Count Tiger Claw and the rest of his soldiers looked on as they witnessed their Prince kneeling on the ground, inspecting every grain of misplaced sand and dirt. He was in deep thought, analyzing the scene. None of them were surprised or offended by his actions, Prince Newtralizer is known as one of the greatest hunters in all the land. He can track a falcon on a cloudy day, he will most certainly find his missing bride, whether she is dead or alive.

Wasn't long before Newtrailzer came to his conclusion, "Someone has beaten the giant!"

"Then where is the body?" Tiger Claw asked.

"Whoever defeated him must've spared his life, like a fool." Newtralizer hopped onto his horse, before riding off he told his men, "The giant does not matter, we must find the Princess before it is too late. There will be great suffering in Salamandria if she dies."

By the Prince's command, he and his men all charge off, following the trail to where they believe Princess Mona Lisa was taken to next.

It wasn't long for them to find the next location, an abandoned picnic set up in the middle of nowhere. What shocked the Prince and his men was a dead body left behind. Newtralizer and Tiger Claw dismounted their horses to inspect the corpse.

"It's Donatello, your Highness." Tiger Claw whispers to the Prince, not wanting their soldiers to hear them, "Someone must've killed him, but how? There are no injuries on his body that we can see."

Newtralizer's attention was taken by the picnic set up by Donatello's body. Among the food and goblets of wine was a small vile. Newtralizer took it, opening the container to inspect the remains of the liquid still inside.

"Scorpinoid venom..." The Prince concludes, "I beat my life on it."

"But sir, with Donatello dead and the Princess still alive and nowhere to be found, this changes everything with your plans-"

Newtralizer quickly shushes his second in command, not wanting his growing worry to catch the attention of their men who eagerly waited for an order, "This changes nothing." he tells him, bringing Tiger Claw's attention to a trail behind them, "See there? The trail is still fresh. The Princess hasn't gone far. So whoever this man is, he may be doing us a service and finishing what Donatello failed to do."

The two men stand up, returning back to their soldiers who eagerly waited for an order from their Prince, "The Princess is alive," he announces in a grand overdramatic tone, "or at least she was an hour ago. If she is otherwise when I find her, I shall be very put out."

Mounting back onto their horse, the Prince and Tiger Claw rode off, hot on the trail to find Princess Mona Lisa.

≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫

Off in the mountains, the Mysterious Turtles ran across a massive field, dragging Princess Mona Lisa by the arm. Occasionally she would stumble, struggling to keep up with his speed, but he kept forcing her along. Soon they found themselves at the edge of a sheer ravine. The drop is sharp and severe. Below, the ravine floor is flat with a small stream of water that leads to an icy trail into the dangerous Ice Forest, but getting there would not be half the fun.

The Mysterious Turtle stopped, letting go of Mona Lisa's arms and forcing her to sit on a nearby rock. "Rest, you Highness." he tells her.

Mona Lisa ignored him, glaring at her captor as she shouted angrily, "I know who you are!"

"Oh? Enlighten me then. Who am I?"

"You're the vigilante known as The Nightwatcher!"

"Guilty!" he smiles as he gracefully bows to the Princess, "What can I do for you?"

She looked at her new captor with a furious glare and said strongly, "You can die a slow and agonizing death."

"Wow..." He says, thinking through what the princess had said to him. He seemed rather unimpressed yet he played along, "Oddly specific, your Highness. We just met and yet you act like I've done something so horrible to you that you throw all your anger onto me."

Mona continues to glare at him, "You killed my love..."

"Ah, that's why," He smiles, seeming like he's proud of his sins, "I mean, it is quite possible. I've killed lots of people. So, tell me, who was this love of yours?" He asked as he sat down and leaned up against a nearby rock to listen to her, "Another Prince? Ugly? Rich? Dull?"

"No," Mona answered quickly, offended by his guesses, "He was a turtle who worked on my family's farm."

"Interesting..." he smirked, "Tell me more about him."

"He was a noble man, unlike you, with a fiery passion, and had a heart purer than gold. Often he was misunderstood by others, with his temper always said to be his biggest flaw, but I saw more to him than anyone else. To me he was perfect..."

The Turtle in Black leaned on a nearby stone, crossing his arms as he gave the Princess a wider cocky grin, "Was this love of yours handsome?"

She sighs lovingly, "Yes, with a smile that could outshine the sun and eyes more beautiful as an emerald jewel..." Mona Lisa was silent for a moment, remembering her true love before continuing, "But when he was out at sea you and your men attacked, and The Nightwatcher never takes prisoners."

"I can't afford to make exceptions," he says with a dismissive shrug, "I mean, if word gets out that a vigilante like myself has gone soft people will begin to disobey and then it's nothing but work, work, work, all the time! I can't risk losing my reputation!"

Mona Lisa stayed silent, turning her head, refusing to look at her captor. The Nightwatcher then got up from where he sat as he continued, "I think I remember this turtle of yours. I believe it was about... five years ago?"

Mona Lisa nods.

"Would it bother you if I told you about his fate?"

