Epilogue

"Fine… Yes, I'm behaving, what do you think?"

Leonardo was sitting on the couch in April's apartment, his cell phone in hand. From the kitchen, Murakami tried not to overhear his son's conversation with Karai.

"Yes, I'll tell my dad. He's in the next room, doing his best not to listen…"

Murakami smirked.

"Ah! Well, I don't miss you too! And don't forget to call me back tomorrow. Same time."

Leonardo hung up and joined his father in the kitchen.

"Karai says hi," he told him.

Murakami put down his spoon.

"How is she doing?"

Leonardo shrugged.

"She keeps herself busy. With the aftermath of Shredder's death, she has a lot to do… I would have preferred that she left the Foot clan, but…"

Leonardo took a deep breath.

"She says it's her heritage, and her chance to set things right."

Murakami heard the sadness in his tone and put his hand on Leonardo's shoulder.

Unsurprinsingly, Karai was Oroku Saki's only heir, and she had inherited his fortune along with the leadership of the Foot clan. Everyone wasn't happy about it in Japan, and Karai had decided to share her time between New York and Tokyo.

Leonardo perked up.

"But she's coming back next week. With a girl she met at Shredder's funeral… A certain Shinigami. I'm eager to meet her. She must be something if Karai befriended her…"

"Assuredly," Murakami said wryly.

In an affectionate gesture, he stroked his son's cheek and was surprised to feel a piece of cloth under his fingers.

"It's a ninja mask," Leonardo said hesitantly, noticing his father's surprise. "My brothers wear masks too, and I wanted to… you know…"

"I understand," Murakami said softly when his son didn't end his sentence.

"Mine is blue," Leonardo supplied while Murakami played with the ties of his mask.

Then he hugged his father.

"I've got to go, training begins soon and Master Splinter hates it when we're late. I don't want to miss it, especially now that I'm beginning weapon practice!"

"Oh, really?" Murakami tried to hide his concern. "And what weapon did you choose?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'll try different kinds of weapons, but I must say I rather like swords…"

Murakami rubbed his son's head.

"Swords, uh? I hope you won't cut you, then, like the first time you tried to use kitchen knives…"

"They are swords, Dad! Not kitchen knives," Leonardo protested. "And I was a child, it doesn't count!"

Although he couldn't see it, Murakami was certain he was blushing. He smiled.

"Hurry, then. I just hope you're really going to the lair and not going for a walk," he added warningly.

"Trust me, I'm never doing that again," Leonardo answered, groaning at the memory.

One evening when he had wanted some free time, he had told Splinter that he was with Murakami and Murakami that he was with Splinter. Unfortunately for him, his fathers had noticed and he had gotten into double trouble.

"See you tomorrow, Dad," Leonardo said, heading for the fire escape.

"Goodbye, Leonardo," Murakami answered softly.

Then he went back to his cooking with a sigh. Weapon training, uh? His little ninja turtle was growing up so fast.

At least he had finally found his calling, and although it was a dangerous one, Murakami trusted Splinter to help their son stay on the right path.

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Stockman kept silent, hiding from the Kraang spaceship that was looking for him.

Dimension X, home world of the Kraang, was a disconcerting place with no apparent logic, but the brilliant scientist was beginning to understand it enough to trust himself to make an escape attempt.

Which was, of course, a success.

Stockman allowed a smile to play on his dry lips.

Finally. After all this time, he was going back to Earth.

And he knew exactly what he was going to do first once he had returned home…

Take revenge on the turtles whose interference had led to his forced exile.

The End

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Author's Note: Finally, the story is complete!

What happens next is up to you. I don't think I'll write a sequel to the sequel, although I can foresee that the turtles' lives will never be boring… Maybe I'll add bonus scenes later on, for the ideas and developments that didn't fit into the main story.

Thanks again to every reader who took the time to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. It means a lot to me.

For the mysterious others, I hope you enjoyed this story, and don't hesitate to leave a review! It always makes this author happy. That and it's the only reliable way I have to know how many people actually made it this far…

And for those who jumped directly here from any other part of the story… Yes. It ends well for the turtles.

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