, staring into space as he half heard the words Don spoke. Don was telling the others about Leo. All the stuff he, Seth, had seen... and experienced first hand... and there it was, being all laid out to the entire family. Like the dug up grave of a close relative... bare bones, bleaching in the sun for everyone to gawk at in morbid fascination... he shook himself, and sat up straight.

He noticed Raphael was staring at him. He stared back, too weary to care. What did it matter now? Raphael either was going to see things for what they were, or be convinced that two of his brothers had really gone off the deep end. Not to mention Seth already had...Mike was nodding his head slowly, as though to a tune only he could hear... with a thoughtful inward turning expression on his face. His eyes were on Don. Rahab sat close by, holding his hand in a pale knuckled grip. She was gazing at nothing in particular. She seemed to be reliving some morbid chain of thoughts... then she looked at Mike and squeezed his hand harder. He glanced at her and gave her a reassuring little grin.

Don was in a recliner, his right arm firmly encased in a fiberglass cast, looking considerably more comfortable than he had when he was first home from the hospital. It had taken the surgeons a while to sort out the mess that had been conveniently called a spiral fracture. It lent an accent to the urgency of the situation... it had been Riahna's doing, and yet, Riahna, who was sleeping peacefully with her head resting on Raph's arm as she usually did, could not possibly have had the strength... yet... they all saw it happen. And now, they all could see... the power of this demon, and what it could do... even through an innocent, harmless little creature like Riahna. It was beyond horror. This thing was not just a nightmare, it was very real...

Leo sat impassively, as was his habit, and seemed to be listening intently to Don, as though he'd never heard this story before. And yet it was all about him... and now, Seth wondered, when was he going to speak up for himself?

Don had fallen silent. Raph was now gazing at the floor somewhere near Seth's feet, absently scratching at one eyebrow. He looked as though he was going to say something. Seemed he didn't feel comfortable with this long silence, and had to do something to break it... "All right," he said suddenly. "So that's the long and short of it, huh?"

"You could say that," Leo said quietly.

"Okay... okay..." Raph started to get up, then looked down at Riahna. He gingerly eased her off his arm, and then rose carefully so as not to disturb her sleep. Once freed, he paced in a tight circle in front of the couch. "Okay." He hesitated and glared at the ceiling, as though accusing it of distracting him. "This... uh, dead uh, stick thing, it was meant as a joke. You know, because of-" He looked at Seth. "Because of what Leo looked like-"

"I know what you were trying to do back then, Raph, that isn't lost on me," Leo said. "It goes well beyond that. It's a signpost..."

"I KNOW that," Raph shot back. "I'm not an idiot, for crissake." He looked at Seth again. "It's like some kind of voodoo bullshit that's gone too far, know what I'm saying?" Seth sighed. Why did he have to talk like that?

"Raph, I understand your feelings on this all too well. It's frightening for all of us," Leo replied calmly.

"What makes you think that I'm-" Raph set his jaw. "Okay... " he said at length. "I'll spill my guts. I'm scared to death of this thing. I dunno when it's gonna hit again. I dunno what set it off. Maybe because we're all here together again, thinking of the same goal, getting along for the first time in God knows how long."

"I think you have it, Raph," Don said. "Leo is come home, and he's on the mend. And when someone is healing, sometimes it seems worse before it gets better."

"Yeah, and as of now, Don is the expert on mending," Mike said with a wry grin. "You've been kinda tightlipped yourself, lately, with a temper to match Raph's."

Don gave him a patronizing smile. "Thank you, Mike. I'll take that as flattery."

Mike snorted.

"How long have you known about Leo's nightmares, Don?" Seth asked.

"Hmmm," Don said as he shifted carefully in the recliner. "Hard to say, really. I had suspected for quite some time before you were born... in fact my suspicions were first raised when I saw Leo in the same position he was in, on the beach... several nights after he had taken Saki's head. He had not slept in days, and I had just given him some herbs to help him rest... and it seemed that something had a hold on him. I wasn't sure what to do, except stay out of his reach and wait to see what happened. I had consulted Splinter on this, and he had said, until Leo was willing to bring the rest of us into the picture, we could do nothing for him..."

