A/N: HERE WE ARE MY FRIENDS! THE FINAL CHAPTER!

I decided to make this one extra long, just for you guys! And whilst had a bit of trouble, I had fun writing it. In fact, I got a little teary-eyed XD

I hope you all enjoy it, because I certainly did!

I OWN NOTHING!

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Heaving a heavy sigh, Leonardo gazed about him with wary eyes, his Katanas still clenched tightly in his sweaty palms. With their combined efforts, despite lacking two members of their team and one of them still very injured from their last attempt gone awry, the six turtles had managed to take down all Kraang droids on the lower levels of the warehouse, their robotic parts strewn about the floor in a mess of limbs and screaming pink blobs that scrambled away to safety.

Nodding once to himself in satisfaction, Leonardo turned around to face the remainder of his team; the four other-worldly turtles and his own brothers, Raphael and Michelangelo. They looked as exhausted and ragged as he felt, with multiple bruises and cuts marring their skin and shells from many a lucky hit from a Kraang or two, but they were still standing. Hell, even Mikey, with one arm in a sling and the other limply clutching a nunchaku, was smiling despite the obvious pain he was in.

It had been no easy task. With more and more aliens arriving on the scene faster than they could count, laser fire raining down upon them nonstop and with two less turtles to aid them, the odds should not have been in their favor in the slightest. But they'd made it. And Leonardo thanked whatever god was listening to him that they were all still in one piece after all the chaos that had ensued.

"I think…that's the last of them," Raphael sighed, sheathing his Sais before leaning forwards with his hands resting on his knees. "Phew. Now that's what I call a workout."

"You…you kiddin'? That was…just a warm-up," the other Raph grinned through pants of obvious exhaustion as he patted his larger self on the shoulder. In response, Raphael just shook his head and chuckled, giving his other self a little shove for his troubles.

"Yeah, 'just a warm-up'," muttered Donnie sourly, who approached the rest of them with the portable portal device safely tucked away into his duffle bag – at long last – as he cast a weary gaze at his older brother, folding his arms over his chest. "You look like you're about ready to fall on your face, Raph, don't even try to deny it," he added dryly, but was promptly waved off by the shorter red clad turtle.

"Ah, whatever. At least I don't look like I got electrocuted a billion times trying to deactivate the portal," Raph shot back, earning an irritated growl from Donnie as he took a threatening step towards his brother. With a resigned sigh, the other Leo sheathed his swords and stepped forward to put a stop to whatever fight would commence between the two.

However, their attention was quickly diverted to little Mikey instead, who'd collapsed to the floor on his rear-end with a resounding 'thump' and a grunt of pain. All three of his older brothers were instantly at his side, falling to their knees as they laid steadying hands on Mikey's shoulders to keep him upright.

"Mikey? Are you okay, buddy?" Donnie asked, laying a hand against his forehead to check his temperature, and Leonardo found himself once again baffled; it was almost scary how this version of Donnie could be as hot-tempered as Raph, and then suddenly revert to the 'Doctor Turtle' they all knew and loved within the blink of an eye. Not even their Donatello could do that.

"Uuugh…so tired," the freckled kid groaned pitifully, his eyes fighting to stay open as his head lulled to the side. "Need a break…need food…need pizza!"

At that, the five older turtles shared a collective knowing glance. Yep, he was going to be just fine.

Other Leo let out a breath that was between a light chuckle and a sigh of relief as he laid a hand atop Mikey's head, rubbing it affectionately. "Well that's what happens when you sneak out of the lair to fight when we told you to stay at home," he said, though his tone was gentle, if not teasing. Then, he pulled Mikey into a hug, arms wrapping around his shoulders warmly. "Still, you did awesome today," he added, and his smile grew wider when Mikey attempted to return the embrace with one arm, and he held him closer. "We probably never would've made it if you hadn't shown up, Mikey. So, thanks."

"Yeah," added Raph with a lopsided tilt of his lips that definitely wasn't a smile as he reached out to lay a hand on Mikey's good shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "We're proud of you, little brother."

