How's everyone doing? I'm finally back with another chapter. As I've indicated with the previous chapter, I'm going to do something a little different here. I just hope the changes don't detract the chapter overall. In any case, let's see what's in store for our next group of heroes (and one anti-hero).

CHAPTER 4

It was a lit-up night down in an abandoned-looking quarry. While on the ground, Foghorn Leghorn examined the terrain on the way to the factory, with Raimundo next to him.

Foghorn looked around through a telescope and watched as Lin Kuei Cyborgs were working away.

Barnyard Dawg was silently approaching them with his hand on either one of his katana blades.

The blue-clad Lin Kuei Grandmaster and his yellow-and-black-clad friend felt the presence of the Shirai Ryu ninja and whipped themselves around practically in-tune with the latter unsheathing his sword.

"Don't know about Raimundo," stated Barnyard Dawg before sheathing his blade, "but yer hearin' is failin', Foghorn."

Foghorn raised an eyebrow. "I recognized your footsteps, Dawg."

As the older warriors looked at him, Raimundo realized they were waiting for an answer. "Oh. Right. I just noticed the look on Foghorn's face."

Just then, young Danny Fenton appeared to the three warriors in a puff of smoke, startling them.

"Admittedly," said Foghorn, "I didn't—I say, I didn't expect that to happen."

"Danny?" Raimundo inquired. "What are you doing here? I thought you were back at the S-F base."

"I was," shrugged young Danny, "but Samurai Jack requested that I come along with you three, in case you need help. At least I think that was the case—he had a spooked look on his face for some reason."

Barnyard Dawg shrugged his surprised feeling off. "Where's Hannibal Roy Bean? I will not let 'im threaten me clan again."

Foghorn explained. "The old Cyber Lin Kuei factory was defunct, disused that is, buried beneath the quarry here."

Young Danny cocked an eyebrow. "Until the time disruption, you mean."

"Exactly, son."

Raimundo glared as he looked down at the factory. "Now, Hannibal's returned and reactivated it. He's budding an army by processing Lin Kuei warriors kidnapped from our temple."

Barnyard Dawg nodded in understanding. "I can see why you's need me."

"So . . . what's the plan, then?" young Danny asked.

Still looking down, Raimundo folded his arms across his chest in thought, before pointing at something. "We could enter through that tunnel, but a frontal assault would be . . ."

As the yellow-and-black-clad Lin Kuei trailed off, Barnyard Dawg finished the sentence. "Bloody."

Foghorn handed the Shirai Ryu ninja his telescope. "Needlessly dangerous. There's—I say, there's another entrance, less populated—occupied, that is."

After looking through the telescope, Barnyard Dawg looked back at Foghorn. "And the rest of yer plan?"

"We get help on the inside. . . ."

The entrance was guarded by a gray-colored Cyborg. As the four warriors snuck up behind him, Raimundo grabbed the Cyborg, while young Danny blasted him with a face-full of smoke from his hand and knocking him out.

Afterwards, all four of them ran through the entrance and into the factory.

Walking into a room, the four of them were shocked by the sight of skeletal piles—much to the upset of Foghorn, Raimundo, and young Danny—especially after finding a Lin Kuei medallion on top of one of the skeletal hands.

Picking up the medallion, Foghorn's face twisted into angst. Raimundo and young Danny looked down in sorrow.

Barnyard Dawg knew all too well about such a loss. He placed either hand on Foghorn's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "We'll avenge yer clan."

The four of them snapped back to attention as they heard the metal doors start to slide open. They scurried over to a hiding spot.

Entering the room were cyber Raimundo—young Raimundo from the past—and Hyena.

The four warriors watched closely as Hyena turned on the machine that made the Cyborgs—a vial of Jinsei in her hand.

The sight of his past self in Cyborg form made Raimundo wince. Young Danny patted him on the shoulder in reassurance.

"Raimundo Pedrosa is yer inside man?" Barnyard Dawg whispered, a wrinkle in his brow. "Err, I mean, that Raimundo from Danny's time, not our Raimundo now."

Foghorn whispered back. "He was converted against his will. If we—I say, if we disable the behavior inhibitors that control him—"

"He will toin on Hannibal."

