Leo and Krang stood in front of the entrance to the lair.

"So... we just go in?" Krang questioned.

Leo scoffed. "I wise it were that simple. I've had an entire year to get to know you, they, on the other hand, have only had a week since you attacked. There is no way that they are just going to accept you without hesitation. No matter how much I want them to."

"Oh, right," Krang muttered.

Leo was quick to catch on to Krang's brooding. "Hey, we'll figure something out. Don't worry."

Leo and Krang sat down on the ground and tried to think of ideas.

After a few minutes, Leo suggested, "What if I went in, said hi, tell them where I've been, because I'm sure they miss me, and I also tell them how I got back. Because without your help, I wouldn't even be here. That way they may be more accepting if they know what you did for me."

"Will they even listen to you? I don't think they are going to be very forgiving."

"Pfff, of course they will. And if they have a hard time accepting you, I can just tell them how you did surgery on me. You had complete access to my brain, but you did nothing. If that doesn't scream friend, I don't know what does." Leo paused. "You know, Mikey accepted Draxum into the family, and he was evil. Plus, he threw me of a roof. But that didn't stop Mikey from inviting him to every holiday dinner and loving him like a father. I think they will accept you... eventually. Definitely not right away. But I'm sure they will."

Krang sighed. "If you think it will work, I think it's worth a shot. Plus, it's alway's good to still have hope that this will work."

Leo tried smiling, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Great. Glad we're on the same page." He tried to sound hopeful that this would actually work.

Leo stood up and walked over to the entrance. "Just stay here for now. I don't want them to immediately start attacking you. Because I'm sure they will."

"Wow, I'm glad you have so much confidence in your brothers," Krang said sarcastically, while rolling his eyes.

After a moments hesitation, Leo walked in the home he missed so dearly.

Leo strode into the lair. The first thing he noticed was that nobody was nearby. He decided to walk around and try and find somebody.

Leo turned his bracelet notch seven places to the left so it was on level three. He knew this was going to be overwhelming, he didn't want to make it worse by being able to see every little detail. He started to wander around.

When Leo neared Mikey's room, he heard something. Whispering. He stood by the door and leaned on the wall. Perks of being able to see things through vibrations was that he didn't need to be in a room to see what was happening in said room. However, it still helped to be touching a wall that connects to the room.

It seemed like Mikey was on his bed, upset, with Raph trying to comfort him.

"I just can't believe he's really gone. It seems like just yesterday he tried to beat the pizza box stacking record... I guess, that was just a week ago." Mikey seemed defeated. Like nothing would ever make him happy again.

"Hey, it's okay to grieve. We all do it," Raph comforted. Though, he looked as if he needed to cry too.

Leo felt someone make their way in his direction. Since Leo turned his visibility down, he couldn't see who it was, until it was too late.

Donnie, his twin, was standing right in front of him.

Donnie sighed. "I've got to be hallucinating right now. You died, Leo. You're not real," he deadpanned. Donnie paused and all Leo did in return was continue to stare at him. "But I've never seen you like this. You look like you went through a war. You have scars all over your body and all your gear is gone except your mask." Donnie paused again and sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter what you look like. You're a figment of my imagination." Donnie seemed disapointed that he wasn't real. Made sense. Leo would be too if he was in Donnie's position.

Leo finally regained his bearings and gulped. "Donnie..."

Donnie sighed again. "What do you want, hallucination?"

"Donnie, who are you talking to?" Raph questioned from Mikey's room.

"No one," Donnie responded.

"Donnie, if you're hallucinating, this is serious," Mikey said.

Donnie whispered to himself, "If it's a hallucination, I can just wave it away, right?"

Leo was about to finally say something else, but Donnie was already moving to touch him.

SLAP! Right on the face.

Donnie looked like he had seen a ghost. And in his eyes, he had.

Leo rubbed his cheek. "What was that for?! I know you were checking if I was real, but there are better ways of doing so!"

"You're real?!" Donnie looked gobsmacked.

"Yeah, no kidding." Leo rolled his unseeing eyes.

Mikey and Raph appeared at the same time Donnie ran to hug him. Nearly knocking him off his feet. Leo was quick to hug back.

"You're here! You're actually here!" Donnie yelled. "Don't you ever leave me like that again!"

"Leo?!" Mikey asked.

Mikey and Raph both ran towards him, and this time he did fall to the ground with the force of their hug.

Leo heard Donnie start sobbing. "Leo, how is this possible? We saw you disappear."

Leo had tears in his own eyes. "I had help from a friend."

