"You..must be..insane!" A voice shouted just before the owner of the voice was thrown out of a shed followed by a lowly chuckle.
"You destroyed an entire family! You demon!" It continued to shout.
"What?..Wait..who is that? Where am I?" Kara softly spoke as she looked around the field she found herself in, a few trees here and there, with mountains in the background. She turned to the people not too far from her but for some reason she could not make out their faces.
"They were infected with evil. The gods revealed their nature to me, as they do you." The other person said just before the first one began to attack.
Kara could hear the clash of metal but their movements were a blur to her. "Why can't I see them?" She thought softly to herself as she tried to use her other senses to 'see' them but to no avail. "Perhaps I'm dreaming?.." She heard thunder crash and looked up at the sky as rain began to fall but she couldn't feel it at all. Confirming her suspicions she turned her head to look back at the two people fighting.
"I tracked you down to bring you to justice!" The man on the left said.
"I see the evil in this realm, Ronin. I am the definition of justice!" The man on the right shouted as they went back to fighting.
Kara began taking a few steps towards them, curious as to who they were but with each step she felt like they were moving father from her. So, she began to run. Despite how far they were, their voices managed to reach her ears as if they were right next to her.
"The gods impart this skill to me, to cleanse the world of evil!"
"You're the evil one!" They continued their banter til they were both thrown back by the force of the lightning that struck the tree next to them, setting it ablaze. She watched as the one on the right immediately stood to his feet, seeming unscathed by the fall, slowly making his way to the man on the left.
Kara suddenly appeared to the side of the two as they stared at one another.
"Who are you?" The man on the ground asked. Kara eye's lifted seeing nothing but large, dark eyes. "Why can't I see him?"
"I am Jei, the blade of the gods." Jei said as he raised his weapon.
"Wait!" Kara shouted, though no words escaped her mouth, moving her body to step in between them. The sounds of lightning was all she heard as the world around her grew dark.
Slowly opening her eyes, Kara scanned the room, seeing she was back home in her room, and sighed softly. "So it was just a dream." She removed her hand from her forehead and sat up with a yawn. She glanced over tiredly to see her door opening, revealing Dragan on the other side dressed for the day.
"Still in bed, I see? Come on, ya lazy bum, we're goin' tae go meet the guys." She gave her a wide grin making her roll her eyes and smile.
"Alright, fine, I'll be ready soon." She watched Dragan close to door and sighed softly, running her hand through her hair and sat in bed for a moment. After that weird dream, she wanted to go back to sleep, not to dream of them again but to get some actual sleep. With a sluggish groan she forced herself out of bed, grabbed her clothes for the day, and walked through her own personal bathroom to get ready for the day.
Finally arriving at the lair the first thing she spotted was Raph sleeping on the couch with the TV on, and Mikey on the floor with a box of half eaten pizza. "Nothing out of the ordinary here, I suppose. Where's Mona?"
"She left wi Sal Commander tae retrieve items from her home world. She should be back within a month, I believe." Dragan let Kara know before heading towards the Dojo to see Leo.
"That makes sense." Kara shrugged while heading towards Donnie's lab glancing at the TV with the news airing, showing the disaster of Lord Dregg and his Vreen even weeks after the cleanup. "Guess news is news." She walked inside the lab to see Donnie working at his computer and went right over to him. "Hey Donnie, whatcha working on?"
When no reply came she figured he was hard at work with something so she decided to have some fun with him. She went right to his side, bent down some, and planted a kiss on his cheek. As soon as he lifted his head and turned in her direction she leaned in and kissed him smack on the lips. His face immediately changed red, the ends of his mask shot up like bunny ears, but he quickly regained himself, melting under her lips.
"There you are." She giggled happily as she watched him almost become a puddle in his chair. After regaining his solid body and calming down he cupped his hand over her cheek and brought her close for another kiss. "You know you could of just said something." He whispered, his cheeks still having a tint of pink to them."
"I did." She said with a pout. "You ignored me so I had to grab your attention somehow." She gave him a shrug, acting innocent and smiled down at him. "So, once again, what are you working on?" She asked curiously, bending down behind him with one arm around his shoulder and the other pointing at the screen as he began to explain, looking down at his keyboard in the process.
