The brothers ran across the rooftops of New York City in silence, headed towards home. The all felt as if they had been gone for days, but thanks to Renet, they were returned mere moments after they left through the time portal. The events of what they witnessed weighed heavily on their minds, and they might as well have been gone for an eternity.
Leo was the first to drop the street, and pried open the manhole cover. He waited until all of his brothers were inside, and had gone down the ladder before he descended too.
"Guys, did we do the right thing?" Mikey asked quietly. He had tried to save Tang Shen, along with Raph, but it was too late by the time they removed the debris from her body. "We…we could have saved her."
"It would have changed history," Donnie reasoned. "It would have caused the time stream to butterfly effect, and who knows what the consequences of that would have been like."
"But she didn't deserve to die," Mikey responded with a sniffle. He fell quiet again as they approached the turnstiles of their sewer home. At this point Splinter could most likely hear them if they spoke too loudly.
The four of them walked into the lair and moved towards the dojo. Even though it was rather late at night they knew Splinter would still be awake, or at least meditating. But on their way Splinter had emerged from the small hall leading into the kitchen carrying a tray with his tea set in hand.
"Sensei!" Mikey jumped over the turnstiles, and ran up to Master Splinter to give him a hug. Mikey's sudden exclamation almost made Splinter drop his tea, but was easily able to regain his composure.
"Michelangelo," Sensei said surprised. "What is the matter?"
"It's just good to see you," Mikey pulled away as the brothers came over to join them.
"We need to talk with you, Sensei," Leo stepped forward.
"Of course. We can speak in the dojo."
Mikey was the first one to the door and he slid it open carefully. The others followed suit, with Raph closing the door behind him as he was last to enter.
Master Splinter took his place at the base of the tree, and the four brothers all lined up on the floor before their sensei, sitting in the lotus position, and their heads bowed. Sensei set out four more tea cups, and filled them. Each brother grabbed a cup as it was offered to them.
"What is wrong? I sense something has you distressed," Sensei said to them after a moment.
"Something happened Sensei," Leo started. "It's difficult to explain, and you might not even believe us."
"I have seen many things that I thought were once impossible. You can tell me what is troubling you all."
There was a still silence through the room. Sensei waited patiently for them to speak.
"We…time traveled," Donnie said first. Sensei quirked an eyebrow at him and waited for him to continue.
"There was this super rad girl, Renet," Mikey cut in. "She appeared through this portal and took us through time, and we defeated this evil dude who wanted to rule all of time and space. It was wicked cool! But then…"
"We got separated from her as we were traveling back here and ended up in Japan…sixteen years ago," Raph finished. Then paused and let their words sink in.
"You were in Japan?" Master Splinter asked, slightly stunned at the story they were telling. It was sixteen years ago, almost to the day, that his life had changed drastically.
"Yes, Sensei," Raph started again. "And we ran into Hamato Clan ninjas, and they thought we were Yokai."
Master Splinter's eyes widened. He remembered a time when his clan was so spooked about monsters in the forest. He had laughed about it at the time, finding the notion ridiculous. "I remember…that was you four?"
The boys nodded.
"Sensei, we're so sorry," Mikey said, there were tears in the corner of his eyes. He hadn't cried before but facing his father now made it harder somehow. "I…we tried to save her, but it was too late."
"We only managed to pull you out of the fire before it consumed the dojo entirely," Donnie explained.
"You saw Tang Shen?" Sensei asked. "And you rescued me from the fire?" he always wondered how he had managed to end up outside on the ground when the fire had started.
"Sensei, she was great. We got to talk to her for a while. She thought we were kappa, but she helped us out," Raph started to explain.
"And gave us cucumbers," Mikey added.
"We're just sorry we couldn't save her…even if it meant changing history," Leo continued. Splinter had cast his eyes down at the mat, contemplating everything he was being told.
Sensei took a deep breath, and let it out. "My sons," he said quietly. "This news is difficult to take in. But I do not doubt you. I appreciate you coming to tell me what has happened to you. I miss Tang Shen terribly, and I do wonder what our life would have been like if I had just listened to her and moved with her to the city. But it was destined to be, as much as I wish it was not."
"We tried to change that, but we were always meant to end up there," Raph told Sensei. "According to the Time Master anyway."
"Yes," Splinter nodded. "If it had not happened, I would not have you four. I found a new family the day you came into my lives, and I'm grateful to have you." He smiled fondly at his sons.
Mikey wiped at his eyes, and stood up to walk over to Sensei. "I have something to show you," He pulled out his T-phone as he leaned down next to Master Splinter, and showed him the image on the phone.
On the screen was a birds-eye view of Tang Shen holding Miwa in the forest. They were both smiling happily. Splinter took the phone into his hands and stared at the image.
"I know you only have one photo of them, but I took a picture when we were there. I didn't know if it would stay when we jumped through time. She really loved you, Sensei."
"Thank you, Michelangelo," Master Splinter traced his finger over the image of his wife, and daughter. It looked as though it were taken yesterday, and technically it was. Their smiles were bright, and the colors were vibrant. It was wonderful to see.
"Thank you all for telling me what occurred, and thank you for saving me in the past as well."
"We love you, Sensei," Mikey grabbed Master Splinter into a bear-hug, and the brothers jumped up to join.
Master Splinter smiled down at his sons huddled around him. Despite the tragedy he had faced in his life, it all led up to moments like these. It was warm, and safe. He had four sons he loved, and they loved him in return. This was home.
A fluffy little one-shot I've had sitting on my computer for a while now. I just wanted to see a follow up after what happened when the brothers went to the past, but we didn't get that. I hope the story was enjoyable, even if it was a bit corny (especially towards the end).