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NMNT Season 4 Chapter 2: Election Duel
-The Woods, Night-
It was a cool and cloudless night as the turtles sat around their campfire with the full moon towards their back. It had been about two and a half weeks into their recovery at the Jones' Family Farm and the turtles, despite having a bandage here and there, were very nearly fully recovered. Currently the turtles were sitting on their own individual log around the fire, silently taking in the scenery around them. Donatello stood up and stretched his arms.
"Ah, just look at this place," he sighed contently as he looked to his left and pointed out a dilapidated building, "they don't build turn-of-the-century saw mills like this anymore."
"Probably because it's not the turn of the century anymore," Michelangelo joked as he stood up.
"Let's stow our stuff and go explorin'," Raphael said as he stood up and started to head towards the aforementioned building with Don and Mikey following suit.
Leonardo, on the other hand, remained seated on his log with his back turned towards the others. Mikey, noticing this, stopped in his tracks.
"You comin' Leo?" he asked. Leo remained silent as he slightly turned his head towards his brothers' direction.
"Ah, leave him," Raph said, slightly irritated, "he doesn't want to play, then he doesn't want to play."
And the three brothers continued to walk towards the entrance to the saw mill. As they carefully opened the door and stepped inside, they were greeted to a sight of machines that, while having that classic blend of steel and rust, had withstood the test of time. Upon further evaluation, they also saw a myriad of cobwebs and scrap pieces of wood laying here and there. All of this was bathed under the full moon light which came down from the windowed ceilings above.
"Cool," said Don, taking in the sights. "Race you guys to the top," said Mikey
"Ha, we'll give you a head start since you got your legs busted," Raph said, accepting Mikey's challenge.
"Thanks, but I don't need it," Mikey replied as he leapt up, "See ya!" Don and Raph quickly leapt up and the race was on.
-Casey's Grandmother's Farmhouse-
At the farmhouse, peace and relaxation had taken hold and the sound of crickets chirping only enhanced the relaxed atmosphere. Currently Splinter, Casey and April were sitting on a porch swing on one end of the porch while Naruto was busy meditating on the other end of the porch.
"It sure is such a nice night out, don'tcha think?" Casey said.
"Mm hmm," April said rather absentmindedly. Casey looked over and saw that she was amorously looking at Naruto. Casey, wanting to leave the girl alone with her thoughts, nudged Splinter (who, before I forget, was very nearly healed of almost all his burns, though his fur was slowly growing back on certain places).
"Hey uh Master Splinter, isn't it time for your bedtime meditation or somethin'?" he asked.
Splinter began to reply, "No, I-." Then he saw Casey slightly jerk his head towards April.
Splinter, noticing both the hidden meaning behind Casey's question and what April was doing, quickly replied, "Oh yes, I did not realize how late it was. Past my bedtime in fact."
The rat then picked up his cane and walked back inside. Casey then slowly got up and said, "I, uh, gotta take care of a couple of things. You have a good night now."
"Mm," April replied as the vigilante headed indoors.
-The Saw Mill-
The race came to a close as Mikey climbed out through a hole in the roof.
"Ha ha, I win!" he exclaimed happily. However, his joy did not last as he gazed up and saw Leo standing on the roof, looking towards the woods.
"Hey," Mikey slightly complained, "how did you-?"
Just then, Raph and Ron came up through the hole.
"Well, looks like our silent partner decided to join us," said Raph.
Don looked up at the sky and pointed something out. "Look," he said, "A shooting star."
"Awesome," said Mikey.
And indeed there was, streaking a bright white light across the night sky. Suddenly it changed direction and headed for the Earth.
"Whoa, it turned?" Don asked in surprise, "that would indicate it's not a shooting star but some kind of piloted mechanism."
As the object in the sky came dangerously close to the saw mill, Mikey panicked. "Who cares Donny, run!" he shouted as he and his brothers did exactly that, leaping off the roof and into the lake just as the object came into contact with the dilapidated building before impacting the lake just a few feet away.
The turtles quickly surfaced, taking in much needed oxygen.
"I'm alive!" Mikey proclaimed. They then quickly swam to the shore.
"What the hell was that?" Mikey asked as they all looked at the spot where the object landed. They then saw a stream of bubbles and a shadow move towards them.
"Well Mr. Big Mouth, I think we're gonna find out," Raph remarked as he and his brothers reached for their respective weapons and armed themselves.
Just then, a enormous robot emerged from the water. Its head had only one lone red light, yet it needed no mouth as it spoke a strange but menacing alien language. It then took a few steps towards the brothers.
