Naruto and Sakura's five year mission

by Cmartin-Panda Productions

After several months of recovering from being taken hostage by the Borg, Starfleet want's Picard to have a pair of bodyguards on hand at all times. What he didn't expect, was getting those two bodyguards from a pre-warp planet full of Humans. The two 20 year old ANBU veterans, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, embark on a new adventure across the stars.

19. Chapter 19: Cause and Effect

Aboard the Enterprise-E, all was chaos. Crewmen from every station and position ran like ants through the hallways, the metal structure of ship giving off a ghastly wail as its beams bent beyond their natural limits. Explosions rung out from the engine room, cooking men alive while tossing the less fortunate out to the freezing grip of space. On the bridge, Picard and the rest of the commanding officers barked commands at one another.

"All hands to escape pods!" Picard ordered as he kept a death grip on his captain's chair, as if his palm could hold together the entire ship long enough to save a handful of souls.

"Captain! Warp core breach imminent!" Geordie reported.

"Eject the core!" Riker ordered.

"Core ejection is offline! Unable to eject!" Data reported.

"We've got hull breaches in decks 17 through 12!" Naruto reported from his station.

"Starboard nacelle collapsed! We're venting drive plasma!" Geordi reported. The starboard nacelle suddenly flashed and jolted the ship into a rapid spin.

"Warp core breach in progress!" Data informed.

'No, no, no!' Naruto thought as he saw decks on his computer terminal flash red one by one. Getting closer to deck 4.

"ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP!" Picard yelled over the coms.

'I'm sorry, Captain.' Naruto thought as he slapped his fingers together and disappeared in a flash of light.

He reappeared inside his living quarters that looked to be falling apart at the seam.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" He shouted.

"NARUTO!" Sakura cried.

He whipped his head around and saw Sakura had only just made it to the door of their quarters. He almost felt relieved to see her if it weren't for ear piercing sound of the walls of their home being torn open like a tin can.

Not wasting a moment, Naruto sprinted to Sakura's side, his mind raving with ideas on what to do next.

"I REPEAT ALL HANDS ABANDON-" Picard was cut off as an explosion in engineering ripped through the ship.

Naruto collided with Sakura and the two held each other close. For a second, the world stopped ending, the both of them exhaled upon feeling that familiar warm. They were okay. Then the explosion kicked down their door and blew a hole through their living room. All of their accumulated possessions were flung out into space while a scorching wall of flames trailed behind. Naruto and Sakura too were exhaled from the ship, twisting end over end against a force they could never hope to resist. The fire penetrated their close embrace, standing between the two as if to cut in on the dance floor. They were soon torn apart, hanging on by each other's fingertips, before that too faltered and their bodies drifted apart.

Explosions continued to fire off throughout the Enterprise, tearing what remained of the ship to pieces. Until finally the explosions ceased and the debris fell silent.

---

2 days previously...

"Captains log, stardate 21472.9. We have entered a recently undiscovered part of space to chart its surroundings. We haven't detected any planets in this system, but if luck is on our side, we may find something no one else has." Picard said in his log.

Everything on the new ship was running like clockwork. Even though there were still a few bugs in the ships systems, it still ran like a dream.

In the crew lounge, Riker, Worf, Data, Naruto and Sakura were having a nice, friendly game of poker.

"Son of a BITCH!" Sakura exclaimed as she threw down a losing hand of fives and fours and a two.

"Hehehe..." Riker smiled as he raked in his winnings.

"Come on, Sakura-chan, it's just a game." Naruto said as he handed his cards back to be reshuffled.

"Oh, be quiet..." Sakura said sourly.

"My, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." Riker teased as he handed Data his cards.

Sakura gripped the side of the table, leaving indents from her fingers in the wood.

"She wasn't even using chakra." Naruto sweat dropped.

"Deal the next hand." Sakura ordered.

Data was about to deal the next hand when Dr. Crusher entered.

"Hi everyone, sorry that I'm late." Crusher greeted.

"Oh not at all. Riker is just kicking our butts as usual." Naruto greeted.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed, Riker." Naruto said. "Normally back home I win these games by dumb luck."

"Well that's the thing to remember, Lieutenant. It's not all about luck." Riker smiled.

"Riker has a nearly unbeatable poker face. You'll have to be really good at reading people to beat him." Crusher said.

"Yeah, mister emotional intelligence." Sakura said to Naruto. Naruto took that as his signal to find a weak spot in Riker's poker face. He gave her a slight nod as Data finished dealing the cards.

"A seven for Riker, a Jack for Worf, a four for Naruto, a three for Sakura, a Queen for Crusher, and the dealer receives an Ace." Data listed off.

Naruto kept a close eye on Riker, sensing his emotional awareness and any slight change of his body language.

Riker paused in thought before tossing a few chips into the center of the table. "I bet 20 credits."

He noticed that his emotions were stable. Not excited, not bummed. However, he did notice a slight twitch in his nose. Naruto ever so slightly nudged Sakura's leg with his toe. She looked up just in time to notice Naruto tapping his nose faster than a normal human could see, but not for a fellow ninja. Sakura nodded slightly. It was obvious that Riker either had a good hand, or he was bluffing. She wasn't going to let him get away from her this time.

"I see your 20." She said. "And raise it to 35."

Riker raised an eyebrow and matched her bet.

"Ooohh, did someone discover the Secret to Riker's poker face?" Crusher teased as she placed her bet.

"Who me? No, I'm just the girl with the Legendary Loser's luck." Sakura innocently smiled.

"I second that." Naruto joked.

"Heh, even if that's true, it won't help you. Not when I know both of your tells." Riker smirked. " Data, Worf, you guys in?"

"I'm in." Worf said as he laid his chips down.

"Too rich for my blood." Data said, dealing himself out.

"Don't you mean your oil?" Naruto asked.

"I am afraid you are mistaken. I do not have oil." Data informed.

Naruto sweat dropped. "It was a joke."

"I'm afraid he doesn't understand the concept of humor." Riker said.

"Oh, I understood it. Lieutenant Uzumaki used my turn of phrase against me. Eluding to me being an android and would therefore need oil to function as an organic lifeform would need blood to live. Yet he made a miscalculation in assuming that I have need of oil. Although it is understandable considering he comes from a more primitive species that would still use oil in maintenance of their robots." Data stated.

Everyone blinked. "I am not sure I am correct, but I am fairly certain that Data just burned you right back, Uzumaki." Worf stated.

"Yes, he did." Sakura smirked.

"Oh, thank you, dear." Naruto said.

"Anytime." Sakura smiled.

"Getting back to the game, I'll raise to 50." Riker said as he threw in more chips. Naruto signaled to Sakura again letting her know his nose twitched. Sakura nodded and threw in 50 chips. Everyone else who was still playing did the same, until Riker raised it another 50.

Naruto had figured out that he was bluffing. He had noticed that when he actually had something, his nose didn't twitch, but it was now. He relayed the message to Sakura by letting his arm drop to his side, then tapped Sakura on her thigh.

Sakura however didn't adhere to Naruto's advice. She had a good feeling with her hand. "All in." Sakura smirked.

'Sakura-chan, no!' He tapped to her, but it was too late.

"I'm out." Worf said.

"Yea I'm out." Crusher said as everyone else folded, but not Riker or Sakura.

"Come on, Commander. Pot in... Unless you're scared." Sakura goaded.

"I wouldn't call it a matter of bravery. Just common sense." Riker said as he went all in.

'Common sense, huh?' Sakura thought. "Show'em."

Sakura showed her hand of three fours with two aces. "Full house." She smirked.

Riker laid down his hand of four sevens. "Four of a kind." He smirked, having held the winning hand.

"Dammit!" Sakura cursed.

"I told you to wait..." Naruto sighed.

"Hey now, I would do the same thing in her position." Riker laughed as he scooped in his winnings. "It was a good hand."

Sakura just groaned. Curse her master for passing off such rotten luck.

"Hey, ya want half of my winnings to stay in the game?" Naruto offered. "What's mine is yours and yours is mine, right?"

"Fine..." Sakura sighed.

Naruto slide half his pile over in front of Sakura with a sympathetic smile.

The next 5 rounds later, Naruto had finally won a huge pile from Riker. He was able to out bluff him and won big, but Sakura was not so lucky. 7 games in a row and lost all of them.

"And I think that's the evening." Worf said as he threw in the towel.

"Yea same..." Naruto yawned.

"Seems as good a time as any to turn in." Crusher agreed.

"Dr. Crusher?" A voice spoke over the coms.

"Go ahead." Crusher replied.

"Commander La Forge needs you in sick bay."

"On my way." Crusher said as she stood up.

"Can I help?" Sakura asked.

"You're on maternity leave, remember?" Crusher reminded her.

"Oh, come on...I'm tired of being all cooped up." Sakura pouted.

"No excuses. Maternity leave means no work. You need to be concentrating on staying healthy." Crusher stated.

Sakura groaned. She had to get herself knocked up. Well, at least her due date was less than a month away.

"Naruto, this is the last baby we are having on this mission. You hear me?" Sakura ranted.

"Yea...But wasn't getting pregnant your idea?" Naruto pointed out.

"I only did that because you had to heroically self-sacrificing like always, but that's not the point. I'm not going to be sidelined like this ever again. It's driving me crazy."

"Right I hear ya." Naruto said sheepishly.

"I'm serious, I've had my damn fill of sitting around. The second our daughter is born I'll be taking the next ground side mission with Picard." Sakura ranted.

"Well, no you won't." Crusher stated. " You still need to care for your child and recover for the first month after your term."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "Fine, I guess after all of that I'll go on a mission."

"And I'll watch over the baby so you won't have to worry about a thing." Naruto added.

Sakura puffed out her cheeks before sighing and smiled warmly. "I know you will..."

"There's my happy wife I love to see." Naruto smiled. "Come on, we're celebrating our winnings with a nice meal. The finest our replicators can generate." He declared as he put his around Sakura.

"Sounds good." Sakura smiled as she was helped up from the table, showing off her swollen belly.

"I've got to say, it's going to be weird having you not be pregnant. We've all known you with child longer than without." Riker said.

"Oh don't you worry about that." Sakura smirked. "I can hit a lot harder when I'm not pregnant."

"I believe you. But I'm willing to bet your poker game won't improve." Naruto had to hold Sakura back after that one.

"Ever learn not to enrage a pregnant woman?" Crusher asked.

"I have now." Riker said as he saw the fire in Sakura's eyes.

"Okay, come on. Let's go." Naruto said, trying to shuffle Sakura out before she ripped Riker a new asshole.

"Fine, good night everyone." Sakura finally gave in.

Naruto led Sakura out into the hallway towards their quarters, but then Naruto got a strange feeling just now.

"Is it me, or did all of that seem familiar to you?"

"Me getting my butt kicked at poker while you clean house? Yeah, that was pretty familiar." Sakura dryly stated.

"No, not that...I mean everything else." Naruto insisted.

"Then no, I don't know what you're talking about." Sakura said.

"Hmmm, must be my imagination then." Naruto shrugged.

The two walked down the hallway and enter the elevator. As soon as the doors closed did Sakura speak again. "But for the sake of conversation, what did you mean by everything else?"

"I mean like our interactions. As in everyone."

"Well we see them every day."

"Yes, but...you know what? Forget it, it's nothing." Naruto waved off as they stepped out of the elevator and into their private quarters.

"Do you actually feel like eating a big meal?" Sakura asked.

"No, not really." Naruto shrugged.

"Me neither. First time for everything I suppose." Sakura giggled.

"Yeah, true that." Naruto chuckled.

"Alright then, I'm going to read a book for a while." Sakura said.

"Nice, I'm gonna sharpen some kunai for training tomorrow." Naruto said.

"Alright." Sakura nodded before she went into the bedroom to lay down. Naruto then unstrapped his kunai pouch and placed it on the coffee table where his whey stone was placed as a decorative piece. After adding a little oil to the stone brick, Naruto began scrapping the edge of the first kunai with loving care and precision. The orange ninja whistled a tune to alleviate the monotony of his task. As soon as the blade was satisfyingly sharp, he moved on to the next one and the process repeated.

A half an hour later, when Naruto was nearly finished with his task he stopped. He heard something, at least he thought he did. He offered a few moments of his time to catch the noise again, but heard only the hum of the ship's climate control.

The shinobi dismissed the thought and finished his task. He put away his equipment and headed to bed.

The lights were off and the open door from the living room draped a gentle outline over Sakura's sleeping form, highlighting her curves that never failed to look enticing to the man. Naruto smiled and stripped himself to his boxers before crawling into bed behind his wife.

