Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, Paranoid Puppy, Katiesmeghead, and winged-monkey for your reviews. I write for you guys. I still don't own the turtles (but I do own Kizake =)).

There won't be anything from Leo's perspective in this chapter, since he's kind of out of it. Besides, it gives the other guys a chance to catch up. =P Enjoy!

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Don helped lift the unconscious Leo into the back of the van the ninja had given them. They were in fact still in New York City, only a few miles away from the Shredder's old base. Imagine Master Splinter's reaction when he finds out we were only a half hour away the whole time, he thought wryly. Maybe they could skip that little detail….

Don placed Leo on the floor of the van trying not to aggravate any of his injuries. None of his wounds themselves were life-threatening—the only thing that worried him was the blood loss. But he had managed to bring that under control, and as soon as they got back to the lair and stitched him up, he should be fine in a week or so. But what really concerned Don were Leo's emotional wounds. Leo was a notoriously quick healer physically, but when it came to his emotions he took forever to heal. Don knew most of that was because Leo kept his feeling bottled up inside him, but he hoped that this time he would be willing to talk.

Don shuddered as he thought about what all Leo had been through. Believing his brothers were dead…. Don couldn't even begin to imagine the pain. If Don had lost his whole family, he knew he never would have been able to go on. And all Leo ever thought about was protecting his brothers. He would blame himself for everything, that much Don could guarantee. But they would quickly take that thought out of his mind. Don shook his head and focused on healing Leo's physical wounds. They would deal with his emotions when he awoke.

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Raph drove the van through the empty New York streets, avoiding the heavily trafficked areas. He glanced back occasionally to check on Leo, but mainly focused on getting them home as quickly as possible. His thoughts floated back to the ninja who had helped them. He had said that Kizake wanted to help them…. Oh well, they'd get answers from Leo later. The ninja hadn't given them a name or even let them say thank you. He had just shown them the van, told them where they were, and disappeared.

Raph pulled the van carefully but quickly into a familiar alley and brought it to a stop. They would enter the sewers here and carry Leo to the lair where Donny could better treat his wounds. Then when Leo woke up they could talk. Raph was dying to talk to Leo about all that had happened. He wanted to know what had happened between Leo's escape and the rescue, and how he had known to look for them. Had he had another freaky dream, or one of his feelings, or had the ninja helped him…? Raph had no idea, and he hated having no idea. He couldn't wait for some answers…. But more than that Raph just wanted to hear his big brother tell him everything was okay. That he would make it, and that they would never be separated like that again. He wanted to hear him be strong, Fearless Leader again.

Raph sighed and jumped out of the van, heading toward the back to help Don carry Leo to the manhole cover. Mikey ran to open it, heading down the ladder to help get Leo down. After several long, uncomfortable minutes, they had Leo down in the sewer tunnel and were finally heading home.

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Mikey ran ahead of his brothers and punched the code into the lair door, happier than he had ever been to be home. As soon as the door had slid open enough he squeezed through and ran inside, shouting for Master Splinter. "Master Splinter! We're okay… we're alive! We're home!" Mikey paused and listened for any answer. For one agonizing second Mikey thought there was no one there. Then he heard the best sound he'd ever heard.

"Michelangelo? Is that you?" Master Splinter sounded older and more worn, but Mikey didn't care at the moment. He was home, and his father was there waiting for him.

"Master Splinter!" Mikey ran to the old rat and threw his arms around his neck, hugging him like he hadn't since he was a child.

"My son… my son… my son," Master Splinter said over and over, stroking the back of Mikey's head. "You are alive. Tell me, where are your brothers?"

Mikey looked up at his father, saying, "They're right behind me with Leo…." Mikey's joy faded somewhat when he thought of his oldest brother. "He's hurt pretty bad, Master Splinter."

The rat looked anxious, but managed to remain calm. "And the others? Raphael? Donatello?"

"They're fine… I guess. I mean, we're all shook up pretty bad but we're okay…." Mikey's voice trailed off when Don and Raph came through the door, carrying Leo between them.

"Master Splinter!" Don and Raph cried together.

"My sons! I thought I would never see you again. What has happened? Is your brother all right?"

"He'll be okay, Master. I've just got to stop the bleeding and stitch him up, but he'll be fine."

"Thank god," Master Splinter breathed. "And you, my sons? Are your spirits alright?"

Mikey looked at the floor. "Uh… we can talk about that later." Splinter looked at him, an understanding look in his eyes.

"Let us take care of your brother, then we shall speak of what has passed."

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Okay, this was just sort of a filler chapter, but there'll be lots of answers in the next one (don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the dreams). Let me know what you think. I'm guessing only one more chapter, maybe two. It's kind of sad to see it ending, but I'll definitely keep writing about the turtles. Anyway, thanks for reading so faithfully.