I originally began publishing this story on FFNet on May 1, 2016. It was removed a couple of years ago in order to make some much needed revisions, and is now polished up enough to grace this website again. I'll be posting one chapter every week.

This story is a canon-divergent/alternate ending to the S1 finale.

I hope everyone enjoys it! Feedback is welcome, encouraged, and appreciated. :)

"...hurry up and get out of here, little brother! Go! Now!"

"NO!"

In the dreamscape, Mikey had screamed until his throat was raw. In his abrupt return to consciousness, however, the outburst came out instead as merely a choked whimper. He could still feel a phantom ache in his throat though, encouraged by how dry his mouth was, and his thoughts lingered on what he could remember from the nightmare. Picking at it like a scab.

Raphael had been engulfed in flames, and his warning looped mercilessly in Mikey's head. Quickly overtaking all other thoughts.

"-et out of here, little brother! Go-"

Mikey swore he felt the room shake violently, even though the rational part of his mind knew it was perfectly still, and it took all of his willpower to push down his rapidly bubbling panic. "Stop it!" He shook his head. Mentally grasping at straws to recall the steps he needed to follow to ground himself. "Get a grip, Michelangelo! Come on, dude! Focus on something else!"

Eyes moist with unshed tears, Mikey blinked rapidly and let them adjust to the dim light of his room. With frantic desperation, he scanned the small space and zeroed in on a handful of shadowed shapes. After deciphering what they were, he quietly whispered to himself three things that he could clearly see. Doing his best to muffle out his own panicked breaths, he listened carefully to the sounds of the lair and made note of two distinct noises he could hear. Then he felt around the tangle of sheets for his old teddy bear, taking comfort from the texture of the faux fur as he brushed against its head with his fingers.

The panic receded bit by bit. After a few minutes had passed, his heartbeat began to steady and he felt like he could finally breathe easily again. He was home. He was safe. "Just keep swimming..." Shamelessly hugging the old teddy bear close to his chest, Mikey clung to the mantra like it was a lifeline.

He lay in the darkness, staring up at his ceiling without really seeing it, until his mind eventually became a blank slate once more. Feeling utterly exhausted, Mikey blinked sluggishly. The warmth of the comforter he was snuggled under was beginning to lull him, and he was hopeful for a dreamless sleep this time. Giving in to that desire, he let his heavy eyes droop shut. Sinking into his pillow with a tired sigh, he welcomed the sandman.

"You don't deserve to be here..." His own voice hissed icily, jolting him awake once more.

Shaking off the rest of the invasive thoughts that he could feel starting to manifest, knowing he probably wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again now that guilt was slinking in to strangle him, Mikey pulled back the covers and forced himself to get out of bed. With a loud groan, he did his best to ignore the mild ache raking down his back and throbbing dully at his temples. He slipped on his bathrobe and slippers, then shuffled over to the old chest at the base of his bed. Yanking the heavy lid open with a creak to survey its contents.

Once filled with old childhood treasures, the chest was now stuffed to the brim with clothing. Grateful for the distraction, he shifted through the wild variety of shirts and pants at his disposal, struggling to pick what he wanted to wear. He had accumulated a lot of outfits in the past few months, and foggily mused over how quickly he had become accustomed to wearing clothes. He had been having fun experimenting with different styles.

He was too tired to apply much thought into assembling an outfit for the day, though, and ended up settling on a simplistic look. "I can jazz it up later..."

Making a beeline for the bathroom, Mikey took a quick shower and threw on the baggy tan khakis and white long-sleeved shirt he had selected. Completing the look with an orange bandana that wrapped over the top of his head and was tied in a secure knot at the base of his skull. He liked how comfortable it felt. "I should buy more of these."

It was only after applying the finishing touches, a little bit of makeup for the scars on his temples that weren't quite covered by his bandana, that he finally emerged from the bathroom and made his way over to the kitchen. Passing the closed doors to his brothers bedrooms as he went. "Just keep swimming..." He plastered a smile on his face. "Awwww, yeah! It's grub-makin' time!"

