WAIT!

Don't start yet! I need to warn you! And tell you that this is not intended to be Mary Sue, so if you think you're seeing one, well, I'm not. THERE IS NO ROMANCE!

This plot bunny's been bugging me for a while. Now I'm finally writing the story, but brace yourself; this is only my second fic, and I'm still experimenting with the whole writing thing!

The first thing you'll notice about me is probably that I'm a weapons geek. Guns, swords, or frying pans, I've most likely memorized some fact about it. I know a little more than what you'll find on the internet, because I made or bought some of the weapons I studied for…closer studying, I guess.

I've always been fascinated at the subtly of the ninja, and I study the Japanese the most, after finishing their weapons, their culture. I love to study the ancient Romans, Greeks, and Indians too. And after you figure all this out, I'd get around to introducing myself. My name is Ginger. Not that it matters what my name is, most people call me Sunny. Why? I'm glad you asked.

However you imagined me before, forget it. No, I'm not a mutant; I'm technically an average girl. But with my untamed, fiery red curls, electric blue eyes, and pale skin, the eleventh grade bullies think I'm anything but average. They base this assumption on my grades and appearance mostly, saying that there too high for a human, then they'd look at my hair and say it's too bright to be anything but alien. Who wouldn't, right? They got it into their heads that'd it be funny to pretend that I'm from the sun for a semester. I mean, really, the sun? Well, hardy, har, har. Their idiotic joke earned me the nickname Sunny. I don't mind the name, really, I made a few friends when some freshmen thought I got the name because of my sunny attitude. One day I might, if I find a good foster home, possibly get adopted. But that hasn't happened yet, has it? My second closet freshmen turned friend, Matilda, once said that my attitude is about as sunny as an icebox.

She was probably right, but that icy attitude bought me a ticket to life!

Okay, that was way too dramatic. How about, that icy attitude bought me the ticket to adventure! Never mind.

It helped me find meaning! Even worse.

Forget it! That icy attitude got me a deal with some guys who call themselves the Turtles. As to how I met them, it's a long story.

…

What?

Don't look at me like that! I was considering telling the story. Yeah, yeah, fine. I'll spill.

I live in a small farming town just a little bit north of the middle of Montana. There's a gigantic hole in the roof of our barn right above the hay loft, and sometimes I sneak out there at night to look at the stars on particularly hard days. It was probably around midnight when I went out that night.

Why? One of my closest friends had decided that he'd rather join the popular pack (I call them the PP's mostly behind their backs) then stay with the first friend he had in high school. Later that day he started picking on me, able to hit all my weak points because of his history as my best friend. Anyway, while I was trying not to cry, (fine, I did cry. Happy?) I hear running. At least, it sounded like running when I heard it. I stop crying and hold my breath. Yeah, I hear soft footsteps, making a bee-line to my barn from the sound of it. A million possibilities popped into my head. Had my foster parents finally decided to pay attention to me? Had the PP's decided to trash my barn? Was an escaped convict looking for a place to hide? The last one was a little far-fetched, but it was still possible. Peering over the edge, I see four bulky figures run in, close the door and catch their breaths. It was too dark to see much, and that made me crazy. The first thought that ran through my mind:

There's not just one escaped convict, there's four!

I brought my head back up as quickly as possible, breathing hard. The more sensible part of me wanted to climb outta the hole in the roof, slide down, and make a run for it (I had done it before), but curiosity won over. I looked down again, where the 'convicts' had finished catching their breaths.

"What just happened?" Asked one. His voice is a little gruff, reasonably like a young criminal.

"Dude, did we just lose?" Another one asked, seeming surprised. He definitely did not sound like a criminal. And did he just say that they lost? They're out, aren't they?

"No, we didn't. Not yet. Does anyone know where we are?" One said firmly.

"No." The other three answer together. What do they think they're doing, staying in my barn? I start to quietly come down the ladder from the loft. I made no noise, I have no idea how, I just know that it happened.

"Judging from all the farms, though, we could be in Kentucky, Kansas, New York State-" Another one started. I'm at the bottom of the ladder. Now if I can just get to the back and grab my manriki…

"New York State has mountains?" Asks the first guy, with the gruff voice.

"No. Good point. Maybe…"

"I wish they didn't take our weapons! If they didn't, we would've won the first time!" yells Gruff.

"We all do Raph. Now let's try to figure out where we are." The firm one says calmly. I'm at the back of the barn. Now, which box did I put my weapons in? Crud, I'll have to turn on the lights to figure it out. Or risk making noise while rummaging through the boxes. Turning on the lights would reveal them, but I'm not invisible either. Rummaging it is.

"I saw a mountain on the way here. So maybe we're in California?" I don't know who's talking, but I stopped paying attention to them, anyway. I start going through boxes. Tools, buckets, weapons. I put my hand on top of everything in the last box, immediately finding my prize. But I pull up too quickly, and weapons of sorts fall out of place. The guys stop their useless conversation and look toward where I'm standing.

"Abandoned, huh, Donnie?" Gruff asks accusingly.

