Disclaimer: All TMNT characters do not belong to me in any way, shape, or form.

Epilogue: Finished Business

4 Months Later...

Darkness crept over the city, claiming it for another night. Gates were drawn down before the doors of small street vendors. Gray-scaled video feeds glowed inside cramped security offices, watching over the foyers and front counters of businesses. The black silhouette of New York's skyline was scattered with the fluorescent green of late night janitors working their way from floor to floor among the offices.

At Saki Enterprises, however, the entire nineteenth floor was still ablaze. The only movement took place in Karai's private conference room where she and the ever diligent Mr. Burns were still on the clock, finishing a meeting with an associate on the west coast.

The screen at the head of the table went blank as the investor signed off from his end. Karai and her assistant rose in unison, jotting down last minute notes and gathering their paperwork silently.

Like any desirable employee, Mr. Burns had taken his run-in with Leonardo in stride. The following morning, he had arrived to work freshly pressed and bearing her favorite blend of coffee. Aside from the slight shadow under his eyes, suggesting he hadn't gotten much sleep, the subject of the stranger who had slammed his head off his own desk never came up.

Karai valued that about him.

He lifted his larger pile of binders and notepads from the table. "I'll have the governor's anniversary card on your desk to sign in the morning, ma'am."

The woman gave him a curt nod. "You've included lilies in the bouquet?"

"His wife's favorite. Yes, ma'am."

"Good. You know Senator Hill will be visiting the city on Friday?"

"I'll reserve your table at the Plaza."

Karai snapped her binder shut and gave him a small smile. "Very good, Mr. Burns."

He dipped his chin, respectfully, and reached for the door. "Would you prefer a brunch appointment or an afternoon lunch -?"

The lights flickered around them and then died.

Karai froze.

Burns looked up, bewildered, as the building's power wound down with a low hum. The conference room, the outer hall, everything had winked out. Even the emergency lights powered by the generators had failed to ignite.

Karai frowned, lowered her papers to the table, and turned to survey the dark room. She went to the window, looking out into the city. Her face hardened to see the lights of the neighboring buildings all still shining bright. Apparently, the blackout had only consumed her tower.

"Donatello," she hissed beneath her breath.

Her assistant abandoned the half opened door, instead stepping towards the table again. "Ma'am -mmmph!"

Karai spun as his papers and binders bounced off the polished wood and the door cracked shut. Crossing by the long table, she twisted the knob and opened the door just enough to peer out in the hall. By the dim light filtering through the high windows at the end of the corridor, she found it empty in both directions.

She drew back, closing herself in once more before she returned to her seat. Her hand searched the underside of the table until it came across a small leather sheath that had been fastened within her reach. She withdrew a short blade, it's steel flashing in the slight light.

Her skin tingled, triggering the awareness that always lingered near the back of her mind. She turned her head in silence, poised for the assault she had been anticipating for the past few months.

Leonardo, it seemed, had had enough.

The large screen opposite of her suddenly lit up and she blinked against the white of it. Broken images flashed by too fast for her to register before the screen was consumed with a haze of snow. Slowly, color and shape seeped back into formation, allowing a video to roll smoothly before her.

It was a promotional piece Saki Enterprises had produced. One for the human resources department to force upon new employees. A young blond woman stood to the right, allowing a clear shot of the tower to be seen in the background while she spoke.

" - prises, we seek to deliver client satisfaction and delve further into community service than any of our competitors."

Karai's brow lifted as a thick red line cut diagonally in the left corner of the screen. It dragged itself across the picture, scrawling a single, cursive word over the smiling woman's face.

LIAR.

The screen went black for a beat and then was filled by bold white letters.

SEE, KARAI?

WE KNOW HOW TO PLAY, TOO.

WANNA SEE?

" - on a tour of the newly constructed Saki Building, name after our late, great founder, Oroku Saki -"

TYRANT.

VILLAIN.

PSYCHO.

MURDERER.

" - and discover the meaning of one man's legacy -"

DEATH.

TORMENT.

CRUELTY.

HATRED.

WHAT IS YOUR LEGACY?

KARAI.

Karai blinked at a sudden spluttering above her head. The sprinkler heads clicked downward, unleashing an icy torrent of water upon her. Rivulets ran along her cheeks and her suit was doused to her skin.

