NMNT Season 4

by lknmjh

Though the Shredder may be gone, the shadows of darkness still loom over the horizon. It is up to our heroes to combat it with all their might because should they fall, things may never return to the way they were before.

3. Chapter 3: Seed of Deception

As always, TMNT belongs to Nickelodeon and Mirage Studios and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Please support the official release.

NMNT Season 4 Chapter 3: Seed of Deception

-Casey's Apartment, Night-

It had been one month since the gang took the time to recover at Casey's grandmother's farmhouse. But when they returned to New York City, for the past two weeks Casey had hardly seen hide nor hair of the ninja brothers. He didn't mind though; after all the time he had come to know them, he expected something like this to happen.

As he opened the door to his apartment, he opted to not turn on the lights, instead choosing to let the city lights and moon fill his apartment with their light. He then yawned and stretched his arms as he walked over to his recliner, sat down in it, and turned on his TV. As the picture came on, he saw that he was tuning into the middle of a evening news live broadcast.

"The bank robbers escaped with over three million in untraceable bonds," said the news anchor.

Casey changed the channel and found himself watching another news broadcast, this time from an African-American woman reporter who was live at the scene.

"Thirteen different trucks have been reported stolen in the last month alone," she said.

Casey changed the channel again.

"With an alarming recent uptrend in stolen Internet money transfers-."

Casey changed it again, his expression unreadable as he placed his left hand up against his left cheek, cradling his head up as his elbow rested on the recliner's armrest.

"Apparently, the rare gold coins were stolen as the robbers tunneled into the bank vault, from the basement of a pawn shop just down the street."

"No news like bad news, eh Casey?" said a voice from behind the recliner. Casey leapt up in surprise as he grabbed a baseball bat, ready to defend himself, when he noticed that the voice, who was leaning up against a window, had a familiar looking outline.

"Jesus Christ, Naruto," he said as he turned on a lamp that was next to the recliner, "Give a guy a heart attack why don'tcha?" Naruto just gave his trademark grin as he stepped down.

"So what's up, I haven't heard from you and the guys for over two weeks now. Kinda makes a man think his friends just forgot him."

Naruto chuckled. "As if Raph, me, and the others are ever going to forget about you," he said. He then looked over at the TV and said, "So I guess you know about this string of robberies, huh."

"No crap," the vigilante replied as he turned off the TV," and it ain't just simple street crime neither. It's way above the Purple Dragon's level or any of those goons."

"Don's been guessing that too; he seems to think that they're being pulled off by someone who knows what they're doing," said Naruto, "I think there's somebody new in town."

"Are you leadin' to what I think you're leadin' to?" Casey asked with a small smile.

"Not unless you're not up to teaming up with me," Naruto replied.

"You kiddin'?" Casey said as he grabbed his bat, his golf bag full of sports equipment, and his hockey goalie mask, "it'll be the return of the C-man." As he put on his hockey mask, a thought occurred to him, "But uh, won't your brothers be bummed at missing out on all the fun?"

"Well, maybe Leo; he was kind of itching to come along. But I guess Master Splinter had other ideas," Naruto said with a shrug, "guess we'll see whether tonight will be an interesting story to tell."

- An Open Lot in the City, Night-

In a lot filled with trucks, trailers, and flatbeds of all shapes and sizes, two male figures kept to the shadows, taking extra care that not even an inch of their bodies were to be seen in the exposing lights. Soon, they came upon a truck with a large, empty flatbed. As the figures approached the truck, one of them reached inside his jacket and pulled out a crowbar, readying himself to swing at the driver's side window and smash it to pieces. In doing so, the figures stepped out into the light and revealed themselves to be Purple Dragon gang members.

"I think this oughta meet the boss' requirements," said the crowbar wielding gang member as he smashed the window.

"He wants us to call him 'Master' now, remember?" his partner reminded him.

"Whatever," said the first gang member, "long as he makes us rich."

"Then move it," said the second gang member, "we gotta be right on time, no mess ups."

At that moment, Naruto and Casey arrived, sticking close to the shadows so as not to be seen.

"Sounds like those bastards are going to a party, Naruto," said Casey.

"Then we'll just have to tail em'," Naruto said as he and Casey put on their motorcycle helmets. They then hopped on Casey's motorcycle, with Naruto sitting behind the masked vigilante as Casey began to tail the stolen truck from a safe distance.