They laid there for a few minutes, until Mikey broke away from the hug on the floor. He had the biggest smile on his face as he looked at Leo's face.

Mikey's smile suddenly turned into a concerned frown. "Leo, what's wrong with your eyes?"

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

Leo really didn't want to answer that question.

"What do you mean, Mikey?" Raph asked, concerned.

"They're all foggy and gray."

Donnie jerked away from the hug. Leo whined at the sudden loss of physical touch. "What?! What are you talking about?!"

Donnie looked into Leo's eyes and his face morphed into horror and realization. "Leo?! Leo, are you blind?! Can you see us?!"

Mikey looked panicked. "Donnie, what do you mean? Why wouldn't he be able to see us?"

"Leo, answer my question."

Crap. Leo really didn't want to talk about this right now. He gulped. "Uh... no... I can't..."

"You're blind?!" Raph screeched.

"Oww, right in my ear. I'm blind, not deaf. I would like to keep it that way." Leo rubbed his ear to get rid of the ringing.

"Who's blind?" Oh no. Leo did not want to have to face his dad right now. Too many emotions.

Mikey was quick to answer with a panicked, "Leo is!"

"Blue?"

Splinter turned the corner. He instantly looked to be in disbelief.

"Blue? Is that actually you?"

Leo got choked up. Seems he was right about it being emotional. "Yeah, dad, I'm back."

Splinter ran over to him and hugged him tightly around his neck. Leo hugged him back.

"Oh, Blue."

And that was what made the dam break.

Leo sobbed. He sobbed for all the time he spent away from his brothers and father. His sister and friends. He missed them all deeply.

"Dad... dad, I missed you so much!"

"Me too, my son. I missed you too."

After a few moments, Leo let go of Splinter.

Splinter seemed to be studying him. "So, you're blind? For real? This isn't a prank?"

Leo grinned tearily. "No, it's not a prank. But I'm glad you have such high expectations of me," Leo joked.

Splinter touched right next to his eyes. "Oh, you poor thing." Guess the joke didn't land.

"Pfff, it's not that bad. Now I don't have to look at Donnie's massive eyebrows anymore."

"Hey!"

Raph spoke up. "That doesn't change the fact that you can't see. It's bad, no matter how much you say it isn't." Guess Leo's attempt to cheer them up didn't work.

Raph's face fell. "Oh, Leo, I wish this didn't have to happen to you."

Leo gently smiled and hugged him. "It's okay, Raph. There is nothing you could have done to stop it from happening."

Leo hesitated before saying, "I still know where you are, just not in the seeing sense."

"What do you you mean?" Donnie questioned.

"Well, I have an... implant... in my brain that picks up the vibrations produced by everything and turns it into sight. It's like echolocation, just without me making a bunch of random noises to see things."

Mikey looked excited. "Oh, I watched a documentary about that one time. So, you're like a bat?"

Leo scoffed. "As much as I don't like that comparison, yes Mikey, like a bat."

Donnie looked confused. "You said there is an implant in your brain. How did it get there?"

Leo grimaced. "See, that's the kicker. So... how do I say this... um, for you guys, it's been a week since the invasion. For me, it's been... a year." Leo shakily grinned. "Surprise..."

Raph gasped. "Leo! You can't be serious! You were in there for that long?"

"I am serious. And let me say, it was the longest year of my life."

Mikey looked sad. "You were being beat up by the Krang for a year?"

Leo chuckled nervously. "See, that's the funny part. Krang was actually the one to do the surgery for the implant. He built it too."

The faces his brothers and father were making would have been comical, if it weren't for the circumstances.

"The Krang?!" everyone yelled.

Leo winced. "Oww, like I said, I'm not deaf and I would like to keep it that way. And yes, Krang."

"But-but-" Donnie started.

Leo interrupted. "I know. You don't need to remind me." Leo was getting angry. He expected this to happen, but experiencing it was harder than he imagined it being. Krang had helped him through the hardest thing he had ever experienced in his entire life. His blindness and abandonment from his family. Krang didn't deserve all this hate.

Raph looked scandalized. "Leo, you can't be serious! He's pure evil! You know what he did to us!"

Leo's eyes felt hot. "Yes, I am! And no, he's not evil! He helped me! I can see now! He didn't have to help me with that, but he did! He's changed!" Leo had tears streaming down his face. This wasn't fair!

Donnie growled. Actually growled. "Leo, he tried taking over the planet! There is no way he's changed! There's no coming back from that! No redemption available!"

"You're wrong! He did change!" Leo nearly screamed.

Leo's emotions got the better of him and he let out a frustrated yell and ran as fast as he could back to the entrance of the lair. Tears were creating a waterfall down his face.