"Hold it right there you robotic asswipe," Raph threatened. But before any of the brothers made a move, Don stopped them with his Bo Staff.
"Wait," he said, "You guys, maybe it's friendly."
"Donny could be right," Mikey agreed, "Let me try something." And he calmly approached the robot and said, "Klaatu Barada Nikto." (Making a subtle reference to The Day the Earth Stood Still).
Whatever Mikey's intentions were, the robot did just the opposite as it pointed its arm cannon right at the turtles. Leo then immediately leapt into the air and sliced the arm off. The robot then tried to punch him straight into the ground, but Leo leapt swiftly out of the way which left an opening for Raph to leap up on to the robots back and stab it at the base of the neck. As the robot made a groaning noise, Leo then slashed at its torso while Mikey and Don put both legs out of commission. The robot then fell to the ground and laid on its back. However, Leo was apparently not done fighting as he quickly climbed up on to the robot's torso and began slashing it again and again. He would have continued had Raph and Mikey not stopped him.
"Leo, it's over," Raph protested, "Back off bro."
Leo did as he was told as he calmed himself down just as Don joined them. Just then, a piece of the torso began to open up. The brothers then looked at what was inside and gasped.
"Whoa," Mikey said in amazement, "It's a girl."
And indeed there was a young adult-looking female alien (who had blue skin, pointy ears, long black hair tied up in a braid, was dressed in brown warrior-esque clothing and had torso armor) knocked unconscious amidst her now-wrecked cockpit.
-10 Minutes Later-
The turtles quickly brought the female alien back to their campfire and placed her in a sleeping bag.
"Doesn't look like she's from around here," Mikey said as Don placed a blanket on her.
"Blue skin your first clue?" Raph asked sarcastically.
"But where did she come from?" Don asked.
-Casey's Grandmother's Farmhouse-
April stood nervously before the stairs leading up to the attic, pondering on what to do. She groaned a bit in nervousness as she eased up the stairs before stopping at the top step, not wishing to disturb the meditating Splinter.
The rat, however, was aware of her presence as he said, "Come in."
"Um, Master Splinter," she said nervously, "I need some advice concerning Naruto and I figured that you might still know a thing or two about him that I don't."
"Perhaps," Splinter replied, "What is it that you wish to know?"
"Well, I don't mean to be so old fashioned, but lately I've been feeling as if I haven't been appreciating him as much as I possibly could and in light of recent events I at least want to try. What do you think is the best way to reassure my feelings for him?" she asked.
"Miss O'Neil, I am not an expert in such matters," Splinter replied, "so I am going to relay to you what I once told Naruto: simply be yourself and trust your instincts."
April pondered for a bit, placing her right hand under her chin. "Hmm, well...I guess I'll try. Does he still like ramen?" she asked.
"Most assuredly so, Miss O'Neil," Splinter replied with a smile.
April smiled. "Thanks, Master Splinter. I don't know what I'll end up doing, but it can't be any worse than doing nothing at all." And she walked back downstairs as Splinter returned to doing his meditation.
-The Campsite, Day-
The sky was slightly gray and hazy as the turtles did their morning routine. Mikey, Raph, and Leo were all sparring and doing weapons practice while Don tended to the campsite itself.
"Whoops, missed me," Mikey chuckled loudly as he steadily dodged Raph's punches and kicks before landing some punches of his own.
"Heh, gettin' a little slow there, Raph," he taunted. Raph growled in slight annoyance and irritation. He then rushed in without warning and knocked the nun-chuck wielding turtle down to the ground, sending him crashing into their blue-skinned guest.
The female alien awoke with a start and grabbed Mikey by his right wrist.
"Sorry," Mikey quickly began to plead, "It was my brother's fault!" The female alien took no notice as she tossed him aside into a tree using very little effort.
"Un takara nontara!" she exclaimed as she stood up. Leo and Raph quickly leapt into action but before any other fighting commenced, Don leapt in and stood in-between the two groups.
"Hold it," he said as he turned to the alien, "We mean you no harm." The alien then pulled a small cylindrical device from her belt and pushed a button before sticking one end of the device up against her neck. As she pulled it away, she spoke again.
"Why has Moriah sent her minions to do her dirty work?" she asked harshly, "Why will she not face me in fair combat?! Speak!"
"A universal translator," Don said in awe as he tossed aside his Bo Staff and walked calmly up to her. "When we attacked you last night," he explained, "We thought you meant us harm."
