He stood alone. Or rather, he was alone, because those who had been near him were now lying around. Donnie unconscious. Raph, bloodied and barely moving. Mickey, somewhere in the clouds of toxic smoke. And you… you were the last thing he saw before everything was blinded by the flash. And silence.

A huge Krang, writhing and roaring, shook the street, collapsing houses with each wave of energy. Something ancient, damp, ugly. Its roar ripped through the air. Around him was a dead city, soaked in ash. And with each passing second it seemed that… everything.

But Leo stood.

His knees were shaking. Blood was running down his temple. His katanas were broken. One sword lay to the side, the other was stuck in a concrete wall. His breathing was sharp, broken.

He felt no strength. Ninpo was long gone. Vanished in the very wave when Krang first tore through reality with his faceless scream. As if everything spiritual had been burned away.

And now, alone, in this poisonous light of the sunset sky, Leo gritted his teeth.

"You... took... everything." He croaked. — "But you won't take me."

Krang spun around. His eyes opened, pulsing and crimson. He saw Leo. The roar shook the ground.

Leo lunged forward. Unarmed. Every step was agony. But his heart was ablaze.

You were there. Your gaze. Mickey when he laughed. Raph when he protected. Donnie when he reached out, even in chaos. And Splinter. His voice. His teachings.

“You are not a weapon, Leonardo. You are the light in the shadows. You are the will.”

“When you forget who you are, remember who you stand for.”

He screamed. And then, the world froze.

The ground beneath his feet cracked. The air rang, as if threads of energy were beginning to twist into one. Everything that was dead seemed to tremble. And suddenly - a glow burst from Leo's chest.

Something ancient, pure. At first barely noticeable - but in seconds it engulfed his entire body. Blue ribbons, real, spiritual, flashed across his armor. His eyes - glowed with a bright azure light.

The katana stuck in the wall flared up. It broke free - and soared into his hand. The second one - rose from the ground. They themselves stood next to him.

Ninpo returned.

"Now it's my turn," — he said, and his voice rang with a power he had long forgotten.

He rushed forward. The world slowed.

The katanas burned in his hands. They left blue marks behind them, as if they were cutting through space itself. Leo glided as if on waves of energy, his ninpo controlling the street like water.

Every movement was perfectly calculated. He flew up the Krang's tentacle, cutting through its layers. The blows shone like stars in the darkness. Each second was like the pulse of one great heart.

Krang screamed. He felt it. The power that had returned. The power that could not be destroyed.

The power that lives in memory. In debt. In family.

Leo jumped, katanas crossed. And like lightning, he rushed through the center of Krang. The light tore the monster apart from the inside. The explosion was silent, shining like the soul itself.

And all was quiet.

Leo fell heavily to his knees. His mask had slipped, the blue light still pulsing in his chest. He was shaking. He was breathing. He was alive.