Finally, emergency lights kicked on, interrupting the darkness with sharp white bursts. They throbbed against her eyes, freezing droplets in the air before she was plunged back into the night. Karai closed her eyes, swallowing down her annoyance. Despite the blinding light and ear-piercing chirps of the fire alarm, she was certain there was no plea for help reaching out to the dispatch offices.

Donatello.

Even in her mind, the name was poisoned with her fury.

Opening her eyes, she scoffed at the pathetic movie still playing before her.

What is this, Leonardo? A taste of my own medicine?

Gripping the handle of her dagger, she kicked off her heels and the soaked carpet crept through the end of her pantyhose, slipping freezing water between her toes. She slid out of the conference room, keeping close to the wall as she moved. Her eyes roamed back and forth along the hall, finally settling on the office across from her.

The door had been left slightly ajar and, in the pulsing lights, she could make out the black shine of dress shoes. Karai stepped forward and set her hand on the wood, pushing the opening wide enough to peer inside.

Mr. Burns lay sprawled on the floor, out cold but alive. His chest rose and fell evenly and his eyes were twitching against the onslaught of water. A hastily scrawled note had been draped over his belly. The ink had already begun to run, but Karai doubted the note was honestly intended for the young man to read.

Dude, seriously? Time for a new job.

Rolling her eyes, she looked to the window beyond the desk. It was closed and latched from the inside, meaning Michelangelo had not gone out that way. He still had to be on this floor with her.

And with him.

Karai turned to leave and the digital intercom beside the entrance flared to life. It flashed with the Saki Enterprises logo before picking right back up with the promo video.

" - ist area to welcome visitors and clients. The entire building is state of the art, enabling maximum service. Be it in person, over the phone, or online -"

The CEO returned to the hall, her eyes measuring the distance to her own office and the store of weapons she kept there. She snuck into the open, her feet silent beneath the downpour around her. The jovial narrative followed her route, muffled by the locked offices that lined the way. Karai had managed to clear several feet before a tingle of warning danced across the back of her neck.

She looked over her shoulder.

Framed in darkness against the end window, she could see a shadowed figure and the dark katana hilts which rose above his shoulders. In the following bursts of light, she found his bared teeth, the clenched fists, and the wrath that burned in his black eyes.

They stood in timeless silence, statuesque but for a tiny quiver of cold that claimed Karai's lip once.

Then, she bared her own teeth in defiance and broke into a run. Her feet splashed through the thick carpet, throwing water to her knees and higher as she bolted along the hall. She went with fluid grace, her movements executed with purpose and resolve so that he would find no weakness in this tactical retreat.

She had no need to look back to know he was following. She would probably never have seen him anyway. He could have easily caught her, and yet, no hands fell upon her shoulders to haul her back and there was no sound of a blade sliding free of its sheath. There was a reason, she knew, that he was allowing her to reach her office, but what it was, she was not sure.

So she ran, preferring to face him in her own environment if nothing else.

She bypassed her assistant's desk, throwing a shoulder into the ornate wood that led into her personal space. Karai stumbled into the office, dripping and wild-eyed, pulling herself up short when she reached the interior and a blast of hot air met her.

There was not a drop of water here, the office having been spared from the sprinklers. It was dimly lit by the sconces on the wall as it always was when she was not using it. However, every pane in the floor-to-ceiling windows behind her desk had been shattered, allowing the summer heat inside.

Her desk had been cleared, piling all of her belonging in a heap off to the left side. In the place of her computer, desk calendar, and golden name plate, there were fourteen cameras carefully piled. Her eyes widened.

It had been a few weeks after she had released Raphael that the first turtle-surveillance camera had winked offline. The others had followed steadily, disappearing one by one and Karai had declined to have them replaced. She had thought the act had been some sort of childish retaliation of Michelangelo or Donatello on behalf of their ruined sibling.

Besides losing the cameras, her scouts had not seen sign nor hint that the turtles had returned to the surface world. So she had relished her victory, disregarded the loss of her surveillance, and waited for the day they would come knocking for revenge.

Certainly, though, she had never considered that they would save the equipment for this occasion.

Karai flinched when that bubbly, toothy blond reappeared in the screen at her side.

" - Saki used to say, 'Our actions dictate our legacy.' That is one of the mottos we strive to -"

The video woman vanished in a burst of sparks when Karai's blade buried itself into the intercom. She stormed into the office, turning to face the large collection of Japanese weaponry she had built.