"It wasn't something I wanted you all to experience... it was my doing, and therefore my problem."

"But now it's EVERYBODY'S problem now, isn't it, Leo?" Raphael snapped. "And you had to wait until somebody damn near got themselves KILLED before you did anything about it."

"Raph, " Don said in a soothing tone. "I understand how you feel, as this involved someone very close to you. But getting upset about it now, isn't helping very much. We have to take action and it should be soon, in fact it should take place as long as it's called today."

"Today?" Seth stood up.

"Yes today," Don said without looking at him. "The longer we wait the more dangerous it becomes. As if it has not become dangerous already. Getting myself repaired has already cost us valuable time, and we have no more to waste."

"All right," Seth said sighing in resignation. "So what do we do?"

Seth had completed his breathing exercises, and already felt the pull of his mind in the direction of Leo. He relaxed and allowed himself to feel no emotions... and all became dark. He soon forgot he was lying in front of Leo on the padded floor of the workout room, surrounded by candles, and the others, in varied positions of deep meditation. Don, Mike, Raph, Devon... Rahab and even Gaele were present, all needed to lend their strength and positive energy, all to be focused on the mission at hand.

The darkness gave way to a pale, formless fog, and Seth felt a familiar tinge of apprehension... he knew what lay ahead. Only this time, he had a definite plan... he looked down at his hands, after a moments focus, and saw the leather-wrapped hilt of the sword in his hands, with its square, steel tsuba, and the dull gleam of its polished blade reflecting the dull light. Through it he felt the energy of his father, flesh of his flesh... and so the problem was his, long before he even came into being... he breathed to the rhythm of his paces, carefully following a beacon the seemed to burn itself into the center of his chest, pulling him along.

He became aware of an incessant buzzing, like phantom mosquitos, or a vague tinnitus ringing in his ears, that grew in intensity until he could not even hear his own pulse. He grew more and more confused, and finally halted, looking in one direction and then another. Fog, up to his waist, extended, unbroken, in all directions. He began to pant, as panic rose in him. Dear God... help me... please... right now... this is all... that matters...

A hand on his shoulder startled him. He turned and looked into Raphael's eyes, which were obscured by some sort of mask across the upper half of his face. Heavy cloth, dyed deep red, the color of congealed blood... tied tightly in back, the ends trailing across his shoulders. Seth opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He then saw Mike, and Don... whose cast had somehow disappeared. In its place were leather strips tightly wrapping the length of his forearms, and tucked under elbow pads. They all were wearing those pads, red masks, and leather belts, and carrying a variety of ancient, battle-scarred weapons. Don was carrying a bo, which he used, to gesture for Seth to go on ahead of them. As Don turned to glance back behind them, Seth saw Leo's other sword in its sheath, strapped to his back. Then he knew... they were coming to free Leo from this nightmare, once and for all. They couldn't fail this time, there was no second chance...

It wasn't long before they found the little hill, rising just enough to clear its top above the fog, and on it, what was once a small forest of low trees.Now they were all dead, their leafless branches deformed by the choking vines of some parasitic plant. At the apex of the hill, there was one tree that had a dark blotch on it that formed itself into a familiar figure... Leo.

"Hello," he said breezily as they approached. "It's about time, I was beginning to wonder when you'd show... this is not exactly comfortable, if you know what I mean."

After a pause, Raph started up the incline. "Come on, let's get him out of this hell-"

"Wait," Don said quietly. His eyes were on Leo as he nervously fingered the wraps on his bo. Raph sighed impatiently and squinted back at Don. Seth could now see the battered, stained leather knee pads on Raph's legs, they looked like they'd always been there. He felt odd, as though he were seeing them from another point of time in their life... a time when sumptuous living was unknown to them, when family was more of a garrison, of comradeship, and constant, mutual support, for survival... when they lived in their gear, and dozed with their weapons, keeping one eye open in case of a surprise attack...