"But seriously," Donnie added, raising a warning finger as he narrowed is brown eyes at the smallest turtle, "next time you get hurt that bad, do yourself and the rest of us a favor and –"

"And ignore everything you say and go out to kick butt anyways?" Mikey interjected, looking up from Leo's chest with a cheeky grin that would've put a monkey to shame. "Got it!"

As Donnie growled and shook his fist warningly at his giggling younger brother, behind them, Leonardo and Raphael smiled at the exchange. It was true that even though he'd gone against the direct orders of both his leaders, and Splinter – a new record for Mikey's everywhere – and had risked further injuring himself again during the battle, Mikey's surprise arrival really had saved their shells.

But then again, it hadn't been that much of a surprise. After all, it was Mikey. They'd expected nothing less from their little brother, regardless of what universe he belonged to.

However, they had no time to celebrate their victory just yet. With Donnie's aid –with a few doses of electricity flowing through his body and vulgar curse words even Leonardo didn't know existed – they'd managed to deactivate and finally claim the Kraang portal. But that was only half of their mission. They still had yet to receive word from Michelangelo and Donatello regarding the search and rescue of the other Master Splinter. They'd been gone for over half an hour, and Leonardo was starting to worry.

"Alright, guys," he announced, earning the attention of everyone in the room. "As much as I hate to say this, we're not done yet. We still need to find your Splinter, and our Mikey and Don before we leave. And I've already got a bad feeling that they might've run into some trouble."

"What do you expect, fearless?" Raphael said, folding his arms over his broad chest. "It's Mikey and Donnie. Those two always get into trouble."

"Hey!" both the little ones cried, frowning up at Raphael whilst their two older brothers shared a grin. Raphael only shrugged, saying nothing more, but was unable to prevent his own smug little smile from growing across his face.

Leonardo shook his head at their antics, before turning to look down at his other self. As if reading his thoughts, the other Leo looked up and met his eyes. A firm nod of the head was all it took for him to understand; it was his turn to take the lead. He and his brothers knew the Kraang better than anyone else here, so if there were any more of those alien blobs waiting for them in this building, little Leo would know what to do.

Releasing his hold on his baby brother, Leo stood up, albeit with some minor difficulty and a grunt of pain from the injuries he'd sustained from the fight. "Okay. First thing's first, we need to track down your Donatello," he said, nodding once to his larger counterparts. "He and Donnie set up a link to our T-Phones and his scanner, so if anything went wrong, he could track –"

He stopped, blinking once as he stared passed the two larger turtles.

"Oh, never mind, there they are."

Leonardo and Raphael immediately whirled around. They found, much to their relief, Michelangelo and Donatello rushing through the door and into the open space, faces creased with worry, but for the most part they were unharmed.

However, they both skidded to a stop once they caught sight of the remains of dozens upon dozens of robots, and their worry morphed into something akin to admiration and a touch of mortification. "Wow. What is this, '300'?!" Donatello gasped, carefully stepping around the mess of metal limbs as he made a face. "Whatever we missed while we were gone I'm glad we missed it! This is madness!"

"No way, Don! This. Is. SPARTAAA!" Michelangelo crowed loudly, pumping his fist in the air. And if Donatello could have rolled his eyes any higher, they would have rolled right out of their sockets. The other turtles were no different as they rolled their eyes collectively – aside from Mikey, who actually laughed at the horrendous pun, unsurprisingly enough.

Well, at least they were safe. Thank goodness for that.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Michelangelo gasped excitedly, moving aside to present the figure that Leonardo only just noticed had been looming behind them this whole time. "Ta-daaa! We found him!" the younger turtle announced with a dramatic flourish.

Instantly, the four other-worldly turtles looked up, their eyes widening as their eyes met the large, dark robed figure emerging from behind Michelangelo. And while Leonardo and Raphael found themselves gaping in surprise – he looked nothing like their father in the slightest, not even the color of his fur was the same – the other four were not. Instead, their faces broke out into wide, teary-eyed smiles as they gasped.

"Father!"

