Oh my god! I'm sorry it's late. I've been really really sick, so unfortunately when I got better, finishing up the chapter was the last thing on the list because sadly, real life comes first.

Anywhos, enjoy! And don't forget to submit your "Yes!"s to see this FF turned into a web-comic! We need 100 before May!

Enjoy!


Part 1 April

Ru~ub

The sound of the marker running across the calender echoed throughout the lair.

It was such a small easily drowned out noise. The reason it was able to over power any noise was because...it was the only noise inside the lair.

Michelangelo faced the calender, he appeared to be upset and frankly, out of energy.

The youngest of the four brothers, (although he had recently been deeming himself as the oldest), was usually full of energy. The bright orange of his mask easily reflected his true personality. However,...in the last week or so Mikey had found himself...less than entertaining.

Ever since they had found Aprils father she had been spending less and less time here. Sometimes she would only show up for her training with Master Splinter and then leave. He knew she wasn't avoiding them because she didn't like them anymore. He had easily wiped that thought from his mind. No...she was just busy with her father. She was spending almost everyday with him after school, making up for lost time.

None of the brothers blamed her for this, and they were actually happy for her.

But one thing Mikey noticed about her absence was how...quiet it had become in the lair.

Every now and then the brothers would exchange a few words, the sounds of clinking metal or the whoosh of swinging wood could be heard from the dojo, or once in awhile Leo would turn on the TV. Other than that...none of them spoke.

Mikey had been doing his best to try and fill the lair with noise again, by blasting the radio, or just by causing mass chaos in general. Alas, that only resulted in him getting in trouble with his brothers, and on one occasion, Splinter.

Splinter had been the most understanding of Mikeys need for there to be some form of entertainment happening, but he was also aware of how there needed to be harmony between the family for Mikey to...function properly. Unfortunately his brothers weren't as "forgiving."

Continuing to stare at the calender he slowly took in a deep breath and let out a soft quiet sigh. He clenched his eyes shut and by the look on his face one could tell that he was preparing himself. Within an instant his eyes burst open and he threw on his best full teethed grin as he turned around to his brothers who were scattered about in different areas of the main room of the lair.

"GUYS GUYS GUYS! Guess what's happening in a week!" Yelled Mikey excitedly.

"You're gonna stay out of our way?" Added Raphael sarcastically as he continued to flip through the pages in his comic book.

"Pssshhh!" Said Mikey as he dismissed his brother, "No! Come on guys! Guess better!"

Leo sighed as he turned off the TV. He looked to his youngest brother and smiled as he tried to pretend he cared, "All right Mikey, what is it?"

Mikey did a little hop in delight to the fact that someone was interested (even if he wasn't really). He then jumped to Leos side with a loud thunk that even drew Donnie and Raphs attention from their current activities.

"I'm glad you asked Leo." Said Mikey brimming with excitement, "Next week is our...pause for dramatic effect...MUTATION DAY!"

The three brothers suddenly looked surprised, but...not in the way Mikey wanted them to be.

"Next week...really?" Said Donnie as he looked down to the floor.

Raph merely grunted, and Leo began to rub the top of his head.

"Wow...I can't believe it..." Said Leo as his eyes shifted back and forth across the floor.

Mikey raised a curious eyebrow as he looked at each of his brothers, "What is it?" The confidence and excitement that he had only moments ago suddenly drained, and he felt defeated.

Donnie looked back to Mikey, "It's just...I can't believe it's been a year..."

"It feels like it was only yesterday..." Added Leo.

Mikey then realized what was going on. Their entire lives their Mutation day was one of the few things that changed their mundane day to day activities. It was the one day a year where Splinter would sneak out to the surface and come back with more than just regular food. It had always been a day to look forward to and the year before had been no different. Last years had been extremely special...It had been the first time Splinter had allowed them to go up to the surface. It had been so exciting. Nothing they had ever experienced could measure up to how wonderful being on the surface was for the first time. But that had changed very quickly when they met April. They didn't know it at that moment, but by saving her they had managed to pull themselves into a war.

The four brothers didn't mind going out every night and "playing" hero. They actually enjoyed it more than anything else. Taking down an ill-will doer was something that made them feel good inside. However,...fighting every night just to keep your family from being slaughtered was a different story.

Snake Weed, Spider Bites, The Rat King, The Purple Dragons, Bradford and Xever, the foot clan, Karai, The Kraang and Shredder...

All of these people needed to be stopped, but the four brothers knew that they would have never met any of these bad guys if they hadn't rescued April that night. They did not regret rescuing April by any means. She was their closest and dearest friend, but sometimes the brothers wished that maybe for one night...just one...if they hadn't met her then maybe they wouldn't be in such a predicament.

"I guess...it has been a year." Said Mikey solemnly, almost feeling sorry that he brought it up. He quickly shook it from his mind and smiled again, "It's even MORE reason to get excited! Look at everything that's happened over the last year! We survived it, and we're stronger for it! Doesn't that mean anything to you guys? We should celebrate!" Squealed Mikey happily.