"All Cyber Lin Kuei are linked to a common network—common network, that is. Raimundo over yonder can shut them down from within."

"Any idea who the woman is?" whispered young Danny.

Shaking himself out of his feeling of unease, Raimundo squinted in concentration, trying to figure things out. "I don't know—her hood makes it hard to make out."

"Point is," continued Foghorn, "focus—I say, focus on disablin' Raimundo. He's the key—key, that is."

Cyber Raimundo looked toward Hyena. "We require additional candidates for cyberization."

"Once delivered, how long before the next generation is ready?" queried Hyena.

Before cyber Raimundo could answer, Foghorn blasted Hyena with a flurry of ice, freezing her like a statue.

Foghorn, Raimundo, and young Danny jumped from their hiding spot. As cyber Raimundo charged at them, Barnyard Dawg jumped on top of his back.

Hyena broke herself free of the ice she was encased in before whipping herself around and snarling angrily. Without her hood, she was recognized instantly.

"Hyena!" Foghorn growled in anger and disapproval.

"Wait—that's Hyena!?" young Danny exclaimed.

"I know—" Raimundo groaned— "I can't believe none of us recognized her through that hood. They even have her signature colors."

Using her ice powers, Hyena blasted cyber Raimundo and Barnyard Dawg, forcing the two to sprawl out in different directions. It took only a split second for the Shirai Ryu ninja to join the three Lin Kuei.

The Lin Kuei Grandmaster glowered darker. "I gave you a home. I was your mentor—teacher, that is. Yet after everything, you ally—I say, you ally with Hannibal Roy Bean? He corrupted the Lin Kuei!"

"You corrupted our clan when you made peace with this Shirai Ryu filth!" snapped Hyena. "With Eris's help, I will restore the Lin Kuei's honor."

Foghorn whispered aside to Raimundo, young Danny, and Barnyard Dawg. "Keep Raimundo alive. We need him."

"You think?" whispered back Raimundo harshly, before he and Barnyard Dawg faced off against cyber Raimundo.

Seeing young Danny stay behind to help him, Foghorn gave the silver-clad warrior a single nod of approval, before focusing back on Hyena. "There's no—I say, there's no future in which you are fit to lead the Lin Kuei."

Hyena glared. "You always doubted me, Foghorn Leghorn. Held me back. Eris sees my true potential."

She sent a flurry of frost in young Danny's direction, before Foghorn pushed him out of the way. However, now it was the blue-clad Lin Kuei trapped in ice.

"Well, Danny Fenton? Do you think smoke can compete against frost?" Hyena taunted.

Glaring, young Danny made smoke appear from around his hands, ready for combat. "Given everything thus far, you bet it can."

They fought. Despite her cryogenic abilities and her experience, Hyena was no match for young Danny, as he was too quick and too determined for her. After surrounding her in patch of smoke, the silver-clad Lin Kuei delivered a few finishing blows before knocking her out and ending the fight.

Young Danny looked down at the traitorous Lin Kuei. "You deceive yourself, Hyena."

After struggling the whole time, Foghorn finally broke free of the ice. He and young Danny ran over to Barnyard Dawg and Raimundo to help. The blue-clad Lin Kuei Grandmaster was able to throw in a few kicks and punches on cyber Raimundo, causing the yellow-and-black-clad Cyborg to stagger back, before straightening himself out again and facing the four warriors.

Behind cyber Raimundo, several gray-clad Cyborgs were released from their holding rings, fully activated and ready to fight.

Upon seeing the other Cyborgs joining, all four warriors put up their guards.

"The upgrade, Raimundo. Is it—I say, is it Eris's doing?" glared Foghorn.

Cyber Raimundo explained as he and the Cyborgs walked toward them. "To better serve her, Foghorn. We defend Eris as she re-writes history."

"So yer nothin' but pawns?" Barnyard Dawg asked.

"We act to secure the Lin Kuei's glory in the New Era. Danny, join us in the New Era. And to my future self, let yourself succumb to the power you will soon possess."

"The heck I will!" young Danny exclaimed.