As they scrambled to their feet and bolted towards the rat, who met them halfway with his arms spread out wide, Leonardo watched from the side-lines as the old rat's eyes filled with a joy and a love so pure, the likes of which he'd only ever seen in the eyes of his own father, before they barreled into him, wrapping their arms around him and nuzzling their faces into his chest. He held them as close as he could manage, dipping his head so that he cheek was resting atop the head of his youngest child.

"My sons," he said, closing his eyes to ward off the tears starting in his eyes as he smiled, holding the four of them closer and looking as though he'd never let them ago again. "I am relieved you are alive and safe. How I have missed you."

"We missed you too, dad," Mikey sniffled against Splinter's chest, burrowing himself deeper between his father and his brothers, melting into the warmth and love of their embrace.

As the four larger turtles then turned to each other, smiling warmly at the scene before them – with Michelangelo using the back of his hand to wipe away his own tears – Leonardo once again met Leo's gaze from the corner of his eye, still clinging to his father like a lifeline. Once again, all it took was a subtle nod of his head, and a teary smile, for him to understand.

Thank you.

And without a word, Leonardo nodded and grinned back.

I told you we'd do it. And we did it together.

The next few hours after the battle and the touching reunion, for Raphael at least, could only be described as something as close to the ending to a fairy tale as a family of mutant turtles and rats could get. The seven of them had managed to safely make it back to their lair through the sewer tunnels, all in one piece, and with the Kraang portal device safely – finally – in their possession. And after some careful examination, with both Donatello's working together, and with both Raphael's standing by in case one of them – or both of them – managed to get another friendly zap from the alien tech, they'd discovered that the portal had more than enough energy to send the little guys back home again.

So, with their master rescued and the good news about the portal, the four little guys were obviously overjoyed. And what better way to celebrate a job well done than with some good old fashioned –

"PIZZA IN THE HOUSE, BRAH!" both Mikey's hollered, holding two pizza boxes in hand curtesy of April O'Neil and Vern Fenwick, who followed behind the bouncing pair as they entered the lair, greeting the mutants as they gathered together in the main room.

It had taken everything in Raphael's power to keep himself from bursting into laughter at the look on Vern's face when he counted more than five mutants in the lair. His eyes were wide, his finger up, and his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He turned to April, utter confusion in his eyes, and she merely reached up to pat him on the shoulder. "Long story," she said. Seemingly satisfied, Vern quickly shrugged it off.

The rest of their evening had been…well, actually kind of peaceful, considering it was a house full of mostly teenagers. With the Kraang portal in no danger of running out of juice any time soon, the two families were free to take it easy until morning.

Both Splinter's had become well acquainted with each other, and the two of them, along with April who'd decided to join in with the adults, were sat in the dojo exchanging stories over tea. By the looks on their faces, it was clear the stories weren't all that flattering.

Both Mikey's had practically kidnapped Vern, and were holding him hostage on the couch in front of the T.V as they played a furious game of Mario Kart, not that Vern was really complaining; he looked as though he was genuinely enjoying himself, and had taken a special liking to little orange…until the little freckled being of pure evil had picked Rainbow Road.

Predictably enough, both Leonardo's were together, talking in the kitchen with their own cups of tea over something Raphael couldn't properly hear over the sound of music and shouts of frustration from the couch – "How the hell do you stop yourself from falling every five seconds?!" – But from the looks of it, and the fact that little blue looked as though he were suppressing tears of joy again, Raphael wagered that it was some kind of sappy 'thank you for helping us' speech.

Well, not that it wasn't rather touching to see, considering everything they'd been through in forty-eight hours or so; a few more tears here and there were to be expected.

The Donatello's were in the 'nerd center' together, talking about what to do with the Kraang portal once they went through to their own world, before geeking out together about more nerd stuff. Raphael shook his head at them, but was inwardly hoping that they could destroy the portal once all was said and done. The last thing they wanted was more of those alien freaks plundering on their turf and messing with their family again.

And as for little red…

"Hey."

Raphael turned, finding the aforementioned turtle standing beside him, though refusing to look up at him. Instead, his green eyes roamed about the lair, watching his brothers and his father as they talked and played and laughed together…and though his expression was indifferent, Raphael swore he could see something warm and tender in his emerald orbs…and were those tears?

