Not my most popular story, but inspiration snagged my attention for this one. :)

Chapter 21

New Home

"No matter what happens, Alala, you'll do your family proud." Rabi patted the girl's shoulder reassuringly. Elysia flashed a grin.

"Aye, that's so! An' no matter what happens, remember this important tidbit; Tighten yer bra strap before you start your battle so yer top stays on!"

As Rabi blushed bright red, Alala chuckled.

"Sage advice that." And she made sure her armoring was tightly done, as the gates were opened and the warriors filed in for their inter-dimensional battle.

Nariko gripped her scimitar tightly, growling as she strode into the ring. She glanced over at Raphael.

"So, this is it, eh?"

"Yeah."

"I feel like a wounded dragon in the midst of a thousand hungry manticores."

"I don't know what that means, but yeah."

Nariko chuckled.

"It means; I feel outnumbered."

"Oh, that… YOU feel outnumbered? You're the one with the magic!"

"Fighting a battle is not all about magic, Angel." Nariko responded with a grimace.

At this moment, the gong rang and the preliminary battles began.

Alala was much underestimated, because her form was without legs. This made her movements unpredictable, and when she wound her long body around a victim, they were… hard pressed to defend themselves.

Good going, Alala. Just keep it up. Though Elysia, as her harpoon flashed, her hair sticking up with static electricity. The warrior she currently faced was giving her a run for her money. The newness of her surroundings was distracting for her, and she was struggling to stay focused. On the other hand…

"Can you BELIEVE this dimension? It's fantastic!"

Taima's long white blade was sheathed with an icy layer, her other arm protected by an icy shield. Other then that, she was unarmed, her eyes narrowed as she battled against opponent after opponent.

As the fight wore on, all but two competitors were eliminated.

Alala and Traximus.

Alala swallowed harshly, her large eyes looking the huge warrior up and down. She was out of water, out of her element. Fear tried to choke her, but she stilled it, her conch-shell weapons gripped tightly in her hands. She was going to have to move swiftly.

Traximus looked at the serpentine woman. Her smooth face gave no hint of fear. Nor did she tremble as she coiled her muscular tail beneath her, her lips parting once to grimly smile at him.

The gong rang out, signaling the beginning of the final battle.

The arena grew deathly quiet as Traximus shifted a foot back, driving forward like a charging bull. Alala uncoiled her body, springing off the ground with a grunt as she dove to the side, her tail inches from being cut off by Traximus' massive ax.

Spinning about, she sprung back, her scales rippling over the ground as she moved like lightning, winding quickly around one of his legs and then around his waist, till her torso was at his back. But she cried out as he struck her body, striking and striking. Bones cracked beneath her skin. With a growling shriek, she wound around him again, pinning his arms. She tightened even more, snarling, she lifted her arms and moved to pierce Traximus' skull with her conch shells, but Traximus snorted, heaving his head back with a sideways jerk, he knocked the weapons out of her hands, and struck her upside the head… or, he would have, if she hadn't been teleported away.

Alala appeared in the box of the defeated, her ribs bruised, but a grim smile on her mouth.

"Alala! By the Light of Luana, you were so close! You were nearly the champion of all warriors in the MULTI-VERSE!" Elysia fairly screamed, jumping with energy, her hair sporadic as it cackled with electricity. She added, with a more serious glint, "If you had fought him in the water, you would have HAD him!"

"As it is, I was honored to fight him." Alala responded with a grin.

"You did us all proud." Taima chuckled, as Nariko nodded shortly.

"I still can't believe I lost because my top came undone." Rabi murmured. Her cheeks were dark and hot.

"It was cut off, and we all know WHY that happened. Did Donatello beat the crap out of that pervert, Rynok?"

"Actually… Yes." Rabi giggled, still embarrassed.

Alala hissed as Nariko murmured and whispered a healing spell, mending the broken ribs.

"Blood of hades, but you gave that dragon a run for his heartbeat." Nariko chuckled.

Alala smiled weakly.

"He was taking it easy on me. He had to have been. He could have snapped me in two."

"But the idea is the fight, not the killing. If you have been trying to KILL him, you could have just bit him. Right?" Elysia pointed out.

