Epilogue-Together again

2 months later…

A lot of time had passed since Mikey's near-death experience and the reconnection between Mikey and Donnie, and things had soon begun to get even better from that day.

Donnie decided to create a schedule that would maintain a stable balance between finding Master Splinter's data bits and looking after Mikey, and he also allowed his brothers and human friends to share the responsibility of saving Master Splinter with him, much to everyone's relief. The purple-banded turtle did this because he wanted to spend more time with his immediate younger brother since he owed him for saving his life from the Cyber Shredder.

Mikey was slowly recovering as each day came; the slash wounds on his arms were now fully healed and were only visible as scars that reminded everyone of his emotional struggle, and his internal wounds were also healing nicely whilst his plastron was steadily doing the same despite the fact that it would take a few more months for it to heal completely. There was, however, a small setback during his recovery where he had contracted an infection that led him to become feverish and unable to eat, but Donnie and Leatherhead were able to eradicate the infection with the necessary antibiotics after they spotted it early.

Ever since then, everyone took turns looking after him and keeping him company whenever he was awake and needed someone to talk to. Even though Mikey was comfortable during his recovery, the wounds on his plastron were now at a stage where they were causing an itch-like irritation to the young turtle who fought hard to resist the urge to scratch them. Luckily, April had found a herbal ointment that would ease the itchy feeling down, and she gave it to Donnie who applied it onto Mikey's plastron twice a day to keep the youngest from scratching his wounds, otherwise, he would threaten him with having his hands covered up by oven mitts if he did.

It was during that timeframe that the turtle brothers were hit with a big surprise; Casey had proposed to April and have started planning for their wedding day, which they agreed to have the day after Master Splinter's return.

Speaking of which, Donnie was currently on the lair's main computer assessing all the data bits, which he and the others were finally able to collect, on the screen in the form of a full-bodied Master Splinter. Donnie's face had a smile painted on it instead of a stressed-out frown, meaning that it was finally time for Master Splinter to come back home from Cyberspace!

"Hey, Donnie…Is everything alright?" The voice of his oldest brother, Leo, was suddenly heard from behind him, making him turn around to see the blue-banded turtle walking over to him, with Raph walking next to him, whilst wearing a concerned look on his face since he noticed that the purple-banded turtle was looking at the computer for a long time without saying anything.

"Yeah, Leo…! Everything is ready for Master Splinter to come back from Cyberspace!" Donnie answered with a nod, surprising Leo and Raph.

"Really!? That's fantastic news!" Leo replied excitedly.

"Yeah, Mikey's gonna be so happy when we tell him about dis!" Raph said in agreement.

"You're right, Raph…! Leo, can you please go and check if Mikey is awake, and to let him know about Master Splinter's return? I'll come and join you once I've made sure that the preparations are in order…" Donnie asked Leo.

"Sure thing, Don…I was planning on seeing him after checking up on you, anyway…" Leo answered before he made his way towards Mikey's room, but not without grabbing something from his own room first.

/

Mikey's room…

Leo carefully opened Mikey's room door, which was left slightly ajar in case Mikey needed to call his brothers for anything, and he quietly walked inside to avoid waking up his little brother, who he noticed was starting to wake up in his bed with Klunk curled up next to him.

As Mikey's condition improved, Donnie and his brothers agreed in a discussion with Leatherhead that Mikey could spend the rest of his recovery in his room since he would feel more comfortable in his personal space than in the infirmary. Not long after returning to his room, Mikey decided to have his personal items returned back to their original places before they were stored away in boxes, with the help of his brothers.

April and Casey also surprised Mikey with a brand new jacket as a get-well present, which was placed over Mikey's blanket as he slept.

"Good morning, Mikey…" Leo said softly as he got closer to the bed.

"Morning, Leo…" Mikey replied with a yawn as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes whilst carefully sitting himself up.

"How are you doing today? Did you sleep well?" Leo asked as he sat on the edge of the mattress.

"Yeah…The ointment that April gave us really helped with stopping the itch…" Mikey answered as he lightly rubbed his bandaged plastron.

