Find story warnings and goodies here: ht"tps:"/sta."sh/0nil8smllov

Well, the last chapter is here and I have a new username on all my accounts. Just letting you know in case I confuse anyone. I wanted to have an original name that was close to me so I picked one of my real-life nicknames. I also had a bad conscience because people would want to google winter heaths and had to look at my turtle drawings! XD

Well, anyways...

Thank you everyone for following, liking, and, especially, commenting on this story! You've all been great and I want to thank you so so SO much for sticking around! It's been a long journey and many of you have stayed with me till this final chapter for which I am very grateful. You're all so very awesome! :D :D :D

A big thank you and BRAVO goes to Creepypastera for her awesome support and amazing puzzle solving. At one point I was sure you were just reading my mind. I suspeced you figured out the whole ending but after we talked I realized you developed your own theory from all the clues you picked up on the way. I hope this ending surprises you and lives up to your expectations. :D I also want to thank Indiana Rose for being my biggest supporter and making me always anxciously wait for her reviews! :D Indiana Rose, since you're a guest on this site please find a way to contact me privately on any of my social media so I can thank you properly. ;)

This is it, guys! After 35 weeks I am presenting the final chapter! I'm so anxious to post this but also (maybe) dreading it. My beta CelandineGranger said something like, 'I hate this ending but don't change it! I hate Falla. She's the best villain I've ever read in a fanfic!'

If I'd make this into a book I'd be one of those terrible people to put these words on the back instead of a summary. XD

I want to explain the title of this chapter a bit before I finally finish up this project that I started three years ago(! ! !). You know the saying "promise made is a debt unpaid"? (yes, you do, plus I named ch. 31 after it) Well in Slovenian we have the same/similar saying which goes "obljuba dela dolg" (a promise makes a debt). The funny thing is that almost until writing the last chapter for this story (that's chapter 34, I wrote this chapter (35) almost a year before finishing the story) I thought the saying said something else. "Dolg" means "debt", but in the Slovenian dialect I speak "dolg" (a shortened version of the proper "dolgo") also means "long", and so in that sense the saying literally says "a promise lasts a long time" and I thought that was the original saying. That an unfulfilled promise is valid/unexpired for as long as until it's fulfilled - which can be a very long time... I know it doesn't make much sense but it made sense to me until recently. XD

And it's kinda what inspired this ending. But then I realized I had been interpreting one of the most popular sayings wrongly! Ouch! XD

Anyway, I mentioned I wrote this chapter about a year before bringing the story to an end. Well, I still love this chapter, but once I got caught up with it it made me feel like a terrible person. - In case anyone will think I'm heartless by the time you get to the bottom of the page... I truly do feel bad. But what can you do when you create someone like Falla?

I'm also happy to see many of you very invested in the mystery of her plan. (By the time you get to the end it should all be clear but if you'll need you can contact me for further explanation.) Those of you who came close with your theories all seemed to have the same hole in your plans... Time doesn't add up. There's not enough time to make the plan work. But time is such a funny concept when your neighbors can do whatever with it.

Nervously shaking yet? Yeah, you should be. Go ahead. Read. I'll just be here packing my bag to go into hiding for a while. Sayonara! And thank you so much for staying with me on this journey 'till the end!

Chapter 35 is rated M

xXVXx

Chapter Thirty-Five

A Promise Lasts a Long, Long, Long Time

Fallachis closed the front door in front of the little aliens and, with a relieved exhale, leaned against it. She lingered on it, closing her eyes. Although Raphael's breakdown and hatred towards her had twisted her stomach slightly she couldn't help letting that go and grinning proudly, revealing her set of blunt thick fangs. She was good.

She noticed Vnukinya standing in the foyer with a mop and a bucket in her hands, looking at her carefully. "Happy?"

"Isn't it great when everything works out? When everyone gets what they want?" Maika walked up to her smilingly and cupped her face endearingly like the past few days with her hadn't happened at all. She showered her with kisses. "Forget about the chores for today, kitten."

