A/N: Okay, I'm kind of embarrassed. This is a Halloween story being finished in December, almost Christmas. I suddenly got bombed with a lot of work, so, I apologize. It's still a holiday story! Just…the wrong holiday. :P

Anyway, enjoy the second and final chapter!

-

Splinter was using all of his self control not to sit at the table with his jaw hanging open.

Michelangelo had just come in right after being called, washed his hands without being asked, and was now loading up his plate with peas, the most hated of all vegetables!

His other sons, it seemed, would not be able to offer any insight either – they seemed as shocked as he.

"Yessiree," Mikey kept saying, "These peas sure are good for you." He waved his spoon at his speechless brothers. "You young'uns better grab some too if you wanna grow up big and strong like Uncle Mikey."

'Uncle Mikey!?' Raph mouthed at Don, who merely shrugged helplessly.

This went on for the rest of dinner, after which Splinter announced a rare surprise for his sons – dessert.

As he sliced pieces of the lemon meringue pie, he handed the plates to Leonardo to hand out amongst his brothers.

"Want some pie, Mikey?" Leo asked, offering the plate.

Mikey sat with his arms folded, staring straight across.

"Mikey? Do want the pie or not? Mikey?" Leo frowned, "Mister Michelangelo?"

At this, Mikey turned and grinned at his brother. "Ah, no thanks Leonardo, I'd love to, but I can't." He patted his stomach, "Doc says I gotta lay off the cholesterol."

"We don't even have a doctor!" Don protested. "Not a real one!"

"Well, see you kids around," Mikey said, climbing down from his chair. "Back to the ol' grindstone." And he left, leaving the rest of his family completely dumbstruck.

-

"This is so wrong!" Raph said, pounding his fist into his palm. "We gotta do somethin'."

The three brothers were crowded on Leo's bed, trying to figure out what was going on with their youngest brother.

"Maybe first we'd better figured out what's causing him to act like this," Don pointed out sensibly.

"Donnie's right," said Leo. "Everybody think – what could have happened to make Mikey act like a grown up, uptight-"

"Jerk?"

"No, Raph. Well okay, yeah. A jerk."

They all sat quietly for a few minutes, thinking back on the events of the afternoon.

"He was all excited about Halloween.." Don started slowly. "I told him I wasn't really planning on doing anything for it."

"He came an' bugged me about it too!" Raph said.

"Me too…" Leo said thoughtfully. "Actually, he seemed pretty upset when I told him we were getting too old."

At the last two words of Leo's sentence, the brothers looked at each other.

"That's it!" Don exclaimed. "Too old!"

"Well…we are. Aren't we?"

"Maybe. But Mikey thinks since we're too old for Halloween, he has to be too!" Leo said, "Right?" he looked at Don for confirmation.

"That would make sense," Don said, nodding.

"So how do we get him back to normal?" Raph wanted to know.

"He wanted to act like a grown up so he'd be grown up enough for us, right?" Leo said, "So maybe if we act like kids-"

"You mean act like Mikey."

"-Then he might go back to how he was before," the blue-clad turtle finished, glaring at Raphael for the interruption.

"It might work," Don shrugged.

"Okay, huddle." The three brothers crowded around each other, and Leo lowered his head, "Here's what we do…"

-

"Um, Master Splinter?"

The rat turned from where he was washing dishes to find Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael standing there.

"Yes?"

There was some hesitation among the boys before Leonardo and Raphael finally pushed Donatello forward.

Glaring at them, the purple-clad turtle said, "Um, we were wondering if you would take us trick or treating tonight."

Splinter was surprised. "But I thought you boys expressed no desire to go this year?"

"That was before Mikey got all wacky sensei!" Raph exclaimed. "We need to get him back to normal! And the only way to do that is to show him how much fun bein' a kid is!"

"I see." Splinter said slowly. "Very well. It is still early – I will take you." Truthfully, the old rat was beginning to miss his playful Michelangelo as well. This new 'adult' one simply was not his son.

"Thank you sensei!" Three voices chorused cheerfully.

As Leonardo and Raphael went up to scrounge up last-minute costumes, Donatello went to find his brother.

-

Mikey looked up from the notebook he was 'writing' in and looked at the calendar, sighing. Halloween had approached, and his plan hadn't worked at all. His brothers hadn't said anything about wanting to do something with him for the holiday.

He put his pencil down as he saw Don approach him. Maybe they had just waited to see if he was going to keep up his grown-up act for the whole week!

'I bet Don is going to see if I'm going to drop the act!' He thought, 'Well I'll show him! I'll be extra grown up!'

"Can I help you Donatello?" he asked haughtily. "I am very busy."

