Chapter 8

April heard the boys before she saw them. Her living room window rattled and a muffled cackle reached her ears. Before they burst through, she gave the living room the once over, smiling at her handiwork. An afternoon of work had paid off: her living room looked like a rainbow threw up on it, curled streamers draped from the ceiling with multicolored balloons attached at the ends to secure them. More balloons bounced over the floor, nudged by the breeze from a stand-up fan in the corner. A large banner hung over the television, reading in hand painted letters "Happy 17th Birthday!" With names that long, there was no way April could fit them all on the banner.

Leonardo's head popped in first, his eyes crinkling with a smile when he saw April. He was startled by the foil balloon that assaulted him as he ducked through the window of April's apartment and nearly knocked over the lamp. Raph snorted, rolling his eyes at Leo's unusual clumsiness.

"Smooth move, Fearless. Didn't know you were scared of balloons," Raphael muttered, following him through the window and into April's brightly decorated living room.

"Yeah, Leo. Need to change your shell after that one?" Mikey teased, leaping in through the window without looking where he was landing. He landed on a balloon and shrieked at the loud pop it made, staggering backwards into the bouquet of helium balloons behind him. Mikey fell through the clump of balloons and landed hard on his rear.

"Speak for yourself, klutz," Leo scoffed, grinning at his younger brother. Michelangelo huffed sheepishly and accepted Leo's hand when he offered to help him up.

April observed the scene in silence, her chest swelling with happiness at the laughter. She hadn't heard the three of them laugh in over a month. She hadn't even seen Leo smile since Don–

She banished the thought swiftly and returned to the half prepared pizza, collecting a clump of cheese to sprinkle on it. She didn't want to make herself sad, not on this special occasion. It was the boys' birthdays, and she didn't want to ruin it by crying into the mozzarella over Donatello.

It had been five months since they last saw him, and five months since the Hamato clan had shown any sign of happiness.

She steeled herself against the sadness that welled up in her and took a steadying breath, giving her best smile. She brushed the cheese residue from her hands and crossed to the living room, all the while kicking up the rainbow confetti in her path. She opened her arms for a hug and said, "Happy birthday, guys!"

"You didn't have to go to this much trouble," Leo protested as she wrapped her arms around him. Leave it to Leo to feel guilty about getting a party on his birthday. April pulled away and gave his cheek a pat, putting his worries to rest.

"It's no trouble at all," April replied, and she meant it.

When she let go of Leo, Mikey nearly knocked her over with the force of his hug. The whole time he hugged her, he chanted, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Anything for your special day!" April said and smiled as she rubbed Mikey's head affectionately.

Once she had given Raph a hug, who grumbled something about being too old for hugs, she noticed that their party was one member short.

"Where's Master Splinter? I thought he was coming,"

"Master Splinter is on his way," Leo said. Before he could elaborate, Mikey cut him off.

"He's getting our presents from his secret hiding place! I'm so good at finding them that he has to hide them outside the lair!" Mikey explained, his grin showing that he was proud of his accomplishment. After a second, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he scanned the room, and he drawled, "Speaking of presents–ow!"

Raph lowered his arm, not at all sorry that he clipped Mikey across the back of the head.

"Stop being a brat," Raph snapped. "April set up this party for us. We don't need any presents."

"That doesn't mean she didn't get us any," Mikey said, his gaze hopeful when he looked back at April. She smiled.

"Of course I got you all something, it's your birthday!"

Mikey whooped at that and Raph had to resist the urge to give him another shove.

Leo looked over April's shoulder to the kitchen, in search of some way to help. Sliding off his scabbard – he honoured April's "no weapons in the house" rule – he suggested, "I can help you with the food if you wan–"

"Nope!" April grabbed Leo by the shoulders and steered him toward the nearest seat, pushing him into it. "Today is a special day, so you will sit right here. I have everything taken care of."

The way Leo's eyes darted toward the kitchen a few times, his fingers flexing even when he sat down, told April that it was absolutely killing him to not help her. She hid her amusement behind a hand, not wanting to show that she was enjoying Leo's bemused expression.

"So!" She clapped her hands, bringing their attention back to the party. "Why don't you guys get the movie going? Dinner won't be ready for another fifteen minutes, and it'll take you at least that long to pick a movie."

"S'not my fault Mikey has horrible taste in movies," Raph said, his mouth crooked in a genuine smile.

"Hey!" That did it. April rolled her eyes as she turned her back on the impending battle of wits. Experience had taught her that if was best if she left the brothers to their own devices during an argument.

As she slid the two pizzas into the oven, April checked the clock on the stove, surprised to see that is was already after ten. After her full day at the shop, April had gone straight into party prep, barely stopping to have a shower and get changed.

Not speaking to anyone in particular, April wondered aloud, "Where's Casey? His shift ended almost an hour ago."

"Dunno. Maybe work went late?" Mikey offered, already ripping open a bag of cheese puffs. He grabbed a fistful of cheese puffs and stuffed them into his mouth as he reached for the remote and flicked. A second later, Leonardo snatched the remote from his hand, earning a muffled whine.

"No fah! Gih ih bah!"

Leonardo quickly translated the incoherent message: No fair! Give it back!

"In a minute, Mikey," he replied, flicking through the channels until he landed on the one he was looking for. "I just want to watch the news."

Mikey grumbled something before he swallowed, glaring a hole into the back of Leo's head. He sat back with a pout and crossed his arms petulantly. It was his birthday, too.