Little red's right hand struck out, but not to hit him. "Here."

Blinking hard, Raphael looked down at little red's hand, noticing the long strip of red, thickly knitted fabric looping loosely around his arm. Raphael took it, shaking it out so that he could get a good look at what appeared to be a scarf. It was impressive, of course; it was Raphael after all, and he'd expect nothing less from himself.

But what really struck him, what made his eyes widen and his mouth hang agape for the fraction of a second, was what little red had embellished along the length of the scarf.

It was a message written in Japanese.

おかげで、兄。

Okage de, ani.

Thanks, brother.

"Heh," Raphael snorted, in an obvious attempt to keep his own sentiment at bay lest he look like Leonardo, as he looked down at little red. He still refused to look up at him, and his arms were crossed firmly over his chest, though nothing could hide the red tint on his cheeks.

Raphael had tried his best to deny it, but he could deny it no longer. He'd grown pretty attached to the little ones, more than he'd ever planned to. And now that they were leaving first thing in the morning…well, he was gonna miss them. A lot. Even though they were literally the same people, they were still family. And if there was one thing the turtles hated, it was the idea of a member of their family leaving, and never coming back.

And damn if little red hadn't just brought on some serious feelings with the stupid, amazing, sappy scarf he'd probably spent over an hour knitting for him –

Ah, screw it.

"Alright, that's it, c'mere you!" Raphael chuckled, reaching down to grab little red, lifting him off the floor and pulling him into his muscular arms, the scarf still clutched in his hand. "Stupid lil squirt!"

Of course, little red was quick to react. "H-Hey! What the hell?! G-Get the hell offa me you jackass!" he cried indignantly, squirming in the unrelenting grip of the larger turtle as he helplessly kicked his legs in the air.

"Raphael, watch your language!" called both Splinter's from the dojo.

Little red scowled, giving in entirely as he sighed, going limp in Raphael's arms. "Sorry, Sensei," he called back miserably.

Raphael just smirked. Yeah, he was really going to miss these guys. Especially little red.

"Awwww, look! Big Tough Raph is hugging Little Tough Raphie!" little orange cooed from the couch, and he was closely followed by Michelangelo and Vern.

Both the red clad turtles bristled, glaring at their baby brothers sharply.

"SHUT UP, MIKEY!"

It was the next morning, after quite possibly the best night's sleep Michelangelo recalled ever having in the longest time, and an even better breakfast – Mini-Mikey was an awesome chef, obviously – the time had finally come to bid their farewells.

"My sons," Bigger-Splinter called from the dojo.

When all eight turtles lifted their heads and turned his way expectantly, the old rat blinked in surprise before he chuckled and shook his head at his own blunder, with Michelangelo's own father following suit.

"It is time for us to return home."

In moments, after a flash of blinding light a thunderous robotic whir that nearly shook the whole lair, Donatello and Mini-Donnie had the portal up and running in the center of the lair. The swirling purple vortex was beautiful, entrancing…and Michelangelo was tempted, so very tempted, to poke his head through and see what lay beyond, just like they did in the movies. But a stern look from Leonardo held him at bay, much to his disappointment.

"Okay," Mini-Donnie said, turning to face everyone in the room. "Once we go through, you guys have to destroy the portal completely, so that no more Kraang can get in or out of this dimension from either side. And then destroy the energy crystal –"

"But –"

"– and no, using it as a power source is not the best idea, Other Me," Mini-Donnie cut in, shooting a hard look over at Donatello, shaking his head. "Trust me, I've tried it, and it causes nothing but trouble. Seriously."

"Dang it," Donatello sighed. Beside him, Raphael snickered behind his hand.

"Well, then. I guess this goodbye," Mini-Leo said with a shrug and a sad smile, gazing at each of their counterparts with a fondness that Michelangelo had only ever seen in the eyes of his own brother.

Then, after sharing a glance with his family, Bigger-Splinter and his sons all bowed deeply in respect. "We thank all of you for your aid," Bigger-Splinter said before they straightened up again, and the larger rat cast his gaze over to 'Shorter-Splinter'. "And thank you for keeping my sons safe in my absence," he said. "I am forever in your debt."

