The Big Brawl - Part 1
Splinter walked among a rather ancient market square, which had old huts and buildings that were in Japanese architecture, with fog and mist filling the air.
"The past is another country."
He stopped when he heard a sound from nearby, which is when the fog and mist vanished.
"They do things differently there…"
Splinter looked around as four black ninjas appeared behind him.
"...and yet it seems that the past lives still, haunting us."
They jumped their way towards him with blades as he turned to face them.
They stopped a few feet away from Splinter before he leapt and kicked one of them away in the chest, rolling on the ground.
Another swung their blade at him, but he ducked under it and kicked the ninja away.
The third and fourth ninjas came up behind Splinter and kicked him in the back, knocking him away and onto his chest.
"But we need not fear the past."
A large bipedal and humanoid red dragon then appeared, wrapping his tail around Splinter and squeezing him tight before he rammed Splinter against a building and then slammed him onto the ground.
"It is the future we must fear."
Splinter tried pulling himself free as the dragon glared and growled at him with his glowing green eyes.
In the lair, Alex, the Turtles, Alopex, Tiger Claw, Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa all sat on their knees as they walked Splinter and Rebecca practice on a couple of dummies.
They sent kicks and punches at them before performing some katas at a quick speed.
Splinter then leapt at and kicked Raph's punching bag off its chains and landed in front of everyone and Rebecca kicked her dummy's head clean off, which rolled to a stop in front of everyone as well.
"Whoa." Everyone said in amazement.
Splinter then flipped and leapt at a pile of bricks, chopping the very top brick, before landing near everyone.
Then Rebecca jumped and landed in front of four pieces of wood that hung on string, which she struck with open palms, before flipping and landing next to Splinter.
All of the bricks started cracking from the bottom and reaching the top before splitting in half and falling to the floor.
Then the wooden pieces shattered apart, becoming splinters, which lay all over the floor.
The two bowed before their results, Splinter turning and grabbing his walking stick. He and Rebecca then walked past everyone, who stared at them, towards their shared room, its door opened before closing when they finally entered.
"So what's up with Master Splinter and Rebecca?" Mikey asked everyone, who all wondered the same thing.
In their room, Splinter grabbed and laid out a blue blanket on a table while Rebecca opened up a backpack.
Splinter placed a piece of chalk, a scroll, an apple and a dagger on the blanket as Rebecca put a scroll, a water bottle, some clothes, a bento box and a dagger identical to Splinter's in her backpack.
She closed it up as Splinter wrapped the blanket up in a bindle.
Outside, everyone gathered around the door, wondering what was going on with the pair.
"I don't get it. Why were they working out so hard?" Donnie asked everyone in confusion.
"They've been acting kinda wacko for a month now." Raph reminded them.
"It's like they're preparing themselves for something big." Venus said.
The door then opened and both Splinter and Rebecca walked out. The former carried his bindle bag over his shoulder on his walking stick and the latter carried her backpack on her back.
"Our children, we will be leaving you for a few days. While we are gone, we want you to be extra cautious, so do not leave the lair until we return." Splinter explained to them. "Leonardo, you are in charge. You keep an eye on the others."
He and Rebecca then walked past everyone and towards the lair's entrance.
"But where are you two going?" Leo asked.
"There's nothing to worry about. We'll be back soon." Rebecca replied as she and Splinter walked down the tunnel before the door closed behind them.
"Again, I pose the question: what's up with Master Splinter and Rebecca?" Mikey asked everyone.
"I don't know, but don't you guys remember?" Leo asked his brothers. "He went away like this three years ago."
"You're right. And he went away three years before then, as well." Alex reminded them.
"Rebecca was like that as well." Alopex revealed.
"Yeah?" Alex asked.
"Yeah." Tiger Claw repeated with a nod. "Every three years she'd train for a while, go away for a few days, and when she came back, she'd act like nothing happened."
"But where would they be going?" Donnie questioned.
"Could it have something to do with the 'ultimate ninja' and his father?" Alex suggested.
"You might be right." Alopex nodded.
"Yeah, the way they interacted, it's like they knew each other." Mona said.
"Well, there's one way to find out what they're up to. We follow 'em." Raph stated.
"Master Splinter said we're not supposed to leave the lair." Leo reminded him.
"He also said you need to keep an eye on us." Raph retorted. "So you keep an eye on us while we keep an eye on them."