Alala only shrugged.

"I'm going to practice fighting out of water more often."

Taima only laughed.

"Let's get to the award ceremony."

8~8~8~8~8~8~8

Traximus was awarded the trophy. As he bowed to the Daimyo, he turned and looked at Alala, smiling, he nodded to her.

She smiled back, giving a slight shrug of her pale shoulders.

Nariko cocked her head, turning to look between the two before shaking her head.

Never happen.

"Ready to see your new home?" Mikey asked Elysia, who nodded, with a sort of sad smile.

"I miss my old one. But yeah. Let's get going!"

8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8

The Lair was quiet and dark, when the portal opened, returning the warriors home. Rabi looked around the Lair with keen interest, her eyes glimmering as she nodded.

"I like it. Very much."

Elysia and Alala both grinned when they saw the tunnels that lead to the river, full of rippling water. Alala slithered forward, dipping her fingers into the waterway.

"I will not let anyone see me." She turned to them. "I'm just going to scout out the way."

"Are you sure?"Don asked, "You won't get lost?"

"I will find my way back. Don't worry." She smiled before turning and diving.

Elysia was already poking around, looking with wonder at everything.

Leo smiled.

"I'd say we should give them the full New York tour, if it's still dark out."

Raphael and Donatello nodded. Mikey grinned.

"Great! We can stop for hot dogs!"

8~8~8~8~8~8~8

Alala paused. Her sharp ears had picked up vibrations in the water. She was not alone.

Something big was swimming towards her. She quickly darted into the shadows, her lungs expanding as she held her air.

A large shadow passed over her. With a gulp, she dared look. A reptilian creature, nearly as large as Traximus, swam past her. She breathed a sigh of relief, and her tail twitched.

Bricks fell over, causing dust to rise up and outline her figure.

Eyes widening, she looked back up. The monster had heard her. He was coming for her.

With a quick twist, she flipped around and swam for all she was worth, back the way she had come. Retracing the tunnels, she nearly blindly made her way back, hearing the rippling roar of her opponent close behind her…

8~8~8~8~8~8~8~

Nariko stood on the top of an apartment building, breathing in the scents of the city. Her keen eyes looked all around, as the breeze ruffled through her hair.

She and Raphael had broken off from the rest of their group, simply racing alongside each other for a moment before coming to a rest here.

"What do you think?" Raphael asked.

"It's so different…" Nariko responded. She sounded gravelly.

"I can imagine… or then again." Raphael reconsidered. He'd been in different dimensions before, but, he'd never been to HER dimension. He'd had a glimpse of it in his dreams, but he knew he couldn't really depend on that for a clear view of just how different his world was from hers.

Nariko turned to him and grimly smiled.

"I hear a young woman calling for help."

Sure enough, Raph picked up the noise, not too far away.

He smiled at Nariko.

"Let's investigate."

8~8~8~8~8~8~8

Alala leapt clear out of the water, turning mid flip, she grabbed her conch weapons. Splinter heard her frantic entrance and rushed to see what was the matter.

Alala hissed as the huge reptile leapt out of the water, roaring at her.

"Leatherhead!" Splinter called out, rushing to put a stop to the fight, "It is alright, she is a friend!"

Alala perceived that Splinter knew the creature and backed down, lowering her weapons.

Leatherhead growled menacingly, as Splinter continued to talk to him.

"She is a new friend. She has come to live with us. Leatherhead, calm down. Clear your mind, my son."

With a final snort, Leatherhead's dilated eyes returned to their normal state. He shifted, regarding the reptilian female, who looked at him with a calm ferocity.

"I… I am sorry."

"Don't be. I am new here. Did I encroach upon your territory?"

"As a matter of fact, you did… but had I known you were a friend, I would not have chased you. Please forgive me."

"I do." Alala placed her conch weapons back into the leathery casings that hung from her hips and smiled.

"My name is Alala."

"I am Leatherhead… Where did you come from?"

Splinter hid a smile as Alala laughed.

"It is a long story.

Hope it's not TOO cheesy. Will try to work harder. Thank you, to everyone who's read and reviewed this story. Like I said, it's not my best, but I still enjoy writing it.