"Mmmm... g'night..." Naruto kissed her neck as he snuggled in close.

"..." Naruto heard.

"Love you too." Naruto whispered.

"...Naruto?" Sakura yawned.

"Sakura? Did I wake you?" Naruto whispered before realizing something. "Wait, didn't you say good night to me a second ago?"

"No... I didn't say anything...but could you get me a bowl of ice cream?"

"Um, yeah, sure." Naruto said, a bit perplexed. He was certain that he heard Sakura saying something to him earlier. Nevertheless, he got up and made a beeline for the replicator to fulfil his pregnant wife's request.

"Bowl of ice cream." Naruto spoke to the computer.

"SPECIFY FLAVOR." The computer said.

"Chocolate." Naruto guessed. The replicator hummed and produced a bowl of chocolate ice cream with four scoops.

"And a spoon." Naruto requested. The replicator hummed again and a spoon appeared stuck inside the ice cream. Naruto took the ice cream back to an awaiting wife.

"Madame, your chocolat." Naruto said, utilizing what little French he had learned back on Earth.

"Thanks, dear..." Sakura smiled as she accepted the offering. "Although I wanted buttercream. It's okay."

"Oh, you didn't say."

"No I didn't." She took one bite and sunk into sweet bliss. Naruto meanwhile sat down on the bed and sighed.

"Something wrong?" Sakura asked.

"It's nothing, Sakura-chan, don't worry about it." Naruto waved off gently.

That made Sakura stop eating. "Naruto...I know something's up."

Naruto just sighed again, feeling like a broken record. "I guess I'm just nervous cause you're due in a month. It's putting me on edge." He said as he dragged his hand down his face.

Sakura set her ice cream on the night stand. "I know...I'm scared too..."

"Can we really do this? Raise a child I mean. It's a little person that is gonna grow up to be an adult. We've gotta teach her all these different things. It's crazy. I'm going crazy." Naruto vented, tugging at his hair.

"I don't know...but that's why I signed us up for a parenting class."

"Oh no... you know how terrible I am at classes, Sakura. What if they take our baby away because I fail a parenting test?"

"There are no tests, Naruto. It's a hands on seminar that takes a few days."

"Oh...okay..." Naruto sighed in relief. "When does it start?"

"Next Monday at 0700. It lasts for 4 hours a day for 3 days. I've talked to the Captain and he has rearranged your duty schedule for those days."

"Okay, sweet, yeah, that'll help." He said quickly, like a nervous squirrel.

Sakura took her hand and placed it on his cheek. "Relax sweetie...you'll do fine..."

"Right, you're right..." Naruto said, Sakura's touch having a calming on him, her handing feeling pleasantly cool against his cheek.

"Let's go to sleep. You still have to train your ANBU tomorrow." Sakura soothed.

"Right..." Naruto said softly. The two went under their covers, facing each other, stroking the other's arm to sooth themselves to sleep.

---

The next morning, the two Ninja were up bright and early to oversee the Starfleet ANBU trainees.

"Alright, ninjas!" Naruto shouted to the 12 security officers trained in the art of the ninja. They were all standing in a grassy field reminiscent of the training field in the Leaf village. Thanks to the holodeck.

"Good morning, sensei!" The ninjas shouted back.

"Today, we will be joined by my wife. For those of you who don't know her, this is 2nd Lieutenant Science Officer Sakura Uzumaki. Or as she would be known on Element, ANBU Medic Sakura Uzumaki. You will treat her with the same courtesy as you would treat me." Naruto said, gesturing towards Sakura.

"Yes, sensei!"

"I'm only here to observe as I'm in no physical condition to aid otherwise." Sakura said. "But by no means does it mean you can slack off while you're around me."

"Listen to any advice she gives. She might not have access to her chakra, but she can still break all the bones in your body while naming them." Naruto warned.

The men all gulped while April just smirked with pride. "Yes, sensei!"

"The move we are going to be learning today isn't a jutsu, it is a special way to kick, a trick kick if you will." Naruto said as he paced along their line. "It is known by some as the cat kick." Naruto said as he took an exaggerated step forward, his right knee bent and his left leg hung back. "Which leg is my weight on?"

"The front." A lot of them answered.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, making a few trainees nervous.

"The rear." April said.

"You sure about that? Or are you guessing?" Naruto challenged.

"I'm positive. The sole of your boot in the front isn't completely flat whereas the one in the back is. Meaning the weight is in the rear." April said logically.

"Come on, April, he's bluffing. It's another hidden meaning within hidden meanings." Sol said.

"And why do you think that, Sol?" Naruto asked.

"Because knowing you it could be anything." Sol said.

"It's the back leg. I'm sure of it." April said with certainty.

"You could easily put all your weight on the ball of your foot. You're a ninja, it's second nature to you. And I wouldn't put it past you to trick us by placing your back heel down." Sol added.

"Good analysis, both of you, but April was correct. It is the left leg." Naruto raised up his right leg with ease while his left leg held his whole body upright.

The 12 eyes of green ninjas went wide, even April was surprised at how perfectly balanced Naruto was on his leg that clearly looked to be behind his center of gravity. Physics demanded that he should be falling forward.

"Are...You using Chakra?" Sol asked.

"No. This is one of the trickier taijutsu moves to pull off. Experts can pull this off without chakra. It's all about controlling your center of gravity." Naruto then lifted up his shirt and showed his diaphragm being sucked in to the point of looking warped.

"This is an A-ranked move that you can use to get the drop on masters. Even an ANBU Captain will second guess if you are kicking with your left or right foot, and that will give you all the advantage you need. An expert sensor or someone with particular kekki genki will be able to sense if you have your character stored in one foot to hold yourself in place. Without that, they are as blind as a Genin. In fights against other ninjas, these kinds of taijutsu moves can be the deciding factor in a fight." Naruto placed his foot back down flat on the ground and then kicked out a few rapid-fire strikes, all while remaining completely balanced on his back foot.

"Everyone pair up. Sakura and I will be coming behind all of you to give you instructions. If we tap you on the back once, you try the cat kick. If we tap you twice, try a similar looking normal kick. Your partner's job is to guess which foot you are going to kick with." Naruto ordered.

The trainees did as they were told and got to work. What followed was an hour of honest attempts, missteps, awkward looking kicks, tripping, and good old fashioned cheating that was quickly snuffed out. Sol on his part was having difficulty getting his footing right. He tried leaning backwards to put his weight under his back foot, but he always either stumbled or looked to obvious and April would always call him out on it.

'Maybe if I put my foot like so...' Sol thought before the ship's coms blared to life.

"Lieutenant Naruto and Lieutenant Sakura, please report to the Commander's Meeting room for the daily debriefing." A voice said.

"On our way." Naruto responded back over the coms. "Okay, guys. That's a wrap for today. We will be continuing this tomorrow. Get back to your regular posts and get some rest tonight." Naruto ordered.

"Yes sensei!"

Naruto nodded, proud of them all for what they had accomplished. In truth, they had all exceeded his expectations on the progress they had made today.

"Computer, end training program." Naruto ordered. The holodeck faded back to its original view.

"Shall we go?" Naruto asked.

"One second." Sakura said as she finished wrapping the ankle of one if their trainees. "Just try not to put too much weight on it and ice it once you get off duty." She instructed.

"Will do, thank you ma'am." The trainee said.

Sakura nodded and stood back up. "Alright, I'm ready."

The two walked out arm in arm of the holodeck towards the nearest turbo lift.

"You really did an awesome job with them." Sakura smiled.

"Maybe, but they've still got a long way to go. Or am I expecting too much?" Naruto admitted.

"Considering what's out there, it wouldn't hurt to beef them up more." Sakura stated. Naruto nodded and the two of them enjoyed a quiet walk through the ship. Only interrupted by their arrival at the meeting room.

There, seated around conference table was Picard, Data, Crusher, Troi, and Riker, with Geordi standing, preparing for his presentation.

"Glad you two could join us." Picard said as they sat down.

"Sorry, we got tied up with training." Sakura informed.

"Fair enough. Mr. La Forge, what do you have to report?" Picard asked.

"Yes, Captain." La Forge said as he turned on the wall monitor to show a map of the current star system they were in, the Typhon Expanse.

"The Typhon Expanse is huge. If we want to chart the most remote star system, we'll have to launch a probe within the next few hours."

"Fine." Riker said as he consulted his PADD. "What about the luminosity studies?"

"They may pose a problem..." Geordi replied.

"How so?" Riker asked.

"The Flux spectrometers are still down for realignment." Geordi answered.

"I thought they were supposed to be back online yesterday." Riker said.

"They were, until the stellar dynamics lab decided they needed to install new modules." Geordi stated.

"I recommend we use the gravitron polarimeter instead. It will perform a similar function." Data suggested. All eyes turned back to the Captain for his final say.

"Make it so." Picard nodded.

Naruto just rolled his eyes, he always found these briefings to be an hour long snooze-fest of technobabble, but kept his composure for the sake of professionalism. That is, until Crusher mentioned something intriguing to the young ANBU.

"Captain... There's something I'd like to report." Crusher said.

"Go ahead, doctor."

"I heard...Voices in my room last night. I was alone...So at first I thought I was imagining things. But this morning, ten other people reported them at the same time I did." Crusher informed.

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Hearing voices, you said?"

Crusher nodded. "Did you hear them, too?"

"I think so. Last night I heard whispers while I was maintaining my ninja tools. I thought it was just the ship, but then I heard them again when I went to bed. Again, I thought it was Sakura, but she claimed to be asleep." Naruto reported.

"What were the voices saying?" Troi asked.

"I couldn't make them out..." Crusher stated.

"Same. It just sounded like a jumbled mess." Naruto added.

"Data, did the sensors pick up anything unusual last night?" Riker asked.

"No anomalous readings were reported." Data replied.

"When we're through here, double-check the sensor logs." Riker ordered.

"Aye sir."

"Counselor?" Picard asked.

"I sensed nothing out of the ordinary last night." Troi stated.

"Maybe it's a problem with the com system." Geordi suggested.

"Bridge to Captain Picard." Worf said over the coms.

"Go ahead." Picard responded.

"We are getting unusual readings...Twenty thousand kilometers off the port bow." Worf said.

Picard looked amongst his crew with concern, a face they all shared.

"On our way." Picard said.

They all made their way onto the bridge while Sakura headed into the turbo-lift to return to her quarters. She was on maternity leave after all.

Once on the bridge, everyone took their stations. Naruto at his tactical console parallel to Worf while Riker stood behind Data.

"Report." Picard ordered.

"Sensors didn't detect it until we were almost on top of it, sir." Ro reported.

"It is a highly-localized distortion in the space-time continuum." Worf informed.

Everyone grimaced, even Naruto, who would be that last person who would understand what was going on.

"What the heck does that mean?" Naruto asked no one in particular. His question was ignored as everyone began to grow uneasy.

"Back us off, Ensign...nice and slow." Picard ordered.

"Aye sir." Ro complied, but her con panel just beeped. "Captain...maneuvering thrusters are not responding."

"The distortion field is fluctuating." Data reported.

Suddenly, the lights on the bridge flickered before going off entirely, causing the emergency lights to turn on and some of the consoles to lose power.

"All main systems just went down. Power levels dropping rapidly." Geordi reported.

"Red Alert!" Riker exclaimed, the klaxons sounded and red flashing lights activated.

"There is an energy build-up in the distortion field...something is emerging." Data reported.

"Captain...we have to get out of here now." Troi said, causing Picard to look at her briefly.

That was when a ship appeared through the distortion field on the view screen.

"Aw shit!" Naruto cried, feeling so helpless.

"Shields up! Evasive maneuvers!" Riker ordered.

"Shields inoperative!" Worf announced.

"Weapon systems not responding!" Naruto added.

"The helm's not responding!" Ro informed.

"The vessel is on a collision course. Impact in 36 seconds..." Data informed.

"Hail them." Picard ordered.

"No response." Worf informed.

"Suggestions." Picard said, trying to hold back the nervousness in his voice.

"Decompress the main shuttle bay. The explosive reaction might kick us out of the way." Riker suggested.

"Captain...I recommend we use the tractor beam to alter the other ship's trajectory." Data added.

"Mister Worf...Make it so." Picard ordered.

"Engaging tractor beam." Worf said.

Naruto furiously typed in the commands into his console.

The Enterprise emitted a wide beam that tried to deflect the other ship. The crew on the bridge all held their breath as the old ship drew closer without slowing in the slightest.