Dragan entered the Dojo to see him training as usual. Seeing Karai wasn't around she figured she was meeting with the Mighty Mutanimals. She smiled and quietly snuck around him, grabbing her sword and shield and putting them on while glancing his way to make sure he hadn't noticed her. With a smirk, she snuck up behind him and grabbed his arm, pulling it behind his back and brought her body close to his, wrapping her other arm around his neck. "Tag. You're it." She whispered with a smile, kissing him on his cheek and stepping back from him.
"Dragan!" Leo shouted with a bright smile only to recompose himself, clearing his throat. "I uh..didn't sense you come in. Guess I was focused on my training." He said shyly, rubbing the back of his head.
"That's alright, love, but I did say you're it. So? Come get me." She gave him a wink making him press his lips together, the tint around his cheeks growing darker but he smirked and charged for her, sending different combo of punches her way. Side stepping here and there she watched him continue his attacks til she felt her shield hit a wall, pressing up against it. She glanced to the side then at him as he planted both arms at each side of her. "Clever girl." She whispered as they stared into each other's eyes.
"Tag. You're it." Leo whispered as he closed the distance between them, their mouths connecting with one another in a lover's kiss. When their lips parted he placed his hand under her chin, stroking her jawline with his thumb affectionately as they stared at one another. "Again?" He asked with a smile as he took a step back, his hand lingering under chin before pulling away.
Dragan nodded with a smile and they both began to train using hand to hand combat. Dragan was a little rusty with it, mainly relying on her weapons, but that's what training was for. "Haha, I love trainin'." She thought to herself as she jumped back from Leo's punch but not soon afterwards he spun around for a kick. She blocked his kick with her palm and then quickly wrapped her hand around his ankle, his feet too large for her to grab. With a smirk curling on her lips she tightened her grip and went to pull him towards her but froze as she felt a strange sensation through her body. "What the..?" She looked over at Leo seeing he was having a similar reaction too, both of them feeling as though their bodies were being picked up.
Soon the room they were in vanished right in front of them and every one of them were floating in the sky for two seconds before they fell to the hard ground with a thud.
"Ugh..what happened..?" Kara asked, sitting up while looking around but saw nothing but clouds. She stood to her feet and began to help the others up.
"Where..where the heck are we?" Leo was the first to ask after everyone was on their feet.
"Donnie! Were you messing with some portal experiment again?!" Raph accused Donnie knowing he's always doing something sciency.
"Why do you always assume it's me?" Donnie retaliated getting annoyed.
"No, he wasn't, Raph..something strange is going on.." Kara muttered under her breath.
"These are the great warriors I asked for?" Jei stared down at them, hidden from their sight and blinked when he noticed two females with the warriors. He glanced up at the sky and a smirk crossed his lips.
Dragan was keeping silent, adjusting her shield on her back when she noticed a figure out of the corner of her eye. When she looked though, there was nothing. "Kara." She whispered softly, Kara moving to her side noting the serious expression on her face. "See if there's anyone on this mountain wi us. I've got a bad feelin'."
Kara nodded and went to close her eyes til she and the others heard a groan just ahead of the path they were on. When they looked over they saw an anthropomorphic wolf with blind eyes limping towards them, using a spear to support him. "Ahhh, Turtle Ninja, mythic kappa of legend? I need your help."
Kara's eyes widened recognizing his voice from her dream.
He reached his hand out as he walked towards them, stepping in the middle of them all. "I was attacked by a vicious rabbit Ronin. Save me. Save me from the wrath of this madman, please." He placed his hand on Mikey's shoulder, staring him right in the eye. Mikey stared at him weirdly til his body began to go neutral, his pupils fading to white.
"We can take are of this evil jerkface for you. No worries, bruh."
"He is pure evil. I can sense it inside him, corrupting him like a plague." The wolfman said as he touched Raph then Donnie, both of them acting the same as Mikey. He then went to Leo, staring him right in the eyes as he too shared the same fate.
"Yes, we can help you, old man. No problem."
Kara watched this unfold as he then turned his eyes on them two.
