Author Note: My apologies for taking so long to have the final chapter up - but here it is! May I also take a moment to thank all of those who voted for this story and others I wrote in the Fanfic competition. FDRF won second place in Best Crossover and there were placements for some of my one shots and nominations for others. I'm glad they were enjoyed, thanks again and I hope you enjoy this too!

&!&!&!&!&

Splinter looked up sharply as the four turtles entered the lair, taking notice of their morose demeanours. "My sons?"

"Something happened," said Donnie, not noticing Splinter speaking to them, too involved in working out the events of the evening. "Somehow, Leo managed to avoid being next on the list. And by avoiding it, he was skipped over. It went right on to the next person, Karai."

"Isn't it obvious?" Leo glanced at the three of them, noting their worried faces. "That unit was supposed to land on me. If it had done, I would have been turtle pancake. But because Mikey saw it coming, he managed to step up – and I was taken off the list."

Raph scowled. "So what are you saying? That the rest of us have to wait around until we nearly get killed hoping to get skipped over? I guess all ya have to do then is wait for a ton of bricks to fall on my head, since I'm the next one doing the dying!"

"So now you believe me" snapped Mikey, still shaken from seeing his hard won victory over certain death snatched back and replaced with uncertainty again. "You think there's an order to the deaths as soon as it's you next."

Raph threw his arms in the air. "Yeah, okay? I believe you! You convinced me, there's an order to the deaths and mine's next. Happy now? That what ya wanted to hear?"

"Yeah Raph, I'm ecstatic. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Asshole."

"Michelangelo!" Splinter allowed his tone to sharpen. "Enough! Where is Mr Jones?"

Donnie shook his head. "Sensei, Casey was killed, Hun showed up out of nowhere and he was killed too…"

Splinter looked grave. "What is this about an order?"

The other turtles all looked at Mikey, who shrugged, his gaze finding the floor and staying there. "Master Splinter, the vision I had at the baseball game, I saw everyone die in the same order as they've been dying in real life. I don't think it's random – or at least I didn't think that. But tonight… I ran into Karai and she knew the deaths and what happened at the game were linked somehow. We figured it out and got everyone together to tell them, but then Hun showed up and it all went to hell. I – I thought I had it all worked out, but if I did get it right then Leo would be dead already. I mean, why did it skip him instead of just trying again?"

Splinter shook his head slowly. "I do not understand. Leonardo?"

"If Mikey's list is right, then I should have been killed after Casey and Hun," explained Leo wearily. "But after they died, Mikey shoved me out of the way of a stereo unit that would have finished me off for sure. And then Karai – she was killed too. But if Mikey's theory was right, then she should have been safe until I died. So we're confused."

Splinter was silent for a moment, frowning and thinking before he spoke. "My sons, sit for a while."

The four turtles assumed a meditative pose in front of their Sensei, who also sat, resting his chin on one hand and regarding them all. He was quiet long enough to unnerve them all, but they all retained their silence until he chose to speak.

"My sons – you are all so young. I truthfully believed as all parents do, that no matter what befell our family, you four, my sons, were invincible. That youth is a deterrent to death. Now I am forced to think otherwise."

Raph opened his mouth as if to talk back, caught the look on Splinter's face and wisely closed his mouth instead.

"Some people see death as a force of nature and of course, they are right. But this does not preclude sentience I believe. It seems sometimes that even forces of nature are able to choose how they are to treat us, to show mercy or to inflict suffering. Why should death be different? But you were given the chance to cheat death and I know that being outsmarted has never made any sentient being happy."

Raph could be silent no more. "Death's got it in for us because Mikey had a dream? What do ya suggest, send a muffin basket and ask please not to chase us with high explosives any more?"

Splinter regarded him impassively and after a moment Raph hung his head. "Sorry Sensei."

"I understand Raphael. It is frustrating when your enemy cannot be fought with fists. Nor can you gain victory through logic, or trickery, or through appealing to honour. But that Leonardo still lives – this gives me a sense of hope. This trial may be overcome after all."

Leo looked at his brothers, a little ashamed to have lived when Raph was still in danger. "So, what do we know?"

"You're the safest one here," said Donnie. "If you've been taken off the list then Raph's in the most danger, then it'll be me then Mikey."