"That's good to hear…I was worried that Donnie might have to tie those oven mitts on your hands to make you stop itching your plastron if you didn't…!" Leo replied with a chuckle, causing Mikey to laugh a little too.

"So, is everything ok out there? I heard loud voices…" Mikey asked after a moment of silence.

"Everything's more than ok, Mikey…! Donnie has just announced that we're going to bring Master Splinter back from Cyberspace today!" Leo answered with excitement in his voice, surprising Mikey.

"R-Really!?" The young turtle said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, and that's why I came to see you; to tell you that father is coming back home…and to also bring you to the computer area to see it happen!" Leo replied with a nod before his face changed from happy to serious and spoke again.

"Before we go, though…I, err…thought I should give you this back…"

Leo lifted one of his hands up to reveal the box that Mikey used to store his mask away, and he lifted the lid to reveal the orange-coloured strip of fabric.

"T-This is…!" Mikey stuttered in shock when he saw his mask again.

"Your mask…I want you to wear it again, bro…" Leo said to finish Mikey's sentence as he gingerly took the mask out of the box and placed it in his little brother's hands.

Mikey looked down at his mask with a face that was difficult for Leo to read; even though he was surprised to see it again, doubts suddenly started to pile up in his mind on whether or not he was worthy enough to wear it once more since he felt that he was no longer deemed as a true ninja a while ago.

"L-Leo, I…I-I don't know…" Mikey said nervously whilst shaking his head slightly.

"Hey…I know that you still have some doubts about being a ninja again, Mikey, but…this mask represents who you are to all of us…" Leo countered as he placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"How?" Mikey questioned skeptically.

"Well, the colour of your mask is an obvious symbol that recognises your ability as a ninja; it represents light, joy, and creativity…and the colour of your aura is also orange, meaning that you are all of those three things put together!" Leo answered with a warm smile.

Mikey's heart skipped a beat after being surprised by Leo's words. He never thought about how the colour of each mask represented him and his brothers in terms of their personalities and skills. When he looked at his mask again, he smiled a little before he looked at Leo and spoke.

"Thanks, Leo…but how can I be the ninja that you can all depend on when it might take another few months for my wounds to heal? I'm useless to you all until then…" After finishing his last sentence, Mikey's eyes began to fill with tears.

"You're not useless, Mikey…! We will always need you…and your wounds are proof that you're a strong ninja who never goes down without a fight…I know it's been hard, but your body needs to heal in order for you to get better and fight by our side again!" Leo reassured his baby brother firmly but softly with encouragement in his voice.

Leo then slowly took the mask out of Mikey's hands and gently placed it on the young turtle's face before wrapping and securely tying the mask ends at the back of his head. When he backed up a bit to look at Mikey's face, he smiled proudly at him before he spoke.

"There…Now that's the Mikey I know; a fun little brother and a ninja with a heart full of light!"

Mikey slowly stroked the fabric of his mask whilst letting those words sink into his mind. It felt like it had been years since he had last worn his mask, and he was surprisingly starting to like wearing it again. His eyes suddenly filled up with more tears, which then streamed down his face, as he sobbed before he felt Leo's strong arms wrap around him to engulf him into a hug, which the young turtle accepted as he sobbed into Leo's shoulder.

"No matter what happens between us brothers, Mikey, we will always love you…Never forget that…" Leo said soothingly to his baby brother as he rubbed Mikey's back to help comfort him.

As soon as Leo released Mikey from the hug when the young turtle was starting to settle down, Raph and Donnie entered the room to check on them both since they were taking a long time to come out, but they smiled when they saw that Mikey was wearing his mask again.

"Heya, Mike! Look at you; ya got yer mask back on!" Raph said proudly as he walked over to Mikey and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to give him a sideways hug.

"Hi, Raph…" Mikey replied softly whilst pressing his face against Raph's plastron as he accepted the hug.

"Morning, Mikey! I've brought you some orange juice…!" Donnie said as he walked over to Mikey with a cup full of orange juice with a straw in it.

