RakaiThwei

Personally, I feel like Raphael was robbed of what could've been a very good win for him and maybe a milestone for the Mirage TMNT. I really don't understand how Raphael could have lost, considering that I've established in this arc that the experience the Turtles acquire in their fights was going to be a major element, and Raphael's fought plenty of SNK's heavy hitters, but he wasn't able to take on Ken Masters? It doesn't really make any sense to me. He's carried his team when it came to a grueling fight against Team Fatal Fury, defeating Joe Higashi, Mai Shiranui and Terry Bogard-- the last one established through general consensus that he's just as skilled, if not more powerful and better experienced than Ken. Do you see what I'm getting at? Well, now I have to figure out how to go about this and what the next match is going to be.

It's called The Warrior Returns and it's basically an Anti-Isekai story. Tom Talks enthusiastically describes it perfectly here. So imagine if... You ARE THE SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT!

Yeah... Not too happy about the results here, nor am I happy about the lack of feedback here. Really disappointed.

Thank you for the words of encouragement!

Yeah, that was something which I wanted to get across in the recap-- a sense of intensity and uncertainty which... actually was something elemental even in terms of the votes when it came to Leonardo's match against Geese. And with a one point difference, the fight was EXTREMELY close. While there is a power gap between Leonardo and Geese, the favor being of the latter, I would think that Leonardo would've made up for it in intensity, perseverance and skill. After all, out of all the Turtles, even in the Mirage continuity, he alone was able to stand up to Oroku Saki in the first meeting, and even soundly and rather, with high difficulty, even defeat the Shredder where as the rest of his brothers were unable to. So that should speak volumes about Leonardo's level of skill, even if we look at strictly canon. As far as this match is concerned... I can say that I am rather disappointed with the lack of interactivity and commentary over the last few days. It took me a LONG time to write up this match and to try and get back into the groove of things. Don't get me wrong, I get that people can't always be here to read but... five or so days is enough to get SOMETHING and I know people are more focused on the tournament, so that kind of takes the fun out of doing this, you know? You breakdown is pretty sound, and hopefully people will keep in mind of Raphael's level of skill and tenacity against someone like Ken Masters. Even in terms of this storyline, Raphael's fought people who were even stronger and more powerful than Ken, specifically in reference to Terry Bogard and I was hoping that people would keep that in mind and then being forced to think really hard on how this match would go. After all, the Turtles experience does come to play here and even if we look at canon, all of the Turtles, even Raphael have fought opponents that even Ken would be flabbergasted to know that they exist (the Triceratons, Bloodsucker, Cronus, and the mythological figures in the Hall of Lost Legends). Some food for thought. Thanks for commenting.

Not much can really harm or even compete with Juggernaut. Even the Hulk at some points was badly beaten by him, but this was Seventh Day Juggernaut too. World Breaker Hulk might be the only one to compete against Juggernaut. Maybe Sentry too.

That's two for Ken.. Guys... are we forgetting that Raphael carried his team against three put of four members of Team Fatal Fury and even beat Terry Bogard, who by general consensus is generally considered to be stronger and more powerful than Ken Masters? At least as far as this storyline goes.

Last Ronin is one of the best TMNT storylines to date... Right up there with City at War from Mirage, and City Fall from IDW. And guess what, it's getting an R-rated live action movie. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-last-ronin-movie-1235871493/

Kim Minsu SLAUGHTERS. He destroyed an entire district in Seoul, Korea with a single strike of his sword and unleashed a massive burst of energy. He has killed many other Warriors who were isekai'd like himself. He is considered to be the STRONGEST warrior to date, and now that he is Earth's first Demon King, it's taking Park Jeongsu to assimilate the power's of a few depowered or dead Warriors to have a smidgen of a chance against him.

I would say the Mandolorian has this.

I don't know. I mean keep in mind, Raphael did take on and defeated most of Team Fatal Fury, and even beat Terry Bogard. Something to keep in mind of.

Definitely Professer Xavier here.

Juggernaut, easily. Especially if he has access to his Seventh Day power levels.

