Out Of The Blue

Chapter 1: The Arrival

By Azure Turtle

Disclaimer: Frost, Boko, Kimara, and Tenryu are my own created characters. Please do not use them without my permission. All TMNT characters belong to Peter Laird, Kevin Eastman, and Mirage Publishing.

I’m just a fan who wants to express my enthusiasm for the TMNT through fanfics. Please don’t hurt me.

It was dark outside, but he was grateful for the stars and full moon. Otherwise, the ocean would be impossible to see. The waves were small, and they gently rocked the boat back and forth, like a mother embracing her newborn child. A sad sigh escaped his lips. The round window fogged up quickly after coming into contact with his warm breath.

"Frost, step away from there!" said an angry man. He stood next to a small wooden table, folding his arms in disgust.

"I am sorry, Boko. I only wish to see the lights of New York City," the blue turtle responded, hanging his head in shame.

"We won’t see the city for another hour or so, so get over here and sit down with the others!" Boko frowned as Frost took a seat at the table. Frost looked up and his eyes met those of a kunoichi, who was wearing the traditional ninja garments. But the color she wore was nowhere near traditional. This ninja was covered in a delicate shade of white, the color that represented her clan. At the age of thirty-one, she was beautiful, and she knew it. Sassy and seductive, this kunoichi never hesitated to use her beauty as a deadly weapon.

"Boko, why don’t you leave the poor boy alone. He has never left the shores of Japan." The kunoichi winked at Frost. She smiled too, but her mask hid the bottom half of her face.

"I think I know what’s best for my student," Boko snapped in reply. "And I’m in charge here. You take orders from me, Kimara. It’s not the other way around."

Kimara narrowed her eyes at Boko. "You are lucky that my clan needs this money. Otherwise, you would be dead by now."

Boko turned pale, obviously caught off guard by Kimara’s comments. He gritted his teeth and decided that it was best not to anger her. Boko quickly excused himself, making up some reason to leave the room.

Frost laughed at Boko’s sudden exit. "I have never seen him move so fast."

"All men run when they are scared," Kimara chuckled.

"I don’t run."

Frost and Kimara turned their attention to the other person at the table. A slender Japanese man was leaning back on his chair, frowning at the other two. He wore simple clothes: faded jeans and a white muscle shirt. The man had several scars on his face, and they seemed to glow in the dim light.

"Oh? So tell us…what will make the great Tenryu run?" Kimara said in a challenging tone.

"Nothing. I run from no one. And as long as I’m going to be paid, then that’s a guarantee." Tenryu continued to frown at his two companions, but he said no more. Silence fell over the three.

Frost pulled on his cloak, trying to get a little warmer. It was exciting for him to finally be visiting the United States. He had always dreamed of coming to this amazing country, and he had always wanted to see a famous city like New York. But this wasn’t exactly the way he wanted to experience this new and wondrous place. Frost was sent here on a mission to aid the Shredder in destroying some of his worst enemies.

Frost was a member of the original Foot Clan in Japan. The elderly couple who adopted him died in a deadly bank robbery when he was only seven years old. The young Frost was then entrusted to the care of Boko, the couple’s nephew and only living relative. He treated Frost harshly, and raised him to be a fighter. Boko enlisted Frost into the Foot Clan at the age of ten. He was a high ranking Foot Soldier himself, but he was amazed at how Frost excelled at all of the Clan’s training. Frost became an elite soldier seven years later. Shredder heard of his accomplishments and quickly sent for him, even though Frost lacked a good deal of combat experience.

The blue turtle let out a soft sigh. He missed his parents dearly, and he hated having to work for the Foot Clan. However, he didn’t want to bring dishonor to Boko, his deceased parents, or himself, so he continued to do the Clan’s bidding. Frost only wished that he had time to discover the truth about his origins. He wanted to know why nature created him, and why all of mankind seemed to fear him. Even while he trained with other Foot Soldiers, he was often insulted and shunned because of his appearance. Tenryu and Kimara weren’t very accepting when they first met Frost at the docks, but after spending many hours with him, Kimara took a liking to him while Tenryu became indifferent. Being a giant, walking, talking, blue turtle is never going to be easy, Frost thought.

Kimara heard her companion’s sigh. She glanced over at the blue turtle and raised an eyebrow at him. I wonder what’s going through his mind. He seems to have a lot of inner turmoil. Whatever his story is, it can’t be as bad as the situation that my clan is in. Kimara frowned as she thought about her clan back home. She was a member of a small, underground group of female ninjas known as the Night Blossoms. They were vigilantes, killing would-be criminals and cleaning up the streets of Tokyo. Recently, her clan was hit with hard times. Her younger sister, Teng, became very ill. Only a certain operation could save her, but the operation was too expensive for her clan to afford. Kimara’s little sister was the founding member of the Night Blossoms, and losing her would not only scar Kimara, but affect the rest of the clan as well. The Night Blossoms would fall apart without their leader.

