Daryun and Arslan had just climbed down a manhole and headed for the sewers, using the directions Layla had given them. While Arslan held his shirt over his nose and mouth, Daryun turned on his phone's built-in flashlight.

"Daryun," Arslan said while he and Daryun navigated their way through the sewers, his voice slightly muffled by his shirt. "What are we doing down here? It smells like rotten eggs."

"I know," said Daryun. "But, according to Layla, your surprise is somewhere down here."

"Oh. Okay," Arslan said. 'Why would Layla have a surprise down in the sewers, anyway?' he thought.

Minutes later, Daryun saw a light up ahead, and realized he and Arslan were nearing their destination. He then sent a text to Layla, telling her to tell everyone to hide. He and Arslan also noticed that the rotten egg smell wasn't as strong in this part; in fact, the smell was pretty much nonexistent.

Layla, Shireen, the Turtles, and the other party guests were sitting in the living room, watching a cartoon called Nightwatcher.

"It's amazing how accurate the cartoon is to the comics," Raph comnented.

"It's not accidental," Alfreed said. "The comic creator had a hand in cresting this. In fact, he also approved any changes made."

"That's so cool!" said Mikey.

"I think I remember hearing something similar in regards to the How to Train Your Dragon movie," April added. "The books are vastly different from the movie. Actually, the movie is an adaptation in name only; the only things shared on both media were the characters' names, and maybe personality traits."

"I read all those books," said Narsus. "If it had not just been an in-name-only adaptation, it would've flopped."

"True that," Mikey agreed with the slop artist.

While Layla was checking her phone, Elam turned towards Hermes and Xandes and gestured to the TV. "Are you two getting all this? Because you're going to have to portray these characters accurately."

Hermes groaned and said, "Come on, be reasonable!"

"We already said we were sorry," Xandes said. "Don't make us do this; we'll look like clowns!"

Farangis glared at the prankster duo and replied, "Hey, you brought your punishment on yourselves, you jerks."

"Please, have mercy!" Hermes pleaded desperately.

"No time to talk," Layla said and turned the TV off. "Ars and Daryun are almost here. Come on, hide!"

"Right!" everyone else said, and, after turning off all the lights, joined Layla in hiding.

A few minutes later, Arslan and Daryun arrived at the now darkened Lair.

'Good,' Daryun thought while making sure Arslan didn't hurt himself while stepping into the Lair. 'Everyone's hidden.'

"Daryun, what's going on?" Arslan asked.

"You'll see," Daryun said.

Just then, the lights came on, and everybody jumped out of their hiding places, setting off party poppers.

"Surprise!" the other kids exclaimed cheerfully. "Happy birthday, Ars!"

Arslan looked around the Lair, astonished by what he took in: a bunch of streamers, and decorations, along with a "Happy 13th Birthday!" sign hanging up. He also noticed a couple of tables near the kitchen. One table had the snacks that Elam and Alfreed prepared, and the other was laden with presents.

"Wow," Arslan said happily. He smiled at his friends and sisters. "You guys did all this for me?"

"Of course, Ars," Leo replied. "You're our friend, and we wanted you to have a happy birthday, even though your parents couldn't be here."

"Because of Dad," Shireen whispered to Layla, who nodded in agreement.

"Wanna play some games?" Mikey asked excitedly. "We've got Twister, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and many others."

"I tried putting Spin the Bottle on the list of games, but everybody shouted me down," Gieve said.

"That's because this is Ars' birthday party," Farangis said firmly. "And if you bring it up again, I'll change it to Spin Gieve and Hit Him With a Bottle!"

"How about adding, 'And Hold Him Upside Down, And Dump Soda and Cheez-Its on Him'?" Soren added. He, Jericho, and Musa laughed until their sides hurt.

"Oh, hardy har har!" Gieve said sarcastically.

After playing some games, it was time for cake and presents. After blowing out the candles, Arslan happily cut the chocolate cake set before him, and after everyone had their pieces, the birthday boy opened his presents.

Some time later, Arslan and the others were treated to a small play based on the Nightwatcher cartoon, starring Raph as Nightwatcher, and Hermes and Xandes as two of Nightwatcher's archenemies, The Prankster and The Enigma. The play was a hit, and Arslan especially had a great time watching the performance, being that Nightwatcher was his favorite superhero. At one point, everybody got a good laugh out of Hermes and Xandes tripping over each other, knocking the scenery over, which greatly annoyed Raph, to the point that he grabbed the prankster duo and clonked their heads together.

After the Nightwatcher play ended, Raph and his brothers put the scenery and costumes away. Arslan was gathering his presents and talking with his friends.

"Hey, Estelle," Arslan said. "I've been meaning to ask: How did you guys come up with that play? It was awesome."

"It was Hermes and Xandes' punishment for going too far with one of their pranks," Estelle replied. "Said prank resulted in an injury."

"Whoa," Arslan said with surprise.

"Yeah," said Estelle.

"Also, we remembered that Nightwatcher is your favorite superhero," Elam said.

"So we came up with the idea of doing a Nightwatcher play, and decided to incorporate Hermes and Xandes' punishment into it," said Musa.

"That was very clever," Arslan said.

"Thanks!" said Raph.

"I hope you're happy, Ars," Hermes said and glared at his cousin. "Because I'm embarrassed!"

"I am happy, Hermes," Arslan said and smiled at the grumpy teen, then gave him a hug. "Thank you." Hermes' glare disappeared, and he returned Arslan's embrace.

A little later, it was starting to get late, so Arslan and the other kids had to get ready to go home. Before leaving the Lair, Arslan gave all his friends, the Turtles included, some of the leftover cake, and thanked them all for the party. Afterwards, everybody said their goodbyes and parted ways for the night.

Back on the surface, Arslan, his sisters, and Daryun were walking home, presents in tow.

"So, did you enjoy the party?" Layla asked her little brother.

"I did," Arslan replied happily, and smiled. "It was probably the greatest birthday party I've had so far."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, bro," Layla said and patted Arslan on the head. "Actually, the party was Mikey's idea."

Arslan smiled and said, "I'll have to ask him to plan my birthday party next year, too."

Some time later, Daryun and the Baris kids arrived at Ecbatana Apartments, then headed up to the Baris' floor. After putting their portion of leftover cake away, and Arslan put his presents in a safe place, he went to bed happier than he had been that morning. Before drifting off to sleep, he made a mental note to find out when the Turtles' birthday was.