"I'm not so sure," said Mike. "I mean, Leo's not immortal or anything. Cheating death doesn't mean you live forever. It just means we can't tell for sure when he goes up to the big aquarium in the sky. But we know Raph's in danger; we have to watch for the signs."

"Signs?" Raph laughed but there was no humour in it. "I can see it now. I gotta use the little turtles room and someone sticks up a notice telling me the next person in there's gonna get sucked down by faulty plumbing. Yeah, great."

Mikey shook his head. "No literal signs. There was something – a feeling, an object or a noise or something that would give me a real bad feeling. I have to keep watching for them."

"That's just great." Raph rolled his eyes. "I just gotta wait. At least Casey never knew what hit him. Forget this."

Jumping to his feet, Raph managed three steps away from the others before Leo grabbed his wrist. "Where do you think you're going?"

Raph snatched his arm away and rounded on Leo. "I'm going out dancin', where do ya think? Yeesh, I'm gonna lift some weights!"

"That might not be a good idea Raph," said Donnie reluctantly. "Look at what happened to that girl…"

"What, you think my weights are gonna jump out and bite me with you guys right here?" Raph scowled mutinously.

"Being around people didn't help anyone else," replied Donnie.

Raph threw his arms into the air. "Fine! That's just fine! Why don't I just lock myself in a padded room in case something else comes to get me – wait! What if the padding comes loose and forces its way down my throat and chokes me? Couldn't have that!"

"Raphael!" Leo trailed after Raph as he stormed off toward the weight bench. "You can't get into a fist fight with Death!"

"If he comes near me, I'll rip his spine outta his asshole and feed it to Klunk!" To emphasise his point, Raph slammed a fist into the punch bag, which swung backwards violently. The seemingly unfrayed rope suddenly snapped in half, sending the heavy bag hurling backwards. It slammed against a low bench, which tipped sharply forward and sent the shuriken which had been left out there, forgotten during the latest crisis, flying in a lethal barrage toward Leo and Raph.

With a yell, the pair hit the floor and covered their heads as the shuriken whizzed above their heads, embedding themselves into the furniture around the lair or losing momentum and clattering to the floor.

Raph peeked out from under his arms, eyeing the damage to the already tattered furnishings. "Um, about that padded room…?"

&!&!&!&!&

Darren Davis was in trouble.

He ducked around a corner, hearing the sirens as they grew ever nearer – and worse, in the distance were the sounds of a police helicopter. He was in the worst trouble of his life.

And it wasn't even like it was his fault! He was being unfairly persecuted, that was what it was.

Two years before, he had met another man in a bar, played a few rounds of pool with him and they had fallen to chatting about big business. Big business, explained the man, was the reason why the country was in the state it was in. The rich only got richer and the poor working class guys, like them, were crapped on time and again. The implication was that if the business world were to suffer some kind of calamity then the world would be a better, fairer place to live.

The man introduced himself as Scout and informed Darren that he was part of a group dedicated to doing just that; bringing down the huge corporations that made material wealth the biggest prize and the hardest thing in modern life. The difference between their group and the other dippy-hippy ones confided Scout, was that they weren't a lot of talk and hot air. Giving out leaflets and crying into a void wasn't their style. Less talk, more action.

Darren, idealistic, more than a little drunk and coming down with a mild case of hero-worship, agreed to meet with the others in the group. And things had spiralled from there. Somehow, he had found himself drawn into the group, planning, scheming. The targets had been chosen with care, the dates, the methods. The plan took a lot of work, but it had finally been coming together before the shit hit the fan.

Melina, beautiful, leggy Melina who spoke of revolution and equality. Melina, who understood the implications of their acts more than he did. Melina, who could preach their ideologies until only a fool would disagree with her – Melina was an informant. She had sold them all out to the cops and that night, the full wrath of the NYPD had fallen on them.

Darren had fled the building, sheer luck allowing him to escape when the others were captured, luck that allowed him to grab the dynamite that was the physical evidence of their plans.

Now his luck was running out.

Leaning against the wall, breathing heavily and cursing his twenty a day cigarette habit, Darren tried to think. It was clear he wasn't getting away. They were after him, determined to take him down. All he could do was be chased down, or surrender…

Or he could try a little distraction and see if it helped his escape.

