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

NMNT Season 4 Chapter 1: Spot Marks the X

-Casey's Grandmother's Farm: Night-

It had been one full day after the events that took place on the Shredder's starship. When the trial had ended, the aftermath happened like this: since Professor Honeycutt had once again decided to stay behind on the Utrom Homeworld, only the five brothers and Splinter were teleported back home. Specifically, the group ended up inside the 2nd Time Around just as April and Casey came down from the upstairs apartment, having changed into their standard outfits (April's black pants and midriff-exposing purple shirt and Casey's brown tank-top, baseball gloves and blue pants with a white stripe running down each pant-leg).

April and Naruto had a very tearful reunion (well, April was the tearful one as she cried tears of sadness, relief, and joy) as she ran up to him and hugged him in a tight embrace. Naruto hugged back and held her body, in a protective manner, tightly against his as April tearfully told him that she saw the explosion near the moon and had assumed the worst. Naruto then whispered in her ear that from here on out, no matter what situation he found himself in that she could always count on him returning to her, that it was a promise of a lifetime. April wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged him again.

The group then all decided what their next move would be, since they all unanimously agreed that New York City was too dangerous for them to stay in their current state. Casey then offered up his grandmother's farm as a place of recuperation once again. And so after Casey fetched his van and trailer and they drove up north for some time, they arrived at the farm without a hitch.

Naruto entered the house first and turned on the lights. April was right behind him as she gingerly carried Splinter into the house.

"Just a little bit further Master Splinter," she said as the rat leaned up against her for support.

Next, Donatello walked in with Michelangelo leaning up against him for support.

"Finally," Mikey complained as he put his crutches underneath his arms, "now somebody get me a fork or something, you have no idea how bad my legs itch!"

Don looked at him in annoyance. "Yeah we do Mikey, we heard about it the whole trip," he said as they continued on inside.

The last of the group to enter were Casey and Leonardo, who were currently carrying Raphael on their shoulders.

"Ow," Raph grunted as he accidentally put his bandaged ankle down before hopping on his good foot.

Once everyone was settled inside, Naruto closed the door as April set Splinter down in a recliner.

"Thank you April," Splinter sighed in relief, "I am not as young as I once was. Wounds take longer to heal."

"I'm still young as I once was and I don't feel like I'm ever gonna heal," Mikey complained.

"Too bad you didn't break your jaw," Raph remarked as Casey and Leo lied him down length-wise on a couch, "maybe we'd finally get a little peace and quiet around here."

Mikey then sat down in a recliner that was next to Splinter. "Ahh," he sighed, "that's...better?" He then sniffed the air and gagged. "God, what's that smell," he said, "it smells like burnt..." He stopped himself from finishing his thought as he followed his nose and saw Splinter glaring at him in annoyance.

"Oh...right, sorry Sensei," he apologized.

"Alright," April said after seeing that the injured had finally settled down, "Who's hungry?"

Mikey, Don, Raph, and Splinter all raised their hands.

Leo, who was staring out the window in silence, did not.

"Leo?" Naruto asked.

"Leonardo?" Splinter asked as well.

"...I'm fine," Leo simply answered.

-Much Later-

Casey yawned and stretched a bit as he went over towards the van to grab something.

What he didn't realize was from afar, someone or something was watching him as Casey grabbed what he needed to grab and headed back inside.

Meanwhile up in the attic, Mikey (who was now lying in a bed) had finally completed his makeshift scratcher (which was a stick and a fork that was wrapped to it with duct tape) to which then he began scratching down one of his casts. He sighed in joyful relief.

Just then, April and Naruto came up the stairs with bowls of soup and bags of cookies.

"Mikey, don't scratch," April chided.

"April, did you bring your laptop?" Don (who was lying in a bed as well) asked, "And do you think we can get a wireless signal out here?"

"Don, what do you think the answer to that question will be?" Naruto answered.

Don just shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to ask," he replied.

"Hey April, can you run out and get some comics for me?" Mikey asked.

Before April could respond, Raph interjected. "April, hey April," he asked, "Could you whack Mikey upside his head for me please? I can't reach."