After a two month hiatus from writing on the CBUB, I can say that I am back and this time we are at the end of the tournament as far as this storyline is concerned. It took me a long time to write up the next match because I honestly wasn't expecting Leonardo to win against his last opponent, who was none other than Geese Howard-- one of the most powerful characters in the King of Fighters franchise, and to have it narrowed down to such a close vote either. So I had to figure out how I was going to follow that up-- and in my mind, I was asking myself, how CAN I follow up with an act like that? Well, I always had in mind who the final opponents were going to be-- way before Capcom and Nickelodeon decided to collaborate with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Street Fighter, which was officially done in various mediums ranging from Toys, Comics, Games and even Mobile Apps. When it came to doing TMNT vs. Street Fighter, I took some inspiration from the official IDW comic but ultimately felt as if the official IDW crossover was a let down because the writer, Paul Allor didn't really understand Street Fighter lore and he just slapped something together with the TMNT-- and some matches didn't feel like they were organic in terms of who would fight who, and a lot of the fights didn't really have a conclusive winner, and those that did-- well, one was circumstantial (Chun-Li vs. Michelangelo being the PRIME EXAMPLE, as Michelangelo didn't want to fight Chun-Li, and threw the fight). It had been a while since Raphael has gone first in a match, and I decided to put him up to bat and his opponent was going to be Ken Masters in my mind. For whatever reason, Paul Allor decided to go with Raphael vs Guile in the official IDW crossover comic, and it didn't seem like it was going to be as good a match than say... Raphael vs. Ken Masters. Both are similar, and both are fighters of passion and emotional at their very core. So I felt that Raphael and Ken would definitely be a much better match up than Paul Allor's Raphael vs Guile in the TMNT/Street Fighter crossover. But unlike Paul Allor's comic, where he utilized the IDW Turtles, I am using the Mirage Turtles here-- for those who are new to this storyline. Hopefully, this is a better match up! Remember-- ENVIRONMENT IS ALSO A FACTOR IN THIS BATTLE! Something I feel like people need to seriously consider. For new readers who are just hopping onto this storyline here, I suggest you look at the Mirage TMNT Respect Thread to see what the Mirage Turtles are more than capable of. -- Raphael (Mirage) is Low Tier Superhuman in terms of physicals. Think Above Peak Human due to his mutation and training. Raphael (Mirage) possesses his Twin Sai, Shurikens, Exploding Shurikens, Smoke Bombs, and Kunai. Ken Masters is in Peak Conditioning due to his training. Ken Masters has his moveset from the Street Fighter games. Ken Masters DOES NOT have access to Violent Ken mode as he is free of Shadaloo's Mind Control. Battle Environment Map