Leo sighed, he knew his brothers heart was in the right place, but he couldn't help but still feel a little run down from their sudden "realization." "Mikey. It is a nice thought, but I think we're a little to busy, you know, saving the world, to worry about celebrating. Maybe next year." Leo then turned back to the TV and turned it back on. Donnie and Raph then went back to what they were doing. Once again the lair was silent. The only sounds heard were the TV, Donnies clinking from working on his machine, and Spike eating a piece of lettuce next to Raph.

Mikey merely lowered his head and drug his feet to the dojo. At least if he was alone in the Dojo he wouldn't feel...completely weird. As he slid the door shut he leaned against the wall and then sank to the floor. From his belt pocket he pulled out the hand held video game device Donnie had made him awhile ago and started clicking at the buttons. Playing video games was all he could do.

For a while he sat here going from one game to the next. He realized he had played through at least four games, but didn't even remember going through them. He had just been on complete auto pilot. He didn't want to play anymore, but he didn't know what else to fill his time with so he continued to slowly click through his current game.

"Your Kanji is very good I see." Splinters voice echoed next to Mikey. He had been standing over him and hovering his son while he played the game.

Mikey looked up with an eyebrow raised, "My Kanji Sensei?" One thing about the brothers that most wouldn't expect after meeting them would be that their first language had actually been Japanese. It wasn't until they were about four or five that Splinter had decided to teach them English. Just in case anything ever happened to him and they needed to communicate with the outside world here in America.

All four of the boys knew how to read and write in both languages, but the Kanji alphabet was a bit harder for Mikey to grasp, and as a result, he only knew about 150 kanji.

Mikey looked down to the game and realized it was in Japanese but the text was heavily influenced with Kanji, rather than the typical hiragana alphabet. Seeing this, Mikey found himself a little surprised. Maybe those kanji lessons when he was younger had sunk in somewhere. "That's weird." Mikey was trying to start being playful, but he just couldn't muster the energy.

"What is the matter my son? You have not been yourself as of late." Asked Splinter. Mikey was certain that Splinter already knew the answer, but that he probably wanted to hear him say it.

Mikey sighed, and then stood up to face his father, "Sensei, Leo, Raph, and Donnie...they've just been so mopey lately. They're not fighting anymore which is good, but now nothing is happening...we act more like foot clan ninjas every day..." Mikey whispered out.

Splinters ears perked a little, it was a strange example for someone like Mikey to use. "Foot clan ninjas you say? Please explain."

Mikey looked up to Splinter with giant sad eyes. The brothers thought it was annoying, but the sad doe eyes always seemed to sting Splinters heart, though he wouldn't never admit it, "Sensei...the foot clan work as a team, and I've fought them enough to know they do it well. But...even though we're a team too, we're also brothers. I don't want to just be a team...I want my brothers to act like brothers again...so...next week is our Mutation day and I thought that it would be a perfect way to get them excited and act normal again, but it only made them even sadder..." Mikeys eyes lowered as he began to scan the floor. Splinter could tell just from looking at his son that he had begun to give up hope on the matter.

Splinter placed his hand on Mikeys shoulder, and he peered up at him. "Michelangelo. Do you know why your mask is orange?"

Mikeys eyes grew wide as he blankly stared at his sensei, "'Cause you...ran out of blue?" Mikey sincerely didn't know the answer, but his response earned him a small smack on the top of his head.

"No." Splinter turned from his son and walked over to the book case that held Splinters important treasures, including the picture of his old life and family. He pulled a long strand of ribbon that Mikey had never seen before, but by how it was laying he assumed that it had always been there. The ribbon from one end was Blue, to red, to purple, and the bottom was orange. The ends were bordered together with yellow thread. They blended together at the end of each color, but it clashed horribly. "In Japan, these colors represent different things...Ninjas have always typically worn black to conceal themselves, which represents mystery."

"That's PERFECT for ninjas!" Interrupted Mikey. Splinter glared at his son and Mikey quickly covered his mouth.

Splinter cleared his throat and began again, "The color blue represents that of a leader, I knew from when you were very young that Leonardo held the traits needed by a leader. He may be young to lead, but he does it well. Red represents life, love AND ferocity. Raphaels pet turtle Spike...when all of you were younger that turtle had been thrown to the sewers by someone above. It had been stuck in a rushing sewer line and with stubbornness and ferocity, Raphael saved its life. All the traits that represent the color red matched Raphael. Even if he is not always the most...loving of people."

"You can say that again." Pouted Mikey who began to rub his head in memory of all his painful smacks he had received from Raphael.

Splinter moved the ribbon to the next color, "The color purple represents intelligence and persistence. I am sure I do not need to explain why I gave Donatello this color." Mikey shook his head. Splinter then went down to the last main color of the ribbon, "Finally, the color orange. It represents joy and happiness. It is a skill you have had since you were very young. Brining joy to those around you. Even if they think you childish you bring people so much happiness my son. I know for certain that your brothers would not want you any other way. You were meant to always have a smile on your face. In fact..." Splinter suddenly stopped and gave a small nostalgic sigh.

Mikey raised and eyebrow, "Sensei?"