"I got'cha Raph," Naruto replied as he walked over to his orange mask wearing brother and gave him a good whack.

"My sons, ENOUGH," Splinter (who was meditating on the bed he was lying down on) scolded, "Our bodies need to rest to heal, and that includes your mouths."

Mikey started to scratch his left leg, having been satisfied with scratching his right. April made a move to grab his scratcher but Naruto just gently grabbed her shoulder. "Let him have it," he said, "it's one less thing he has to complain about."

April sighed as she looked over at Leo, who was currently looking out the attic window. Splinter did the same as he said, "Leonardo, you need rest as well."

"I'll rest later," he replied.

Just then there was a noise outside.

"We've got company," said Naruto.

"Stay up here," April commanded, "let Casey and I check it out." And she set down the food she was carrying and headed downstairs.

As she walked down, she saw Casey staring at something on the wall at the foot of the stairs. Casey heard her coming down and said, "Yo, April, is Naruto up there? I want him to come see this hole I made that my family patched up when I was seven."

"*Shhh* Casey," April said in a low whisper, "the guys and I heard something moving outside."

"Out here?" Casey asked, "Don't worry; there's no one around for miles."

At that moment they heard the front door's door knob rattling.

"Then again," Casey said sternly as he picked up an aluminum baseball bat and walked towards the door. He then quickly opened it up and pulled in the thing that was up against the door (which, in this case, was a dark-haired white male that was wearing a black trench coat, blue jeans and black sneakers) before slamming the door shut and pinning whoever it was up against a wall.

The man shouted in fright, "Ahh! Casey!"

"Well, wadda you know," Casey said sternly, "You're not welcome here."

"Last time I checked, this was my grandma's house too," said the man, "now put me down you freaking psycho."

"April," Casey said as he began some introductions while he put the man down, "this is my gamblin', thieven', good for nothin' cousin, Sid."

"Nice to meet you?" April said with an unsure tone.

Casey then turned to his cousin Sid. "Wadda you want Sid?" he asked in an accusing tone, "You always want somethin'."

"I just want what's mine," Sid answered, "you get this house and I know for a fact you get the girls; well I want my share! I want the money!"

"What money? What the hell are you talkin' about Sid?" Casey asked.

"Don't give me that crap," Sid replied, "you know what the hell I'm talkin' about: the loot." He then pointed to a black and white picture of a very old man and his beagle that was hanging above the fireplace and said, "Everyone knows grandpa robbed that train. I want grandpa's share of the Hoosac* Tunnel Train Job."

Unbeknownst to them, Naruto was listening in on their conversation as he told his brothers, "Sounds like Casey's grandpa was a thief."

Raph chuckled, "Should've known Casey came from a long line of boneheads."

Back downstairs, the argument continued.

"You're crazy Sid," Casey retorted, "No one ever believed that damn old story."

"I believed it," Sid retorted, "He said he buried the loot; 'Spot marks the X' he was always sayin', the crazy old man. I dug holes out here for years lookin' for it, for anything that looked like an 'X'. It's gotta be here!"

"Spot marks the 'X'?" April muttered, "That's not right."

Casey simply walked over to the front door and said, "Get outta here Sid."

"I need that money Casey," Sid pleaded, "You've got it, don't you? You've got the money!"

"Sid," Casey said as he grabbed his cousin by his trench coat, "There! Is! No! Money! And even if it was real, what do ya need it for anyway? Are you in trouble again or somethin'?"

Sid was then let go as he sighed in defeat and desperation. He then quickly pulled out a Federation Blaster and pointed it at the two in a threatening manner.

"'Spot marks the X' Casey, I know you're lyin'!" he said in a crazed manner, "give me that money or else I kill the two of ya right here!"

Meanwhile, Naruto ran back up the stairs quickly and quietly as he said, "So much for a family reunion. Cousin Sid brought a Federation Blaster to the party."

"I should'a known Casey's lack of smarts runs in the family," Raph grunted as he sat up.

"What do we do now?" Don asked.