Only to find more glass scattered over the floor and pale, empty pegs staring back at her. The case had been stripped clean. Her heart sank as a chill crept up her arms.

With a low growl slipping from her throat, she spun to retrieve her dagger out of the dead screen, and then hesitated. Slowly, she squared off with the wide doorway and the warrior who was merged with the shadows beyond it.

"Leonardo," Karai hissed into the quiet.

He entered the low light. His black eyes were hard as obsidian.

Karai lifted her chin and folded her arms, trying to ignore how cold her suit now clung to her and her hair pasted to her face.

"I fear you've developed an ugly habit," she said, delicately, as if she had been expecting all along. "Stalking my office at all hours of the night. Must I file a restraining order against you?"

"I warned you, Karai," he said in a tone that was both soft and lethal. "I warned you long ago what would happen if you crossed us again."

The threat was remembered well.

Even as she faced her enemy, Karai could recall the words that had passed between them after she had destroyed the mutants' vile lair. The phantom crack of a jade statue's head off marble floors still rang between her ears.

"So," she said, feeling ice consume her eyes, "you've finally come for my head, is that it?"

He stepped into the office with water gliding from his shoulders and plastron. Long gone was the young warrior she had fought so long ago on the rooftops when the city was besieged by a war of Foot Elite and Purple Dragons. He stood taller than he once had, filled with a grim resolve she had never known, even when he had threatened her life.

There was a ruthless light in his eyes that night, like it really was her head that was on the line.

Leonardo seemed to be out for blood.

And to her chagrin, she knew there was no one more capable of getting it if he wanted.

"So, I take it the reunion did not go as planned?" she asked, keeping her words low to hide the tremor within them.

The turtle's nostrils flared, betraying the storm that reigned beneath his calm facade. "You could say that."

"I wondered," she said, taking confidence in the fact that he had chosen to speak instead of executing her on the spot. "His coping methods were quite...unusual. I suspect you have some rather fascinating conversations, no?"

His face twitched. "You have no idea."

"Actually, I really do," she smiled.

The hardness reclaimed his features in an instant. Leonardo shifted his weight again, easing himself further into the office. "I'm sure you do," he said quietly. "After all, you did it to him."

"Of course I didn't!" Karai spat, making his brow rise in surprise. The woman shook her head, exasperated. "Raphael understood his purpose for serving as my guest. How he chose to deal with the consequences of that role lies entirely on him, not I, Leonardo."

His attempt at indifference dissolved. Leonardo closed the distance between them, his fists trembling with rage before he could stop it. But he swallowed down whatever hate-filled bile that had sprung into his mind and merely stood glaring at her while he fought for his composure. When he did speak, it was with a tight jaw, as if he were biting back far more thoughts than he allowed to spill.

"You dare...after everything you...my brother, Karai..." He drew a breath that shivered through him. "Even with your twisted heritage, what you did to him is unforgivable."

She lifted a finger, deflecting his wrath. "Yet he lives, does he not?"

His eyes narrowed with disgust.

"Yes, he lives," Karai said smoothly, advancing a few steps herself so they were honestly face-to-face. "No matter his condition, he was returned to you alive. Do not forget, Leonardo, that it was you who made the choice. You burdened your family with what remained of your warrior." Her mouth twisted with bitterness. "What choice did you offer me before you and your wretched allies flung my father from this world and life itself?"

His teeth flashed as he began to respond, but for a second time his argument died before it left his tongue. Leonardo seemed to deflate and his eyes slid right, to the door at his side. It had swung open when Karai entered the room and had fit itself neatly into the corner. His shoulders jerked with a mirthless scoff and he looked back to her with a thin grin.

"You know what?" he asked, wearily. "I'm over this, Karai. I'm not having this fight with you again. You wanted to teach me a lesson for taking out Shredder? Fine, I got it loud and clear." He sighed. "You'll never stop being his daughter."

She glared at him, steadfast. "No more than you could cease to follow the rat's teaching, I'll warrant."

"There's the problem, though," he said, black eyes boring into green. "I haven't always stayed true to my teacher's course, have I?"

A thread of concern wound through her stomach.

He drew himself back up, steel rising behind his resolve. "And these past months have been more terrible than anything you're father ever threw at us. You felt the need to break my family? To break my honor? Congratulations, it was broken. I could gut you right now for what you've done to my father and my brothers. It's certainly crossed my mind more than once, you know."