Leonardo worked diligently to evade the incoming open palm strikes of his opponent. Just by looking at the precision and crispness of his techniques, the red masked Turtle knew right there and then that he was fighting against a true master of the Martial Arts. Because of Geese’s level of skill and technique, and perhaps even his experience— forced Leonardo to fight harder and be quick with his thinking. The mutant Red Ear Slider took in a deep breath of air and exhaled heavily with steady and paced breaths. He couldn’t remember the last time in which someone had pressed him this hard, except for one man who had brought him and his brothers together closer as family and as warriors. Oroku Saki. The Shredder. Leonardo hunched and weaved as Geese Howard unleashed a quick succession of open palm strikes that were aimed at the Turtle’s head. In retaliation, Leonardo thrust the ninjaken in his left hand outward—intending to strike with a stabbing thrust for Geese’s mid-section but the crime boss of Southtown hopped to his right quickly, and he responded by thrusting his left and right arm out, intending on slamming his open palms for Leonardo’s head before he turned in a spin and then swung his right leg back across to the right in a spinning back wheel kick. Leonardo moved his arms up, deflecting the palm strikes with his forearms as he worked to block the attacks, but when the kick moved out for him, he quickly leaned back from the incoming foot. Leonardo snapped his left leg forward and out in a front kick, only to have it slapped down by Geese as he moved his right hand down to block the incoming kick. Leonardo followed up by pulling his leg back and then moved it across to the right as he raised it diagonally, performing a high roundhouse kick for Geese’s head. But Geese quickly raised his left arm up, blocking the incoming kick only to intercept the attack as he took hold of Leonardo’s leg, using the momentum of the Turtle’s kick only to turn and he pulled the mutant reptile in towards him, lifting him high overhead before slamming him to the ground as he countered with his Joudan Atemi counter technique. “UNGH!” Leonardo grunted as he hit the ground flat onto his shell. Geese quickly then moved his left hand down and took hold of the mutant by the neck, only to heave him back to his feet to keep the fight going. Without so much as missing a beat, or even releasing his rather odd opponent— Geese quickly thrust his right fist out and slammed it directly into the Turtle’s plastron protected mid-section. Leonardo again grunted and gasped as air was pushed out from him, but he didn’t have much time to recover from the blow as Geese then raised him overhead and slammed him back to the ground once more. Leonardo’s weight contributed to the pain, and he worked to fight through it, only to then watch as Geese’s right foot now moved right for his face. Impact was made and Leonardo was sent rolling back from the sheer force of the blow. His jaw throbbed with agonizing pain and his head rang as well— and when he rolled onto his back, Leonardo writhed as he tried to fight through the agony which Geese had put upon him. “Leo, get up! You gotta get up!” Michelangelo shouted, eyes wide with fear and concern for his older sibling. Fighting through the pain, Leonardo placed his knuckles to the floor of the rooftop—gripping his ninjaken and Haohmaru’s katana within his grasp, he slowly pushed himself to his feet. With a deep breath, Leonardo spun his blades and gripped the handles firmly, setting himself into his fighting stance once more as he set his stare upon his opponent. Geese grinned and chuckled, seemingly being amused at the resilience of his opponent. “So, it seems as if you have some fight left in you. It will be all the more satisfying as I crush you beneath my heel.” Geese spoke with a sense of self-assurance. The crime boss of Southtown now rushed in towards Leonardo, his fists clenched as he took the offensive. Geese pumped his left fist out in a jab for Leonardo’s face, but quickly followed up by swinging his right across with a mighty hook intended to strike at the side of the mutant Turtle’s head. Leonardo raised his arms, blocking away at the incoming strikes as he took the strikes directly in his forearms, gripping the handles of his swords firmly. Geese quickly leaned forward, and he thrust his right knee up for the mutant Red Ear Slider’s mid-section, but Leonardo crossed his arms out in front of himself, blocking the knee quickly. Geese continued the pressure as he swung his right leg across, slamming a mighty roundhouse kick onto the side of the Turtle, his foot striking hard against the bridge of Leonardo’s shell before he flattened his left hand and swung it across in a ridge hand, aiming to strike at the side of the Turtle’s head. Leonardo again raised his right arm, blocking the strike but Geese turned in a spin and he thrust his left leg out in a back thrust kick. A mighty pressure moved through Leonardo, leaving him to gasp out as air was forced from him as he stumbled back from Geese’s attack. Geese now focused on the internal flow of energy within, gathering it up as his Ki manifested within the palms of his