Leo was mildly aware of his family members trying to follow him.

Krang saw him running towards him. "It didn't go well?"

Leo was so close to full out sobbing. "I don't want to be here anymore. Let's go."

Krang nodded and let Leo climb onto him as Krang was the faster of the two.

"Leo!" he heard his family yell, but he was already leaving.

After they got a couple hundred yards away from everyone else, Krang stopped and Leo climbed down.

Leo started flapping his hands and pacing, not knowing what to do with his emotions.

"Hey, hey buddy, calm down. It's okay." Krang soothed.

Leo finally let out a sob and collapsed onto the ground. "No, it's not! My brothers hate you! It's all my fault!"

Krang frowned. "No, it's not your fault. It's their decision to hate me, not yours."

Leo shuddered as another sob ripped through his throat. He crawled over to Krang and hugged him. "At least you're still here. I don't know what I would do if you weren't."

They sat like that for a few more minutes, until they heard something. A person, or people, were making their way over to them.

It was revealed to be Leo's brothers.

"What do you guys want?" Leo asked coldly. Okay, sue him. He was in a bad mood.

Raph figited and spoke up. "We, as a group, decided that, for you, we would give Krang a chance." Raph said this through gritted teeth. "Mikey reminded us that you were actually bringing up some really good points about Krang changing for the better. We'll give him one more chance."

Leo smiled hesitantly. "You guys are serious?"

"As serious as Donnie is about taking over the world some day," Mikey piped up.

Donnie was glaring at the Krang. "As much as I hate to admit it, you might be right for once. Your logic made sense. He did surgery on you and you're still here, that must count for something. "

Raph spoke up again. "We won't attack him. But if he does anything remotely suspicious, he out of here. And Donnie has my permission to blow him up."

Donnie interrupted. "It better not come to that, though."

Leo turned to Krang and gently grabbed one of his tentacles to let Krang know that he was willing to give his brothers another chance. It was their own form of silent communication. Physical touch.

Krang sighed then reached over to Leo's wrist, grabbed the bracelet he was wearing, and turned the settings all the way down. "If we are going to do this, I need you to think hard about it. No distractions. I personally would love to stay with them, but it's up to you entirely. Do you want to take this risk?"

Leo closed his unseeing eyes and slumped his shoulders with a sigh. It was nice not seeing anything and Krang knew that. Sometimes, things got too overwhelming and Leo would turn the settings on his bracelet all the way down to calm himself better. He must have been more high strung than he thought for Krang to notice and help him in such a way. Leo leaned into the Krang to show his thanks.

Leo sighed. "I want to, but I don't want you to feel unwanted. If you want to give them a chance, then we will. If not, I don't know what we're going to do."

"So, what's your decision?" Mikey hesitantly asked. He was the only one that seemed to actually be okay with it.

Krang answered for Leo. "We'll give you guys another chance. But please try not to kill me. I rather like my life now."

Leo smiled because he knew what Krang was referring to. Their friendship was unbreakable. They had been through too much together to be separated by a measly disagreement.

"Great! Let's go back to the lair now. You guys must be hungry." Mikey sounded genuinely excited.

Now that Mikey mentioned it, Leo realized how hungry he really was. The feeling was so unfamiliar that he didn't know what it was until now. A year without eating will do that to you.

"Do you want me to carry you back?"Krang offered.

Leo mearly nodded in response.

Even though he couldn't see, he knew Raph and Donnie were glaring at Krang the whole way back home.

When they got home, Mikey led Leo and Krang to the living room couch.

"Wait here and I'll make you dinner," Mikey said cheerily and then left to do so.

Krang sat down with Leo right next to him.

Leo was so exhausted, he wouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep before Mikey was done making dinner. He cuddled closer to Krang to get warmer.

"You're so comfy and warm," Leo slurred tiredly.

Suddenly Donnie exclaimed, "That's it! Tell us what your deal is, Krang! I've been watching you this whole time, Leo, and you're so comfortable when you're around Krang. What made this happen?"

Leo sighed. "Can we talk about this later? I'm so tired. Just let me sleep."

"No. We need to talk about this now. Leo?!"

Leo didn't hear him, he was already unconscious.

When Leo awoke, he didn't know where he was. He turned his bracelet onto setting seven, only to find himself lying on top of Krang. They were in the kichen eating soup.

Leo stretched and asked, "Krang, what am I doing on top of you?"

Krang jumped at his voice, which almost caused Leo to fall off. "Oh, you fell asleep, and your brothers wanted to go eat, but they didn't want me left alone with you. So, I just picked you up and brought you here. Your welcome."