Someone poked Seth in the back, breaking him out of his reverie. Mike was glaring at him, as though to tell him to pay attention.

"Now Don, you know better than to just stand around," Leo said, almost smiling. "I'm sure you want to get out of here as much as I do."

Kill me, something said in Seth's head.

"What?" Seth asked aloud, looking at the others to see if they had said something. They looked back at him, puzzled.

Kill me.

Seth opened his mouth in surprise, then he gritted his teeth. "You'd want me to do that, wouldn't you, Saki? Yeah, you've caused enough mischief-" He suddenly leaped at Leo and sliced through the bonds as though they were made of dough.

NO!!!

"Seth, don't--" Don sounded uncertain. He strode through the fog and approached the hill, as Leo pried himself loose of the clinging vines and leaped to the ground. Raphael reached over to pull Leo up to a standing position.

Leo looked around, and broke into a relieved grin. "I can't begin to thank you all," he said, as he rubbed at his swollen wrists. "Boy, this is such a relief..." He reached for the sword on Don's back. "I'll take that now, if you don't mind. Seth, hand me yours. You never know when we might run into the big guy himself..."

You know I don't talk like that...

Seth hesitated when he heard the inner voice again, and a vague sense of uneasiness filled him when he looked into Leo's eyes. They were Leo's eyes and voice, quiet, with that touch of melancholy... Leo now turned to smile at Don, who was holding the sword in his right hand. The smile became fixed when Don did not hand the sword over.

"Come on now... Donnie..." Leo's hand stretched out toward the sword.

"That's not HIM!!!" Raphael's shout came at the same time Seth reacted, and he started back as Raphael leaped over him, his sai out in an attack position. Leo jumped Don, who swung his bo hard against Leo's shell as he fought to keep a grip on the sword. Leo came up against Don, their noses nearly touching.

"Remember your poor little ARM, Donnie boy," he sneered as Don faltered and grabbed at his elbow in pain. Leo wrenched the sword out of Don's grasp. The sword hissed as it left its sheath, and swung up in a glittering arc, its blade turning to aim toward Don's neck. Raphael was already on him, his sai making a loud clink as it came into contact with the sword. He tried to trap it with his other sai, but Leo slipped away from him, giggling like a mad child. "Getting slow, aren't you, you old mossbacked snapper?"

Raph staggered back, breathing hard, his shoulders slumped in sudden weakness. Leo charged him, his eyes round and bright like silver coins, the tip of his sword ready to plunge through the center of Raphael's plastron. Something large hummed through the air and Leo's aim somehow went awry, and he snarled in annoyance as he shook free the nunchaku that had wrapped itself around his wrist. Then he was pulled backward, the chain of the other nunchaku across his throat.

"KILL him!" Seth heard himself shout.

Mike grimly hung on as Leo fought to get a grip on the chain that dug into his throat. Leo shifted his weight to sling off Mike, but stumbled backward, as Don's bo landed against the backs of Leo's knees. Raph landed a solid punch with the handle of his sai against Leo's temple, and Leo reeled. Seeing his chance, Seth shifted his grip on the sword so that the tip pointed downward at a steep angle, and charged Leo. He saw a fleeting glance of Leo's terrified eyes, and he felt Leo's body shudder as the blade penetrated easily, angling down into his vitals. Seth lost his balance and fell back, as Leo melted into the ground with a gurgling cry, the hilt protruding from his breast. The brothers moved away as Leo's body was reduced to a puddle of hissing black fluid.

"Yack," Mike muttered. "That was no Leo."

Don flexed his arm experimentally, as he picked up the sword Leo had held. "Get the other sword, Seth." He straightened, and slid the blade back ito its sheath, and looked up the hillside. Then his eyes grew round. Seth followed his gaze, and then he saw that every tree held a figure, and they all were Leo, writhing in that same painfully contorted, position.