"Hey I got it!" Mikey exclaimed, "We disguise ourselves in old animal skin, get close enough to Sid, and spring on him."

Raph growled in annoyance, "*Grr* Mikey, if only I could reach you right now; bam!" And Raph demonstrated the punch he would have given his brother before grunting in pain afterwards.

"You must take this seriously," said Splinter, "Sid is obviously distressed."

"Well Sid's not the only thing we need to worry about," Leo said as he gestured out the window, "Take a look."

Everyone turned to look outside the attic window where they saw bright car headlights coming in fast.

"Well that can't be good," Mikey said as a huge SUV screeched to a halt. The passenger door opened and a man who had all the markings that signified him as being a Purple Dragon gang member stepped out. He then lit a cigarette as more members (a total of five more) got out of the SUV. All six members then armed themselves with Federation Blasters.

The apparent leader, who was the man with the cigarette, walked up to the farmhouse front door and kicked it open, surprising all but one of the first floor occupants.

"Heya Sid," the leader said with a sadistic smile, "long time no see." And he stepped inside. "Looks like you're havin' quite the party here."

"Spuds," Sid gulped, "what're you doin' here? I told you I'd get'cha the money."

"Sid, Sid, Sid," said the leader, now known as Spuds, "We're not some dumb-ass bookies anymore, we're Purple Dragons now."

The other gang members behind him nodded in agreement.

"Ha!" Casey exclaimed with a hint of superiority, "Purple Dragons? What're you, the Northampton Chapter?" He then mockingly cowered before them and said, "Look April, they got matching jackets, ooooooooooooooh."

"Shut up Casey," Sid whispered as Spuds came up to him.

"The Dragons have a new agenda," Spuds said with a smile as he put an arm around Sid's shoulders, "we're goin' places and all markers are being called in. That means yours too, Sid."

Meanwhile up in the attic, as Leo sat next to Naruto and joined in on listening in on the conversations, the blue eye-mask wearing turtle growled and said, "Purple Dragons, I hate Purple Dragons." Naruto shushed him as they continued to listen in.

"I told ya I'd get ya the money Spuds," Sid said as Spuds let go of his shoulders, "and I will; tonight."

"Oh I know you will Sid," Spuds said in a dangerous tone, "we're just here to make sure you're little treasure hunt goes smooth."

Spuds then turned to his men as he started to lead Sid outside. "Boys," he said, "help Sid look."

The gang members chuckled darkly as they began to upturn tables, smash plates and trash the house in general.

Casey growled, "Why you goddamn little-." Spuds then pointed his blaster in Casey's face.

"Uh-uh," he said with a sadistic smile as he took a drag of his cigarette and blew smoke right at Casey's face.

Up in the attic, the gang heard the noise going on downstairs.

"I sure picked the wrong time to have broken legs," Mikey said.

"Speak for yourself Mikey; I can take seven Purple Dragons lyin' on my back," said Raph.

"Our injuries do have us at a disadvantage," said Splinter.

"Enough talk," Leo growled, "let's take them down."

"Leo, you're stealing Raph's line," said Mikey.

"Hey I don't mind," Raph said with a small smirk, "I love it when Leo talks tough. We should get Karai to stab him more often."

Leo did not like that particular remark (nor, it seemed, did he like the mentioning of Karai) as he faced Raph and growled.

"Guys, enough, now listen," Naruto said as he peeled off the bandage that was placed on the bridge of his nose, "out of all of us, I'm the least injured and the least handicapped, so leave these goons to me."

"But Naruto," Leo growled before Naruto interrupted. "No, all of you stay here and don't make a sound," he said as he gave a small smirk and quickly rigged something on the attic door before heading out the attic window, "besides, I got some tricks up my sleeve that I want to try out."

"Be careful my son," said Splinter. Naruto smiled as he nodded before quietly leaping down to the outside ground. He then stood by a window and listened in.

"I'm not seein' any of this treasure Sid," Spuds said in a threatening tone, "you know what'll happen if we don't get that money."

Naruto then quietly made a group of five shadow-clones and quickly whispered the plan before listening in again.