"I did; I thought you were my enemies," she said.
"We're not," said Don.
"Peace," Mikey said with a smile. The alien opened her mouth to make a reply but instead grunted in pain as she rubbed her right arm.
"Your arm is hurt; I could look at it for you," Don suggested.
"It is just dislocated, how will looking at it help?" asked the alien. She then calmly walked over to the tree that Mikey was knocked into (he stood up and got out of the way) and with a mighty battle cry, she slammed her right arm into the trunk, putting it back in place.
"Ah, that's better," she said. The others stared at her in slight amazement.
"Who are you?" Don asked.
"I am called Jhanna," the alien, now known as Jhanna, answered, "and you are?"
"I'm Leonardo."
"I'm Donatello."
"I'm Raphael."
"And I'm Michelangelo, the fighter who single handedly became the Battle Nexus Champion!" he said while doing various stereotypical body-builder poses.
Raph growled as he slapped his brother across the back of his head. "You only won that because you got lucky," he said with annoyance present in his tone.
"Moving on," said Leo, "How did you end up crash-landing here on Earth?"
"That is an explanation that may take a while to tell," Jhanna answered.
"We've got time," Don said as he began building a fire.
-Some time later-
The gang was gathered around a roaring fire as Jhanna began winding down her tale.
"And I was bound for political battle when my ship was blown from they sky," she said, "My people nominated me to defeat our world's present ruler, Moriah, in fair combat to take her place."
Mikey busily chewed the food he was eating as he commented, "Sounds pretty much the same way we do it here in the U. S."
"Not quite," said Don, "We, well not us exactly, but humans in this country elect a new leader and the old one stands down; it's a peaceful process."
"Most of the time," Raph added. Jhanna then stood up and walked towards the forest behind her. She then stopped in her tracks and replied, "Your process sounds fair, if a little boring. But Moriah is not a fair ruler; it was she who shot me down before I could reach the designated battle ground."
The brothers stood up and walked towards her. "So, what will you do now?" Don asked.
Jhanna pulled out the cylindrical-shaped device and pressed another button; this time making four flashing red lights appear, accompanied by a pinging sound. "It will be decided here," she said, "only one must return victorious." She then forcefully stuck it perpendicularly to the ground.
"And now I must prepare myself for battle," she said as she got into a meditating position and shut her eyes.
Don walked over to her. "Jhanna, we want to help you," he said.
"No Donatello," she protested.
"But from what you said, how will you know if Moriah will fight fairly?" he argued.
"It is a chance I will have to take," she countered. At that moment, the device began making a much louder noise.
"She approaches," she said, opening her eyes and taking the device out of the ground.
-Outer Space-
A streak of green hurled itself past the asteroid belt and the planet Mars as it made a beeline towards Earth.
-With the turtles and Jhanna-
Don wouldn't let up, "Can't you just tell your people she tried to ambush you?" he asked, "get her disqualified or something?"
"No, this is our way," Jhanna answered, "my honor is at stake, so I shall face her alone." And she walked away from the group, heading into the woods. Don made a move to go after her, but was stopped when Raph put his hand on his brother's shoulder.
"C'mon Donny, you heard the lady," he said, "an alien's gotta do what an alien's gotta do."
Jhanna then stopped in her tracks as a blue skinned, re-haired female alien dressed in combat attire emerged from the woods.
"There you are Jhanna," she said, "I missed you. A mistake which I won't repeat this time."
"You face me in fair combat now, Moriah," Jhanna replied with a stern demeanor.
"Poor Jhanna," Moriah said mockingly, "Someone like you will never understand politics. They can get so damn messy."
At that moment, 4 enormous monsters came crashing through the woods and stood next to Moriah (to be a bit more specific, they are a water monster, a rock monster, a black serpent monster, and a lizard monster). The monsters then surrounded Jhanna from all sides.
The turtles got out their weapons.
"One, two, three, four, five against one?!" Mikey exclaimed (stating the obvious).
But Jhanna would not be dissuaded as she moved in to attack. "Your cowardly tactics will not save you, Moriah!" she shouted as she pressed a third button on her device which extended it into two fairly long energy beams which took form of a naginata. The black serpent monster quickly made a move to block her path, but Jhanna simply leapt over the obstacle with an acrobatic jump.
"Nice moves," Raph commented.
Jhanna raised her weapon and pressed onward with her charge. "Our people have suffered for far too long!" she exclaimed, "the time has come to-ugh!" At that moment, the rock monster tossed her aside, sending her body flying into the water monster's mouth.
