhelming, but that's my price~"
"Okay, okay, whatever is, we'll help you, now help us!" Cherry demanded.
"Very well~" The man smirked before he flicked his left wrist suddenly and a golden paper appeared in his grasp with a quill pressed between his fingertips in his right hand.
"...What's this?" Mo asked.
"We have to make the deal official, dearies~" The man grinned darkly. "Rumplestiltskin is my name and making deals is my game, so do we have a deal or not?"
"Rumplestiltskin, huh? Pretty tall for Rumplestiltskin..." Cherry snorted as she swiped the contract and decided to read through it before signing as she was smarter than just signing a contract blindly. "So... We have to help you in another life find something very important and valuable?"
"Indeed, dearie... Can't get something for nothing," Rumple smirked. "It's either this or you're on your own."
Cherry rolled her eyes before she took the quill and signed her name on the dotted line.
"Don't you think we should talk this over first?" Atticus asked.
"Hey, we're gonna be out of this world if we do whatever he says, he'll never catch us." Cherry smirked slyly.
"Okay," Lionel replied. "I just hope you know what you're doing, Cherry Butler."
"Hey! Cool it with the full name ultimatum!" Cherry cried out.
"So...?" Rumple grinned.
"It's a deal," Cherry said before facing him. "...Dude, when was the last time you brushed your teeth?"
"Not important... Deal! Heheheheh~" Rumple giggled and beamed as he made the contract disappear, clapping his hands together.
"So, help us with that time scepter thing," Cherry said. "How do we get back home?"
"Ah, yes... The Sceptre of the Sands of Time, it takes a certain phrase and a certain position to send you back to wherever you desire," Rumple then informed. "Also, it might be complicated on getting back as it'll take more than just simple words like 'Bibbiti-Bobbiti-Boo'."
"Bibbiti-Bobbiti-Boo?" Atticus rolled his eyes. "Wasn't aware we were in Cinderella again."
"Oh, you know Cinderella?" Rumple smirked before suddenly changing the subject. "I helped her get to the royal ball and gave her those glass slippers, ya know~"
"What about her fairy godmother?" Cherry asked.
"That was me~..." Rumple simply stated which made Cherry grimace slightly, imagining a man like this as a "Fairy Godmother" figure.
"I think that events turned out differently in your recollection..." Lionel commented. "Maybe it's an alternate dimension thing, but I digress."
Rumple merely giggled in response.
"That laugh is kinda creeping me out." Mo commented.
Atticus nodded in agreement.
"It's very complicated," Rumple smirked. "But don't worry, dearies... I won't hurt you... Unless you hurt me first... But not even Robin Hood's arrows can strike me that easily~"
"Alright, you confusing, very intimidating little man," said Lionel. "You've got yourself a deal."
"Great~" Rumple approved as he pressed his spidery fingertips together with a manic grin on his face.
The Turtles began to talk among themselves about how they thought they could use the Time Scepter.
"So... Uh... How do we use the Time Scepter?" Cherry asked the impish man.
"You have to speak the ancient words 'Jikan no mon o ōkiku hiraku', or in English, 'Open Wide the Gates of Time'," Rumple began to explain. "Also, the people who are switched must have the same weight."
"That second part sounds like a weird rule." Cherry commented.
"I don't make the rules, I just report them." Rumple defended as he crossed his arms.
"The strange little man is right," said Renet as she popped out of a bush, dressed in clothes appropriate for the era. "It was a precaution taken by the Timekeepers' Society so as to prevent the scepters from being stolen by anyone with bad intentions in mind."
Atticus shrugged and was about to simply snap his fingers to bring the Time Scepter back so that they could get back home. Rumple simply put a black cuff on Atticus's wrist and once the fingers snapped, nothing happened.
"Hey!" Atticus glared before he tried to snap his fingers again.
"It's not that simple, dearie..." Rumple told Atticus, calling him that name even if he was a boy. "I knew there was something very special about you kids."
"So why won't you let me help?" Atticus asked.
"I'm helping you," Rumple glared. "That was our deal. Also, thank you for the assistance." he then added as he looked at Renet.
"Uh... Sure." Renet replied.
"Maybe this is for the best," Lionel shrugged. "Besides, if you just snapped your fingers and brought the scepter back, it wouldn't be much of an adventure story, now would it?"