"Thank you," Kinya smiled sourly from the missed affection but soon dropped it. "I see this was worth it to you after all…"

"Definitely."

xX two days ago Xx

"I know what I must do," Falla said decisively.

Hchee stirred the boy awake so he would eat at least a bit. "You do? That was fast. – And that is?"

Maika watched the turtle's pale face grimace under the sudden touch and his head turn to the other side, revealing the large bruise over his cheek. – "What's the first rule of Fallachis? And the one Vnukinya needs to hear again?"

"Never lie when it comes to promises," Hchee recited.

She gently stroked Raph's face again and he let out a moan.

"And wouldn't I be a hypocrite if I went against my own rule?"

"So you're just going to 'do it'?" she chose her words around the wakening turtle carefully.

"That's how promises work."

"That's it? No cunning plan? Is great Fallachis Maika tiring of games?"

Falla smiled at Hchee's back, her eyes lost somewhere in her mind. "Well, what's our second rule?"

"Never let promises confine you when tricks and lies are not the same," the clone said without a moment of thought.

Falla grinned and opened her mouth to continue but saw the sick turtle moving under the bedding. So she took her clone by the wrist and led her outside the room, carefully closing the door behind them.

"I still haven't fed him," Hchee commented.

"Shh," Falla hushed her in the hallway. "I have a plan. It's a strange one – bizarre, really. But it should work. However, to avoid suspicion I'll need your help. And we'll have to move the child to a different room in order for the guest room to be free for his family."

"I already said I'll help. But with what?"

"I urgently need to travel to Rekia today, as soon as possible, but I'll need to be here when the guests arrive tomorrow. So you, Hchee, will cover for me."

"You're going- You want me to pretend to be you? I don't know if I'm capable of that…"

"They're aliens. They haven't a clue I have clones so they shouldn't suspect a thing. Plus they don't know me. I'll tell you what you need to know and do and then just be yourself – because you're me anyways.

"And I'll pretend to be you and travel to Rekia and should be back sometime tomorrow night," Maika quickly explained.

"How do you expect to be back so soon? You can't go to another planet and back in a day."

"What are Rekians known for?"

"Bending the fourth dimension…"

"So I'll buy some time." Falla smirked wickedly. "Their time jumps are affordable. I'll just go back a couple of days to make sure I'll come home in time."

"Okay, okay. You do your space journey. And, what, I'll hand El to the aliens? Or are you taking him with you to hide him on another planet?"

"I'm not and you won't. You'll just tell them how it is. That he's sick and needs another day or two to recover. You're not allowed to show him to them however. Just stall the reunion until I get back. I will be the one giving him away."

"Mmhmm…" Hchee hummed, a bit skeptical about where her Original was going with everything. She'd think she had a few gears loose if she didn't know her so well. "I thought the plan was to try and not give him away."

"I already told you I promised El I'll give him to them. I'm not breaking any promises."

"But then what's the point of traveling to Rekia? You're not making any sense! And why do I even need to pretend to be you?"

"You need to pretend so they won't be suspicious of my whereabouts.

"And you already know the point. To mess with time – or more specifically – with someone's timeline."

Hchee was frowning as Maika grinned, clearly lost in her complicated mind. "Just clear it up for me. So we can see if there are any noticeable holes in your 'bizarre' plan."

Falla nodded. "Okay, listen carefully-"

xXx

Maika reached the locked bedroom at the end of the hidden narrow hallway. She could hear a faint urgent voice and banging inside it and her eyebrows lowered. She carefully opened the door and found the bed empty with the bedding partly on the floor and a candle knocked over on the night stand. She stopped momentarily with her hand on the handle as her eyes landed on the turtle across the room, barely standing on his toes, and desperately banging his palm on the window glass.

"I'm up here! I'm up here!" a raspy voice cried as loudly as it could.

