*Dodges rotten fruit*
Ah! Okay! I'm really sorry about the delay for this chapter! I'll just tell you the real reason for the delay:
I was lazy.
*Rotten fruit thrown at her*
Okay, I deserved that.
Well, with all these things I have to do to get prepared for the new school year, and family situations, it's been hard to publish anything.
Does that mean I haven't written anything? Haha, nope! I've already gotten the ending of the fanfiction written, and Ucha has helped me a great deal with starting a different writing project having to do with TMNT, but it's confidential and classified stuff.
So, maybe after this, more chapters will come quickly. I've got lots planned.
Also, I was going to postpone the comic I said I'd do, but I was all: NO, I'm doing it, and the first chapter is already done! (It'll be posted online as soon as possible)
So, now is the part I tell you random stuff about my personal life that no one really cares about:
Well, I've finally finished 'The Chosen' by Potok, (I was recommended into Honors English next year and I have a load of books to read) It was a great book, fantastic, and our opening quote will be from it. I've started reading 'The Short And Tragic Life Of Robert Peace' by Jeff Hobbs, and it's also a work of art. I've gotten some story ideas from those two books.
I'm about to start reading 'Mythology' by Hamilton and it's very wordy and the use of vocabulary is really advanced and kind of hard to understand, it's still quite interesting.
Books I'm reading that weren't on the school summer reading list?:
My Sister the Vampire: Lucky Break by Sierra (This is for story purposes, I'm planning something in the story, and it requires me to read this book.)
Go Set A Watchmen by Harper Lee (I can't believe I finally got this one! This is the only other book Lee's written besides To Kill a Mockingbird, and the first one was intense and splendid work, I'm hoping the same for Go Set a Watchmen)
My Sons, My Everything (Fanfiction about Splinter coming across the turtles, I actually finished it, it's only five chapters long, but I am planning a reread cause I mostly skimmed through it. It's very heartwarming though and I find it to be really cute.)
The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer (One of the few works of art that actually made me cry, and I barely cry in anything! I haven't cried in many things such as:
The complete Clannad series and To The Moon (Famous for it's level of sadness and it's rumored you can't go through it without crying).
Those are some examples of how heartless I am, I'm sorry! Clannad just wasn't sad enough for me!
Anyway, I love Nancy Farmer's work, I like to read 'The Sea of Trolls' trilogy to my younger sisters as a bedtime story because the story is so great, and the characters lovable.
And, now I'm rambling...let's just get to the quote now!
...
"Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye?…I learned a long time ago, Reuven that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill up that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here. Do you understand what I am saying?"
(Potok 217)
This is my favorite quote from 'The Chosen.' It really stands out and I really like the lesson that is being taught in it.
...
"If you won't be silent, I'll silence you!" Karai said, as she raised her Katana blade.
We all watched in horror, as she brought the blade down, and bracing ourselves.
But to our surprise, Tiger Claw blocked Karai's blade with his own.
"What-?!" Karai started.
"Master Shredder desires them alive." Tiger Claw said. "He wants the pleasure of finishing the turtles themselves. The girl must also be taken hostage Master Shredder says his business partners will be disposing of her for him."
Karai gave it a long thought, as much as she wanted to finish us off herself, she couldn't ignore her father's wishes.
"Fine." Karai huffed, putting her blade away. "But let's deal with the rat first."
"Leave him alone, Karai!" Raph said, grunting and struggling to become free from the rope tied around us all. "Or you're gonna have to answer to me!"
Karai and Tiger Claw walked towards Splinter.
I stared at our Sensei, on his hands and knees on the ground. He was shaking and trembling, panting heavily.
"My...children..." He said, under his heavy pants, and reaching into the inside of his robe.
"Go, NOW!" Splinter spun a throwing star towards us, and the rope in front of us was cut open.
We all stared down at the cut rope, gasping. Was Splinter telling us to leave without him?!
"RUN!" Splinter commanded us, before getting kicked back to the ground by Tiger Claw.
"SPLINTER!" Leo screamed.