Atticus just sighed before he made a mental note to not do that again.
"So the Scepter is in the future?" Rumple asked.
"Yes, sir," Cherry nodded before calling out to the Turtles. "AND NOBODY LOST IT, OKAY?!"
The Turtles then backed away from her after playing "The Blame Game".
"Can you tell us anything else about the Scepter?" Cherry then asked Rumple.
"I told you all that I already know, dearie." Rumple replied calmly.
"Well, thanks anyway," said Donny. "Now we gotta get back on track here."
"Yeah... Such as finding a way back home." Atticus nodded as he tried to get the wrist cuff off, but it wouldn't be THAT easy while Rumple crossed his arms and smirked, giggling to himself.
"Well, we might have an idea on making this look good." Leo then said, showing the picture of The Time Scepter.
"Oh, yeah?" Mo asked. "How's that?"
"We think that guy might be able to help." Donny said, pointing to a blacksmith at work as he hammered.
April groaned and crumpled up the paper before walking off as she looked anguished.
"Oh, my... She seems upset." Patch frowned in concern.
"April, where are you going?" Cherry asked the brunette woman.
"To find an apartment," April grunted as she stormed off suddenly. "I have a feeling we're gonna be here for a very long time."
EVENTUALLY...
The blacksmith was hard at work. He pulled his masterpiece out of the large bucket of water with his tongs and smiled proudly. Donny, Atticus, Patch, and Leo watched closely.
Mikey, on the other hand, had thought of something else to do with the nice hot fire the blacksmith had going. "Nothing like a wood fire for pizza," he'd declared. Then he'd gotten all the ingredients; or the nearest thing he could find. There were a few things he couldn't find; such as wheat flour and yeast and tomatoes and cheese and pepperoni and anchovies. Still, he'd made a crust from rice flour. He sprinkled it with slices of cucumber. They were the same shape as pepperoni. As he worked, he talked to the children who had gathered to watch. "We're talkin' franchises here, kids," he said. "All you've gotta do is keep delivery to under 30 minutes."
"I don't think that's gonna make a very good pizza, Mike." said Lionel, as the turtle opened the oven door then and removed his masterpiece.
The cucumber didn't look too good. In fact, it now looked a lot like pepperoni. Mike wasn't the least bit discouraged. "Pizza! Got that, dude? Pizza!" he proclaimed.
A child looked at the concoction. His lips curled with distaste. "Kappa!" he said.
Unperturbed, Mike took a bite. At least, he tried to take a bite, but he almost broke three teeth doing it. He yanked it out of his mouth and threw it angrily across the blacksmith's shop. It soared toward his brothers. Then he had another idea. "Frisbee," he said to the kids. "Also cool."
"Hah! Looks like we beat you to it, Wham-O! Toy Company!" Lionel declared.
"Maybe we won't get sued." Cherry smirked.
"What do you think Casey's doing without us back in New York?" Atticus wondered.
"Meh... Probably playing Hockey with whoever took our place," Cherry shrugged. "Talking to Splinter. Don't really know."
"Hmm..." Atticus pondered before grunting as he tried to get the cuff off of him, but not even his god-like strength could save him this time. "Come on! What's your deal?"
Rumple just giggled and grinned before he disappeared unless he was needed again.
"Are you leaving us?!" Cherry called out to him.
"For now, but if you need me for anything, just call my name!" Rumple's voice replied before he was instantly gone.
"Okay!" Cherry called back before shrugging. "Meh... I guess he could be helpful again later... But right now, I don't know and don't care."
Mikey soon tossed the pizza Frisbee and it hit one man in the back of his head and also Donny's face.
"Hey! Who Frisbee'd me in the face?" Donny complained.
The man beside the purple-masked turtle snarled, blaming him for the incident.
"I'm outta here." Mikey said before escaping while he had the chance.
"Why I oughta-" Donny glared before seeing the man who was angry with him and he tried to explain himself. "It was Mike with the thing and the lady. Hey, chill."
Mulan watched three kids running together before sighing sharply.
"Hey, uh, Mulan, you okay?" Mo asked in concern.
"I was good friends with the children in my village," Mulan explained. "This one young girl named Sha-Ron really looked up to me. I guess I'm feeling a little homesick, especially since I've been traveling ever since my war back in China ended against Shan Yu and his men."