-New York City Limits-

On a dark patch of railroad tracks, a diesel locomotive sped along the tracks pulling a rather unusual set of freight cars. Just then, three helicopters came swooping in and hovered above a large, tarp covered freight car. The door to one of the helicopters then opened as Hun peered down below to the object he was intent on stealing.

"That's the one," he shouted to his pilot, "top secret military weapons shipment number XT450!" He then spoke into his wrist communicator and said, "We're coming up on the road. Transport team, are you ready?"

Just then, the stolen truck with a large, empty flatbed was driving on the road parallel to the railroad tracks as the driver spoke into his wrist communicator and replied, "We're here boss-I mean Master Hun; we're pulling alongside now."

Not far behind, Naruto and Casey were witnessing the events unfold before their eyes.

"Casey, you seeing this?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Oh, I see it all right," Casey replied, "it looks like whoever these dudes are, they're after that train!"

At that moment, Hun threw down a rappelling line as he shouted, "Let's go, let's go!" The other helicopters followed suit, opening their doors and throwing down rappelling lines. Hun then quickly clipped himself to his rappelling line as he commanded, "Purple Dragons, time to fly!" And he and five other gang members slid down their respective ropes. As they quickly surrounded the tarp covered freight car, Naruto and Casey's eyes widened in shock at the revelation of who these gang members really were.

"I-I don't believe it!" Casey exclaimed, "It's-it's Hun!"

"But how? He and Leatherhead fell into a chasm, there's no way he lived through that!" Naruto said with an equal amount of shock in his tone.

They then looked on as the small gang of Purple Dragons placed small explosives on each of the couplings while the helicopters each threw down steel cables with hooks, the gang members on the freight car readying to attach them to the cargo.

"They're ropin' the whole thing!" Casey exclaimed.

Hun then said, "Separation in three, two, one!" and on one he pulled out a remote control, pressed a button and blew up the couplers, separating the freight car from the rest of the train. The gang members holding the hooks quickly attached them at key points of the cargo so as to have maximum lift and hold capabilities.

"We have Go for transfer, Sky Dragons," Hun spoke into his communicator. The helicopters then began to lift the cargo up in the air, taking the platform that Hun and the others were standing on with them. The helicopters then carefully positioned themselves over the still-moving empty flatbed. "Transport team, prepare for payload drop!" Hun shouted as loud as he possibly could.

"Transport team to Sky Dragon 1, ready for payload drop," the truck driver replied. The helicopters carefully loaded the cargo, making its mark on the first attempt

Hun then spoke into his communicator, "Sky Dragons, you're free and clear; remember the plan: stay low and proceed to Hanger 14. Red will be there to pick you up."

"You got it Master Hun," came the reply as the truck made a right-hand turn and sped away in another direction, Casey and Naruto following not too far behind.

-The White House, Night-

In the Oval Office, Bishop stood before the President of the United States, whose expression was that of someone who was particularly disappointed.

"As you know Agent Bishop," he began, "I have never been a big fan of your operation."

"Yes Mr. President," Bishop sighed, "and I must say that-."

He was interrupted as the President stood up and banged his fist on his desk very angrily, "Don't interrupt me! Do you know how many times I've fought to get you more funding? And you and your agents, they were just about useless as crap in the recent Triceraton invasion! What good are you? And now, you and your forces go and attack Oroku Saki's mansion, right in the middle of New York City?! It's a goddamn outrage! The city's mayor, two members of congress, and a senator were there. Do you know how many political favors I called to put a lid on it?"

Bishop remained stoic, though he began to growl and grind his teeth.

"Bishop," the President warned, "you had better toe the line. One more fiasco and I will personally pull the plug on your entire operation. I've already got budget cuts to make and believe you me, I've got my eye on your goddamn share."

Bishop calmed himself down as he answered, "Sir, you're absolutely right sir; no mistakes, you have my word."

"I don't want your word, Bishop, I want your sorry ass out of my office, now!" the President replied.

Bishop complied as he excused himself out of the office, exited the White House and stepped into a limo waiting for him on the outside. As he did, one of his henchmen began briefing him.

"Agent Bishop, sir, we have a problem," he said.

"What now?" Bishop asked exasperatedly.

The henchman hesitated for a moment or two as he said, "Tonight's shipment has been... high-jacked."

"What," Bishop growled as he angrily hit the seat cushions with his fist, "Goddamn it, that's the last fucking thing I need." He then quickly pointed a finger in his henchman's face, "We have to find it, NOW!"

"We're already on it sir," the henchman replied, "the tracking devices are still functioning; we're homing in on its location as we speak."

And the limo began speeding away into the night.