As she was swallowed, the rock monster took out a grenade from its grenade belt and threw it into the water monster's mouth, who swallowed it as well. Jhanna struggled to get free, but it was no use.
"Let's even the odds," Don said, his brothers nodding in agreement as they charged in altogether.
Don first went after the water monster as he tried piercing his Bo Staff into the monster's belly, but to no avail. Leo then came in to assist as he used his Katanas to slice off one of the monster's hands and slice through the monster's belly. Don then stuck his Bo Staff into the monster's belly and shouted at Jhanna, "Grab on!" She did, and he pulled her out in the nick of time, just as the grenade exploded in the monster's belly, killing it.
"You okay?" Don asked.
"I am," Jhanna replied. But before either of them could say anything more, the lizard monster swooped down as picked up Don, carrying him away.
"Donatello!" Jhanna shouted. She then looked over at Moriah and growled. "Damn you Moriah!" she angrily exclaimed as she charged at her opponent.
Meanwhile, Leo was busy helping Raph take down the black serpent monster. Leo sliced at the monster's skin, but it was no use; whatever damage there was, the monster instantly healed from it. It then charged right at the two and while Leo managed to get out of the way, Raph was in a different situation; while he had been knocked down, he managed to stab one of his Sais in the monster's head where he then managed to lift himself on top of its head, riding it like he would a horse.
"Yee-frickin' ha!" he shouted.
Moriah, who had witnessed the spectacle before her, smiled a mocking smile. "Jhanna," she said in a sickeningly sweet tone, "your new pets are amusing, I'll give you that, but enough is enough!" And the rock monster picked up the still-charging Jhanna and threw her into the forest where she then crashed into a few trees before stopping near the saw mill.
-Casey's Grandmother's Farmhouse-
In the slightly messy kitchen, April was busy putting the final finishing touches on the bowl of homemade ramen she had prepared.
"Okay April," she muttered as she placed the food on a tray, "Just like you rehearsed." She then picked up the tray and a foldout table, exited the kitchen and walked gently over to the bedroom Naruto was currently doing his meditations in.
Inside, Naruto was sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed, crossed-legged with his eyes shut. As April knocked on the door, he opened his eyes and said, "It's open." She turned the door knob and walked in with a soft smile on her face.
"Hello Naruto" she said while shutting the door, "I hope I'm not interrupting your meditations."
"Ah, it's not that big of a deal," he replied as he uncrossed his legs. He then sniffed the air and his mouth started watering, "Is that...?"
"Yep," she answered as he stood up while she set it down atop the dresser while she set up the foldout table, "I hope you don't mind that it's made using spaghetti noodles."
"It's fine," said Naruto, "anything made by you is bound to be good."
And he sat at the center-edge of the bed, pulled the foldout table towards himself, and began chomping away. April then sat next to him at his left side (in a close, yet not so close manner), her eyes casting a downward glance, looking slightly sad.
"What's the matter?" Naruto asked as he slurped up a noodle. April tried to quickly mask her true emotions as she looked at him with a small smile. "Nothing," she replied, "what makes you think..."
"I saw you out of the corner of my eye," he said as he swallowed some of the broth before turning to look at her with a genuine smile, "Ninja-in-training, remember?"
"No really, it's nothing, it's...," she tried to lie, but under Naruto's gaze, she found that she couldn't continue; she sighed heavily, "everything. With all these battles and these chases into space, it's made me realize it's never going to end." Her eyes began to tear up and her throat felt like choking up, but she gulped the feeling down as she continued, "I know you came back this time, but what's going to happen next time, or the time after that? What will happen when you come across someone or something that can wipe you out with a single move." Try as she might to calm herself down, she could not help to tell him this next bit without a touch of hysterics in her tone, "If that happened, I don't know how I could live with myself, knowing that I never got the chance to say I-!"
She was cut off abruptly as Naruto kissed her, with her kissing back. As he pulled away, he cupped her face with his right hand.
"Then I'll have to train to get stronger so that I can fight harder to protect my most precious people," he answered as he pulled her into a hug. April hugged back and the two sat in each-other's embrace for what seemed like an eternity.
-With the turtles and Jhanna-
The lizard monster soared higher and higher as Don struggled to break free from its grip.
"I think it's time my friend here had a crash course in aerodynamics," he said as he grabbed the monster's ankles. With a mighty heave, he freed himself from its grip and swung onto its back where he then latched both of his arms around its neck and forced it into a tailspin.