hands. Gathering enough energy, Geese then swung his right arm upward and unleashed an arc of energy which moved along the ground. “REPPUKEN!” The wave of energy was quick and powerful, creating cracks along the surface of the rooftop. The red masked ninja widened his eyes at the sight of the sheer power which Geese demonstrated. He tensed his leg muscles, only to push himself to dart forward before he pounced high into the air and threw his weight forward, only to somersault over the incoming energy and now set his sights upon Geese. He raised his arms up, both blades ready and he swung both down as he intended to strike down at the crime boss’ shoulders. Geese smirked as he side-stepped out of the path of the incoming blades, feeling nothing but a feint breeze as they passed through the air. Geese swung his left arm across, intending on landing his fist across Leonardo’s face with a strong hook punch before he turned in a spin and swung his right fist across as he intended to follow up with a spinning backfist. Leonardo leaned back away from the two incoming strikes, only to retaliate by swinging Hoahmaru’s katana diagonally up to the right, slashing the borrowed weapon for the crime boss’ chest. A stinging pain moved across Geese’s chest as the katana grazed along his body, cutting through the cotton fabric of his top and into the flesh which laid underneath. Crimson liquid now began to seep from the red line that now formed along the skin on his chest. Geese moved his left hand to his chest, feeling away at the wound briefly before he looked at the red stain on his fingertips. Blood. For the first time in this very fight, his opponent managed to draw blood from him. Geese grinned devilishly upon the realization that he may have underestimated his opponent and now would have to reveal his true power to him. “Heh heh heh! You managed to draw blood! Very good! Now I won’t have to hold back anymore!” Geese’s grin grew only wider as he set his gaze on the red masked Turtle. Geese shifted with a step, and he swung his right leg down across in a low roundhouse kick for Leonardo’s legs, but the Turtle quickly stepped back to evade the kick. Geese followed up by bringing his leg back across to the right, aiming for the Turtle’s head once more, but Leonardo was quick to evade as he leaned back from the kick. Geese pulled his leg back before snapping it forward in a sidekick, and Leonardo dodged as he leaned to his right. The red masked Turtle then had spun the ninjaken in his left hand and he gripped the handle, firmly holding the weapon in reverse as he thrust his arm outward to slam the end of the handle for Geese’s face. But the crime boss of Southtown had other plans, as he raised his arms and intercepted the incoming strike, only to side-step to his left and used Leonardo’s own motion against him, pushing him ahead before releasing him as he utilized the Chuudan Atemi technique to reposition his opponent. Focusing on his internal energy, Geese directed the flow to move from within his body, channeling it through his arms and into his hands as he cupped them together. Quickly, he zeroed right in on Leonardo as the mutant Red Ear Slider was turning to meet him head on. Geese thrust his right arm out, his elbow colliding into Leonardo’s plastron only to follow up by slamming his left arm’s elbow into the Turtle’s side, before he slammed both palms into the center of the mutant’s chest. “JAEI KEN!” A burst of blue energy erupted out from Leonardo’s back, and the red masked ninja had never felt such tremendous pain before as he now suddenly found himself flying back several feet. Leonardo hit the ground flat onto his side as he now writhed in agony. He coughed and wheezed uncontrollably, trying to find a moment’s respite to breathe. “LEO!” Raphael shouted as he stepped forth, only to be grabbed and held back by Donatello and Michelangelo. The Turtles had only seen their sibling take such a beating like this once before, and they had nearly lost him when a resurrected Oroku Saki had made an example out of him. Raphael tensed and flexed every muscle in his body as he fought to break from the hold of his brothers, glaring at Geese who in return looked back at him with a smug grin. This served to only infuriate Raphael further, and the hot-tempered Turtle growled as he lunged and fought harder to break the grip of his siblings. Michelangelo and Donatello summoned whatever reserves of strength they could, working to keep their brother held back. Despite their efforts to keep Raphael at bay, they too also had immense concern for their eldest sibling. But the tournament rules dictated that if they interfere, they would be disqualified from the match and their participation in the tournament would come to an immediate end. “Don’t you see he’s hurt?! You’re just gonna let him die out there?!” Raphael roared out angrily. “You’ve gotta let him fight, Raph! Leo’s got this! Just give him a chance!” Michelangelo shouted. Donatello couldn’t help but look ahead as Geese now stepped over to Leonardo, who was already working to push himself onto his hands and knees. The intellectual Turtle widened his eyes, fearing the worst as the crime boss of