A couple days had passed since the Slender Man incident. Everyone still felt uncomfortable playing the game, but were slowly getting better, considering.

On one of the upper floors of Ecbatana Apartments, Arslan stood in his kitchen, talking on the phone.

"You've got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed. He crossed over to the fridge, opened it, and took out a Capri Sun drink pouch. He kicked the door shut, then got back to his conversation. "Seriously? Over a few jokes?!" He sighed and poked the dark yellow straw through the drink pouch. "Jesus H. Christ! What the heck's wrong with him?!" He flinched, as if being yelled at, and said, "Sorry, Mom. I shouldn't have said that. I know, I know that's not like me at all. I'm sorry. It's just...Well, I was really hoping you guys would be home today. When do you think you'll be back?" He frowned, and his voice took on a disappointed tone. "Oh. Okay. Maybe we can do something when you get back. Okay. Tell Dad I miss him. Love you. Bye." He hung up, then picked up his Capri Sun and walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. He sat down on the couch, sulking and very quickly draining the contents of his drink.

Shireen, who had already been sitting on the couch and watching an episode of Cops, saw that Arslan didn't look too happy. Concerned, she turned her attention away from the TV and asked her brother what was wrong.

"Mom and Dad are staying longer," Arslan replied sadly.

"What? But why?" Shireen asked. "Don't they know it's your birthday?"

"They know," said Arslan. "But apparently, two days ago, Dad overreacted to a comedian making jokes about him looking demonic-you know, like we do. Anyway, in response, he loses his cool. He beats up the comedian, terrorizes the rest of the audience, and throws a table out of a closed window. The table hits a police car, and two police officers are injured in the process! He was able to get in front of a judge quickly enough. Unfortunately, Dad's gonna be in an Italian jail for the rest of this month, and some of next. Mom thinks she and Uncle Osroes can convince the judge to reduce the sentence, but she doesn't think they can get him out any sooner than two weeks."

Shireen's jaw dropped after hearing the story. After getting herself together, she hugged Arslan and said, "I'm sorry, Ars."

Arslan hugged Shireen back and said, "I think I'll be okay."

A young girl who looked almost identical to Arslan entered the lobby. She looked to be around fifteen years old, and wore her white hair in a navy blue headband.

"Oh, hey, Layla," the doorman greeted the girl.

"Hi, Liam," the girl known as Layla said cheerfully. She adjusted the backpack she carried with her and headed towards the elevator.

"Going to see your brother?" Liam asked while flipping through the newspaper.

"Yup," Layla replied. She pressed the "UP" button and waited for the elevator to arrive. While waiting, she heard some unfamiliar voices behind her, and turned to see five people she didn't recognize-four boys and a girl-enter the lobby. What she found curious was that the boys were dressed in what she thought were full turtle costumes. Not only were they fully dressed like turtles, they also wore masks over their eyes, and carried weapons, which she hoped were fake.

The turtles, along with their friend, April O'Neil, were walking towards the elevator. They greeted Liam and continued their conversation.

"Are you sure we'll get along?" April asked.

"Trust me, April," said Raph. "We know these two. They're cool."

"Yeah, you'll be friends before you know it!" Mikey said excitedly.

"But what if they don't like me?" April asked.

"That's ridiculous," Donnie said and smiled. "How could anyone not like you? You're funny, smart, pretty-Did I say pretty? I meant...You're easy on the eyes, and..." He cleared his throat as soon as he, his brothers, and April reached the elevator. "Uh, is anyone else hot in here? Hehe..." They stood next to Layla and waited for the elevator.

Layla stared at April and the turtles. "You guys going up, too?"

"Yup-" Mikey said, then stopped and stared at Layla. "Ars?"

"Huh?" Layla asked, confused, wondering why one of the turtles called her by her brother's nickname.

"Mikey, that's not Arslan," Leo said.

Mikey took another look at Layla then looked back at Leo. "Are you sure?"

"Well, considering Ars sometimes wears his hair in a ponytail instead of a headband, this kid's obviously at least a foot taller than him, and I highly doubt Arslan would wear a pink T-shirt with a leaf on it, yes," said Leo. "Oh, also, she's a girl."

Mikey turned to Layla and asked, "You're a girl?!"

"Of course I am," said Layla. "You couldn't tell?"