She tipped her head, coy and challenging. "Then why are you still speaking? You want your vengeance, Hamato? Why haven't you taken it?"

"Because," he replied, falling back a step. He reached out to take the golden handle of the office door. His face wore more grim determination than one retreating from battle deserved to bear. "It's not my right anymore."

The door followed his grasp, easily, drawing out from its corner with little more than a creak.

Revealing Raphael's tall frame nestled in the gap behind it.

Savage gold eyes seared through her, glaring past the bright red mask that adorned his face.

Karai's heart stuttered in her chest. "Leonardo..." she breathed.

He looked to her, merciless, before stepping back out into the falling water. "See you around, Karai."

"Leonardo!"

The door clicked shut behind him.

Karai returned her focus to the warrior before her. His arms were folded over his chest and one heel was lifted to brace against the dark wall. His recovery was evident in the smooth curve of his shoulders and biceps, though he had a long way to go before he reclaimed his former bulk. Shadows ringed what she could see of his eyes through his mask, confessing his lack of sleep.

But there as a flicker within his irises that she had not seen in the weeks leading up to his release. Like the weak sparking of a dying lighter, there was something still fighting to catch fire inside of him but hadn't quite managed to do so yet.

"Raphael," Karai said, breaking the silence in attempt to regain some semblance of authority in the situation. "It appears Leonardo has found something salvageable in you after all. I honestly believed his hope was in vain."

A tight smile curled over his mouth and he pushed himself from the wall. "Ya did yer best, girlie."

His voice was low and not nearly so disdainful as it had once been when he spoke with her.

"Almost had me goin' there fer a sec," he continued. "But I had a lot'a time ta think about things. About my...stay with ya..." His smoldering eyes lifted but were unable to rise further than her chin.

Karai grinned to herself, taking the moment to study him. His shoulders were hunched a bit, as if instinct were trying to draw him back into himself. At least, as far a giant, mutated turtle could manage. He shifted his weight, ever so slightly, from heel to heel and she could not miss the restlessness in his hands, clenching and unclenching.

Leonardo had obviously over-estimated their progress.

She still had sway over him yet.

"Girlie," she replied, coldly. The thin confidence in his face wavered and he looked to her, warily. "My, my, Raphael, are you so quick to forget yourself when in my presence."

He dropped his chin, closing his eyes with a furrowed brow and a quick shake of his head.

"And look," she said, lightly. "Leonardo has gone and left you in my charge yet again I did warn you of this, didn't I? I warned you that they would not accept a broken soul in Raphael's stead."

"No," he snapped, glaring up at her. "Ya ain't doin' this, Karai. I ain't fallin' fer yer crap again." He drew himself up a bit. "I jes came here ta tell ya that ya failed. Ya ain't enough ta break us, jes like yer old man."

"Really?" Karai allowed herself and contemptuous laugh. "From where I stand, it seems you broke quite well, Raphael. Tell me, are you still talking to ghosts in your spare time?"

His eye twitched.

The woman rolled her eyes. "So this is your grand return to the war, is it? This pathetic attempt at an assault? A bit of flashing light and some property damage? I must admit, when I imagined the moment your hideous family coming for me, well...I just expected more."

A muscle tightly along his neck when he swallowed.

"So, please, Raphael, spare me this boredom," she pressed on, spurred by his prolonged silence. "You know well that this meeting won't end in my demise. So what have you come for?"

This time, when his eyes came upward, they managed to reach her own. Karai felt her smile falter and that small victory seemed to click something deep within those golden irises. Raphael huffed out a bitter laugh.

"Restitution."

Karai did not move while she studied his face, considering her odds against him. With a few good meals, a clear head, and the embers of vengeance stirred, it honestly didn't bode well for her.

She broke for the door and the intercom beside it where the hilt of her dagger still jutted from the device. Raphael sprang from his corner as a blur of shadowed green. His large palm closed about her wrist as her fingertips brushed leather. Slowly, he peeled her arm away from the weapon and Karai let out a hiss of pain.

Even at his weakest, the mutant had been stronger than most men (or women, in this case). Which is why she took such measures to ensure he remained sedated. All of her strength shook against his as she tried to free herself from his grasp.

She dropped her weight back with a snarl and tried to kick his feet from beneath him.