-Abandoned Warehouse, Night-

The truck carrying the stolen goods slowly pulled in, making sure not to attract too much attention. Once inside, the Purple Dragon gang members surrounded the truck and shut the warehouse's main entrance.

At the same time, just a few yards away, Casey slowed his motorcycle down to a crawl before stopping. He then shut off the engine as he and Naruto stepped off and stood next to a window in order to properly eavesdrop on the Purple Dragons.

Inside, Hun stood atop of the tarp covered cargo as his followers began cheering.

"I have promised to lead you to new heights," he exclaimed, "and tonight's score proves we are on our way!"

"Who woulda thunk it," Casey whispered, "Purple Dragon punks pullin' off high profile jobs?"

Naruto was worried. "There's something funny about that cargo," he muttered.

Casey opened the window. "You want we should say hi?" he asked as he pulled out a wooden baseball bat.

"Maybe," said Naruto as they stepped inside.

Just then, Hun partially uncovered some of the cargo. "With every heist, we grow stronger, more powerful" he said, "gone are the days where the Purple Dragons were a two-bit street gang. With these weapons and my plans, we will become an organized crime syndicate, a true power in the underworld; all of us, together!"

Meanwhile, hiding in the shadows, Naruto took down several gang members by placing a carefully executed jab at the base of their necks, knocking them out, while Casey took his share of gang members down swinging his bat with swiftness and careful precision.

Hun then began to open a wooden crate. "Now let's get these crates open," he said with a smug victorious grin, "and the gear ready for our next operation." He then pulled out a M16A2 machine gun. "I love ripping off military shipments, it's like opening a Christmas present: you never know what you're gonna get," he said.

At the other end of the flatbed, two gang members saw what appeared to be a metal containment unit of sorts.

"What a cool looking crate," said one as his partner touched the object but immediately pulled his hand back.

"Wow, it's really cold," he said, "maybe it's like a beer keg or somethin'."

"Sounds good to me," said the first as he pulled out a crowbar, "let's get this thing open."

His partner nodded and pulled out a crowbar as well. They then stood on opposite sides and together, they jammed their crowbars into the container. Slowly but surely, the container's door panel began to be pried apart until at last they succeeded. The others, hearing the commotion, began to gather around the strange container which started to emit a cold stream of steam. As the steam dissipated, the gang members saw that there was a pane of glass situated at the front of the container. One of them peered inside and saw some form of movement happening on the inside.

"What the hell is that?" he asked, "Looks like somethin's movin' in there."

They all then heard an enormous thumping sound as the pane of glass began to form cracks on its surface.

The gang members began to back away.

"Somethin's breakin' out!" said one.

"What is it?" said another.

Hun then came up behind them and the group parted to make way. He then snatched a clip board containing the cargo manifest out of the hands of a gang member. As he was looking at the list, he said, "That crate isn't on the manifest." He then looked up just as the glass was smashed to pieces.

More cold steam was released and as it dissipated, an indescribable creature possessing a humanoid face with five green eyes and two pointy ears emerged from its container. Hun was at a loss for words, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates as he managed to utter, "Oh my God!"

And without a moment's hesitation, the creature leapt out of its container and knocked Hun down, pinning him to the ground and growling in an intimidating manner as it did so. It then turned to face the gang members and gave a great big roar.

Not wanting to incur the creature's wrath any further, the gang members all turned tail and began to run as fast as their legs could carry them.

Meanwhile, hearing the Purple Dragons coming towards their direction, Casey put away his bat and took out a hockey stick. "Show time," he said as he put on his hockey goalie mask.

"Casey," Naruto protested, "hold on a sec, I don't think..."

But Casey wouldn't wait as he leapt out in front of some boxes he and Naruto had been hiding behind, with Naruto leaping out to make sure the masked vigilante didn't do anything rash. "Goongala!" Casey exclaimed, standing his ground. However, the two became perplexed as the gang members ran right past them instead of stopping to fight.

"Maybe our reputation precedes us," Casey said as they watched the gang members retreat. They then heard a thundering roar as they quickly turned their heads and saw another gang member being thrown across the warehouse.

"Oh crap," the two said at the same time as they both laid their eyes on the creature. Just then, Hun managed to get into a semi-decent kicking position, despite the fact that he was pinned down, and with a mighty yell, he kicked the creature squarely into its abdomen thus freeing him in the process. The creature then thrust its claws down, with Hun rolling out of the way just before he could be stabbed as he rejoined his men.