"Come on, Leo, you can't deny you're curious about where they're going to." Alex then said as he and everyone walked towards the door, leaving Leo behind.
Leo grumbled before he followed after them.
In the city, Splinter and Rebecca walked down an alleyway, reaching its dead end.
As they stopped, Alex, Leo, Mikey and Venus ran from one side of the entrance to the alley to the other.
Everyone peeked down the alleyway as Splinter pulled out a piece of chalk from his kimono.
He and Rebecca then turned their heads, feeling like they were being watched, only to find no one there, so they faced the dead end and Splinter started drawing a circle that had a diamond in the middle, as well as bent arrows entering the circle and pointing at the diamond.
Everyone peeked down the alleyway again as Splinter drew six symbols around the four arrows.
He then placed his bindle down and both he and Rebecca placed their hands by their chests and chanted in a weird language.
This caused a puddle in front of them to move on its own as the symbols started glowing, forming a doorway on the wall where the symbols were, acting as a portal. The pair stopped chanting, and Splinter picked up his bindle, before they walked into the portal, which turned back into a puddle and the symbols were now gone.
"Okay, that was freaky." Mikey admitted as everyone stepped out from their hiding places.
"Tell me about it." Mona replied.
Everyone then approached the wall and Mikey started feeling his hands against it.
"It's rock solid." He said, knocking his knuckles against it.
"Yeah, like your head." Raph mocked as he felt the wall, along with Alopex and Mona.
"Maybe there's a door here or something." Donnie said as he started feeling the wall as well.
"I'm pretty sure that portal was just like what that did with the 'ultimate ninja' and his father." Alex recalled.
"And that chanting was familiar, but the symbols, I've never seen them before." Leo admitted.
"Then it looks like Sensei and Rebecca have given us the slip." Mikey replied.
"We aren't gonna give up now." Venus told Mikey off.
"Yeah, Sensei taught us where there's a will…" Donnie said as he put his duffel bag on the floor and opened it to pull out a UV light. "...and some UV lighting, there's always a way."
He turned it on and pointed it at the wall, showing the symbols on the wall.
"Nicely done, Donnie." Tiger Claw complimented.
"You got any chalk in your magic bag of tricks?" Leo then asked, rubbing his hands.
As Donnie kept the UV light on the wall, Raph used the chalk to draw the symbols on the wall.
"That oughta do it." Raph said once he was done, and Donnie turned off the UV light. "Alright, Leo, give it a shot."
"Here goes nothing." Leo said before placing his hands together and closing his eyes.
He then started chanting in the weird language, which made the puddle form into the portal on the wall over the symbols.
"Did it work?" He asked, opening one of his eyes before gasping, now both eyes opened. "No way!"
"You know, maybe this isn't such a great idea after all." Mikey said hesitantly, turning around.
But then both Raph and Mona grabbed him and threw him into the portal.
"Coming, guys?" Raph asked as he wiped his hands.
"See you on the other side." Mona grinned with a casual salute before they walked into the portal.
"What the shell?" Alex shrugged before he, Leo, Donnie, Alopex, Tiger Claw and Venus walked into the portal, which turned back into a puddle with the symbols gone.
Everyone screamed as they fell down what seemed to be a waterfall.
Eventually, a portal opened up and everyone fell out, landing in a puddle of a think substance.
"Now where are we?" Leo asked as everyone got up, wiped the substance off themselves and walked out of the puddle.
"Definitely not Earth." Donnie said as they started looking around the environment, which looked ancient, including the face of a large statue behind them. Alex then spotted, in the distance, a community that had Japanese architecture, which seemed to have a large arena. "But if I had to guess, I'd say it's some sort of world between worlds, between dimensions, even. A nexus."
"You may be right." Alex said as he stared at the community.
"Yeah, you mean like some point of overlapping subspace commonality?" Mikey then said, leaving everyone speechless. "What? Alex and Donnie aren't the only ones that watched Star Trek, you know."
A noise got their attention, so they turned to see another portal open up.
"Heads up, guys. Another one of those doors is opening." Raph said, pulling out his sais.
Five sticks shot out of the portal and turned to stick themselves into the ground, making everyone else, except Leo, pull out their weapons.
The sticks then formed arms and legs with wrappings appearing on their arms and legs, then three metal spikes formed on their left shoulders.
"Oh, crud." Alex gulped.
"Hold on. Maybe they mean us no harm." Leo reasoned, only to be proven wrong when these beings, called Gom-Tais, pulled out sickles.