Splinter looked up to his son and gave a soft smile, "Michelangelo, I have not told you this before...but it was because of you that I chose to continue my life despite what had happened." Mikey was stricken with shock and surprise. He was completely silent. "My being transformed from a human to rat was...difficult. I had already dealt with the pain and sorrow of losing everything from my past I believed that that moment was the end for me. How could I continue on? But then...I looked at you. You were looking at you hands right after you had been hit with the ooze and mutated. Despite the suffering I was going through from being transformed I continued to look to you. You turned your head to me...you were so young, you didn't know what was happening...but when you looked at me, you gave me a wide smile. Everything else had lost importance in that moment. I knew where my destiny wanted me to go after seeing the happiness on your face. You filled me with joy in that moment I needed it most. I scooped the four of you into my arms, and then...I believe you know the rest."

The dojo grew quiet. Mikey was still stunned. He didn't know what to say. He looked away from Splinter to a sword on the wall and he could see his reflection. But all he could focus on was the orange mask that he wore. Secretly he had always wanted a cooler color, but now...his own heart was being filled with joy from his fathers words.

"You see my son. Even in the most difficult situations I know you can bring happiness to those who need it most."

Mikey turned back to Splinter with a wide smile across his face, "I will do my best to make you proud, Dad." Usually Splinter preferred for his sons to refer to him as father, but from seeing that giant smile on Michelangelos face he could not be angry.

"I know you will my son. Go. I believe you have a celebration to plan. But perhaps in secret. Your brothers may enjoy the surprise." He smiled to his son.

Mikey happily nodded and was about to walk out but then turned and looked back to the long ribbon in Splinters hand, "Master Splinter...if I can ask...why is there a random yellow border on that ribbon?"

Splinter smiled at his son. "The color yellow reminds me of my wife and daughter...Yellow represents one being refined, and beautiful."

Mikey stared blankly for a moment, but a smile once again creeped across his face. He then bowed to Splinter and ran out of the dojo.

"I have always been proud of your selflessness my Son." Smiled Splinter.


The yellow border on that ribbon had given Mikey an idea he should have thought of from the moment his brothers got upset. Maybe the yellow reminded Splinter of his daughter, and his wife, but Yellow would always remind the four brothers of April.

Maybe April wouldn't have thought so, but Mikey thought Refined and beautiful matched April perfectly.

April had always managed to make the brothers feel better in their times of fear and doubt. Even if she didn't know it. Maybe if April was more into the idea of a celebration, the others would be too.

It was early evening. As the sun was setting Mikey carefully jumped from one building to the next, doing his best to avoid being seen by all the people traveling home from their busy work day. After some time Mikey finally landed on the apartment building that belonged to Aprils aunt. He slowly creeped down the fire escape and knocked quietly on the window.

Nothing

He knocked again. Still nothing.

Then the thought suddenly struck Mikey, and he gave himself a decent face palm. Of course April wasn't here. She was probably back at her real house with her father.

Before he left he noticed that there was a small opening in the curtain that he could peer through. He couldn't help himself. The room looked so empty and lifeless without her or her things in there. For a moment Mikey felt bad for Aprils aunt. She had probably been so used to April living there that now that she was gone she was probably lonely.

Mikey shoved the thought from his head and took off for Aprils real home.

Luckily for him, Aprils street was a little quieter than most. As night fell he was able to walk out onto the street and plainly knock on the door. He could only hear two people inside the house. He assumed it was just April and her Dad. Luckily, it was. Aprils father opened the door and smiled at Mikey, who gave a bit of a shy smile back.

"Hey there. Are you here to see April?" Asked Aprils father.

Mikey widely smiled at Aprils fathers warmth and inviting nature, "Yes. If that's okay."

"You and the other turtles are always welcome in my home." He stood to the side so Mikey could walk in and he could shut the door, "April. One of the turtles are here."

Mikey took in the room. It was different from the last time he had been here. Everything was clean, and the room had a vibrant warmth to it. The only thing that was still relatively the same was the perfume stain on the carpet that still gave off a slight hint of lavender.

"I'm guessing that you're Michelangelo." Said Aprils father breaking the silence. Mikey turned around and faced him.

"How did you guess right?" He asked smiling.

"April has told me all about all four of you. Don't worry, your secrets safe with me. She refuses to tell me about her training." He laughed

"Well ninjas are all about secrets." Added Mikey.

"She told me I would recognize you out of the four by your smile." Mikey stood frozen for a moment. "She said that your smile was so warm and friendly. She always felt safe when she was with you." As her father finished explaining, Mikey was a little dumbstruck. April had described him the same way Splinter had.

Mikeys smile alone had impacted Splinters life so much, he wondered if the reason April was able to describe his smile with words like warm and friendly...had he impacted her with it too? Though he wasn't sure if that was true Mikey still felt better inside from the thought of it. He was happy that he was able to help the people he cared for most.

Well...everyone except his brothers, currently. He refocused. He had to keep his "mission" in mind.

Suddenly he heard a door click followed by the tapping of foot steps going down stairs quickly. Mikey turned toward the stairs, and April stopped half way down.

"Mikey?!" She said with a huge excited smile on her face. Before Mikey could say anything she ran down the rest of the stairs and threw herself into him. Mikey happily squeezed her back. "I'm so glad to see you!" Said April as she looked up at him.

