"...what," Leo breathed out after the seconds of holding his breath, "did you just..."

"Are you sure you're not kicking him out? It pretty much sounds like you just kicked him out, AO," Harmony replied. She turned to Leo, rubbing his shell. "AO, this is a pretty harsh thing of you to do out of the blue."

AO growled, frustrated. "I am not kicking him out! Would you two just listen to me?" They both looked up at him, waiting for him to explain himself. "Okay. Leonardo, you came here to get better training and to properly assess your feelings over the 4 months you had distanced yourself from your loved ones. You have progressed very well. You sorted out your feelings, and you've handled the rigorous training very well. Basically, you've learned everything you needed to. Unless you just want to extend your stay and learn more, which I don't mind, there's no reason for you to not hop on the next ride back to New York and return to your family."

With wide eyes and mouth agape, Leo was stunned into silence. Harmony was as well. "I... I can go home?" Leo asked softly and under his breath. "I... I can go back to New York? To my family?"

AO breathed out, relieved that they both actually listened to him this time and let him finish. "Yes, Leonardo, you can go home. Not right this second, if you don't want to, but whenever you're ready. You can officially go home." He looked between the two teens. "...clearly, you both need some time to process this news. I'm going to inside, have a snack, and go to bed. Good night."

They both lamely waved as he left them alone, and they sat in silence for a good while. Harmony had dropped her hand from Leo's shell and wrapped her arms around her knees. Leo's body felt both tense and limp, and he fell back onto the grass, staring up at the sky. After almost half an hour, one of them finally spoke up.

"I can go home," Leo breathed out. He kept repeating it to himself, making sure that the moment was real, that what he had just heard was real and not in his mind. "I... I can see them, I can physically see them..." He suddenly sprung up, shouting to the world "I CAN GO HOME!" He had a huge grin on his face, and he kept throwing his hands in the air and pacing around. After a while of shouting and moving around, he tired himself out and sat back down, but the smile never left his face. "I can't believe I can really go back." He turned to face Harmony. "Can you believe it? I can really- -" he stopped mid sentence, his smile fading as he looked at her. "Hey... what's going on?"

"You can go back," Harmony said under her breath. "It's surreal. It's been so long. You've been here for so long; I knew someday you were going to go back, but I guess I just forgot, 'cause you were here."

Leo nodded. "I forgot, too. This feels so bizarre."

"Believe me, I'm happy for you, Leo; this is what you were training for and all. It's just going to be weird."

"What is?"

"You not being here. You can leave any day, any time, with no warning."

"Harmony," Leo said, grabbing her attention. "I'm not going to leave without saying goodbye to you. I wouldn't just suddenly drop out of your life and leave you like you were never a part of my life or something."

Harmony laughed dryly. "Yeah, like I did to you and the others, right? 'Cause you're better than me?"

Leo felt his heart racing. "That's not at all what I meant!" Leo replied quickly. "I didn't mean to make it sound like I was still mad at you, I was just- -"

"I know, I know," Harmony replied, cutting him off. "Sorry. That was more towards myself than you. It's just, I always think about how you all must have felt when I suddenly left without any warning. When you put it like that, I thought about it again, and I guess that's what you all must have felt like."

Leo sighed softly. "We were upset, but we didn't ever for a second think that you never cared about us. You left us a note, Harmony."

"Yeah, a piece of paper with words totally makes up for a face to face goodbye."

Leo laid a hand on her shoulder, gripping it gently. "Stop. You left a note, and that's better than nothing at all. If you really didn't care about us, you wouldn't have left anything behind at all, and you would have left us out to dry for the bad guys to capture us. You're not a bad person for wanting to have a fresh start. You were trying to protect us, Harmony. We aren't mad at you. We're just glad you're okay, safe, and happy with your new life."

Harmony was quiet for a few minutes. "You really are a dork," she replied, smiling as Leo rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that. I didn't mean to make it all about me. It must be really exciting to know you can go home and see the others after such a long time; they'll be so happy to see you again."

Leo smiled now. "It's going to be so great- - I just don't know when I'm going to leave. I want to hop on the next boat, but I want to just enjoy my last few moments here, you know?"

Harmony nodded. "Either way, going back home is going to be great for you. I wish I could see them all again. It'd be really nice."

Leo's smile faded for a moment, his eyes widened, his smile returned and he looked directly at Harmony. "Why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Why don't you come and see them again?" Leo replied. "You could see them again! Why don't you come back with me!" Harmony fell in silence, lowering the shoulder Leo had his hand on and making it slip off. Leo's smile fell again, and he gave her a confused look. He caught on after a few seconds, and he felt bad. "I'm sorry- - I didn't mean to overwhelm you. It was only a suggestion, I didn't mean to make you feel like I was trying to force you to come with me or anything. I was caught up in my excitement, I forgot about the whole Shredder situation. I just thought that if you saw them again, you wouldn't feel bad anymore and you could say and do all you wanted and come back here and live your new life with a clear conscience."

"I get where you're coming from, Leo. I appreciate it. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go back and see them. But yeah, you forgot that I'm trying to turn over a new leaf with no Shredder in my life. I've loved it here. I can't abandon all the work I've done for myself here like it was nothing. I worked too hard to abandon my new life."

"You wouldn't abandon anything at all, Harmony. It'd just be a visit."

"Maybe at first, but I'd want to stay longer, and then I'd never want to come back. The work I've done would have meant nothing. If I go back, I'll never leave. I can't do that to myself; to Shini. And I don't want to be seen by Shredder or his goons and spark up his stupid vendetta again. I just know he'd get more violent and would not leave a battle without me in his grasp. It's just too dangerous; too reckless. If I went back there, I'm not sure I could willpower myself to come back here. Please understand, Leo."

Leo nodded. "I do understand, Harmony. Maybe I could bring them here to visit?... no, Shredder and his goons would track us down for sure wondering what we're leaving New York for." Leo sighed. They were both quiet for a minute, and Leo suddenly punched the ground and growled. "Shit," he hissed under his breath.

Harmony widened her eyes in surprise. "Leo!" She whisper-yelled.

"Sorry, sorry," Leo replied quickly. "I just wish I could have you all see each other with no risk of danger."

Harmony gave him a sympathetic smile, patting his cheek. "You can't do the impossible, hero-boy. I appreciate your effort, though. Just enjoy being back home for the both of us, okay? Give them my best regards and hugs and stuff for me, and I'll be satisfied with that."

"Yeah, okay."

"Leo, don't get mopey on me. It'll be okay. We can always talk in the spiritual plane."

Leo sighed again, a little smile on his face. "You talk like I'm leaving right now."

"Nah. If you were leaving right now, this would be way harder." Leo nodded, agreeing. "Are you going to tell Splinter or Raph the news whenever you speak to them again?"

Leo laughed a bit. "Shell, I haven't even thought about that. I-I don't know. I want to tell them, but I want it to be a surprise too."

"Ah, as usual, you storm in and grab the spotlight. Classic leadernerdo."

"Ha ha, like you wouldn't grab at that kind of chance. Besides, it'd be a great surprise."

"Yeah yeah, dork. When do you think you'll leave, anyways? I want to prepare my proper goodbye and all."

"I won't leave right this minute. I want to go out with you and Shini one last time; maybe even have AO tag along. I want to have one last great time with all of you before I go."

Harmony smiled, wrapping an arm around Leo's shoulders and pulling him close. "That can definitely be arranged."