Well, friends, it's been much, much too long. But I WILL continue writing this, even if I have a ton of stuff keeping me from it. This "stuff" I'm talking about is real-life responsibilities. Must be a productive member of society and all that.

But enough about me — let's get on with the show!

Chapter 2: And Now Here

J swore his heart stopped when the world around him flashed to another environment entirely. One moment he was in between two trees, in the next, two tall buildings.

"What…?" he gasped. What just happened?!

He refused to believe he was dreaming. His heart was pounding too hard and quickly for him to be anything but awake.

"Where am I?"

The 16-year-old grabbed his cross necklace and clasped his hand around the three pewter nails. He turned his head rapidly every which way in a vain attempt to identify his new location.

It was an alley. Of that much he was sure.

"I'll need more details than that, though," he muttered as he walked towards the alley entrance.

When he reached the entrance he looked around again. He spotted a street sign, but was unfamiliar with the name printed on it. He then looked up the street.

J's heart leapt to his throat. Leering on the skyline was an angry red insignia shaped like an animal's foot with three pointed toes aimed upward. J recognized it immediately.

"The Foot? No—that's impossible," he murmured. But the tall building's silhouette was much too identical to what the young fanboy saw in the show. "It's probably just some fun, fan- or corporation-guided thing," he tried reasoning. But no matter how much he tried to explain around his situation, something in the back of J's mind bellowed, This is real. And also, much to his annoyance, I wonder what it looks like in 3-D.

Regardless of J's doubt, he knew one thing for sure. There are people that way, so I should probably head over that way to get help. And by "probably" I mean I'm going to go that way to get help. Not that I need to explain that to myself. Why am I pointing this out? Shut up, brain! ADHD is at it again… Such went J's runaway train of thought as he made his way down the surprisingly empty streets.

*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*

Michelangelo moved like lightning in April's kitchen, whipping up a nice pork dinner to eat with Casey and April when they returned. To his brothers' mixed amusement and embarrassment, the goofball had insisted on bringing along and wearing his "Kiss the Cook" apron.

The kitchen wizard had been planning and perfecting this recipe in secret for weeks, with only Master Splinter knowing about it. He had seven boneless pork loins thawing. As he waited for the small slabs of meat to thaw enough, he tore apart bread and dropped the crumbs into a bowl of garlic butter. After the turtle had no whole bread left, he moved on to the next part of his masterpiece. He poured some sauerkraut into a small bowl.

"Sensei, can you toss me the tarragon?" he asked over his shoulder.

Splinter had been dicing carrots, string beans, and onions. At his son's request, the rat paused briefly in his task. "Of course, Michelangelo."

Splinter picked up the small plastic jar containing the dried tarragon leaves. He did exactly as Michelangelo had asked and tossed it the short distance between them. Without even turning his head, the young ninja reached up and effortlessly caught the container.

"Thanks, Sensei."

Mikey opened the jar and scooped up a small handful of dried tarragon leaves. He held said handful over the bowl of sauerkraut and crumpled his fingers, ripping the leaves and sending the shreds sprinkling into the bowl. When he was sure he had added enough, he dropped the leaves leftover in his hand back into the jar and closed it. Then he took a wooden spoon and stirred the sauerkraut and tarragon together, mixing it as evenly as possible.

Meanwhile, Leo, Raph, and Don were in charge of cleaning the apartment and setting the dining room table. Mikey had all but banned the three older turtles from the kitchen while he worked. Raph had taken it upon himself to set the table while the other two took to cleaning.

"Hey, Leo," Raph called as the eldest passed by, "which side do the napkins go on?"

Leonardo paused in his work and walked up to the table. "Since when do you care about proper table placement?"

The emerald turtle shrugged. "I figured since ya were cleanin' up, and with Mikey makin' some sorta gourmet meal, it couldn't hurt to make the table nice for Casey and April." He chuckled and added, "Well, for April, anyway. Casey don't care."

Leo couldn't help but grin at that comment. He looked at the table. "I've seen people do either side, I'm pretty sure both sides are acceptable. But properly, the napkin should go on the left of the plate, under the fork."

"Thanks." Raph went back to his task and started placing knives down.

Leo grabbed his hand after the first knife went on the table. The red-banded turtle looked at him quizzically.

Leo let go and pointed at the knife, which was currently facing the right. "The blade of the knife should be facing inward, Raph, towards the plate. It's safer."