Mikey was smiling down at her and was happy to see her too. But she had been at the lair. If she really wanted to see them then why hadn't she stopped to say "Hi" longer?

Aprils father interrupted before anything else could be said, "How about instead of going out to dinner we just eat at home so Michelangelo can stay."

"Really?!" Squealed April excitedly.

Mikey let her go and gave out a nervous laugh, "Oh sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your plans. I can come back another time."

"Don't be silly. We'll order pizza instead." Said Aprils father happily reaching for the phone. Mikey found it impossible to say no to pizza and he smiled at April.


"Oh man, I can't believe school starts in three weeks." Complained April who was munching on a piece of pizza.

Mikey lifted an eyebrow, "Starts? I thought you already went to school."

April and her father gave out a few light hearted chuckles, "You see school only goes for a set number of months, but usually around the end of May students get to take a three month break from school. Then they begin all new classes."

Aprils Dad gave a small shake of his head "I'm still not ready for my little girl to be a Senior in High School."

"Get over it Dad." She laughed.

Mikey couldn't help but feel a little sad. This is how a family should be treating each other. Laughing, making jokes, and playing around. Not at all how he and his brothers had been acting.

"Oh, speaking of you becoming a senior. That means your birthday is coming up." Smiled Aprils Dad.

"Yup, that's right. I'll be 17 next week." She smiled

Mikeys attention was suddenly drawn to the conversation again, "Next week?"

"Yea. On Wednesday." She replied

Mikey suddenly jumped up in excitement, "Do you have anything planned?!"

April looked to her Dad who shook his head, she then turned back to Mikey and smiled, "No. Did you want to hang out on Wednesday?"

"Better! April, Wednesday is mine and my brothers mutat-birthday too! We should celebrate it all together!"

Aprils eyes widened and a happy smile creeped across her face. "That's a great idea, Mikey! What do you guys want to do?"

Mikey drew back a little bit, he didn't want April to worry so he thought about his answer before he said anything, "Actually April, the guys have been kind of down in the dumps lately. So I wanted to throw a surprise party." He smiled.

April looked at him silently for a moment. His response had been so delayed, and he looked like he had been debating on how to answer. She wasn't completely sure if Mikey was all right, but she decided to shake it off.

"That sounds like a great idea Mikey. Let's do it."

And just like that, the plan was set.


For the next week Mikey was running back and forth between the lair and Aprils. Seeing how playful he was being about everything no one really seemed to be worried. Plus he was staying out of everyones way, and whatever he was doing during the day wasn't affecting patrol at night.

Secretly, Leo was happy to see Mikey so active. As were Donnie and Raph. The three were actually starting to get a little curious about what it was Mikey had been doing. He had never been one to be so quiet.


Finally it was Tuesday. The day before their shared birthday/mutation day. Mikey was so excited he could hardly contain himself. All day he had been worried that he might accidentally let the secret out, but he managed.

It was about that time of the night for the brothers to leave and go out on patrol. Mikey was making his way to the dojo so he could grab his weapons but stopped just around the corner of the kitchen and secretly peered around to see Donnie and Splinter obviously having a "secret" conversation.

"I know she has training with you tomorrow, but do you think...just because it's our Mutation day...that...I could hang out with her? J-just for five minutes? Once she's done with your training she leaves to go spend time with her father, but a few minutes before your session even starts maybe sh-" Donnie was starting to ramble, so Splinter placed his hand up to silence his son.

"I'm sorry, Donatello. Usually I do have a training session with April on Wednesday evenings. However, she and her father had plans so she will not be coming here at all tomorrow." Donnies fluttering heart suddenly sank in disappointment. He merely nodded to Splinter sadly, then walked into the dojo, and emerged with his bo staff. Donnie then left for the entrance of the lair to wait for his brothers.

From across the room Mikey smiled at Splinter excitedly as he revealed himself from hiding behind the kitchen wall. Splinter gave a soft smile back to his youngest son. Mikey was giddy with excitement. He couldn't wait to see his brothers faces when they saw April tomorrow. Especially Donnie. Mikey loved that his father was in on the whole surprise and was playing along to help make it better.


"So she's not coming tomorrow..." Leo tried to say it like it didn't bother him, but the brothers could tell that even he was a little disappointed.

Raph looked to Mikey who had a dumb smile on his face. Raph raised an eyebrow at his youngest brothers over all cheeriness. "What are you so happy about?"

Mikey still couldn't manage to lose his smile, "Nothing, nothing. Just so excited that...Donnie hasn't been eaten alive." The three brothers looked back to Mikey, now extremely confused, but they chose to ignore it.

Raph shook is head and groaned. He had considered hitting Mikey as usual, but decided that he was to far away, and that it wasn't worth it. Raph then looked to Donnie who still seemed disappointed over the whole April situation.

"Leo." Said Raph kind of quietly to his leader, who scanned over the neighborhood again.

"It's pretty quiet tonight...why don't we go say Hi for a minute?" Said Leo who then turned to Donnie. Mikey looked over and noticed Donnie gain a huge smile on his face.

Mikey was over come with joy at the fact that his brothers were actually talking to each other and thinking about the others feelings. He didn't care if it made seeing April the next day a little less exciting.