Darren looked down at the rucksack he carried, stuffed with dynamite. More than enough to cause some serious damage. If only he were somewhere he could fire it up without problems – but although he was in the warehouse district, he didn't want to risk hurting someone, even if it was a cop, not to mention that these weren't the people they had been targeting. The owners of the warehouse were working stiffs like him and no one became a working class hero by torching the only assets of the poor.

The sirens closed in, coming ever closer to his hiding place on the corner of Eastman and Laird.

And then Darren saw what might just be his lifeline.

There was a manhole nearby, the lid caught on something and not properly closed again. Darren had no way of knowing that it had been opened the night before by a man named Casey Jones, whose thoughts were too filled with his own sorrow to notice that he had done a bad job of covering his tracks. All he knew that it was a place to unload the dynamite – and perhaps the distraction he was looking for.

Had he been thinking properly instead of panicking, he might have crept into the sewers himself, but the idea was so alien that it didn't even occur to him. Instead, he rushed for the manhole, dragging it open with an effort, willing whatever deity might be watching over him to allow him just a few more seconds.

Taking his cigarette lighter from his pocket, he opened the rucksack, held the flame to the fuse for a moment until it caught alight, then dropped the entire bag into the sewer and ran for his life.

The resulting explosion tore up half the asphalt, sending chunks of concrete raining on the surrounding area. The tremors knocked Darren off his feet and a particularly heavy slab of sidewalk crushed his skull to pulp before he could scramble back to his feet.

Below the street surface, pipes burst, tunnels collapsed and sewers for two miles around backed up violently. The city council would have a six month headache fervently trying to undo the damage that occurred.

And anyone living within the blast zone would have a more immediate headache to worry about.

&!&!&!&!&

Raph sat moodily on the couch, apparently ignoring the conversation going on around him. Mike had opted to perch on the back of the couch, Leo had taken an arm and Don had fortunately sat next to Raph, in order to stop Mike upending the furniture. The shuriken had been removed from their resting places and by unspoken agreement, three of the turtles had done a quick sweep of the lair, removing all the weapons and hiding them in Leo's room, where they were least likely to do anyone any damage.

Splinter sat in his own chair, walking stick laid across his knees, regarding them all gravely. He seemed to be as lost for ideas as they were and that worried all of them. Splinter never ran out of ideas. He always knew of something that could be done.

Donnie rubbed his forehead as if fighting off a headache. "Nature abhors a vacuum – you know that saying, right?"

Mike shot Don a sideways look. "And this is relevant how?"

"Because it might explain why we're dying. What nature abhors, it disposes of."

"I always knew the world had it in for me," muttered Raph bleakly.

"That's not what I mean either. Some people say that destiny, fate, isn't determined by chance or choice, but because every move, everything we ever do, is already decided for us. But what if there's a way to change those events and Mike somehow tapped into that, found out about it? That means we should be dead already and our existence is messing up a lot of other plans. Our lives touch other people's lives. Think about it; Hun's death will cause a war within the Dragons and Karai's will cause on in the Foot. But those wars should have been going on since the stadium disaster. Because of the delay, there might be people still alive who would have died or events that haven't happened that should have. Us dying is nature's way of restoring the balance."

Raph shrugged. "I think I preferred Master Splinter's explanation about Death being pissed at us."

"And it hardly matters." Leo stared at the ceiling, a scowl darkening his features. "My death was skipped over because I was saved. But that wouldn't make sense, because I'm still messing up things by being alive according to your theory Don. Does that mean we just have to wait for nature to realise we cheated death again so it can come after us again or is surviving twice somehow – cancelling out the debt?"

Don shook his head slowly. "I don't know."

"Anyway," Raph broke in. "Those shuriken we just ducked. If you're right about Leo being off the list because Mike saved him, then doesn't that mean I'm off the list because they missed and we oughtta be looking out for Don?"

Mikey shook his head. "No, that doesn't feel right."

Raph glared at him. "Doesn't feel right? What are you talking about?"

"Those shurikens wouldn't have killed you. Shurikens are used as a distraction, not a weapon, and you know it."

"About twenty just flew at my head!"

"Well, maybe they would have – knocked you backwards and you dropped a sai then fell over Klunk and tripped and fell on it and it got an artery or – I don't know! I just know that a few shuriken wouldn't have killed you and that doesn't count as a near death experience. Leo would have been killed though. I just – I don't know why."

