April knew that saying yes was a bad idea.

She knew it from the moment Donatello brought up the proposal. There was no way it could end in anything besides disaster. There would probably be broken furniture and bruised egos involved. Master Splinter would have her head. But Don had given her that look, that look that said "You're one of my only friends, I've had it rough lately and this would mean the world to me" and April found herself doomed to agreeing to his stupid idea.

She should have never told him that she knew how to play Dungeons and Dragons.

"No. No way," Raph said as he took a look at his character sheet. He slammed it down onto the tabletop and the dice in the middle shook. No one physically reacted, far too used to his outbursts. He pointed his finger at Don who was seated across from him. "It's bad enough that you convinced fearless into this-"

"It'll help us with strategy. A training exercise," Leo piped up from next to April, taking a second to glance up from his character sheet to glare at Raph. If Don actually managed to convince Leo that Dungeons and Dragons was a suitable training exercise, April was seriously underestimating his skills at persuasion. She'd bet good money that Leo was just looking for an excuse to play. She'd seen him eying her set before when he visited her room in the past.

Raph ignored Leo's comments. "and it's bad enough we have to play in the first place. But this? You have to take a dive at my dignity? That's the last straw."

Don was sitting across from Raph, flipping though the Dungeon Master's guide, occasionally looking up to check that Mikey wasn't trying to read over his shoulder (he was). April had no idea why he was bothering to review, he'd already read the thing at least four times now since he borrowed it from her, but she wasn't going to deny her best friend his neuroses. If Donnie wanted to read about skill checks for the 12th time, that was his prerogative.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Don said, in a voice so steady that April would have believed him if he wasn't smirking. It was his giveaway (she'd picked up on most of the Turtle's except for Leo, who had a poker face she couldn't believe). She sighed, reaching forward to pull Raph's character sheet away from him. Don probably messed with the character sheets she made for each of his brothers. She would have done the same in his place. She scanned through the information of the sheet. Most of her work was still there, the fighter class, the skill set, even the weapons. Hell, the name (Zorro, because Raph was a nerd whether he wanted to admit it or not) was even intact. It was only once she saw the race that she realized what Don changed.

"Really, Donnie," she said. She expected better from him. "Halfing? I wrote human here for a reason."

There had, in fact, been a reason. Despite his efforts otherwise, April saw past Raph's "strong tough guy" façade. The guy could be sensitive. Usually it was about important things, like his brothers, or his father, or his feelings. But there was one silly thing that bothered him like nothing else. His height. Or lack therefore of.

The smirk on Donnie's face grew wide. He licked his fingers before turning another page. "Well," he said, tone perfectly innocent. "I thought we should try to obtain some realism throughout-"

And there it was. Raph's berserk button. Don had finally crossed the line. Before she could even blink, Raph flung himself towards Don, across the table, hands outstretched, ready to do some serious damage. The dice went flying. It she didn't have any ninja training, they would have hit April right in the face. Don let out a loud squeak, and soon enough him and his older brother were on the floor in a heap. It reminded April of two cats wrestling over a ball of yarn. Leo was already out of his chair, attempting to intervene before there was more serious damage.

April sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Maybe they'd actually manage to start the game in the next hour. If they were lucky. She turned to Mikey who was still in his seat, reading his own character sheet. He was entirely focused. She wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to memorize his character history. She'd put a lot of thought into it after all; Mikey seemed the most suited for escapism. April had a feeling he'd take well to the wizard character she crafted up for him (she even threw in a trusty feline sidekick). She looked back to his brothers (her brothers, honestly, these days). Leo was currently trying to free Donnie from Raph's headlock. Then she looked back to Mikey. Well, at least one person was cooperating-

She paused in mid thought. No way. She couldn't. She shouldn't.

There was another loud yelp and another die went flying right past April's nose. Her facial expression grew very serious. That settled it. She would. The game was destined to be a crap-shoot anyway. It might as well be a fun crap shoot.

April placed her character sheet on the table and reached over to grab the Dungeon Master's guide. Some of the corners were bent. Likely Don's attempt at bookmarking. She'd have to talk to him about messing with her books later. After a deep breath, she stood up on her chair. Cleared her throat. Loudly. All the boys turned to look at her.

"Since this is my guide, we're playing by my rules," she said, her voice echoing throughout the lair. Hopefully, it wouldn't wake up Splinter. "I'm changing the dungeon master." Don, who was currently being squashed by Raph, looked at her with utter confusion. Served him right.

"But I thought you hated being DM," he said, his voice a squeak. Having a brother sit on your shell probably did that to you.

April O' Neil was not a scary girl. She didn't carry the same confidence as Karai, the same skill set, the same brutal wit. But the grin that spread across April's face in that exact moment was absolutely terrifying.

"I do. Which is why-" she turned to only turtle left seated. "I'm giving the guide to Mikey." She handed the guide to Mikey and placed it in his outstretched hands. Gave him a little bow. "Use this power wisely."

Mikey stared down at the book. Ran his hand across the cover. And then, in a voice softer than April thought he was capable of, Mikey finally spoke.

"Cool."

Mikey would not end up using that power wisely. In the next hour, they would end up burning down a town, attacking the wrong goblin lair, and fighting a mutant pizza. Raph's character would take at least two arrows to the same knee. Don would complain about not being able to invent electricity. Leo would keep refusing to steal despite being a thief. Tables would end up overturned. Character sheets would end up ripped. Noogies would be had.

It was the best game of Dungeons and Dragons April played all year. Next time, she'd have to invite Casey.