The four brothers took off towards Aprils house. As they approached they realized that all the lights were off.

"Darn. Maybe where ever they were going to be tomorrow, they already left for it." Moaned Donnie, but he had accepted this pretty easily.

Leo scanned the outside of the house and then looked in through a top window. "Her Dad's asleep in that room. Maybe she's asleep in her room too." The four brothers jumped to the other side of her roof and peered into her room through the window, but she wasn't there.

Mikey then remembered that April had gone to her Aunts house. He pulled out his T-phone to double check the text. Sure enough, "Hey Mikey. I hope chocolate cake is okay. My Aunt is teaching me how to make it tonight so we can have it tomorrow! So excited! Text me if you need me to do anything else." Mikey slipped his phone away. If his brothers went to her Aunts house then they'd see the cake and they'd find out about the surprise.

Luckily for him, his brothers didn't seem to hold anymore interest in locating April.

"She does have that one friend at school. Maybe she's with her. If she needed us, she'd text us." Said Leo. Raph and Donnie silently agreed and they began to leap away. Mikey let out a quick sigh of relief and smiled as he went to catch up to his brothers.

Just as Mikey was starting to fall back in his place behind them Leo suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong Leo?" Asked Donnie

"Did you hear that?" He quickly turned his head to look further down a street. The other three followed his example.

"I don't hear or see anything Leo." Added Donnie.

Mikey scanned the street but he had the same answer as Donnie. But one thing did strike him. The street name they were looking down. It was the street that Aprils Aunt lived on.

Leo looked over to Raph and nodded at him. Raph nodded back.

"Come on, Mikey." Said Raph with a grunt. Mikey unquestioningly followed behind as Donnie and Leo slipped into the shadows on the roof they had just been standing on.

Mikey didn't question what was going on, but it seemed like his brothers understood something he didn't. Like they could communicate perfectly without talking.

As Mikey followed behind Raph they suddenly screeched to a halt as a girl screaming echoed down the streets from the alley. Raph evilly smiled as he cracked his knuckles.

"Hehe, Damsel in distress. I call this one Mikey." Said Raph playfully. Mikey smiled and rolled his eyes as the two jumped into the alley, weapons drawn.

The two were quickly taken back in shock, and the readied their weapons even more.

"My mistake. It wasn't a damsel in distress. It's just a pig wearing clothes." Scoffed Raph

"Hahaha!" Laughed Mikey.

Karai furrowed her brow. "Really? You're making jokes now?" She evilly smiled as she pointed her knife further down the alley. The two followed the trail from where she was pointing with their eyes until they reached the end. April was being held down by three foot ninjas.

April was trying to escape, and was clearly trying to use her ninja training, but it was no use against three fully trained foot clan goons.

"APRIL!" Yelled Mikey worriedly. She looked up for a moment.

"MIKEY! RAPH!" She yelled back. Mikey could see how scared she was. The fear in her eyes was enough to break Mikeys heart. Though his eyes were sad, he kindly smiled at April, trying to reassure her that everything would be all right.

He noticed that she seemed to calm down a little.

"Who would have thought that we'd be out looking for you four, and run into her instead. It was to perfect." Said Karai as she removed her mask. "I'll give you a choice. Tell me where Splinter is, or I'll kill the girl."

Raphs was infuriated now that his eye starting twitching, "If Leo were here I'm sure you'd be singing a different tune."

She shrugged and readied her knife. The two suddenly went flying at each other, and a fight had begun. From the corner of his eye Mikey could see the other foot ninjas begin to try and take April away. He managed to sneak past the fight and run towards the foot ninjas.

With ease Mikey fought off the three ninjas and helped April up. "Hang on!" He grabbed April around the waist, in turn wrapped her arms around his neck. He quickly leaped up the two buildings that helped formed the alley. He was about to finally jump onto the roof and dash off with April to safety. As he leaped he could finally see over the edge of the roof. But instead of safely landing, he was met with a large fist square in his face.

Mikey flew back, with April still holding on tightly. He held her tighter and did his best to hit the next roof before she did.

Mikey managed to hit his head on the next roof, as he and April skidded to a stop. Luckily he had managed to keep her safe. She lifted her head and suddenly looked shocked as she looked at him.

He realized that his arms were no longer around her. Had he let go of her? She looked even more scared than before. Aprils mouth was moving...was she yelling at him? He realized he couldn't hear her. Everything he could see suddenly began to grow dark. Just before everything on the Earth vanished he could make out the faint outline of Dog Pound appearing behind April.


Sound began to fill Michelangelos head once more. He still couldn't open his eyes but he was able to feel again. Including the pain from where he had managed to hit his head. He was laying down somewhere, he knew that much. He could feel warm water pooling on his shoulder and slowly dripping down onto the floor...wait...water? There was also a significant amount of weight on his chest. What was it?

The smell of lavender filled him. He groaned as the soft sound of quiet sobbing could be heard. He slowly opened his eyes only to see red hair in his line of vision.

"April?" He weakly muttered. Suddenly the red hair moved to reveal Aprils face as she looked up at him. She had been laying on him and had been crying. A smile was quickly thrown onto her face.