Southtown loomed over his eldest sibling. Geese gathered up all of the energy within himself, focusing it in both his hands as he then raised his arms up over his head as the energy which he had he summoned crackled in his palms and fingers. “One down, three to go… RAGING STO--!” Geese widened his eyes as a flash moved across his vision. Leonardo’s movements were quick and swift as he moved Haohmaru’s katana diagonally up to the right, striking the steel blade alongside Geese’s chest once more but this time he left a deep gash along the middle-aged man’s flesh, causing the white fabric of his top to be stained crimson red. Geese stumbled from the impact and the pain which he felt on himself, and Leonardo quickly bolted to his feet. He swung his left arm across, slamming his fist across Geese’s face while holding onto the handle of his ninjaken. Leonardo’s fist struck Geese’s cheek, forcing the crime boss’ head to turn and left a brief ringing pain moving through Geese’s head. Leonardo turned with his weight, and he thrust his right arm outward, impacting his fist into Geese’s nose with enough strength to bruise his opponent and forced his head to snap back. The red masked ninja spun his ninjaken and the katana in his hands, only to swing the ninjaken in his left hand back across, and Haohmaru’s katana horizontally over to the right as he aimed for Geese’s mid-section and chest. Geese narrowed his eyes and hissed as the steel weapons tore into his flesh, but Leonardo didn’t give him much time to recover from the initial shock, as he turned to the left and swung his right leg up, striking his foot into Geese’s head as he followed his assault with a swift and strong roundhouse kick before he finalized it by continuing with the motion and thrust his left leg out in a back thrust kick, solidly colliding his foot into Geese’s solar plexus, causing the middle-aged master to double over as air was forced from him. Raphael eased from his rage, his expression turning from a grimace to a grin upon seeing Leonardo getting some solid hits in. The hot-tempered Turtle clenched his hands into fists, and he pumped them in cheer for his sibling. Michelangelo smiled as he watched Leonardo landing some solid hits onto his opponent, and he released his hold from Raphael. Donatello also lowered and released his grasp on Raphael, nodding in approval at seeing Leonardo finally landing some good strikes onto the crime boss. Leonardo then leaned into his opponent, swinging his right arm and bending his elbow out— delivering a solid impact into Geese’s jaw, and the blow was mighty enough to make Geese’s teeth grind against each other, and pain shot through the man’s face. But Leonardo didn’t let up in his assault now, as he swung his left leg across to the right, first down for Geese’s knees and then across his face in two roundhouse kicks before pulling back and then snapping it out for his opponent’s forehead with a crisp sidekick. Geese stumbled back from the blow, his vision briefly flashing as the world was spinning about around him. He shut his eyes as he worked to fight through the shocking pain which Leonardo had piled onto him in such a short amount of time. And more importantly, he had never expected to go through such humiliation— he had only experienced this kind of humiliation once, and that was when he had been defeated by none other than the Lone Wolf of Southtown, Terry Bogard. And now here was an upstart in this tournament, giving him the same humiliation. A wash of anger overwhelmed Geese’s mind, making the man grit his teeth as be bared them and glared to Leonardo. Again, Geese drew upon the well of energy within and channeled it into his hands. He threw his arms upward, unleashing two arcs of energy in towards the red masked Terrapin. “REPPUKEN! DOUBLE REPPUKEN!” The waves of power rushed in towards the mutant Red Ear Slider, threatening to slam into him with powerful force. Leonardo hopped to his right and then his left, evading the rushing waves of energy as they now would collide into the air conditioning units mounted on the rooftop. Upon hitting the boxes, sparks and flames erupted from the air conditioners. Leonardo now stepped ahead, running right at Geese once more. Leonardo thrust the ninjaken in his left hand out, intending to go for a stabbing thrust for Geese’s midsection, but the crime boss spun to his right and he snapped his left leg across in a high roundhouse kick for the Turtle’s head. Leonardo leaned back away from the attack, but Geese pressed on with the offense as he shifted with a step and thrust his hands out in three quick open palm strikes for the mutant Red Ear Slider. Leonardo opted to not remain in place, as he hunched and weaved underneath the incoming open palm attacks before he pushed himself forward and up, now somersaulting over the middle-aged master. With swift motion, Leonardo moved both the ninjaken and katana down, slashing at Geese’s shoulders before landing feet first onto the rooftop before finalizing his attack with a snapping back thrust kick from his right leg, slamming it directly into the center of Geese’s back. Geese Howard stumbled forward, and he dropped to his knees from the pain