"I know this is a lot to ask of such legends but I beg of you, free me from the wrath of this evil creature." He reached out to touch Kara but she quickly took a step back. "Uh, sure, sir, we can definitely help you. No worries." She told him with a nervous smile.
His hand jerked back, taken aback by her sudden movement but he tried to play it off, turning to Dragan next, placing his hand firmly on her shoulder. "I am indebted to your kindness, oh warriors."
Dragan's eyes widened feeling something beginning to overcome her. Squeezing her eyes shut she tried to fight off this feeling but eventually it disappeared. Shaking her head to clear her mind of the weird feeling she composed herself and smiled down at the wolfman. "Ye can count on us, sir." She gave him a firm nod, feeling like herself as always.
Jei couldn't hide his reaction as his powers didn't seem to affect her at all. "Just who is this creature..?" He walked ahead of them, the guys lining up with the girls behind him, continuing his facade. "Hunt down and destroy the long-eared Ronin who travels with a child." He whimpered softly before his voice lowered to a dark tone, one that the girls could not hear. "But do not harm the boy. Now, go!"
The guys immediately ran off. The girls looked at one another in confusion before following close behind them.
"Do my bidding, Turtle Warriors." Jei muttered, watching them take off. "Destroy the one called Miyamoto Usagi!" He roared, the guys able to hear his orders.
It was already nightfall when they had reached a forest, having run non stop.
"I..I can't take it anymore.." Kara panted between breaths as she and Dragan leaned against a tree, out of breath.
"I don't remember the guys hav-...havin' so much..energy." Dragan started fanning herself while putting down her shield. She took a quick look around and noticed something was clearly wrong. "..Where are the guys?"
Kara stood to her feet, her head jerking in every direction. "They..they left us! Ooh, those jerks! They've been acting strange ever since that wolfman touched them!"
"Yeah, you're right. Now that ya mention it..when he touched ma shoulder I felt as though somethin' was trying tae take control o' me somethin'..dark. But for some reason, I was fine." She turned to Kara with a confused look on her face and noticed she had her eyes closed. She blinked when she suddenly heard metal clash against metal and stood to her feet. "That must be the guys."
"It is. Let's go."
Once Dragan grabbed her things they ran off in the direction the fighting was coming from to see the guys fighting a rabbit man at once; but they were clearly losing. Leo was the last to stand as the two ran at each other head on.
"You are not unskilled, demon! A willow branch is thirsty. And I will quench its thirst on your blood." He stated to Leo as they continued to fight.
"That voice..It's the other one from my dream!" Kara's eyes widened watching them fight when suddenly Leo was hit hard in the head and fell to the ground. "Ouch..that can't be good."
Dragan saw the rabbit man move towards Leo and let out a battlecry immediately running to aid Leo, Kara right behind her.
"Stop!" They both heard, skidding to a halt, wondering where the voice came from. "Kappa, I sense you are under an evil enchantment."
With a groan, Leo sat up on his knees. "Guys, the kid's right."
"We're not bad guys, little dude. Ronin rabbit here is." Mikey mumbled, looking over at them.
"Usagi is my loyal bodyguard. Even if he is a useless peasant." Kintaro said with a hmph.
"Leo!" Dragan ran over to Leo's side, bending down in the water to help him up. "Are ya hurt?"
"I'll be fine in a moment." He said softly while rubbing his head.
"What!" Usagi and Kintaro's eyes widened seeing Dragan them looked over hearing another female voice, seeing Kara.
"Guys! Are you ok?" Kara ran over to them, helping Raph and Donnie up.
"Oh, man, what a headache. Skull's aching." Raph muttered, holding his hands over his eyes.
"Yeah, this is like a double chocolate Mikey pizza hangover." Donnie mumbled as he was helped to his feet.
"It was that wolfman. He must of brainwashed you all." She muttered as she glanced over at the one called Usagi, who was staring right at her in shock which caused her to stare back at him in surprise.
"I sense they are not evil." Kintaro began to explain, grabbing Usagi's attention, looking down at him.
"Then what are these strange yokai?" Usagi asked turning his attention back to them, scanning them all before his eyes went back on Kara.
"Strange? Look who's talking, a giant samurai rabbit."
"Do ye perhaps think thay are mutants?" Dragan questioned aloud.