"Protect the warehouse!" he commanded, "I'm not about to lose months of valuable work; we gotta get that thing outta here, NOW!" He then looked at his henchmen and gave a rally cry, "Purple Dragons, kill it!"

And the gang members brandished whatever weapons they had on their person and proceeded to kill the creature. But the creature proved to be much more agile than they realized as it kicked some wooden crates towards them, knocking away three of them in the process, but Hun wouldn't give up. He scrambled up the pile of crates the creature was standing on, grabbed hold of one underneath the monstrous being, and threw it with as much force as he could muster, knocking it down. But as quickly as the creature was knocked down, it quickly gained the upper hand on Hun as it used its six legs to firmly grasp him before throwing him to the ground. Two gang members then tried to slash at the creature from behind while it was briefly occupied by Hun, but the monstrosity sensed them both and kicked them away.

"Shoot it!" Hun commanded to the gang members wielding machine guns. But try as they could, the creature proved once again to be too quick and agile as it kicked the truck and its cargo towards them. It then picked up a box and threw it at Hun, who dodged it with ease as it landed at his feet. Peering inside the box, Hun saw it was carrying a fully loaded mini-gun. Not missing a beat, Hun picked up the heavy artillery and began to shoot at the creature. This time, the creature could not dodge the hail-fire of bullets as it screamed in pain.

Hun smiled sinisterly. "You've fucked with the wrong man," he said. The creature only replied with a cry of agony as it crawled away, leaving a trail of blood. Hun chuckled darkly. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he said in a slimy mocking tone.

Just then three shuriken became embedded in his mini-gun as they discharged a surge of electricity into the gun.

"What the hell?!" Hun cried as he tossed the mini-gun before it exploded in his hands. Naruto then leapt and landed right in front of him. Before Hun had a chance to react, Casey swung a bat to the back of his legs before kicking him squarely in the chest, making him land a few feet away.

"Jones?!" he groaned as he got up.

"You n' me, we got unfinished business," Casey said.

Hun then looked at Naruto and said, "Thought you freaks all died."

"That's a riot coming from you," replied Naruto as he turned to Casey, "Together?"

"Together," replied the vigilante.

"Bring it on," Hun retorted as he used the 'bring-it-on' gesture on each hand.

"GOONGALA!" cried the heroes as they leapt up in the air.

Meanwhile, hiding in a dark corner, the creature began to heal itself, groaning in pain and misery as it did.

-Flashback-

In the country side, a woman with auburn colored hair stood in front of a gazebo, wearing her wedding gown and veil. Just then a man wearing a white navel uniform walked up behind her. The woman turned to face him and they both smiled warmly as they embraced each other.

-Flashback End-

Slowly but surely, the wounds the creature sustained began to heal completely, not even leaving a blemish on its skin.

-The Skies Above New York City-

Up above in the bright, cloudless night, a twin-bladed helicopter thundered loudly. Inside, Bishop walked up towards one of his henchmen sitting at a control console.

"Report," Bishop growled with a slight tone of impatience, "if you haven't located the exact position of T9581 in thirty seconds, you're going to be volunteering for genetic research."

The henchmen kept his cool as he pointed to the screen in front of him and answered, "That won't be necessary sir; we're closing in on the homing beacon now."

"Bishop," said Baxter Stockman (who was standing to Bishop's left facing away from him), "I've been reviewing your work in genetic manipulation; it's almost as brilliant as something I might have done." He then turned his robot body and holographic head to face him as he continued, "But I've noticed a certain anomaly I think I can fix, especially if you're going to keep your end of our bargain. I'm really-."

"Silence Stockman," Bishop interrupted, "I'vent got time for your servile chatter."

-Abandoned Warehouse-

The physical altercation between the two heroes against the lone villain was as close as close can be with Naruto and Casey giving it their all, but Hun was determined not to make that easy. Casey swung his bat, but Hun grabbed it and turned it against the vigilante as he used it to slam him into the truck's door. At that moment, Naruto summoned a team of three shadow clones. He then leapt onto Hun's back and held him in a Full-Nelson position while two of the three clones grabbed and held down his legs, giving the third an opportunity to do some serious damage. But much to Naruto's surprise, Hun managed to break free of his grasp and toss him into the charging shadow clone, despelling it in the process while Hun then grabbed the two clones holding his legs and slamming them together to ensure they would despell as well.

Before Naruto and Casey could retaliate, however, the three were momentarily distracted by a thunderous roar as the creature leapt out of hiding, showing that it was fully healed.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me, how in the hell is that thing still alive?" Hun asked in a shocked tone, "I must've shot him with over a thousand bullets!"