"Thanks, bro…" Mikey said after being given the cup and then took a few slow sips from the straw before he put it down on the bedside table next to him.

"Has Leo already told you about Master Splinter coming back…?" Donnie asked after a moment of silence.

"Y-Yeah…I can't believe that it's finally happening, but…" Mikey answered with a smile before he frowned slightly and looked down.

"Hm? What's da matter, Mikey?" Raph questioned with a raised eyebrow when he noticed Mikey's face change.

"It's just…A-Are you sure that…Master Splinter would wanna see me again?" Mikey said nervously.

"Huh? Of course he would, Mikey…! Why would you ask something like that?" Leo said with his face puzzled.

"W-Well…because he might still be…disappointed and mad at me…" Mikey answered shakily as he looked away when more tears developed in his eyes.

"Don't be silly, Mikey…! Master Splinter won't be mad at you…He loves you, remember?" Donnie countered reassuringly whilst shaking his head.

"Yeah, and I'm sure that he'll be very happy to see you too!" Leo said in agreement whilst wiping his little brother's tears off of his face.

"Besides, a little exercise will do ya some good!" Raph said with a smirk before he helped Mikey sit up and slowly get off of the bed.

Whilst he was standing up, Mikey flinched due to the tightness of the stitches in his plastron but he regained his composure and started to walk out of his room with his brothers following him from behind, and Raph was also assisting him by placing Mikey's arm around his shoulders and wrapping his other arm behind Mikey's back.

/

The computer area…

The turtle brothers arrived at the computer area and Donnie immediately went straight to work with setting up the transfer system on the main computer.

"Ok, it's ready!" He said nervously but with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Remember, Donnie; we're right here with you through every step of the way…" Leo said reassuringly as he placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder.

Donnie looked at Leo and gave him a grateful smile before he slowly reached and grabbed the lever that would turn on the cyber portal and bring back Master Splinter. His brothers then placed their own hands over his and, altogether, they pushed the lever up.

Then, the cyber portal suddenly powered on with a roar, and it began to slowly put Master Splinter together piece by piece. Two minutes later, Master Splinter was finally whole again and he opened his eyes just seconds after his body was completely reconstructed.

"FATHER!"

All but Mikey, who just looked on in awe with tears in his eyes, shouted out before Leo and Raph ran over to Master Splinter to make sure that he was ok, whilst Donnie watched on as he sighed in relief knowing that the procedure had worked.

Mikey, on the other hand, took a few steps back and looked away with nervousness and sadness showing on his face, because he didn't know how Master Splinter would react once he saw him.

When Leo and Raph brought Master Splinter closer to their other brothers, they noticed Mikey's behaviour straight away and Leo walked over to him before he spoke in a soft whisper.

"Mikey, it's ok…There's no need to be afraid…Look; father wants to see you too…"

"Michelangelo?" Master Splinter called out to his youngest son whilst feeling a bit confused as to why Mikey wasn't coming over to see him.

After being given an encouraging and reassuring look from Leo, Mikey slowly walked forward a few steps before he knelt down to Master Splinter's level, with the help of Leo, and looked at him with sad eyes as he spoke.

"D-Dad…I mean, M-Master Splinter…I-I…I'm sorry that I couldn't be the son you always wanted me to be…I shamed my family's honour and position as a ninja for what I did during our travel back to our own time…a-and because of my actions…I-I failed you once again by letting you take that blast for us…Y-You don't have to forgive me, cos…I don't deserve it…The only thing I can say is that…I'm so, so sorry for letting you down for so many years…"

By the time Mikey finished his speech, his eyes were streaming like a waterfall and he looked down to try and hide his guilt and shame-filled face from his father, who looked at him in shock after hearing his son's speech.

What happened next was something that Mikey was not expecting to happen, because instead of getting a harsh scolding from the old sensei, he felt small but strong arms wrap around him in a secure but loving hug by Master Splinter himself, surprising him in the process.

"Michelangelo, there is nothing to forgive for what happened to me. Neither you nor your brothers are to blame…You have not failed me or brought dishonour to this family, because you are our light that keeps the darkness away from us…" Master Splinter said softly with a warm smile before he felt Mikey bury his face in his shoulder and wrap his arms around him as he started to sob.