Raph moved at the same moment, shoving her down as he leaped out of her kick range. Karai's foot met bare air and carried her too far around. She caught herself on her palms and realized with a sickening jolt that her back was exposed to him. She tried to right herself only to have a heavy heel crash into her shoulder.

The woman was thrown across her office, rolling until she struck her side against the front of her desk. She swiveled to her knees, raking her hair back as she spun to face him. Her free hand swept over the carpet, snagging a large piece of glass from the display case.

He closed the gap between them with slow steps, allowing her the change to gain her feet. Karai did so, rising with her new weapon and eyeing the distance between them. Raphael paused, glancing to the sharp shard in her grip.

His mouth quirked in a smirk. "Game's no fun if ya ain't got tha advantage, huh?"

"What advantage have you?" she demanded.

She lunged forward before he could answer, intent on plunging the jagged tip of the shard into the side of his neck. The younger ninja jerked back, sparing his neck from the attack. But the glass carried on and sliced his bicep as it passed. His hand came up and once again, Karai found her arm in his tight grip.

The glass fell from her fingers when his other hand slammed into her throat. Karai was taken off her feet. She lingered in air for a beat before her brought her down on top of the desk. Karai cried out as the back of her skull cracked off one of the cameras. The device shot from beneath her, clattering to the ground as Karai grabbed her drenched hair. Her fingers slipped through a sudden presence of warmth amid the frigid strands.

Raphael jumped onto the desk himself, keeping her pinned. His foot settled beside her left shoulder while he knee nudged in close to her right. He knelt over her, golden eyes narrowed and merciless. The ceiling fan lazily rotated above his head.

The woman drew her breath, steeling herself as she glared up at him.

"This is Leonardo's play?" she ground out through clenched teeth. "To have you do what he never could?"

He didn't answer, resting an elbow on his upraised knee. A silence grew between them, betraying the seething storm that still consumed his mind. Karai let out a harsh laugh to regain his attention.

"Come, Raphael, be done with it!" she hissed. "Prove to your leader that you're still capable of killing on his command."

He let out a growl and his hand went to his waist, reemerging with a bright glint of silver.

"Leo's got no say in this, Karai," he spat. "I wanted ta come tonight. I wanted ta see ya -"

"So he would have you believe-" she began to scoff.

The sai flashed before she could have expected it. A second later, she felt heat gliding along her cheek. A deep, burning sensation was not far behind and she blinked in surprise.

The beast had cut her.

She lifted a bewildered hand to the wound.

"Get this," Raphael growled, his hatred rumbling through his words. "Ya fooled me for a while, I'll give ya that, but now its ov'a, girlie. I paid yer due against my family like ya wanted. We're done."

Ice filled the woman's face as she glared at him. "Until you filthy creatures know my suffering to the fullest extent, this will never be done, Raphael. The grudge still stands."

His lip curled in distaste. "Grudge all ya want. But if ya ev'a touch my family again, ya won't get the chance to play yer little game with Leo." He leaned lower, allowing the soiled tip of his sai to ghost before her nose. "An' I ain't so forgivin' as Fearless, capiche?"

Karai lowered her chin, looking past the steely weapon with a small smile. "You disappoint me, Raphael. Fueling yourself with such violent promises. It's as if you haven't learned a thing."

"You'd be surprised," he sneered, bracing more of his weight over her. "Stay tha hell away from us."

She let out a small yelp as a matching slice tore over her other cheek. The turtle's weight vanished. Karai heard a crunch of glass and the silence filled her office. Pushing herself up, she circled around the room, coming to edge of the carpet and the shattered windows. The warm, summer breeze pulled through her soaked hair as she looked out in the night.

Far below, there was the roar of a battered engine surging to life. Karai watched a tiny moving van angle out of a parking space and shoot into the darkness with a black plume of exhaust.

She stood at the top of her tower in silence, her green eyes searing the building across from herself. Her hands coiled into trembling fists. The daughter of Oroku Saki (the most powerful being that might have ruled this wretched world) stood thwarted by her enemies once again.

The blood that been unleashed and spared by Raphael continued to slip down her neck.

The shriek of her fury was lost amid the city's streets.

Despite the heat that had settled onto New York, the sewer tunnels were cool and dark. Familiar. Comforting. Raphael followed the worn paths he and his brothers had trodden down throughout the years.

When the others had been sure that he safely exited the building, they had taken off on the street below. He, on the other hand, had chosen to take a slower route home. Passing over the rooftops on his own for the first time since his escape, he relished every feeling he had longed for inside of that cramped cell.