"Do you hate it when you're proven wrong?" Alopex asked as Leo pulled out his katanas.
The Gom-Tais then charged at everyone.
"We don't have time for this." Leo said.
"I don't think we have a choice." Donnie pointed out.
One of the Gom-Tais slashed at Raph and Mona, who ducked to avoid the sickle, which sliced a tree directly behind them, which they watched fall to the ground.
"Man, those things are just a little sharp." Raph noted.
"More like too sharp." Mona gulped.
The Gom-Tai then slashed at them again, only for Raph to flip over the sickle and Mona to roll away.
"Yikes!" Raph yelped before he got kicked in the plastron, knocking right into Mona.
Alex and Alopex took turns blocking the second Gom-Tai's sickle before it tried kicking them, which they avoided by ducking and jumping under and over before they locked blades.
Donnie and Tiger Claw faced off the third Gom-Tai, blocking its attacks as they backed away, Tiger Claw swinging in the odd slash to try and beat it, but it just kept dodging and blocking him.
Mikey ducked as the fourth tried hitting him before flipping and jumping away from more slices.
Leo and Venus faced off the fifth Gom-Tai, blocking its sickle with their weapons.
They then shoved the sickle away, which was swung back at them, which they blocked as well before Venus kicked the Gom-Tai away, allowing her and Leo to charge at it.
Leo raised his katanas over his head, which the Gom-Tai slashed at, managing to slice the pointed ends off, shocking Leo.
"My katanas!" He gasped as the pointed ends landed on the ground.
This angered Leo, who charged at the Gom-Tai, sliding between its legs as it tried slicing him and he kicked its back, knocking it down.
"Leo's got the right idea!" Raph noted. "Get in close on these bozos!"
As Mona was catching her breath, Raph charged at the Gom-Tai they faced and slid between its legs as it tried slicing him and grabbed its right leg.
"TIMBER!" He yelled as he pulled on the leg, making the Gom-Tai topple over onto its chest.
Alopex jumped back from a slice from the Gom-Tai she and Alex faced, while he flipped over it and kicked the back of its head and back so hard it slammed onto the ground on its chest.
Mikey wrapped one of his nunchucks around the left wrist of the Gom-Tai he faced and went between its legs, pulling it onto its back.
Tiger Claw then gave Donnie a boost in the air and spun his staff before whacking the final Gom-Tai on the back of its head, making it fall onto its knees then onto its chest.
Leo walked up to the pointed ends of his katanas and fell to his knees sadly.
"Preliminary group match completed in fifty four point three quargons." A voice said, making everyone look to see the Gyoji hover down towards them, holding a flag that had Japanese writing on it, as well as the symbol of Yin and Yang.
The five brothers gathered as the Gyoji planted the flag into the ground.
"The Gom-Tai are eliminated from the competition." He then said.
"Competition?" Alex repeated in confusion as the Gom-Tais stood back up and lined up next to each other, facing the brothers, bowing to them, which left them even more confused.
"Now if you Slontags will -"
"Slontags?" Donnie cut off the Gyoji in confusion.
"We're not Slontags. We're from Earth! Don't you remember?" Alex said to the Gyoji.
A portal then opened behind everyone, making them turn to see five green creatures, the Slontags, jump out, wearing armour and wielding blades, landing on the ground.
"Wait. Wait a moment." The Gyoji said, realising what was going on. "This is not correct. There has been some mistake." He then hovered between the Slontags and the five brothers. "The Gom-Tai were to fight the Slontags, not you Earthers. In fact, the only Earthers registered are Hamato Splinter and Rebecca Reed."
"Hamato Splinter?" Raph repeated as Alopex, Tiger Claw, Venus and Mona gathered with the brothers.
"Master Splinter?" Mikey then said, scratching his head.
"And my mom?" Alex asked.
"Where are they?" Leo demanded, holding one of his broken katanas at the Gyoji.
"This is not as it should be?" The Gyoji said as Mikey and Venus held Leo back.
He then hovered towards the flag and the Gom-Tais, where the Slontags were stood as well.
"Now I must reschedule the match between the Gom-Tai and the Slontags." He said before waving his paddle, forming a ball of water around them, which then opened up, revealing them to be gone.
"What the shell was that all about?" Mikey asked everyone.
"It would seem we unknowingly entered a competition of some kind. And both Master Splinter and mom are involved in this somehow." Alex replied.