The young turtle felt so relieved after hearing those words that he just couldn't hold his emotions back any longer. He needed that reassurance since all he thought about in his own mind for so long was what negative words his father and sensei might say to him once he returned home.

"Hush now, my son…I am home now…We are all here, safe and sound…and together again…" Master Splinter then said soothingly to try and calm his youngest son down.

As soon as Mikey had calmed down and he and Master Splinter released each other from their father-son hug, Leo knelt down to their level and placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder before he spoke.

"Mikey, I think it's time to show Master Splinter what's been going on with you since we got back home from the future…"

Even though he didn't want to do it right now, Mikey knew that it had to be done, so he slowly unzipped his jacket and revealed his arms and plastron to his sensei, whose eyes went wide as he saw Mikey's arms covered in now healed scar lines as well as the thick bandages on his plastron.

"Oh, my son…what has happened to you during my absence!?" Master Splinter questioned in shock as he placed a furry hand on Mikey's cheek.

"I-I…erm…" Mikey stuttered as he was on the verge of freezing up due to the fear of confessing his actions to his father building up inside him, but then Leo stepped in and spoke for him.

"I will explain everything, Master Splinter…"

Mikey gave Leo a thankful look before he was helped up by the blue-banded turtle and they guided Master Splinter to the living room to begin their story on what had transpired after the turtles returned home from the future.

/

30 minutes later…

After Leo had finished explaining everything about what had happened since their return to their own time, Master Splinter looked at all of his sons with drooping ears, tear-filled eyes, and a shocked look on his face.

Even though he knew that Mikey's actions had made things more challenging for his family in stopping Viral, he could not believe that his three older sons had let out all of their anger and grief onto the youngest and made him take the full blame for what Viral did, but what was more heartbreaking to hear was that Mikey had become so depressed that he had started to painfully punish himself and then attempted to end his own life because he was led to believe that he no longer belonged in the family.

"So, you allowed your anger to cloud your eyes from the truth and attack your own brother without even thinking about the consequences of what might happen afterward?" Master Splinter questioned firmly to Leo, Raph, and Donnie who all looked down in shame and silence before they heard Master Splinter speak again.

"You are not only a team but you are also brothers…a family…despite your differences in terms of interests and level of skills as ninjas, you are all vital to this family and must work together in order to keep each other safe from our enemies…And yet, you allowed the enemy's actions to dominate your feelings and turn you against one of your own…and it had to take a fatal near-death experience to make you realise your mistakes!"

"Father…We really can't tell you how truly sorry we are for letting this happen…We were so distraught over what Viral did to you that we just…lost it…" Donnie replied with his face full of shame.

"Stop…"

"What?" Donnie questioned when he heard Mikey's voice speaking firmly towards him.

"I said, stop…I don't blame you guys for how you treated me…I kinda deserved it…" Mikey answered whilst avoiding eye contact with his brothers.

"No, you didn't, Mikey…nobody deserved to be cruelly treated like how we treated you back then…because what we did to you was a cowardly act…!" Leo countered firmly.

"B-But someone had to pay for what happened to us back then…! If I'd have just kept my mouth shut, then Viral wouldn't have sent us to that Shredder-filled dimension!" Mikey said in a slightly loud tone whilst shaking his head in denial before he spoke again as tears developed in his eyes.

"L-Looking back now, I-I've realised how little I've done to help you all throughout the years…I deserved every insult and every scolding that you threw at me…cos I'm just-"

"Don't ya dare say that ya useless, Mikey, cos ya not!" Raph abruptly cut Mikey off when he sensed what the orange-banded turtle was about to call himself.

"But I am, Raph! Don't try to deny it, cos you said so many times before!" Mikey yelled out in denial.

Raph flinched when he heard those words, and then he looked away after being reminded of what he told Mikey ages ago.

"You're wrong, Mikey, and I know that deep down you think the same way yourself!" Leo immediately said in a firm tone, causing Mikey to look at him with a stunned look despite the slight glare he was giving him.