"MIKEY! You're okay!" She said with sheer delight in her voice.

Mikey slowly looked around and scanned the room. He had been here before. It was one of Baxter Stockmans old lairs. The two were alone. Well...mostly alone. Mikey could easily tell that there were plenty of foot ninja outside the building.

Mikey looked a few feet away and noticed Raphael laying on the ground. He was alive, but unconscious.

"Raph!" Yelled Mikey worriedly, hoping to get Raphs attention, but he knew it would be no use.

April sadly looked over as well, "After we were captured Dog Pound went into the alley to help Karai. Raph could have escaped but he wouldn't leave without you and I, and in the end...well..."

Mikey clenched his teeth. He was ready to fight off every single one of them, but it was then that he realized that he wasn't going anywhere. He looked down at their hands and feet and realized they had been tied with chains.

"What's happened since Raph lost his fight?" Demanded Mikey.

April was kind of taken back with how serious Mikey was. She knew he could be serious, but usually by now he would have cracked a joke or something. She shook her head realizing that now wasn't the time to be thinking about stuff like that.

"After he lost they brought us here and tied us up. They haven't come back. My guess is that they're out looking for Leo and Donnie."

Mikey frowned as he looked around for a means of escape. Why couldn't they have tied them up with rope like normal villains? He didn't have time to think about it anymore.

The large garage door of the old warehouse opened up, and Dog Pound and Karai came through it.

As the door shut they walked over to Mikey and April. Mikey growled at the two of them, but with his limbs tied as they were he couldn't do much else. Karai grabbed the back of Aprils shirt and pulled her away from Mikey. She then threw April face first into the ground.

"April! Hey, touch her again and I-"

"You'll what?" Groaned Karai. With a wave of her hand Dog pound lifted Mikey off the ground and planted him face first into the hard ground as well.

So the two could not get up Karai and Dog Pound stepped on their backs.

"Let's make this quick." Said Karai as she pulled out her knife and places it next to Aprils face.

"Hey! Don't you dare!" Screamed Mikey.

Karai rolled her eyes, "As much as I hate hurting an innocent girl that was only dragged into this whole Shredder vendetta because of you turtles, I know I'd be wasting my time if I tortured you. You're a ninja, and I'm sure you've been trained just as well as I have. You'll take all the secrets you have to an early grave if that's the only way to keep them. So-" Karai lowered her head closer so she could hear April better, "Tell me, where is Splinter hiding?"

April tried to pull away but it was no use. "I'll never tell you! AH!" With her response Karai had quickly cut her knife into the side of Aprils cheek. Karai turned around and sat on Aprils back with a large thud, which hurt Aprils back horribly. She danced the tip of the knife on the back of Aprils leg.

"Let's try again. Where is Splinter hiding?" Demanded Karai quietly.

April stared at Mikey. Tears were welling up in her eyes from fear. Mikey was scared too. He didn't know what to do. Karai waited patiently for April to answer. She peered back to see what was going on.

"April...I know that this is scary...and...if you decide to not tell her where Master Splinter is...she WILL stab you...a lot...but don't be scared okay? I'm here, and I WILL save you. I promise...everything is going to be all right." Mikeys signature smile appeared on his face with confidence.

Seeing this put April in an obvious calm. She silently nodded and quietly laid her head down on the ground. She wasn't going to say anything else. She was ready.

Mikey couldn't watch. He shut his eyes and looked away.

Karai and Dog Pound looked at each other, clearly upset.

"Great. Now we'll just have to kill them. What a waste. Maybe the Red one will be of more use." Complained Dog Pound with a snap of his teeth.

Karai nodded. "Agreed." Said Karai with a harumph. Mikey opened his eye enough to see April still just laying on the ground. She was nervous, but Mikey could tell that she had placed all of her faith in him.

The smile faded from his face and his brow furrowed, he then turned his gaze up to Karai, "Hey!" Karai looked down to Mikey with an eyebrow raised, she was unamused with his outburst.

Before anything else could be said a loud thud was heard against the outer wall of the warehouse. The ever so familiar sounds of human bones breaking and the sound of human flesh hitting metal echoed through the building. Karai furrowed her brow and quickly pointed her dagger to the door, "Go see what's going on."

Mikey could see that Bradford didn't like the order, but he followed it without question...Who exactly was Karai?...Mikey ignored it. He counted his blessings for the distraction. Mikey turned his gaze to Karai again but this time looked less harsh, "Hey..."

She turned to him with her eyebrow still raised but now she looked curious, "What is it?" She asked a little defensively.

"You seem like you really like my brother...if that's true then if you kill me and April...he won't like you anymore." Said Mikey. He found himself to actually be a bit concerned over Leo and Karais "relationship". He didn't want Leo to be sad.

Karai still looked mad, but she turned her head to the side, and was clearly deep in thought over the situation, "He has warned me that if I went after any of you that'd he come after me..." Karai closed her eyes and sighed, she then angrily turned her gaze back to Mikey, "Don't get me wrong. I do like your brother. But I have a job to do." Karai pulled her knife out so it was facing Mikey, "It was fun chatting." Mikeys eyes widened. He quickly tried to come up with a plan, but it was hopeless, Karai came flying at him with a clear intention to kill.