"All I remember is that blind wolf guy telling us to find this long-eared samurai." Mikey said, laying his head against a rock.
"What blind wolf guy?" Usagi asked.
"He summoned us here somehow, to your dimension." Donnie began.
"He carried a black spear, like nothing I've ever seen before." Leo continued.
"Black spear? That old, blind wolf is not blind, but possessed by evil. His name is-"
"Jei. His name is Jei, correct?" Kara interrupted Usagi's sentence causing everyone to look at her in surprise.
"How did you know?" Donnie asked.
Kara walked up to Usagi, standing in front of him with her arms loosely crossed. "I had a dream. You two were fighting. He murdered a family, right?"
Usagi stared right at her in surprise, giving her a soft nod. "How?"
"As I said, it was a dream. I couldn't make out what you two looked like but..you had very distinguished voices." She said with a small smile causing him to blink at her.
"Then that's what I felt when he touched me, he had ye all under a spell. He tried tae put me under his control as well but he couldn't for some reason."
"I know why."
Dragan heard a voice and looked down to see a pug child and blinked down at it.
Kara saw the kid and her eyes immediately sparkled. "Is that a pug?!" She squealed excitedly, sliding besides Dragan.
"Who isn't wearin' any pants.." She mumbled, staring down at it just before Kara swooped him up and began hugging him.
"What the?! Put me down this instant you strange, ugly creature! How dare you treat me like this!" He shouted in protest but Kara ignored him.
"Seems he has a mouth as well." Dragan noted watching as he managed to free himself.
Usagi finally sheathed his sword and took a step towards them. "Where are you from?"
"Who cares? Look how ugly they are." Kintaro said aloud, crossing his arms with his eyes closed. "And my sensitive nose can't handle how bad they smell."
"Be silent, child!" Usagi shouted, surprising Kintaro and causing him to fall in the water with a yell.
"Excuse the boy, Kappa warriors. Please, share our campfire." Usagi took a step to the side and held out his hand to where they would be resting.
"Thanks, Usagi." Leo said with a smile as they all followed them to the campfire.
Once introductions were out of the way they all began to settle.
Kara was leaning against Donnie as her eyes began to feel heavy. Not having a good night's rest and running straight from the mountain to the forest had exhausted her to no end. She was struggling to stay awake. Donnie noticed this and placed his arm around her to keep her from falling as he and the others tried to get warm.
"So, what's your story?" Leo asked curiously.
Usagi sat down next to Dragan as she tried to warm up as well, her hair tied up in a bun to keep it from catching fire. She glanced at him curious as well.
"I was Lord Mifune's personal bodyguard in the battle against Lord Hikiji." Usagi closed his eyes as he began to recall the battle in his mind. "We fought bravely and with honor. Our forces might have been victorious..had not a trusted general turned against our lord. It was my duty to protect his flank. I failed." His eyes snapped open the flashbacks becoming too terrifying to him and he let out a soft sigh. "I became a Ronin, roaming the land. Now, I am in charge with taking this boy to the temple palace of his order."
"What does Ronin mean?" Dragan asked curiously.
"It means warrior with no Lord to serve." Donnie explained to her. "Like, a knight with no King."
"Wow..that's sad.." She glanced over at Usagi with a saddened look in her eyes. He gave her a small, appreciative smile which caused her cheeks to flush pink and she quickly looked away.
"But where do you come from, strange warriors?"
"My brothers, friends and I are from..far away. It's kind of hard to explain." Leo stated not sure if he'd believe they weren't from here at all.
"In all of my travels I have never seen two creatures like these before." Usagi stated looking over at Dragan and Kara, his eyes lingering on the sleeping Kara, pondering to himself.
"Have we traveled back in time again?" Raph asked leaning towards Donnie.
"I don't think so. We must have been transported to a different dimension. One inhabited by anthropomorphic animals instead of humans."
"Seems like we're the mutants in this dimension." Dragan muttered as she leaned against the dirt wall, yawning.
"Sounds like my kind of place!" Mikey said as he chomped down on a now warm pizza that he kept somewhere no one wants to know the answer to.