"Look, Mikey; I get that you're trying to take all the blame for what happened between us and Viral just to try and put an end to the blame game, but you can't do that to yourself cos you weren't the one who caused the incident in the first place!" Donnie pointed out when he sensed the reason why Mikey was still adamant that he was to blame for everything.

"Enough!" Master Splinter suddenly said loudly, causing the turtle brothers to look at him in shock before looking down with shame on their faces when they saw the stern look that Master Splinter was giving them.

But before Master Splinter could say anything, he and the three older brothers noticed that Mikey had his eyes covered with his hands before they heard him speak in a sad tone.

"Don't you get it? All I do for you guys is make our missions harder and cause your lives to be put at risk! You bros have been doing fine without me, and things have been more peaceful in the lair for Master Splinter when I'm not around…but as soon as I appear, it all falls apart…S-So, in other words; all I'm good at is making everyone's lives a misery!"

As soon as he finished the last sentence, Mikey began to sob as tears seeped through in between his fingers.

"Mikey-" Leo was about to counter Mikey's statement when Master Splinter raised his hand, signalling his oldest son to be silent before he walked over to Mikey and placed a hand on his shoulder before he spoke.

"Michelangelo, have there ever been times where I told you that you were not capable of being a ninja with your brothers?"

Mikey froze when he heard that question before he thought back on the days when he and his brothers were being taught how to be a ninja, and it was then that he realised that there were none that included Master Splinter ever saying that Mikey was not ninja material.

"N-No, sensei…" He answered shakily.

"And have I ever said that only your older brothers were perfect and you were a failure?" Master Splinter then asked, his smile becoming warmer.

"N-No, sensei…" Mikey answered whilst shaking his head when he, again, thought back on his past memories and did not find one that involved that question.

"And finally, Michelangelo, do you truly believe that you were responsible for Viral's actions during our travel back home from the future, especially when it comes to what happened to me?" Master Splinter asked next whilst stroking his son's shoulder.

"I-I…" Mikey was about to answer that question, but instead, he stuttered and froze before he thought about it a lot more deeply than the other two questions.

He looked back at the memory of when he and his family were first attacked by Viral as they travelled back home from the future; he helped save his family from being eaten by a T-Rex with the help of a Triceratops in the Dinosaur era, and then he bravely confronted Viral during the Medieval era in an attempt to transport him and his family to a safer timeline. However, everything went downhill from there; Viral transported the Hamato family to an alternate dimension that included many of their enemies, including more than one Shredder. This resulted in Serling getting damaged, Donnie making a risky plan to get everyone out of the dimension, and Master Splinter getting blasted by the decompiler. This resulted in Donnie blaming himself first before he and his older brothers ganged up and blamed everything on Mikey for what Viral did to them.

Viral…

After hearing that name once more, Mikey gasped through gritted teeth and his eyes widened in anger, now realising that he had become her scapegoat in order to avoid receiving the punishment herself.

In other words; it wasn't his fault that the trip back home was a disaster…it was hers!

"N-No…No, I'm not!" Mikey answered firmly as he suddenly stood up with an angry look on his face, but kept his face low to avoid eye contact with his sensei and brothers as he continued talking.

"I never intended to make things harder for my family or put them in danger! All I wanted to do was to be useful, and be able to do something right for a change…but I couldn't even do that! I-I…!"

By now, Mikey's eyes were filled with tears and they streamed down his cheeks as he fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands.

"I-I made things over a thousand times worse on that day…Screwed everything up…I-I…!" He said quietly but loud enough for the others to hear as he sobbed in his hands once again. Then, a moment later;

Whack!

"Owww!" Mikey cried out after he felt a hard smack on the back of his head.

"Will ya stop doin' dat!? It's gettin' old now, bro!"

The gruff and frustrated voice of his red-banded brother was then heard next to him, causing Mikey to look up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"B-But I caused-"

"You didn't cause anything, Mikey! You did the best you could, just like the rest of us…!" Leo firmly but softly cut off his youngest brother as he knelt down to his level and wrapped his arms around him to give him a comforting hug.