Without looking at him Mona says strongly, "Nothing you say will upset me."

"Well, when I attacked his ship he put up a good fight, but eventually he had no choice but to surrender," The Nightwatcher began telling her, "He seemingly accepted his fate, but despite it all, what caught my attention was when he said to me, 'Please. Please, I need to live'. When I asked him what was so important for him, 'true love,' is all he replied."

Mona's heart sank from The Nightwatcher's words. To imagine her love's last words and thoughts were of her. It shattered her heart more than it ever was before, what was once broken into tiny pieces has now been smashed into nothing more than dust. Despite her feelings, Mona stayed strong to show no weakness to her captor. It wasn't easy however, the man responsible for her sorrows was merely a foot away from her, telling her of her love's demise so casually. It made her blood boil.

The Nightwatcher continued on, getting up from his seat as he circled around the Princess, "And then he spoke of a woman with surpassing beauty, strength and loyalty. I can only assume he meant you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mona finally snapped, quickly standing up to face her captor, more furious than ever.

"The irony of it all." he snickered, "He said that even if the two of you lived on different planets, you'd remain loyal to him and never love another, and yet you wait for your new love, the Prince, to come and rescue you."

"I never said the Prince is my new love!" Mona's anger rose from that claim. Never in a million life times would she allow Prince Newtralizer to be her love. He knows she does not love him, and nothing will ever change that, even if Raphael is long dead. Getting in The Nightwatcher's face as she proclaimed with fury, "And how dare you mock me! I have loved more deeply than a killer like yourself could ever dream!"

Suddenly, The Nightwatcher began to snicker. This action took Mona Lisa aback. Confusion and anger took over as she growled, clenching her fists, "You mock me a second time..."

"Okay, okay!" he says, calming down his laughter, "I'm sorry, Mona. I've messed with you long enough-"

As the Turtle in Black reached his hands over to the ties of his mask, he was stopped by the sudden grab of his collar by the Princess. Pulling him close to her, Mona Lisa's eyes were tearing up, but full of so much fury as she stared down her captor, "When I learned Raphael was gone, I died that day..." she said to him, her tone cold, but vexed, "You can die too for all I care!"

With all her might, Mona Lisa punched The Nightwatcher right in his face, resulting in him to fall and stumble down the sheer ravine below.

As she watches him tumble down she hears him cry out to her, "As... You... Wish!!..."

Mona's eyes widened with realization, having not heard those words in years, a sense of happiness swept over her anger, disappearing in seconds, "Oh my beloved Raphael. What have I done?!"

Without a second thought or consideration of the dangers, she starts to travel down into the ravine. Not a moment later, she too is tumbling down.

≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫

"Disappeared," Prince Newtralizer says, looking out to where Mona and her captor were just moments ago, "He must have seen us closing in, which might account for his panicking in error. Unless I'm wrong," He laughs at the thought, "And I am never wrong! They are headed dead into the Ice Forest."

Count Tiger Claw and his men turn pale with fear from just the mention of the Ice Forest, not before riding off with their Prince yet again.

≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫

At the bottom of the ravine, Raphael and Mona Lisa lay a few feet away from each other. In a struggle, Raphael sits up, his black mask has fallen off and his clothes slightly torn and stained. He crawls over to Mona Lisa who is bruised with slight tatters and grass stains in her teal dress.

"You still got that fire in your punch that I love so much" he said teasingly, hovering over her with a smug smile.

Mona smiles as she reaches her hand up towards him, softly caresses his cheek. Feeling his soft skin in her palm and his green eyes shiny at her, Mona Lisa knew she was not dreaming. Her eyes began to tear up, "You're alive..."

"Of course I am. I told you that I would always come back for you," Raph tells her, taking Mona's hand that rested on his cheek to hold in his, "Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I thought you were dead."

"Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."

Mona softly smiles, "I will never doubt again."

Raphael and Mona Lisa smile at one another as they join in a long needed tender passionate kiss-

≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫

"Oh no! Please, no!" Kintaro loudly cries.

Usagi asked as he stopped reading the book once again as he asked, "What's wrong, Kintaro?"

"They're kissing again!" The child complains, "Do we have to hear the kissing part?"

"Someday you may not mind so much."

Kintaro rolls his eyes, ignoring Usagi's words, "Skip to the Ice Forest. That sounded exciting!"

"Alright. Fine." Usagi flips through a couple of pages and continues reading, "Raphael and Mona Lisa raced along the ravine floor..."

≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫

Raphael, holding Mona Lisa's hand, swiftly guides her through the bottom of the ravine. They stop and look up to see Prince Newtralizer and his men at top of the ravine, staring down at them, unable to make their way toward them thanks to the steep drop.

"Haha! Your dumb fiancé is too late!" Raph says to Mona, "A few more steps and we will be safe in the Ice Forest."

"Safe?! My love, the Ice Forest is one of the most dangerous places in all the land. We'll never survive!" Mona Lisa says with worry as Raphael leads her into the cold dark icy forest, hand in hand.

Raph gives her a confident smile, "Nonsense! You're only saying that because no one ever has!"