"Alright, here it is, just...try not to freak out."

The turtles, Sarina, and Splinter sit in the living room. Destiny stands before them, back to the TV, holding a duffel bag. She purses her lips, sets the bag down, and unzips it, revealing multiple stacks of real, honest-to-goodness American dollars.

"Holy shit," Raphael whistles.

Donatello and Michelangelo's mouths fall open. Leonardo's eyes widen. Sarina's lips purse, already having gotten over the shock from having found the money before. Splinter's ears flatten and his eyes narrow.

"Destiny, what is this?" he asks, voice low.

"Well, Sensei, obviously it's a bag of cash," she says. His expression doesn't change and she swallows, rubbing the back of her neck. "But...you knew that." She clears her throat. "This is what Karai paid me for helping them with that temple bust the other day."

"Woah, woah, woah, you mean from that gang stash?" Raphael asks. Destiny bows her head and he exhales. "Wow. Just...wow."

"How much is in there?" Michelangelo asks, eyes wide.

Destiny's eyes turn to Sarina, but the cyborg is already speaking. "It's all in $20 bills and, according to my research, each stack has about one hundred bills. Two thousand dollars per stack." All around the room, eyes stay wide. Sarina's flash. "There are just under three hundred stacks in that bag, meaning...we are looking at over half a million dollars."

"No way!" Michelangelo says, and for once he doesn't seem excited. "That much money doesn't really exist, does it?"

"We're looking at it, genius. Didn't you hear her?" Raphael snaps.

"I know...I should probably burn it," Destiny cuts in. "Like Karai did with the rest, but..." She stares down at the money, heart pounding a little too fast. "I can't. Not yet." She gestures to it. "I want all of you to vote on what we do with it."

Donatello sits up a little straighter. "Well, it's obvious. We can't keep it. It's crime money, and if we use any amount above a few bills, we'll be too suspicious. It's not worth it."

"Think of all the pizza we could buy," Michelangelo murmurs.

"Donnie's right," Leonardo says, getting to his feet. "We can't use it. We've always been able to live without tons of money. We'll keep living that way."

"May I suggest an intermediate?" Sarina asks. Attention turns to her again, her hand raised in the air. She lowers it to her lap. "Who's to say...we can't keep a small portion?"

"It's stolen money," Donatello says.

"That belonged to Shredder, which went to Karai, and Karai paid Destiny," Sarina says. She tilts her head. "It's obviously grey, but I am thinking beyond the present." Her eyes flash. "Someday, if we have children, we will want to clothe them and provide for them, right?"

"Children?" Splinter repeats. "Is that something you believe could be possible?" For far too long, his gaze rests on Leonardo. Leonardo averts his eyes.

"Renet...did mention children," Donatello says, although he speaks slowly, hesitantly.

"Renet?" Sarina repeats. "Who are they? I am not aware of this information."

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that," Raphael says.

"It was a few years ago," Leonardo says. "Renet, a time traveller, mentioned that we're famous in the future. She said she could list off the names of our children, but didn't want to spoil anything for us. Something about messing up the timeline, probably."

"Woah, it's weird to think about now," Michelangelo says. He laughs. "She actually mentioned you, Sarina! She called you 'the scientist' and we were all confused 'cause we hadn't met you yet!" He sits up, gripping his ankles and rolling back and forth. "Leo and Des were still broken up, plus we hadn't met Tay or Lisey!" He stops, a gasp leaving him. "Wait, holy shell, Renet told me there was somebody else! SHE KNEW!"

"Michelangelo, calm down," Splinter says. "Although, I will admit, this information is new to me as well. I suppose you never got around to telling me."

"Sorry, Sensei, it must have slipped our minds," Leonardo says, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sarina's eyes flash. "How peculiar." She shakes her head. "With that in mind, however, I'll bring us back to the topic at hand. As a compromise, I suggest we keep a small portion of this money to save for the future. The rest, we can burn or perhaps donate to those in need."

"Donate?" Michelangelo repeats.

"Yes. We can take a stack of bills and leave it on the doorstep of a charity. I would suggest bringing it to the police, but I'm not sure they would do the charitable thing."

Silence. The turtles shift in place, doing their best not to stare at the cash. Destiny folds her wings tightly against her back, arms crossed over her chest, head down. Splinter hums and strokes his beard. Sarina waits patiently for a response.

"I cannot deny," Splinter starts, "that having some money stashed for emergencies would be nice. I still do not like where it came from, but...so long as we get rid of the majority, I can agree with Sarina's plan."

"Wait, what?" Raphael asks.

"Are you serious?" Leonardo adds.

