Epilogue

4380 Hours

Splinter P.O.V

"Yame!" Splinter brought his staff down upon the dojo floor and watched silently as his sons halted in their gentle sparring before moving, as one group, before their father. To his surprise, for the first time since their horrifying capture almost ten months ago at the hands of Takashi Adamu, the four brothers knelt before Splinter, submitting to his authority as their sensei. The sight almost choked the rat with emotion, yet instead of showing this, he merely knelt down before them, receiving confused glances. Now level with them, he met each of their eyes in turn, seeing the fading fears and scars his sons had been forced to bear, reading their emotions which had almost torn them apart yet had somehow, against all odds, ultimately brought them together.

"My sons" He began, once he reached the end of the line. "For the first time since your terrible ordeal you have taken the first step back to returning home. Tonight, you trained not only as a team, but as brothers." He watched as they all lowered their gazes, a reaction so different from the first time he had spoken to them as a group after their imprisonment. He recalled Leonardo's harsh words - his sharp comment of "your sons died in that place" and how he had called them "broken freaks." Never before had Splinter been so glad as to see his son proven wrong. "What you all faced nearly destroyed this bond," he continued, "yet somehow you have all risen up and joined together one again, and in doing so, you have made me very proud." His sons bowed to him and as their heads raised, Splinter caught sight of the brands still prominent on each of their necks that would never truly heal. After a moment Splinter stood. "I have invited your friends over for a quiet" he emphasized the word, "evening. You've worked hard, but you still must rest and allow yourselves time to fully heal. You may go." With a final bow, the brothers left, talking amongst themselves leaving Splinter watching over their retreating forms with a hint of sadness. So much still needed to be fixed, the journey was far from over with each of his sons still showing clear signs of their imprisonment and the tortures they had endured there, but he knew they would never be the exact same turtles they had once been. Their innocence had been torn away, their spirits crushed, and bodies broken – but slowly, yet surely, there was progress.

Michelangelo had always been so lively and positive, and despite his sounding much more upbeat in recent weeks, Splinter had often caught him break off a laugh suddenly or stop smiling as his eyes clouded and his tongue ran across his lips. It was obvious that the memory of his forced silence still weighing heavily upon his mind. Splinter had also had long talks with his youngest son about his role in the team, and his importance to the family, slowly rebuilding his shattered confidence, reminding him that he was as much of a Hamato as his brothers and nothing would ever change that.

Donatello was much the same, in the way he appeared to struggle with what he used to view as his main purpose. It had taken months to coax him back to his calculations and designs without the fear of Adamu using his mind to trick him or force him to make a decision. But what Splinter could see was troubling him the most was the fact the brand on his foot had shown a way out of their prison and he had never noticed. It soon became apparent that he blamed himself for what happened to Leonardo since he hadn't gotten them out in time. Yet the more he watched Donatello interact with his eldest brother, he could see the way they were gradually rebuilding their relationship and in turn their confidence.

Then there was Raphael. His attitude change troubled Splinter the most. Once loud and aggressive, the former hothead was now a polar opposite of his former self, withdrawing into himself, flinching at certain things – such as the softest of criticism – and almost hesitant to resort to violence. From what Splinter could see, it seemed his son had become so used to the humiliation and suppression of his captors that he had lowered his defences in order to survive, yet this had left him oddly vulnerable. However, Splinter could see some hope. Over the past weeks, he had noticed Raphael assisting Leonardo whenever the latter would begin rebuilding his muscles in his limbs and helping him walk again. Throughout the eldest's rehabilitation, Raphael was always right by his brother's side, from assisting in the cleaning of his shell to catching him if he stumbled. These little moments brought an old light to Raphael's eyes and the two had begun to banter with one another like before, bringing a smile to the rat's face.

But then there was Leonardo. Out of all his sons, it was fair to say Leonardo had suffered the most, physically and mentally – and it saddened Splinter to know that this was in part due to the pressure he himself had placed upon his son's shoulders as leader. Over various weeks, he had encouraged Leonardo to begin opening up about his time in captivity, slowly allowing him to realise how he couldn't keep it all to himself. Splinter had listened in horror as his son had described his ordeal and whenever his voice broke or he grew too humiliated to continue, Splinter would meet his eyes and bow his head slightly, silently showing his unconditional love and how he would not hold anything against him. Yet it was by coming to terms with the horrors done to him could Leonardo face the fact he had taken Adamu's life. Splinter regretted his son having to carry this burden, yet he knew deep in his heart it was vengeance and no less than what the sick man had deserved. But like his brothers, his battle still wasn't over. Leonardo still struggled to sleep, his dreams frequently haunted by the so called "deal" he had made and whenever someone touched him unexpectedly, he would often flinch or become shaken, so gradually they were all working in getting their brother more at ease with himself and begin around them all.

Then there was the physical damage of his limbs. The blades inserted through his hands and feet had formed clean cuts, yet they had been severe, so much so that the possibility of amputation had seemed very real, yet after he reawakened from his coma, Leonardo had eventually begun to improve. Now, six months down the line, he was up and about again. However it was clear that he would never show the same level of grace that he once had with his wrist and arm movements now less fluid, restricting the ways he could use his katanas, while his feet still pained him from time to time.

Splinter sighed and shook these thoughts away. He couldn't dwell in the past. HIs family was free and at last things could move closer to the way it had once been.

From the pit the cheerful tones of his sons interacting with their friends arose. Amidst the general chatter Splinter's sensitive ears could pick out the deep throaty rumble of Slash's laughter, the soft almost growling of Leatherhead's carefully chosen words, the gentle chuckle of Dan and the higher pitched tones of April and Karai. Peaking out of the doorway, the aging rat allowed himself a small smile at the sight. Each of his sons were chatting with their friends, each bearing a smile – comfortable in their surroundings.

Yes, the path ahead of them was long – yet Splinter no longer doubted his precious sons would endure.

They were strong.

They were now, and until the end of time: brothers.

And here we are my friends.

The End.

OR NOT!

As stated in the previous Author's note, I've got some ideas for one shots to fill in any gaps, so please send me requests/ ideas or even some slight alternative concepts you would like explored. :D

The first piece is a scene between Dan and Leo I couldn't fit anywhere and allows them to address the harsh words Leo spoke to him in anger, so keep an eye out for that!

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A massive thank you to all you amazing readers out there for keeping this going with your reviews and never dying support. This has been such a fun (maybe not the right word!) journey, so a massive shout out to the following people who reviewed:

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And of course to all the unnamed guests.

Thank you everyone, I couldn't have done this without your support. :D

Take care and I look forward to hearing any ideas/thoughts.

LL99 out.