"I'll stop him!" Casey exclaimed has he leapt on to the creature's back and began hitting it with a bat.

"Casey don't!" Naruto shouted, but the creature gave a mighty roar as it climbed to the ceiling before violently shaking Casey off until he fell into some wooden crates. "Casey!" Naruto shouted with worry as he went to assist him.

"Man Naruto," Casey groaned as the blonde whiskered ninja helped him up, "Sometimes I wish I had your super strength, it'd come in real handy."

Just then, the creature came down from above. "Naruto, watch out!" Casey cried as he and his ninja friend ran a good distance away from their position. The monstrous being roared again. "Alright you ugly son of a bitch," Casey exclaimed, "bring it on!"

But before they made their moves, a buoy bell rung loudly in the distance. The creature stopped in its tracks and groaned in a somber tone. The two heroes turned their heads towards each other, not knowing what to make of their current situation as the creature groaned each time the bell rang.

-Flashback-

The navel man dressed in his white uniform stood in front of the gazebo and faced the guests who sat on both sides of the aisle that was adorned with a red carpet, straightening his collar as the woman was escorted by her father. The man then turned his head to the right and nodded towards his best man.

Bishop smiled and nodded back.

The woman and the man then stood at arms length and gazed into each other's eyes as the priest stepped out slightly from the gazebo to begin the ceremony.

Buoy bells rang in the distance.

-Flashback End-

Hearing the buoy bells, the creature scurried away and broke through the warehouse door.

Casey and Naruto were still processing what had just taken place. "This just gets weirder and weirder," said Casey.

"Well, standing here isn't going to do the city any good, c'mon," said Naruto as he and his companion gave chase.

Hun looked towards their retreating figures. "Let those dumbasses chase after that thing," he said. Then he turned to the remaining Purple Dragons and said, "Purple Dragons, time to move the goods. Let's load up."

-The Skies-

Up above the city, the twin bladed helicopter was closing in on the creature's location.

Inside, the henchman at the controls console reported in, "Agent Bishop, sir, T9581 is moving out onto the salt marshes."

"Stay on his trail," Bishop replied, "I have an idea where he's going."

"Sir?" The henchman wondered.

"Just watch," said Bishop.

So the henchman did and a few moments later he reported in again, "Agent Bishop, T9581 is headed towards a housing complex near the Brooklyn navel yards."

"As I thought," Bishop chuckled as the henchman changed the screen from a radar display to a surveillance feed, "he still remembers."

-Brooklyn Navel Yards-

The creature tore down a chain link fence as it advanced towards the housing complex. A short distance away in the marshes, Naruto and Casey were hot on the creature's trail.

"Why go there?" Naruto muttered, "what're you up to?"

"Who cares what it's up to," Casey said, "we gotta stop it before it smashes things up like there's no tomorrow."

"Hold on Casey," Naruto said as he grabbed his friend by the shoulders and took the lead, "we're gonna try this my way now."

And the two friends ran past the torn down fence just as the creature let out an anguished groan. Naruto then leapt and landed right in front of the creature with his arms stretched out as wide as he could make them. The creature growled and prepared to strike.

"Stop!" Naruto shouted looking straight into the hulking monstrosity's eyes, "we don't wanna hurt you!"

"Naruto, have you lost your goddamn mind?!" Casey exclaimed, "what're ya doin'?"

"Using my words instead of my weapons," Naruto replied as the creature stopped advancing.

-The Skies-

Inside the helicopter, Bishop watched the surveillance feed in slight fascination.

"Well well, what have we here?" he said, "I thought he and his turtle brothers all died in outer space."

"Your orders, sir?" asked the henchman at the control console.

"We have to get T9581 under control at all costs," Bishop replied, "prepare for containment, then we'll worry about that little blonde freak and his friend."

-The Brooklyn Navel Yards-

"Listen," said Naruto, "I don't know who you are or why you were part of the stolen cargo, but I do know anguish when I see it."

The creature groaned slightly.

"Believe it or not, I know a thing or two about monsters being ostracized just because they were who they were," he continued, "once upon a time I would've been just like the people fighting you in fear." He then placed his left hand over his abdomen and continued, "Deep inside me is a being sealed away to protect the world from his wrath; for the longest time I hated him because he was the reason I was abandoned when I wasn't even a week old and he hated me because I was his living, breathing jail cell." Naruto then moved his left hand over his heart, "But years later he and I saw each other's pain and began to understand one another. Now we share a bond so deep, we'd die for one another."