He sang some half-remembered lyrics to a song he heard on the radio once as he strolled over to the fridge and opened it up to look at his options for this morning's breakfast. Eggs, Wensleydale cheese, blueberries, strawberries. There were possibilities there. "Oh man, put together that would make a really awesome omelet." He murmured to himself. His mouth watered as he thought of the potential tasty outcome of such a combination. "Booyeah, making omelets it is!"

He grabbed some maple pork sausages from the freezer, and then snatched up the remaining oranges from the bottom tier of the hanging fruit basket next to the fridge. There was just enough for everybody to have one, and he made a little mental note to himself to buy more later.

The whisked eggs didn't take long to heat up in the pan, and once the bottom looked like it was ready, Mikey flipped each of the omelets over to let the other sides cook. He spread the handfuls of cut up strawberries and blueberries across one half of each of them, sprinkled a coating of the Wensleydale cheese shavings over the berries as the final touch, and folded the cooked eggs over the tasty toppings to heat them.

The smell that blossomed throughout the lair was intoxicating.

"That's the best way to wake folks up." Mikey thought to himself with a pleased grin when he noticed the light turn on in the dojo through the kitchen doorway.

He quickly transferred the omelets to their respective plates, threw the sausages into the pan next to cook, and peeled the oranges speedily while the links sizzled. All the while he felt like he was forgetting something, but he just couldn't figure out what.

In no time, everything was assembled on the table. It was nearly seven o'clock, and breakfast was served.

Mikey was about to go over to the dojo to announce the meal was ready when a little squeak from the pit in the main room caught his attention. His eyes fell onto Spike, who was perched on top of the TV. How he had managed to climb up there was anybody's guess.

"Oops! Sorry, little dude!" Dashing back into the kitchen, Mikey dug around in the fridge to snatch up the little turtle's breakfast. A few baby spinach leaves, a large strawberry, and three blueberries. "Here ya go buddy!" He laughed as he carried the food over and presented it to the beloved family pet.

Spike dug into the strawberry gratefully.

Satisfied, Mikey started to make his way back over to the dojo when he caught a glimpse of the calendar hanging on the pillar behind the old TV. Doing a double take, it took a moment before it registered in his mind what day it appeared to be. "No way!" He exclaimed, sliding over to get a better look. Surprise, mingled with embarrassment and guilt, washed over him when he realized he hadn't misread the calendar.

"Wow, I can't believe I actually forgot!"

After once again dashing into the kitchen, to throw some clean and unused pot lids over the dishes on the table to keep the food warm, he ran back to his room to grab his tote bag and tossed the old loose-tea tin containing his earnings inside. Pausing for a moment, he tried to prepare a mental list of what he needed to get. In the process he found himself thinking about how quickly things had changed in just a year's time.

Before their 15th Mutation Day, the family had survived on algae, worms, rats, and whatever Splinter's sparse gardens produced. When times got hard and food was scarce, or when urgent medical attention was needed, then they turned to their friends, Vincent, Mouse, and young Jacob from the tunnel community nearby for help.

Not long after their 15th Mutation Day, after meeting the kindhearted blind restaurant owner, Mikey started working for Mr. Murikami. Acting as a security guard for the man's restaurant at night, while also picking up on some tricks of the culinary trade. He was able to earn enough money every week to get fresh groceries for his family, which Jacob or April would then go out and obtain for them.

Now, thanks to the world-changing events from six-months ago, Mikey was able to venture to the surface world and purchase whatever he needed himself without fear. A luxury he had quickly grown accustomed to.

Leafing through the collection of bills in his tin, he was pretty confident he had enough money left over from this week's earnings to get everything he needed for the project he had in mind. It was a matter of getting it all, and then getting back home before Splinter finished his meditation session and morning prayers. The young mutant prided himself on being fast, but he wasn't quite convinced he was that fast to accomplish his mission in time without detection.

"Where are you off to in such a rush?" A familiar voice asked from the lair's entrance as Mikey hurried back out into the main room.

He had been too busy making a mental list of the places he possibly needed to hit topside, that he didn't notice the girl coming through the turnstiles until she spoke. "Oh, hey Karai! What's up with my favorite big sister?"