"Well, I don't care about this competition, the sooner we find them, the sooner we can blow this popsicle stand!" Raph then snarled.
Later, the nine of them all walked through a forest, moving past a horned goat-like animal that was eating some grass.
"Well, at least the Gyoji is familiar." Donnie pointed out.
"So this place must be the home for the 'ultimate ninja' and his father." Tiger Claw deduced.
"All I remember about the Gyoji is he works for the 'ultimate ninja'." Raph snarled.
"But he also works for his father, remember?" Mona pointed out.
"I bet Master Splinter and Rebecca have the 411 on all this." Mikey said as everyone went single file to jump on a rock to get across a river. "They seem to know a whole lot more about what was going on with that 'ultimate ninja' business than they were telling."
"Man, if I see that 'ultimate ninja', I'm gonna -" Raph was cut off by a loud thud ahead of everyone. " - gonna - WHAT THE SHELL?"
Everyone stopped by the edge of a cliff, looking down to see both Splinter and Rebecca in the middle of a fight with two opponents.
Splinter faced a large four armed being with blue skin, a tail and yellow hair and a long beard, the yellow hair on its arms, jumping away from a punch. This being is named D'Jinn.
Rebecca faced off against a large and muscular being who wore a loincloth and boots and only had one eye, meaning it was a cyclops. She flipped to the side as it tried stomping her. This cyclops is named Ajax.
"SENSEI/MASTER SPLINTER/REBECCA/MOM!" Everyone cried out in horror.
D'Jinn threw a punch at Splinter, who jumped back, making his large opponent punch the ground. Rebecca rolled between Ajax's legs and kicked the back of the knees, making him fall onto them.
"Hang on, you two! We're coming!" Leo cried out as he and everyone slid down the cliff's slope and started running for the pair.
D'Jinn kept trying to punch Splinter, who kept jumping away, making him punch the ground, while Rebecca jumped onto Ajax's right arm and kicked the side of his head, making him stumble in a daze as Rebecca landed on the ground behind him.
The nine ran towards the fighting, only for a forcefield to form around them, keeping them in place. A bright light then formed in front of them, the Gyoji appearing out of it and hovered in front of them.
"Battle Nexus rules clearly state that there can be no external interference between contestants." He told them all sternly, shaking his head.
This made Raph growl as he punched the forcefield.
Rebecca and Ajax now circled each other until the latter roared and charged at Rebecca, who flipped over him and kicked the back of his head and back, making him slam onto the ground on his chest before Rebecca delivered an axe kick to his neck, knocking him out.
"Way to go, mom!" Alex cheered.
Splinter and D'Jinn were on either side of a tree, and as Splinter jumped back, D'Jinn ripped the tree out of the ground and swung it at Splinter, who leapt back. D'Jinn then swung the tree down at Splinter, who jumped aside, only for the force of the impact to knock him down and roll to a stop on his chest.
"SENSEI!" Raph cried out.
"MASTER SPLINTER!" Alex cried out as well.
D'Jinn then lifted the tree over his head, ready to strike down Splinter, who was able to leap up in the air time, making the tree hit the ground, landing on top of it and somersaulted towards D'Jinn, kicking him in the chest twice.
This made him drop the tree as Splinter hung onto and swung on D'Jinn's beard before he got thrown off, landing on the ground in front of him.
Splinter bared his teeth as he pulled out his walking stick and dared D'Jinn to attack.
He charged at Splinter with his two upper arms raised and slammed them down at Splinter, who jumped back onto a tree, which he bounced off of and kicked D'Jinn in the chest twice so hard that he was slammed onto the ground and rolled onto his chest, crashing into a couple trees that snapped apart, groaning as he tried getting up, only to be knocked out
The forcefield then vanished and everyone cheered for Splinter and Rebecca as they ran to them, glad they were alright, and started asking questions.
Of course, Splinter and Rebecca weren't pleased to see them.
"You were supposed to stay at home, not follow us here!" Splinter told them off.
"We expected better from you, Leo." Rebecca frowned at Leo sternly with her hands on her hips. "Even you, Alexander."
"I'm sorry, Sensei, but I just -"
"Don't blame Leo, you two." Raph spoke up. "I kinda talked him into it."
"And did you really expect us to stay at home after you two go off for a few days, like you've done every three years previously? Yeah, right." Alex snorted as he folded his arms.