Sid began to panic and stutter, "I-I-I, Casey has the money! He found it!"

"What?!" Casey exclaimed, "Sid, you son of a bitch, there is no money!"

Spuds chuckled darkly, "Well I guess we're just gonna have to beat the truth out of youse."

But before anyone made a move, the horn to the SUV honked loud and long.

"What the fuck?!" Spuds exclaimed in surprise, "That's my car! Nobody messes with my car!" He then growled as he grabbed a gang member by their collar and issued a command, "Max, go find out whoever's out there and kill him!"

The other five gang members stepped outside just as the SUV honked its horn once again. Max angrily went up to the passenger door and opened it wide open but found no one in the driver's seat. In fact, as he inspected the interior of the car, he found no one at all.

He turned to the other four gang members and commanded, "Alright, search the place. Ghosts didn't honk that horn." And all four gang members then split up into groups, three of them headed towards the barn while the fourth went to search the corn field. Max, meanwhile, stayed behind to guard the SUV.

(And now we shift our focus to the group of three gang members).

As the group of three approached the barn, they split up to widen their search area.

One gang member went towards the left and cautiously rounded a corner. He then set his sights on an open shed that housed logs for the fireplace. Figuring there had to be someone hiding up against the pile of logs, he readied his blaster and snuck up on the open shed. He then quickly stood in front of the space that made up the entrance and looked inside, ready to make a threat but found that no one was hiding inside. Letting his guard down a bit, he lowered his weapon.

Suddenly he felt someone tap his shoulder as he tensed up and turned around with his blaster at the ready and found a log just floating in the air. Before he could react to the strange phenomena, it smacked him across his face while he felt the wind being knocked out of him as he fell to the ground and lay there unconsciously.

Naruto's shadow clone then became visible as he smirked and whispered, "Yep, I still got it." He then set the log down and dispelled with a *poof*.

Meanwhile the other two gang members entered the barn. As they opened the creaky door and stepped inside, they heard a *whooshing* noise coming from above just as a dilapidated 1950's style pick-up truck's headlights came on. The two gang members readied their weapons as the swiftly approached the broken-down vehicle.

"Okay buddy, whoever you are, you're dead," said one gang member.

But as quickly as they came upon the vehicle, they instantly realized that there was no one there.

"This is getting freaky," said the second gang member.

They then heard a chain rattling and the pitter-patter of feet running across the upper-level hay lofts.

"C'mon," said the first gang member as he and his partner climbed a ladder. But just as they were half-way up, they ladder was then pushed away from its resting edge, causing the occupants to hit the ground and drop their weapons. Just when they began to reach for their blasters, they found themselves hanging in the air by their legs, which were tied to ninja wire. Before the two could even begin to comprehend their current situation, they were both swiftly knocked out by a punch to their faces. As the two began to listlessly swing, two Naruto shadow clones looked at their handy work and smiled in accomplishment as they high-fived each other.

"Sometimes we amaze even ourselves, don't we?" said one.

"You said it," said the other as they both dispelled.

-Casey's Grandmother's Farm, Cornfield-

The fourth gang member carefully made his way through a row of corn. On his tenth step in, he heard a noise coming from his right. He pointed his blaster in that direction, but found nothing more than the silhouette of a scarecrow.

"*Tch* Just a scare crow," he muttered. As he turned around, he was struck with a long and sturdy stick and knocked out. A Naruto shadow clone came down from his post.

"I think next time I try this I'll be Kakashi," said the clone, "that'd be the ultimate visual pun." And he dispelled.

-With Max-

The night air was filled with all kinds of sounds of the creatures of the night. Max tightened his grip on his gun as he heard a Common Loon call echoing in the distance.

"God this place gives me the creeps," he muttered.

As the Purple Dragon patrolled around the vehicle, he heard a twig snapping behind him. He turned around quickly but saw nothing there.

"Guys?" he said nervously, "Guys?"

He heard another noise to his left (this time it sounded like someone was stepping on some gravel) but again, he saw nothing.