Don looked up at Mikey. "But I have kind of a theory…"

For the first time, the three turtles looked hopeful and Splinter raised his head, his features close to a smile that Don couldn't return. "You won't like it."

"We don't have anything else to go on," said Leo. "Try us."

"Well – if we can strike our names from the list by cheating death a second time, then maybe we can manufacture the conditions that would be involved in that."

Raph raised an eye ridge and regarded Don suspiciously. "I don't like where this is going Don."

"Manufacture the same conditions?" Leo stared incredulously at his smart brother. "You mean – you want to recreate a situation that could kill us?"

Don sighed. "I know it sounds out there, but hear me out. If we can die – clinically die – we can be brought back to life and as far as Death is concerned, we're already deceased and we're off the list!"

Mike tried a half hearted smile. "You guys are always threatening to kill me."

Leo shook his head emphatically. "No, no way Donnie. It's too dangerous. There's too much that could go wring, too many variables…"

"And it's not your decision to make Leo," said Raph. "You're already off the list; it's not you with a death sentence on ya. I say, I'll try it out and if you can bring me back it should be safe to work on Mike and Donnie – uh-oh."

"There's no reason why any of you can't bring me back," said Donnie carefully, obviously having already realised what Raphael had considered. "You all know most of this stuff already and I can show you how it works for the stuff you don't."

"You're going to kill yourselves to cheat Death?" Leo jumped to his feet and began to pace. "Have you any idea how crazy that sounds?"

"Leonardo." Splinter raised a hand and Leo stopped, although he was obviously still agitated. "There are no other options. We must do what we have to – to save our family."

Leo bowed his head, his eyes closing, pausing for a moment before looking up, his expression determined. "Alright. We'll do this – but Don, you talk me through everything. Everything. If even one thing goes wrong…"

"Nothing's gonna go wrong Leo," said Raph impatiently. "And hell, if it does we're not much worse off."

"There'd better not be any of those funky Flatliners dreams," muttered Mikey.

Raph ignored him. "So Don, ready to do this?"

"You bet." The pair rose from the couch at the same time, leaving the weight wholly on the back where Mikey sat and causing gravity to take over and dump him and the couch on the floor.

"Yowch!"

In spite of the serious situation, Leo smiled. "That's what you get for sitting on the back of…"

Mike interrupted him, spying something previously hidden by the couch. "Hey, my Catwoman comic! I wondered where this had gone!"

Grabbing the comic, he flipped through the pages, his cheer fading as he came to a page in the middle. Catwoman was trapped in a car in a river, unable to open the door to escape until the pressure within the vehicle was equal to that outside. Suddenly a chill came over him.

"Don't you think we have more important things to worry about?" asked Leonardo, not unkindly.

"Guys," said Mikey flatly. "I have a really bad feeling…"

There was a rumble from the tunnels around them and all the turtles looked around nervously. Unconsciously, Raph let his hands drop to his sai. "What was that?"

Donnie looked over to the sewer entrance of the lair. "I don't li…"

His words were drowned out by a series of crashing sounds as the tunnel outside the lair collapsed, leaving a cloud of dust blocking their exit.

Leonardo whipped his head around, looking over at his brothers. "Raph, back away. Now."

"But –"

There was a scream of tortured metal from the pipes above their heads and suddenly one of them gave way, shooting water across the floor of the lair.

Raph looked up, startled. "What the shell is going on?"

"Something in the sewer system," replied Don, looking down at the water spreading around his feet. "But it had to be something really major for –"

Another pipe gave way, spraying more water around them. And then another, something darker and less pleasant than mere rain run-off emerging from it at high speed.

"My equipment!" Donnie headed toward the computers, suddenly determined to shut off all the power. The consequences could be disastrous if the water became electrified – and the death sentence they were under suddenly seemed realer than ever before.

Leonardo could feel the situation begin to get away from him. "Raphael, get away from here, get into the upper levels now."

Raph bristled. "Just a –"

"NOW!!"

Recognising the tone in Leo's voice as part order and part plea, Raph took off toward the ladder leading to the upper levels.

"Donatello, get away from there!" said Splinter sharply as Donnie reached out to shut off the power.

"I'm fine as long as Raph…" Donnie cut off the words sharply, his arm hesitating a moment as he recognised the implications of his words.