"Oh, God..." Mike breathed.

Don't look, Seth... feel.

Seth closed his eyes. He could feel nothing. A great weariness fell on him, making his legs tremble, as he staggered into the center of the trees. Countless Leos gazed sadly down at him as he passed, they all looked alike... acted alike... this is impossible, can't do it... can't... he began to relax his hold on the sword hilt, to let it drop, come what may, he didn't care any more. He was barely aware of the others as they surrounded him, gazing with astonishent at the Leo clones. Seth gritted his teeth, in sudden rage.

"Dammit, SHOW yourself you coward, come out and FIGHT!"

His voice echoed and was lost in the mist, and the silent Leos continued to gaze at him. He looked around, and no one moved. "Help me guys," he croaked. "I can't do this alone."

Raph went into action. He strode up to the nearest Leo, and jabbed him in the foot with his sai. "Ow!" Leo glared down at him. "What did you do that for? As if I'm not suffering enough... why don't you-"

"Nope, that's not him," Raph muttered as he went to the next one. He reached up and jabbed a thigh, and the resulting roar of annoyance didn't convince him either.

"Agh, Raph, that will take forever... no, we have to figure out something else," Mike said, peering up into the face of each Leo he passed. Don stood, leaning on his bo, as he rubbed at his chin, deep in thought.

"I'm sorry, Seth," Leo said from a tree a few feet from him. "I - I thought maybe... because we were all together now, this time... we could do something. But I can see that there is still an element missing..."

"What element?"

Leo bowed his head and closed his eyes in resignation. "I don't know, Seth, don't know any more..." He hung in silence for a moment, then raised his head. "Kill me, Seth. Please. If you love me, you'll do this... it will destroy Saki in the process."

Seth swallowed as he looked up into Leo's eyes. "Kill YOU? But- I thought-"

"No... I can see now, there is no other way..."

"I can't..."

"Do it Seth, please. I can't take this any more, I want you to set me free."

The sword came up, and Seth gritted his teeth, as he pointed it at Leo's chest. He stood poised, his muscles tensed for the thrust, and then he let his breath out in a growling rush. His knees buckled, and he dropped the sword, as he fell face first into the black dirt.

"Seth."

"I... can't-"

"Seth!"

"No-" Then the back of his neck crawled, and when he looked up, the hill, trees, and Leos were gone. Raphael, Don, and Mike where nowhere to be seen. Standing over him, was the black-helmeted horseman, holding a katana aloft. "This time, he doesn't awake," it thundered, and then laughed derisively as the blade descended on him. Seth rolled quickly out of its path, and leaped up, his own sword at the ready. Something seemed to fill him, like a rising, boiling tide, as he fought to block the blows raining down on him. His mind disengaged, and he felt as though he were watching himself on a video display, his body moving like a complex machine, ducking and parrying, returning blow for blow, until his assailant retreated to gather himself again, and study him. He gazed at the huge, black figure, which seemed to grow bigger and more powerful with each attack, while Seth felt his own strength failing. "There is no point in going on, Saki. I will fight you no more. Take me, instead. My life for my father's. Will that be compensation enough?"

He turned the sword so that the end of the hilt was offered to Saki. "This is what you want, isn't it? Then you shall have your revenge."

Saki grabbed the sword and yanked it out of Seth's unresisting grip. "Very well, little one, " he rumbled, as he swung the sword upward. "As you wish."

Then Seth fell to his knees, and bowed his head, waiting for the blow that would end everything. But it never came. Seth finally looked up, and saw Saki had lowered his sword, and was turning his back on him. "What..." His breathing became labored as he realized... rejected... he'd been rejected! Seth scrambled to his feet and raced after the retreating black figure. "What? Am I not GOOD enough for even YOU?"

