Okay, so it has been a while since I updated. Sorry everyone! In any case, this is the final chapter of the story. Yeah, it's done!! For those of you who are disappointed in how abruptly this has ended, I apologize. My actualy inspiration on this story ran out about three chapters ago, but I didn't wanted to leave it unfinished. In any case, I do have an idea for a follow up story, but only if there's still enough reader interest for me to write it. If not, well this seems like a good place to end the series for the moment. Now that I'm done rambling, read on and enjoy!

"Wait a minute," Leonardo said as he moved closer to his visibly miserable younger brother. "You're saying that you saw—"

"Everything," Don said. "The attack on the Lair, what was done to you three, Master Splinter's death; all of it. All I could do was watch as everything fell apart, and there was nothing I could do about it."

This time, Leonardo didn't need his younger self to hint at what his next move should be. Instead, he simply enfolded his younger brother in a tight hug and began to rub his shell soothingly. "Shh, Don," he whispered. "Like you said, there was nothing you could do. And I'm betting that mirror was simply meant as a way to torture you."

"But I should have been here," Don countered. "Maybe if I'd been here, things wouldn't have gotten so bad."

"And maybe you'd have been killed, or things would have changed, and one of us would have been killed instead," his one-armed sibling countered. "I know from personal experience that 'maybe's' and 'what if's' don't do anything but make you miserable, bro. Trust me. Besides, the way I see it, things didn't turn out too badly."

"Didn't turn out too badly," Don spluttered. "You're missing an arm, Raph and Leo are half-blind, our father is dead, April is dead, and our world is going to be dead inside ten years! How can you say things didn't turn out too badly?"

"Because, in the end, we still have each other," Raph said, his single eye glowing with fierce emotion. "And not only that, but we have a chance at a new life, while our family has nearly tripled in size." He looked at where the seven younger turtles were sitting in respectful silence. "If I had to choose between losing all that I've lost, and losing one of my bros, I would choose my losses every time. So stop feeling so damn guilty!"

"Besides," Leo said, speaking for the first time, "if anyone is to blame for what happened to your family, it's me. Malatempa, that crazy whatever she was, did this as a means to punish me for trapping her boss."

That caught Don's attention, for he couldn't quite follow the logic in that line of thought. "What would my disappearance have to do with you?"

"Simple," Leo said. "She set up the destruction of your world as a part of her greater plan to destroy my family. I certainly don't think she intended to get herself killed when she came up against us in my dimension. If things had worked her way, all of my brothers would 

have been sent to different dimensions where they would either be killed or trapped, leaving me helpless and alone."

Raph snorted. "Alone, yes," he told his big brother. "Helpless? What universe are you living in?"

"In any case," Leo said, ignoring the warming of his face from his brother's compliment. "Donatello was intended to die here. If he had come through on his own, I very much doubt I would have been able to locate him, much less follow him here. It was only because he and Donny were supporting each other's energy signatures that I was able to find them and follow them across. So if you want to blame someone, blame me."

"Blame you," Don asked, shock clear in his voice. "Blame the individual who is responsible for saving my family? Blame you when you nearly got yourself killed protecting my brothers? Leo, there is nothing to blame you for."

"Except that if it weren't for me, Malatempa wouldn't have interfered in your lives at all," Leo said stubbornly.

Don couldn't believe what he was hearing. Okay, actually he could; this was Leo after all. He looked at the Menaces in wide-eyed disbelief. "Is he serious," he asked in a strangled voice. "Does he really think we'd blame him for what that crazy were-bitch-wanna-be did?"

"He's Leo," Raph said philosophically. "What did you expect?"

Shaking his head, Don walked right up to Leo and smacked him with his open palm right on the forehead.

"Hey, what was that for," Leo complained as he rubbed the slightly stinging spot.

"For being such an idiot," Don said. "Blame you my shell. One of these days you Leonardos, all of you, are going to realize that the responsibility for the world does not rest on your shoulders. Each of us makes our own choices, and we each have to live with the consequences."

"Exactly," Leo said, quiet triumph in his voice. "Listen to your own words, 'little brother.' Malatempa made the choice to trap you. Karai made the decision to attack your home and your family. You didn't make them do those things, any more than you made your brothers lose sight of each other for all those years. All any of you can do now is remember the consequences you've suffered, and try to learn from your mistakes in the future. Playing the blame game doesn't help anyone."

Don sat in stunned silence for a long moment before looking once more at the twin Menaces who sat flanking Leo. "Your brother," he said succinctly, "is a stubborn, pain in the butt, know-it-all, too-smart-for-his-own-good bastard."

"Don't we know it," Raphael said. "But don't feel too bad. He's pulled that same trick on us too many times to count."

"But it doesn't change the fact that he's right," Mike said, his one good arm tightening comfortingly around his older brother. "I'd say we've all shouldered enough guilt and blame for this whole situation. But, the thing is, we still have each other, in spite of everything. It's time to let it go and move on."

Don was quiet for a moment as he considered his younger brother words. Then, returning the one-armed hug he said, "So where do we go from here? I mean, this Earth is pretty much a loss."

"Actually," Leonardo interjected, "our new brothers have an interesting offer for us. You see, they know a place where we can live in safety and peace if we're willing to move. How does that sound to you?"

For the first time, Don gave his brothers a real, honest smile. "Why don't you tell me more as we head back to HQ? I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I've had about as much of this dismal place," he gestured around the destroyed Lair, "as I can stand." And enfolded in the loving presence of his now quite large family, Don led them out of the remnants of their old life and into the much brighter promise of the future.