Still hanging on to Catwoman, Mikey stared around in shock. The exit was a no-go, the elevator was a really stupid idea – and the water was ankle deep and still rising.

Death wasn't coming. Death was here.

Something made him glance up at the pipes. A fourth let go, this one more sluggish than the others, the metal sagging listlessly from the ceiling. A wide split suddenly yawned open at another part of the pipe, causing the whole thing to creak dangerously, unable to maintain its own weight for much longer.

Looking back down, Mike realised Raph's retreat would lead him directly below it in a matter of seconds.

"Raph!"

The pipe tore loose from the ceiling, plummeting down. Raphael realised at the last moment that some thing was heading to him and tried to outrun it, but the pipe caught him on the back of the shell and knocked him flying forward – right into the pool that marked the access to the submerged tunnels. The pipe hit the floor, rolled and fell right in after him.

"RAPH!!"

Mikey raced after Raph, ignoring Leo's panicked yells, taking a deep breath and diving straight into the murky river water. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom, his body protesting the sudden change in temperature. But a second was all he needed; below him he could see Raphael, the pipe that had knocked him over pushing him further into the water and preventing him from resurfacing. Raph hadn't had chance to take a breath before being knocked into the water, air bubbles escaping from his mouth. As Mikey watched, he was forced to suck in water and began to drown.

No way. No way am I losing Raph.

Mike swam down desperately, noticing how Raph thrashed around trying to escape the drag of the pipe. Raphael was going to die right there.

Redoubled his efforts, Mikey drew level with Raph as he sank, realising that he wasn't going to be able to shift the heavy pipe in time. Instead, he grabbed Raph's leg and using all his strength, yanked at it. Raphael floated toward him with surprising ease, the pipe continuing downward as Raph was pulled from beneath it.

Wrapping an arm around Raph, noting his brothers bulging eyes and desperately clenched jaw, Mike shot toward the surface as fast as he could go, wondering if it would make any difference at all. Raph's movements were weakening rapidly and he made no attempt to help Mike in their quest out of the water…

And then Mike broke the surface, releasing the air he had been holding in his lungs and taking a deeper one, releasing the second in one shout.

"Leo! Donnie!"

But it was Splinter who was there to help him pull Raphael out of the water, Splinter who dragged Raph while Mikey hoisted his brother out of the water and scrambled over the edge himself, shocked at just how deep the water in the lair had gotten. It had been to his ankles before, now it was to his knees. And Raph wasn't moving… wasn't breathing.

Mike lifted Raph by the armpits and dragged him onto the bridge that crossed the pool, alternately muttering pleas and threats, Splinter right behind him.

"Come on Raph, come on, you can't die on me, breathe Raphie, just breathe, BREATHE RAPH BREATHE!"

The moment that Mike lay Raph down on the bridge, Splinter shoved him forcibly out of the way, putting his hands on Raph's plastron and starting CPR. Mikey stared as Splinter slammed hard on Raphael's plastron, trying to get through the tough exterior to inflate the lungs under the surface.

"Michelangelo!"

Mikey gazed at Raph, wondering just how his much-adored brother could look so lifeless when he was usually brimming with energy…

"Michelangelo!"

"S-Sensei?"

"You have to give Raphael mouth to mouth – I can't."

Mikey blinked, realising what Splinter was saying. The rat had a snout and a smallish mouth, unsuited to the beak that the turtles had. There was no way that he could form a seal over Raph's mouth, only one of the other turtles was capable of that.

Mikey dived over and blew hard into Raph's mouth.

"Carefully!" Splinter put a hand on Mikey's shell and pulled him away, continuing with the chest compressions, muttering under his breath. "Do it again!"

Mikey leant over and blew into Raph's mouth again, wondering crazily if Raph would kick his shell for this if he lived through it. Or if their brothers would tease them mercilessly. Even though he knew it was doubtful, his mind was coming up with the freaky conversational possibilities, making him wonder if he was going insane. Surely there were more pressing things to worry about than if Leo and Don would indulge in too many 'brotherly love' jokes...

...And then Raph coughed, spitting up a glut of water. Splinter turned the turtles head to one side to prevent the fluid going back down his throat and Raph took a shaky inhalation before giving out a series of pained coughs, more water emerging from his mouth. His breaths were shaky and irregular, but they were there. Raphael might have been drowning, but now he was going to live.