"You look almost exactly like Ars," Mikey said.

"That's because he's my brother," said Layla. "And how do you know Ars?"

"We're Arslan's friends," Leo explained.

"Mikey didn't know she's a girl?" April whispered to Donnie.

"You know Mikey," Donnie whispered back. "He's a bit dim."

"Yeah, but still," April said.

Leo introduced himself and his brothers. "I'm Leonardo. These are my brothers, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo."

"You can call us Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey," said Raph.

"I didn't know Ars had a twin," Mikey said.

"He doesn't," said Layla. "I'm two years older than him. And he never told me he had turtles for friends."

"We actually just became friends with him and Shireen recently," Donnie said. "We're going up to see them, and introduce them to another friend of ours." He turned to April and introduced her to Layla. "This is April O'Neil. And we didn't get your name."

"My name's Layla," Layla replied. "Layla Harkness." She and the others noticed the elevator doors opening and got in. Once everyone was inside and the doors closed, Layla pushed the button for Arslan's floor. As the elevator ascended, Mikey could be heard humming "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King.

"So," Donnie said. "I noticed you have a different last name than Arslan. Are you his half sister or something?"

"Correct," said Layla. "I'm from our mom's first marriage."

"How come we haven't met you before now?" Leo asked.

"I live with my dad most of the time," said Layla. "He lives in Northampton. Ars, Rena, and I chat via Skype most of the time, so we get to see each other a lot, even when I'm not able to visit."

"Oh. Makes sense," Leo commented.

"I really need to ask this," Layla said. "What's with the turtle costumes? The Mellarks aren't having another costume party until sometime next month. And please tell me those weapons are fake."

Mikey stopped humming and turned to Layla. "The weapons are real. And these aren't costumes. We're real mutant turtles. And we're ninjas. That's why we have real weapons."

"What?!" Layla asked with a disbelieving chuckle. She laughed some more, then stopped and looked around the elevator once she noticed nobody else was laughing. "He's not kidding, is he?" April and the other three turtles shook their heads "No". Layla's eyes widened, and she let out a deep breath. "Wow. That's a lot to take in. Well...My brother always did have a way with making friends with interesting characters. So, I can't say I'm all that surprised." She turned to April and asked, "You're not a mutant like in X-Men, are you?"

"No, of course not," said April. "That would be impossible."

"Not necessarily," Donnie began to explain. "Theoretically speaking-"

"Uh, maybe later, Donnie," April interrupted the purple-masked turtle. "We're here." She gestured to the floor the elevator stopped on.

"Oh, right," said Donnie. He and the others exited the elevator and made their way down the hall. As they reached Arslan's apartment, they knocked on the door. They were greeted by Arslan and Shireen, whose countenances brightened upon seeing Layla and the turtles in the hall. They invited everyone in.

"Hey, guys, I'm glad you're here," Arslan said to the turtles. "I see you met my big sister." He turned to Layla and said, "It's great to see you, too, Layla."

Layla smiled and gave Arslan a hug. "Like I wasn't gonna visit my baby brother on his birthday?"

"It's great to see you, sis!" Shireen said and joined in the hug.

"It's great to see you, too, Rena," said Layla. She ruffled the little girl's hair and smiled warmly at her.

"Ars, today's your birthday?" Leo asked. "Why didn't you tell us when it was?"

Arslan chuckled and said, "Sorry. I guess I forgot. Brain fart."

"Well, happy birthday," said Leo.

"Oh, man," Mikey groaned. "And we didn't get you a present."

Shireen noticed April standing in the living room and asked, "Who's she?"

Leo started and said, "Oh! Right. Arslan, Shireen, this is our friend, April O'Neil. April, this is Arslan Baris and his little sister, Shireen."

"Nice to meet you, finally," April said. "And happy birthday. The turtles told me a lot about you."

"The turtles told me a lot about you, too," Arslan replied. "Donnie, especially." Nobody noticed Donnie blushing slightly.

"Really?" April asked.

"Yeah," Shireen said and laughed. "He went on and on about how pretty you are. About your hair, your eyes, your smile. I think he might be in-"

"Okay, Shireen, that's enough!" Donnie exclaimed nervously and turned the child to look at him. "Please don't tell April how I feel about her," he pleaded quietly. "It'll be embarrassing!"