"Brace for impact!" Riker shouted over the coms, but it was too late. The older vessel slammed into the port nacelle, Picard could feel it in his teeth as metal tore into metal, then the alarms started to blare.

"Damage report!" Riker shouted.

"Casualty reports coming in from all over the ship!" Crusher reported.

"Port side nacelle sustained a direct hit. Plasma leaking into the ship." Data reported.

"We've got to eject the core!" Geordi shouted.

Aboard the Enterprise-E, all was chaos. Crewmen from every station and position ran like ants through the hallways, the metal structure of ship giving off a ghastly wail as its beams bent beyond their natural limits. Explosions rung out from the engine room, cooking men alive while tossing the less fortunate out to the freezing grip of space. On the bridge, Picard and the rest of the commanding officers barked commands at one another.

"All hands to escape pods!" Picard ordered as he kept a death grip on his captain's chair, as if his palm could hold together the entire ship long enough to save a handful of souls.

"Captain! Warp core breach imminent!" Geordi reported.

"Eject the core!" Riker ordered.

"Core ejection is offline! Unable to eject!" Data reported.

"We've got hull breaches in decks 17 through 12!" Naruto reported from his station.

"Starboard nacelle collapsed! We're venting drive plasma!" Geordi reported. The starboard nacelle suddenly flashed and jolted the ship into a rapid spin.

"Warp core breach in progress!" Data informed.

'No, no, no!' Naruto thought as he saw decks on his computer terminal flash red one by one. Getting closer to deck 4.

"ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP!" Picard yelled over the coms.

'I'm sorry, Captain.' Naruto thought as he slapped his fingers together and disappeared in a flash of light.

He reappeared inside his living quarters that looked to be falling apart at the seam.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" He shouted.

"NARUTO!" Sakura cried.

He whipped his head around and saw Sakura had only just made it to the door of their quarters. He almost felt relieved to see her if it weren't for ear piercing sound of the walls of their home being torn open like a tin can.

Not wasting a moment, Naruto sprinted to Sakura's side, his mind raving with ideas on what to do next.

"I REPEAT ALL HANDS ABANDON-" Picard was cut off as an explosion in engineering ripped through the ship.

Naruto collided with Sakura and the two held each other close. For a second, the world stopped ending, the both of them exhaled upon feeling that familiar warm. They were okay. Then the explosion kicked down their door and blew a hole through their living room. All of their accumulated possessions were flung out into space while a scorching wall of flames trailed behind. Naruto and Sakura too were exhaled from the ship, twisting end over end against a force they could never hope to resist. The fire penetrated their close embrace, standing between the two as if to cut in on the dance floor. They were soon torn apart, hanging on by each other's fingertips, before that too faltered and their bodies drifted apart.

Explosions continued to fire off throughout the Enterprise, tearing what remained of the ship to pieces. Until finally the explosions ceased and the debris fell silent.

---

2 days previously...

"Captains log, stardate 21472.9. We have entered a recently undiscovered part of space to chart its surroundings. We haven't detected any planets in this system, but if luck is on our side, we may find something no one else has." Picard said in his log.

Everything on the new ship was running like clockwork. Even though there were still a few bugs in the ships systems, it still ran like a dream.

In the crew lounge, Riker, Worf, Data, Naruto and Sakura were having a nice, friendly game of poker.

"Son of a BITCH!" Sakura exclaimed as she threw down a losing hand of fives and fours and a two.

"Hehehe..." Riker smiled as he raked in his winnings.

"Come on, Sakura-chan, it's just a game." Naruto said as he handed his cards back to be reshuffled.

"Oh, be quiet..." Sakura said sourly.

"My, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." Riker teased as he handed Data his cards.

Sakura gripped the side of the table, leaving indents from her fingers in the wood.

"She wasn't even using chakra." Naruto sweat dropped.

"Deal the next hand." Sakura ordered.

Data was about to deal the next hand when Dr. Crusher entered.

"Hi everyone, sorry that I'm late." Crusher greeted.

"Oh not at all. Riker is just kicking our butts as usual." Naruto greeted.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed, Riker." Naruto said. "Normally back home I win these games by dumb luck."

"Well that's the thing to remember, Lieutenant. It's not all about luck." Riker smiled.

"Riker has a nearly unbeatable poker face. You'll have to be really good at reading people to beat him." Crusher said.

"Yeah, mister emotional intelligence." Sakura said to Naruto. Naruto took that as his signal to find a weak spot in Riker's poker face. He gave her a slight nod as Data finished dealing the cards.

"A seven for Riker, a Jack for Worf, a four for Naruto, a three for Sakura, a Queen for Crusher, and the dealer receives an Ace." Data listed off.

Naruto kept a close eye on Riker, sensing his emotional awareness and any slight change of his body language.

Riker paused in thought before tossing a few chips into the center of the table. "I bet 20 credits."

He noticed that his emotions were stable. Not excited, not bummed. However, he did notice a slight twitch in his nose. Naruto ever so slightly nudged Sakura's leg with his toe. She looked up just in time to notice Naruto tapping his nose faster than a normal human could see, but not for a fellow ninja. Sakura nodded slightly. It was obvious that Riker either had a good hand, or he was bluffing. She wasn't going to let him get away from her this time.

"I see your 20." She said. "And raise it to 35."

Riker raised an eyebrow and matched her bet.

"Ooohh, did someone discover the Secret to Riker's poker face?" Crusher teased as she placed her bet.

"Who me? No, I'm just the girl with the Legendary Loser's luck." Sakura innocently smiled.

"I second that." Naruto joked.

"Heh, even if that's true, it won't help you. Not when I know both of your tells." Riker smirked. " Data, Worf, you guys in?"

"I'm in." Worf said as he laid his chips down.

"Too rich for my blood." Data said, dealing himself out.

"Don't you mean your…" Naruto said before faltering.

"Your what?" Data asked.

"Never mind, its nothing." Naruto waved off. In truth, he had thought up a joke, but it felt like it would be old hat.

"Getting back to the game, I'll raise to 50." Riker said as he threw in more chips. Naruto signaled to Sakura again letting her know his nose twitched. Sakura nodded and threw in 50 chips. Everyone else who was still playing did the same, until Riker raised it another 50.

Naruto had figured out that he was bluffing. He had noticed that when he actually had something, his nose didn't twitch, but it was now. He relayed the message to Sakura by letting his arm drop to his side, then tapped Sakura on her thigh.

Sakura however didn't adhere to Naruto's advice. She had a good feeling with her hand. "All in." Sakura smirked.

'Sakura-chan, no!' He tapped to her, but it was too late.

"I'm out." Worf said.

"Yea I'm out." Crusher said as everyone else folded, but not Riker or Sakura.

"Come on, Commander. Pot in... Unless you're scared." Sakura goaded, having the weirdest sense of déjà vu.

"I wouldn't call it a matter of bravery. Just common sense." Riker said as he went all in.

'Common sense, huh?' Sakura thought, feeling a little less confident. "Show'em."

Sakura showed her hand of three fours with two aces. "Full house." She said.

Riker laid down his hand of four sevens. "Four of a kind." He smirked, having held the winning hand.

"Dammit!" Sakura cursed.

"I told you to wait..." Naruto sighed.

"Hey now, I would do the same thing in her position." Riker laughed as he scooped in his winnings. "It was a good hand."

Sakura just groaned. Curse her master for passing off such rotten luck.

"Hey, ya want half of my winnings to stay in the game?" Naruto offered. "What's mine is yours and yours is mine, right?"

"Fine..." Sakura sighed.

Naruto slide half his pile over in front of Sakura with a sympathetic smile.

The next 5 rounds later, Naruto had finally won a huge pile from Riker. He was able to out bluff him and won big, but Sakura was not so lucky. 7 games in a row and lost all of them.

"And I think that's the evening." Worf said as he threw in the towel.

"Yea same..." Naruto yawned.

"Seems as good a time as any to turn in." Crusher agreed.

"Dr. Crusher?" A voice spoke over the coms.

"Go ahead." Crusher replied.

"Commander La Forge needs you in sick bay."

"On my way." Crusher said as she stood up. "And no, you can't come with me Sakura, you're on maternity leave."

"How did you know I was going to say that?" Sakura asked, making the senior science officer stop in her tracks. She looked back at her number two with inquiring eyes.

"I just did…" Crusher said, letting her words hang in the air.

"And then…you were going to complain to Naruto about not having another child while on this ship." Riker added. Sakura didn't know what to say, he was right on the money.

"What? Can you read my mind now?" Sakura asked, only half joking.

"No, I just had a feeling…" Riker said, a little scared.

Worf and Naruto looked at one another, they had the same gut feeling as well. Everyone did.

"Okay, this is just scary." Sakura said, vocalizing everyone's thoughts.

'Tell me about it.' Kurama thought.

"Okay, I think we need to hit the hay. Any objections?" Naruto said.

"None from me." Sakura said.

"Yes, I should check on Alexander." Worf said.

"And I need to feed Spot." Data said.

"Spot?" Naruto and Sakura asked, looking confused.

"My cat. Her name is Spot." Data clarified.

"I didn't know you had a cat..." Sakura said.

"You never asked." Data responded.

"I guess not..." Naruto mused. The android owned a cat. Who would have known?

"Maybe we'll visit sometime. Have Kurama play with her." Sakura offered.

'Ooooh no... I don't like cats.' Kurama thought.

'She's just kidding. I think.' Naruto thought. "So, I guess that's good night to you all." Naruto waved.

"Yes, goodnight." Riker said, as did the rest of the group as they all parted ways.

"That was just too weird..." Sakura mused.

"I'll say, you think there is something in the water?" Naruto guessed.

"I don't think so. The ship's filtration system would have done something about that."

"Could it be broken and nobody realized?" Naruto suggested.

"If it was, Geordi would have gotten a notification. But it wouldn't hurt to have him look at it."

"He's at the sick bay with Crusher right now, isn't he?"

"True. I think I'll send him a message to his PADD." Sakura said.

"Crusher to Sakura." Dr. Crusher said over the coms.

"Go ahead." Sakura replied.

"Can you join me in med lab 2? I have some odd findings and need a second opinion."

"Right away." Sakura said before looking back at her husband.

"So much for maternity leave." Naruto shrugged.

"I doubt I'll be doing more than looking over med-sci reports. Better see what's going on." Sakura shrugged.

"Alright, I'll be up sharpening kunai. See you when you get back." Naruto said. Sakura nodded, planted a tender kiss on his lips before walking away towards the turbo lift.

'Something is going on.' Inner thought as Sakura made her way inside one of the turbo lifts.

"Medical deck." Sakura ordered the computer and the doors closed. 'Don't ask me what though.'

'You don't find it suspicious that she would call you back to work just to look over reports? She has other doctors for that.' Inner thought.

'But I'm better than her other doctors. She even said so.'

'Exactly my point. This is bigger than some tiny discrepancy.'

'Hmm...Yea you could be right.' Sakura mused as the turbo lift came to a stop.

Sakura entered the sick bay and was directed to one of the open examination rooms where Dr. Crusher was standing next to Commander La Forge.

"What's up?" Sakura asked.

"Take a look at these readings." Crusher said, directing her to the panel on the wall.

Sakura did just that and observed the readings from a tricord. To anyone but a Starfleet medical professional these would look like meaningless numbers and squiggles, but Sakura could tell they were vital sign readings.

"These are vital signs from a completely healthy patient. Adult male, mid to early thirties. So I would assume they would be Commander La Forge's vital signs." Sakura deduced. "But why would you want me to come down and observe this?"

"Geordi, can you repeat to Sakura exactly what you told me when I was diagnosing you." Crusher asked.

"Sure, I believe I said, at first I thought the room was spinning, then I realized it was me. It got so bad that I nearly fell off the scaffolding. Thankfully someone caught me." Geordi said.

Crusher looked over at Sakura to gauge her reaction. "Sounds like an inner ear infection, but these scans show that he is perfectly healthy." Sakura deduced.

"Exactly my diagnosis. And what would you prescribe to him knowing all that?" Crusher asked.

Was this a quiz? Some test to get Sakura back into working with her term due in a month? Sakura wondered.

"I would prescribe him 20 cc's of vertazine to clear up his dizziness. Then tell him to find time to relax."

"As would I, in fact, I've prescribed him that exact same treatment word for word." Crusher said.

"Okay, that's spooky, but I don't see the problem."

"Sakura, tell me, have either of us diagnosed Geordi with these symptoms before?" Crusher asked, dead serious.