A bright light formed to their right and Splinter and Rebecca's left, where Gyoji appeared, now holding two flags.
"Victories for Hamator Splinter and Rebecca Reed of Dimension Third Earth." He said as he planted the flags into the ground before vanishing.
"Okay…." Tiger Claw muttered.
Then they all heard Ajax and D'Jinn groan, making them turn to see them get up on their feet.
"Protect Master Splinter and Rebecca!" Leo told everyone, who all pulled out their weapons, except Splinter and Rebecca, who they got in front of protectively.
"STOP!" Rebecca yelled as she and Splinter got in front of everyone. "Ajax and D'Jinn aren't our enemies! They're friends!"
D'Jinn laughed as he got to his knees in front of Splinter and Ajax gave a salute to Rebecca before giving her a hug.
"Well fought, comrade." D'Jinn told Splinter as he placed a hand on his arm. "I had such high hopes of beating you."
"And it seems I still need to keep training if I ever have a chance of beating you, dear." Ajax told Rebecca with a slight bow with his head.
"And you almost did, old friend." Splinter replied to D'Jinn. "It was a most valiant contest."
"As long as you get better, we'll see if and when that day comes." Rebecca chuckled as she patted Ajax's left arm.
"Domo arigato." Splinter then said before and Rebecca bowed their heads.
"The nine of you should be honoured that you have Splinter and Rebecca as your senseis, and as a mother to you, young Alexander." Ajax said with a fondness that reminded Alex of an uncle. "They're considered legends here."
"What?" Alopex questioned.
"They are?" Donnie asked, leaving Ajax and D'Jinn shocked.
"By Wodai's hammer, do you mean they haven't told you?" D'Jinn questioned in astonishment.
"No, because they, even my own mom, decided to keep this a secret from all of us for no good reason!" Alex replied, glaring at the pair, who looked embarrassed.
This made Ajax and D'Jinn laugh.
"Oh, this is just too good to be true!" Ajax guffawed, slapping his thigh.
"Please, allow us to tell you a story about Splinter and Rebecca." D'Jinn then said, which made everyone eager to know what the big deal is with Splinter and Rebecca in this dimension.
"I really rather you would not bother, you two." Splinter requested.
"Yeah, we don't need to go over what happened." Rebecca added.
"Oh, we do." Ajax teased.
"Besides, it's no bother, comrade." D'Jinn assured as he placed hands on Splinter and Rebecca before turning to everyone else. "Listen up, young ones. Down through the centuries and across the multiverse, the greatest warriors have always searched for great challenges."
Surrounded by a large moat, there was an arena, which was surrounded by numerous ancient huts.
"So it came to pass for this place to be created, a nexus for beings from many different worlds to pit themselves against worthy opponents."
Within the arena, four pairs of warriors fight against each other.
"The Battle Nexus Tournament, where a warrior can prove themself to be one of the mightiest and most skilled martial artists of all creation."
The Daimyo stood in front of Hamato Yoshi, who had a normal rat Splinter on his shoulder.
"Your sensei's sensei was once a Battle Nexus champion."
The Daimyo then placed a laurel wreath on Yoshi's head, who then bowed as the crowd cheered. He then stroked Splinter's head.
The Daimyo then stood before Rebecca with her husband, Lance, standing on the side.
"Even your mother, Alexander, became Battle Nexus Champion, even beating your father, who accepted defeat with grace and valour."
The Daimyo placed the laurel wreath on Rebecca's head, who then bowed before she and Lance kissed, which made the crowd go wild.
"What? My mom is one of the greatest fighters of the multiverse?" Alex gasped before he fainted from shock, surprising everyone.
"That is the first time Alex has ever fainted." Leo said in shock as Alopex knelt down and used her fluffy tail to tickle his nose, which woke him back up.
Years later, a now mutated Splinter stood among some fellow warriors in the arena.
"Anyway, not long after that, Splinter entered the competitions as well."
An opponent tried slicing Splinter with their blade, who jumped up and kicked them in the back and then in the chest, knocking them away.
His next opponent stood as he jumped behind them and swept them off their feet with his tail, slamming onto the ground.
"He had surprised and impressed many…"
The next opponent tried hitting Splinter with their hammer, but he jumped back and kicked them in the chest.
Splinter's fourth opponent tried punching him, but he jumped over the swing and hit them in the back, knocking them onto their knees.
"...thanks to his skill, courage, and his honour."