"That's completely understandable," Mo replied. "Everyone gets a little homesick sometimes."
Nearby, Raph sat by himself, watching Mitsu try to train the villagers to fight with their primitive weapons. He didn't like to think what would happen when those weapons went up against the guns Walker would surely sell to the daimyo. It wouldn't be a pretty sight. But it wasn't his problem. His problem was getting back to the 20th century. Of course if they couldn't get back to the 20th century, then maybe the guns would become his problem. He didn't like the thought of that. Then he heard another sound. It was children. He walked until he could see them. A lot of young boys were fighting wildly with one another. They were using bamboo swords, but they were fighting very hard. They might really get hurt. Raph had to stop them. He ran into the middle of the melee and grabbed the "sword" from the angry young boy and held him firmly while he gave him a piece of his mind. It was Yoshi, the boy Mike had carried from the burning building.
"Hey, hey, what is this; The Geraldo Show? You've got to learn to control that temper, guy!" Raph gulped. "Did I say that?" he asked himself in surprise. It sounded an awful lot like something people were forever saying to him.
As expected, Mulan couldn't help but smirk at him, sensing the irony.
"We are practicing to fight the daimyo." The boy said.
"Fight the daimyo?!" Raph repeated. "Hold on here! Fightin's for grown-ups, and that's only if you've got no other choice. You guys are kids. You should be out having fun, like, like..." He looked around for something more fun and less warlike for the kids to play with. He spotted a kite. "...This kite." he finished.
"Yakko," Yoshi corrected him. "But fun is for children."
"And what, you're a senior citizen?" Raph retorted. "Come on. You can teach me."
Yoshi looked around a bit curiously.
"Come on! It'll be easy," Raph smiled at Yoshi. "What did you say your name was?"
"Yoshi." The boy replied.
"Yo, Yoshi!" Raph chuckled before smiling. "You and your buddies grab those kites and I'll join you later."
Yoshi smiled back at him before suddenly running off.
Raph smiled warmly before groaning slightly. "Kids..."
Eventually, Yoshi joined the other kids, then grabbed one of the kites so that he could fly it.
"Yoshi! Wait up!" Raph called out, going out to join Yoshi and his friends.
Eventually, it was time to do some kite-flying as the adults were working around their home until they saw what the children were up to.
"Hey! I think I'm getting this," Raph smiled. "Yoshi, what do you think?"
"Look at that." One woman smiled to the others as they witnessed Raph playing with the kids.
"Man... I don't think I could ever have kids," Cherry sighed and shook her head. "All that patience and guidance... So much responsibility."
"Oh, come on, Cherry," Atticus smiled. "I'm sure that you'd be a... Mother of some sorts."
"Mm-hmm..." Cherry shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Though... It's nice to see Raphael being gentle and having fun with some kids."
"Yeah; and you'd be a great mom," replied Lionel. "I'm not too sure if I'd make a good dad."
"No... I don't think I could be a mother," Cherry shook her head. "You'd probably be The Fun Dad the kids love better anyway."
"You could totally be a mom," said Lionel. "You know what it's like to be in a family!"
Cherry merely shrugged and shuffled her feet, still unsure about that idea. Mulan looked over and had a small smile on her face before she decided to fly kites with Raph and the kids as well. Rumple sat in a tree as he watched the kids at play before he frowned and stared down at the ground like he felt heartbroken over something before he plucked an apple and bit into it as he turned away from the kids with a small sniff.
"Hey, uh, have you guys seen Mitsu?" Mikey asked the group.
"I think she's over there somewhere," Atticus guessed as he pointed to the distance. "I think she has a lot on her mind."
"Cool. Thanks." Mikey nodded before he went that way, passing by the tree that Rumple was sitting on one of the branches.
The others continued to sit around together while enjoying the sights and sounds of the Japanese village while it was still quiet and peaceful.
Mikey soon began to sneak around and was creeping up towards Mitsu who was sitting alone.
Mitsu heard a disturbance and held out her sword in case it was an enemy, but she settled down once she saw who it was.
"Sorry. I guess you wanna be alone, huh?" Mikey said to Mitsu, backing up a little bit.
"...I was asking the gods to protect someone." Mitsu said softly.
"Kenshin?" Mikey guessed as Mitsu shot him a sharp look. "He's, like, your beau, huh?"