Sakura opened her mouth, but closed it when she realized how uncertain she was on the matter. She really had to think about it.

"I... feel like I have...no, I couldn't have. I've been on maternity leave for months. And when I wasn't, I treated Geordi for his headaches do to his visor, but I've never treated dizziness." Sakura said.

"How did you know he was also complaining about headaches?" Crusher asked, terrified.

"I..." Sakura said before stopping herself. It wasn't that she guessed because La Forge always suffered from headaches due to his visor, she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, yet she shouldn't.

"This seems to be one major case of déjà vu." Geordi says.

"Maybe, but how can all of us experience it for the exact same thing?" Crusher asked. Then she remembered something that happened earlier. "I wonder if this has anything to do with what happened to our poker game." She mused.

"What does a poker game have to do with me being dizzy?" Geordi asked.

"We experienced a moment where everyone knew what the other was going to say or do. It was like everyone was reading everyone's thoughts. I could explain it. Naruto suggested it could have something to do with the water quality, but if anyone would know about that it would be you." Sakura stated.

"The water quality? I doubt it, but I've learned not to underestimate your husband's ideas. I'll have one of my guys check it out." Geordi said.

"That's very wise." Sakura nodded. "Naruto and I will try our own methods to figuring out these strange occurrences."

"You've got some kind of ninja way of dealing with déjà vu?" Crusher asked.

"One or two." Sakura admitted.

"Very well. I think I'll turn in for the night, if there is nothing else, Geordi." Crusher said.

"Nope, I'm all set." Geordi said

"And you, Sakura, is your baby okay in the half an hour since I've last seen you?" Crusher asked.

"Yea, why?" Sakura asked

"No reason, I just the felt the need to ask. This last month is the most precarious." Crusher reminded her.

"Don't need to remind me of that. I'm just glad to be able to do something..." Sakura said before yawning. "But I think I'm gonna go to bed..."

"Yes, the both of you get some sleep." Crusher said.

Sakura nodded and they all parted ways. The expecting mother walked back to her room with a newfound sense of urgency. Something was afoot. Something big.

'What are you thinking?' Inner asked.

'You already know what I'm thinking.' Sakura thought.

'Yes, but my question makes you feel less crazy about talking to yourself.' Inner retorted.

'Anytime I talk to you I wonder if I am sane.' Sakura joked.

'What is sane, really? No one cares so long as you can function.' Inner said.

'And right now, I can't function because of my lovely child...' Sakura grumbled.

'That's different. Your function has changed to bringing a child into the world. So, people expect you to focus on that, so that your child will be born healthy.'

'Just skip to the point...I'm tired...'

'I was just asking you about your thoughts to help you organize them.'

'Fine. I'm willing to bet we're in a genjutsu.' Sakura thought.

'Doubt it.'

'How come?'

'For one, there are only two seasoned shinobi on this ship; you and our hubby. Second, you can't use a genjutsu because A, you're pregnant and B, you can't cast one on yourself. Third, Naruto sucks at genjutsu's plus he wouldn't put everyone on the ship under one. Those ANBU wannabe's he's training don't have the control or the experience to use a genjutsu.'

'And what if we ran into an alien that could put this entire ship under genjutsu? Troi said that we weren't the only beings in the universe to wield chakra. Some powerful being could be keeping us trapped in some repeating days like Sasuke's clan could with Izanami. That would explain all our déjà vu.'

'Or it could just be something with this part of space we're in.'

'Perhaps. In any case, we should have Kurama try to disrupt his chakra. If this is genjutsu than he is the only one who could ever hope to break us all free.' Sakura thought as she exited the turbo lift and entered her apartment. There she found Naruto sharpening his kunai, just as he said he would.

"Hey babe." Naruto smiled.

"Hey. Can you get Kurama out?"

"Sure, your need to talk to him about something?" Naruto asked as he put his stuff down and wiped his fingers clean of oil.

"Yes, I do. I believe that this whole déjà vu occurrences might be a genjutsu."

"Genjutsu? He hadn't sensed any disturbance in my chakra. If he had he would have snapped me out if it." Naruto said as he lifted his shirt up to show his seal formed on his belly. He made a claw over his seal and twisted it like a key.

"It might be that whomever has us trapped has trapped Kurama in the genjutsu as well." Sakura said.

'Which is impossible while Kurama is sealed inside our hubby. They would need a way to ensnare Kurama through one of his five senses. They can't do that without him looking at them, hearing them, touching them, smelling them, or tasting them.' Inner thought.

Naruto just whistled. "In that case, we might be in trouble." Naruto slammed his right hand down to the deck and a cloud of smoke filled the room, when it cleaned, Kurama sat upright on his hind legs before Sakura. "Genjutsu you say?"

"I believe so." Sakura nodded.

"You honestly think that there is something out there that could trap me in a genjutsu while inside of Kit?"

"I don't know, but it would explain the unexplained cases of déjà vu."

"I'll try it, but only because it makes more sense than the water system being contaminated." Kurama said.

"Hey! It's a possibility!" Naruto defended.

"No, it isn't." Kurama thought as he clapped his hands together in concentration. The two ninjas didn't dare utter a word in case they broke his concentration. His fur stood up on end and his tails thrashed about as he halted his chakra time and again, yet the air did not shimmer and no illustration was broken.

"Well?" Naruto asked, being impatient.

"Nothing...There is no genjutsu."

Sakura sighed. "So much for that idea." She said before Naruto touched her on the arm. She looked up and saw his finger pressed against his lips.

'Naruto, what is it?' Sakura said with her eyes.

"Can't you hear it?" He whispered.

Sakura shook her head. "Hear what?"

Naruto cocked his ear, inviting Sakura to do the same. She obliged and even Kurama lifted one of his pointy rabbit ears up. At first, they heard nothing, just the hum of the ship, as they always had, but that humming grew louder, until it was no longer just humming, it was whispers. Muffled gibberish that soon became a thousand men speaking at once in hushed tones. The three Elementians looked at one another, growing frightened. Naruto and Kurama unknowingly placed themselves in between Sakura and her baby, as the whispers grew louder, like a torrent of wind surrounding them. Then as sudden as the noises had appeared, they stopped.

"What the Hell was that?" Sakura hissed.

"I have no idea..." Kurama said.

"But you both heard that, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yea I heard it...But what was it?" Sakura asked.

"It sounded like people...or ghosts." Kurama said.

"Whatever it was, we all didn't imagine it." Naruto said as he cued his combadge. "Lieutenant Uzumaki to Data."

"Go ahead." Data responded.

"Did the ship's audio sensors pick up anything just now?"

"No abnormal audio readings have been detected." Data said, making the three Elementians go wide eyed.

'Then what the hell did we just hear?' Kurama thought.

"Did you need anything else?" Data asked.

"No, Data. Thank you and good night." Naruto said.

"To you as well." Data said before cutting off the com channel.

"Okay...what the actual fuck..." Sakura said.

"We all couldn't have imagined it, could we?" Naruto asked.

"No, we couldn't... let me call Dr. Crusher." Sakura said before tapping her combadge. "Lieutenant Sakura to Dr. Crusher."

"Go ahead." Crusher replied.

"We...heard something that sounded like...a lot of voices all at once just now and-"

"You heard it too?" Crusher asked.

"We did, all three of us. Me, Naruto, and Kurama." Sakura said.

Crusher paused for a moment. "I'm coming to your quarters to discuss this."

"Okay, we'll see you then." Sakura said before hanging up. She was then surprised to see her husband hanging out by the replicator.

"Computer, a bowl of butterscotch ice cream with a spoon." Naruto said.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "How...Did you know I wanted that?"

Naruto looked just as astonished. "You did?"

"I... well actually I wanted buttercream ice cream, but how did you know I wanted ice cream?" Sakura said.

"I didn't, it just felt like it was something I was supposed to do." Naruto admitted.

"Shit just keeps getting weirder..." Kurama mused before they heard their door chime go off.

"Come in." Sakura said almost desperately.

Dr. Crusher walked in wearing her pajamas. "Sorry I'm late, I had to clean up some broken glass."

"Broken glass?" Kurama asked.

"I knocked over an empty glass of wine while I was rushing out to see you three." Crusher said.

"What exactly did you hear? Could you make any of it out?" Sakura asked.

"I was about to ask you that." Crusher said.

"We couldn't make anything out. It was like a jumbled mess of people talking at the same time." Kurama answered.

"Do you mean like a crowd or a couple if people?" Crusher asked.

"Like a crowd." Naruto said.

"Oh my..." Crusher said as she pinched her lips together in thought. "So I assume that we aren't stuck in a genjutsu?" She asked.

"No, we're not." Kurama confirmed.

"I see..." Crusher said, pacing back towards the door and turning back to face her fellow crewmembers. "We need to discuss this with the Captain tomorrow during the meeting."

"Right." Sakura nodded.

---

The next morning, Naruto and Sakura woke up to get to training the ANBU recruits, a training session they hoped would be short in order to get to the meeting.

"Which leg is my weight on?" Naruto asked his 12 trainees.

"The front." Some of them answered.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, making a few trainees nervous.

"The rear." April said.

"You sure about that? Or are you guessing?" Naruto challenged.

"I'm positive. The sole of your boot in the front isn't completely flat whereas the one in the back is. Meaning the weight is in the rear." April said logically.

"I'm with April. You said this was a trick kick, so you'd obviously do what we least expect you to do." Sol stated, surprising Naruto and Sakura, both of whom were certain that he would challenge April's idea.

"That's correct, it was the rear leg." Naruto said as he lifted up his front leg with ease. Just in time for the coms to blare.

"Lieutenant Naruto and Lieutenant Sakura, please report to the Commander's Meeting room for an early debriefing." The voice over the coms said.

"On our way." Sakura responded.

"All of you, practice this move in each other. Partner up and try to trick your partner with a cat kick. I'll inspect your progress tomorrow." Naruto commanded.

"Yes sensei!" They all shouted.

Naruto nodded and the couple made their way to the meeting room.

When they arrived, the commanders were already having words.

"The eternal scans were negative. There was no evidence of auditory anomalies anywhere on the ship." Data reported.

"As far as the sensors are concerned, nothing happened last night." Geordi added.

"10 other people besides myself, the Uzumakis, and Kurama, all heard voices around the same time last night." Crusher said.

"Captain." Naruto greeted, announcing his presence.

"Glad you could join us." Picard said.

"We had Kurama out and confirmed that we are not trapped in Genjutsu." Sakura reported.

"I didn't think we were anyway. The Typhon Expanse is full of unexplained phenomenon." Picard said.

"I take it there is nothing wrong with the water, either." Naruto guessed.

"Water filtration checks out. No anomalous pollutants." Geordi said.

"Banking off of your idea, I checked the rest of our life support systems. There is nothing wrong with our air, artificial gravity, or any other environmental systems. The ship is functioning properly." He added.

"It's not even 2 months old yet. There shouldn't be anything wrong with it." Sakura stated.

"I agree, but it was wise to inspect them nevertheless." Picard defended.

"So if there is nothing wrong with the ship, and it's not Genjutsu, then what is the cause for all these strange occurrences?" Riker asked.

"Something outside of the ship." Picard stated ominously.

"Bridge to Picard." Worf spoke over the coms.

"Go ahead." Picard answered.

"We are getting unusual readings...Twenty thousand kilometers off the port bow." Worf said.

Picard looked amongst his crew with concern, a face they all shared.

"On our way." Picard said.

They all made their way onto the bridge while Sakura headed into the turbo-lift to return to her quarters. She was on maternity leave after all.

Once on the bridge, everyone took their stations. Naruto at his tactical console parallel to Worf while Riker stood behind Data.

"Report." Picard ordered.

"Sensors didn't detect it until we were almost on top of it, sir." Ro reported.

"It is a highly-localized distortion in the space-time continuum." Worf informed.

Everyone grimaced, even Naruto, who would be that last person who would understand what was going on.

"What the heck does that mean?" Naruto asked no one in particular. His question was ignored as everyone began to grow uneasy.

"Back us off, Ensign...nice and slow." Picard ordered.

"Aye sir." Ro complied, but her con panel just beeped. "Captain...maneuvering thrusters are not responding."

"The distortion field is fluctuating." Data reported.

Suddenly, the lights on the bridge flickered before going off entirely, causing the emergency lights to turn on and some of the consoles to lose power.

"All main systems just went down. Power levels dropping rapidly." Geordi reported.

"Red Alert!" Riker exclaimed, the klaxons sounded and red flashing lights activated.

