The walk home was long and tiresome. My feet ached under me and each step I took caused my muscles to burn as if I was dragging lead weights behind me. My head was pounding and it was all I could do to keep myself upright and walking forward. But the thought of going home kept me on my feet despite my exhaustion.

It took us awhile to get our bearings once we were under ground. Luckily during the trek from the alley to Bishop's hideout Don was able to track our progress to some degree which at least gave us a good idea of which way to go to get home. It wasn't long before we came across familiar areas of sewer and made our way back home.

I had Raph flanking me on one side and Don on the other. I was in better shape than I was the last time we had made this trek home, but I still appreciated the support of my brothers to help me through my exhaustion.

"You alright?" I heard Raph asked at one point, breaking through the silence.

"Yeah," I answered back hiding the strain in my voice. I didn't know if I had the energy left to say more.

I managed to try and push the pain out of my mind by thinking back on our raid of Bishop's building. It had seemed that we were not going to make it out alive as foot after foot flooded into the lab. Then Bishop had come and I thought I was going to be lost. It frightened me that he could still have a hold over me. I had not known about that chip, and the way that it had debilitated me was unnerving. I let me eyes drift shut trying to block out the memories of the excruciating pain I had felt.

Then Karai had come. I could not figure out what had persuaded her to save my life. She normally held such radical hate for me, and yet she had fought Bishop and called off her ninja, allowing us to escape. A memory flooded back to me when I was in captivity of a fight she and Bishop had shared. I could not remember the exact words, but she had not been happy with his progress. She had mentioned honor. I wondered if the brutality Bishop had put me through did not sit right with her. I let a hint of a smile cross my face. She had made it clear that her actions did not mean the bad blood between us had been cleared, but she had still saved my life, and though she was behind the plan at the beginning, I could no longer hold blame or contempt for what she had started.

I was drawn from my thoughts as my brothers on either side stopped and I looked up to find that we were home. Mikey reached out and pulled the levers and the door slid open. The soft glow of candle light filtered out and as we stepped inside our father stood in the hallway, awaiting our arrival. When he saw us step through the door, all more or less under our own power, he let out a cry of relief and made his way over to us.

He stopped in front of us and combed us all over with his eyes, taking in our wounds and exhaustion. His eyes looked hooded and bloodshot as if he had recently shed tears. Finally, once he was satisfied that we were all in one piece and none mortally wounded, he spoke.

"Are you boys alright?" he asked, his voice soft and with the hint of a tremor.

"We're alright." Don answered, a soft smile playing across his face.

He smiled and moved in front of me, then motioned with his hands for us to come nearer. Then he snaked his arms around us, nuzzling each of us one by one. A small sigh escaped my lips as I relished in his affection. Though I was still ravaged with guilt for what I had done to him, I knew that he had forgiven me completely. After a few moments he finally let go of us and stepped back.

"Sensei, is everything alright?" Don asked him, not used to him reacting in this way when we returned.

"Yes," he said. "I just thought…" He then stepped further into the lair. We followed him into the living room and saw the TV was turned on. The screen was filled with the image of a large building burning, surrounded by firefighters and police. The feed was live, showing the firemen fight the raging blaze.

"Just hours ago explosions rang through this dilapidated warehouse on 116th. Firefighters have been battling the blaze for over an hour and have only just begun to gain control of the blaze." We watched as a curly haired brunette came onto the screen, a grave expression on her face. "It is unknown at this time if there have been any casualties, but as of yet, no bodies have been found. However it appears this warehouse will be doomed as the fire continues to rage. In other news…"

We watched the picture switch to another story, then looked at our father, understanding now why he had been so worried. He had thought we were in the explosion. My heart broke and another wave of guilt rushed over me.

"We're alright," I said, trying to reassure him, my voice sounding more exhausted than I had intended. For the first time he seemed to notice my heavily lidded eyes, how I was being supported between Don and Raph, and how all of us looked like we were ready to fall asleep where we stood. He smiled, then without another word he motioned toward the couch. My mind was hazy and half asleep and I barely felt as my brother's fingers worked the straps of my leather belt, slowly removing my weapons and laying them on the floor. Before I knew it I was being pushed down on the couch and my weight fell heavily into the cushions.

I felt Raph plop down next to me on my right, and Mikey to my left. Before I could stop myself I fell to the side, my exhaustion finally catching up with me. I felt Mikey's arm catch me and snake its way around my shoulders and I fell into him, my head falling to rest on his shoulder.

"It's over," I murmured, my eyes starting to fall shut.

"No bodies though," I heard Raph mutter and I realized what he meant. No bodies found meant Bishop was likely still out there. Suddenly my eyes shot open and I pulled myself upright. Mikey jumped in surprise at my sudden movement and both he and Raph turned toward me in concern. My heart began to race and I pulled my aching arm backward grasping at the back of my head.

"Leo?" Mikey asked, worry lacing his voice.