Splinter now found himself facing a bipedal and humanoid red dragon with green eyes.
"But his successes led him to a final battle…"
The dragon swung his arm at Splinter, who somersaulted out of the way and ducked under another swing of the arm. Then he jumped up to avoid the dragon trying to bite him.
"...with one of the fiercest of all the fighters, Drako."
Drako growled before jumping towards Splinter and whipped his tail at him, hitting the ground as Splinter leapt in the air.
However, Drako wrapped his tail around him and slammed him three times onto the ground and then slashed his claws at Splinter's back, making him fall onto his chest with his kimono having three slash marks on it.
Splinter then got wrapped by Drako's tail before he could dodge it and got thrown right into a wall, which splintered a bit, and he crashed onto the ground on his left leg, which broke, making the crowd gasp in horror.
Splinter closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in pain as he stood on his right leg, clutching his left.
"And poor Splinter had his left leg broken in the fight, which now looked hopeless, as no one wanted the disgraceful Drako to win."
Drako approached Splinter, ready to deliver the final blow, when the Gyoji appeared between him and Splinter, and held up his paddle.
"The match was halted, and Splinter was given the chance to forfeit, but he would not."
Splinter shook his head and grabbed a couple pieces of wood that broke off from the wall and placed them on either side of his left leg.
Drako snarled with his arms folded, getting antsy and wanting to finish this fight.
Splinter then tied a bandage around the wood and his leg, making a makeshift cast.
"He was allowed to splint his leg and continue the contest."
The Gyoji lowered his paddle and vanished, the crowd cheering.
Splinter growled and narrowed his eyes at Drako, who growled as he charged at him.
Splinter flipped his way towards Drako and kicked him in the chest with his right foot before he somersaulted around Drako.
He then leapt at Drako, kicking him in the chest again two more times before he got knocked out and slammed onto his chest.
"By the gods, we just couldn't believe it, Splinter managed to triumph over Drako, and all with a broken leg."
The crowd cheered wildly while Splinter bowed his head with his hands together.
"Truly, he was the best of the best that day."
"Along with Rebecca, Splinter was the new Champion of the Big Brawl." Ajax finished off the story as Splinter meditated.
"Whoa!" Everyone gasped in awe, looking at Splinter and Rebecca.
"Our sensei, and Rebecca, two of the greatest warriors in the multiverse?" Leo said in utter awe.
"This is just incredible." Tiger Claw said with new respect towards Rebecca, especially.
"It was nothing." Splinter replied, waving his hand.
"This is huge!" Mikey grinned.
"Please, Mikey, we only just won the competition." Rebecca replied.
"It's like finding out your parents are Superman and Wonder Woman." Mikey explained.
"That's an actual good way to sum it up." Alopex said, actually agreeing with him.
"Ah, but wait. There's more." D'Jinn told everyone. "Dark deeds were afoot that day."
Splinter walked through a market square, which was full of fog and mist, now using a walking stick to help him walk with his broken leg.
An owl hooted in the distance as he turned left, which was also when the fog and mist vanished.
A black ninja with three spikes on each forearm and shins appeared behind a stall, wielding a blade, before running off with another.
Splinter limped along until he stopped when he heard a sound from nearby.
He looked around until his eyes widened upon seeing a black ninja leap at him.
It swung its blade at him, which he was barely able to block with his walking stick, before kicking the ninja away with his left leg.
The ninja landed next to another, who charged at Splinter, who clutched his left leg, which was now flaring in pain.
He gritted his teeth as he took a few steps back and jumped over a slice of the ninja's blade, landing behind him and backflipped a kick at his chest.
Splinter turned to see a couple of bolas flying right at him and tried whacking them away, but they ended up wrapping around him.
A ninja took advantage of this and charged at Splinter, slashing his blade, which Splinter jumped from, making it slice him out of the bolas.
He then blocked the ninja's kick a few times before the ninja made a dishonourable move and kicked Splinter's left leg, making Splinter moan in pain as he fell to the ground.
Six ninjas then surrounded him.
Nearby, both a white rabbit and a familiar minotaur were walking down the market square. The former carried a water sap on his shoulders.
The pair then stopped and gasped upon seeing the ninjas surrounding Splinter, three of them turning to the pair, whose eyes widened before they frowned and glared.
"You dishonourable scum!" Asterion roared before he pulled out his spathas.
Two of the ninjas charged at the rabbit and Asterion.