"That's right…We were the ones who misunderstood your intentions back then…" Donnie said guiltily in agreement to Leo's words as he too knelt down to Mikey's level and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Master Splinter's face saddened at the scene; his youngest son was so deep in this negative void that he still continued to deny his existence and role in the family as being equally important as his older brothers. He placed a furry hand on Mikey's shoulder again and gently squeezed it to get the youngest's attention before he spoke.

"Michelangelo…Without you in our lives, our light would diminish and allow the darkness to surround us...causing the balance in our family to shift and become unstable…"

After hearing that sentence, Mikey gasped in realisation when he remembered his dream from 2 months ago.

"T-The four elements…" Mikey whispered but it was loud enough for the others to hear him.

"Huh?" "What do you mean, Mikey?" The three older brothers said with confused looks on their faces.

"I-I…I don't know if it was a dream or a memory, but when I was little…Master Splinter told me that…we each represented the four elements of nature…" Mikey answered before he looked at Leo and continued talking.

"Leo is water…"

He turned to look at Raph next.

"Raph is fire…"

He then looked over at Donnie.

"Donnie is wind…"

Lastly, he pointed at himself.

"And I'm earth…"

"My son, that was exactly what I told you many years ago when you were young…I am surprised that you still remember that day…" Master Splinter said proudly to his youngest son, who blushed after hearing the last sentence.

"You know, now that I think about…if it hadn't have been for Mikey's imagination and creativity, most of the inventions and vehicles I made over the years might've never existed!" Donnie thought out loud after a moment of silence.

"You're right, Donnie…! I remember all of the good times we had back from when we were growing up because of Mikey's fun spirit…!" Leo said in agreement.

"Yeah! And his know-how in video games and comic books durin' missions really saved our shells more than once over da years!" Raph said with a smirk.

"You see, Mikey? Those are the many reasons why you're our family's light!" Leo told his baby brother whilst giving him a sideways hug.

"Yes, and our light should never be dimmed or hidden away for selfish reasons…This will only allow the darkness to overpower us and destroy everything that we hold dear to our hearts…" Master Splinter said wisely.

Mikey looked at his brothers and sensei with a surprised look on his face before his eyes filled with tears again.

For so long, the young turtle believed that his own family no longer wanted him around and that he should have had his existence erased a long time ago, but after hearing those positive things about him just now from his family, all those negative emotions slowly dissolved out of his heart and mind until they faded away completely.

"T-Thank you…Thank you, so much…" Mikey said shakily before he covered his tear-filled eyes with his hands and started sobbing quietly.

Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Master Splinter all produced warm and relieved smiles on their faces after hearing Mikey's words of acceptance, before they gathered around Mikey and gave him a big family hug, which the youngest turtle greatly returned.

A moment later, Serling rushed in with clothes and suitcases piled in his arms as he spoke in an urgent tone.

"I don't mean to interrupt this touching moment, but we must be getting ready for tomorrow's wedding! Oh, and…welcome back, sir…"

"Wedding…?" Master Splinter questioned with a surprised smile.

"Yeah, April and Casey's! About time, right?" Raph said with a smirk.

"My sons, let us celebrate our reunion by joining Miss O'Neil and Mr. Jones for their special day!" Master Splinter proposed with a joyful smile.

The turtle brothers cheered to that before they all stood up and made their way towards the Battle Shell to start making preparations for their trip to Casey's farmhouse.

/

Later in the evening…

After arriving at Casey's farmhouse, the turtles, Master Splinter, April, and Casey gathered in the living area and talked about the eventful few months that they had experienced, before they were interrupted by a surprise visit from Casey's mother, his cousin Sid, Angel, and the Ancient One.

Once everyone was settled into their arranged sleeping areas, the turtles also retired to bed since not only was Mikey falling asleep due to his still-recovering wounds, but they also needed to rest up for April and Casey's big day tomorrow.

The older turtles helped Mikey to bed and tucked him in before they too climbed into their own beds and got themselves comfortable.