Saki did not respond as he stalked toward the hillock, his cloak swirling around him like raven's wings, blade still unsheathed, to where now only one tree stood, and one Leo was bound to it. Anger and indignation blossomed in Seth's brain, and he tore after Saki, to overtake him. "Wait! Take me! Why won't you take ME?"

Saki ignored him. The sword was now raised high, its long, razor sharp blade now angled at Leo's solar plexus.

You may steal my body, but you will never have my soul...

Time seemed to slow as Seth leaped up the hill with a shout, and threw himself on Leo, climbing up him in a fierce, protective hug. His breath was cut off by a blow and searing pain, as he felt cold steel pierce his spine, grate against his ribs, and slice through his chest... and then the startled look in Leo's eyes as his body shuddered against Seth's, as the blade continued on. Seth gaped, trying to draw breath, but he felt confused, not sure whether to breathe in or out, and the pain mixed with the shock of realizing Leo was run through, as well... he barely heard the howl of rage behind him as the sword was savagely yanked out of them. Seth tried to hold on, but his body wouldn't obey him now, his hands flopped uselessly, as he slid down off of Leo, and crumpled to the ground. He slid, slowly, on his back, down to the bottom of the hillock, and tried to stay focused on Leo as he heard a new sound, the soft keen of anguish, a female voice...

"Mothe-" he gasped, as his insides turned to water. Other voices joined her, and as Seth looked up once more, he saw the blurred image of his father, hanging, lifeless, as figures surrounded the foot of the tree. The images faded to utter blackness...

Seth.

His eyes opened. He could see again, the mists had cleared. He saw images against a wall, as though they were a fresco, exquisitely painted from an age long past, the once-bright colors faded by time... A woman, her face contorted in anguish, as she held her bleeding son, soldiers lowering an inert body from a scaffolding... people standing, or kneeling, with varied expressions of terrible loss... the ground littered with bones. Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, outside the gates of the city... He blinked, and a new view came into focus.

Leo, being gently lowered from the tree, his brothers laying him in a supine position, straightening his limbs... his eyes flat, unseeing... Rahab, her head bent over a limp, pale body, rocking it gently, and quietly wailing... the face came into view, Seth's... he was looking down on his own dead face... feeling only a vague sadness, and pity for that which was left behind.

Above him, he saw the sky, bluer than he could ever imagine, the blinding white peaks of clouds, like the snowcapped mountains of...where was that place? As the sun warmed his back, a deep feeling of peace enveloped him.

One...

Nothing.

No time, no linear thought, there was no counting numbers in eternity, a constant Here and Now... there was only...

Peace.

Then came the voices. Quietly at first, then louder, sounds forming words. Different voices, familiar voices...

"You think there's something wrong with him, don't you?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. I dunno. But what the hell do I know?"

"He's... yellow."

"Hypomelanistic."

"That's not YOUR kid, is it, Leo?"

"I... believe it is."

"I TRUSTED you, Leo... how COULD you?"

"Please Rahab, believe me when I say this, I didn't plan it, it just-- happened."

"The baby... he's so different, even for us."

"...You little, low-color BASTARD."

Seth's peace was gone. The light faded, and all he saw above him now was dull, grey nothingness. A dull ache, unfathomable, unceasing pain... he closed his eyes as he let himself slip away. I have caused you all nothing but misery, and I will cause no more... this is goodbye.

"NO!!!"

The voice, cracking in anguish, made Seth open his eyes. Raphael was standing apart from the huddled group, his face turned upward, his eyes searching for something. "We didn't come all this way to lose them BOTH!" He seemed to be choking on his words, and he lowered his head to swallow hard. He then looked at Rahab, who stared back at him. As they gazed at each other, Seth felt something grasp him, in a gentle but infinitely powerful grip.

Some unseen force, that flowed in and around and through him, filling him up, melting away his pain. The dull grey shimmered, and grew golden, and as he looked down, he could see his pale body lying there, growing lighter. Rahab drew back from his body, startled. The others lifted their heads to watch. The light filled his vision, so all he saw was light, and his entire essence was bathed in its warmth. He heard voices, speaking softly together, melding, a dozen, hundreds, thousands, millions... until it sounded like a gigantic, distant waterfall.

