Hello my lovely readers! I am so sorry for no stories, no word, and no nothing from me for so long. I am a horrible person. I am especially sorry for abandoning The Plan. It just wasn't working. Well, now I have some news for y'all. As you can see from clicking on this, I am starting a new story! I have no idea where this is headed. Seriously. Not a clue, but if you like suspense, plot twists and action then you have come to the right place. Please remember to comment after reading- the more comments there are, the sooner a new chapter will be posted. Thanks for reading! Enjoy the chapter, and have an amazing day!

I remembered when Leo crashed through that window. I was terrified.

I remembered watching Sensei drown. I was shocked.

I remembered fleeing the city. I was devastated.

I remembered arriving at the house. I was angry.

I remembered waiting for my brother to wake up. I was disappointed.

It had been three months. I didn't think he was ever going to wake up, but no one would dare tell Raph that. He kept a constant vigil at Leo's side, day in and day out, night after night, just waiting. Sure, he still trained with us, but things were different; we could all tell. Sensei wasn't there to guide us, and Leo wasn't there to help us.

When we had gotten to the farmhouse we were all still reeling from the shock of the day. The punches had just never stopped coming. First Irma the Kraang, then the invasion, then we all became separated, mutagen was everywhere. Leo flew through the window nearly dead, my dad was mutated… again, and we had to leave the city we loved. Casey's family was gone, and two of my best friends were too, even though technically, Irma was never real. I couldn't lose anyone else. Leo was my best friend, like an older brother. Donnie and I had our moments, but the one I knew I could go to without fail for help was Leo. Now he was gone, ripped from us cruelly by the Shredder.

Donnie wouldn't tell us anything, but you could see it in his eyes. That purple bandana masked tear stains and dark circles. He was a wreck, and who could blame him? The survival of his older brother rested entirely on his shoulders. Things were tough, tougher than they had ever been. I thought the technodrome was insane, but this were an entirely new level of crazy. People turned into monsters on a city wide scale? It should never have been possible.

I didn't think anything could be worse than waiting for your older brother to appear and magically not be dead, and I only experienced that for a few minutes when the technodrome crashed all those years ago.

Three months have passed.

I missed how it used to be, but I knew we could never return to late night movies and pizza or training in a real dojo with a sensei instead of on dew soaked grass in the morning. I wanted to eat real, uncanned food, and I wanted to take a walk without being afraid the Kraang were venturing further into the world. I wanted to joke and laugh and goof off with the guys. What I really wanted was my family. I wanted my family back.

"April!" roared a distinctively deep voice from the house, interrupting my thoughts.

"What is it, Raph?" I yelled back, reluctant to go back inside.

I was sitting in the crook of an old maple tree writing in my journal. The last thing I really wanted to do was go back inside the dark, depressing house.

"April! We need you in here now!" Raph yelled back, sounding strained and nervous.

I leapt out of the tree and dashed towards the house. I didn't see anyone when I went inside, and I grew nervous. Fearing the worst had happened, I practically flew up the stairs to the bathroom where we kept Leo. To my shock, no one was in there but Leo, who was still lying limp and unconscious in the bath tub. I ran back down the stairs two at a time; my mind was racing.

"Raph? This isn't funny, where are you?" I called out, searching each room as I passed it.

No one in the living room, dining room, closet, or anywhere. Finally I arrived at the kitchen, my gut telling me that no one would be in there either when suddenly a splitting pain shot through my skull. My senses were going crazy, someone or something was in the kitchen.

I jumped through the door, my fan at the ready to attack the intruders when suddenly the kitchen lights turned on. I stood stupidly in the door way staring uncomprehendingly at the scene before me. There was a cake, a real cake, on the counter. Donnie, Mikey, Raph, and Casey stood behind it grinning wildly, and Mikey was holding up a sad, yellow smiley-face balloon.

"Happy Birthday!" they all exclaimed together.

I blanked. It was my birthday? They'd done this for me? With everything going on, I had completely forgotten that it was today. I smiled.

"Thanks guys!" I said, as they ran towards me for a hug.

"We thought you'd like it, Red," Casey said with a smirk.

"I made the cake! Donnie went into town to scavenge ingredients with Raph and-"Mikey gushed.

Donnie slapped a hand over Mikey's mouth while Raph rolled his eyes, effectively forcing Mikey to stop talking. I cringed; the cake suddenly didn't look so appealing. They shouldn't have risked so much for me. They could have been killed! Or worse, mutated.

"Don, you shouldn't have done that. You guys could've gotten hurt," I said sadly.

"But we didn't. Look, it's your seventeenth birthday today- that's a big deal considering none of us should have lived to see it. Don't freak out, don't be upset, just enjoy the cake," Raph said lowly.

"But you guys could've been hurt! What would have happened to us if you guys died trying to get cake ingredients?" I protested.

"April, really, it was no biggie. Now please calm down," Donnie insisted.

They were looking at me hopefully, and I couldn't stay mad at them, not when we were all still worried. I'd talk to them later, for now, it was time to eat.

"You're right. Let's eat!" I said, forcing a grin.

We sat and ate and talked, and it was almost normal. Almost. We all still felt the gaping holes left by Splinter and Leo. I dug into my slice of cake, and I could almost imagine I was back in the Lair in the kitchen. I pretended not to notice how dry the cake was, how obvious it was that many ingredients had been substituted for something else. It was the thought that counted after all, and cake was cake.

After a while, Raph quietly excused himself and we all pretended that we didn't hear his heavy footsteps going up the stairs to Leo. We kept talking, and Mikey and Donnie got into a fight over who could stay in a handstand the longest. Mikey won- Casey knocked Don over with a well-placed hockey stick. Laughing heartily, I forgot the world until the sun went down, and then we all moved to the living room to watch Mikey's favorite show.

It was an old one, but it was the only channel that still came through. It was re-runs of old cartoons, sometimes with news interruptions, all day every day. Mikey couldn't get enough. Everything felt about as normal as the days ever were now. We had fallen into a routine:

Wake up early, Train, Eat, and Free time, Eat, Chores, Training, Eat, Cartoons, Bed, and Repeat.

We have lived like this for the past three months, and though I was grateful we hadn't been put into any immediate danger, I was dying for some action. I needed an adventure. I didn't think I could watch another cartoon or journal any more than I already have. Today was different, the cake was exciting, but other than that it was still the same old boring routine. I knew Casey was going stir- crazy too; a guy can only work on a truck for so long.

Donnie and Mikey were doing fine. Donnie had inexhaustible improvements to make to the house and plans to save New York to create. Mikey had animals to take care of and a supply of old comic books Raph found in the barn to occupy him. Raph… well, Raph was managing. With Leo out of commission, he was supposed to be leading us, but instead that task fell onto me. Raph stormed off one day and didn't return until midnight. Mikey was beside himself with worry, and when Raph came back he and I had a fight that rivaled he and Leo's in intensity.

After that, Raph didn't say much. He'd watch Leo, train, go punch some stuff, come back and watch Leo. He ate little, and when he did he almost always ate alone. I didn't like what had happened to our once happy family. We were falling apart at the seams.