Falla had completely forgotten about the small window in this room that overlooked the front of the house. He wasn't supposed to even be awake! He wasn't supposed to find out!

"El, calm down."

Raphael whipped around at the sound of her voice, glossy eyes wide and disoriented. "My brothers are here!"

"Get back in bed. You're only seeing things, darling."

She immediately took hold of his wrist and the boy screamed and pulled away. It didn't change anything, as always, as she easily led him towards the bed away from the window. He still had a fever and was delirious. Maybe she could convince him it was a vivid dream.

The woman didn't expect him to bite down on her thumb in his struggle. She cried out and pulled away, and, to her horror, saw the turtle scramble through the opened doorway the next moment.

He would ruin everything!

She ran outside into the dark hallway and shouted, "The whole house is locked!" She instantly heard every door and window open or ajar snap shut throughout the house and locks snap into place.

The door behind her snapped with a bang, wind hitting her back, but the one at the end of the hallway snapped shut just after the boy passed it. No matter, he couldn't get farther than that.

A cry came from behind it to Falla's satisfaction where Raphael found himself locked out of the next hallway that lead to the staircase and to the foyer on the first floor. She still rushed after him despite knowing he couldn't escape anywhere.

"Unlock," She pulled open the door.

She stepped into the hall and found him by the tall window, again banging, shouting to get the attention of the aliens outside with Hchee.

"Enough! They can't hear you." Fallachis walked over but stopped a few steps away, not wanting to appear threatening. He was never supposed to find out about this, but it was already too late now. She frowned, already seeing the large step back in their relationship.

"Let me out of here!"

"I won't."

They found him. They actually found him! "They're here. Let me go! You said you'd give me back! You promised! – Wh- Why are they just standing around?" Raphael's voice cracked in the end as he made a careful step towards the corner of the room. His sweat-covered skin was trembling, the fading, colorful, dark bruise on his face making his eyes seem even wider as he watched Fallachis like some frightening beast from a nightmare.

He had woken up from his feverish sleep from thirst. And after he found the will to climb out of bed, he had found himself locked in the unrecognizable bedroom. He had never in the world thought that he would then accidentally see his family through the small window outside in the front yard. He had barely noticed them from the window in the bedroom because a tree crown obscured most of his view. But he saw them! He must have sensed them arriving!

"They're waiting for a car so they can leave because I kept my promise."

Raphael's eyes somehow seemed to widen even more. "…W-What do you mean- ?"

"Take a better look, sweetie."

Raph didn't understand the game she was playing and he partly didn't want to. He had had enough of her stupid tricks. He could barely breathe or stand in his sick, weakened state but he couldn't watch her play his brothers and ruin his life. He turned his head, uncertainly, back to the window where he could see his family clearly.

They're leaving? They're not really leaving… "Guys…?" he questioned in disbelief as he finally realized they were standing by the end of the driveway, turned away from the house with Hchee keeping them company. They were obviously waiting for someone, just like Maika said.

What did she do to them?

He stared at them, desperately looking for a reason for them to leave him behind and his eyes finally caught sight of another figure partly hidden by Leo and Donnie's arms draped over it. It took Raph a couple of seconds to realize he was staring at himself. The other person with them looked exactly like him, the only turtle who was bare like he was, but without even a collar in sight!

In panic and confusion Raph hit his palms against the window, leaning closer to somehow get a better look and convince himself his eyes had made a mistake.

…No, it really looked like him!

"What did you do!?" he twisted around when he felt the presence of Falla closer behind him. He felt cold fear and hot anger rising up, fighting for dominance inside him while he desperately tried to stay focused. Who is that!? Did she really go out of her way to make a clone – a doppelgänger to replace me? Raphael, however, knew his brothers couldn't be fooled so easily. Could they?