"Please, there is no need to thank us. It is no problem at all," Shorter-Splinter said, crossing over to lay a clawed hand on the forearm of his larger self, smiling warmly up at him. "They are our children, after all. And there is nothing we fathers wouldn't do for the sake of our sons, Hamato Yoshi."

Bigger-Splinter chuckled, nodding once. "You are correct."

At that, Michelangelo made a face, and he shared a confused glance with his brothers, who mirrored his expression. Who the heck was Hamato Yoshi?

"We really do appreciate everything you've done for us these past few days," Mini-Donnie said, biting on his lower lip as if to prevent it from trembling as he clasped his hands behind his back. "W-we…we really couldn't have done it without you."

Raphael grinned, folding his arms over his chest as he nodded his head firmly. "Damn straight," he quipped.

"Raphael," scolded both Splinters.

Raphael shrunk backwards instantly. "Sorry," he muttered. When Leonardo smirked at him, he sent him a death glare and nudged him in the gut with his elbow in response.

As the exchange went on between the counterparts as they bid their goodbyes, Michelangelo turned to face his other freckled self, who in turn looked up at him, baby blue eyes wide and filling with tears despite the smile across his face. With his arm still in a sling, it was hard for him to move, but at his side, Michelangelo could see his other hand clenching into a tight fist that trembled.

Now, Michelangelo had thought he would've been ready for this moment. He knew that saying goodbye was always hard, but one had to stay strong, keep smiling, and hope that one day they would cross paths once more.

But in this case, it would be near impossible for him to see the little guys again. They lived in another dimension, and unless they wanted to risk the Kraang following them and launching an invasion in this world, they couldn't come back.

And it just wasn't fair. After everything they'd been through, the bond they'd forged over pizza, jokes, a near death experience, and tales of adventures that stretched into the far universe, how could they just walk right out of their lives for good? How could this really be the end of everything?

And how could the last thing he ever remembered of his adorable, amazingly badass yet innocent self be that he was crying?

Well, nuts to that!

Sniffling, unable to hold himself back any longer, Michelangelo spread his arms out wide. "MINI-ME!" he cried.

Mini-Mikey lifted his good arm, tears pouring down his face. "BIG BADASS ME!" he blubbered, before the two of them ran to each other. Michelangelo wrapped his arms around his smaller self and lifted him off the floor, nearly crushing him with the strength of his loving embrace.

"I'm gonna miss you, little man!" Michelangelo bawled pathetically, squeezing the little turtle though being mindful of his injury.

"I'm g-gonna miss you t-too! T-Thanks for everything, bro!" Mini-Mikey sobbed into the crook of his shoulder, doing his best to hug him with one arm. But despite the tears, he was still smiling wide enough for the both of them. And for reasons he could never hope to count, Michelangelo felt proud of him.

Still smiling even when you're sad. Atta boy, Mikey.

Around them, their brothers and fathers watched the exchange with warm smiles of their own, and the other Mini turtles were starting to tear up, despite their best efforts to hide it. Hell, even big brooding Raphael was getting misty-eyed.

"Alright, that's it," Leonardo said with a sigh, though his smile was wide enough to split his face in two as he spread his arms out. "Bring it in, everyone. Bring it in."

Soon enough, the ten mutants had all gathered together, forming what Michelangelo would later call 'the very first Turtle Group Hug' as they held on to each other, pouring every ounce of love into the embrace until there was simply no more love to give. And for Michelangelo, this moment…it felt so right. Surrounded by the love and care of his family from two different worlds…it was just so right. And he couldn't think of anything that would possibly make it any better –

"OH! Wait, before I forget – Leo, get my T-Phone!" Mini-Mikey squeaked from the center of the group. After a bit of wriggling around, Mini-Leo passed him his little phone, and Mini-Mikey held it up as high as he could. "Everybody say 'Booyaka-bunga'!" he crowed.

Michelangelo grinned. Yep, now it was perfect.

"BOOYAKA-BUNGA!"

Click!