which appeared to be catching up with him. The white fabric of his top now was stained with his blood, and his nerves were screaming with stinging pain from the gashes and cuts which the mutant Terrapin had placed onto him. But the humiliation was too much to bear, greater than any pain which he had ever experienced in his life. Flashbacks of previous defeats at the hands of Wolfgang Krauser, his fellow student of the Hakkyokuseiken arts, Jeff Bogard and his most humiliating defeat at the hands of his adopted son, Terry Bogard flashed through Geese’s mind. With rage now burning through his entire being, the middle-aged crime boss of Southtown fought through the pain and bolted to his feet. “I WILL NOT BE HUMILIATED BY AN UPSTART FREAK LIKE YOU! I WILL STAIN MY HANDS WITH YOUR BLOOD!” Geese ran at Leonardo, snapping his left leg in a rising front kick aimed for the Turtle’s chin but Leonardo moved his right arm out, blocking the kick with his forearm. Quickly in retaliation—he thrust his left arm out, moving his ninjaken out for a stabbing thrust but Geese raised his hands and intercepted Leonardo’s wrist, and turned in a spin, only to hoist Leonardo over head before slamming him down onto the ground once more. Leonardo grunted upon impact, but quickly curled himself back before throwing his weight forward, flipping himself onto his feet only to see Geese coming upon him once more as he thrust his arms outward with several open palm strikes. The Turtle hopped back, leaning away from each incoming strike but Geese threw his right hand up, firing off another wave of blue colored energy at Leonardo. “REPPUKEN!” The wave of energy impacted Leonardo. Another burst of pain radiated through his entire body, and he found himself being sent flying across the rooftop only to drop onto the solid ground. The red masked ninja now took in several deep breaths of air as he fought to collect himself. He moved his head, now looking over to Geese who now once more was gathering energy not just from within himself— but from around himself as well. The crime boss of Southtown opened his hands, energy cracking across his fingertips as he continued to gather energy from within and around. He looked to his opponent with a shocked look to see him raising his arms and continuing to gather powerful energy within his palms. Light tremors were causing the rooftop to shake, and Leonardo realized that Geese was causing this. Frantically, he pushed himself to his feet and readied himself. “This is the end of the line… You, and your freak friends are finished! RAGING STOOOOORRRRM!” Geese moved his arms and threw his hands down to the rooftop floor— and a massive eruption of blue colored energy emanated from where Geese stood, moving in towards the red masked Turtle. Leonardo suddenly found himself flying back from the sheer power of the eruption of energy, but to his grim surprise—he looked to his brothers and saw that too were also caught in the explosion. Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael now suddenly found themselves being thrown off from the roof. “NO!” Leonardo widened his eyes in fear of his brothers’ lives. Quickly, the red masked ninja gripped his ninjaken in his left hand only to thrust the weapon forward and he stabbed it deep into the edge of the rooftop— now hanging on for dear life. He watched as his brothers also worked to prevent themselves from falling off, with Raphael thrusting both his sai into the side of the rooftop, Donatello and Michelangelo gripping the edge firmly with their bare hands. “YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR ME! NONE OF YOU FREAKS ARE!! YOU PALE IN COMPARISON TO MY POWER AND SKILL!! YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE IN A MATCH WITH ME, LET ALONE BE IN THIS TOURNAMENT!” Geese shouted before he laughed with sadistic glee. Leonardo stared upon his brothers, knowing that not only had his opponent tried to eliminate him from this very battle and even this tournament, but also tried to end his life. But not only did Geese make an attempt on Leonardo’s life, but he also made the attempt on the lives of his brothers. The Turtle wouldn’t dare allow that transgression to go unpunished and drew upon the remaining reserves of strength which he had within as he pulled himself and flipped onto the rooftop once more, now shooting a hard stare to the crime boss of Southtown. He gripped Haohmaru’s katana, his only remaining sword, wrapping both hands around the weapon as he now set himself into his fighting stance, positioning his weapon high and pointed the sharpened tip forward. Geese coldly glared at the red masked Turtle, feeling nothing but anger and disbelief that this one opponent simply refused to go down and die. Geese now threw his hands up, one after the other, firing off several waves of destructive blue energy towards Leonardo. But the Turtle stepped forward and ran as fast as he could, hopping and side-stepping out of the way of each incoming blast. Leonardo raised his weapon, positioning it forward as he drew in closer to Geese. Geese now summoned even more energy from within and around himself— gathering it within his hands as he cupped them together while