Wow, those were some intense chapters. Some say the sequel never matches up to the original - but you've proven them wrong my friend. This has been an epic journey for all concerned, especially for your fans. I'm sorry for not posting this positive review sooner!

Wow! I’m so happy for you! I can’t think of a better fanfic for this award. I am really just at a loss words. Well, I guess all I can say is, good job!

btw, TessaLikesToWrite is my other account, I'm actually Gastershadow!

hi. ok I read this a while ago with my sister, Taraninja20, but I am just now remembering to leave a review. I don't write super long ones like my sister, but I can sum up everything I want to say. this fanfic has made me cry, shout, get upset, and feel many different emotions. I have had speculations, thoughts and a very few points in which I didn't agree with even Leo. but I don't think anyone could have written this better in any way possible. it is by far the best fanfic I have ever seen, TMNT or otherwise. I wish it never had to end. I can never tell you enough how much I enjoyed it, but I applaud you. you stand for all TMNT fans everywhere. I think you are the 1 fan TMNT deserves. thank you for all the work and love you put into this fanfiction.
gastershadow

It was My pleasure to read your book! It was so greatly executed i loved it! And I like how the end was in splinters pov so we got the info but it wasn’t an info dump amazing ending to an amazing book! I can’t wait to see what’s next!

I enjoyed your story. I will keep an eye out for your one shots and further stories.

I'm glad it was Raph who got through to Leo in the end.

I lost my job due to the covid-19 thing but have managed to get another basic job at a hospital which is good as I know they're not going to close on me. It's a bit risky but I'm healthy and I've spent the last week being trained.

Still the drama continues and Leo as usual seems to be shouldering everything. I'm glad he is waking now.

It's Leo.. so of course he will beat it ;)

Well, I'm glad he's dead - that's for sure! He showed he never would have given up trying to kill them. Now they can rest easy and recover.

I wonder who it is! I would like to think it is Leo but he is likely too injured. I had imagined that the doorway was blocked by the cage that came down over splinter but it is also unlikely to be Splinter who has escaped as he is with Raphael at this time. Perhaps Slash managed to enter the room somehow. So maybe Slash or Casey Jones or Dan would be my guess. It would be particularly amusing if it was Pigeon Pete though.

Oh poor Leo! Master Splinter better get there in time because I'm sure you wouldn't make this a turtle death fic!

They are about to move in and this is getting exciting. Poor Leonardo pulling on the blades! I hope he is able to do something with them.. but what if he can't hold them? Adam has really done a mind fuck on poor Leo and he is going to take some serious time to recover from the guilt that has been put on him over Seto.

This is really exciting. I'm on the edge of my seat.

Sorry that I haven't been around for a long long time. I have been wanting to come back and read and catch up but just life has been so busy.

Aw shucks, is it already the end? I guess this brings new meaning to 'nothing good lasts forever.'

I just want to quickly apologize for my lack of reviews; amid my travels to Rome, I had to deal with having my phone stolen, and the coronavirus situation, so I haven't had much time to go on fanfiction. But now that I'm back in the States (and with a new phone), I'll try to give this fanfic's conclusion the proper review it deserves!

The last chapter I read before my long internet hiatus was chapter 24, so I had a lot of ground to cover. However, chapter 25 was a perfect place to pick it up again, with Raph coming to his senses and gradually remembering the situation along with me. The descriptive prowess you utilized in the first few paragraphs here was astounding; I really did see through Raph's eyes, and was able to envision the feeling of pain mixed with awe at watching his elder brother fight on despite his wounds in order to protect them. It was a really beautiful scene, and one I'll probably be rereading because of the tangled emotions and motives behind that fight.

While I thought that an outside force might have been the one to intervene, I'm actually really glad it was Leo. Not only is there a lot of added tension to their fight, but Leo and Adamu have a lot of significant differences which actually tie them together. Leo is the eldest, while Adamu was the youngest. Leo values honor, while Adamu uses underhanded means to achieve his goals. And in the end of their fight, an even more marked border lay between them; Leo exercised mercy, like Adamu's brother did to Leo, but unlike Leo, Adamu took his mercy as a chance to strike back.