"We've got to come back for him, Leo!" Raph said, and pulled Leo along with us as we ran.
"Don't let them escape!" Karai commanded.
We jumped off the rooftop, and clung onto the next door building with our lives. Climbing up the fire escape, we made our escape.
Mikey pulled out a ninja smoke bomb, and threw it to the ground.
In a blast, we were gone.
...
While on the street, people froze as another earthquake began, Donnie, April, Casey, and Zoey were running from the Kraathatrogon.
"RUN!" Donnie shrieked when he saw the beast behind them. "FASTER!"
April screamed. "Donnie, I really don't think that we're going to make it!"
Zoey looked at the monster, than to the ground. They were running on the subway train tracks!
"Everyone! Get down!" Zoey said.
"What?!" Casey breathed. "Are you crazy!"
Donnie looked behind them at the monster, then understood Zoey's plan.
"Do it!" He screamed. "Listen to what she says!"
They all dropped down, in between the rails.
Donnie had grabbed April, wrapped his arms around her and dropped down.
April gasped as she saw the Kraathatrogon go past them, it was physically on the rails, and since they were hiding in between, they were safe.
For now.
They all waited until the beast had gone past them, then all sat up shakily one by one.
"Not so crazy now, am I?" Zoey asked Casey.
They all screamed to see in front of them a smiling face of a baby Kraathatrogon.
Shaken with fear, they screamed, Donnie slapped the baby, and they all ran in the other direction, leaving the poor baby Kraathatrogon shaken with confusion.
Soon, the bigger Kraathatrogon was on their trail again.
"We've got to slow it down!" April said.
"I'm on it!" Casey said, his sneakers automatically became roller skates, and he skated towards the monster.
"Casey! No!" April screamed.
"Eat this!" Casey said to the monster, and threw a can of spray paint into the Kraathatrogon's mouth.
Choking on the tin can, the monster suddenly froze, and was still.
"YES!" Casey cheered, but the Kraathatrogon jerked and roared at him.
"BAKA! You just made it Angrier!" Zoey screamed at him, as everyone started running again.
"Casey, hurry!" April called back to him.
Donnie looked up, and saw a ladder nearby, he jumped up, and grabbed hold.
"April! Grab on!" He screamed, to her, and held out his staff. April gladly jumped up, followed by a eager Zoey.
"Jones, the staff!" Donnie yelled to Casey, who jumped up, reached out, and then...!
Was swallowed up by the Kraathatrogon, and it went on, traveling through the sewer tunnels.
"NOOOOO!" April screamed.
"CASEY!" Donnie yelled at the same time.
In the silence that came afterwards, everyone went over the event in their heads.
"What just happened?" Asked Zoey, not fully believing what she just saw.
"He's...gone..." April said, shakily, and out of shock, fell into Donnie's arms.
"He's gone!" She sobbed into Donnie's chest.
"I'm so sorry, April." Donnie said. "I truly am," Voice cracking.
...
"Ow, ow ow, OOOOOOWWWWW!" Mikey wailed in pain as Leo fumbled his hands to put a bandage on his wounds.
I was handing Raph and ice pack for his head and Tokei was holding up the first aid kit for me.
Raph turned and started to bicker with Leo. "This is YOUR fault, Leo!" He yelled. "If you hadn't called Splinter, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"I didn't have a choice, Raph." Leo said. "It was him, or Mikey. I thought..." He sighed. "I thought Sensei would take care of him."
"Well you thought wrong." Raph argued.
"Don't fight." Tokei said.
Everyone in the room turned to Toke.
"Please, don't fight. I don't like it when you two argue..." She said.
There was a shimmer in her eyes almost like she was going to cry.
"Hello? Guys?" A voice called from the Lair's entrance. Zoey, April, and Donnie walked in.
"You guys?" I asked them.
"What happened to you?" Asked Raph.
Leo was silent.
"The Kraang took us to their base of operations." Donnie explained. "They're using these giant worm-like creatures they call Kraathatrogons to cause the Earthquakes."