"This ain't funny fellas," he said. As he slowly backed himself towards the SUV, he didn't hear the right-side door opening nor did he feel a presence behind him until a hand grabbed him by his jacket collar and pulled him inside while simultaneously shutting the door. The car then began rocking and rolling for a few seconds before the left-side passenger door opened and out stepped Naruto and a shadow clone.

"Time to really scare the hell out of these guys," Naruto said as he shut the door, his shadow clone nodding in agreement before dispelling.

-Casey's Grandmother's Farmhouse-

Spuds was pacing back and forth, growling in irritation.

"C'mon, what the hell is takin' those guys so long," he said.

On the other side of the room, Sid was still holding April and Casey hostage.

"Sid," April said, try to talk in a gentle, even tone, "it doesn't have to be like this. We can talk this out."

"Talkin' ain't gonna find the goddamn money," Sid replied, "Talkin' ain't gonna get Spuds off my ass."

"It's all about you, ain't it Sid?" Casey said sternly, "Nothin' ever changes."

Just then, Spuds noticed their little conversation. "Shut up over there!" he shouted as he pointed his blaster at all three of them, "One more word and I'm gonna-."

He was interrupted when a pebble hit a window. Readying himself, he stood up against the front door and quickly opened it, only to find a piece of paper that had a red spiral swirl drawn onto it hanging in front of the entrance.

"Huh?" Spuds grunted in confusion.

"Here we go," Casey whispered with a smug smile.

Spuds then looked out towards his SUV and saw no one was around guarding or inspecting it.

"Max? Guys?" he called out.

Casey then quietly whispered to his cousin (who had his back turned towards them), "Hey Sid?"

Sid turned around and Casey punched him in his abdomen and sent him flying into a wall near the front door, dropping his weapon in the process.

Spuds turned around and saw the aftermath as he tried grabbing Sid's blaster; however, Casey beat him to it, tossing it aside as he pulled out an aluminum baseball bat.

"You shoulda stayed outta this," Spuds snarled as Casey held his ground, "Now I'm gonna make sure you die nice and slowly."

Suddenly the weapon was knocked out of his hands. Spuds grit his teeth in anger as he saw that April had thrown a plate right at his hands.

"Stupid bitch," he said angrily, "You're gonna wish you never did that."

"That's funny," April said as she smiled and got into a fighting stance, "I was gonna say the same thing to you."

Spuds charged towards her, but he was knocked into a wall by a well-executed roundhouse kick.

At the same time, Casey rushed in to help her, but Sid tackled and pinned him to the ground.

"I'm sorry Casey," he said, "but I gotta have that money."

Just then, Spuds picked up the blaster Casey had tossed aside and pointed it at April.

"Now you die," he said. April smirked as she rushed in, grabbed his wrists and tossed him into another wall.

At the same time, Casey kicked Sid off of him who then quickly armed himself with a hockey stick.

"Back off Casey," Sid said as he swung the object at Casey's head.

"Get real Sid," Casey replied angrily as he swung his baseball bat and nicked Sid's shin, "You knew better than to tussle with me when we were kids." He then smirked and said, "Did ya get dumber or somethin'?"

"Rrraarrgghh," was Sid's reply as he swung the hockey stick some more.

"Alright, you asked for it," Casey said as he tossed aside his bat and yanked away the hockey stick right out of Sid's hands before grabbing him by his shirt collar. Casey smirked as he threw his cousin right at Spuds, knocking them both into a wall.

April and Casey stood over the two individuals.

"Not too shabby, eh April," Casey said. April nodded as she picked up a blaster and pointed it at the two.

"This isn't over," said Spuds.

"Don't get any bright ideas," April warned. Sid just chuckled, but it was hard to tell if it was out of nervousness or relief.

"You don't know who you're messing with," Spuds threatened, "the Purple Dragons will-*gack*."

Casey grabbed Spuds by his neck. "Whatever Sid owes, it's paid up as of right now," Casey growled as he threw him back down on the ground.

"Or else what?" Spuds snarled.

"Or else you'll meet the same fate as your friends," said a voice from above. Everyone looked up and saw Kakashi drop down from the ceiling and walk towards them.