Leo hummed in understanding. "Can I have some soup?"

"Yeah, sure," Mikey said and handed him a bowl.

Leo sat up to accept it.

Donnie raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to get down?"

"Why would I? It's comfy here," Leo questioned.

"On my head?" Krang asked.

"Yes."

Leo took a spoon full of soup and ate it. He hummed in delight of the flavors.

"Mikey, it may be the fact that I haven't eaten in a year, but this is the best soup I've ever eaten," Leo complemented.

Mikey beamed. "Thanks!"

This was nice. It's what Leo missed the most. Just simply hanging out. All of them getting along with everything.

If only Donnie would stop glaring at them.

After they finished eating, they all sat in the living room to discuss everything that had happened.

Donnie crossed his arms and asked, "So Krang, what's your deal? Why're you being nice?"

Krang didn't know how to answer that. "Uh..."

That made Leo mad. "Hey! Can you chill with the interrogation? Krang nice now. Can you just give him a chance and stop bugging him?"

Donnie reeled back. "I'm not interrogating him, just asking questions. So, answer my question. Or are you just pretending to be nice?"

Leo grinned mischievously. "He's not pretending. If he was, would he let me do this?"

Leo flung himself over to Krang and latched onto his side.

"Or this?"

Leo nuzzled his face into Krang's side.

"Or what about this?"

Leo climbed on top of Krang and sat down with his legs dangling in front of Krang's face.

"See? He's friendly now."

To prove his point further, Krang laughed. Leo didn't miss the fact that Raph flinched at the sound. Leo frowned but caught himself quickly and turned it into a chuckle of his own.

Krang grinned. "Oh Leo... you seem to forget that I know your weak spot. And you just put it on full display."

Krang reached up to the inside of Leo's knees with two tentacles and tickled him. Leo screeched and fell down, luckily onto the couch.

"No! No! Have mercy! BWAAAHAHAHA" Leo tried begging, but ended up laughing instead.

Krang knew Leo's most ticklish spot and went right in for the kill.

Leo was lying on his stomach with Krang pinning his legs. There was no getting out of this.

After a few moments, Leo hit his limit. He couldn't breath.

Leo gasped. "Krang...Krang... stop! I can't breath!" Leo barely got out because he was panting so hard.

Luckily, Krang got the message and let go of Leo's legs, allowing him to escape.

Leo layed there for a few moments, just catching his breathe.

"See? Would an enemy do that to you? Would he know your most ticklish spot?" Leo asked his brothers.

"No, he wouldn't," Mikey answered cheerfully.

"Thank you, Mikey," Leo said gratefully.

Donnie rolled his eyes. "I guess I see your point," he muttered.

Leo smiled. "So, are you guys going to go on patrol?"

"We thought we wouldn't tonight 'cause you just got back. We want to just relax." Raph responded.

Leo frowned. "Okay." He knew Raph was only saying that because of the Krang. He probably didn't want to leave Krang here alone, and he obviously didn't want to take him along.

Mikey sensed the tension in the air. "Do you guys want to watch a movie?"

Donnie quickly responded with, "Yeah, that sounds great."

Leo was getting frustrated. First, Raph didn't want to do patrol because of Krang, and now Donnie only agreed so he could keep an eye on Krang. Leo knew they wouldn't like him immediately, but this was too much.

Also, did they really think Leo would be able to watch it? He decided to wait it out and see how long it takes for them to realize their mistake.

"What movie do you want to watch?"

"Oh, a Lou Jitsu movie would be fun."

"No. I'm thinking more classic. Frozen?"

"Frozen isn't a classic, dummy. Why would you even want to watch that anyway?"

"Anna is a good role model. She teaches you to never give up on your loved ones."

"Yeah, sure. Anyways, what movie then?"

Krang turned to Leo while the rest continued their argument. "It's taking them longer than I thought it would."

Leo smiled. "Yeah, you'd think they'd be more observant, you know, being literal ninjas."

"Want to go somewhere else?" Krang offered.

"I thought you'd never ask. As much as I love my bros, this whole reunion thing is exhausting," Leo admitted.

Leo and Krang got up and left to go to Leo's room. The others didn't even notice.

When they arrived, Leo gasped. "I know technically I was only gone for a week, but it's still crazy my room looks exactly the same as it did before."

Krang smiled. "Do you want to cuddle?"

Leo nodded. "Yes please."

Krang climbed into Leo's bed and made room for Leo.

Leo ripped off his mask, turned off his bracelet, and took it off. He practically lept into his bed and cuddled close to his best friend.