The rabbit threw a bucket from the water sap, hitting one of the ninjas while Asteron slashed one of his spathas at the other ninja, cutting their chest before kicking them away.
The rabbit then threw the other bucket, but it missed a third ninja that charged at them. He then placed one end of the sap on the ground and lifted his feet off to kick the ninja away before landing and picking up the sap so that he and Asterion could charge in and try to help Splinter.
They ran at a fourth and fifth ninja, who they clashed with, Asterion using his horns to smack the ninjas.
Splinter got back on his feet and ran to help them, but Drako showed up and wrapped his tail around Splinter, lifting him off the ground.
The rabbit gasped as he and Asterion saw this happen.
"Drako, you coward!" Asterion roared before he slashed his spathas at the remaining ninjas and punched them away.
He and the rabbit then turned to fight Drako, only to get grabbed by both of his hands and got slammed into a couple of beams, making them drop the sap and spathas.
Drako then snarled right in Splinter's face.
"Little rat, you think yourself a champion?" He sneered before slamming Splinter against a hut and then onto the ground before lifting him up and tightening his tail around him. "You think yourself my better? Think again!"
"He is your better, you disgrace!" Asterion yelled, earning a slam against a beam again.
Drako then roared right in Splinter's face before laughing, bringing him closer to his drooling mouth, ready to finish him off.
But then a blast hit him right in the chest, making him let go of Splinter, Asterion and the rabbit, who landed on the ground.
Another blast hit Drako, which knocked him down.
The blasts came from the Daimyo, who fired the blasts with his war staff.
He fired a third blast at Drako while Asterion and the rabbit helped Splinter join the Daimyo's side.
"Splinter, the minotaur and the young rabbit samurai…"
The Daimyo then fired more blasts at the ninjas, making them run away and scatter.
"...would have been destroyed if the Daimyo didn't show up with his war staff to save them."
The Daimyo fired another blast at Drako, hitting his chest and knocking him down. He then got up and ran away as the Daimyo fired more blasts.
"This made Drako run away like the pathetic coward he is."
The war staff shined brightly as the Daimyo held it up.
"He has not been heard of since." D'Jinn finished the story.
"Wow. It's all so cool." Donnie grinned as he, his brothers and Mona looked at each other, wondering if this minotaur in the story was Asterion.
A bright light formed, making everyone turn to see a portal before them, where the Daimyo stepped out and stepped towards Splinter and Rebecca, the Gyoji and two aides by the Daimyo's side.
"We are honoured by your return, Sensei and Rebecca-san." The Daimyo greeted them with a bow.
"It is we who are honoured." Splinter said as she and Rebecca bowed back.
"I cannot tell you what a pleasure it is to see my good friends in the ranks of gallant warriors." The Daimyo grinned before turning to everyone else. "And now your sons are here to compete." This made Alex and the Turtles grin, with Alopex, Tiger Claw, Venus and Mona looking at them with grins, as well. "This is truly a great day."
"They were supposed to stay at home." Splinter said as he gave his sons a stern glare, making Alex and Raph scratch their heads in embarrassment and Leo to clear his throat.
"Noble Daimyo, the five Earthers were not registered properly." The Gyoji explained. "However, they did win a match in the qualifying round. And the other four proved they are worthy contestants for the next tournament."
That last sentence made the four look at each other proudly, meaning they'd be able to compete next time.
"Excellent. Then by my decree the five shall be entered into the contest." The Daimyo said, making Alex and his turtle brothers grin again. "If you deem it acceptable, my friends."
"Hmm." Splinter and Rebecca hummed as they turned to their sons. "We've thought, perhaps, that they were not ready to compete."
This made their grins drop.
"But it seems inevitable that they'd compete, as they're growing up." Rebecca then said thoughtfully. "And after all they've been through so far, we'll let them enter and stop being overprotective parents."
This made Alex and the Turtles grin once more and cheer.
"Now that that is happily settled, I have an important point of honour that must be addressed…" The Daimyo said, forming a flame, where his son, Ue-Sama appeared. "...by my son."
"What is this, some kind of trick?" Raph snarled as he pulled out and twirled his sais. Alex, Alopex and Tiger Claw also snarled and glared at Ue-Sama.
"No trick, I swear it." Ue-Sama assured before bowing with his hands together before Splinter and Rebecca. "Honoured sensei, Rebecca-san, I know that when last we met…" He then knelt before them "...I challenged Leonardo and Alexander to a mortal duel. It was a rash act, and I humbly apologise for my unwarranted actions upon your family. I beg your forgiveness."
