We're gonna get to meeting the KFP characters, but first we're gonna have a big surprise from Splinter.

Chapter 2: Entrance to the Jade Palace

A couple of hours later, the gang went towards town, where most of it seems a little more different from New York City. Raphael looked at the others and look kinda agitated about it. He asked, "We came all the way from New York City for this?"

"My master, Homato Yoshi, had relatives from both Japan and China. And that would mean, most of my relatives from so long ago were from China." Splinter explained.

"I always thought that some of them were from Japan, so why China?" asked Mikey, confusedly.

"Because, Michaelangelo, both parts of my family come from different homelands."

"Ohh...so that would mean I have relatives from there?"

All three of the turtles groaned and covered their heads to prevent further embarassment and Splinter sighed heavily at Mikey's confusion. He looked towards him and said, "You have so much to learn, my son."

"Yeah, and then some." Raph muttered.

Splinter paused for a second and asked, "You say something, Raphael?"

"No, sensei. I did not."

"Good, because I do not want to hear one rude comment coming out of you while in this journey. Is that understood?"

Raph scoffed and folded his arms and acted like he ignored that question. Splinter turned to him and asked again, "Is that understood, Raphael?"

Raph still hadn't said anything and then, he looked at his face and rolled his eyes at him and said, "Yes, sensei."

"That's what I thought."

Splinter walked towards them as the others followed him. Leo was in front of Raph and asked, "For once in your life, Raph, can you please put these sarcastic comments to an end?"

"You ain't the boss of me."

"I am your older brother. Therefore, I am the boss of you."

Leo follows them and Raph was seething at him and muttered, "In another life."

As they all came across town, they come across this wise rat, about 45 years of age, tattered clothes, brown and grey fur, green eyes and carries a brown and white stick on his hands. Splinter stopped and looked at him in the eye and asked, "Who are you?"

"Are you Splinter?" the rat asked.

"Yes."

The old rat looked at him and said, "It is me...your brother."

Splinter looked shocked and surprised, but seemingly keeping it on the inside. Then, he looked into his emerald eyes and asked, "Zuko? Is that you?"

"In the fur...and flesh. How are you, my brother?"

Both of them embraced each other with a hug. Splinter could not believe that he found his long-lost brother and then answered, "I am fine. What about you?"

"The same. Everything changed since you left Japan several years ago."

"Yes, I know. How long were you in China?"

"My ancestors lived in China for millions of years and I lived in China for 25 years. It has been a long time coming."

"A very long time." Splinter said.

"Too much of it." Raph muttered.

Splinter sighed heavily and turned slowly to Raphael, scowling at him and said, "I heard that."

"These your sons?" asked Zuko.

He turns to Zuko and said, "Yes. These are my sons--Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo and that's Raphael. This is Zuko, my brother."

The turtles' reaction was quite surprising and Mikey was the one most surprised. He said, "Whoa...you never told us you had a brother."

"That's because we're seeing him for the first time, little brother." Leo said.

"Okay, I get ya."

"Mikey, sometimes you can be a bit precocious." Donny said.

Mikey looked confused and scratched the back of his head and asked, "Um...what does that mean?"

Donny sighed in exasperation and said, "Never mind."

"Hello, boys."

"Pleased to meet you, Uncle Zuko." Leo said.

"Where are you all from?"

"New York City."

Zuko didn't know that Splinter was living with them on the far side of the world and Splinter explained, "We live in America."

"America...heard it's a good place to live."

"Well, don't get used to it. It can be kinda dangerous at times." Raph said.

"In your neck of the woods."

"Reason why we came here is to find Splinter's ancestors here."

"Well, Splinter's great-great-great-great-great grandfather lived in one side of Japan and his great-great-great-great-great grandmother lives in both Japan and China, so both of us come from her side." Zuko said.

"Great."

Splinter chuckled softly and said, "You must excuse Raphael. He can be a little...moody."

"Oh, and it doesn't stop there. He can be stubborn, furious, rebellious, has zero regards to authority and hey, why stop there? He can be somewhat crazy, impatient, paranoid, hard to listen and get along with. And hey, why stop there? And he can become a real pain in the neck and in our brain. And hey, why stop there--" Leo said, then got interrupted by Raph, raising his fist and said, "Stop there!"