"Oh, El…" Falla smiled sympathetically and it made Raph sick how genuine and kindhearted the smile looked. "I really didn't want to part with you, but I knew how much this meant to you and your family, and the promise-"

"So you made a clone of me!?" Raph shouted, backing away from her arm's reach. His brothers would come back. He knew it. A lookalike wouldn't fool them.

"I haven't, El. – That is you."

Raphael watched her kind face in horror. His heart was exhaustingly thumping in his chest. His throbbing, mushed brain didn't understand what she meant by that. That's not him. A biological clone isn't the same as him. There's only one of him! He nervously glanced back outside at his brothers and friends, and how none of them were making any signs of turning around. They were surrounding his doppelgänger and waiting in the grass.

Maika recognized the confusion and worry on her child's face. "Let me explain. It's quite a fun plan for the short amount of time I had to come up with it," she desperately tried to lift the mood, make it seem clever. She moved and carefully laid a hand on Raph's shoulder to see if he'd let her close.

The turtle didn't protest her movement and stood as still as a rock. Suddenly there wasn't enough air around him and he felt trapped in his own helpless body more than in Falla's home. He stood unmoving and waiting. He was afraid to know what she had done but also desperately wanted to.

"Once you'll grow too old for me," she gently cupped his unbruised cheek to make him look her in the eyes, "I'll simply send you back through one of the rental time portals on Rekia to the date two days ago.

"When you became sick I found out your brothers were coming here, so I left to retrieve that 'future you' who 'future me' will – had – teleported back in time. And before 'she' – I – had sent you back, 'she' had also taken you to a Rekian youth capsule where you were de-aged back to your exact current age. With it, all of your memories that you haven't yet made here were erased. So that you," Falla pointed to the Raphael standing outside, "doesn't even realize he spent his entire life here with me. He woke up thinking it was simply the day after your adventure with Vnukinya, which it was, because that was the last thing he – you – could remember.

"And then, earlier, I simply gave you, completely the same, back to your brothers like nothing will ever happen." Her free hand gestured at the group outside the window now already moving aside for a white car to pull up from the road.

Raphael's jaw was hanging open as stared at himself between his brothers in horror. No. That can't be… They can't leave. He was still here! They were still leaving him here with this crazy alien! His brain couldn't comprehend that the person with them really was him. – The same person. No clone or doppelgänger to replace him. They had gotten him back. They got their brother back and they were happily reunited. – But Raphael was still standing here watching his brothers abandon him with their backs turned towards him. He wasn't going home. Not for a long time. They were leaving him at the mercy of this insane being for as long as she saw fit. For as long as she'd find joy in using him for her own twisted fairytale.

There was another olm that had stepped out of the car and was speaking with them and Hchee just to delay the inevitable.

"I went through so much trouble to pull this off. So everyone could get what they want."

Raph's feverish mind could hardly keep up with what she was saying and what was happening. He felt sick and his chest suddenly hurt ten times more as a feeling of betrayal settled there. He knew his brothers weren't abandoning him, not really, but that was exactly what he felt like. – Abandoned by the ones he had so desperately hoped would save him.

But they'll find out! They have to!

"I…" Raph stammered and turned back to Falla, doing his best to keep his voice even but failing miserably. "I'll tell them. That 'me' will tell them what you did! My brothers will come back for me!"

"Oh, kitten…" Falla made a sad face and tried soothing her small troubled child with her soft voice as she cupped both his cheeks in her large hands. Raphael's breathing quickened under the light touch, his heart hammered against his plastron as panic started taking over completely.

"I told you: You won't remember anything that happened and will happen after a day ago. You will simply think you only spent a few days with me here before you were returned to your brothers."

This isn't real. She's lying. This is just a sick joke! But the look on the alien's features was so very, very real…

"No…" Again, Raph turned to stare through the window at his friends' and brothers' backs.

"NO!" he shouted suddenly.

They were already getting ready to head into the car. They were really leaving him! They were going to-! – They couldn't do that! Not to him! He was their brother! They couldn't abandon him! They were abandoning him!

