Resolution

Present

"Leo!"

Leo had fallen to his knees and held his head in his hands. He wanted to disappear from this future, a future that should never have existed.

He felt familiar hands press his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Raphael's voice whispered. "I tried to…" He shut up, tightening his grip on his brother.

Leo raised his head to look him in the eye.

"How did it happen?" Uttering these words was a torture, but he needed to know. "Why didn't we save him?"

"We couldn't." Raphael closed his eyes. "You weren't even around, you…" He realized too late that it wasn't exactly the right thing to say.

"I wasn't there?" Leo wiped his eyes angrily. "I should have! I should have, and…"

A blinding white light cut him off. A second later, a particularly embarrassed Renet cleared her throat.

"Uh, guys? Sorry I'm late, I, uh… I've come for Leo."

Raphael jumped on his feet and walked over her with his fists raised. "Oh, so now you're coming?" he yelled, seizing the opportunity to release some of his frustration.

Michelangelo and Donatello caught him by the arms and held him back.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm really sorry," Renet whispered. "I'll sort this out immediately." She came closer to Leo and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I really don't see how," Raphael said bitterly.

Renet bit her lip. "He won't remember. I… See you soon."

Raphael turned his head away while she disappeared with Leo. Maybe Leo wouldn't remember what he had discovered - good for him - but he, Raphael, wasn't going to forget the pain on Leo's face any time soon.

"I really hope it went better for our Leo," Michelangelo whispered.

Past

"Leonardo? My son, you're worrying us," Splinter said softly. "What's the matter?"

Leonardo teared himself from his father's embrace. He had wanted to lay low until Renet and his brothers brought him back to his own present.

It had backfired. But what could he say? How could he repair the damage he had done? Was it even possible?

Leonardo glanced at Raph, Donnie and Mikey, packed together as if they could feel his pain.

The arrival of two people in a flash of blinding light dispensed him from finding an answer.

"Hi everyone," Renet trumpeted.

Leonardo watched her in incredulity before turning his attention to the second figure, a turtle that looked a lot like him - although he seemed in a worse condition than him. He shifted to allow said turtle to take his place in Splinter's arms.

Splinter lowered his ears, a sign of strong emotion. It was the second time in less than five minutes that he had to comfort the same son. He must really be wondering what was happening - unless he had guessed it, which was even worse.

"Hi Renet," Leonardo said, his hoarse voice not especially welcoming.

"I'm sorry, who am I speaking to?" a baffled Donnie interjected.

Renet bowed to him. "My name is Renet. I'm sorry about this rude interruption. We'll meet again later. Much later."

Donnie threw his arms up. "That's all? Excuse me, but I would really appreciate to understand what's happening here!"

Renet shook her head. "No time. This timeline has already been too altered, the Time Scepter has barely the energy required to sort things out."

She caught Leonardo's skeptical look and smiled at him.

"Don't worry. Nobody here will remember a thing." She patted the Time Scepter. "I've checked the settings."

Both Donnie and Raph crossed their arms. As for Mikey, he seemed unable to look away from Renet.

Renet sighed. "Erm… My apologies again. Leo, we go?"

Leonardo took a deep breath. It was more than time for him to return to the future, his present.

"We go."

Splinter hugged Leo even more tightly as he gave Leonardo a sad smile.

"Take good care of your brothers," he whispered.

Leonardo bowed low to him before taking Renet's hand.

He would be happy to see Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael again. He missed them.

Present

Raphael's relief was immeasurable when Leonardo and Renet reappeared in front of them, a few seconds only after the apprentice Time Mistress had left with Leo.

Leonardo seemed shaken, and Raphael lost no time in taking him in his arms in what could only be called a bear hug.

It went without saying that Donatello and Michelangelo hurried to help him with this important task.

Leonardo accepted his brothers' hug with gratitude and didn't break apart from them until he began running out of air.

Renet watched them with a tender and more than a little guilty expression.

"I'm happy to tell you that everything is back to normal in your past. My apologies for the inconvenience."

Raphael glared at her, but Leonardo merely nodded.

"Thanks, Renet. I'm relieved that my past self won't remember anything."

Renet gave him an awkward smile.

"And now I'm going to leave you. I've an appointment with dust in the Time Library…" She sighed.

While Michelangelo said his goodbyes to her, Raphael dragged Leonardo to the couch.

"And now you tell us everything."

"And that's when Renet arrived."

Having finished his tale, Leonardo took another sip of the hot tea Donatello had made for him.

Michelangelo, who was nestled against him on the couch, whistled. "Okay, well, you've really been busy there too."

Leonardo lifted his eye ridges. "What do you mean, too? What happened here?" He felt a lump in his throat. "Apart from the fact that my younger self learned the truth."

Michelangelo squeezed up tighter against him.

"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary," Raphael said half in earnest, half in jest. "After all, you've only managed to give me the slip, to steal an artefact with Karai and to almost get killed by Tiger Claw."

Leonardo abruptly straightened up. "Tiger Claw is in town?"

"Yes he is," Donatello said. "I've compared our information with Rockwell's. We can fill you in later."

Leonardo nodded. "As soon as you've told me your part of the story."

Much later that day, Leonardo sat under the dojo tree. Michelangelo had put Splinter's shrine back in its place, and Leonardo had burned incense sticks on it.

He was pensively looking at his old katana. His brothers had told him what had happened with the young Leo.

He felt Raphael come inside and sit down next to him.

"Are you going to repair them?"

Leonardo hesitated. He hadn't wanted to at the time. These weapons were a symbol of his lost past and he had wished a clean cut.

"Maybe someday."

Raphael nodded. "Alright. I could help you with it, if you want," he offered almost shyly.

Leonardo smiled at him. "I would like that."

Raphael smiled back. "That way, they won't betray us if Renet strikes again," he joked to hide his melancholy.

Leonardo shook his head. "I don't think we'll be seeing her again for quite some time. Lord Simultaneous will probably want to keep her busy after what happened, and…"

A clear voice echoed from the living room. "Good news, guys! I'm done! Phew, I thought these three months were never going to end!"

Leonardo and Raphael exchanged a long look.

"I think I'm going to keep meditating in this dojo for a while," Leonardo said.

Raphael patted his shoulder. "Excellent idea."

Epilogue

Past

Shredder sat on his throne, his daughter kneeling at his feet.

"Father? Will you come with us?"

Shredder hesitated. He didn't know why - nothing unusual had happened lately - but he didn't feel like going out. There was this feeling, deep inside him. He didn't quite know what it was… Fear, maybe?

The Foot clan leader shook himself. He was being ridiculous. Nothing and nobody made an impression on him.

Nevertheless…

"No, Karai. You'll be responsible for this mission."

He watched as her daughter stood up, bowed to him and left the room. He had raised her well, she would stand her ground.

He felt safer in his fortress.

Author's Note: For the record, I've often wondered why Shredder wasn't more involved in the fight against the turtles. It's partly what inspired this story. Thanks to everybody who showed an interest in it!