"Through my wrath," he said with a warning growl present in his voice.

"Let's see ya try," Spuds challenged. Kakashi narrowed his lone eye as he picked up a blaster and forcibly dragged Spuds outside.

He then pointed the weapon at the SUV. "Last chance before I blow up that thing of yours," he warned.

Spuds began to panic. "Okay okay!" he shouted, "Don't shoot! I'll find a way to cover his marker and square it with the Purple Dragons."

April, Casey, and Sid then stepped outside as Spuds ran up to Sid and said, "You don't owe us anything Sid; we're squared. Just please don't hurt the car, okay?"

"Deal," said Kakashi, "Now get out of our sight."

Spuds nodded as he ran towards his SUV and opened the drivers-side where he then quickly looked inside and saw all five of his crew hog-tied and knocked out. He then started up the car and drove away.

"Good riddance to that asshole," Casey said.

Sid then turned to his cousin and asked, "Why'd ya do it Casey? Why did you help me out with Spuds after all I did?"

Casey sighed. "Sid," he said, "You're a goddamn moron, but you're still family."

"Everybody deserves a second chance," said April, "Even you Sid. Just make sure you don't blow it."

Sid smiled. "Thanks guys," he said, nodding his head slightly.

"So," Kakashi asked, "are you still going to try and look for that money?"

Sid shook his head and closed his eyes before opening them and saying, "Nah; that loot has brought me nothin' but trouble. It's not worth it, not after all this."

He then began to walk away as he said, "If you find it, keep it for all I care." And step by step, he walked away from the farmhouse grounds.

When he was far enough away and out of ear shot, Kakashi then went up in smoke and reverted back to Naruto.

"Finally," he said as he tossed aside the weapon he was holding, "I thought he would never leave." He then spoke to Casey and April, "Good job on holding your own in there."

April smiled and said, "I never could have done it without you and your training." And she kissed him on his right cheek, causing him to smile blush as he scratched and rubbed the back of his head.

Up in the attic, Splinter and the turtles had seen and heard everything.

"Once again, Naruto manages to pull another trick from his sleeves," said Mikey.

"But that's why we love him," said Raph.

"Yeah," Leo said in very slight bitterness (so slight than an untrained ear would have missed it) as he walked over to his bed.

Splinter frowned slightly, but said nothing.

Meanwhile, Naruto and April saw Casey with his arms crossed in front of his chest with his expression showing he was in deep thought.

"What is it Casey?" Naruto asked.

"Something about what my grandpa said got me thinkin'," he said, "'Spot marks the X', it's crazy but it couldn't be."

"It couldn't be what Casey?" April asked. Casey then walked over to to the barn (more specifically to the left side of the barn) and motioned for Naruto and April to follow him.

"My grandpa took in a stray dog once and called him Spot," he explained, "he always loved him. Ol' Spot then got sick one summer and just up and died." He then knelt down at the barn's stone foundation and began feeling the stones.

"I remember there was this one big stone in the foundation of the barn that my grandpa used to mark where Spot's grave was," he explained as he found the aforementioned stone and pried it loose.

Carefully setting it aside, the group of three peered down into the big gap that was now exposed. Casey then reached inside and, with a surprised expression, pulled out a briefcase. Opening it up, the three saw that instead of it being full of money, it was full of paper receipts. April picked one up and inspected it.

"They're receipts," she said, "to charities."

Casey chuckled, "Well, my grandma never did approve of my grandpa's train robbing past; looks like she made up for it."

"I guess that makes her the white sheep in your family," April said, which elicited a chuckle from all three of them which then turned into full blown laughter.

*In the episode he says the name a bit differently, but without subtitles or closed captioning I wouldn't know how to spell it. Instead I used the name of a real tunnel found in Massachusetts.

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to Season 4 of NMNT. Sorry it took me so long but as you all know, real life can be a pain. I actually began writing this chapter all the way back in the beginning of April, then I got so busy that I haven't had a chance to update until now. I would say to expect faster updates, but then again we don't know what the future holds now do we?