He grinned as the breeze blew over his shoulders and laughed when he jumped from building to building, catching sight of the alleys far below. He even enjoyed the sharp impact that was driven up his legs at each landing. The night was nothing but open air and freedom and he had missed it so.

An hour into his jaunt, he got a text from Mikey, checking on him.

He wrote back, assuring his brother that he was fine. Just taking a walk.

Mikey sent him a smiley face in reply.

He could feel Don and Leo's concern filtering from the other side of that screen as well. He could not fault their worry. It had had taken three weeks before he dared to face the endless darkness that lay outside of the Lair's front door. Another month after that, he only began to think of his return to the surface world.

He had spent too long in that tiny room where the only breaks were met with torment and pain. As a result, the world had grown in his mind, becoming larger and filled with more evil shadows than he could remember. Shadows stuffed full of villains and nightmares. Out of his sight and out of his ability to control. It was too much for him to face alone.

And it had only been the stability of his father that had guided out of their little sanctuary once again. Just as diligent and watchful as he had been when Raphael was a child, he had returned with his grown son to the intricate system of tunnels and drains of New York City's sewer system.

He had remained close on the trip to the abandoned subway system to reunite with Leatherhead and, eventually, with his paw encased inside Raph's large palm, Splinter had led his child up to the city.

Tonight, however, Raphael was on his own.

After leaving Karai's tower whole and unscathed, he found himself visiting his old haunts. Secluded perches following Broadway Street and Fifth Avenue where he could watch the infinite streams of humanity shifting beneath him. He went to the stretch of apartment buildings whose rooftops served as a perfect obstacle course for a turtle needing to blow off steam.

He stopped by Casey's apartment and when he realized the man wasn't home, he went to April's. He stood out front of her antique shop just marveling at the newest display of trinkets she had set up. But when he had finally gone up the fire escape, he found the couple had fallen asleep watching a movie on the couch.

Raph left them that way, making a promise that he'd come back earlier the next day for a real reunion. One where his brothers and fathers were present as well. Allowing him the chance to really come home.

He continued along the sewer tunnel with his head bowed, listening to the water running past him. It was strange how many sounds he had lost in his captivity without notice. While the trickle of open sewage would never be described as the ideal setting, at least he could hear it.

He was free to enjoy it.

Well, almost, anyway.

You should have killed her.

Raph rolled his eyes. Yes, "Leo's" voice was still with him. Plaguing his triumphs and relishing every pitfall the turtle had endured throughout this long road. Continually ready to offer his opinion of the recovery warrior (which, to say the least, hadn't improved any over the past few months).

Raphael did his best to ignore him, especially around the others. He was actually quite good at these days. Again, with a lot of help from his father, but they both knew something had to be done about the lingering disquiet within the largest turtle's spirit. Raph just hadn't known if he had the strength and fortitude to tackle something like that until now.

But, seeing as he'd already faced one tormenter this evening, why shouldn't he face the other?

He looked to the right, towards the dark corner at the edge of his vision where the specter had taken permanent residence during his stay.

"What good would it have done?" he muttered, his deep voice rumbling through the tunnel.

"Leo's" shadow following the wall, swiveled around to walk backwards at Raph's side. His white eyes gleamed.

Well, I would have felt better.

"Ya think so?"

A sly smile unveiled teeth from within the shadowy face, You have no idea.

Raph lifted his brow and hooked his thumbs into his belt, just behind the hilt of his sai. "Yeah, me too."

So if we both wanted to...why didn't you?

Raphael walked in silence a few moments, pondering the question. At last, he drew a breath through his nose. "I dunno...maybe...maybe if I did, it would'a been proof that she was right about us. That we're jes animals, aft'a all." He frowned. "Even if she's about me, it wouldn' be fair ta Mikey, Donnie, or Leo. Or Masta Splinter either," he added as an afterthought.

How very noble of you.

Raph's golden eyes narrowed. "Sides, you were tha one who was so adamant 'bout killin' Donnie, too. An' I still ain't yer stooge, Leo."

The figure dropped his head back in exasperation. Still on that, are we? Still so certain that you and I aren't one and the same? That my brothers and myself didn't stem from somewhere inside that skull of yours? If possible, his vivid eyes gleamed brighter, but only to fade away, revealing irises that were a mirror to Raphael's own. Your stubbornness is commendable, Raphael...or pathetic, depending on the day, I suppose.