"Mikey, ya do realize this is, like, Feudal Japan. There is no pizza or electricity here." Dragan's statement caused Mikey to freeze and his eyes to bug out.
"So, how are we ever gonna get home?" Leo looked to his brothers and Dragan wondering if they had a solution.
"Hmm, the monks of Kintaro's order may know a way. They are powerful mystics."
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could we accompany ya two in your journey?" Dragan asked Usagi. He gave her a nod a smile making her smile in return.
"Ha! These turtles and weirdos are doomed." Kintaro stated, crossing his arms.
"Whatever, Pugtaro." Mikey smirked noticing he was getting worked up. "Yeah. That's what I'm gonna call you. It's a waaay better name than Kintaro."
With a growl, Kintaro jumped to his feet. "What would a simple reptile know? You don't even have ears or a nose!" He shouted, pointing right at his face. Mikey immediately covered his mouth and head before both of them had a stare off, growling at one another, and soom began a smack fight.
Kara's eye twitched hearing them bickering and creased her brows in annoyance. "Shut up, you two! I'm trying to sleep!"
Both of them sat up straight, quickly ending their fight and whimpered quietly.
Kara gave them a nod, not opening her eyes and curled close to Donnie with a smile. "That's better."
Usagi stroked his chin watching her curiously then looked over at the others as they began to get ready to sleep.
When morning came they set out on their journey.
While the girls were able to keep up with the others, they stayed behind to talk to another.
"This is too weird."
"Yeah, but I guess we geit tae see how the guys feel at home for a change; being different in a world not like theirs."
"Yeah, wonder if we'll be able to blend in at all." Kara crossed her arms as they continued to talk, closing her eyes in thought when she felt the vibrations of something coming their way. "Guys!" She ran up to them with Dragan right beside her.
"What is it, Kara?" Donnie asked as they all turned around to look at her.
"Shh." She placed her fingers to her lips, closing her eyes. "Listen."
The others said no words as they looked around, only the sound of the wind rustling the trees could be heard.
"What is it? I don't hear anything." Leo said, glancing over at them.
"It's coming from that way." Kara pointed to the east.
"Horses are approaching." Usagi glanced in their direction, the sound of hooves clomping against the ground grew louder. Everyone looked at another and nodded, quickly in the trees.
"Kintaro, are these the samurai who attacked the village?" Usagi asked in a hushed voice as the others watched the horse riders slow to a stop.
"They are. That's Sumo Kuma." Kintaro whispered back.
"We need to find out what his plan is for the boy." Usagi began to say, "But how can we get close enough to hear them?"
"We're ninja. We're experts at getting close to people." Leo said with a smirk.
"Well, they are, but that doesn't mean I haven't learned a trick or two from them." Kara stood to her feet, crossing her arms with a wide grin on her face.
"Ditto." Dragan said with a smile.
"I'll get us a horse, Dragan. Stay put." Kara turned to the two and gave them a two-finger salute before jumping through the trees to catch up with the riders.
While the guys took care of their targets with ease, Kara stared down at her target and grinned before landing right behind him, wrapping one arm around it's torso, locking its arms at it's side, and covered it's mouth with the other before rolling off the horse and knocking it out.
"Quick, before they realize they're missing a few riders."
Dragan climbed on the horse behind Kara and looked at them all. "We'll stay off tae the side an out o' sight so tae not cause any suspicion."
Usagi nodded to the two girls making them smile before they rode off to get some distance from them.
"What about me? You're missing a horse, fools!"
Raph and Usagi looked at one another with a smirk before putting Kintaro in a basket big enough to fit him in.
"Alright, get in there, shorty. And don't make a peep."
"Let me outta here! I told you I don't like small spaces! I will have your head for this!" Kintaro's voice grew muffled as Raph placed the cover over him.
"Don't worry, young one, this is for your own good." Usagi said gently as he and Raph hoisted him onto the horse.
"Excitable little guy, isn't he? Hmm, not at all what I pictured as a mystical savior of the realm to be like."
"I think he's just grumpy cause he missed breakfast." Raph muttered as he climbed onto his horse.
"We all did. So hungry." Mikey whined.
"Quiet, Ninjas. Let's blend in." Leo placed his mask over his face as they all rode off, Raph having difficulty controlling his.