"Goodnight, my brothers…" Leo said softly.

"Goodnight, Leo…" His younger brothers replied sleepily before they all fell asleep seconds later.

/

Unknown…

Leo, Raph, and Donnie opened their eyes to find themselves in a place with a familiar feeling to it.

It was then that they realised that it was the astral plane, but this time it was filled with warmth and lightness.

As they looked around from where they were standing, they suddenly spotted something glowing brightly from a far distance from where they were standing.

"What's that?" Donnie questioned as he shielded his squinted eyes from the light's brightness.

"D'know…but it sure is bright…!" Raph answered as he did the same.

"Wait…the colour…could it be…?" Leo said quietly in thought before he made a dash towards where the glow was coming from, surprising Raph and Donnie.

"Hey, wait!" "Where are ya goin', Leo?" The younger brothers shouted out in confusion as they quickly followed their older brother from behind.

As soon as Leo got closer to the light's source, his eyes widened; right in front of him was his baby brother, who was standing with his shell facing Leo, and the centre of his body was shining brightly, though not as bright as it normally is at the moment.

"Mikey?" The blue-banded turtle called out his baby brother's name, causing the smaller turtle to jump and slowly turn around.

Once Mikey saw and recognised who it was, his eyes slowly widened before he developed a smile.

"Weo? Big brudder!" He cried out happily before he ran towards him as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Seeing this, Leo knelt down to Mikey's level with his arms opened wide just before the little turtle reached him and hugged him.

"You came back!" Mikey said as he snuggled more into Leo's hold.

"Of course I did…I made a promise, remember?" Leo replied softly whilst stroking Mikey's head.

"Heya, kiddo…" Raph was then heard in a slightly shy tone as he got closer to the duo.

"Waphie!" Mikey shouted out with joy before he reached his arms out towards the red-banded brother.

Raph was surprised at first when he saw how Mikey was reaching out to him, but he snapped out of it and immediately took the little turtle from Leo's arms and wrapped him in his own, giving him a brotherly hug as well.

"Heh, heh…M'glad ta see ya, lil' bro…" Raph said softly before he and Leo saw Donnie come closer to them whilst wearing an awkward look on his face.

"Hi, Mikey…!" Donnie said softly whilst keeping a good distance between him and his immediate younger brother to avoid scaring him away.

What occurred next was something that Donnie had not expected to happen; instead of being fearful of him, Mikey's eyes slowly widened as he developed a big smile on his face.

"Donnie!" Mikey shouted out as he reached out for his immediate older brother.

Donnie was stunned after seeing this, but he immediately snapped out of it and took Mikey out of Raph's hold and engulfed him into a hug of his own.

"My little brother…" Donnie whispered as tears began to develop in his eyes.

"Me missed you, Donnie…!" Mikey said with a sad smile as he rubbed his little face on Donnie's plastron.

"I missed you too, Mikey…" Donnie replied softly as tears fell down his face before he gave Mikey a soft kiss on his little head and slightly tightened the hug.

"We've all missed you, bro…but you don't have to worry anymore, because from now on, we're sticking together…both as brothers and as a family!" Leo said before he and Raph engulf Donnie and Mikey into a big brotherly hug.

Mikey snuggled into the hug whilst releasing tears of relief and joy after hearing those words from Leo.

He and his brothers never said anything during the hug, because there were no words needed to describe how much the youngest was loved, and they can all now rest and live easy knowing that their reunited family is one step closer to healing completely.

The end.

/

And it's finished! Sorry that it took a while for me to complete this story. Things have been very eventful at home and it caused me to be a bit distracted.

This story represents the dark thoughts that developed in my mind during a time where I had a lot on my shoulders and that nobody wanted to take my role in life and my feelings seriously, leading me to suffer from depression.

Don't worry; I never took the route of harming myself because I kept reminding myself that it would just make things harder for me and my family. I've been receiving support through art and animal groups that have helped me to realise that I am important and needed in this world, no matter what happens around me!

I hope that the wait for the epilogue was worth it for you all, and thank you for your patience in the completion of this story ;)