Raimundo's fists tightened. "I've seen what the Cyber Initiative has done to me. I'm never going back to that."

There was no telling what emotions were going on with cyber Raimundo, seeing as the helmet hid his face, but the tone of his metallic monotone voice seemed to say otherwise. "So be it."

Barnyard Dawg looked to the three Lin Kuei. "I'll deal with Raimundo. I mean, that one over there."

As Foghorn, Raimundo, and young Danny engaged in battle against the Cyborgs, Barnyard Dawg squared off against cyber Raimundo.

Cyber Raimundo kept his green cybernetic lights trained on the Shirai Ryu ninja as the two circled one another. "You will be forced to serve."

Barnyard Dawg counter-argued. "I've been down that road, Raimundo. Never again."

It seemed like a feeling of déjà vu for Barnyard Dawg as he faced the past version of Raimundo a second time. However, where he faced the yellow-and-black-clad Lin Kuei warrior in his ordinary human form, he was facing the same adversary in his cybernetic form (albeit alone), making the fight a little more difficult than before. Fortunately though, Barnyard Dawg was able to defeat cyber Raimundo all the same.

After catching his breath, Barnyard Dawg looked down at the incapacitated Cyborg. "No one should be a slave."

After the three Lin Kuei warriors dispatched the Cyborgs, they joined back up with the Shirai Ryu ninja. Using his ice powers, Foghorn knelt down and destroyed cyber Raimundo's behavior inhibitor.

"Hurry," demanded Barnyard Dawg, "before we face more Cyber Lin Kuei."

"He'll need," explained Foghorn, "I say, he'll need a moment to initialize—load, that is."

Raimundo shivered.

"What's the matter? Still bothered about your past self?" young Danny asked in both concern and awkwardness of the sentence.

"No," answered Raimundo, "it's something else. Like someone . . . watching us."

Suddenly, something (or someone) punched Barnyard Dawg from behind.

All four warriors steeled themselves.

"Hannibal? Show yourself!" Foghorn commanded.

Teleporting from the ground, a dark shadowy mist surrounding him, was Steelbeak!

The sight of the Wraith made Raimundo and young Danny shudder in wide-eyed surprise. As for Barnyard Dawg, it made his eyes nearly bug out and his jaw nearly—literally—drop to the floor, before Foghorn caught it in time and helped the former close his mouth again. The blue-clad Lin Kuei Grandmaster himself was taken aback.

"Recognize me, little brother?" Steelbeak taunted, his voice now a sharp harsh-sounding whisper.

"Steelbeak?!" exclaimed Foghorn.

"Yes. It is I."

"You were killed," Raimundo stated in bewilderment, "swallowed in a storm of souls."

Steelbeak chuckled darkly. "Freakshow's creations do not die easily. Eris offers me a new clan to lead." Steelbeak's shadow then separated from him, matching his fighting stance, before the Wraith continued. "Its shadow will darken the Realms."

Foghorn looked at his three allies. "Leave Steelbeak to me."

As his fellow Lin Kuei and the Shirai Ryu ninja squared off against the shadow, the blue-clad Lin Kuei powered up an ice-ball ready to fight.

"You always mimicked me," Steelbeak taunted again, "but you make a poor Grandmaster."

The power in creating his ice-ball intensified as Foghorn glared darker. "I uphold the Lin Kuei principles I thought you shared."

The fight between two brothers was on, as Foghorn was the first to strike by hitting his evil brother with the ice-ball and freezing him in place, followed up by a few punches including an uppercut. Steelbeak fought fiercely, but Foghorn fought harder. It was a whole other fight compared to the time he was cyberized, but the Lin Kuei Grandmaster was just as determined now in defeating his corrupted brother.

After delivering a few more blows, including clubbing Steelbeak over the head with an ice mallet, Foghorn finally incapacitated the Wraith.

Seeing Steelbeak's shadow dissipate, the three allies joined the blue-clad warrior.

Foghorn paused for only a moment, looking down at his evil brother. "We share blood. We are not brothers."

After being rebooted, cyber Raimundo finally picked himself back up, before letting Foghorn help him up the rest of the way.