"Time to say 'Good-bye'!" he shouted as he aimed for the now destroyed saw mill and let go, sending it plummeting towards the wreckage while he landed safely.
As he grabbed his Bo Staff, he saw Moriah walk menacingly towards Jhanna, who was on her back.
"Jhanna!" he cried, running towards the two.
Meanwhile, Raph and Leo were doing all that they could in trying to hang onto the embedded weapons they had placed in the serpent monster. With a great big yell, Raph managed to force the monster down into the nearly empty river, letting a pet of it be touched by a giant puddle of water. The monster's skin then started to melt away and expose its inner flesh. The two brothers then leapt off, pulling their weapons out as they did so.
"Let's slice this bastard," Raph exclaimed as he Leo managed to slice the monster in half. However, instead of killing it, the tail-end of the monster sprouted another head at the cut-off point.
"Ah, hell," said Raph as he and Leo put some distance between themselves and their opponents, "looks like we just doubled our pleasure."
"Water hurts it," said Leo, "We have to get it into that lake somehow."
At the same time, Mikey was busy dodging blows from the rock monster.
"Down boy! Nice pet rock! Can't we talk about this?!" He protested as he tried to put some distance between himself and the rock monster, who just growled loudly in response.
"Just my luck," he said, "the strong silent type." And he ran towards the lake behind the saw mill. As they rounded a corner of the saw mill, the rock monster threw some more punches, but Mikey was thinking fast as he leapt onto some lake docks that were behind the saw mill and used them to his advantage as he put some more distance between himself and the monster. The rock monster, however, would not be deterred by simple lake water as it in and began punching out the docks Mikey were leaping on. However, as Mikey leapt onto the dam holding the water in the lake, the rock monster punched it, which broke it and caused the water to spill over into the empty river, flooding it.
The resulting rushing water caused it to wash over the serpent monsters, melting them both in an instant. Leo and Raph were now covered in the monster's blood.
"Ugh, gross," Raph muttered as he and Leo wiped themselves off.
"Thanks Mikey," said Leo.
"Sure," Mikey replied.
Just then, the rock monster came rushing at them.
"Guys, look out!" Leo shouted. And he and Raph managed to leap out of the way just as the monster tried to smash them. But poor Mikey was not so lucky as he had his legs pinned underneath a giant rubble of rocks. Leo and Raph raced to his rescue. The rock monster then pulled out another grenade.
"Uh-oh," said Mikey, "here we go again. This guy's got the persistence of a...well, a rock."
As the rock monster threw the grenade, Don came to the rescue. "Guys, get down!" he exclaimed as he used his Bo Staff like a baseball bat, knocking the grenade right into the monster's mouth. The grenade exploded and the monster was reduced to smithereens.
Meanwhile, Moriah towered over Jhanna.
"So," she said, "this farce is finally over." She smirked smugly, "Ha! I finally win."
"No," Jhanna grunted as she stood up and pressed a button on her cylindrical device, turning it into a naginata, "I've sworn to defeat you Moriah; and for the sake of our people, I WILL!"
"Whatever," Moriah retorted as she pushed a button on her cylindrical device, turning it into a sword. And the two female aliens clashed. Moriah swung down her weapon first, forcing Jhanna to block it and counter with a leg sweep followed by a kick to her opponent's back. As Moriah fell, she quickly contorted her body upright just in time to dodge an oncoming blow from Jhanna's naginata. Jhanna then tried to disarm her opponent using the staff part of her weapon, swinging it upwards, but Moriah switched hands and forced Jhanna's weapon towards the ground. Jhanna then leapt a short ways away, putting some distance between the two.
"This is the way it was intended to be, coward, single combat!" Jhanna taunted.
Moriah just gave a loud battle cry as she leapt up in the air and swung her weapon down towards her opponent. Jhanna, thinking fast, back-flipped out of the way, making Moriah embed her weapon in the ground, before leaping over her opponent's head, swinging her blade for her opponent's neck. Moriah ducked down just in time as she took out her sword and swung at Jhanna's naginata. Jhanna proceeded to forge same thing and the two were now in a saber lock, each one pushing up against the other. Slowly but surely, Jhanna became the victor as she successfully pushed Moriah away and leapt up on top of some saw mill rubble.
Meanwhile, the turtles got up, having ducked down from the explosion, and shook their heads from side to side to rid themselves of any dizziness. Presently, they heard the grunts and shouts of Jhanna and Moriah's battle. They all looked in the direction of the sounds and saw Jhanna jumping off the rubble and enter into another saber lock with her opponent.
