[Panda_Kahn_fan]

Chapter 5

The blimp glides silently over the gulf of Mexico, the five of us gazing down into the clear blue waters. My brothers and I had, of course, flown farther south during their mission to the Brazilian rain forest to stop Bebop and Rocksteady. But there was a major difference between a flight on a cargo plane, and a slow glide where they could take their time to look at all of the scenery.

"Dudes, scope out all of those cool-looking fish down there!" Michelangelo tells us, peering out one of the windows on the gondola. "It's like going to an Aquarium the size of NYC!"

"I hate to say this, but you're right, Mikey." Raphael sighs, gazing out over the tranquil waters of the gulf. "Out here, a guy could almost forget to be angry, and just relax himself."

"That, coming from you, Raph?" Mikey asks in surprise, as he gazes down and the schools of tropical fish. "Dude, I didn't think there was a moment you were alive, that you weren't, like, angry at something."

"Yeah? Well, I'm getting pretty angry at you right now, you surfing beach bum!" Raphael growled, his anger flaring up for a brief moment. "Now shut up and watch the fish!"

As my two brothers look out the window on the left, Master Splinter and I are sitting at the windows on the right. Looking up from time to time as I polish my kanji-covered katana, I couldn't help but admire the sheer beauty of the endless blue. Turning to master Splinter, I ask him;

"Sensei, do you ever wonder how something this tranquil can exist, in a world so filled with violence and anger?" I ask, not turning my gaze away from the amazing view. "Out here, all of our fighting and battles in New York seem a world away."

"Such is the mystery of the world, my son." Master Splinter replies, stroking his beard. "Darkness and light coexist with each other, and the two sides balance each other out. This intermingling of chaos and order gives the world it's zen, and allows all things to continue in balance."

Nodding my head at his sage but esoteric advice, I continue to clean my blade, as the world goes by beneath us. Meanwhile, Donnie was at the blimp's controls, guiding the zeppelin towards the approaching Central American coast.

"Hey, guys? We're coming up on the central American coast now." Our nerdy brother calls back to us. "If you guys want to see something amazing, you should come up and take a look out the front view port, right now."

The four of us enter the front cabin... and are were awestruck by what we see. The endless sea of blue gave way to the endless sea of green. The green canopy of the tropical rain forest formed an impenetrable roof beneath us, making the ground below completely hidden from view. It wasn't long, however, before the jungle gave way to cleared lands. It was inhabited land; filled with villages, farms, and fields. Several hours later, we are approaching a medium sized city, filled with red-tiled roofs and old colonial buildings. Donnie looks back at us with a wide grin.

"My brothers, welcome to the city of Santa Ana."

We touch down in a dingy old airport on the edge of the city, and dock the blimp in a dingy old hanger. Stepping off of the gondola, we close the giant hangar door, before unloading the turtle van. After we have gotten everything unpacked and settled, Mikey is eager to get this show on the road.

"So dudes, you guys ready for a night on the town?" He asks enthusiastically. "Man, I can't wait to get out there, and meet all those pretty senoritas!"

"Now hold on a minute, Romeo!" Raph puts a hand on his shoulder. "You know we can't go out there and show our faces! Those people will be freaking out the moment they spot us!"

"Not necessarily, Raph." I tell him, handing each of my brothers a trench coat and fedora. "You guys know how the Maboroshi no Jutsu allows us to appear bigger and scarier? Well, I thought maybe we could use the jutsu to blend in with humans in a crowded area."

Putting on my hat and coat, I lower my head, and concentrate. My shape vaguely blurs, and suddenly I look like a human (well, if you don't look too closely). All of my brothers gasp in shock.

"Duuuude! That is sooo awesome!" Mikey yells excitedly. "Now we can go around in public!"

"This is incredible!" Donnie exclaims, walking around and examining me. "Unless somebody is paying close attention, you would just blend into a crowd."

"So, you played around with the disguise jutsu a bit, and came up with a human illusion, huh?" Rpah asks. "Good Job, Leo. Kinda makes up for you being a jerk that time we wanted look human on the outside."

"Guys, remember... our human appearance is just an illusion." I tell them, as the others put on their trench coats and fedoras and perform the jutsu to change. "If you interact with people for too long or draw a lot of people's attention to yourself, they'll see through it. So let's be careful out there." I then turn to master Splinter, offering him a coat and hat. "You coming with us, sensei?"

"No, you and your brothers go ahead, Leonardo." Master Splinter replies, sitting on the floor in a cross-legged position, and closing his eyes. "I shall remain here, and meditate for awhile."

I can tell something is bothering out father, but my brothers and I are eager to get out and see the city. Making sure we're well disguised, we walk out of the hangar door, and head out for a day on the town.

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There are no words to describe how amazing it is, to be able to go out during the daytime, and just blend into the crowd. Santa Ana is incredible, a much different place that our own beloved New York. I want to see the Museo regional history museum, while Donnie is excited to stop at the Escuela de la Artes, the art museum. Raph finds a few moments of peace in his angry existence at the Santa Ana cathedral, while Mikey goes crazy going through the stores of the Metrocentro de Santa Ana mall. Everyone got a little of what they wanted out of the trip, making it one of the most fun times we four brothers have ever had together.

"Dude, this mall is so totally AWSEOME!" Mikey calls out, when we're sure everyone else is out of earshot. "I love this vacation!"

And some of the things we got to try! For lunch we get to eat this really delicious tortilla called the Pupusa- it kind of reminds me of a gordita, but tastes even better! We ordered about thirty of the things, stuffed with pepperoni, cheese, and pizza sauce, and they barely lasted ten minutes. Mikey managed to pick up a recipe book, and I know we'll be having Pupusa pizza for awhile when we get back home.

Raph wants to prove how macho he was, so he uses his ninja skills to climb up a tall tree, and knock some kind of cashew fruit that the locals seem to love. I tried some of the - Marañones, I think it's called? I think the fruit tastes too sweet, but my three brothers seem to like it well enough. Raph's feat did draw some unwanted attention from the locals, so we had to get out of there, quick.

Now, I think it's really great to be able to go around the city like that in the daytime, but we're all sad we aren't able to interact with anyone in the city, do to the disguise nature of the jutsu. True, Donnie is the only one of us who speaks Spanish fluently, but it felt like we were still isolated from the rest of the world, not being able to interact with anybody else for too long.

Ah, well. Perhaps things we'll be better later tonight, when we all split up and go our separate ways to enjoy ourselves for the evening. I just hope everything goes well for my brothers; I've learned to trust them, but I'm still afraid they'll get themselves into some trouble....