Annalise doesn't sleep well over the next couple of days, but she keeps up the grind anyway, paranoia be damned. She uploads her videos like usual, and on Thursday after school, she draws the names of the winners and records the announcement video, trying to inject every bit of peppy enthusiasm into her tired body.

She makes sure that PizzaNunchucker is among the winners. Thinking of meeting him is all that keeps her going when she feels like she's on the verge of shutting down, and his comments throughout the week fuelled her forward.

She wonders if she should tell her mom about them, but admitting how attached she's become to a stranger online is embarrassing. Besides, it's not like she's going to see him in person, and there's still a chance he's a grown man whom she definitely cannot be friends with.

The Internet is a wonderful tool and an avenue for great things, but there's a lot about it that can be dangerous, and Annalise hopes that PizzaNunchucker isn't one of those dangers.

She sets the video to upload at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow, just as she promised, and drags herself to bed to get some much-needed sleep.

----------

Michelangelo can die happy.

He never dreamed that he, of all mutants, of all people, would win, and yet he's been riding the high of victory all weekend. Annalise said his screen name. Annalise smiled and announced his screen name while trumpets blared and fake confetti rained down around it. She has fully acknowledged his existence not once, but twice.

He can die happy.

He wants to laugh in the face of anyone who says that lightning doesn't strike the same spot twice. He is on top of the world, and if it weren't for something he noticed in the video, he'd be sailing straight up into space.

The thing is, there's something about the announcement video that doesn't sit right with him. He's watched and rewatched the video multiple times, even compared it to her other uploads, and he's sure that what he's seeing isn't a fluke.

She looks...tired. Sad, even. Sure, in the video she's smiling, but her eyes aren't sparkling and her voice is almost too perky to be genuine. There are circles under her eyes, and the idea that she isn't sleeping well breaks Michelangelo's heart. If his little cupcake isn't happy, then he can't ignore it.

When she first posted the video, he left a comment.

PizzaNunchucker: Can't believe I won!!! AHHH!!! :D But...idk if it's just me, but are you okay? This video contest thing must have been super stressful ;-;

She hasn't responded. He didn't expect it, exactly, because Annalise is known in the Donut Box community to never reply to comments unless she's doing a live-stream. Still, she replied to him once, and it leaves him checking his phone with every notification, hoping that she'll let him know what's going on. It makes focusing on tonight's patrol exceedingly difficult, but if the rest of his family notices how distracted he is, they don't mention it.

He slips his phone into his belt with a sigh, wandering after his family as they enter Washington Square Park. It's easy enough for them to avoid any stragglers at this time of night, and the trees provide nice shadows for them to linger in.

They come to a stop near a cluster of picnic tables. Destiny climbs onto one and starts to turn in slow circles, searching their surroundings for spectators. The park is empty. All the life in New York City lies far away from them.

Michelangelo checks his phone again.

"Man, I almost wish there was something to pound," Raphael complains as he spins one sai. He flops down on the picnic table bench and huffs.

"Almost?" Destiny echoes as she hops back to the ground.

He rolls his eyes. "Okay, I definitely wish there was something to pound."

Donatello takes a seat next to his brother, elbows perched on his knees, chin on his hands. "Who would've thought that this city could actually be peaceful?" he murmurs.

"Not even a bank robbery to stop," Sarina agrees as she flops down and rests her head on Donatello's shoulder. "Tragic, yet not. I had hoped for more. I have not gone on patrol in a while, after all."

"There could be something out here," Leonardo insists, standing with his shell turned to them. He stares at their surroundings with a noticeable intensity. "We're ninjas. We need to have something to battle or else our art will go extinct!"

"Woah there, drama queen," Raphael says. "We're just saying it's peaceful for once."

"No one said anything about ninjutsu dying out," Destiny adds.

Leonardo turns to his team, shoulders sagging. "But...you get what I'm saying, right? If there's no one for the ninjas to fight, the need for ninjas is..."

"Non-existent," Sarina finishes.

"Obsolete," Donatello adds.

"Mythical."

"Chimerical."

"Oh-kay, thank you for confirming that you're both brainiacs," Leonardo sighs.

The couple smacks their hands together lightly as they share a grin.

Michelangelo finally looks up from his t-phone, shifting on his feet. "So, if someone was in trouble but you don't know where they live, how could you find out?" he asks with a forced smile.

Raphael glances at him, eye-ridge arched. "Why? Is someone in trouble?"

Michelangelo fiddles with his hands. "Uh...maybe?"

"Yes or no?" Donatello presses.

"Okay, I won this contest on Annalise's channel, but now I'm worried that she isn't actually okay, so I want to find her and comfort her but I don't know where she is," he blurts.

His brothers stare at him in disbelief while Sarina and Destiny stifle giggles. Raphael rolls his eyes, lips falling into a sulking scowl as he snorts. Leonardo and Donatello share a brief look.

"Didn't you say she's never revealed where she lives?" Leonardo asks. "She could be in England for all we know."