Raphael's fists banged on the window as he desperately shouted trying to get their attention. "Leo! Donnie! Mikey!"

They couldn't leave without him. He didn't want to stay here! He wanted his brothers! He wanted them now!

"Turn around! Look at me! – Leo!" he cried for his big brother, wanting him to turn around more than anything in the world, but it didn't seem his scream even left the room he was trapped in. "LEO!" He banged on the window with all the strength he had but the glass didn't even crack under the force. Tears pricked his eyes.

They were stepping into the car. Casey and Mikey were already out of Raph's suddenly blurry vision.

"Please turn around! Please… Leo…" Tears at last fell from his wide and terrified eyes, his resolve to go home completely crumbling all over again. Was he really going to watch from afar as his family leaves him, and be unable to do anything…?

Falla laid a reassuring hand on his slumped shoulder. The boy shivered under her touch, his stomach clenched up and his lungs hurt. His legs almost gave out beneath him. This can't be happening. It's not real! It isn't fair!

He saw April suddenly halt, right before she would walk behind the car door, and the last of Raphael's hope burst out.

"April! – April! Yes! Just turn around! Please hear me! Please, April, please!"

The telepathic girl stood still, Leo, Donnie and Raph passing her, but the oldest brother's hand on her back brought her back from her faint distraction. Raph stopped his banging and crying just long enough to see her smile and say something reassuring to him, himself, before they all disappeared into the vehicle.

"No!" he cried hitting the window again. "Don't leave me here! Come back!"

He put all his strength into his next punch, the hit finally producing a tiny crack underneath. Blood spilled from his split knuckle but it didn't stop him from hitting the window again.

"You can't leave me here! You can't do this to me!"

Falla who had been watching the boy break down with a sorrowful expression eventually had no choice but to grab Raphael from behind before he could injure himself further. Kneeling down, she trapped his torso and arms in a tight hug. "Shhh," she cooed into his ear.

"Leo…" Raphael sobbed for his big brother as he tried to break out of the hold, his strength leaving him rapidly. "I wanna go home. I wanna go home…"

"It's okay… Don't be distressed," the alien murmured. "You still have a high fever. Don't overwork yourself.

"Be happy. Your brothers have gotten you back safe and sound like you wanted and I get to keep you, too. Everyone wins."

"No-"

Raph's buckling and tense, heaving body suddenly fell slack onto Fallachis, the collar around his neck disconnecting his voluntary movements from his nervous system, making him lay lifelessly still like a broken doll in the giant's clawed hands. Still his hot tears continued to stream as he watched through blurry vision as the car drove away into the forest. It drove away. They drove away.

Raphael wasn't accepting his unfair fate, feeling trapped in a suffocating nightmare.

Fallachis wore a sad and sympathetic expression, feeling bad she had to force her child's body into calmness. She stroked his head, "Everyone's happy now," and tried to sound reassuring, despite knowing her relentless words weren't reaching him.

A childish sob escaped Raph's tight and hoarse throat. A wet and choked sound but so broken and hopeless. He won't see his brothers ever again… Not until his mind would get completely erased, making him oblivious to all the horror that still awaited him. But it still awaited him. He was still here and he was still with this monster. – They… They left him!

"You need more rest," Falla whispered into his ear and pulled them both up. She cradled Raph's limp body in her arms with ease, rocking him gently, looking at him with her soft features mimicking sympathy and compassion Raphael couldn't believe were true. Not after this! How could she do this!?

"You will understand one day. A mother's love is unconditional," she spoke tenderly and landed a kiss on his forehead.

Raphael broke down in loud, hyperventilating wails and sobs caused by panic, fear, humiliation, abandonment, desperation – all coiling inside of him, choking him, which painfully continued until eventually, after unbearable minutes of gasping for air in between sobs, he passed out in despair from the high fever and always present exhaustion, still held in Maika's false motherly embrace.

THE END