Then distinct voices emerged from the quiet roar, not much louder, but clear.

"Seth..." His mother's voice. "Not your fault... I am to blame. It has taken me so long, but I am to blame. I knew, Seth."

Knew?

"It was denial... I was too afraid, I lied to myself, and everyone else. I wanted him... but I was confused."

"I never wished to hurt her, didn't want to hurt anyone... was only trying to help, to just hold her, to ease her pain..."

Father?

"Didn't mean to hurt you..."

"I was jealous of you, because you weren't from me. I was... afraid of you. You were beyond my understanding... "

Afraid of me?

"Please, don't leave us!"

"We want you, we NEED you both..."

"I was wrong, I never hated you..."

Am I my brother's keeper?

"I'm sorry."

"Please forgive..."

Forgive... and let not be overcome by evil...

There was a rending howl as the grey mists shredded, and the fleeting glimpse of something black and filmy, shrivelling, drying up in the heat of a blazing sun.

But overcome evil with good...

Seth felt a momentary, intense, crushing pain, as though an iron grip on his spirit had broken its hold. He struggled until something split open and fell away from him, like the hull of a seed, like a moth emerging from its crysalis, and he cried aloud as he felt himself pulled back into his body. He slowly stood, gently brushing off Rahab's embrace. He looked down at his hands, which glowed like liquid bronze. He held them out before him, and everything around him lit up, as he walked slowly toward the inert body of his father. His brothers jumped to their feet and stood back from Seth, with awe in their eyes.

"The Sun Child," Don said quietly, and he grinned a little, as he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Seth opened his fingers, and laid his palms gently on Leo's black, bleeding wound. He could see the glow spreading across Leo's torso, radiating outward to the ends of his limbs. Then the glow slowly faded. Seth lifted his hands, and saw only the smooth, unbroken surface of Leo's plastron, which suddenly heaved, as he took a breath. There was a quiet chorus of sighs of relief around him as Seth watched Leo's eyes roll under the lids, and then everything faded into a blissful nothingness...

It was a warm darkness, the comforting, restful kind... so when it was split by a gleam of light, Seth was annoyed. He didn't want to awaken, he wanted to wallow in this warm, dark womb, not be bothered with the outside, or cold and lights and air...

"I'm so glad you are here." His mother's voice.

He opened his eyes, and focused on her face smiling down at him. "Mm? Mom?"

"Hi, baby. Was wondering when you'd come back to us."

"Come back where?" Seth blinked, and looked around. At first he saw only a white ceiling, and then a window, the bright afternoon light muted by curtains. Then he saw a figure, leaning against the wall by his head.

"'Bout time you came around, you've been lying there since last night, tossing and mumbling..." Mike said, his face lit up with a broad grin. "But you're lookin' good!"

Seth sat up and shook his head, as though to rattle things back into place. Everything seemed as though it had been put back together... upside down. "What happened?"

"Ohh, man... a lotta stuff. But it turned out all right. Leo's fine, he's snoozin'."

"'Snoozin'?" Seth looked up at Mike, puzzled.

"Uh... you don't remember anything, do you?"

"Had some sort of wierd dream- like a nightmare. "

Mike's smile faded. He leaned closer to Seth, to study his face. "That was no nightmare."

Seth frowned at him. Then the memory... oh, God... He leaped out of bed, and stumbled. Firm hands steadied him, and he brushed them off, making his way down the hall. "Father? Father!"

Raphael poked his head out of a room. "Hey, Seth. In here." he whispered. He stepped back to let him enter, and Seth saw a new look on Raph's face. Respect...

Leo stirred, raising a hand to rub at his eyes. He then squinted at Seth. "Oh. Good," he sighed. He closed his eyes a little, and smiled in contentment. "Forgive me, I don't feel terribly motivated to wake up."