Don reached up and tugged on his hand. "Splinter is taking us trick or treating, Mister Michelangelo! Come with us!"

Mikey blinked. "What? But-" Remembering himself, he looked down his beak at his brother. "It is too late. We can't go out now."

"That's okay!" Don said eagerly. "Splinter's said it was okay!"

"Well…I guess I'll come," Mikey said reluctantly, "Just to help Mister Splinter keep control of you three."

"Great!" Don said enthusiastically, dragging Mike off the couch and to the door where the rest of his family was waiting.

Unable to find something better, Raph and Leo had opted to go as "ghosts" with old bedsheets with eyeholes cut into them thrown over their bodies.

"Stay together now," Mikey ordered as he lead the way out. The rest of his family followed, his brothers exchanging glances with Master Splinter.

The night was still young – it was barely eight o'clock when they hit the streets.

Raph, Don and Leo all began to push Mikey as they approached a house, "Let's go to this one! Come on! Let's go to this one!"

"Uh, I think I should stay back here with Splinter," said Mike.

"No my son, go with your brothers and make sure they are polite to the people," Splinter said with a wink at the rest of the children.

"Oh. Yes! Very well, I will," Mikey said, grabbing up Leo and Don's hands, preparing to cross the street. "Raphael, you hold Leonardo's hand," he ordered seriously.

"What!?"

"We have to hold hands to cross the street."

"I am not-"

"Raph." Leo gave his brother a look. The red-clad turtle sighed and took Leo's offered hand.

Mikey nodded approvingly, then lead the way across the street to the first house, climbing up the steps and ringing the doorbell.

A woman in her mid-forties opened the door, "Oh! Aren't you precious! I know you two are ghosts," she said, bending down to look at Raph and Leo. "And very scary ones!" Her gaze turned to Mikey and Don, "and you two are very adorable um…aliens?"

Don merely smiled and nodded.

"Well I think I might have some goodies for you," the smiling woman said, bringing out a large bowl full of candy and putting a handful into each of Leo's, Don's and Raph's bags. When she moved to hand some to Mikey, he shook his head and backed away.

"No thanks ma'am. I'm just making sure my brothers here don't get into trouble. Besides, you know what they say, sugar's not good for the ol' ticker."

The woman looked surprised, but smiled. "Well! What a good brother you are. All right, bye bye now. Be careful crossing the street!"

The brothers left her house and went to a few others (Splinter always carefully watching from the shadows).

Each time, Mikey politely declined the candy offered to him and stood back from his brothers.

After a few more blocks, the turtles were starting to become discouraged.

"Maybe it ain't workin'," Raph said quietly, as he watched Mikey explain to Splinter why accepting apples on Halloween was dangerous, "Maybe he's stuck like that."

"Mikey isn't broken, Raph," Leo said, rolling his eyes.

Don was looking unsure. "I sure hope he's not stuck like that. He's no fun this way!"

"We only got one block left," Raph said, "If this don't turn him back, I dunno what will."

"Well, let's finish the block at least," Leo shrugged, before gesturing to Mikey they were ready to go to the next block.

"Boy, chasing you kids around sure is tough on the old farts like us, don't'cha know," Mike said, as he followed them to the final house. He stopped as he reached the porch, "I'll just wait here and rest."

"Whatever," Raph rolled his eyes, "Anything to get away from 'Mister Michelangelo.'"

They rang the doorbell, which was answered by a young couple. The usual questions about costumes were answered, and the young bride went to get a few "special surprises" that her young guests were sure to love.

When she returned, she was holding four jumbo Hershey bars – they must have been a pound of chocolate each.

Cheerfully she handed each one out. When she got to Mikey, he started to reach out, then hesitated. "I…I can't."

The young woman cocked her head. "Are you allergic, honey?"

"N-no, I just…" Mikey swallowed, 'Must…resist…chocolate….oh….but it's so big…forget it!'

He held his hands out, "Nevermind. I'll take it!"

The bar was handed over, and he gleefully tore open the wrapper, taking a huge bite right there. His brothers crowded around him, relieved.

-

Back at home, the brothers sat on the floor of the living room, sorting their candy. They had managed to go to a less-crowded block to trick or treat, and Mikey had caught up with his brothers' candy earnings.

"Who knew all it would take to get you back to normal would be a chocolate bar," Raph quipped, shoving a few chocolate kisses into one pile.

Mikey shrugged. "I can't resist the charms of sugar."

"We never wanted you to change, Mikey," Leo said apologetically. "We like you how you are."

Mike grinned, but before he could say anything, Splinter appeared, surveying their candy piles.

"Yes my son, it is good to have you back. It is, as the wise man once said," Splinter bent over, picking up a bag of M&M's, "Live a little."