Raphael sighed and looked away, his stomach turning at the grin that was far too much like his own. "Maybe yer right...maybe ya are a part'a me."

He felt the triumph radiating from the black outline on the wall and so he looked back into that wicked face to quell it.

"If that's tha case, then ya ain't nothing but a bad thought who got 'is chance to keep on talking. But I'm so damn sick'a listenin' ta ya, Leo."

His companion's grin vanished. Yer not serious, he hissed. The facade of Leonardo slipped at the finality he spotted in Raph's face. Ya can't face this world without me, Raphael! I'm the reason we're still here.

The turtle lifted a helpless shoulder. "I don' recall ya doin' anythin' ta get us outta that hole. That was my brother, remember? Not you, right? Since you're still me?"

"Leo" stared at him, seething in silence.

"That's what I figure, anyhow," Raph said lightly as he continued to walk.

You won't make it on your own, Raphael! Ya never could!

It was then that Raphael rounded a corner, the light casting his shadow ahead of him on the wall. He looked down the tunnel and a slight grin touched mouth. "Good thing I ain't really alone then, huh?"

The smoky figure followed his gaze and let out a hiss of frustration when he found their eyes had settled upon the hidden entrance to the Lair.

"Looks like I found my way home, Leo. Whether ya helped or not, it doesn't matter. It's time ya got back ta wherev'a tha hell ya came from, 'cause I ain't listenin ta yer crap anymore." The turtle shrugged at the wicked scowl he received and then returned to his pace, walking towards the door. "I'll see ya around," he called over his shoulder.

He felt the other's indigence following him for a moment before it suddenly seemed as if "Leo's" anger was spent. Raph felt a movement in his heart and to him it appeared like the shadow's stride was slowly beginning to match his steps. Its arms swung at the same slow rhythm as his own. Then, the specter which had haunt Raphael for so long began to melt away, a part of it merging into the softer, more natural shadow that moved along the brick wall.

Raph's steps faltered when the frigid hole Karai had burrowed deep within his chest bubbled with warmth. Warmth that was then fanned into a flame he had not felt in months. Raph breathed deep as heat seared though his veins and ran down to his very toes and fingertips and pulled back his shoulders into a wider stance. When he opened his eyes again, they churned with the light of the fire, bold and defiant against the darkness.

It was then that Raphael finally made his way home.

By the time he had punched in the code for the door, it was much later than when he had promised Mikey he would be back. The entrance slid open, unleashing a burst of warm air into the sewers, and Raphael stepped inside. He was intent on going from room to room for a while, just to sit and soak in the beauties of his humble home for the sole reason that he just wanted to.

His plan was deterred, however, by an obstacle in his path.

Leonardo, being the ever diligent brother he was, had dragged one of the kitchen chairs into the foyer to wait for Raphael. His arms were folded across his plastron and his legs were stretched out before him, crossed at the ankles. His chin had fallen forward and he was breathing slow and even. Out cold.

Raph looked at him for a moment, thinking on all they had endured over the past months. He thought of everything he had put Mikey and Don and their father through and made a silent oath that he would make it all up to them and more if he could. He owed them that much.

But Leo...Leo had been the one to chase him down behind enemy lines. Even after he'd already been brought home. As he stood there, Raph couldn't remember if he had even uttered a thanks to his leader for that one sacrificial move he had made on behalf of his brother.

He moved forward, easing himself to a knee before the other. Leo sniffed in his sleep, but did not rouse. With a soft scoff of amusement, Raphael reached out to shake the other's leg.

Leonardo stirred, inhaling sharply as he righted himself and looked around with wild dark eyes. He squinted at the turtle in front of him and, when he was finally able to focus, shook his head.

"Raph?" he asked, huskily.

Raphael grinned at him and tipped his head. A glint of mischief flashed in his eyes.

"Hey, Fearless," he said.

- The End -

A/N: That's it, guys. Colorblind is officially complete! (Victory lap around the house - unruly black cats flee in terror). I hope you enjoyed it! I hope you liked the ending! Big thanks to everyone who stayed with me during this story! All your comments, concerns, critiques, everything was essential to bringing this to a close! Cyber hugs to everyone!

Catch ya later! ~ ST

P.S. ~ I still love reviews, you know, for anyone who has thoughts on this final chapter! I'm just saying...