"They're so big and weird!" Zoey said. "One ended up chasing us all the way back here in the sewers, and..."
"It ate Casey." April said.
"It...ate Casey?" Tokei asked.
April nodded slowly. "This is so terrible." April said, her voice cracking. "Poor Casey."
Everyone was silent.
"Any luck with you?" Donnie asked us.
"We lost Sensei to Shredder." Mikey said, without thinking, earning deathly glances from Me, Raph, and Leo. "Sorry!" He apologized.
"Wait, WHAT?!" Donnie and Zoey asked.
We explained to them the whole situation.
So there everyone was in the lair, sitting together in a circle and wondering what to do.
"We can't leave Splinter in the hands of Shredder." Leo said. "Who knows what he'll do?"
"What about Casey and the Kraang? There's still a chance Casey might still be alive." Donnie said.
We were all left undecided on what to do.
There was a loud rumbling, everyone in the lair all suddenly shook.
Tokei wobbled into me, and I grabbed Raph's arm for balance, but we all had fallen down.
Leo and Mikey fell to the ground.
Zoey tried her best to stay up by herself, and fell to her knees.
Donnie and April both shook, and April fell down, Donnie shuffled underneath her and broke her fall.
Finally, the rumbling stopped.
"That was the biggest one yet!" Tokei said.
"We've got to find a way to stop those Kraang worms once and for all!" April said.
"You're right about that." Said Donnie. "And we know one man who knows more about the Kraang than anyone."
Donnie smiled at the rest of us, and we all smiled back.
"Let's go to Kurtzaman's."
...
April tapped on the window while the rest of us sat patiently on the fire escape to Kurtzman's house.
We waited for an answer, and finally one came, Kurtzman's face appeared through the glass window accompanied by Zac, who was the one who opened the window for us.
"Great Ceasar's ghost!" Kurtzman said, holding up a blinding flashlight to our faces. "Quick, get in before you're all spotted!"
We climbed in and Zac closed up the window.
"This is about the earthquake situation isn't it?" Asked Kurtzman.
April nodded. "Yes. And you're never going to guess what's causing it, Mr. Kurtzman."
"Call me Jack." He said, handing us a bunch of pictures of the same type of creature April was talking about. "I named the Kraang's little scheme, 'The Manhattan Project.'"
...
"Wake up, little rat!" Tiger Claw yelled into Splinter's ear as he threw a bucket of ice cold water onto his sleeping body.
Splinter woke up with a groan.
"Nice work, Tiger Claw." Fishface smiled. "You finally captured the great Splinter."
"So is the poison going to finish him?" Asked Rhazar.
"Most men would've expired by now." Tiger Claw said. "But it's only weakened him. He may be small, but he's tough as iron."
The mighty Shredder walked into the room, loyal Karai at his side. "Bradford, Xever, leave us." Shredder commanded, as he walked towards Splinter.
Rhazar and Fish Face left the room.
"Hamato Yoshi." Shredder said, walking up to Splinter. "So, you have come to this. A wretched rat-man waiting to be put out of his misery."
"At least...I do not wear a mask...hiding...what little humanity I have left." Splinter said, panting for air.
"It is because of you that I wear this mask." Shredder said.
"Hmph." Splinter said. "All these years you continue to deceive yourself, and everyone around you."
"You dare!" Shredder said, and raising his hand, Blades popped out of his armor. "Now just die!" He brought down his hand.
"NO! FATHER!" Karai gasped.
The Shredder stopped his hand suddenly. "YOU would stop me!?" He asked.
"Y-you'd kill your greatest enemy while he's poisoned and chained?" She asked, trying hard to be brave in the face of her father. "What about honor? Everything you taught me!?"
"The girl is right, Master Shredder." Said Tiger Claw.
Shredder stared at the two. "Very well." He said. "Gather the Foot, I will offer Hamato Yoshi one last fight."
Shredder and Tiger Claw left the rom, leaving Karai alone with Splinter.
She stared down at the weak rat, and began to walk away from him and to the exit, when...
"Why...did you help me?" Splinter asked her.