"Oh, man, easy girl! Why do horses hate me?"
"Hurry stragglers. Keep up! The master awaits us." Kuma shouted to his men.
Leo and Usagi glanced off to the side seeing the girl's able to keep up while staying hidden from the others.
"Spread out. But do not let Sumo Kuma spot you." Usagi whispered to Leo. Both of them nodded to another as they separated, trying to move closer to Kuma.
"I don't trust Master Jei." The guys heard one of the followers whisper to the one next to him.
"But there is something in his voice that compels me. He is a wise leader. We must obey at whatever the cost."
Kara and Dragan were watching Kuma closely while making sure to keep their scent under the wind. Dragan squinted her eyes when she noticed Kuma raise his weapon and looked at Kara.
"Ye think he knows?"
Watching his men surround Usagi and the others answered her question.
" 'll wait for the right moment though." She whispered, narrowing her eyes at them.
Both of them waited patiently. It was when Kuma's men began to attack that Kara smacked the reigns and shouted, the horse lifting up on it's hind legs with a whinny, and charged after them.
Kara stayed on the side trying to keep up with the others as they fled from Kuma's men. Kara squinted her eyes seeing a small cliff up ahead and grinned while ordering her horse to go faster. It let out a loud whinny as it jumped beside one of the men, Dragan immediately shoving it off it's horse. Dragan chuckled as they made their way towards the others.
"You guys weren't going to leave us, were you?" Kara glanced at them with a playful smirk.
Dragan lowered her gaze to the ground and blinked in surprise to see small, dinosaur like creatures running beside him. "Are those dinosaurs? No way!" Dragan said in excitement with a light laugh.
"This place is so weird." Kara said with a smile before looking up as Usagi told them all to move ahead. Watching Usagi move off to the side to take care of Kuma Kara glanced back at Dragan with a grin. "Can't let him have all the fun, right?"
Dragan looked back at her and nodded, sharing her grin, as Kara slowed the horse down to follow Usagi. They fought each other with impressive skill, on horseback no less, but it was time to put an end to the chase.
Kara snuck up on the other side of Kuma and looked back at Dragan. "Shall you do the honors?"
"But o' course. I was always curious about fightin' a bear." She said as she brought out her sword, using it's hilt to smack him across the head, knocking him off his horse and into a rock. The girls gave each other a fist bump before following after Usagi.
While Dragan took care of the men that were attacking them Kara noticed Kintaro had fallen off the horse and was rolling down hill towards a tree. "Oh, boy." She said in surprise before calling her horse to run after him, catching up to Raph and Mikey.
"Just a little further an I can catch him!" Dragan yelled as she shakily stood to her feet, ready to jump off the horse but they watched as Usagi shot an arrow towards him and then another, the second arrow pushing the first one towards the tree Kintaro was rolling to and it bounced off it, landing in front of the tree. The arrow gave momentum to the basket Kintaro was in and he soared through the sky towards Usagi, who caught the rope that was around it, and slid to a halt. Kintaro was now safe and sound despite his bumpy ride.
Both girls stared at him, jaws dropped in awe, their cheeks turning red with how cool he was.
The sound of running horses snapped them out of their trance and they rode to catch up with the others. "These guys sure are persistent.." Kara growled under her breath as they rode side by side with Usagi.
"Quick! They're gainin' on us." Dragan called out to the others.
"Hurry, Kappa! Ride faster!" Usagi shouted, glancing behind him to them.
Kara closed her eyes to try and find a path that they could sneak through and escape only for her eyes to immediately shoot open. "Guys! Cliff!" She screamed as she pulled hard on the reigns on the horse, it whinning in protest as it tried to stop but with the others trying to do the same, they ended up pushing them forward and they all fell over the edge, screaming their lungs out.
-To be Continued-
Right on time, haha! Now, fair warning, the site I use to make sure everything is word for word in the episodes...doesn't have the next two episodes so I'll be playing it by ear like before when I start the next two chapters. It may take some like but I promise you they will be posted. Cause things are gonna get exciting~ Anyways, you all know the routine, Rate/comment! All feedback is much appreciated. See you when I see you. hehe.