"Ah dang it, my eyes were closed!"

It was whole weeks later. The other turtles and their Splinter had departed through the Kraang portal, disappearing from their lair – and their lives – forever, after sharing their last goodbyes. As instructed, the portal was destroyed, courtesy of Raphael of course, and the turtles had scoured the city in search of any stray alien creatures still lurking about the city. Sure enough, they'd found none.

This city was saved once more. The dimension-hopping turtles had returned to their rightful home, and life quickly returned to normal, or as normal as a family of mutants could be.

Well, that is, until Raphael discovered something disturbingly familiar in Donatello's room one late afternoon…

"DONNIE!"

"YEEE!" poor Donatello screeched, jumping out of his shell at the sudden bellow that shook the lair. However, the fact that Raphael was angry at him wasn't what scared him; Raph was always mad.

No, it was the fact that he'd discovered what Donnie had been hiding in his room all this time, the fact that the jig was up, and that he was surely about to be pounded out of his very skin that terrified the purple clad turtle as he reluctantly turned around in his seat at the table to face his hulk of a brother. "…um…yes?" he squeaked, smiling despite the futility of it all as Raphael marched up to him, his scowl deep and his eyes blazing.

From behind his back, Raphael pulled out Donatello's computer, pointing to the glowing, flash drive looking contraption inserted into the device with his other hand. "What the hell is this?" he barked.

Leonardo and Michelangelo were also seated around the table, and had looked up from their lunch at the sound of their red clad brother's yelling, looking most unimpressed. However, at the sight of what Raphael was holding, their eyes widened to dinner plates, their jaws hanging agape, and if Donatello could sink through the floor and burn alive in the center of the earth, he would have gladly done so.

Michelangelo raised a shaking finger to point at the computer, before whipping his head around to stare at Donatello. "I-Is…Is that…?"

"A shard of the Kraang energy crystal?" Leonardo finished for him with a growl, which he soon turned on the purple banded turtle as he frowned, his brows furrowing. "The same energy crystal we were specifically asked to destroy after the guys left, and not use as a power source?"

Donatello gulped. He was going to die today, he just knew it.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" he said, standing up from his chair to face the accusing, confused and angry stares of his three brothers, holding up his hands in surrender. "I just – I just had to try – I-I mean –"

"Try what Donnie?!" Raph snapped, taking a threatening step closer. "I swear Don, you'd better have a real good excuse for not getting rid of the thing after I smashed it to pieces or I'm gonna –"

"I just wanted to see if I could contact the other guys from our dimension using a shard of the energy crystal on my computer I promise it's nothing bad I swear on my suspenders!" Donatello said without taking a breath, squeezing his eyes shut to brace himself for the worst that was sure to come.

However, as the seconds ticked on, nothing stirred and no one spoke. He dared to open one eye, and then the other, and found that his brothers were all staring at him, nonplussed. He blinked hard. "What?"

"You wanted to contact the other guys from our dimension to theirs, using the crystal, on your computer?" Leonardo asked slowly.

"You wanted to try and talk to them on Skype?" Raphael added with a raised brow, and Donatello couldn't tell if he was impressed or as confused as ever.

Shifting oddly in place, Donatello nodded. "Well, yeah…I mean, it was Other Mikey that kinda gave me the idea when he gave me Other Donnie's Skype name, though at first I had no idea why he'd do that. But with the right adjustments, and a whole lot of 'turtle-luck', I'm pretty sure I could pull it off," he said, absently lifting a hand to push his glasses up his nose a little. "I've been working on it since they left. It's taking a while but I'm getting close –"

He was silenced when Leonardo walked around the table and put a hand on his shoulder. His expression was unreadable, and Donatello was certain his leader was about to outright refuse to allow him to continue, to take the energy crystal and destroy it for good –

"You really think you can do it?"

For a moment, Donnie could do no more but stare at his older brother with wide eyes, his heart in his throat. However, a fraction of a second as all it took for him to collect himself and nod, a small but determined smile gracing his features.

"Yeah, Leo. I can."