Adamu's death was also pretty symbolic; throwing down smoke to distort their vision, represents the fog of lies and deception he wound around the four turtles. By muddling their senses, he took away their ability to defend themselves, and attempted to hurt them in the worst possible way; like when he tries to strike Michelangelo through the smoke. But Leo was able to slice through and take Adamu out, showing that even through the pain, torture, and deconstruction of his ideals, there is an unwavering strength that will always stick through for his brothers. Even though this is certainly put to the test during his recovery process.

It was also very moving to see all of Leo's brothers take off their bandanas and tie them around Leo's wounds. That was also fairly symbolic, for even though they couldn't stop Leo from getting those wounds in the first place, they would still do all they could to help him recover, as both members of his team, and as his brothers. Though Adamu had tried to tear down their filial structure, in the end, they were able to continue on as strong as ever. Maybe not as strong as before, but as Raph said, "we'll get through this together; nothing you did will stop that." This is additionally proven throughout the following days, where all of the brothers look out for each other in different ways. Mikey visits Leo often and helps Donnie take his mind off things by lending him some fiction books, Donnie puts his medical skills to work in helping to stabilize Leo, and Raph helps Leo to gradually return by visiting him on the spiritual plane and giving him some words of encouragement when Leo was filled with despair. Once again, I can see that you understand how they work as brothers; that when separated, their troubles seem too hard to bear, but together, they can weather even the worst of storms.

I also respect the effort it takes Leo to finally get out of his downward spiral into depression. Adamu was corrupting his mind for a while, Leo won't ever be able to truly forget what Adamu said and did to him. This makes his inner strife both heartbreaking and believable, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't make my heart ache for the turtle in blue. Heck, I get feelings of self-doubt and hatred from reading my own writings and thinking of past mistakes, and I haven't done anything like actually kill someone. So I can really understand his sorrows and empathize with them.

That being said, I'm grateful that Raph was able to express his true feelings and get Leo out of his funk. In fact, Raph has been the true MVP throughout these final chapters. His faith in Leo's strength and recuperative abilities saved the leader from losing his limbs, and his journey to the spirit plane gave Leo the little push he needed to return to the material realm. But his wise words to Leo especially struck me. While the tv show Raph had a few sentimental moments, I don't believe they ever reached the same heights as his speech to Leo within chapter 27 did. This is a Raph who has suffered multiple tortures besides his brothers, and tried to pick and choose between them; siding with Mikey but pushing away Leo and Don. And through the passage of time and the harsh words spoken between them, he's finally realized this mistake and improved from it. He may not be as boisterous and rowdy as before, but he's become more considerate and understanding as a result. Instead of rashly judging his brothers, he wants to encourage them and show his love and support. Like he said, losing a brother would be worse than death.

I'm sorry, I feel like my thoughts have been more scattered in this review than in past ones. That speaks more to my detriment; reading through all these emotional chapters at once has me feeling slightly light-headed. Thankfully, you end this story in a more tranquil manner. Unlike the ending for 1056 hours, where Splinter sees his four sons lash out at him, all four of the turtles have returned to their former reverence and respect for Hamato Yoshi. While they still have some subtle differences, such as Mikey's cautiousness, Donnie's feelings of guilt, Raph's silence and Leo's stiff limbs, the turtles have still made an amazing recovery within the length of time that's passed. And with feelings of hope and bonds reformed, the story ends in an altogether happy manner.

Thank you for giving us this wonderful ride! Each chapter has been a pleasure to read (if only for the excellent story-telling, and not for the 'happy' tales within). I'm really excited that you're going to keep writing one-shots and other stories, and will certainly keep an eye out for those. Maybe I can finally get started on reading your other books as well.

If I could shoot out any ideas, it'd probably be to focus a bit more on Donnie and Leo's relationship after Leo's recovery. Does Leo know of Donnie's initial plan of amputation? How does that plan fill Donnie with guilt, now that Leo recovered without it? Do the two brothers ever really repair their relationship, or is there always an awkwardness between them from now on? And if they do repair it, which turtle will be the one to take the first step? There are so many questions I have about the two of them, but all I can do is sit back and hope you write some more on the subject.

Thank you again for this wonderful story, and I look forward to reading more of your works _