This just might mean he's off the list - and the next person on it is Donatello!

Mikey leapt to his feet as Raphael opened his eyes, looking frantically for his two brothers. They were over near the computer desk, battling the rising tide of water, which by now was rising further up their legs. Leo's actions had stopped Don from trying to shut down the power and Mikey's sudden movement attracted their attention to the hithero unnoticed drama going on by the pool. Seeing Raph down and seemingly out of commission, they both started to run toward the rest of the family.

A chunk of concrete fell from the ceiling without warning, landing on the edge of the computer table and sending equipment flying. Wires ripped from their plugs, negating the immediate worry of electrocution. A second chunk landed directly in front of Don and without pausing, he snatched his bo and lodged it onto the ground, the end catching between debris hidden beneath the rising waters and using it to turn his momentum 180 degrees. The concrete missed him by inches and he paused for a brief second to pull his bo from the debris, where it had become jammed, yanking his bandana down around his neck as the water weighted it down and impaired his vision.

At the same time, the fallen rubble that had cut the lair entrance off and caused the water to be trapped within suddenly shifted under the pressure, several gaps appearing through which the liquid could escape. The rapid outpouring was reminiscent of unplugging a bath; the water rushed toward the new exit and took with it anything that had previously been floating atop it.

Donnie had been distracted only a moment, but a moment was all it took. The shift of the water took him by surprise, sweeping his feet from underneath him. His shell brushed against the bo as he went, the bandana that had been loose around his neck catching the staff and slipping down the length, trapping both Don and the bo within its circle.

Don didn't realise what had happened until his butt hit the floor and the rushing water pulled him along. The bo had lodged tightly and although Don's weight shifted it slightly, it did not move from its vertical angle. But the speed of the water yanked Don forcibly toward the exit - the only thing keeping him in place being the bandana pulled tight against his windpipe.

It was more like manual strangulation than hanging, the extra force against the fabric that the water caused exerting more pressure on Don's neck and acting much more rapidly than had he been over a gap. Frantically he reached behind him to grab the bo, hoping to heave himself backward and relieve the pressure long enough to rescue himself, but the wood was wet and with no way to brace his feet against the gushing water, his hands kept slipping. Every time he tried, his face was submerged beneath the water.

Dragged against the tide, Don felt his strength begin to ebb alarmingly rapidly. His struggles became feebler and the fire ignited as he tried to snatch some breath through the pinhole that his agonised throat had become was excruciating. The pressure building within his head was immense, as if the blood was gathering there and would any minute start gushing from his nose, mouth and ears... or maybe his head would just explode, although he knew it was scientifically impossible. Even his eyes were warm and as he tried to blink, his vision began to turn red.

"Donnie!"

Leo's voice cut through the lair as he struggled against the water. Seeing he would never be able to get there in time, he pulled the katana from his back and hurled it in the direction of his brother. The blade hit the bo at the point where the purple bandana was caught, lodging in the wood - and severing the material. Don escaped from the grip of the trap just as his struggles were fading to little more than sporadic twitches. He was carried with the water, but by now most of it had escaped into the sewers and the trail was sluggish and shallow. He barely drifted three feet before gently fetching up against the wall and staying there, the momentum of the water spent.

Leo got to Don first, Mikey a short distance behind, Raphael managing to roll onto his elbow and watching from a distance with worried eyes, Splinter with him. Mike glanced down at where Don's head, looking strangely vulnerable without the mask in place, rested in Leo's lap. There were ugly marks on Donnie's neck which were bound to bruise and his eyes were bloodshot but he was breathing, albeit in harsh, pained gasps.

"Will he be...?"

"He'll be fine." Leo glanced up, eyes filled with worry. "Mikey, that was too close. He should be dead!"

Mikey backed away in a hurry. "Don't come near me - if he's cheated death, then I'm the next on the..."

Another rumble from the tunnels drew their attention as in the distance, more debris fell loose. The tremors loosened another piece of the ceiling of the lair, which plummeted to ground, landing at an angle on the still upright bo. Giving in to the strain, the bo snapped, bottom half still jammed in the mess on the floor, the top flying across the lair like a javelin.

There was another distant, ominous sound of collapsing tunnels, but within the lair save for the sounds made by the mutants, all was finally quiet. And the sounds of falling were not caused by debris this time.