From the other side of the room, Michelangelo's sudden squeal of glee, and Raphael's wry snort of amusement as he set his computer on the table, was enough to broaden Donatello's smile and strengthen his resolve all at once.

"Okay, it's all set up, ready to go, cameras up…yep, I think it's good to go, guys."

"You're sure it's not gonna explode in our faces, Don?"

"Yes, Raphael, I'm sure. Well…90% sure…well, kind of – no. No, I'm not sure."

"Donnie I swear to god –"

"Okay, okay, Raph, get off his shell. He's been at this for days, cut him some slack. Okay, you ready Donnie?"

The four of them sat at the kitchen table, five days after the interrogation session that could've ended in someone's shell getting ripped off, Donatello drew in a deep breath through his nose, and let it out again as a shaking sigh. This was it. This was the moment they'd been waiting for, the moment Donatello had worked tirelessly for over the course of three long, endless weeks. If his efforts ultimately failed in the bitter end, at least he would have the reassurance of knowing that he'd done his very best, and that through it all, he'd had his brothers' support. Well, sort of.

Liking his dry lips nervously, Donatello hovered the mouse over the call button on Skype. Praying to whatever powerful force in the universe was listening to him in that moment, he clicked.

Then, they waited.

Four sets of eyes stared intensely at the screen, breaths held and muscles tensed…

"…um…Hello?"

The boys froze, their hearts stilling in their chests.

Holy cats. Holy cats.

The screen was dark, and they couldn't see a thing, but…oh man…they'd gotten through to the other dimension, using Skype of all things! They'd actually done it! And that voice...

"…D-Donnie?" Donatello finally spoke, his voice quivering with joy, slight anxiousness and pure delight. "I-I-It's me! It's the other Donatello!"

Another moment of tense silence.

Then sounds of frantically scuffling items on a desk echoed from behind the screen. And after a flash of light, Other Donnie's face finally appeared.

"Oh my god!" Other Donnie screeched, slapping both hands over his mouth. "Oh my god it's you! You actually – oh my god!"

The other four turtles whooped loudly with joy, punching the air with glee as they cheered at the top of their lungs. They'd really made it through! They were actually talking to Other Donnie, on freaking Skype, through their dimensions! This was unbelievable!

"Oh jeez, holy cats!" Other Donnie stammered, raking a hand over his bald green head as he grinned widely. "H-How did you guys even…wait…you used the energy crystal, didn't you?"

Donatello cleared his throat nervously. "…um…would it be bad if I said 'yes'?"

"Oh my god I freaking knew you'd do it! I knew it, and yet I didn't –"

"Dude, come on, what did you honestly expect was gonna happen? I'm you, remember? You know that neither us can resist the call of science, right?"

Other Donnie stared at him flatly through the screen, his left eye twitching. "…shut up," he muttered, a smile creeping its way across his face again. "But seriously, this is nuts! This is awesome, I can't believe you're here! Man, me and the guys have missed you so much – oh, wait, I gotta get the others!"

What transpired after that was, to put it bluntly, the best thing that had happened to him and his brothers since the other turtles left. Other Donnie's brothers arrived, and their reaction had been a spectacle to behold. They'd even brought along their world's version of April O'Neil – who really was a very pretty girl, as Michelangelo had unabashedly proclaimed aloud – and a black haired, lanky teenage boy named Casey Jones. The gap-toothed punk kid had quite a bit to say about Raphael, teasing Other Raph for how tiny he was in comparison, which had been the start of a very long and very 'humorous' debate of how 'size didn't matter'.

And all the while, Donatello couldn't have been happier. Sitting among his family, from this world and another, a thought from the very nigh they'd met once again crossed his mind.

It didn't matter that they were from different dimensions, because the eight of them in this room, and on the other side of the dimensional plane, were still very much four in the same. They were brothers. They were family.

And as he shared a quick knowing glance with his other brothers in the room, it was clear that they knew it, too.

And they wouldn't have it any other way.

The End.

A/N: HOORAAY!

I hope you all enjoyed the story, and thank you everyone who followed, faved, and commented! You guys are the greatest ever! More stories are on the way, including No Love Is Greater!

Love you all! Thanks for reading! xxxxx