After a moment it became dark, Mikey thought he had closed his eyes, but for a split second he saw the metal from a chain shine in the moon coming in from the warehouse window near the roof. He hadn't closed his eyes, the lights had gone out.

CLINK!

Mikeys chains were undone. He was free! But how!? He didn't care. He quickly jumped to April only to find that she wasn't there.

The lights came back on, illuminating the warehouse. The situation was clear. Across the room, standing upon the rafters was Donatello with April gripped tightly to him. April's face was covered in gratitude as she clung to Donnie and surveyed the scene from the rafters. However, Donnies face looked enraged.

On the ground level where Mikey was there were several unconscious foot ninja scattered about the floor. The only foot ninja still standing was Karai.

One of her hands was bound by a heavy weighted chain, from the other side of the room stood Leo, tightly holding one end of the chain.

"LEO!" Yelled Mikey happily.

"Get Raph and go! That's an order!" Mikey eagerly nodded. He quickly scanned the room for his and Raphs weapons, but they were long gone. Mikey quickly threw Raph onto his back and turned back to Leo.

Seeing that Mikey was now in good hands, Donnie lifted April and took off out of the warehouse. He had no intention of exposing her to any more danger tonight.

Mikey was about to follow, but he found his feet frozen. He wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to leave where Leo and Karai could be alone together.

Leo angrily grinded his teeth as he harshly pulled the chain and threw Karai into the brick wall. Luckily for Karai, her knife was sharp, and after taking the one hit she managed to cut through the chain holding her to Leos will.

"Her knife can cut chains? How sharp is that thing!?" Yelled Mikey, feeling kind of upset that Karai would have an unfair advantage of a strong blade.

In response Leo pulled out one of his katanas and the two fell into battle with one another.

Mikey watched, feeling kind of guilty. He knew it was probably hard for Leo to have to fight Karai like this. "LEO!" He yelled across the room.

Leo looked back at Mikey for a split second and Karai took a swing at him. He refocused and dodged the attack.

"I can't carry Raph alone! I need your help!" Mikey didn't really, but he felt it was the only way to get the two of them to stop fighting.

Leo leaped away from Karai and stared her down. They two continued to glare at each other. Slowly Leo lifted his katana and sheathed it. In response, Karai did the same. No words were spoken.

"She's...letting him go?" Mikey was in disbelief, but didn't question it either.

Leos anger turned to sadness as he began to walk to Mikey.

Mikey stared at him as he came closer. He couldn't help but feel the pain coming off of Leos heart. It was the same feeling when he thought he was going to lose April earlier that night. "Leo..." Leo looked up at him, "It's okay...just for a sec..." At first Leo seemed confused. Then it became clear and Leo softly smiled as Mikey gave a wide grin.

"Thanks Mikey." Said Leo as he turned back to Karai.

It was true that Mikey probably hated the thought of his brother with Karai more than the others, but seeing him so happy...that's all Mikey wanted. Was to see his family happy.

Leo bashfully looked down to the ground as he stood a mere foot away from Karai, "Since...we're not fighting...right this second..." He didn't have to finish his sentence. Mikey watched as Karai placed one of her hands on his face and gave a quick but loving kiss.

"Your brothers smile makes you to nice and weak. Be careful." She evilly smiled and she then pulled away from Leo and back away into the shadows and vanished.

Maybe Karai...wasn't all bad. If she could notice the goodness in Mikeys smile then maybe...she could be good too.


That night had re-played in his head over and over again since they had left the warehouse. Karai had given up so easily...it made Mikey nervous. He kept his eye open on the streets as he and Leo dragged a slowly awakening Raph back home.

Mikey then looked to Donnie who was walking a few feet ahead with April, "Thanks for cutting our chains Donnie. I didn't think we'd get out."

Donnie turned around and looked confused, "Chains?"

April raised an eyebrow and looked up to Donnie as well, "Yea. We had been tied up with chains."

Donnie thought about it for a moment but shook his head, "When I picked you up you two were already free. I was trying to figure out why you two were still lying on the floor."

Mikey and April looked at each other and then to Leo.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do it."

Mikeys eyes widened, "It couldn't have been..." "Karai?" He shook the idea away and they continued home. As they turned a corner they all stopped. Raphael began to stand on his own and began groaning as he grabbed his head.

"...Happy Birthday April." Said Mikey as the sunrise began to illuminate their path. Raph, Donnie, and Leo quickly turned to April in shock. They hadn't known that it was Aprils birthday.

"Hehe, Happy Mutation day you guys." Replied April. Nothing else was said. As the five headed home, they silently enjoyed each others company.


The next day was better than Mikey could have expected.

The boys all rolled out of bed around the crack of Noon. Splinter had allowed them to sleep a little longer just because it was their Mutation day.

For about an hour or so the four brothers sat in the living room and actually...talked. Not about fighting or training, but just about...brother stuff.

The other three didn't seem to notice or think it was that weird, but Mikey, though happy, was a little shocked at how friendly the four were interacting with each other. Considering how they had been acting over the past few months.