"I'm your only sister, you dopey kid." She replied with a warm smirk.

Mikey almost brought up April, but stopped himself. Hiding his feelings with an even brighter smile back at the girl staring down at him. "You're just in time for breakfast!"

Leaning on the turnstile she had just passed through, Karai redirected her gaze onto the bag he had slung over one shoulder. "Going shopping?"

"Yeah, I gotta grab a few things." Mikey glanced behind him to make sure the dojo's door was still closed and that there wasn't anyone in the main room or kitchen to overhear him. Lowering his voice just in case. "I, uh, kinda lost track of the days. You mind keeping Sensei busy until I get back? You gotta wait until then to dig into breakfast though, so we can eat as a family!"

"I think I can handle that." Karai gracefully pushed herself up and leapt down the steps, landing with ease by her brother's side. With a reassuring smile, she placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded her head in the direction of the lair's exit. "As amazing as it smells, I'll do my best to resist it until you get back. Now hurry up and get out of here, little brother, so we can eat!"

Hit with an array of varying emotions at her choice of words, Mikey offered her a smile of gratitude back before taking off for the tunnels that would lead him to the surface.

Arriving topside revealed that it was a beautiful Sunday morning. The nautical twilight had already begun to shift into what the young artist had recently learned to define as: the blue hour. The inky blackness of the night had shifted into dark blue directly above the early risers of the bustling metropolis. On the horizon, peeking between the skyscrapers surrounding them, the pink and orange hues of the sunrise began painting the sky. Clouds were slowly creeping in, but they only added to the beautiful showcase that nature was providing them with. While the warming temperature enhanced the tranquility of the late September morning.

Once the young mutant got over being awestruck, as always, by what he could see of the wonderful sunrise, he began to make his way to the closest market that was open that early in the morning. His mind was elsewhere for most of the walk, thinking about the thens and nows in his life.

Bustling down the sidewalks, and driving through the busy streets around him, there were mutants and humans alike. While it was once an unimaginable sight, it was completely normal in New York City these days. It had been the everyday norm ever since the fall of the Kraang six months earlier, thanks to Mikey and his brothers efforts to take down the aliens.

Guilt stirred to life at the memory of their bittersweet victory, leaving the young mutant to wonder, not for the first time, how differently things could have turned out that night. "...if I could go back and do it all again..."

Shaking away his melancholy musings, Mikey paused and glanced around to assess his surroundings again. Grateful at the realization that the shop he wanted was nearby.

"Glad I didn't autopilot my way in the wrong direction," he thought with a small grin as he approached the curb of the sidewalk he was on. His destination was only a few streets away now.

As he was about to cross the street, glancing both ways first to be sure it was safe, Mikey noticed something jarring in his peripheral vision. Unable to help himself, he shifted his focus over to it and his breath hitched. "I shouldn't have gone this way..."

The thoughts and feelings he had been trying to suppress all morning sputtered forcefully back to the surface, and he froze in panic at the edge of the sidewalk he had been about to step off of.

In the distance, peeking menacingly back in between the old brick buildings and skyscrapers that filled the gap separating him from it, Mikey caught sight of the accursed former TCRI building. Somehow looking just as haunting in broad daylight as it had looked in the dark the last time he had laid eyes on it.

The sign had been replaced, and the top floor had been rebuilt since the explosion, but he would always see the building for what it used to be. No matter how much Agent Bishop and the EPF dressed it up since they moved in and set up shop there.

A horn blaring, accompanied by some colorful words that Mikey was sure Raphael would appreciate, snapped the young mutant's attention back to his surroundings. He flushed with embarrassment when he realized that, in his distraction, he had almost walked out in front of the still-swearing driver.

"S-sorry!" He yelped, jumping backward and back onto the sidewalk.

The driver, a middle-aged man with messy black hair and face beet red with rage, didn't seem to be in the forgiving mood. "Go back to the zoo, you dumb animal!" He screamed out the passenger window as he hit the gas and continued on his way.

Still embarrassed, and feeling a little weird, Mikey remained still on the sidewalk as other humans and mutants pushed past him in order to cross the street.