When Kimara heard that the Foot Clan was looking for skilled warriors to take part in a mission, she jumped at the opportunity. She amazed the high officials of the Foot with her skills, and she was hired on the spot. The money offered was just enough to cover the operation expenses for Teng, but she would only be paid after the job was finished. The Foot Clan wasn’t the most noble of clans, and Kimara despised working for them. But her sister was dying, and this was the only way to save her. Hold on for just a few more days, little sister…

Tenryu glanced at Frost, and then looked over at Kimara. He grunted in disgust and turned his gaze to the wooden ceiling above him. Wonderful. I get stuck with a dumb freak and a cocky bitch as partners in this assignment. And that idiot, Boko, won’t even reveal the specifics of the mission. All we’ve been told so far is that we are to eliminate Shredder’s foes. I better receive all of the money that I’ve been offered, or there’ll be bloodshed. Tenryu placed his hands behind his head and continued to lean back on his chair. He was a hot-headed man. He was always like that. Even during his childhood, Tenryu would through raging tantrums if he didn’t get his way. As he grew older, he ran away from home and joined an exclusive clan of ninjas, called the Silent Dragons. He trained and fought alongside that clan for twenty years, but his clan had no idea how Tenryu was using the skills that he had gained. Tenryu was stealing from his own clan, and one day, he got caught. He was banished forever.

With nowhere to go, Tenryu quickly became a mercenary, taking jobs from anyone who was willing to pay. He became one of the best assassins and acquired a big reputation amongst all of Tokyo’s leading crime lords. Naturally, he became interested when the Foot Clan announced that they were looking for skilled warriors. He became even more interested when he learned how much they were willing to offer. With that much money, Tenryu could take it easy at the age of thirty-five. He wouldn’t need to take jobs from all of the crime lords anymore. Tenryu would have all the money he could ever need, allowing him to focus on something he had been wanting to do for a very long time: release his wrath on the Silent Dragons. He would kill them all and wipe them off the face of the earth. Tenryu grinned evilly at the wonderful thought.

Boko stormed into the little room, disturbing all three of the fighters from their thoughts. "We will be arriving in New York in about half an hour," he reported. "So gather your belongings and meet me on the deck once you’re finished." Boko turned around to leave the room, but he mustered enough courage to glance at Kimara. She caught his glare and returned it. Boko grunted angrily before exiting the room and slamming the door behind him.

"He’s certainly a pleasure to have around," Kimara said sarcastically.

"Not if you have known him for ten years." Frost stood up from his seat and shook his head sadly. He walked over to the window and gazed outside. "I can see the lights!" he exclaimed, staring at the sight in awe. "It is so exciting to see New York City. How beautiful…"

Kimara couldn’t help but smile at Frost’s enthusiasm. It was hard for her to believe that someone like him was a skilled warrior. She shrugged. I guess I’ll see him in action soon enough.

Tenryu was getting sick of being around these idiots for too long. He got up and quickly grabbed all of his belongings, tossing them into a giant brown sack. I need to get the hell out of here. Tenryu opened the door and paused. "You two better hurry up. I want to get this mission over with as soon as possible." The mercenary walked out of the room, not even bothering to see if the others were listening to his words.

Kimara sighed as she watched Tenryu leave. "There goes another ray of sunshine," she muttered. "Oh well. I guess we better hurry up, or Boko will lay eggs if we’re late."

Frost smiled in response. "He will get rather upset if we disobey him."

The two gathered all of their personal items, packing everything into suitcases. Unlike Tenryu, Frost and Kimara liked to have everything organized.

"I don’t think we’re forgetting anything." Kimara looked around the small room, making sure that nothing was going to be left behind.

"It looks like everything is in order," Frost replied. "Let us go up to the deck and join the others."

They walked out of the room, with Kimara in the lead. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and suddenly turned around to face Frost. "Say…you wouldn’t happen to know anything about the enemies that we’re facing, do you?"

Frost shook his head slowly. "No, not really. The only thing Boko told me is that Master Shredder’s enemies are dangerous, ruthless, and violent."

"Kiss your butt goodbye!" Raphael exclaimed. His face was full of angry determination. The tip of his tongue dangled out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on the task at hand. I can’t stop now! he thought. I’m so close…Mikey doesn’t have a chance against me…

"Get real, Raph," Michelangelo replied, rolling his eyes. "You’ve never beaten me in a game of Street Fighter."

"Oh ya? We’ll see about that." Raphael began to pound on the buttons of his controller. Suddenly, Chun-Li executed her "Lightning Kicks" attack. "HA! Try and get me now." Raphael triumphantly grinned as Chun-Li seemed absolutely invincible.

"Tsk, tsk." Michelangelo shook his head. "You made one of the biggest mistakes that most Chun-Li users make while fighting Ken."

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"You forgot that Ken can shoot fireballs, dude."

With one swift movement, Michelangelo pressed a series of buttons and Ken launched a glowing blue fireball at Chun-Li. The female street fighter was so busy throwing kicks that she couldn’t defend herself in time. In a matter of seconds, it was over. Chun-Li was KO’ed, while Ken stood victorious.

Michelangelo howled with laughter. "Told ya so."

"Grr…" Raphael frowned and glared at his brother.

"I win, you lose! Ah, life is sooooo wonderful!" Michelangelo stood up on the couch and began dancing.