"Who got us here in the first place, Raph?" I guess Donnie answers. Gruff must be the one called Raph. I quietly walk away. One of my 'guests' is beside me, standing where I used to be. I assume fighting stance and swing at him.

But he stops me. I'm still wondering what tipped him off that I was there. He grabs my wrist and catches the manriki before it hits his face. His fingers are thick and scratchy, double the size they should be. I try to free my wrist, but this dude has iron grip.

"We aren't here to hurt you. If fact, we were just leaving." He says. Yeah, right. I don't answer him, instead I let go of the manriki and swing for his face. I'm met with empty air. My wrist is released; my manriki isn't.

"That won't help you. I have a whole box of weapons." I say. I wince.

Why did that sound incredibly lame?

"I wasn't planning on keeping it." He answers and tosses my favorite weapon to the ground. I grab it.

"Why are you here?"

"We thought this place was abandoned. It's obviously not, so we'll leave." He starts toward the door. "Come on, Mikey. Get down from there." He addresses the guy who had, at some point, gone up to the loft.

"Leo, you have to see this! It's amazing!" Comes the reply.

"We've been running through open fields all night and you just now noticed the stars?" Gruff says disbelievingly.

"We were busy running for our lives! Of course I didn't notice!" He answers defensively.

"Running for your lives? What happened?" I ask, stuffing my manriki in my pocket.

"It's complicated. Come on, guys, let's go." The one called Leo said.

"Wait, if you're running for your lives, you can stay. It's no problem. But why do you need an abandoned barn? Any of my neighbors would've let you stay with them."

"Again, it's complicated." Leo starts toward the door. I look up at the guy he referred to as Mikey. He was standing in the light of the hole so he could get a better view of the stars. And…he wasn't human. I muffle a scream. No wonder they needed an abandoned barn! He. Was. A giant. TURTLE.

He had an orange mask and freckles. His elbow and knee pads, hand and foot wraps, and his belt were all brown. When he heard my scream, he whipped his around. Realizing that his cover was blown, he tried for a smile.

"Uh…we come in peace?" He said uncertainly.

"Mikey, you shell brain!" Raph yells.

"Wait, are you all like this?" I ask, terrified, as Gruff becomes slightly visible.

"Err…no. But they are part of the reason we need an abandoned place." Leo tells me.

"Part of the reason? What's the rest of it?" Silence. I run to the door and turn on the lights.

I see Leo, Mikey, and two other turtles on their way out. They all have different colored masks on: Mikey's is orange, Leo's is blue, Raph's is red, and the other turtle's is purple. And, they were all turtles.

"Now you see us…" Raph starts.

"Now you don't." Leo finishes and throws a shurkin at the power cable in the corner, effectively shutting the lights off . I hear a few footsteps, but by the time I have the lights back on, Leo is climbing out the hole in the roof, the others long gone. Since when were turtles so fast? I run outside to the side with the hole. What I see is not what I expected. I expected to see four giant turtles running through the fields, toward the next possible hiding spot. What I saw was four giant turtles fighting for their lives next to the barn. I gasp loud enough for Raph to hear me, which wasn't that loud, to be honest. He sends an annoyed look my way.

"Get back inside the barn, kid!" He yells. I don't listen. Instead I stare at the…thing attacking him.

"Is that a giant fish?" I ask incredulously.

"Yes, now get in the barn!" He yells again. The giant fish turns to me. Let me tell you, his face had a look of pure evil. I decided I'd better listen to the turtle. Sadly,. Fishy flipped in front me, blocking the path back. I gulp.

"So, you know her?" Fishy asks in a really weird accent. He presses a fancy knife to my throat.

"Don't drag her into this, Fishface! She's not a part of this!" Raph yells.

"Surrender and I'll think about it." Fishface replies. Gruff looks at Fishface then to me.

He doesn't want to lose the fight. But he also doesn't want my throat slit. Not to mention his friends need him in battle. I brace myself for oblivion.

I didn't have to though. He raises his arms in surrender. I wait for the slit to come, not fully realizing that he saved me until a few moments later. And when it hits me, it hits me with full force. He gave up the fight for me.

But I couldn't think about that. I needed to get out.

Fishface has a metal toe, so stomping won't help. I look at the arm holding the knife to my throat. The sensitive, fish-like arm. Quickly, I bring my arm level with Fishface's and pinch as hard as I can. He howls in pain, and loosens his grip enough for me to slip under. Raph instantly assumes fighting stance again. Fishface grabs for me, but Raph is faster. He scoops me up bridal style and deposits me in the hay loft hole.

"This time stay put." He says, scowling. I nod limply. He saved me. He was willing to give up the fight so I would live. He cared.

I go suddenly from dumb-struck to determined. After conquering the ladder, which had started creaking, I run to my box of weapons. They need weapons but which ones?

Crack!

I hear the door torn off its hinges. I turn to see a giant skeleton of a dog stalking toward me.

"Come on girlie. You and me need to talk." He says.

What do you think? Worth working on? Yes, no, maybe so? Please review, tell me what you think.