Seth laughed a little in relief. "That's good, father, you needed that."

"Mmm." Leo lay quietly for a while, and Seth watched him doze.

"Quite an accomplishment, Seth." Don's voice. Seth then realized Raph had somehow materialized into Don, who was sitting back in the recliner, favoring his right arm, still in its cast.

"What was?"

"What you did. No one else could have done it."

"But I thought you all did-"

"Oh, we did do our part like we said we would, but it was you... YOU-- who were the catalyst." Don grinned a little. "You. The Sun Child."

"Sun... Child?" Seth swallowed, and stared at Don, and then Leo, when the realization flooded him.

"You were chosen, Seth. Before birth. It is... a special gift." Don regarded him steadily, his face sober.

"A gift..."

"It is... shaman."

"Shaman?" Seth stared at Don as though he had insulted him. "Isn't that... some kind of witch doctor? Someone who practices witchcraft?"

Don sat up a little. "Is that what you want to call it? Witchcraft?" His mouth twitched. "Is that what do you call healing someone? Witchcraft? Because you don't understand it? What would you call a doctor, who gives his patient a shot of antibiotics? What would you call a psychotherapist who helps a patient deal with his personal problems? What would you call Christ, who healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, and made blind men see? Would you call THAT witchcraft?"

Seth sank back down on the edge of the bed. His mind buzzed, but he couldn't think in any one direction. In the silence that followed, a tree frog trilled from outside the window. Shaman... the word echoed in Seth's thoughts.

Rreeeek, answered the frog.

The images flashed before him, the light, the glow, the dying scream of a defeated evil, dissolving into harmless dust... the heave of Leo's chest as life filled him again...

Rreeeek.

God, forgive me...

Rreeeek.

Seth met Don's gaze, and then Don carefully got to his feet. He gave him another long, meaningful gaze, and then turned to leave.

"Don, I'm sorry... I meant no offense."

He looked back at Seth again, and then nodded a little, the ghost of a smile on his face, as he left. Seth was still sitting there when Leo awoke. "You again," he said. "Always in my face." Then he broke into a grin, and they hugged.

"Glad to have you back, father."

"Likewise."

"Aren't we all," someone said from behind. Seth turned to see a crowd of faces in the doorway.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, bro!"

Leo stared a moment, then burst into easy laughter. "Will you look at this, Seth." He rolled out of bed, as everyone poured into the room, meeting them halfway. Seth was pulled into the center of the maelstrom, happily squeezed in the crush of bodies, as they surrounded him and Leo. Hands grabbed and gently punched him, then everyone was hugging everyone else. There was a brief glimpse of Mike kissing Raphael on the nose with clownish tenderness, and Raphael rolling his eyes at him in mock disgust. Gaele giggled in response, and Rahab was patting the side of Leo's face, her eyes lit up with filial affection.

"Ah jeez, do I start flingin' the rose petals now?" Devon growled, but grinned goofily when Raph caught him in a headlock, and gave him a Dutch rub.

Riahna danced around, humming tunelessly, until Mike caught her up, and she squealed when he tossed her a little. "Hey, girlie! Stop being so happy!"

Everyone sniggered and laughed in response.

Mike set her down, and when things quieted, he looked around at everyone. "Yeah... we gotta do this all over. Gotta celebrate it right, this time."

"Like what, Mike?" Raphael asked.

"Well, something that takes a group effort. I don't care WHAT it is, really, as long as we are working together, the way it should be. We are a family, are we not?"

A chorus of agreement answered him.

"Ah, there is something that needs doing..." Leo looked sober for a moment. "If I may ask."

"Anything, Father. You name it."

Leo scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully, and then gave Seth a slow smile. "We need to make a journey to Nepal for something. To return to the monastery. It shouldn't take long..."

"Hey, no problema, bro, what is it?"

"I have a mural to finish."

_________________________________________________________________

The End

Seth