Cyber Raimundo looked himself over, reality setting in and everything coming back to him. "No. He ripped out my heart. Made me a machine."

Foghorn placed a reassuring hand on cyber Raimundo's shoulder. "Your soul is intact, Raimundo. Trust me, I speak from experience."

"Foghorn, is that you? You look so old. And Danny, you still look the same as I remember. And Barnyard Dawg? And . . . and an older version . . . of me?"

"Confusing, isn't it?" smiled young Danny awkwardly.

Barnyard Dawg held up his hands in an easy-does-it kind of manner to cyber Raimundo. "We'll explain later. For now, know we share the same goal: the Cyber Lin Kuei's destruction."

Raimundo asked, "Can you help us?"

Cyber Raimundo paused for a brief moment. "I can disable their communications network. It'll shut down the factory and every Cyber Lin Kuei connected to it."

Just then, six small rockets were barreling toward the group of five. Cyber Raimundo used his net to catch the rockets, the contact making them explode a few feet away from him and his allies.

From across the room, strolling in, was Hannibal. "Hyena had warned me you two had become allies. I did not think you capable of such dishonor, Foghorn."

Raimundo's eye narrowed into angry, yet determined, slits as he stepped up to face the red-clad Cyborg. "I'll hold him off. You guys go and help me. . . . I mean, him—I mean, my past self."

Cyber Raimundo looked at young Danny. " 'Past self'? Is that me in the future?"

"Again," assured the silver-clad Lin Kuei, "we'll explain later."

As Foghorn, Barnyard Dawg, young Danny, and cyber Raimundo ran off, Hannibal shot his flamethrowers at his literal future adversary.

Raimundo activated the armor on his chest just in time. He was soon covered in a defensive heat-proof metal shell before the red-clad Cyborg stopped.

After deactivating the armor, which cooled down in no time at all, Raimundo took out one detonator with one hand and activated a buzz saw with the other.

"Do not resist Eris's promise of a New Era. I have defeated you once without your enhancements, Raimundo," growled Hannibal, "and I shall do so again."

"Second time around?" smirked the still-glaring Raimundo. "I think not."

The fight raged on between the two different powers. While Hannibal did have his cybernetic enhancements, Raimundo had experience, training, and spirit. Of course, the addition of his detonators, buzz saws, net from his gauntlets, and controllable armor helped add to his cutting edge. A final blow with a net and a detonator, followed by a beatdown, ended the fight and evened out an old score.

Raimundo straightened himself out as he looked down at the incapacitated red-clad Cyborg. "Machine will never replace biotic capabilities." The yellow-and-black-clad Lin Kuei warrior then joined the others.

Meanwhile, cyber Raimundo gained access to the mainframe. "I'm in. I'll reformat the system drives and shut us all down. Goodbye, Foghorn."

Foghorn shook his head. "It is not the end. I will—I say, I will find a way to restore you. Anything is possible. Dawg and I are living proof. Your future self is living proof."

"Please, don't bring me back as a machine. I can't live with such a fate."

The blue-clad Lin Kuei Grandmaster smiled in rest assurance. "Machine or mortal, you have—I say, you have a warrior's soul. As long as I am Grandmaster—Grandmaster, that is—the Lin Kuei will welcome you."

Cyber Raimundo then shook hands with Foghorn in their Lin Kuei style. "Then until we meet again."

Walking over to a wall and lifting off the cover, cyber Raimundo crushed the giant cables therein, shutting down production but also short-circuiting himself in the process.

Hyena and Steelbeak left—with the incapacitated Hannibal in tow.

Young Danny spotted the three villains leaving. "Guys, they've escaped. Shouldn't we pursue them?"

Barnyard Dawg cracked his knuckles. "I say we do."

Foghorn held up a hand. "First—I say, first we speak with Samurai Jack."

With help from young Danny, Raimundo lifted his past Cyborg self up. "Err, Foghorn, you are going to make sure I stay the way I am now, err, right?"

"Of course—I say, of course I will, son." Foghorn then spoke aside to the readers. "Nice boy, but 'bout as optimistic as a Mouse caged up away from cheese."