After a few minutes of dry news anchors discussing the most recent bill the government refused to pass, Mikey whined, "This is boooooring. Are you almost done?"

"Almost. I'm just waiting for the weather," he responded, not looking away from the debate on television.

"I can tell ya what the forecast is: pain, if ya don't get that trash off the screen in the next five seconds," Raph warned from the corner.

"Alright, alright," Leo ceded, reaching for the remote to change the channel, "Can't a turtle watch the news without being interrupted just once?"

Before Leo could change the channel, the screen flashed a few times, then a familiar red crest appeared on the screen that made Leo freeze and his blood run cold. The rustling of the cheese puff bag stopped immediately and Leo felt Raph lean in over his shoulder, holding his breath.

The screen flickered again, but this time it changed to a shot of a darkened room, a single beam of light illuminating a single figure from above. Leo's heart leapt into his throat. The image that had plagued his dreams since he was fifteen years old was now on April's television in high definition. The Shredder.

"Citizens of New York." The gravelly voice sent chills through the three brothers. April noticed the change in broadcasting and stopped what she was doing, unable to look away from the screen as her chest tightened in fear.

The Shredder continued, "This is my first public address, although it will certainly not be my last. I am here to tell you about the future that awaits you people. A future where you will all bow to me."

Leo clenched his jaw to hold in a scream, his hands clasped in his lap. Beside him, Raphael brushed the handles of his sai with tense fingers before clenching them into fists, his nails digging into his palms. Leo caught the faint gasp from Mikey's lips behind him, and if he could tear his eyes from the speaker on the screen, Leonardo would have seen Mikey shielding the lower half of his face with a pillow, eyes wide and reflecting the bluish light of the screen.

Leo fell deeper into the red eyes of his greatest enemy as the Shredder continued, "Today will be the first of many raids on the city. I have already dispatched two thousand warriors to begin my work on the West Side, and eight thousand more are at my disposal. We will begin the cleansing process of this city."

The way he said "cleansing" made Leo want to vomit; this was not the Shredder's style. Oroku Saki liked to work in the shadows, stealthily taking out enemies and charming powerful people to increase his hold on the city. For the Shredder to have enough confidence to announce a full-scale attack on New York was unsettling.

"I am establishing a new world order, one where you will not need to concern yourselves with petty problems. Freedom of choice muddies life, confuses people, and makes things difficult. Without it, you will have simple lives. So long as you pledge your allegiance to me, you will be safe. Any dissenters will be executed immediately."

"Oh my God," April whispered from the kitchen, her hands gripping the counter so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"A message to my enemies: should you dare to try to stop me, you will perish in the attempt. You are severely outnumbered and out resourced. Your last moments on this earth would be better spent saying goodbye to your loved ones.

"Know this: I will find you and exterminate you."

With those final words, the screen went black and the room descended into silence. They remained frozen in their places, the Shredder's threat echoing in their minds.

Raphael was the first to break the spell. He grasped his sais and marched to the window, his voice deadly as he said, "I'm gonna stop him."

To his relief, Leonardo dipped his head in agreement and grabbed his swords from where they were stored in the corner. In the few seconds it took him to strap them on, Mikey had already brushed the cheese dust off and was following Raphael out the window.

Leonardo was the only one who noticed April, unable to speak or move from her place at the counter. He approached her and placed a hand on her arm, snapping her out of her trance.

"We're going to Saki's tower. When Master Splinter arrives, tell him to meet us there. We won't be able to do this without the five of us."

April swallowed hard. "Four of you, Leo," she barely whispered, feeling a surge of pain in her throat.

Leo's eyes widened as her words sunk in and April wished that she could take them back. She thought she saw tears lining the lower rim of his eye, but his voice was steady when he spoke.

"Right. Four," he said, and his voice sounded hallow, like he had just lost Donatello all over again.

He set his jaw and the hoarseness that threatened to morph into tears disappeared. "Stay inside, and stay safe. If anyone tries to break in, lock yourself in the basement bedroom and whatever you do, don't hit the sewers. Shredder will have dozens of soldiers looking for us down there."

He reached into his belt and pulled out something silvery that flashed in the light. When he held it up, April saw that it was a small knife with a fine blade.

"If anyone tries to hurt you, don't hesitate." He placed the weapon on the counter beside her, his order ringing in her ears.

With that, Leonardo turned to leave, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. When he turned around, April enveloped him in a bear hug and squeezed him so hard he wasn't sure she would let him go.

"Please be safe," she said into his shoulder, her voice crackling with tears.

She felt Leo nod, then he was pulling away, slipping from her arms and into the dark night. April stood for a few minutes like that, the laughter from the festivities and Leo's grave warning mixing in her head. She eventually pulled her gaze from the window, only to focus on the birthday banner.

Happy 17th Birthday.

A bitter laugh erupted from deep within her, making her throat raw with what she tried to convince herself weren't tears. She walked over to the couch and curled up in the corner where Michelangelo had sat not five minutes ago, still warm and covered in cheese dust. April pulled down the woolen blanket form where it hung on the back of the couch and draped it over herself, looking out the window through the small gap in the curtains. Even in the dark, she could see the rain that was falling, trickling down the window in trails of gold, illuminated by the streetlight outside.

-T-

April didn't sleep for even a moment, and the night passed without incident. She didn't see the turtles again until dawn, when they loped back to her apartment with news that made her blood run cold: The Foot clan's emblem now hung over City Hall.