preparing for another devastating attack. Both zeroed in on one another, with Geese now thrusting both his hands out in a double open palm strike, aiming it for the Turtle’s mid-section. “RASHOMON!” But Leonardo tensed his leg muscles and pushed himself high and forward only to somersault over Geese—allowing the middle-aged man to hit nothing but air and expend the large amounts of energy he had summoned. When Leonardo set himself right side up, he landed feet first onto the ground, turned in a spin and he swung Haohmaru’s blade across, cutting through Geese’s hakama and slashed at the back of his knees. Geese widened his eyes in utter agonizing pain, now stumbling forward and now found himself falling forward. Leonardo turned and spun to maneuver around his opponent, stopping until he was in front of the crime boss of Southtown. The mutant Red Ear Slider swung his right arm up, slamming his fist directly into Geese’s chin. He turned in a spin and raised his left leg across, striking his heel onto the Hakkyokuseiken master’s head. Leonardo then spun Haohmaru’s katana within his left hand, gripping the handle in reverse only to punch it forward and slammed the blunt end directly into Geese’s nose. A wet cracking sound echoed across the rooftop as a burst of blood erupted from Geese’s nostrils, causing the man to clutch at his face now and thus, leaving himself open. Leonardo then pushed himself up, only to throw his weight to the right, and he snapped his right leg across to the left in a jumping spinning roundhouse kick. His foot impacted Geese hard across the head, forcing the man’s head to turn and Geese spun to the side only to now drop onto the rooftop floor. Leonardo now glared down upon his opponent, raising Haohmaru’s katana as he positioned the weapon face down, poised for a stabbing thrust. “LEO, IT’S OKAY! WE’RE OKAY!” Donatello shouted, aiding both Raphael and Michelangelo up from the edge of the rooftop. The eldest Turtle sharply turned his head to see his brothers, seemingly alright, if not a little shaken from the ordeal. He returned his attention to the fallen form of Geese Howard, battered, bruised and cut up from the battle. Leonardo now could feel the pain from the fight, beginning to catch up to himself and he dropped down onto his knees. The Turtle closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths of air as he worked to gather his strength and collect himself. All he felt were the hands of his brothers, holding and lifting him to his feet. He opened his eyes, staring at his siblings and nodded to them, grateful for their help. Storm clouds gathered; soft rumblings came from the sky before droplets of rain began to fall. For Leonardo… The sounds were quite calming and soothing. And so, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep. He earned it. A day had passed since the last contest of teams which the Turtles had participated in. The brothers had taken this time to reflect upon everything which they had faced and learned in their battles throughout this tournament. They felt as if their overall skills and abilities had gradually and exponentially improved thanks to sheer tenacity allowing them to push through the competition, and whatever adversity they had faced, they had learned ways in overcoming whatever areas they had had up short in. Discussions were shared between the brothers, each of them expressing what they had learned from every battle, even learning some new things about themselves which they had never thought that they were capable of as individuals. In many ways, they had grown as a team as well as individuals. During their time of rest, the Turtles had watched the remaining matches play out— watching as the remaining teams worked to eliminate one after the other. Now that the brothers were in the finals, they each held whatever personal hopes that they had for themselves and one another. It had been a long, hard-fought journey but they had come so very far, and wanted to see things through to the very end. It wouldn’t be until the evening that the tournament staff informed the siblings that they were going to be attending the next and the last match of the tournament. With their strength renewed, a hearty meal to keep them empowered, the siblings had agreed on one thing— they were ready for whatever and whoever they had to face. With the tournament staff providing them transportation, it wouldn’t be long for the Turtles to arrive at the designated fighting area. Coming through the back of the arena and making their way through the vast halls, the four siblings already could hear the audience cheering and upon entering the arena, they were met with a spotlight shining down on them. “Can’t say that I ever thought I’d see the day we’d become fighting celebrities.” Leonardo spoke out. “Yeah. After being hidden away in the sewers, this is kind of nice. But no one really knows what we really are. They just think we’re just four people cosplaying. Eh, I’ll take what I can get.” Michelangelo chuckled. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael made their way to the arena. Upon entering, the four siblings turned and looked at their surroundings. Michelangelo grinned as he chuckled. “Heh, kind of feel like I’m in a Pokémon stadium.” The wily Turtle spoke. “You still play that fucking game, Mike?” Raphael asked teasingly, raising a brow as he stared at his brother. Michelangelo gave Raphael a side-eyed stare before shaking his head from side to side, disapproving of his brother’s disliking of a particular game. Donatello cleared his throat as he now looked ahead of himself, catching the attention of Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael. It wasn’t long before the others took notice of the opposing team that was set to be their last competition. Before them were a group of four. One of them appeared to be a rather attractive Chinese woman, her dark colored hair styled up in two buns on the side of her head, covered in what looked like white silk. Her apparel was something unique, a stylized blue Qi Pao that showed off her rather impressively toned and developed legs and on her wrists were two spiked cuffs. Another was a rather imposing appearing man with a stoic demeanor about himself, his blonde hair was tall and cut perfectly, and he donned on a green wife-beater T-shirt, and camouflage fatigues and military issue boots. Another man standing with the opposing team sported shaggy blonde hair, and he wore nothing more than a simple sleeveless red karate gi with a black belt and brown gloves. Lastly, a Japanese man stood there with his arms crossed and eyes closed, sporting a similar attire to the previous man but instead sported a white gi which appeared to have the sleeves torn off and the ends of his Karate gi pants also seemed to have been worn ragged from what might be wear and tear. Both teams soon then had arrived at the middle of the arena, each member on both sides sizing each other up for the moment. However, to the Turtles surprise, the Chinese woman and the blonde shaggy haired man smiled warmly to the Turtles. “You know, you four boys got some real talent and skill. Your perseverance has paid off.” The Chinese woman spoke. “Um… Thanks?” Raphael responded, unsure how to take the compliment. “Seriously, you guys have come far. It takes some serious skill and persistence to get this far. You must be really strong too to actually take down some of the heavy hitting opponents you’ve come across! Personally, I can’t wait to see what you guys can really do!” The shaggy blonde-haired man spoke as he extended a hand. “I’m Ken Masters. This lovely lady here is Chun-Li. Mr. Grumpy pants over there, is Guile, my brother-in-law. And this is my best friend and training partner, Ryu.” Leonardo looked over to Ken and he extended his right hand out, taking a hold of Ken’s hand as the two shook hands quite amicably. “So, who are you guys?” Ken asked. “I’m Leonardo.” “Donatello. Salutations!” “Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey!” “Raphael.” Chun-Li smiled as she blinked upon hearing the names of the brothers. She raised her hand, covering her mouth as she giggled. The gesture was enough to make the brothers look over to her with a curious stare, pondering what was amusing about their names. “Oh, I’m sorry! I have to say it’s rather cute that you all have a theme. Are you all named after renaissance painters?” “It’s funny that you noticed, but yes!” Donatello smiled as he responded. “If the pleasantries are done, I think we all have a match to compete in.” Guile spoke rather gruffly. The brothers stepped away from what might be their newfound friends and huddled to one another. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael looked at one another while they discussed their next course of action and who would go up to compete in the first round. “Alright, last time it was Mikey that went first, right?” Leonardo asked. “Nah, the last time it was Don!” Michelangelo responded. “Yeah, it was me, Mikey, then Raphael and you were the last to bat, Leonardo.” Donatello added. “Alright… So, right now we need to decide who is going to proceed first. Raphael, it’s been a while since you’ve been first, right? You wanna go ahead?” Leonardo asked. “You bet your ass!” Raphael grinned. The four siblings broke rank, with Michelangelo, Leonardo and Donatello stepping back as Raphael now moved onward. The red masked ninja approached the middle of the arena, and now looked over at the opposing team. It would be Ken Masters who stepped forward with the others moving back. The red gi clad fighter and the red masked Turtle stared to one another, sizing each other up as they encircled one another before returning to their original spots. Ken moved his left fist out for a fist bump. Raphael couldn’t help but blink at this, only responding by moving his right hand out, returning the gesture of sportsmanship to Ken. Raphael moved his hands down to his belt, now taking hold of the handles of his twin sai and drew his weapons out, spinning them within his hands. Ken jabbed his right hand out before finishing with a solid straight from his left, his fists moving through the air before he turned with his left side facing Raphael, bouncing on his feet as he set himself into the Ansatsuken fighting stance. The audience cheered as the first match in the tournament final commenced.