His grip on the handles of the tote bag tightened, and he found it almost frightfully difficult to unclench his fists. It was as if his hands were being paralyzed. He forced his eyes, which had unconsciously found their way back to the old TCRI building again, to stare down at his feet instead. Then he closed them and did his best to focus. Focus on his breathing. Focus on his heartbeat.

He took a slow, deep breath. Held it. Then exhaled it just as slowly. Inhale. Exhale. "Just keep swimming..." Again and again.

A minute passed. Then two. His heartbeat, quieting in his ears, began to slow down to its regular rhythm once more. He felt his fists slowly unclench, and the tote bag slipped from his fingers. "Just ke-"

"Hey, kid. You okay?"

He opened his eyes, startled by the unexpected voice, and turned to look at the person who had come to his aid.

The concerned stranger was another human, older than the one who had been screaming at Mikey earlier, who had a gray balbo-styled beard and matching gray hair that had grown white at the temples. His warm eyes sought out and locked with Mikey's own. They radiated with nothing but genuine concern.

"Um...yeah." Mikey murmured when he realized he hadn't answered the old man's question. "Yeah, I'm good. I was just a little rattled, that's all. I wasn't paying attention and almost walked in front of a car."

He felt small and stupid, but he grinned brightly as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"I'd be rattled too if that happened to me." The stranger bent down to retrieve the fallen tote bag and handed it over to Mikey. "Here ya go."

"Thanks," Mikey brushed dirt off the bottom.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," it wasn't a total lie, "I'm good. Thanks for stopping and checking though, most folks wouldn't have bothered..." Sure, Mikey was starting to feel a little embarrassed again now that the anxiety attack had passed, but he genuinely appreciated the kindness.

"No problem, kid." The stranger smiled as he turned to leave, waving over his shoulder as he went. "Have a nice day!"

"You too!"

They parted ways. The man resuming his trek to wherever it was he had been going to, and Mikey continuing on his way to the market to get his last minute shopping done. The rest of the trip there proved to be uneventful. And, much to his relief, the store wasn't crowded and had everything he was looking for.

He made friendly small talk with the canine mutant at the register, while eyeballing the soda selection in the beverage fridge to his right as she rang up his things. After shifting back and forth on his feet, going 'eenie, meenie, miney, moe' in his head, he finally snatched up a bottle of 'Olde Brooklyn Coney Island Cream Soda' for himself, and a bottle of 'Stewart's Key Lime Soda' for Karai, and placed them on the counter just as the last of the original items was being scanned in. The final cost of everything was cutting it pretty close, but Mikey was able to afford all of it.

Giving a friendly wave goodbye to his fellow mutant, he placed his groceries in the tote bag and quickly made his way home with no further unwelcome incidents.

He resisted the urge to open up his own soda to drink on his way back. Reminding himself that he hadn't eaten his breakfast yet, and that the tea he was going to make when he got back home would be better suited with the meal. Plus, he was hoping Karai would let him split her soda with him, and then he could split his soda with her.

He knew for a fact that the idea of sharing the beverages was less likely to be approved by his sister if he had already taken a sip from his bottle though.

While he had no issues sharing food that someone else had taken a bite of already, or drink from someone else's cup after they had already taken a sip themselves, he knew Karai was a bit of a germaphobe and would not be keen on the idea one bit. Thankfully, this aspect of his sister's personality wasn't something he had to learn the hard way. It was just something he had observed about her as she spent more and more time visiting with Splinter in the lair over the past few months.

If Mikey took a sample of something he was cooking to taste and offered for her to try some, she would always decline to use the same fork or spoon as him. Instead, she'd pluck out clean utensils from the drawer by the stove and then help herself. But other than that she was not at all hesitant to dig in to whatever wild dish he whipped up. Unlike his brothers, who would always make faces at whatever Mikey had made and would be extremely reluctant to even try a bite, Karai proved to be just as fearless about trying new foods as Mikey was.

He adored having her as his older sister, and was glad that she had learned to look past the lies Shredder had told her in favor of giving her biological father a chance and getting to know him.