"There is an energy build-up in the distortion field...something is emerging." Data reported.

"Captain...we have to get out of here now." Troi said, causing Picard to look at her briefly.

That was when a ship appeared through the distortion field on the view screen.

"Aw shit!" Naruto cried, feeling so helpless.

"Shields up! Evasive maneuvers!" Riker ordered.

"Shields inoperative!" Worf announced.

"Weapon systems not responding!" Naruto added.

"The helm's not responding!" Ro informed.

"The vessel is on a collision course. Impact in 36 seconds..." Data informed.

"Hail them." Picard ordered.

"No response." Worf informed.

"Suggestions." Picard said, trying to hold back the nervousness in his voice.

"Decompress the main shuttle bay. The explosive reaction might kick us out of the way." Riker suggested.

"Captain...I recommend we use the tractor beam to alter the other ship's trajectory." Data added.

"Mister Worf...Make it so." Picard ordered.

"Engaging tractor beam." Worf said.

Naruto furiously typed in the commands into his console.

The Enterprise emitted a wide beam that tried to deflect the other ship. The crew on the bridge all held their breath as the old ship drew closer without slowing in the slightest.

"Brace for impact!" Riker shouted over the coms, but it was too late. The older vessel slammed into the port nacelle, Picard could feel it in his teeth as metal tore into metal, then the alarms started to blare.

"Damage report!" Riker shouted.

"Casualty reports coming in from all over the ship!" Crusher reported.

"Port side nacelle sustained a direct hit. Plasma leaking into the ship." Data reported.

"We've got to eject the core!" Geordi shouted.

Aboard the Enterprise-E, all was chaos. Crewmen from every station and position ran like ants through the hallways, the metal structure of ship giving off a ghastly wail as its beams bent beyond their natural limits. Explosions rung out from the engine room, cooking men alive while tossing the less fortunate out to the freezing grip of space. On the bridge, Picard and the rest of the commanding officers barked commands at one another.

"All hands to escape pods!" Picard ordered as he kept a death grip on his captain's chair, as if his palm could hold together the entire ship long enough to save a handful of souls.

"Captain! Warp core breach imminent!" Geordi reported.

"Eject the core!" Riker ordered.

"Core ejection is offline! Unable to eject!" Data reported.

"We've got hull breaches in decks 17 through 12!" Naruto reported from his station.

"Starboard nacelle collapsed! We're venting drive plasma!" Geordi reported. The starboard nacelle suddenly flashed and jolted the ship into a rapid spin.

"Warp core breach in progress!" Data informed.

'No, no, no!' Naruto thought as he saw decks on his computer terminal flash red one by one. Getting closer to deck 4.

"ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP!" Picard yelled over the coms.

'I'm sorry, Captain.' Naruto thought as he slapped his fingers together and disappeared in a flash of light.

He reappeared inside his living quarters that looked to be falling apart at the seam.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" He shouted.

"NARUTO!" Sakura cried.

He whipped his head around and saw Sakura had only just made it to the door of their quarters. He almost felt relieved to see her if it weren't for ear piercing sound of the walls of their home being torn open like a tin can.

Not wasting a moment, Naruto sprinted to Sakura's side, his mind raving with ideas on what to do next.

"I REPEAT ALL HANDS ABANDON-" Picard was cut off as an explosion in engineering ripped through the ship.

Naruto collided with Sakura and the two held each other close. For a second, the world stopped ending, the both of them exhaled upon feeling that familiar warm. They were okay. Then the explosion kicked down their door and blew a hole through their living room. All of their accumulated possessions were flung out into space while a scorching wall of flames trailed behind. Naruto and Sakura too were exhaled from the ship, twisting end over end against a force they could never hope to resist. The fire penetrated their close embrace, standing between the two as if to cut in on the dance floor. They were soon torn apart, hanging on by each other's fingertips, before that too faltered and their bodies drifted apart.

Explosions continued to fire off throughout the Enterprise, tearing what remained of the ship to pieces. Until finally the explosions ceased and the debris fell silent.

---

2 days previously...

"Captains log, stardate 21472.9. We have entered a recently undiscovered part of space to chart its surroundings. We haven't detected any planets in this system, but if luck is on our side, we may find something no one else has." Picard said in his log.

Everything on the new ship was running like clockwork. Even though there were still a few bugs in the ships systems, it still ran like a dream.

In the crew lounge, Riker, Worf, Data, Naruto and Sakura were having a nice, friendly game of poker.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Sakura shouted as she threw down her losing hand.

"Easy, Sakura-chan. It's only a game." Naruto said.

"Oh, be..." Sakura stopped herself, she had the strangest case of déjà vu.

"My, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." Riker teased as he too experienced a sensation like he had done this all before. He tried to shrug it off and passed Data back his cards.

"Make sure you shuffle the deck properly." Worf insisted.

"I assure you, the deck is sufficiently randomized." Data said as he passed out each of them a face down card to begin their hand.

"Really? Cause I've got a strong feeling that you're going to give me a terrible hand." Worf admitted.

Naruto's eyes went wide. "You do too?"

The group of friends all looked at one another, it was as if they could reach each other's minds like a book, or better yet, a script.

Right on cue, they all turned to the door to see Dr. Crusher step inside.

"Hi everyone, sorry that I'm...late..." Crusher said, before the words turned hollow in her mouth.

"You feeling the déjà vu too?" Riker asked.

"Yes, I... how did you know?" Crusher asked, a little scared.

"It seems to be going around." Naruto said as he gestured to Crusher's open seat, inviting her to join them. She obliged.

"Data, play the cards." Sakura said.

"Of course." Data replied as he slid the cards to their respective players.

"Seven." Sakura said as a Seven of Diamonds was placed in front of Riker.

"Jack." Naruto said as Worf received a Jack of Hearts.

"Four." Worf replied before Data threw a Four of Diamonds in front of Naruto.

"Three." Crusher said, getting in on the action as Sakura was shown to acquire a Three of Spades.

"Queen." Riker said before Crusher received the Queen of Clubs.

"And the dealer receives an-" "Ace." Everyone said, interrupting Data as he drew for himself the Ace of Spades.

Naruto clicked his tongue. "Wow."

"What...the hell...is going on?" Sakura voiced everyone's thoughts.

"Oh come on, this had to be a coincidence, right? We could all happen to guess the right cards as they were drew." Naruto tried to rationalize.

"Lay down the next cards." Sakura said.

Data did just that and just like before, they could all predict the cards that would be drawn before they were placed on the table. Even after all six of them received a full hand.

"Oh my god..." Sakura gasped.

"Impossible." Riker said.

"How can this be?" Worf asked.

"I can calculate the odds if you wish." Data said.

"No, just keep laying out cards." Crusher said. Data laid out the next card which had mixed guesses from everyone. Only Naruto got it right when he guessed a five.

"Still think this is a coincidence?" Riker asked.

"I think it's interesting that we stopped guessing the right ones after each of us had a full hand." Crusher spoke.

"Biggest case of déjà vu I've ever had." Sakura mused.

"No wait, Sakura-chan, don't you see? This is no case of déjà vu." Naruto exclaimed.

"Then what is it?" Riker asked.

"We only knew the first thirty cards being drawn because they are a standard hand for all of us. Six players, five cards. We'd only know that if we played this hand before." Naruto said logically.

"No... This is something more." Sakura said.

"How else do you explain it?" Riker asked.

"I don't know... Genjutsu?" Sakura guessed.

"Genjutsu, huh? Maybe, but Kurama would have nudged me out of any genjutsu I was trapped in." Naruto stated with his hand on his chin.

"Ogawa to Dr. Crusher." A voice spoke over the coms.

"Crusher here...Is Geordi there?" She asked.

"...yes, he has requested you in the sick bay." Ogawa said, astonished.

"I'm on my way." Crusher said as she looked upon the stunned faces of her friends.

"Okay, me and Sakura-chan are gonna go test to see if we truly are stuck in a Genjutsu." Naruto said as he pushed himself up from his chair.

"I do not see how we are." Worf said before getting up.

"You never know. We've got more than one method to detecting Genjutsu." Naruto said, earning a nod from Sakura.

"My ex taught me more than a few tricks to defeating Genjutsu." Sakura added.

"Well, good luck to you then." Riker said before everyone parted ways.

The Uzumakis retreated back to their room to get to work on detecting and removing the possible genjutsu. Which proved to be fruitless. They tried for hours using every genjutsu detective measure they could think of. Halting their chakra, using seals, inflicting pain (mostly on Naruto), they started looking for inconsistencies in the world (tiny details that even an expert illusionist would overlook), they asked each other unorthodox questions that an illusion would never be able to answer like the real-life counterpart. All of it came back with the same results.

"Welp, this is definitely not Genjutsu." Naruto declared as he fell into their living room couch.

Sakura sighed and fell backwards so that her head landed on his lap. "Yup."

"So what now?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know..." Naruto sighed, his hand drifting down to Sakura's swollen abdomen to rub it. Sakura sighed in how good it felt when he did that. "Maybe we are overthinking it. I mean, us guessing the right cards is still possible, right? We all just got extremely lucky. It happens."

"That's not it. It felt way too...familiar. like we've gotten these hands before."

"Well what else could it be if not for Genjutsu?" Naruto insisted.

Sakura sighed, at a loss for ideas. "I don't know. It feels like we are just going around in circles." She looked over at the clock and saw that it was getting late. "I'm gonna go read in bed for a bit, care to join me?"

"In a bit, I need to sharpen my kunai for training tomorrow. Swear to God it feels like I did just that the other night." Naruto said and Sakura nodded. She left him to complete his work while she retreated to the bedroom.

'Could use some ice cream right about now...' Sakura thought as she laid down on their bed. She reached over to her night stand and pulled out the book she had borrowed from Sally and her parents: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The third in a series of classic children's book series that Sakura had found to be quite a delightful read. While certainly not the most challenging book Sakura had ever read, all the Earthlings she had talked to seemed to revel in their childhood memories of reading this series. (She even caught a glimpse of a copy of one of the books in Worf's son's bedroom when she visited.)

She opened her book to the page she had left off. Ron had just been dragged beneath a tree by a black dog and Harry and Herminonie were giving chase. Once they made their way past the whomping willow the two teenagers made their way down a dirt tunnel that led to an old house where they found Ron, and more shockingly...

"Sirius Black." Sakura said to herself right before she read it in the story. Fair obvious, but that was to be expected in a kid's book.

She continued reading and things started looking grim for the trio of heroes, until of course Professor Lupin showed up and promptly betrayed them by siding with Sirius Black, the man out to kill Harry. Again, Sakura didn't react to this. It all seemed too...predictable? Which was weird, thinking back to all she had read, nothing had truly hinted at Lupin being evil. Was Sakura just too smart for this book or was it something else?

She continued reading and none other than Scabbers, Ron's pet rat, appeared and Lupin and Sirius started to go crazy. Sakura paused when a little niggling thought dropped in her head.

'Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew.' She thought to herself, letting the thought hang in the air.

'Where have I even heard that name before?' She wondered as she combed back through the last few pages, certain that she'd overlooked that name whilst skimming through the paragraphs, yet there was nothing. She was almost terrified to turn to the next page and confirm her suspicions.

'Naruto and I already proved that this isn't Genjutsu. There is a reason for everything. It's a coincidence, that all it is.'

The whoosh of the door opening startled her while Naruto stepped inside carrying a bowl of ice cream.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked before she spotted the bowl of ice cream. "Is that...for me?"

"Um, yeah, I thought you might like some." He said as he handed her the bowl. She absentmindedly took a spoonful and tasted it. 'Buttercream.' She thought. Exactly what she was craving.

"Wait a minute...How did you know I wanted this?" Sakura asked.

"I just did." Naruto said, not entirely sure why he said it.

"But it was exactly what I wanted..." Sakura stated.

"Well who would know your favorite flavor of ice cream better...no, wait, that's a lie, I have no idea what your favorite flavor of ice cream is, how did I guess this?" Naruto asked.

"Well my favorite flavor is chocolate, I was just craving buttercream. That's still amazing though." Sakura said.

"Um... Coincidence?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know-" Sakura paused when she heard the unmistakable sound of voices, as did Naruto.

"Is that...you?" Naruto asked as the voices whispered on like a ghostly river.

"I was...Gonna ask you that..." Sakura said nervously.

"You mean you just heard my voice?" Naruto asked.

"No... Hundreds..."

"Yeah, but I specifically heard your voice amongst them." Naruto insisted.

Almost as suddenly as they came, the whispers vanished.