"Oh," Shireen said and understood. "Okay, Donnie, I promise. I won't tell."

"Thank you," Donnie said with a sigh of relief.

Layla looked around the room, then asked, "Hey, Ars? Where are Mom and Andy? I thought they were supposed to be home by now." Arslan sighed sadly and told Layla, the turtles, and April what happened, why his parents weren't home on his birthday. After hearing the full story, Layla and the others felt terrible for Arslan. Mikey even looked like he wanted to cry.

"I am so sorry, Ars," Layla said and put an arm around her brother's shoulders. "What the heck was Andragoras thinking, that stupid idiot?"

"I guess he wasn't," Shireen said and pouted. "Stupid Dad."

"Come on, guys," Arslan said with a forced smile. "It'll be okay."

"But it's not okay," Layla firmly said. "Your dad's in jail, and because of that, he and Mom are missing your birthday. This is not okay. This'll be the third one in a row they've missed!"

'This isn't good,' Mikey thought. 'Ars can't have a good birthday if he's unhappy. Arslan's trying to hide it, but I can tell he's sad. There must be something we can do.' After racking his brain, Mikey thought, 'Wait, there is!' He turned to Arslan and said, "Hey, why don't you give Daryun a call and see what he's up to?"

"Great idea," Arslan said. He got up off the couch, got his hoodie and shoes on, picked up his Smartphone, and left the apartment.

"I stand by my opinion. This is not okay!" Layla called after Arslan. After he was out of earshot, she closed the door and asked Mikey why he sent her brother out of the apartment.

"I figured out how we can help Ars!" Mikey replied excitedly.

"How?" Leo asked.

"We're gonna throw him an awesome birthday party!" said Mikey.

"That is a great idea," Leo said after a short silence.

"I can't believe Mikey actually came up with a good idea," Raph commented.

"Thanks," Mikey said proudly and grinned. His grin faded when he realized Raph was making fun of him. "Hey!"

"It is a cool plan, but where are we going to have the party?" April asked.

"We could have it at the Lair," said Donnie. "I'm sure Splinter wouldn't mind as long as we ask him first."

"I can make a run to the party store with Hermes, Farangis, and Gieve," Layla offered happily. "We could pick up the supplies to decorate."

"Good idea," said Leo. "Who else could we invite?"

"Obviously, we're inviting Elam and the others," said Raph.

"But we can't let Arslan know what's going on," said Layla. "So we're gonna need a distraction."

"Daryun can take him to the movies," Shireen suggested. "That'll give us time to get ready."

"I'll call Daryun right now, and tell him what's up," said Layla. She took out her Smartphone and tapped Daryun's number.

"We should head to the Lair and make sure it's okay with Splinter if we have the party there," said Leo.

"April, Layla, and I can call the other guests," Shireen said.

"Sounds good," said Leo. "We'll call you and let you know if we have permission to use the Lair."

"Sounds like a plan," said April.

"Ready? Break!" Mikey said. Everyone split up to complete their individual tasks.

The turtles left Arslan's apartment and sprinted to the elevator, just as Arslan was getting ready to use his cell. Mikey pretended to bump into him, causing him to drop the phone so he wouldn't call Daryun while Layla was calling him.

"Oops," Mikey said. "Sorry, Ars."

"Mikey, you need to be more careful!" Raph said in a mock scolding voice.

"It's okay, Raph," Arslan said after picking his phone back up and putting it back in his pocket. "What are you guys doing out here?"

"Master Splinter wants us home for training," Leo said. "So we need to hurry back ASAP."

"Oh, that's too bad," Arslan said.

"It's okay," said Donnie. "Your sisters are hanging out with April, and we can all do something later."

"Sounds great," Arslan replied as the elevator arrived. He and the turtles entered, and the doors closed. He pressed the button for the lobby. As the elevator descended, Mikey started humming "Master of the House" from Les Miserables.

"Stop it, or I'll smack the green off of you!" Raph yelled at Mikey.

"Sorry, Raph," Mikey said and stopped humming.

'But I like that song,' Arslan thought.

After the elevator arrived at the lobby, Arslan and the turtles stepped out of the open doors and walked out of the lobby. After exiting the building, Arslan and the turtles went their separate ways: Arslan on his way to Daryun's place, and the turtles on their way to the Lair.