"She said she's in America," Michelangelo corrects with a huff. "And I know it's crazy, but I have to try. She could be really hurting! She looks massively stressed out, yo!"

Donatello shakes his head. "Right, and you know this because she seems stressed. There's no evidence to support your claim."

Michelangelo's phone dings, and he hurries to check it. A reply from Annalise appears in his notifications, and his heart does dolphin jumps when he reads it, sinking and leaping repeatedly.

DeepFriedDonutLisey: Of course, congrats to you! It's been a little fast-paced for sure, plus school is getting busier, but I'm excited for everyone to play. Thank you so much for caring lol

"See?" he demands, shoving the phone towards his family. "She's not okay! She needs my help!"

"As if she'd want help from someone like you," Raphael snorts, turning his burning glare to his little brother as he stands up. "In fact, why would she want help from anyone like us?"

Sarina's eyes flash. "Raphael..." she warns, tone low.

"I don't care how much you love her videos," Raphael continues, moving towards Michelangelo and jabbing a finger in his face. "We can't trust humans. We can't trust anyone but our own. We're a bunch of freaks that no normal person will ever need help from, and—"

"Raphael!" Leonardo snaps, stepping between the two of them as Michelangelo's eyes glisten with unshed tears. "That's enough,"

"It's true, Leo!" Raphael shouts, baring his teeth. "He needs to get out of his fantasy world and get a good dose of reality, because no human will ever give a crap about us. No one will ever truly love—"

"Raph, stop," Destiny orders, moving closer to him as she unsheathes her claws. "We all know that this isn't about Annalise."

Michelangelo inhales hard, shoulders quivering, and Raphael spins around to face Destiny. He's shaking too, although from an entirely different emotion, and she meets his glare head-on with her own.

"Guys," Leonardo says.

"You know what, Des? Let's go," Raphael growls, catching his fist in his hand as he cracks his neck.

Destiny's tail lashes. "Alright, Raph. Hit me. Will that make you feel better? Huh?"

"Guys..." Leonardo repeats, firmer. "This isn't the time or place for this!"

Absorbed in their own quarrels, none of them notice the lone teenager wandering through the park.

----------

Annalise lets Pepper sniff around while she finishes replying to the other winners, thanking them and congratulating them. She wasn't planning to reply at all, but PizzaNunchucker's comment seemed to hang over her head all weekend. It's part of why she decided to take a walk with Pepper, even though it's getting late.

It frightens her how perceptive he is. She was sure that she had perfected the art of bubbly happiness, and yet he saw right through her. She isn't sure whether she should be relieved that someone cares enough to notice or worried that her mask is slipping.

Pepper makes little barking noises low in her throat and starts tugging against her harness. Annalise pockets her phone and looks up at where Pepper is trying to go, and she hears yelling.

Her curiosity pulls her almost as much as her dog does. Who could be out this late at night, other than her? The yelling sounds serious and, for a moment, she debates heading in the other direction. What if it's a gang fight? A drug deal gone wrong?

Pepper keeps whining, her eager paws scrabbling against the grass, and Annalise gives in and follows her.

The voices get louder the nearer she gets.

"And you know what else—"

"That has nothing to do with this! Just because you're still hurt—"

"If we could just calm down for a second..."

"Oh, stuff it in your shell, Donnie. You're not in this."

"He is in this as much as you are, Raphael. You are acting very foolishly."

"I'm sorry I said anything, okay, dudes? Please, can we stop?"

"Maybe if you turned on your brain for once, we wouldn't be in this mess right now, you idiot!"

"RAPH!"

Annalise's utter confusion grows. What kind of person uses "stuff it in your shell" as a regular expression? She's certainly never heard it before.

Pepper makes huffing noises in her throat. Annalise creeps closer and peeks out from behind a tree, her eyes widening in shock. Six beings stand near the picnic tables, and only two of them seem even remotely human. Four of them are giant turtles in coloured masks, one of them is a girl with bright blue eyes that seem to radiate light, and the last is a winged girl with dark scars marring half her face. They're all quarrelling at top volume with the turtle in red creating the most noise as he alternates between the blue and orange turtles, with the winged girl pushing back against his aggression.

Annalise starts to back away, head spinning. I'm going nuts, she thinks. She inhaled something during chemistry, and now she's imagining giant freaky creatures that speak English. If she turns around and goes home, no one will be the wiser, and she can wake up from whatever kooky dream she's having.

Pepper has other ideas. She barks, straining against her harness in a vain attempt to go and greet the creatures, making the shouting stop in an instant as twelve wide eyes fall on Annalise. She lets out a squeak of fright and tugs desperately on her terrier's leash, still backing away.

"I...I...uh..." she stammers, starting to shake.

The expression on the orange-masked turtle's face slackens, his watery eyes brightening for a moment. Something snaps behind her, and she spins around just in time to see two fierce green eyes glaring back at her. Annalise startles. How did they move so fast?

A blinding pain goes through Annalise's skull and she collapses into an unconscious heap.