Here it is guys! *Sob* The last chapter! *Cry* I just want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed, even if you only did it once! You guys helped make this story! Now without further ado, the final chapter of Hearts of Mutagen.

Reviewers:

Insanity21: Don't worry, this chapter won't make you wanna puke. It might make you cry though...

DP fanboy: Good point, but for the sake of argument, I think she was just trying to get Shredder to release her, with flattery.

StarTraveler: Thanks! And thanks for reviewing!

WOLFJADE28: Haha! Thanks for the silver lining!

Donnie, Raph, Mikey, Casey and April lifted the unconscious Leo while Karai watched. Never uttering a word, they began carrying him out of the building. At the entrance they stopped.

"What are you doing?" Raph growled at Karai. She looked at him.

"Come withssssss youuussss?" She hissed.

"Wrong answer. You're staying with your daddy," Donnie muttered. They looked over as the building crumbled into a stone heap.

"Leoossss! Neeedsssss me!"

"Just like the other times when he needed you. And you let him down," April glared. Karai stared at them.

"Say? Goodbyyyysss?" She whimpered. They nodded reluctantly and set Leo down. Karai slithered close to him. She leaned in by where she assumed his ears were.

"Sorryyyssss. I did love youuussss. I really did," Karai whispered so only he could hear. Then, completely unknown to the team, she nipped his skin with the tips of her fangs. And with that, she disappeared into the night. The others watched her leave, and finally picked Leo up again, still wearing their gloves. No one noticed the tough green skin starting to form on his head.

"Ok, set him down over here," Donnie instructed. Raph eased Leo onto a metal table in his brother's lab. April was with them while Casey was in the living room trying to calm Mikey down with video games.

"Was that there before?" April asked. Donnie walked over and saw a rash of green skin spreading over Leo's face.

"Maybe..." Donnie mused. His eyes lit up. "Hang on!"

Donnie ran to another table and snatched up a syringe. He shoved it into Leo's arm and watched it fill up with blood. Then he squeezed the blood onto a slide, put it under a microscope and looked down.

"Guys it's moving!" He exclaimed. April and Raph looked at each other.

"What?" Raph asked.

"The blood cells are reconstructing and moving! I think they're reverting to normal! Leo might be turning back into Leo!" Donnie yelled giddily.

"Really!" April and Raph chorused. Donnie nodded like an insane bobble head doll.

"Wait, Donnie! Can you speed it up?" April questioned.

"Yes!" Donnie scurried to yet another table and grabbed a glowing liquid. He poured some on a cotton ball and swabbed it onto Leo's skin. The green crawled over to that spot.

The next hour was a frenzy of swabbing and pouring and watching until finally, Leo resembled a turtle. There was only one problem.

"He's naked!" Raph huffed. "Where's his shell!"

"It should grow back in a few days...I think..." Donnie evaluated. He could practically see smoke coming out of Raph's ears.

"YOU THINK!?"

"87 percent chance," Donnie said. April stepped between them.

"Guys?" A small voice rasped. Everyone turned to look at the makeshift bed, where Leo was struggling to sit up. April pushed him back down.

"Don't move."

"What's going on? Where is she?" He asked.

"Who?" Donnie said gently.

"Karai?"

The others looked at one another.

"She's gone, left. You're safe now," Raph offered.

"I miss her," He whimpered. April looked into his blue eyes and smiled delicately.

"I know you do Leo. Go back to sleep," She whispered. Leo succumbed to his heavy eyelids and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Karai sat in the nest she had made for two. She sighed. It was too late now, for anything. She had made a mistake, and now she was paying. At least she had been able to help Leo, not that he would ever know it had been her. Her chest felt tight, almost painful. She knew what she wanted to do.

Karai gathered a few of the discarded papers flying around the amusement park, and pulled out a pen from under a deliberately placed pile of leaves. The only gift Shredder had ever given her. It was sleek and black, tipped with a dragon head. She tried it. It still flowed across the pages like silk.

With a heavy heart, she made her way back to her nest, and began to write.

"Kee-yah! Yah! Come on Mikey! Show me what you can do!" Leo teased his younger brother as they sparred. Mikey laughed and swept his legs under Leo, making him fall and roll over into a crouch. Mikey leapt into a flying kick, only for Leo to grab his leg and toss him onto the floor.

"No fair! Rematch!" Mikey whined playfully. Leo smiled, helping him up.

"This is the fifth time I fought you Mikey. Give it up!" Leo chuckled. "I'm gonna go for a walk, I'll be back in an hour or so."

"Sure Fearless Leader, I know you're too scared to fight me!" Raph laughed. Leo grinned and shook his head, walking out of the lair. He perused the sewers for a while before going topside. This was nice. Speeding along the rooftops without noise and interruptions.

He didn't know where he was going, but eventually Leo found himself in Coney Island. A glimmer of memory sparked in his mind. The place where it all began. It had been a year now, since he'd kissed Karai by the roller coaster.

He knocked on his tough shell, which had long since grown back. He walked over to the roller coaster, and saw the remains of an old nest. Our nest.

He looked closer and saw a splash of white. He pulled it out and saw it was a paper. But not just any paper. A letter?

Leo sat down in the nest and was reminded of a younger, past Leo. One with love fresh in his heart and a snake tail. He chuckled to himself, then began to read.

Dear Leo,

I write this because I have used up the last of my venom in my efforts to save you. You don't know it now, but I used the last drop of mutagen within me to turn you back. Look at yourself Leo, did I do a good job? Are you whole again? Are you the Leo I first fell in love with? I can only hope.

I feel pain now Leo. Is this new for you? You didn't think the one who betrayed you could feel pain did you? But I do. My heart bleeds for you and for us. And for me, because I'm dying Leo. My life has been used up. I'm done.

I want to say I'm sorry. For what I did to you. I just hope you have forgiven me by the time you read this, if you ever do. Goodbye Leo. Never forget. I love you. Goodbye L

The letter stopped on L. As if. As if she had...Leo sighed. He folded up the letter. She was gone. Suddenly Leo started digging through the nest. If she had sat here while she wrote. And if she had...passed. Then that meant...

"Yes!" Leo whisper-yelled to himself. Buried under the brambles and leaves of the nest, was a girl. She was pale, with short black hair that went up to a point. She turned back.

Her body was in perfect condition, minus the moth eaten clothing. He traced her heart shaped face with his finger. Then he leaned in and kissed her head. Just a short peck. But it was enough.

"Sleep well Karai, sleep well," Leo whispered to the motionless girl. Then he walked away with a sad smile perched on his lips. The letter tucked into his hand. I love you too Karai.

Now before you guys put a bounty on my head for this, I had to! I know it's cruel, but I. had. to. Sometimes the best stories involve character death! And I don't like doing the stereotypical 'happily ever after' endings just for the sake of happiness.

Think about it okay, hear me out.

-Karai turned Leo into a snake

-She practically fed him to Shredder

-She tried to replace him so she could live

-And she freaking wanted him to leave everything behind

Leo's brothers, and friends, would never EVER have trusted her enough for a happily ever after! EVER! It wouldn't have made sense. It would have seemed forced and fake! So that is my justification. Thanks for reading this story guys and make sure to review. Until next time...

Wolf out...