"You know him?" Mitsu asked then.
"Sorta," Mikey shrugged. "He kinda went on a cosmic cruise and dropped in on us, but don't worry. He'll be back as soon as we leave. I promise."
Mitsu narrowed her eyes slightly. "How do you know this?" she then demanded.
"Well... It's a kappa kind of thing." Mikey explained.
"Well, I hope whatever Kenshin's up to right now and whatever he's doing, he's alright." Cherry said to the others as she began to sketch in a sketchbook that was given to her.
Some time had passed and it was soon nighttime.
A makeshift Time Scepter was soon made and Cherry held it out to show Rumple how it looked before looking around for him. "Uh... Rumplestiltskin? You here?" she then called before yelping as she looked forward again and he was right in front of her after his name was called.
"Let me see that~" Rumple said, taking the Time Scepter and examined it.
"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Cherry complained as she clutched her chest.
Rumple soon took a closer look at the Time Scepter before nodding. "This is pretty close enough, dearie~" he said to her before giving it back. "This might actually do the job. Now you better hurry and get it into place. It's almost midnight."
"Okay, we can go ahead!" Cherry called out to the others as she took The Time Scepter back.
"Great!" Atticus replied. "Now if only I could get these off!" he gestured to his cuffs.
"They'll come off when we get back to our own time," said Mo.
Rumple giggled eerily and tilted his head.
"Thanks for the help." Cherry said before going with her friends with the new Time Scepter.
Soon, they placed it in place as they met up with the Turtles and Kintaro.
"It's two hours to midnight," Donny said as the Time Scepter was in place. "I sure hope this works."
"It should work," Cherry insisted. "Rumplestiltskin said it looked good enough."
"You really trust him?" Atticus asked.
"He seemed to know what he was talking about," Cherry shrugged. "After adventures with fairy tale creatures and giant talking turtles, I'll believe anyone and anything. Not to mention, I've seen stranger."
"Fair point." Atticus then nodded.
"What if this doesn't work, dudes?" Mikey then spoke up, suddenly wary. "What if we make like a cosmic U-turn and end up back in Godzilla Land?"
"We don't have a choice, unless you wanna stay here." Mo shrugged.
"Well, maybe we should." Mikey then said, suddenly taking the new Time Scepter.
"Whoa! Be careful with that!" Cherry warned.
"Yeah, right. Now, forget about Mitsu and give me the scepter before you-" Raph scoffed and glared as he went to grab the scepter away from Mikey.
"Guys! Stop! You're gonna bust it!" Patch warned and panicked.
"Give it back, Mike!" Leo ordered. "We need it to go home!"
"And back to hiding in the sewers? Sneaking around at night?!" Mikey retorted. "Staying forever separated from a world that'll NEVER accept us because of what we are? No way!"
As he yanked it back, Mike stumbled, juggled the scepter, and managed to keep a firm grip on it.
"See?! See what could've happened by being stupid?!" Leo shouted at his younger brother, who was boiling with resentment.
"Guy, you should be able to go back home," Atticus said. "You're needed in the city, even if you have to hide."
"Besides, we like you and care about you," Mo added. "You do too, don't you, Cherry?"
"I've gotten used to them overtime, yes," Cherry remarked. "So I agree with the others. You guys don't really wanna stay stuck in the past like Samurai Jack, do you?"
"Maybe I like being able to go outside in public," said Mikey. "Back in New York, everybody would freak out if they ever saw us, not to mention we'd get thrown into some government lab to be dissected!"
"Atticus is right; we're not meant to walk among humans," Leo retorted. "Our place is in the sewers."
"And what? We just live there the rest of our lives, without anybody knowing who we are or what we do to help that town?" Mike asked. "...Yeah, there's a life well-lived... NOT."
"Then use disguises or something," Atticus said before taking out a random Superman comic book. "It works for people like Superman, Wonder Woman, or Batman, it should be fine for you."
"It's the principle of the thing!" Mikey retorted.
"You're being impossible," Atticus sighed and shook his head. "Surely there's just a solution you can use like that and help people, even if they don't know what's going on behind closed doors, or in this case, closed sewer covers."