"Okay...What just happened?" Sakura asked, feeling like a broken record.

"I've got no idea." Naruto said, feeling for the millionth time that day a sense of déjà vu. "But I know I heard your voice among the whispers."

"I heard yours, too...What does that mean?"

"Hold on." Naruto said as he keyed his combadge. "Uzumaki to Crusher."

"I heard it too." Crusher replied instantly. The couple looked at one another in a mix of shock and relief.

"Did you hear a familiar voice in the mix? Me and Sakura-chan heard each other's voice in the crowd. We're pretty sure that is significant." Naruto reported.

"Yes, I did as well as a few others. I was able to get a recording of it and I'm going to take it to Geordi and Data for them to analyze it." Crusher said.

"We spent the whole evening confirming that this isn't Genjutsu by the way." Naruto added.

"Very good, I think. Save it for the meeting tomorrow. I've got a feeling that this will take all night to analyze." Crusher said.

"Understood." Naruto said before cutting the channel.

The next morning, the two shinobi called an early training session with the ANBU trainees so that they could join the rest of the commanders as quickly as possible.

"Alright, which leg has all my weight on it?" Naruto asked all his students while he stood in an exaggerated cat stance.

A lot of the trainees were going to say the front leg, but for some reason, they said the back leg.

"Very good." Naruto said as he lifted up his front leg with ease.

"Do you know why his weight is on his back leg?" Sakura asked.

"Because of his control of his abdomen muscles shifting his center of gravity backwards." Sol automatically said.

"That's...Correct..." Sakura said in awe. 'How do they know?'

"That's very impressive, Sol." Naruto praised. "Most people never think to look at the belly during this stance. That's why it works so well."

"I didn't. I just knew." Sol admitted.

"Yea, cousin. Didn't you teach us this already?" April asked.

"What? No, this is the first time I've ever taught any of you this." Naruto said.

"Then why does it seem so familiar?" One trainee asked.

"I don't...wait, have all of you been experiencing weird things lately? Like you've done somethings before?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, sensei." They all replied.

Naruto sweat dropped. "Well don't take some time to think about it." He said sarcastically.

"Cousin...I've been experiencing this for the last few days. I can't say the same for everyone." April said.

"I've been experiencing it since yesterday." Sol spoke up.

"Naruto, I'm telling you that this isn't a coincidence." Sakura said seriously.

"Well if it's not genjutsu or ninjutsu than what is it?" Naruto asked forcibly.

"Something beyond our realm. Yours and mine." Sakura exasperated.

"Lieutenant Naruto and Lieutenant Sakura. Please report to the meeting room for an emergency meeting." A voice said over the coms.

"On our way." Sakura responded.

"All of you practice this technique." Naruto ordered.

"For an hour?" One of them guessed.

"Um...yeah..." Naruto sweat dropped.

"Let's just go before we have anymore déjà vu moments." Sakura urged.

"Let's." Naruto nodded as they made their way to the meeting room where the commanders were already getting underway.

"We were able to analyze the recording from Dr. Crusher and we were able to sort out over 100 conversations from all over the ship, ranging from medical reports to intimate conversation to-"

"Just get to it, Mr. Data." Picard interrupted.

"What's this about a recording?" Sakura asked as Naruto helped her into her chair.

"Dr. Crusher recorded what she heard was voices in her quarters last night. Come to find out, it was something that was played through the ship's audio system in certain areas." Geordi said.

At that, the ninjas eyes went wide. "We...Heard that too..." Sakura gasped out.

"But what does it all mean?" Naruto asked.

"We are not certain, but we did detect a recording where Captain Picard ordered an abandon ship." Data informed.

"I have a theory, but you're all going to think that it's crazy." Geordi stated.

"Let's hear it." Riker said.

Geordi moved toward the wall monitor. "Somehow we've entered what seems to be a temporal causality loop." Geordi typed in commands and on the wall monitor appeared a diagram of what looked like a series of loops layered on top of one another in quick succession to form a continuous spiral.

"We think we're stuck in a particular fragment of time. And we've been experiencing that same fragment over and over again." Geordi declared.

Everyone looked startled by this unsettling revelation.

"That explains a great deal..." Sakura mused.

"So much for it being a coincidence." Naruto said.

"So this is what's been causing our déjà vu?" Troi asked.

"Yes, but it's more than that. In déjà vu, you only think that you are repeating events. We actually are." Crusher clarified.

"Our theory is this - every time the loop begins again, everything resets itself, and starts all over. We don't remember anything that happened before... so each time through the loop, we think it's the first." Geordi continued.

"How many times have we lived through this same moment?" Sakura asked.

"Twice? Three times? A hundred times? There is no way to know." Geordi admitted.

"So you're saying that we all could have sat down at this very table and made this exact same discovery a hundred times?" Riker asked.

"That's pretty much it." Geordi said.

"So how do we break free of this loop?" Naruto asked.

"We would have to change an action in this loop from previous loops to change this one." Data said.

"What kind of action? It can't just be as simple as sitting in a different chair." Naruto inquired.

"No, it wouldn't be something simple like that." Geordi said.

"So then what? How did we get here?" Picard inquired impatiently.

"I have a hypothesis which may explain that, Captain. I have analyzed the recording Doctor Crusher made." Data said.

"And what have you found?"

"Most of it is quite ordinary. One hundred twenty-five discussions about ship operations, two hundred fifty-seven conversations of a personal nature, five couples engaged in romantic encounters..."

Naruto and Sakura blushed, wondering if they were one of the five.

"Your point, Mr. Data." Picard pressed.

"There is evidence of some sort of disaster involving the Enterprise - severe enough that the captain would order all hands to abandon ship. I have isolated three segments of the recording which are crucial." Data said before tapping on the command console to play the recording. The recording started off with a lot of distortion and static at first, but shortly they were able to discern Worf's voice first.

"...highly localized distortion..." They all heard.

"...collision course. Impact in 36 seconds..." Another voice spoke, sounding distinctly like Data's.

"...abandon ship. repeat, all hands abandon..." They heard Picard shout before the recording ended.

"Dear god..." Sakura gasped out fearfully.

"The phrase "collision course," suggests we collided with something." Troi pointed out.

Geordi nodded. "Worf refers to a "distortion." If this were a temporal distortion, and if we were close enough to it... it's possible that a large enough explosion might've ruptured the space-time continuum." He typed some calculations into the computer. "We collided... exploded... and got stuck in this repeating loop of time."

They all paused to consider this.

"If you're right about this...perhaps we could escape the loop by avoiding the collision..." Picard said.

"That's our guess." Geordi said.

"Maybe we should reverse course." Worf suggested.

"That could've been what we did to get us in this situation." Sakura pointed out.

Picard thinks for a moments, then shakes his head. "We can't afford to start second guessing ourselves. We'll stay on our present course until we have reason to change it." He said. "In the meantime, let's do everything we can to avoid a collision."

"Captain... We may not find out how to avoid this accident until it's too late. And if the loop begins again - we'll forget everything we've learned this time around." Geordi said.

"What do you suggest?" Picard asked.

"If we do find a way to avoid the collision... we should try to send that information into the next loop." Geordi suggested.

"Is that possible?" Riker asked.

"We have seen that echoes, or afterimages, from previous loops appear as distortions in the dekyon field. We may be able to send a deliberate echo into the next loop." Data said.

"Like a message in a bottle..." Troi deduced.

"Exactly. We could enhance a dekyon emission to create a specific pattern... and send ourselves a message. Not a long one - probably only a few characters... maybe one word..." Geordi suggested.

"How do we know we'll pick up that word the next time through?" Riker asked.

"If the dekyon emission is modulated correctly, it would set up a resonance in my positronic sub-processors. I would receive the information - on what you would call a subconscious level." Data informed.

" I have a suggestion." Sakura spoke up.

"Let's hear it." Picard said.

"One thing my ex knew how to do was to seal away specific memories in one's subconscious. Naruto here is adept in sealing techniques. Perhaps he can seal away our memories of this meeting and have it on a time release so it will unseal itself at a specific time during the next loop." Sakura suggested.

"Interesting idea..." Naruto jumped in. "But I've never made anything like that before and I'm not even sure that I could."

"Can you at least try?" Picard asked.

"I can, but I wouldn't get your hopes up." Naruto said.

"Alright. In the meantime, Data, work on getting that message ready in case Naruto can't procreate the seal." Picard ordered.

"Yes, sir." Data said.

"How is he supposed to do that?" Riker asked.

"Take whatever steps are necessary to send a message. Dismissed." Picard said. Everyone stood up from their chairs as one to get to work. Geordi and Data went to the engineering lab while Naruto and Sakura went back to their quarters to get to work on Naruto's seal.

An hour later, Crusher went to check on Geordi and Data in Engineering, to find the later sitting at a console with a panel on his head expose, revealing his mind to be nothing but circuits and wires. Geordi was tinkering with the circuits, making a few adjustments. He then attached a small emitter device to Data's uniform.

"It is possible that we've tried this a thousand times and it's never worked." Geordi warned Crusher.

"It's a frightening thought." He added.

"Does it feel like you've done this a thousand times?" Crusher asked, hoping to console her crewmate.

"No, it doesn't. But we've could've done this a hundred times for all we know."

"It is nearly impossible to determine if we did or did not attempt this." Data said.

"Well if all we've got to go on is our gut feelings, then this is a good sign." Crusher reassured.

"I sure hope so." Geordi said.

As he finishes his adjustments to the emitter. "Alright, let's test it out."

Data then typed a few buttons on his wrist mounted emitter device. "Particle accelerators to full power." He reports as his exposed panel begins to blink rapidly, all the while a nearby console lights up with a graph showing dekyon emission levels.

Geordi leans over to study the readings. "Dekyon field active... Particle flux nominal... We're in business." He declares as he puts the final touches on Data's emitter.

"All we need to do now is wait." Crusher said.

With perfect comedic timing, the ship's red alert alarms blared and Riker's voice came on over the coms. "Senior staff, report to the bridge."

As one, Data, Geordi and Crusher made their way to the turbo lift. The elevator door opened to reveal Naruto and Sakura already inside.

"Sakura? You should be in your quarters." Crusher lectured as they stepped inside.

"Oh, not you too." Sakura sighed. "If this is the collision we are all worried about, then the safest place for me to be is by Naruto's side." Sakura explained.

Crusher sighed. "Bridge." She ordered the computer. The doors closed and the turbo lift resumed its course. "Fine, just don't do anything to overstress yourself."

"Like stand by helplessly, not knowing if we will or won't crash the ship?" Sakura asked dryly.

"We don't know that for sure." Crusher stated.

"I know, but I'd be uncertain about it if I stayed back in the room, so I'd rather be by his side and know what's going on." Sakura said seriously.

"Fine." Crusher gave in. "Did you manage to finish your seal, Naruto?"

"No, not enough time, I hope you guys fared better on your end." Naruto said just as they arrived on the bridge.

"Our sensors didn't pick it up until we were almost on top of it." Ro reported as they stepped off the turbo lift.

The crew on the elevator rush to take their seats. Sakura stands behind a seated Naruto as he man's his post. Riker looks back to address Picard and gives a brief expression of surprise at seeing Sakura on deck, but one look from Naruto lets the second in command know that there are more pressing matters to attend to.

"How do you think we handled this last time?" Riker asks Picard.

"For all we know, it could be the same way we're handling it now." Naruto said.

"That may be, but we can't second guess ourselves." Picard stated.

"What if not second guessing ourselves is what keeps us from making the right decision?" Riker suggested.

Picard considered this, but knew there was simply no good answer. "Back us off, Ensign." He ordered Ro. "Nice and slow."

"Aye sir." Ro answered only for her console to beep. "Helm controls not responding."

"The distortion field is fluctuating." Data warned as the cloud on the main screen rippled.

"The hell is that..." Sakura said to no one in particular as a ship started to emerge. Just then all the lights in the ship flickered before shutting off. A moment in darkness was replaced by the crimson glow of emergency lights.

"All main systems just went down!" Geordi reported.

"Auxiliary systems are not responding." Naruto informed.

"We have to leave now." Troi said to Picard.

"Shields up! Evasive maneuvers!" Riker ordered as the ghost ship loomed ever closer.

"Shields inoperable!" Worf reported.

"Helm is offline." Ro reported.

"The vessel is on a collision course. Impact in thirty-six seconds." Data added.

Sakura squinted her eyes at the incoming ship and almost immediately recognized the design. "Captain, that's a Federation ship!" She informed.

"Try to hail them!" Picard ordered.