"Raphael! Enough!"

Zuko chuckled and said, "I think I get it."

"We're gonna stay in China for a few weeks or so and do you think you know a place where we can spend at least more than a few weeks here?"

Raph chuckled in embarassment and worrisome and asked, "When you say a 'few weeks', what did you mean by that, master?"

"Two or three and a half weeks."

"Three weeks? In China?"

"Oh, Raphael. This is will a positive experience for you all."

"You mean a positive experience for you."

"That's enough, Raphael."

"There is one suggestion I might ensure for you all. Some of the residents from here keep passing through this big temple called The Jade Palace. It's really amazing there. That will most likely be a place to spend three weeks there." Zuko said.

The others took their word for it, but not before thinking about this through and Splinter asked, "What do you think, my sons?"

"Sounds interesting." Leo said.

"Might have some artifacts there." Donny said.

"Let's go for it, dude!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Will it annoy me?" asked Raph.

"Okay, you have got some serious issues here."

"Zip it, Leo."

Leo was about to get in Raph's face until he says he's going. The more silent Raph got, the more Leo kept getting in his face. He looked at him and said, "You have no other choice, Raph."

Raph felt annoyed and insecure about Leo getting on his face and he was ready to blow a fuse on hi, but sighed heavily and said, "Fine. Let's go."

"Great, then. Follow me." Zuko said.

"Follow the leader."

"Oh, joy. This will be fun....not."

A couple of minutes later, they came across some big stairs going all the way to the top of the palace. Mikey asked, "We have to walk all these stairs?"

"Looks like it." Splinter said.

"That's a lot of steps. I thought they should make these shorter back at the sewers."

"This is different, Michaelangelo."

"Master, with all due respect, I don't know if you're capable of walking all these stairs." Donny said.

"And why not?"

"Well, no offense, but your old age can't make way with these stairs."

Splinter chuckled and said, "Donatello, in case you have forgotten...."

He looked towards those stairs and leaps up in the air and does a backflip, then goes into the air and at the end of the palace. Then, he looks down and sees his sons and Zuko all the way down there. He asked, "You were saying? I still got it."

"Or maybe not." Donny said.

"Nice save, geek-o." Raph said.

"Don't start with me."

"Might as well walk up." Leo said.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I don't kid, Raph."

7 minutes later....

The turtles and Zuko have made to the top of the stairs of the Jade Palace and as they looked behind, it was a big and majestic as they witnessed it to be. Most of them gasped in awe and Donny asked Zuko, "This is it, right?"

"Yep."

"Looks amazing."

"Hey, has anyone seen Mikey?" asked Leo.

They can hear Mikey panting heavily and he laid there, flat on his shell, trying to catch his breath. He finally said, "Finally! I can't take another step."

"Tired, Mikey?"

"I thought my life was flashing before my eyes."

"Oh, shell no. Something else is gonna flash before your eyes and it won't be where the sun shines!" Raph said.

"Okay, let's take it easy there."

Mikey looks up and sees the palace and said, "Whoa...that's trippy."

"This is the Jade Palace. It brings a lot of history in these parts." Zuko said.

"What kind of history?"

"Historic basics of kung-fu."

"Kung-fu? You know, I may actually like China." Raph said.

"Oh, sure. Now you say you like it." Leo said.

"Hey, I can change my mind, can't I?"

"Only when it involves fighting."

"You want a fight right now?"

"Don't get me started with your attitude."

Raph grabbed him by the neck and said, "Listen, you stupid, lame excuse for a turtle. If you weren't my brother, I would definitely kick you in the--"

"That's enough!"

All of them turned around and saw Master Shifu standing there, looking completely fed up with the fighting. Raph looked at him and asked, "Who the shell are you?"

"I am Shifu."

"Is that supposed to be a Chinese food name?" asked Mikey.

All of them groaned and Shifu asked, "What does that supposed to mean?"

Donny chuckled and said, "You have to forgive Mikey. He fell out of a sewer at birth."

"Humorous."

Kinda funny in the end, right? Well, there's more!