Splinter nods. "I know. I am surprised by my own train of thought," he says.

"If we're keeping it, we'll need to figure out a safe spot for it," Donatello says. He strokes his chin, brow furrowed. "We can't use huge amounts of cash all at once. It's suspicious. The next best option is depositing it into a bank to accumulate interest."

"That's wonderful in theory," Sarina agrees. "However, to open a bank account, you need a piece of government-issued I.D, a social security number, and a proof of address. Unfortunately, none of us exist in the eyes of the government." She shakes her head. "Other than using April, Casey, Annalise, or Taylor, we're out of luck."

"We can't even get a driver's license," Donatello says. "You need a birth certificate or school I.D for that."

Multiple shoulders sag. Destiny scuffs her shoe against the floor.

"Actually, I may be of service," Splinter says. He gets to his feet. "I still have many important documents from my life as a man." He grips his staff, eyes closing for a moment. "After my father died, I inherited some money. With Shen and Miwa...gone, I had no reason to stay in Japan, so I left for New York," he says. "Before and after the move, I applied for a United States social security number and immigrant visa, set up a bank account, and got a credit card."

"You've had that all this time but never used it?" Raphael asks, flabbergasted.

Splinter exhales. "I did my best to keep it active, even after I was mutated, but life was harder back then. I did not have the technology that you have now." His ears flatten. "It has been many years since I last used it. I fear it may have been closed."

Sarina and Donatello share a brief glance, eyes sparkling, then turn back to Splinter.

"We'll help you, Sensei!" Sarina says.

"So much banking is handled online now, we can probably handle most of it over the phone! If we can get that account running, we'll have more freedom!" Donatello adds.

"Alright, then it's settled," Splinter says. He glances down at the bag and his whiskers twitch. "So, now comes the question...how much are we keeping?"

----------

"Hey, Raph?"

Raphael looks up from his magazine at Michelangelo. Michelangelo fidgets with his fingers, not meeting his brother's eyes. Raphael exhales heavily and puts the magazine down.

"What, Mikey?"

"Um, well...about the money..."

Raphael lets out another groan. That money is going to be all anyone can think about for a while, he just knows it.

"What about it?"

Michelangelo swallows. "Lisey and Tay are gonna want to go to school once they graduate, right?" he asks. "Like college? Or university?"

Raphael blinks a few times. If he's being honest, he expected Michelangelo to say something about pizza or action figures. Raphael didn't even think about Taylor or Annalise, and hearing his brother say it makes him feel extra guilty about that fact.

"Oh," he says. He shrugs. "Yeah, probably?"

He hasn't asked Taylor about her after high school plans. Her focus has been on catching up, getting her life back to normal. With her criminal record, she could have a harder time getting into school or finding work, too. She's said as much before during her frustration rants over homework.

"I thought so," Michelangelo says. "Lisey said that she's saving as much as she can. You know, from her job? But going to school is really expensive, she says. Like...thousands of dollars."

"Mikey..." Raphael starts.

"I'm just...I'm just saying, we could help them!" Michelangelo says, eyes starting to sparkle pleadingly. "I mean, I can never do anything for Lisey other than supporting her emotionally! I could change her life, and her mom's!"

"Mike—"

"And Taylor! And Casey and April, too!"

"Mikey!"

Michelangelo shuts up, bottom lip trembling just as much as the rest of him. Raphael gets to his feet, hooking his thumbs on his belt as he purses his lips. Michelangelo has a point, but this is exactly what they were worried about when they chose to keep some of the money.

"Look," Raphael says. "I hear you, but...we can't start thinking too big. Remember what Donnie said?"

Michelangelo sags, pouting. "It's sus to have a lot of money."

"Yeah, exactly. Sus," Raphael says. "Still, I get it. It'd be great to be able to help them." He hops out of the living room pit and grips Michelangelo's shoulder. "Talk to Annalise about what her plan is. Maybe her mom's got some savings tucked away or something. She could even have scholarships or something lined up!"

"Lisey is really smart..."

"Exactly! There you go, bud." Raphael socks him on the shoulder, lightly enough to make him laugh. "Try not to worry too much."

"Okay. Thanks, Raph!"

Michelangelo skips away, no doubt aiming to visit Annalise. Raphael turns back to the couch, eyeing his magazine, but he shakes his head and turns back to the lair entrance. He should probably give his woman a visit too.

----------

"Have we ever...seriously talked about the future?" Raphael asks.

Taylor looks up from her guitar, eyebrow lifting. Raphael lays on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with his arm propped beneath his head. She strums a chord and adjusts her fingers.