Meanwhile at Eris's base, young Yosemite Sam was conversing with Dr. Droid while Rattlesnake Jake was slithering alongside them. "Our lady Eris'll get all the service she's a-needin'. But I can't quotes a fee until I knows the job."

Dr. Droid grunted. "You will see." They entered to a room. On the table therein was Hannibal, all damaged from the fight he lost earlier. "Can you restore him?"

After scanning the incapacitated Hannibal with his laser eye, young Sam rubbed his chin, pondering. "Thar's some frame damage. Circuitry looks gewd. But looks like someone did a software wipe. Fixin' it won't come cheap."

"Once he is repaired, can he be replicated? Hundreds of times? Thousands?" asked Dr. Droid.

Young Sam walked over to Rattlesnake Jake as the two conversed between themselves.

Rattlesnake Jake pointed out, "Gonna be tall order."

"But anythang's possible," young Sam stated before smirking over at Dr. Droid, "with the right help."

"Serve Eris," assured Dr. Droid, "and she will provide."

It was at that moment present-day Yosemite Sam stepped out of the shadows, an evil smirk on his face. "Take the deal. Trust me. Otherwise, who can ya trust?"

The two Yosemite Sam's then looked over one another.

Sam kept on smirking. "You weren't kiddin', partner. S'like a mirror, reflectin' the past."

Young Sam looked amazed before slugging his older self in the shoulder. "Great Horny Toads. Lots older and yet still a bushwhacker, huh-huh-huh."

Rattlesnake Jake cleared his throat. "There's still the matter of our fee."

Sam directed his attention on the scaly gunslinger with a dark grin. "We gets paid in thuh New Era. Eris'll make sure the Black Dragon comes out on top. Not only in thuh black market. In every market."

"Right then," said young Sam as he wrung his hands greedily, "let's get on down to business."

Back at the Special Forces headquarters, Julie tried contacting Boog. Sadly, each time she tried, the call failed.

"Reach your dad yet, kid?" Ron asked.

Julie sighed. "The network's still down. I hate being so far away. Dad must be climbing the walls."

"Be patient. You'll get through."

As she and the movie star looked over at young Kim and young Boog, Julie shook her head. "I know my dad's still alive, but it's like I'm seeing a ghost."

"You and me both. But they aren't ghosts. Ohh, they're definitely real."

"Like, can it get any more bizarre?"

Back at his farm home, the camera panned across several pictures of him and Julie—even a framed drawing she made of him when she was a little girl.

Boog, meanwhile, was searching for a phone in every drawer and even under the couch, his mechanical arms lifting it with ease. "Oh, come on. . . . Dang it!" Finally retrieving his phone under some newspapers, he tried calling Julie. "Come on, come on. . . ."

Sadly, the call failed, being unable to communicate with his daughter. The retired commanding officer threw the phone across the room in anger before setting himself on the couch and burying his face in his hands.

Later that night, Boog finally drifted off to sleep, with soda cans/bottles and crumbled Woo-Hoo chocolate bar wrappers strewn about in the living room, the TV still on but fuzzy.

He still had a half-drank bottle in his hand, slowly slipping out. As it finally fell, and was about to spill, it suddenly stopped mid-air. In fact, everything around the sleeping Boog seemed to stop, as if someone pressed the pause button.

It was the work of Eris, as the Elder Goddess appeared before him. "Boog."

The former commanding officer stirred himself awake, unsure of what to make of the being standing before him.

Eris held up a hand. "Do not fear. I have come to offer you a new life—a better life."

Boog sat up slowly, still groggy. "That's awfully generous, seeing as we've never met."

"We have not met, but I know you. How valiantly you have served, how horribly you have suffered. It was not my plan for you."

"Your plan?"

"You were to retire distinguished, not in disgrace. Years from now. General Boog. More importantly, your daughter was not to serve, nor endure the same tragedies you have." She briefly looked at a picture showing Boog holding little girl Julie in his arms. "Your home should be filled with grandchildren. Help me and it will be."

And so closes another chapter thus far. I hope none of you minded me taking the liberties like I did. More chapters are to come but until then: Have a happy Fourth of July (as of me writing here).