Not that there was much Shredder could do to stop her from bonding with her birth father. It took seventeen years, but he finally paid the price for Tang Shen's murder. The crime boss was locked up tight in a high-security prison, where he would stay for the rest of his life.

"At least that arrest is one thing Bishop can honestly take credit for..." Mikey thought to himself.

He had justifiably mixed feelings about the government agent, but he would always be grateful to him for helping Karai put a stop to the man that had hurt their family so much.

"Father's still doing his thing." Karai informed Mikey once he had returned home and scurried frantically into the kitchen.

He had to admit, it was still weird hearing her call Splinter that even though she had been doing so for a while now.

"You have no idea how much torture it was to smell this for the last ten minutes!" She lifted a lid off of one of the plates, and Mikey was pleased to see that the food was still giving off a light steam.

He plucked her soda bottle from out of his tote bag and waved it teasingly at her.

"I didn't forget to get you a reward for good behavior," he replied with a grin.

Taking out his own soda as he strode to the fridge to place the glass bottles inside to be enjoyed later in the day. He put the quart of milk in next to them, and then closed the door. Scooting over to the cabinets next to the fridge, he quickly deposited the rest of the items from his bag. He would get started on the project after breakfast was eaten and the kitchen was cleaned.

While Mikey quickly microwaved the food that had gotten a little cold, Karai went to the dojo to announce her arrival and to declare that breakfast was ready. It was a silent meal, but a pleasant one for the family. Everyone loved how the omelet had turned out. It was definitely something the young cook would be making again down the road.

"I wonder if April would like it?"

The others, after complimenting his cooking and thanking him for making breakfast, excused themselves from the table when they finished eating. Splinter was eager to begin Karai's training session, and watched with fatherly pride as she twirled the new tessan he had recently made for her. Mikey tore his eyes away from the pair as they headed for the dojo, and decided that he would hold off on starting his project for at least an hour.

He didn't want to cut in on the lost time the two of them were trying to make up for.

After cleaning the kitchen, he wandered over into the pit of the main room and flopped himself down in front of the television. Channel surfing, without really paying much attention to what the limited stations they could get a signal for had to offer. His thoughts soon shifted to April again, and he couldn't help the hurt he was feeling.

"Not today...", he mumbled to himself. Irritably, he clicked off the TV and wandered over to the arcade game to play a round of that instead. Seeing Leo's high score was still in place, he wondered if he could beat it. An hour later he was back in the kitchen pulling out all of the bowls, pans, and ingredients he needed. He took out the recipe he had printed from a cooking blog he followed online, and read over the list one last time to make sure he had everything he needed. Then he dove right into his work.

He was putting the icing on the cake when his father and sister returned to the kitchen. They had been drawn back into the room in their quest for water now that the training session was done.

"My son," Splinter said softly as he took in the sight of the perfect looking dessert. "Is this the secret you were trying to conceal this morning?"

Sheepishly smiling, Mikey nodded his head as he took a step back to admire his work. "I didn't want you to know, in case I did it wrong and had to take out the one from the store. The backup cake's hidden in the top cabinet," he admit as he handed the butter knife to his father. "It doesn't look like I screwed it up, so I think it's safe to cut. Do you want to do the honors?"

Teary-eyed, Splinter grinned down at his son as he accepted the utensil. Delicately slicing into the soft vanilla cake, and giving a piece to each of his children. As they had done with breakfast, the small family enjoyed the fruits of Michelangelo's labor in pleasant silence.

Then the young mutant collected the untouched slices and carried them into the dojo. Laying them in a line in front of the shrine Splinter had created for the family he had lost in Japan nearly eighteen years ago. There was a new photograph on the altar now.

"Hey Raph, remember how excited you were last year when you thought I had pulled off making a real cake?" Mikey asked, a bittersweet smile quivering on his face as he looked up from the plates to stare at the photograph of his brothers that had been added to the shrine six months ago. "Well...I did it for real this time!"

He bowed in front of the two framed photographs with tears glistening in his eyes.

The date on the calendar read September 29th, 2013.

"Happy Mutation Day."