"Look who's turned over a new leaf." Raph whispered to everyone, pointing at Ue-Sama over his shoulder.
"It's all just an act. He doesn't mean a word of what he's saying." Alex whispered back, keeping his glaring eyes on Ue-Sama.
"Your apology is most gracious." Splinter told Ue-Sama.
"We… accept." Rebecca added, clearly doing so begrudgingly, as she too believed Ue-Sama didn't mean a word, having heard what her son just said.
"I'm sorry, Sensei, but I don't think I can compete." Leo said, stepping forward and holding his broken katanas, as Ue-Sama stood up. "My swords, they were broken."
"Father, we must help him." Ue-Sama insisted, placing a hand on Leo's shoulder.
"Of course. We have an exemplary palace swordsmith. Fear not." The Daimyo said as his war staff glowed blue, making Leo's katanas glow and lift out of his hands. "The Gyoji will see to it that your swords are repaired and brought to you."
"As you wish, my lord." The Gyoji said as the katanas hovered towards him. He then waved his paddle, forming a light that made him and the katanas vanish.
"Come, the next stage of the tournament is about to begin." The Daimyo then said, lighting up his war staff, which consumed everyone.
They all reappeared in the Daimyo's stand that stood tall above the arena, where the crowd in the stands all cheered loudly, with the contestants in the tournament all standing in the arena itself, all chanting.
A horn soon blowed as the Daimyo stepped forward to look down at the arena, raising his war staff up.
"Warriors, you have travelled from the multitude of diverse universes, and I bid you welcome to the Battle Nexus Tournament!" The Daimyo declared, earning a loud cheer from the crowd.
"To those who have fallen in battle, I salute your bravery and courage." The Daimyo then said, those that have been eliminated bowing in response. "And to those who have passed the preliminary round, I say congratulations and brace yourselves for the combat to come. For now is the time. Let the next round of the Battle Nexus Tournament begin!"
He lit his war staff up, making fireworks go off, which made the crowd cheer once more.
Alex stepped forward to the edge of the stand and looked down at all the other warriors that will partake in the tournament.
He noticed that some were from the dimension Kirby created.
But then he grinned upon seeing a familiar Triceraton and minotaur, both of whom saluted, clearly showing they could see him as well, both of them grinning back.
"Guys, Asterion and Traximus are here!" He told his turtle brothers and Mona.
"What?" Mona gasped as she and the Turtles joined his side.
"Let me see!" Raph said.
"Oh, wow!" Donnie grinned.
"Cool!" Mikey quipped.
"Awesome!" Leo smirked.
Ue-Sama then approached Alex and the Turtles.
"Please, my friends, allow me to escort you to your next arena." He volunteered.
He led them into a hall, where statues of past champions were displayed on either side of a red pathway.
"As you see around you, this is the Pavillion of Past Champions, something of a hall of fame." Ue-Sama explained before stopping by three particular statues. "Here are three statues that may interest you."
They stopped next to him and looked at the statues of Yoshi, Splinter and Rebecca.
"Whoa." Leo said in awe.
"Awesome." Donnie grinned.
"That's something you don't see everyday." Alex said in disbelief.
"Imagine, our sensei, his sensei and Alex's mom have statues in the hall of fame." Mikey said.
"Come, we must go." Ue-Sama said before turning and walking off.
Everyone followed him, except for Alex and Leo.
"Hey, guys, if it's alright, we'll just stay here a little longer. We'll catch up." Alex told his brothers, who turned to him and Leo.
"Remember, you two, don't touch anything." Mikey joked.
"You break it, you bought it." Raph joined in on the jokes.
"Go on. We'll be right behind you." Leo waved them off.
The three walked off as Alex and Leo turned back to the three statues, putting their hands together and bowing to Yoshi's statue, in particular, closing their eyes.
But then a black ninja appeared out of the statue behind them, holding a crossbow.
It turned to see four more appear out of other statue, one of them also holding a crossbow.
They joined up with the first by the statue he appeared out of, staring at Alex and Leo.
The ones with crossbows then aimed them at the pair, ready to strike them down dishonourably.
For context, Asterion became a gladiator for the Triceratons at least half a year later after he and Usagi tried helping Splinter.
And do expect a few surprises and changes to the events of this arc.