"That's the problem! There isn't!" Mike remarked. "The whole great thing about being here is that we don't have to walk around in disguises! You just don't get it, do ya? Those three guys you mentioned? At least they all look like humans! I can't exactly hide my green skin, now can I?"
"That's enough!" Leo snapped. "We are going home, and that's FINAL!"
At that moment, the Scepter fell out of Leo's grip and broke on the ground.
Mike glanced up at him. "...And you got on me for bein' stupid." he remarked dryly.
"Aw, great!" Cherry groaned as she fell to her knees and bowed her head with a deep sigh. "...I might not be a turtle, I may not know what it's like to be judged just for looking different like when you guys hide... But I feel like an outsider in my home too."
"What's that?" Mikey asked.
"I may look like everybody else, but I don't feel like everybody else," Cherry replied. "Everybody has their own thing going and they all do the same thing all the time... Sometimes they move on to whatever might interest them while I'm clinging to the past or doing something they might think is strange... But I just live on with that fact," she then added as she looked back at them. "You might think I don't get it, but sometimes I do, and I just remember I have friends and family that will stick by me even if not a VAST MAJORITY will. When I'm with my friends and family... I'm home and I belong in my home just as much as you guys do. So thanks... Thanks a lot." she then finished before she got up and stormed off to be alone before wiping one eye as a tear rolled out as she felt a bit broken on the inside.
Lionel sighed, as the Turtles looked on in dismay.
"It probably wouldn't have worked anyway..." said Donny.
"Yeah," Raph agreed. "Mike was right. Tomorrow we could've been fighting dinosaurs...but it wouldn't be the first time."
"Could we make another one?" April asked.
"There's no time," Donatello said.
April stormed out, nearly running into Mitsu on the way who spoke to a priest who had nothing but bad news to share.
"The daimyo is coming in the morning. With Walker and guns." The priest spoke.
The Turtles' fate was sealed by the thousand pieces of the broken scepter that was strewn on the floor in front of them.
Lionel turned to Mikey. "I think you owe someone an apology, dude."
Mikey crossed his arms in silence.
"...I meant Cherry." Lionel specified.
"Ohhhh." Mikey realized.
"Should one of us go talk to her?" Patch wondered.
"Give her some space to be on her own, then we'll go see her in a bit," Atticus suggested. "Give her some time to cool off."
"Let's just hope no one takes her being alone out there." Mo said nervously.
"She's a lot stronger than she used to be," Atticus said. "I don't think she'll run away or let someone take her or anything like that."
"I sure hope not." Lionel nodded.
Raph soon suddenly began to walk away.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Mo asked the red masked turtle.
"Oh... Uh... Ya know... Just on a walk." Raph shrugged innocently.
"Better not try anything." Mo ordered.
"I'm not gonna," Raph remarked. "Jeez... Where's the trust?"
The others shared a look at Raph continued to walk on out.
Raph soon got to where he needed to go which was to visit a special new friend of his. "Hey, Yoshi. You awake, buddy?" he lightly called before coming inside the hut.
Yoshi was shown to be holed up in a corner before sniffling and wiping his eyes, looking very upset about something.
"What's the matter, little man?" Raph asked, coming towards Yoshi as he sniffled and had wet eyes. "What's up with those tears? What's going on here?"
"Nothing." Yoshi said softly.
"Nothing, huh? Well, too bad," Raph replied, acting like a big brother. "'Cuz if something was bothering you, I got a little present here to cheer you up," he then took out the gift which was a classic toy to boys and girls back home. "It's called a yo-yo. It's yours. I made it for you."
Yoshi soon took the yo-yo to examine it up close.
"I was gonna give it to you tomorrow, but, you know, things might get a little nuts," Raph shrugged with a small smile. "I might forget."
"You fight Daimyo in the morning?" Yoshi then said.
"Okay, so tomorrow afternoon, I'll teach you some tricks on your yo-yo. Okay, buddy?" Raph suggested then.
"Tomorrow you might die." Came the reply.
"Yeah. Okay, Yoshi, you listen to me. Tomorrow morning, you and your buddies, go up into the mountains and you play, you hear me?" Raph then advised. "No matter what happens."
"I cannot let you die, Raphael-san." Yoshi frowned.