Worf did just that, but nothing. "No response."

Picard gripped his captain's chair, he feared he had already doomed them all. "Suggestions?"

"Decompress the main shuttle bay. The resulting explosion should push us out of the way." Riker suggested.

"Captain, I recommend we use the tractor beam to alter the other ship's trajectory." Data cut in.

"Make it so." Picard ordered.

"Wait. What if this was our mistake?" Sakura pointed out.

"There is no time to second guess! Data, that's an order!" Picard shouted as the ship was near right on top of them.

"Aye sir." Data complied before engaging the tractor beam.

The android furiously typed in the command into his console. The Enterprise emitted a wide beam that tried to deflect the other ship. The crew on the bridge all held their breath as the old ship drew closer without slowing in the slightest.

"Brace for impact!" Riker shouted over the coms, but it was too late. The older vessel slammed into the port nacelle, Picard could feel it in his teeth as metal tore into metal, then the alarms started to blare.

"Damage report!" Riker shouted.

"Casualty reports coming in from all over the ship!" Crusher reported.

"Port side nacelle sustained a direct hit. Plasma leaking into the ship." Data reported.

"We've got to eject the core!" Geordi shouted.

Aboard the Enterprise-E, all was chaos. Crewmen from every station and position ran like ants through the hallways, the metal structure of ship giving off a ghastly wail as its beams bent beyond their natural limits. Explosions rung out from the engine room, cooking men alive while tossing the less fortunate out to the freezing grip of space. On the bridge, Picard and the rest of the commanding officers barked commands at one another.

"All hands to escape pods!" Picard ordered as he kept a death grip on his captain's chair, as if his palm could hold together the entire ship long enough to save a handful of souls.

"Captain! Warp core breach imminent!" Geordi reported.

"Eject the core!" Riker ordered as he stood over Data.

"Core ejection is offline! Unable to eject!" Data reported, his gaze fell upon Riker's collar and the android knew what message he had to send. He typed in his five-letter message into his emitter as fast as his android fingers would allow.

"We've got hull breaches in decks 17 through 12!" Naruto reported from his station while Sakura held a death grip on Naruto's shoulders for any kind of reassurance.

"Starboard nacelle collapsed! We're venting drive plasma!" Geordi reported. The starboard nacelle suddenly flashed and jolted the ship into a rapid spin.

"Warp core breach in progress!" Data informed.

"ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP! I REPEAT, ALL HANDS ABANDON-"

Picard never got to finish his order as the ship exploded.

For Naruto, time seemed to slow down, the alarms and screams grew silent, all Naruto felt was the touch of his wife on his shoulder. He turned back to see her already staring into her eyes with the same hopeless look. They both knew this was the end. They could feel the ship rumbling beneath their feet.

There was no time to think, only to act. Naruto knew this as he threw himself out of his chair and wrapped his arms around Sakura. Kurama's chakra bleeding through Naruto's every pore. He mixed in his sage chakra and enveloped Sakura and himself in the Golden Kyuubi cloak just the explosion ripped through the bridge, tearing the ship apart. Fire and plasma swirled all around them, yet the Kyuubi cloak kept them safe from death's grip.

"I'm scared..." Sakura cried in his ear.

"It's alright, Sakura-chan, it'll be alright." Naruto promised even as he sensed all of their friends and family being snuffed out in fire.

The explosions jostled them about like grapes in a blender. The artificial gravity was gone and with it any sense of up or down. All they could do was hold on.

'Please God, just let us survive a few minutes more. Enough to find an intact escape pod. Just let me live long enough to get them to safety... That's all...' Naruto prayed. He prayed as hard as any man could to save his budding family.

One final explosion rocked them to their core, and just like that, the world grew still. Naruto kept his eyes closed, feeling something metal poking him in the chest. He opened one eye to look into Sakura's beautiful green eyes.

"Sakura-chan?" He asked, hardly believing that they had actually survived.

"Sakura-chan?" He asked again before looking down at the jagged metal shard piercing through his love's heart. He couldn't breathe.

"Sakura-chan..." He gasped again as the last of his previous oxygen slipped out of his lips and disappeared into the void of space. Naruto choked trying to call out to Sakura again, that old creeping terror returned to him, the icy darkness of space crept back up his limbs as his sage mode began to fail. He held Sakura close. Waiting for the end.

---

2 days previously...

"GOD DAMMIT!" Sakura cursed as she threw down her losing hand.

"Hehehe..." Riker smiled as he raked in his winnings.

"Come on, Sakura-chan, it's just a game." Naruto said as he handed his cards back to be reshuffled.

"Oh, be quiet..." Sakura said sourly.

"My, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." Riker teased as he handed Data his cards.

Sakura gripped the side of the table, leaving indents from her fingers in the wood.

"She wasn't even using chakra." Naruto sweat dropped. Then he realized that one of his beads of sweat wasn't sweat at all, it was a tear. 'Huh...weird...' Naruto thought.

"Deal the next hand." Sakura ordered.

Data was about to deal the next hand when Dr. Crusher entered.

"Hi everyone, sorry that I'm late." Crusher greeted.

"Oh not at all. Riker is just kicking our butts as usual." Naruto greeted.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed, Riker." Naruto said. "Normally back home I win these games by dumb luck."

"Well that's the thing to remember, Lieutenant. It's not all about luck." Riker smiled, even when something felt off.

"Riker has a nearly unbeatable poker face. You'll have to be really good at reading people to beat him." Crusher said.

"Yeah, mister emotional... intelligence..." Sakura said to Naruto, the words feeling hollow and over used before she even said them.

She looked up and saw that everyone was eyeing each other with suspicion. As if they could all tell what the others were thinking.

"Something wrong, Worf?" Riker asked the crewman next to him.

"I am experiencing nIb'poH." Worf said.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"It is the Klingon word for déjà vu." Riker answered.

"Oh...yea I'm getting that too." Sakura said.

"Me too." Naruto said as he wiped the tear from his eye.

"Are...are you crying?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"I don't think so. I don't feel sad." Naruto answered.

"Dry eyes?" Crusher asked

"Um...yeah, that's gotta be it." Naruto said as he blinked several times to moisten up his eyes.

"Data, can you lay out the cards?" Crusher requested.

"Certainly." Data said and began dealing the cards. Everyone looked at Riker's pile, expecting to see a Seven of Diamonds, instead they saw a Three of Hearts. They then looked at Worf who was given a Three of Clubs instead of a Jack of Hearts. Naruto got the Three of Diamonds instead of a Four of Diamonds. And Sakura was given the Three of Spades like everyone predicted.

"All 3's..." Sakura gasped out.

"That's a heck of a coincidence." Riker said.

"Keep dealing." Crusher said.

Data continued dealing, granting Crusher a Queen, himself an Ace, Riker a King, Worf a Jack, Naruto a Ten, and Sakura a Nine. He went around the table twice more and everyone gasped in astonishment when they all received three-of-a-kind.

"We all get three's... then three-of-a-kind?" Crusher said astonished.

"How is that even possible?" Sakura asked.

"It's...it's just improbable, right?" Naruto asked, equally astonished.

"I do not know. The odds of this happening are 7.9 trillion to one." Data said.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like you know."

"Are you accusing him of stacking the deck?" Sakura asked.

"No. He just told us the odds. The high odds. That's what improbable means." Naruto said.

"He meant that he doesn't know how this happened." Riker clarified.

"Okay then. I just didn't know what he meant. I thought he was joking or something." Naruto defended.

"No I was not." Data said.

Before anyone could say anything else, the ship's coms came to life. "Ogawa to Dr. Crusher."

"Crusher here...is it Geordi?" Crusher asked.

"Yes, Ma'am." Ogawa replied.

"On my way." Crusher replied before cutting off the coms. She started to get up before pausing a moment. "care to join me?" She asked Sakura.

"Aren't I on maternity leave?"

"I have a feeling this is going to be more than routine."

Sakura raised her eyebrows yet had a sneaking suspicion that Crusher was right. "I guess I'll be back later tonight." She said to her husband.

"I'll be up sharpening kunai." He replied before kissing her goodbye.

"Alright." Sakura smiled before following Crusher to the turbo lift.

"Have any idea what this could be?" Sakura asked.

"What do you think it is?" Crusher asked back.

"Hmm...something tells me it has something to do with dizziness." Sakura guessed.

"And what do you base that on?"

"Gut feelings." Sakura shrugged as they stepped into the turbo lift.

"Sick bay." Crusher ordered. "Funny thing is, I'm getting that same feeling."

Sakura's eyes went wide. It was one thing for them to agree on the same diagnosis and treatment. They were both experts after all. But to both agree on the same prediction? It was just more of the oddity that was the poker game.

"This is too strange to be a coincidence..." Sakura mused.

"Well what else could it be?" Crusher asked.

"Well it could be...no...maybe not that." Sakura mused.

"What?" Crusher asked.

"I was gonna suggest that it was a Genjutsu, but for some reason that doesn't seem right." Sakura said.

"Oh, well if you're certain." Crusher said as they arrived at the sick bay.

"I'm not really certain, but...I don't know." Sakura said as she laid eyes on Geordi.

"Lieutenant Sakura? But I thought you were on maternity leave." Geordi said upon seeing Sakura."Dr. Crusher asked me to tag along."

"I see, alright then."

"What seems to be the trouble?" Crusher asked as she picked up a nearby medical tricord and started scanning Geordi.

"I just had a sudden onset of dizziness and a headache while I was working." He explained.

"Have you had this before?" Sakura asked.

"Now that you mentioned it...I think I have..." Geordi admitted.

"Do you recall when?" Crusher asked.

"No I don't." Geordi said, making Sakura and Crusher look at each other with uneasiness.

"Let's check the medical logs." Crusher suggested.

"I got that." Sakura said as she pulled up his medical records. "Seems he was in here in regards to his visor. It was for headaches, but not for dizziness. Ear infection maybe?"

"That's what I'm thinking. But that's not what's important. How can the both of us be so sure he had these symptoms before?" Crusher asked.

"Must be déjà vu." Geordi shrugged.

Crusher gave him a quizzical look. "Both of us? At the same time? And on the way here, Sakura and I had the same premonition that you came to me for dizziness."

Crusher walks over to the drawer and pulls out a medical instrument. "Let's run an optical diagnostic."

"For an ear infection?" Sakura doubts.

"I've got a hunch." Crusher says as she motions Geordi over to the instrument. He humors her and sits down in front of the machine, resting his chin on the headrest. Crusher connects his visor to the diagnostic instrument and types in a few commands.

"Hold still...this pulse may be a little bright." Crusher says as she taps in the final command. The machine briefly hums and a light is projected into Geordi's visor. Sakura stands next to Crusher to analyze the results with her on the monitor.

"That's odd." Crusher says. "Have you made any changes to your visor lately?"

"No. Why?" Geordi asks.

"I'm detecting a slight phase-shift in your visual receptors..." Crusher says.

An hour or so later, Sakura returned to her private quarters filled with more questions than answers. 'What in the Hell is going on, on this ship?'

"What's up?" Naruto asked when greeted by a serious looking Sakura at the door.

"Weird shit on this ship, that's what." Sakura replied as she flopped down on the couch.

"I know what you mean" Naruto muttered before he playfully lifted up Sakura's legs so that he could sit down on the couch and prop up her feet on his lap. Sakura then noticed the bowl of ice cream sitting on the coffee table.

"That for me?" Sakura asked.

"I think so. I figured that you'd want some once you got back."

"You're right, I did." Sakura smiled. "Can you hand it to me? I'm a bloated whale right now..."

"No. You got me trapped underneath your feet." Naruto joked as he created a Shadow Clone to hand his lady love her ice cream. The clone did so with an overabundance of grace and poise which made Sakura giggle. Once she had her snack, the clone vanished, and Sakura took her first bite. Her eyes shot open.

"Buttercream. How did you know?"

"Lucky guess?" Naruto shrugged.

"Do you really think that?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"No I don't. I can't explain it, but I was certain that you'd want that specific flavor. And I'd swear on a bowl of Ichiraku's ramen that this wasn't the first time I've surprised you with ice cream." Naruto said with certainty.

Sakura blinked. "I...think you're right...but I can't recall when."

"You've had cravings for ice cream before, right? You must have." Naruto said, leaning in close.

"Yea I have...but you've never gotten the right flavor without me telling you."

"Well you keep changing your preferences. It's chocolate one day and blueberry the next. How can I get it right without asking you?"

"That's why I'm shocked! You knew what flavor I wanted without even telling you."

