The Time Scepter is an important item in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Movie. It is the catalyst to the entire story's events.
History[]
The origins of the scepter are unknown. It is known to have existed in two locales and time periods - Japan in the year 1593, and New York City in 1993.
In Japan, it was held at a temple in the court of the daimyō Norinaga. One evening, Norinaga's son Kenshin arrived in the temple to witness a wind that frightened the priests enough to cause them to flee, which unraveled a scroll adorned with illustrations of kappa, and following that, the scepter began to glow. At the same moment 400 years later in New York, April O'Neil was presenting the scepter to her friends the Ninja Turtles, having bought it as a gift for Splinter. Kenshin and April were suddenly swapped, appearing in each other's time (and clothes). After calming down Kenshin, the Turtles call Casey Jones to watch over whoever comes through on the Turtles' side once they use the scepter to go back in an effort to reclaim April to her own time. The Turtles hold the scepter, and are swapped with four members of Norinaga's Castle Guard.
Michelangelo, who held onto the scepter after the Turtles were transported to Japan, was stuck riding backwards on a horse, which fled into the forest, only for him to be attacked by the rebel leader Mitsu. Mitsu had her rebels take Mikey back to their village, but left the scepter in the mud unclaimed. After the other Turtles rescued April from Norinaga's dungeon, they came across the rebels who realized that the Turtles looked like their new guest. At this time. Norinaga's business partner, the English gunrunner Walker and his footman Niles attacked the village and set a house on fire. While the other Turtles fought off Walker and Niles, Mike saved the house's occupant, Mitsu's kid brother Yoshi, and Leonardo performed CPR on him after it became apparent that the child inhaled too much smoke. This proved the Turtles to be allies to the rebels in their eyes.
Staying in the rebel village, the Turtles searched high and low for the scepter, to no avail. The Turtles had the village blacksmith build a second scepter, without knowing even if it would function, but Leo ended up dropping it and breaking it anyway. That night, Yoshi revealed to Raphael that he had actually found the scepter while playing in the woods and hid it under his floorboards.
Bringing the scepter out to the group, Mikey accuses Mitsu of having Yoshi hide the scepter so that they would have to stay and fight Norinaga and Walker's forces. Mitsu and Yoshi's grandfather interrupts and said he had Yoshi hide it, to spare his granddaughter the danger of having to fight, herself. Just then, Whit, a former prisoner of Norinaga's dungeon who escaped when April and the Turtles did, grabbed Mitsu and demanded the scepter. The Turtles gave it to him, and he rode off with both Mitsu and the scepter.
The Turtles went after them, rescuing Mitsu from the dungeon and fighting their way through Norinaga's forces. Walker, now in possession of the scepter, fled to the rooftops, with the Turtles in pursuit. As a distraction, Walker threw the scepter off of the roof towards the nearby cliffs, and attempted to scale down the building on a rope. Whit, who was disgruntled with Walker's command to shoot April and the Turtles (and then when he questioned him, had ordered to have him shot as well), fired a trebuchet which severed the rope, dropping Walker down the cliffs. Michelangelo jumped and grabbed the falling scepter, with his brothers catching him in a chain to save him from suffering the same fate as Walker.
April and the Turtles all prepare to return, but get into an argument, as Raph and Mike actually want to stay. Mitsu and Yoshi arrive to say goodbye and convince them to return, just as Kenshin and the Castle Guard activate the scepter on their end. Mike is left behind as he isn't quick enough to hold onto the scepter before the others disappear, but manages to swap with the final guardsman moments later.