"First a surprise visit, now you're asking about that? What happened at home?" she asks, a teasing lilt to her voice.

"Have we?"

Her smile falls. "Um...no, I don't think we have. Not really." She strums another few chords. "En serio, ¿qué pasa?" she mutters, more to herself than him.

"Des...came into a bit of money. We're keeping some, getting rid of the rest," Raphael admits. "Mikey mentioned you and Annalise going to school after you graduate. It...can get kinda pricey."

For a few long, tangible seconds, the room is quiet. Taylor's fingers dance over her guitar, never touching, and Raphael keeps looking at the ceiling. When it drags on a little longer, he sits up and fixes her with a look.

"Talk to me, Tay," he says.

She exhales, pulling her guitar over her head and setting it to the side. She leans back against the wall and grabs her ankles, rocking once. "I've thought about it, but...I don't know what I'm going to do anymore," she admits. "Before I joined the Dragons, I imagined getting a degree in music. Now..."

"You could still do that," Raphael insists. "You could be a guitar teacher, or...or..."

"If any of the schools let me in," she says with a scoff. She thumps her head lightly against the wall, squeezing her eyes shut. "My parole officer mentioned it once. He said that I probably won't get any financial aid even if I do get accepted. Schools are finicky about letting in criminales."

His blood boils a little and his hands tighten into fists. "That's stupid," he mutters. "You're not that person anymore."

"Guess I can't blame them, but si...es estupido."

More silence. Raphael stews in the unfairness of it all. His viewpoint on crime has changed quite a bit since he met Taylor. He used to think that anyone committing a crime was no good and deserved what they got, but Taylor isn't like that. Even her dad isn't like that, from what he's heard—he was just pushed to desperation and he got caught.

"Still, I'm thinking I might aim for a trade," Taylor admits. "Cosmetology. It'll still be expensive but it won't take nearly as long..." Her eyes seem to sparkle. "If I can...I want to leave New York. Not forever, but living somewhere else for a while would be cool."

He blinks a few times, processing everything she said and trying to pick what he wants to ask about first. He settles on, "Cosmetology?"

"You know. Hair, makeup. Beauty school," she says, waving her hand at him. "It's usually a pretty short program. A year, tops."

"Huh..." he says. He shifts, gaze falling to his lap. "And...leaving New York? How far away are we talking?"

Her eyebrows lift, but she shrugs. "No lo sé. I haven't done much research yet." She leans forward a bit. "Raphael, mi amor, do you not like that?"

"What? No! I mean, yes, but..." He huffs, flopping back on the bed. "If I'm totally honest, I just never thought about you not being in the city. I'd miss you." She smiles a tiny bit and he sits back up, pointing. "But! I'm not about to be the guy who doesn't let you follow your dreams or whatever. You do what makes you happy and I'll support you."

She gazes at him for a few, long seconds, her smile getting less sad and more amused. His eyes narrow and he crosses his arms over his chest.

"What?"

"You really are a good guy, Raphie," she says.

He flushes a little, looking away. "Yeah, whatever." She giggles and he still refuses to look at her. "So...the money?"

"If I really need it, I'll ask, but I want to try to do it myself first. Bueno?"

"Bueno."

More silence. He exhales and turns back to her.

"So..." he starts. "What schools are you thinking of? Maybe we can look at them together."

His heart lifts with the excitement on her face.

----------

"Oh, Mikey, you really don't have to worry about me."

Michelangelo blinks a few times. "Huh? Why? Isn't university super expensive?"

Annalise flushes a little, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Well, yeah, but...I'm eligible for a lot of military scholarships and financial aid thanks to my dad." Her eyes grow sad for a moment and she looks away, gripping her own hands. "VA education benefits for surviving family, Fallen Patriots Fund..."

"People give you money because your dad was a soldier?"

"Because he died in action, yeah. It's...I guess it's the government's way of thanking us for his sacrifice?" She shrugs and looks at her computer screen, idly dragging the cursor around. "Mom told me I should apply for them during senior year, but..." A sigh. "I don't know, it feels like I'm taking advantage of my dad's bravery."

"If it's there to help you, then why not use it?" Michelangelo asks. She looks up at him and he smiles a little. "Maybe...think of it as a way for your dad to support you from beyond the grave!"

The idea makes her laugh softly. "Well, I'll probably use it anyway. I can't afford it on a Best Buy salary."

"That's lame..."

"I know, right?" She shoves away from her desk and gets to her feet. "Basically...don't sweat it. I've got my ways." She grabs his arm as she steps to his side. "Wanna watch TV and snuggle?"

"Uh, shell yeah!"