"And this wasn't just me picking the right flavor out of thousands that the Enterprise has on file. I knew you wanted." He added.

"How though?"

Naruto just shrugged before noticing something about Sakura's ice cream. "Huh, that's weird."

"What?"

"It's nothing. I'm probably just grasping at straws." Naruto tried to wave off.

"No, tell me."

"Well...tell me if I'm wrong. But whenever you as the computer for ice cream, you get four scoops, right?" Naruto pointed out.

"Yea...?" Sakura said quizzically before looking down at her bowl and saw 3 scoops. "Good god..."

"Freaky, right? It's gotta be a glitch or maybe I'm just remembering it wrong."

Sakura put her spoon down. "I've suddenly lost my appetite."

"Why? Because there aren't 4 scoops?" Naruto asked.

"Because it freaked me out, you Baka!" Sakura snapped.

Naruto flinched. "Okay, okay!" He held his hands up defensively.

Sakura's rage instantly subsided when she realized she had snapped at her husband. "I'm sorry..."

"It's hormones...don't worry about it." Naruto said softly as he wrapped her up in a tender hug.

"I just hate myself for yelling at you for no reason. I promised myself I would stop doing that." She cried into Naruto's chest.

"Hey...it happens. I'm used to it." Naruto then chuckled. "Hell, I've been dealing with it since we were kids."

"It's stupid of me..." Sakura whined.

"Hey now. You tolerate my stupid moments and I tolerate your angry outbursts. At the end of the day, it works." Naruto soothed.

"Doesn't make me feel any better about it..."

Naruto lifted Sakura's head up by her chin and kissed her forehead, sending a warm tingle outward throughout her whole body. "You're too hard on yourself." Naruto smiled.

Sakura nuzzled into Naruto chest some more and realized once again that he was right.

"I wanna go to bed now." She requested. Naruto was all too happy to oblige. It had certainly been a long day. At least it felt like one.

---

The next morning, they awoke early and Sakura joined Naruto in training the ANBU recruits in a move called the cat kick. After a short demonstration, the two Jounin had the trainees pair up and try out the trick kick on each other, with some surprising results.

"Wow. These guys caught on fast." Naruto praised to Sakura while Sol executed a perfect cat kick at April, who managed to implement her own counter move that Sakura had taught them all. "It's like they had been practicing this move before I ever even taught them."

"I know what you mean. I'm impressed, Naruto." Sakura admitted. "You found yourself a really great group of trainees."

"Yea no kiddin." Naruto smiled.

"Lieutenants Naruto and Sakura, please report to the observation lounge for a senior staff meeting." They heard over the coms.

"On our way." Naruto called back. "Trainees, that's enough for today. Great work, all of you. You've even got my wife impressed." Naruto chuckled before covering his mouth with his hand to hide it from Sakura. "No easy feat, believe me." He joked.

"I heard that..." Sakura muttered.

"Hey, we got a meeting to go to." Naruto said, quickly changing the subject.

"Yea, yea..." Sakura grumbled, thinking of how she would get him back later.

Later in the meeting room, Data was just finishing up the recording that Dr. Crusher presented, ending with Picard ordering an abandon ship.

"Sweet sage..." Naruto gasped out.

"The phrase "collision course," suggests we collided with something." Troi pointed out.

Geordi nodded. "Worf refers to a "distortion." If this were a temporal distortion, and if we were close enough to it... it's possible that a large enough explosion might've ruptured the space-time continuum." He typed some calculations into the computer. "We collided... exploded... and got stuck in this repeating loop of time."

They all paused to consider this.

"If you're right about this...perhaps we could escape the loop by avoiding the collision..." Picard said.

"That's our guess." Geordi said.

"Maybe we should reverse course." Worf suggested.

"That could've been what we did to get us in this situation." Sakura pointed out.

Picard thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. "We can't afford to start second guessing ourselves. We'll stay on our present course until we have reason to change it." He said. "In the meantime, let's do everything we can to avoid a collision."

Geordi then spoke up. "Captain, we've been seeing the number three all over the ship..." Startling Naruto and Sakura. "On consoles...in a poker game."

"In Sakura's ice cream bowl. There were three scoops instead of the usual four." Naruto added.

"And in some med-sci reports in sick bay." Sakura added.

"In total, we have encountered two thousand eighty-six conspicuous examples of the number "three."" Data stated.

"All these "threes" can't be coming up by accident." Geordi stated.

"Maybe somebody's trying to tell us something." Riker contributed.

"We came to the same conclusion." Geordi said. "So we ran a ship wide diagnostic. The only unusual thing we found was a dekyon field modulation in Data's positronic subprocessors."

"What could be causing it?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know. But if I wanted to send information from one loop to the next... I might have used a method like a dekyon emission." Geordi stated. The crew all paused to consider this.

"Maybe the number 3 is a message from us in the previous loop." Naruto suggested.

"If that were true. What could the message, "three," mean?" Picard asked. Once again, the crew paused to consider this riddle. It was a tricky one.

"Three...three..." Naruto muttered to himself out loud. "Three-man squad...three tailed beast...three pronged kunai?" He halfheartedly suggested.

"Maybe we should run a level three diagnostic on all key systems?" Riker suggested.

"Good idea. And I'll have the computer run a pattern-matching algorithm based on the number three." Geordi said.

"Bridge to Captain Picard." Ro spoke over the coms.

"Go ahead." Picard replied.

"We are getting unusual readings...twenty thousand kilometers off the port bow."

Everyone in the meeting room looked at one another in astonishment. Could this be the dreaded catastrophe that had been foretold? The Captain certainly wasn't taking any chances.

"Red alert!" Picard ordered over the coms, signaling to the ship alarms to start blaring and flashing all over the decks.

"Our sensors didn't pick it up until we were almost on top of it." Ro reported as they stepped off the turbo lift.

The crew on the elevator rush to take their seats. Sakura stands behind a seated Naruto as he man's his post. Riker looks back to address Picard and gives a brief expression of surprise at seeing Sakura on deck, but one look from Naruto lets the second in command know that there are more pressing matters to attend to.

"How do you think we handled this last time?" Riker asks Picard.

"For all we know, it could be the same way we're handling it now." Naruto said.

"That may be, but we can't second guess ourselves." Picard stated.

"What if not second guessing ourselves is what keeps us from making the right decision?" Riker suggested.

Picard considered this, but knew there was simply no good answer. "Back us off, Ensign." He ordered Ro. "Nice and slow."

"Aye sir." Ro answered only for her console to beep. "Helm controls not responding."

"The distortion field is fluctuating." Data warned as the cloud on the main screen rippled.

"The hell is that..." Sakura said to no one in particular as a ship started to emerge. Just then all the lights in the ship flickered before shutting off. A moment in darkness was replaced by the crimson glow of emergency lights.

"All main systems just went down!" Geordi reported.

"Auxiliary systems are not responding." Naruto informed.

"We have to leave now." Troi said to Picard.

"Shields up! Evasive maneuvers!" Riker ordered as the ghost ship loomed ever closer.

"Shields inoperable!" Worf reported.

"Helm is offline." Ro reported.

"The vessel is on a collision course. Impact in thirty-six seconds." Data added.

Sakura squinted her eyes at the incoming ship and almost immediately recognized the design. "Captain, that's a Federation ship!" She informed.

"Try to hail them!" Picard ordered.

Worf did just that, but nothing. "No response."

Picard gripped his captain's chair, he feared he had already doomed them all. "Suggestions?"

"Decompress the main shuttle bay. The resulting explosion should push us out of the way." Riker suggested.

"Captain, I recommend we use the tractor beam to alter the other ship's trajectory." Data cut in.

"Make it so." Picard ordered. Everyone held their breath, Naruto gripped Sakura's hand as tight as he could, waiting for the inevitable

Data started rapidly typing in the commands when he came to a powerful revelation. At speeds that only an android could achieve, Data looked over at Riker as he leaned over the console and noticed the commander's collar. Only then did he know the answer to the riddle their past selves had sent him. Data typed in the new commands and the ship's main shuttle bay was decompressed. The Enterprise lurched forward, causing the other ship to miss them completely. Just as this happens, Naruto and Sakura can feel a pull against them. Like the sensation of feeling a thousand lives snuffled out again and again before their senses snap back to normal. They both exhale, they didn't know why, but they knew they had succeeded.

On the bridge, power had seemingly been restored like nothing had happened.

"We are clear of the distortion, Captain." Worf reports. Everyone sighs in relief. Picard then turns to Data.

"Data…what happened?"

"I deduced that the tractor beam would not be successful. Given the amount of times the number 3 had appeared, I deduced that Commander Riker's suggestion was the correct one. I therefore decompressed the main shuttle bay." Data explained.

"But how did you know that the number 3 coronated to Commander Riker?" Picard asked, still reeling from how close they were to crashing.

"The three pips on Commander Riker's collar. Indicating his rank." Data stated, pointing to the three-pip insignia on Riker's collar. Riker looked down at his own collar before slapping Data on the back in congratulations.

"You must have picked up a message we sent from the last loop…" Geordi stated. "And stacked the deck in the poker game without realizing it."

"That is possible, Commander." Data stated. "I may also have been inadvertently responsible for the unexplained appearances of the number "three.""

Everyone paused to let that sink in.

"Mister Worf, end Red Alert. See if you can access a Federation time-base beacon. Find out how long we've been in this causality loop." Picard grimly ordered, dreading the answer.

"Aye, sir." Worf said as he began his task. The red flashes and alarms die down as the crew prepares for the worst-case scenario.

"Time-base confirms that our chronometers are off by seventeen point four days." Data says, letting everyone breath another sigh of relief.

"Just half a month…" Sakura sighed.

"Reset them, Mister Worf." Picard ordered.

"Aye, sir." Worf says just as the monitors start to flash again.

"Sensors back online." Naruto reported as Sakura hugged him from behind in joy.

"And what of the other ship?" Picard asked, only one last loose thread.

"Scanning the other ship...Registry is NX-05, Atlantis...It is a NX class..." Worf said in awe.

"That ship would be over 200 years old by now." Riker commented.

"Is it abandoned?" Picard asked.

"No, sir...There are 92 life forms on it..." Naruto said in awe, as he read the scan results.

"Captain...They are hailing us." Worf said.

Picard's eyes went wide before turning back to the view screen. "On screen..."

The screen changed views to show a woman in a very old Starfleet uniform. She had short black hair, hazel eyes and a short but full figure.

"This is Captain Amber Martin of the Starfleet ship Atlantis." She greeted. "Can we render assistance?"

"Uh...this is Captain Picard of the USS Enterprise." Picard greeted back. "We were just going to ask you the same thing."

"Enterprise?" Captain Martin asked. "I'm afraid the design of your ship is unknown to us."

"Captain...do you know the date?" Picard asked.

"Of course. Its April 19th, 2162...why?"

The crew on the bridge all looked at one another in astonishment.

'Oh boy...' Naruto thought.

"Captain...I think it would be wise for you and your senior officers to beam aboard. There is much we need to discuss." Picard offered.

Captain Martin was skeptical. "Captain, what do your computers say the date is?"

Picard shifted around uneasily before sighing. "April 19...2372. I'm afraid you have been lost in the Typhon expanse for over 200 years."

At that, whispers and murmurs went around the bridge of the Atlantis like wild fire.

"Are you certain, Captain? It only feels like we've just gotten here. We entered the expanse, our systems went down briefly and then we nearly hit your ship." Amber informed.

"We have noticed that ourselves." Data started. "However, our chronometers have detected that we are 17 days out of sync."

"Captain, they are correct." Captain Amber's first officer said. "Our chronometers show that...we've been here for 210 years..."

"Holy shit..." One of her Ensigns spoke.

"How...How can that be possible?" Amber gasped.

"I'll send you and your away team the coordinates to beam over. We'll share with you our findings. Picard out." Picard said before the screen cut back to the old ship.

"210 years..." Sakura gasped out.

"And we were only trapped for 17 days." Naruto stated. His words hung in the air as a lone Ensign sent the coordinates to the Atlantis.

---

Author's Note from Panda: Hey everybody, hope you enjoyed that chapter. For those of you who haven't guessed yet, this chapter was inspired/ripped off from Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 episode 18 Cause and Effect. You can find the episode on Netflix and I highly recommend giving it a watch. It's a fascinating episode and I'm glad we got to try out writing our own version of it.

So what did you think? Did we do the episode justice? Would you like to see more occasional chapters like this? Or D) No that was horrible, stick to your own self-made chapters. Leave a review telling us what you think and we'll see you all in the next one.