Raph looked down at his handiwork. "Oh, oops." He flipped it over and continued.

Satisfied, the leader went back to assist Donatello.

Back in the kitchen, the pork loins had thawed and were now sitting comfortably in a large, flat, rectangular pan, on thin beds of Mikey's tarragon-seasoned sauerkraut. Splinter brought over a bowl filled with the diced vegetables, along with sweet corn kernels and green peas. Michelangelo took the bowl and decorated the meat and the extra sauerkraut surrounding the loins with the veggies. After that was done, he sprinkled a small bit of sauerkraut in the center of each piece of meat to finish. The orange-clad ninja stepped back from his masterpiece.

"Perfect!"

The cook picked up the pan with one hand. With the other, he opened the oven door. Mikey knelt down and checked the thermometer inside to make sure it was at the right temperature. Seeing that it was, he carefully removed the thermometer and slid the pan into the oven. As he closed the oven door, the sea green turtle took out his shell cell and set a timer.

At that moment, Don came into the kitchen. "April just called. Their flight landed and they're on their way now."

"Great!" Mikey replied, "They'll get here right when the food's ready to come out of the oven!" He pointed at his brother with the salad tongs. "You're still not allowed in the kitchen, though.

Don chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Don't kill the messenger."

Mikey winked. "Thanks for letting me know, Donnie. I'm done in here, anyway. Need any help with cleaning or setting the table?"

Don shook his head. "We're done out here, too."

Splinter approached his younger sons. "Then perhaps we should all wait in the living room for Casey and April to arrive. I am sure they would appreciate seeing all of us ready to greet them."

They left the kitchen and joined Raph and Leo.

"Well," Raph greeted them, "look who's finally out of the kitchen."

"It took some convincing," Don joked, nudging Mikey.

"Don't brag about something you didn't do, Donnie," Mikey replied. "Master Splinter was the only one who said anything about coming out here."

Before Don could defend himself, Leo stood up. "It's a good thing you have a break, though. We need to talk."

Mike and Don looked at each other, then at Splinter, hoping their sensei knew what this was about.

Master Splinter shook his head and took a seat. "What is it, Leonardo?" the rat asked.

"Raph and I were already talking about this before you came out," Leo began, "and we wondered how we should tell Casey and April about that dream we had, and how soon."

"That implies that we're going to tell them," Don pointed out, "which is good, because they deserve to know."

Raph and Leo nodded. "We could tell them when they get here, but that might ruin Mikey's dinner."

Mikey sat on the armrest beside Raph. "Dudes, Casey might ruin my dinner, and we're still letting him in. We might as well do it before he does."

"No," Master Splinter said. "We should enjoy their return and their company first. They are only just returning. We should not worry them as soon as they walk in the door."

"So…" Don replied, leaning on his bō staff, "Some time after dinner, maybe? I know I'd feel better if we told them today. I don't want to keep secrets like that anymore." He looked out the window, remembering a frightful world.

"Hey, maybe it ain't that bad, Donnie," Raph stood and wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders. "We just had a dream, y'know?"

"A shared dream," Leo corrected him. "We all had it at the same time. And Karai, too. Something like that doesn't just happen."

Mikey spoke up. "And if there's anything Justice Force comics have taught me, it's that when everyone has the same dream, something big is about to go down." The other turtles rolled their eyes while the youngest continued, "Remember when we all dreamed about the demon Shredder attacking Karai?"

Leonardo shook his head. "How could I forget? I don't think I've ever been so afraid as I was during Shredder's rampage."

Raph facepalmed and growled, "Then what the shell is the new dream supposed to mean?!"

Donatello cleared his throat, prompting everyone to look at him. "I may have written down a few potential interpretations. Unfortunately, all my notes are back in the lair…"

Master Splinter's ears perked up. "Perhaps we should save the speculation for later. I believe Casey and April have arrived."

The others jumped to their feet and looked out the window. Sure enough, there was April's van, with the happy couple getting ready to unload their luggage.

Mikey was the first to scramble out the door to eagerly greet them. The others followed quickly after to join him and help their friends bring everything inside. Master Splinter waited by the door, watching proudly as his family reunited.

That just felt like a good spot to end the chapter at. So J hasn't run into anyone yet.

Did I mention that Karai had the dream, too?

Any questions, comments, concerns, critiques, snide remarks?