"The chip." I stammered, my fingers feeling desperately across the back of my head. My brothers stared at me as if I had lost my mind.

"Leo, what're you…" Raph started.

"The chip, the thing Bishop put in me!" I tried to explain as panic began to enter my voice.

"Is that why you collapsed?" Raph asked, realization suddenly dawning on him. I nodded in earnest.

"He had a remote and said he placed a back up chip to control me in case I tried to escape. It completely immobilized me." I explained.

Don was suddenly on his feet and walked rapidly to his lab. A few moments later he returned, a small blade, a needle, and a large Band-Aid in his hand. He came up behind me on the couch.

"Lean forward," he said softly. I followed his request. I began to feel his fingers probe the back of my skull, looking for the small chip I had just described. A moment later he placed his finger in a certain spot. "Found it." He said. "Hold still, I'm going to numb the area first." I felt numerous small needle pricks in my skin and soon I could no longer feel Don's finger against my head. "Don't move." He instructed. I felt Mikey take my hand and I continued to stare straight forward, not even daring to breathe.

A few moments passed before I heard Don's voice speak in triumph. "Got it!" he said. I heard a small clink as whatever he had removed landed in the small metal basin Don had brought with him. I attempted to turn to see what he had removed. "Hold still," Don reprimanded. "I still need to stop the bleeding." I continued to hold for a few more moments until Don gave me the all clear that he was finished.

I leaned back in the couch heavily, a giant relief flooding me now that the last hold Bishop had over me was removed. I felt Raph shift next to me and turn toward Don.

"What is it?" he asked.

Don was silent for a moment, likely studying the chip. "My guess is it's some sort of radio frequency emitter, likely controlled by some sort of remote."

I only half listened to their exchange. The chip was gone and that was all that mattered to me. I didn't care how it worked, honestly I didn't want to know. I was free of it. I leaned back into Mikey's form, a second wind of exhaustion beginning to engulf me.

"Do you think it's destroyed?" I heard Mikey ask.

"It has to be." Raph said. "You saw that building after the explosions. It'll be a miracle if it is even still standing after tomorrow."

"But what about a recipe?" Mikey continued, clearly still concerned that whatever Bishop had used could still exist. "Do you think that was destroyed too?"

No one spoke for a few moments. I continued to rest my head on Mikey's shoulder, my eyes closed, but what Mikey had said struck a nerve. What if there were instructions on how to make the stuff that was still out there? What if Bishop had it?

I heard Don shift and there was a soft rustle of papers as he pulled something from his belt. I cracked an eye open and turned my head toward him and saw him pull out a file with numerous pieces of paper inside that was folded up from his belt. He smiled.

"When I was going through the filing cabinet, before Bishop arrived, I found this." He held up the small stack of papers. "It has the ingredients, how to make the stuff, all of it. It was all the information I could find before we were found, but I think that it should be everything since all of the computers were likely destroyed in the blast."

I looked at Don with wide eyes then shook my head in surprise. "Don, you're amazing." I heard Raph mutter and Don blushed slightly. He then walked over to where the nearest candle sat burning and held up the pages to the flame. The corner of the page ignited and slowly the page began to char and burn as the fire spread through the fibers. I watched the page burn, the firelight reflected off my tired eyes, a feeling of overwhelming relief and satisfaction taking over as the last part of my horrifying ordeal burned away to nothing.

"So it really is over," I spoke softly and I felt Mikey tighten his grip around my shoulders.

"Yeah," Raph breathed out. He then leaned back into the couch next to me and laid his head backward, letting his eyes close and a small smile cross his face. He leaned closer to me until I was happily sandwiched between two brothers.

I began to drift off once again, my head still nestled on Mikey's shoulder, when suddenly he spoke. "So seriously, what was the deal with Karai?"

My eyes opened at his words and my gaze met Raph's. Understanding passed between us in that single moment, then we both began to laugh softly. That soft laughter began to grow as all the stress and relief we had felt over the past weeks was released. Raph slapped his hand to my shoulder and we continued to laugh until tears leaked from our eyes. Mikey and Don gazed back and forth between us and each other, confusion painted across their faces. Finally our laughter began to die and Raph reached over me to pat Mikey lightly on the back of the head.

"We'll tell you about it later," he said, still snickering slightly. "But seriously, right now, I just want to sleep for the next week."

I sighed softly and smiled. "Sounds good to me."

My eyes drifted shut again and my body fully relaxed and I felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. We had made it through. There was healing ahead, both physical and mental, but with the support of family and the knowledge that the drug could no longer hurt us, I knew that we would make it through. It would take time for me to move past what I had done and what had been done to me, but I knew I was loved and that was all that mattered now. Moments later my body gave into my exhaustion. Sometime during my rest I remember being lifted and carried gently into my room and tucked tightly into my bed, but sleep had immediately reclaimed me. And for the first time in a long time I finally slept, and nightmares did not plague me.

THE END

Thanks so much for reading the story! It was a fun one to write! Hope everyone enjoyed.