"Don't worry, kid. Nobody's gonna die," Raph promised, then suddenly, the boy got up and walked to a corner in the room, going over to a hatch suddenly to open it up. "Hey, Yoshi, come on. Where you going? It's late already. Get yourself to bed. What are you doing? Yoshi, this isn't playtime. Your sister's gonna kill me."
Yoshi then opened the hatch and took out a certain artifact in his arms to show to the red-masked turtle.
"What do you got?" Raph then asked.
"For you, Raphael-san." Yoshi said, showing a wrapped-up artifact.
"You didn't have to." Raph shook his head.
"I find in the woods," Yoshiexplained, showing the artifact which was something else deep down inside. "Now you, those allies and the other kappa can go home. Now you no die."
Raph soon took the artifact and unwrapped it before he saw that it was The Time Scepter. "Son of a snapper! LEEEEOOOO! I FOUND IT!" he then yelled out in victory, then went to show the others right away.
SHORTLY...
"So Yoshi found it in the woods?" asked Mo.
"Yeah, that's the idea," Raph nodded. "Now we got a way to go home again!"
"Well, I'll be..." Atticus remarked.
"Whoa... Mondo surprise." Mikey added as he took a look at the Time Scepter.
Leo looked very relieved as Donny held onto the Time Scepter.
"Looks like we're good to go back home then," Patch smiled. "Maybe that's why Rumplestiltskin cuffed Atticus. Because he knew the Time Scepter was hidden around here somewhere."
"Either that or he wanted to punish me." Atticus pouted to himself.
"Oh, God... I can't believe it." April smiled.
"So you see, as long as we didn't have the scepter, we had no choice, but to stay and fight," Raph soon said to Mistu. "Right?" he then asked.
Mitsu gave him a long look before suddenly walking away.
"The vibes in this place just turned bad. Let's split!" Mikey said. He and his brothers turned to walk in the opposite direction, but then they heard Mitsu's grandfather call to them. He was with Yoshi.
"Please, I am the one who told my grandson to hide the scepter," he said. "I want you to fight, not Mitsu."
Mike's heart skipped a beat with a lot more on his mind than before. "Looks like that's two apologies..." he sighed. "MITSU!" he called out, and ran after her.
But there was a scream and the thunder of hoofbeats. A horse came galloping out of the darkness. Mitsu was in the saddle.
Whit was behind her, and he had a knife at her throat! "Evening," he said, greeting them all but looking straight at April. Now she understood the truth, and it was her turn to be surprised as her so-called new friend was a spy the whole time. "Give me the scepter." he commanded.
"No!" shrieked Mitsu. "Kill him!"
The Turtles soon readied their weapons as Mitsu looked very scared before they soon stopped.
"Raph... Give me the scepter." Leo soon patiently stated.
Raph soon groaned before giving it to his blue-masked brother while Mikey groaned in the background.
"This is bad." Atticus frowned.
"Bring Kenshin to the castle tonight," Whit threatened as he kept the knife at Mistu's throat while Shinto glowered. "You'll get her back. Come morning, I was you, I'd be gone." he then told them before riding off on his horse with the blade still close to Mitsu's throat.
"Man, this is really bad... Where is Cherry?" Atticus wondered.
"Hmm... I might have a place I could check," Lionel said before taking out a magical dream-catcher, then let it glow a bit. "I'll wait a little bit though."
"You kiddin' me?" Raph asked. "What's a dream-catcher gonna do? This guy ain't The Boogeyman."
"It's personal," Lionel said. "Now let's head inside."
They soon walked off to group together as things looked very bad for Mitsu, the group, and the Turtles.
"Mulan, we-" Mo began to tell the warrior woman.
"I heard," Mulan interrupted somberly. "I'm very sorry, but I will try to help you all as much as I can. If I can stop Shan Yu to save Nothern Wei in China, if I can stop that beast that corrupted Prince Phillip and protect Aurora from her sleeping curse, and get a compass from a beanstalk and being forced to work with Captain Hook in the process, I'm ready for anything that monster has in store." she then vowed strongly.
"Great. Love that determination!" Mo beamed proudly.
Mulan nodded.
"All right, I'll be right back," Lionel said. "Hopefully Cherry's where I think she is right now." he then took out the dream-catcher before suddenly passing out.
"Now's not the time for a nap." Raph complained.
"That's no ordinary dream-catcher." Atticus, Patch, and Mo told him.
"...My mistake." Raph shrugged then.