He then lowered his left arm and extended his right arm out in front with his palm turned slightly upwards. "Please," he said, "help us understand."

The creature groaned and slowly extended its left non-clawed arm to meet Naruto's.

But before the gap between their hands closed, a big, bright, white spotlight shone down on the two as three steel cables quickly wrapped themselves around the creature. Naruto leapt out of the way and quickly rejoined Casey as they both looked up and saw that the steel cables were attached to the twin-bladed helicopter.

"Now what?!" Casey asked.

The creature then let out the angriest roar it could muster and pulled on the steel cables, trying to free itself from their grip.

Up inside the helicopter, Bishop was busy giving orders as the air vehicle swayed and swerved.

"Get the rest of the cables on it, now!" he commanded to one henchman as he turned to another and said, "More power to the rotors!"

Down below in the navel yard, the creature snapped two of the three cables and swung them wildly with little disregard for the immediate area. One of the cables then struck a truck attached to a container filled with gasoline. The container's metal skin was punctured and gas began to leak out.

Casey began to retreat, then stopped to tug on Naruto's shoulder as he said urgently, "Naruto, c'mon, let's get outta here."

Naruto looked on at the creature with a somber expression, nodding as he and Casey ran as fast as they could.

Meanwhile, the helicopter sent down more cables to tie the creature up. But the creature would not give up so easily as it tore the new cables apart. Unfortunately, in doing so, one of the cables struck the ground and created a spark which then ignited to large puddle of gasoline that had pooled beneath the creature's feet. The fire then quickly followed the trail of gas leading to the container, blowing it to smithereens, sending shrapnel in all directions, and spreading the fire further, quickly engulfing the creature in its wake.

Up in the helicopter, which had pulled up and away from the explosion, Bishop began to grind his teeth as he scowled angrily.

"There's no sign of T9581, sir," said the henchman at the control console as he quickly scanned the area, "he must've died in that explosion."

"Well this certainly turned out to be one hell of a shit storm," Bishop snarled, "Let's get clear before the authorities arrive; I don't want anyone to know we're involved."

And the helicopter flew away into the night.

-With Naruto and Casey-

At the same time, the two heroes had managed to get a good distance away when the explosion happened. They paused in their tracks and turned to look and the blazing inferno happening before their eyes.

"Holy crap, Naruto," said Casey, "what do ya think that was all about?"

"I don't know Casey," Naruto answered, "and now I doubt we'll ever know."

-The Housing Complex-

Inside one of the apartments in the housing complex, a woman with auburn colored hair dressed in a red night nightgown was asleep in her bed before being violently awoken by the explosion. Getting up from her bed, she proceeded to walk over to her bedroom window where she then saw that the navel yards were covered in flames. Suddenly her bedroom door opened and she heard a small voice behind her cry out, "Mommy!"

She turned around and there standing in her doorway was her son clad in blue pajamas. Not missing a beat, she quickly ran over to hug and comfort him.

"I was dreaming about daddy," he said, "it was horrible."

"It's ok," she soothed, "daddy is in a better place, remember?"

And she looked over to a framed picture she was keeping on her nightstand. It depicted her in her wedding dress standing next to her husband who was wearing a white navel uniform. Next to the photos were a pair of dog tags that read: Finn J. U.S.N. T9581. She then looked back at her son and hugged him tightly as she shut her eyes and shed some small tears.

Geez, if last time I didn't have any excuse for not updating in a long time, then this time I REALLY don't have any excuse for not updating for an even longer period of time. But in my defense, during the first year of not updating, I met someone who managed to capture my heart. Then I asked her out and come this July, we'll have been dating for a year.

So yeah, cultivating a relationship tends to be a tad more important than writing. But fear not, for I still have free time to write so I can update on a more consistent basis instead of once in a blue moon.

I hope you're not angry with me. I know the agony of wanting the next chapter right away, but behind this computer screen is a human being who has the problems of being a human being sometimes.

Also, TMNT 2k12 ended. If you want my opinion on it, you'll be disappointed to know that I have none for I have yet to actually see it, apart from the two crossovers they did with the '87 Turtles (and that's only because I wanted to compare and contrast the two between Turtles Forever.) And now that brings up the next inevitable question, "Will you create a crossover between Naruto and TMNT 2k12?"

Truthfully, I'm not sure. I have ideas for other fanfics I want to try out first. But we'll see what the future holds.

For now, let's just focus on this series, shall we?