Karai stopped and clenched her hands. "I dunno." She said. "Maybe because you looked so pathetic."
"You have...your mother's spirit." Splinter said. "So fierce, and yet...so scared."
"NEVER SPEAK OF MY MOTHER AGAIN!" Karai blurted, turning to him. "You ruined my family, you ruined all of our lives!" She turned to leave.
"No..." Splinter breathed. "It was...Oroku Saki..." He fell to the ground, out of energy. "...oroku...saki..." He breathed.
...
"So these ones are only children?" Donnie asked Kurtzman surprised. "Then how big are the adults?!"
"Huge." Kurtzman explained. "Some are hundreds of feet long. The Kraang have been importing the worms from Dimensino X to suck all the mutagen out of them! It's kinda like milking a giant cow."
"Okay, okay, we get it, thanks..." Raph said, in disgust.
"So how do we stop them?" Asked April.
"No clue how to stop them." Said Kurtzman. "But I know the Kraang ride these puppies, you know the antennae on it's head? The Kraang pull them, like the reins on a horse."
"Gross!" Mikey exclaimed, knocking into the table, and the salt shaker spilled salt all over the table.
Donnie stared at the pictures of Kraathatrogons on the table, and the salt spread over it, suddenly...! "Why didn't I think of it before!?" He asked aloud. "Salt!"
"Salt?" Asked Leo.
"What're you...hold on a sec." April reached for her phone that was ringing and vibrating. She looked at the caller I.D. and happily gasped. "It...it's CASEY!" She answered the call. "Casey?" She asked him happily.
'Um, hey April.' He said through the call. 'So I'm kind of um, trapped...inside this giant worm thing. It's cool, I-I'm alive and stuff.'
"You're inside the worm?!" April asked in disgust.
"You get a signal in there?" Asked Zoey.
'Ah! It's um, trying to digest me!' Casey said. 'Could you-ah!-send some help?'
"Sit tight, Casey!" April said to him. "I mean um, don't go anywhere."
She put away the phone and smiled at the rest of us. "He's alive!" She smiled. "He's alive!"
"We've got to go save him." Zoey said.
"Don't worry, I have a plan on what to do." Donnie said.
"That means the rest of us should go get our Sensei back!" Leo said. "We'll meet up later, alright?"
About to exchange a high three, everyone froze at another Earthquake, and fell to the ground.
It rumbled for only about two minutes, and was kind of short, but the light in the apartment flickered on and off.
Zac clumsily knocked over the T.V. and it came on, showing us at first multicolored bars along with a long, busy sound, and then changing to a snowstorm, and then the face of a young woman.
The Earthquake stopped and everyone was just about to get up when the sound echoed out of the television.
"This is Elizabeth O'Neil speaking, I repeat, Elizabeth O'Neil."
I gasped and looked at the sideways T.V.
"If anyone can hear this message, we need your help! My husband Kennith O'Neil and I were captured by the Kraang two years ago. We're in TCRI laboratories in New York city, and are being held captive!"
I knew who this woman on the T.V. was.
"Mom..." I muttered. She looked awful, dark bags under her eyes, pale and thin. I stared at her in horror.
"Please, we need help! Send someone, anyone over! Help us get in contact with our-!"
"Elizabeth, they're coming, turn it off!" Another voice frantically said.
The T.V. went back to snow for a second, before the message replayed all over again.
...
I am SO SORRY! So many things got in the way of the publishing of this chapter, I ended up having to take a trip to Georgia, and I was doing my best to do the complete episode but no, I just couldn't there was no wifi here where I'm staying, and I have to finish my extremely thick honors english books, and I'm really sorry that this was all I could do! Please forgive me!
Meanwhile, I've been getting into lots of things, I'm trying to audition for Disney Fanatic's Daughter of Discord audio drama, but I've been so busy lately, I'm not sure I can actually get to doing that type of stuff.
So, again, sorry, but as soon as I can, I'll finish this episode, and it's all going to be smooth from there on out, I promise.
BYE! Again, sorry! Don't hate me, okay?