"You family has abused its power for far too long, Moriah," Jhanna snarled, "you care nothing for your own people!"
"My people?" Moriah replied with a mocking tone, "Ha! Those scum; perhaps my ancestors felt something for those peons, but I am not so burdened!"
And she pushed aside Jhanna's weapon and kicked her towards a wall of the saw mill. She then proceeded to slice off her opponent's head, but Jhanna just ducked and rolled out of the way.
Moriah growled, "Rrrrrr, stop moving!" And she began throwing pieces of rubble at Jhanna, who just blocked them all with ease as she leapt up into the air and swung down.
"Cool move," said Mikey, "I gotta remember that one."
"What's wrong with you nun-chuck for brains?" Raph muttered.
At that moment, Moriah had pinned Jhanna up against a tree, with her sword up against her opponent's neck as she disarmed her.
"Concede you worthless peon!" Moriah exclaimed.
"Not as long as I breathe," Jhanna retorted as she kicked Moriah in the shins.
"AAAAHHHH!" Moriah screamed in pain as Jhanna leapt behind her, "Damn you!" Jhanna then kicked her in the stomach, disarming her. Moriah tried to counter with a punch, but Jhanna just grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground.
"Yeah!" Don exclaimed happily.
"Alright!" Mikey shouted in excitement.
"Your rule is at an end, tyrant!" Jhanna exclaimed.
Moriah noticed that her weapon was within reach, as she stealthily grabbed some dirt.
"Wrong again you whore!" Moriah snarled as she threw the dirt in Jhanna's eyes, temporarily blinding her. Moriah then picked up her weapon and charged with the intent to kill. But Jhanna could still hear her footsteps. She then quickly turned to the source of the noise and kicked her opponent right through a wooden fence.
The turtle brothers all cheered and high-fived each-other.
Jhanna picked up her naginata and walked calmly over to her downed opponent, who was struggling but failing to get up. Jhanna then simply touched her opponent with her naginata and enveloped her into an energy bubble.
At last, the battle was over.
The turtle brothers then walked over to Jhanna.
"Hey, uh, she's not going to die, is she?" Don asked.
"No," Jhanna replied, "But she has lost the election." She then staggered back a bit, but Don and Leo managed to catch her before she fell.
-Much Later, Night-
At the campsite near the saw mill, smoke was still rising from the fire that was recently put out in the fire pit. All four brothers and Jhanna were fast asleep when a voice spoke to Jhanna.
"Prime Magistrate-Elect Jhanna, come; your people have sent us for you."
And a glowing energy bubble descended from the sky. Jhanna awoke and got up, bringing Moriah and her energy bubble with her.
"Time to go home," she muttered. But before she entered the bubble, she knelt down beside Don and, after cutting it off with her naginata, left her ponytail in his left hand. She then stood up and entered the energy bubble.
"Farewell my friend," she said, "And thank you."
Then both her energy bubble and Moriah's energy bubble disappeared.
-The Campsite, Dawn-
As the sun began making the sky glow a bright and beautiful orange, Leo, Raph, and Mikey all yawned, got up, and stretched. However, they quickly discovered two things:
1) Jhanna was gone.
And 2) Don was already up and watching the sunrise.
"She's gone," he said.
"Yeah," Raph yawned, "that's gratitude for ya."
Just then, April and Naruto came in with Casey's van.
"Hey," said Raph, "There's our ride." And he shouted, "Yo Naruto, April, you ain't gonna believe what went on in these here woods last night, right guys?"
Leo and Raph then began heading towards the vehicle with the equipment they brought; but Mikey stayed behind to comfort Don.
"C'mon Donny," he said.
Don sighed sadly as he put away Jhanna's ponytail and got up to follow Mikey and the others.
Okay, I have no excuse as to why I took so long to write this, other than I've had to make some major life decisions (including transferring over to a better job that pays better) and the fact that it was kind of tricky for me to write believable romance between Naruto and April without making it too stereotypical.
Oh, and I was kind of lazy.
Please don't kill me. I promise we will return to New York City next chapter.
In the meantime, TMNT 2003 is out on iTunes (at least here in the United States), the first three seasons in fact. Did you know that? I certainly didn't until most recently, and now you know too. Now if we can only somehow convince Nickelodeon to keep releasing these episodes in both Completer Season DVDs and Complete Season Digital format; and maybe, just maybe we'll finally have an official release of Season 7 Back to the Sewers.