Donatello sat in the kitchen, eating potato chips and reading his latest book on chemistry. He put the book down and looked up, wondering what all the commotion was about. Michelangelo was doing some sort of victory dance on the couch, while Raphael sat still, silently fuming over his apparent loss. It must be Street Fighter night. Donatello smiled to himself, amused by his brothers’ antics. He sighed and returned to his book and potato chips.

Michelangelo was still dancing on the couch when Leonardo walked into the living room. "Hey guys, what’s up?" Leonardo looked at Michelangelo’s grin and then at Raphael’s frown.

"Oh, the usual." Michelangelo stepped down from his perch. "Y’know, Raph lost to me once again in Street Fighter, Donny’s reading a book, pizza is the greatest thing since sliced bread… Just the usual stuff."

"I see," Leonardo had to fight a smile because Raphael was glaring daggers at him and Michelangelo.

"He was just lucky. I almost had him this time," the angry turtle muttered.

"So I take it you guys are done playing for the night?" Leonardo asked.

"Not unless Raph wants a rematch." Michelangelo grinned again.

Raphael shook his head. "No thanks. I’ve had about enough of this stupid game."

Michelangelo shrugged and walked over to the Super Nintendo. He turned the console off then unplugged it from the TV. He returned to the couch as Leonardo took a seat next to Raphael.

"Let’s see if anything good is on tonight." Leonardo grabbed the remote and began to flip through all of the different channels.

"…I wept as I gazed at the azure skies. I knew it was over between us then…"

"…our special guest, Sal, is going to show us his new invention that will change the way you catch fish…"

"…now we’re going to play a game called "Questions Only." This game is for Ryan, Wayne…"

"…tonight, the Pet Psychic is going to help Sharee find out what’s wrong with her horse, Padugi…"

Leonardo continued to flip through the channels until a weather report caught his eye. The weatherman looked absolutely strange. He wore a pink shirt with blue pants, and he danced around the screen as he pointed to all of the different cities. "Yes folks, tomorrow is going to be a glorious Saturday! Lots of beautiful sunshine, typical of any spring day!"

"This dude has some major problems," Michelangelo chuckled, as the weatherman continued with his silly antics.

"I guess they’re not paying him enough," Raphael grunted.

Leonardo sighed. "Guys, keep it down, will you? I’m trying to listen to his report."

"Eh…we all know that the weatherman is always wrong," replied Raphael. "We might end up with a typhoon tomorrow instead of a ‘typical spring day.’"

Leonardo rolled his eyes and ignored Raphael’s comments.

Suddenly, a yell broke the silence, alarming all four of the turtles. "Sensei!" they all cried out in unison.

The four turtles quickly ran to the back of the lair and into Splinter’s room. The old rat sat on the floor, sweat running down his face. Most of his fur became matted due to all of the perspiration.

"Master Splinter! Are you all right? What happened?" Leonardo knelt before the rat, a look of worry in his eyes.

"My sons…I envisioned a most terrible thing while meditating…" Splinter coughed as he tried to catch his breath. The four turtles exchanged looks of concern.

Splinter looked up at each of his sons. "Our adversary…Oroku Saki…still lives." His voice was so low that it almost sounded like a whisper.

"What? How is that possible?" Raphael’s eyes bulged out in shock. He knelt down beside Leonardo. "He did a swan-dive head first into a garbage truck! You were there when it happened, Sensei!"

"I know, my son. But I felt his evil aura…such evil will not die easily." The old rat sighed and lowered his head.

"Are you sure that it just wasn’t a…a…a fluke?" Michelangelo looked hopeful. "Maybe you’re just tired, Sensei…"

"No, but I wish you were correct, Michelangelo. I know Saki’s aura. It is unmistakable." Splinter’s brow furrowed in thought.

"But we haven’t seen or heard anything about the Foot for the past two months!" Raphael exclaimed. "How’s it possible that Shredder’s still alive?"

"The answer to that isn’t important right now, Raph." Leonardo’s face was carved in a very grave expression. "Since he’s alive, then we know that the Foot will be right behind him."

"Two months is a long time," Donatello rubbed his chin in thought. "He’s probably been plotting against us during that whole period."

"That’s just wonderful news," said Raphael, in a sarcastic and irritated fashion.

"I’m afraid you’ve got a good point, Donny." Leonardo gritted his teeth. "We better be extra careful until we know what he’s up to."

"Man…why can’t the Shredder just leave us alone?" Michelangelo groaned.

"Hmph…the next time I see that pointy freak, I’m gonna make sure he leaves us alone for good," Raphael muttered.

Splinter moaned and quickly clutched his forehead. "Oh no…it is worse than I feared…"

"What’s wrong, Sensei? Did you sense something else?" Leonardo leaned forward, disturbed by Splinter’s current condition.

"Yes…Saki is plotting something against us, but…" Splinter wiped some of the sweat off of his forehead as his voice trailed away.

"Please, tell us what you’ve sensed, Master Splinter," Donatello encouraged his sensei to continue.

Splinter nodded slowly. "This time, Oroku Saki is not alone…"

Disclaimer: Ken, Chun-Li, and Street Fighter belong to Capcom.