He didn't know what started it but it was clear that Raphael was about to start a wrestling match with Leo at that moment. Mikey missed this. None of them had fought just for fun in awhile, but before they even got a chance April walked into the lair with a huge box.

Mikey jumped from the couch over to her. "What's in the box?" He asked curiously.

She smiled, "Oh you know. Just some cake." All activities suddenly seized as the rest of the brothers ran to her side. In truth, none of them had ever had a real cake and had only seen them on TV or in shop windows they had passed.

April handed the box to Leo and said she'd be in the Kitchen to help in a moment. Quickly understanding the situation Leo, Raph, and Donnie left April and Mikey alone. As soon as they vanished around the corner April hugged Mikey tightly and looked up at him with a smile.

"Don't be worried. Every thing's fine now, Mikey." Mikey quietly placed his arms around her and embraced her back with a relieved smile on his face.

He didn't think April had noticed...but she had known all along. Through all the Family Struggles they had been through over the last few months, though Mikey had not suffered as much Physical and emotional damage as the other brothers, he had taken it the hardest. Since he never actually had a reason to fight with any of his brothers watching them be torn apart because of each other and him he had tried his best to make them feel better and nothing had worked. Today was different. He didn't know what had exactly changed, but he didn't care. All Mikey knew was that his family was one again.

The remainder of the day was spent with the boys trying cake for the first time. Which was an adventure in and of itself. Playing Video games together, and in general enjoying each others company. At the end of all the fun April ran back to her backpack she had discarded on the side of the living room when she had arrived.

She returned with four properly colored wrapped gifts for the boys. The four brothers thanked her ferociously for their gifts. They were so grateful. However the gift she had given Mikey had made him grow silent.

What she had given him was a small cell phone charm. It was on an orange string, and the charm itself was a small smiley face.

"I know...it's kind of dumb, but I thought of you when I saw it."

Mikey shook his head, and then looked to her, "I...really like it. It made you think of me?"

April smiled, she could tell by Mikeys face that he actually loved the gift. Though anyone else would have thought he was just trying to be nice.

"Well...Orange is a happy color, and you always bring a smile to everyones face. I thought it'd suit you."

Mikey once again hugged April tightly.

"Thank you, April."


The next day was the same as always. Wake up relatively early, eat breakfast, and then training.

But this time, Mikey stayed in the dojo.

For a few minutes Mikey stayed in the room in silence. He hadn't even noticed Leo had been standing in the room behind him the whole time, as Mikey continued to stare at the new attachment of his T-Phone. He smiled as he stared at it.

"Mikey."

Mikey leaped into the air at the sound of Leos voice.

"DUDE! I was thinkin' in here!" Whined Mikey.

Leo smiled and shook his head, "What are you thinking about?"

Mikey stared at his brother for a moment and debated on whether or not to tell him, but he finally decided that it was right.

"Leo...the other night...I'm sorry I messed up the mission."

Leo raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? Sure April got a little more beat up than we intended, but the mission worked out fine. We located the lair the the foot clan had been hiding in recently."

Mikey was very confused now, "Wait...intended?"

Now both Leo and Mikey were both in the same state of confusion, "Yea...didn't you...understand the order? Raph did and you followed so I thought-..."

"Order!? You didn't say anything! You-...You didn't need to say anything..." Suddenly Mikey realized...maybe the brothers had been fighting for sometime but over the last month the fighting had seized, they just hadn't been talking.

They didn't need to. The brothers knew what was going on between all of them without needing to exchange any words.

Mikey let out a sigh, he felt stupid. All along he had been the one worrying about how well his brothers had been getting along, but in the end he was the only one that didn't understand.

Mikey lifted the cell phone back in front of him as he stared at the charm, "Splinter told me the reason he chose Orange as the color for my mask...he said my smile...changed people. I thought I was doing good things...but really, I was the one that was more lost than any of you."

Leo sighed and smiled at his youngest brother. "You weren't lost Mikey. Splinters right. Your smile does change people. In fact I'm pretty sure you put April at ease last night. From what I was told."

Mikey gave his typical puppy dog eyes as he looked up to Leo, he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, "Mikey. Splinter was right to chose you for the color Orange. No one can make people feel the way you do. Family sometimes struggles...sometimes all of us, and sometimes only one of us, but in the end, we're always a family."

Mikey finally allowed a huge smile to cross his face and he leaped onto Leo and forced him into a great big hug.

"Heh, you sound like Splinter." Said Mikey quietly

"Well, you've certainly been one for hugs the last few days." Laughed Leo

"Haha, yea, and you've been one for swappin' spit with the enemy." Laughed Mikey as Leo suddenly pushed his brother off him and turned around to hide his blushing.

Leo rolled his eyes and shook his head, Mikey was back to his old ways, and for Leo, and the others, no one would want him any other way.


That night as the four brothers took to the streets, not a word was spoken, even as they fought off random thugs causing trouble through-out the night. The only thing that needed to be shown were the smiles and high threes from a job well done. Family Struggles, but it's the families that make it through the problems, that shine the brightest. Because that's what families do...that's what brothers do.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! And don't worry, even though this chapter came in late, the next one will still be available on its scheduled date! See you then!