I know it's been forever. I wrote this epilogue two years ago but never got around to posting it. I was hoping to go through and edit all my chapters but I never had the time or energy. So I think, despite its imperfections, it's time to let this baby go. Thank you wholeheartedly to everyone who liked, followed, read, and/or commented. It meant the world to me. Hopefully now that I'll have the summer to myself again, I'll have time to do some new writing. Forever onwards!

It had been a couple days since they'd gotten back. No sign of Drako but that didn't make Mikey feel much better. Everyone kept giving him these weird looks, like he was about to break. It sucked. And it was starting to get on his nerves. He just wanted things to go back to normal. So Mikey got to working on it the best way he knew how. His pranks got better, sneakier, and more creative. He kept expecting people to laugh it off like usual or at least yell at him but no one did. They'd just give him that stupid look. Even Raph didn't get as mad as usual. Nothing was working.

Finally, Mikey thought of what he considered the best prank ever. It was sure to illicit some reaction. Anything but that stupid face. As he was filling the sink with water balloons, Leo walked in on him. Mikey immediately turn around blocking Leo's view.

"Hey, Leo!" He greeted, smile and all. Leo gave a small quirk of his lips but that was all.

"Hey, Mikey. What are you up to?"

"Um. Nothing." Mikey shifted a little, adjusting to make sure Leo couldn't see and ruin the surprise.

"Uh huh." Leo replied, smiling and crossing his arms. There it was. A tiny moment of normalcy. Mikey in trouble. Leo scolding him. He'd nearly forgotten how that felt. But then Leo's face dropped and Mikey lost that feeling. The crash was worse. His smile faltered for a second. "Hey, Mikey…" Leo started, "I know you haven't really wanted to talk about it…" And there it was that ugly conversation, rearing its fat head.

"Seriously, dude. It's fine. Nothing to worry about." Mikey waived his hand, dismissing the notion that anything could be bothering him. He just wanted things to go back to the way they use to be.

"It's not fine, Mikey." Leo protested, almost angry. "It's clearly not fine. You've been acting anxious ever since we got back and we're use to your pranks but these are excessive." Leo started moving closer. Mikey backed up, forgetting about his balloons. "It's every day, Mikey. If you want attention, just tell us." That hit a nerve.

"It's not about attention!" Mikey spat. Leo took a step back in shock.

"Then what is it?" He asked, in his nicest most motherly tone. It grated on Mikey. He just didn't get it.

"I want things to go back to normal! Okay? Just… normal." Mikey could hear the pleading in his voice. "Everyone's been acting weird lately and I hate it."

"It's just that…" Leo paused trying to fin the right words probably. "It's just that we're worried about you, Mikey. If we've been acting weird, you've been acting ten times weirder. I mean, you can't let a silence go buy without filling it up. You've been even more distracted than usual."

"That's not true," Mikey defended. Leo shrugged.

"Maybe but we've all noticed something's up. And you haven't been telling us." Mikey saw the pleading in Leo's face.

"Seriously, I'm—" Mikey stopped at the expression Leo gave him. Almost angry but it softened immediately.

"I heard you," Leo admitted softly. Mikey gave him a questioning look. "I heard you… mumbling in your sleep about… us leaving you and you being all alone… about me leaving you." Mikey didn't respond. "I just… What happened out there? That you haven't told us?" Mikey swallowed. He was always a crappy liar. He couldn't look at Loo's pleading face anymore.

"I saw you out there. When I was in my box…prison." Mikey kept his eyes downcast. "You walked right under me. Couldn't hear me yelling or banging around up there. Nothing. You just walked away…" Hot tears had started slipping down his face. He'd forgotten how much that'd hurt. How much it'd struck his core. He just wanted to go back to trusting his brothers, unconditionally, like he use to.

"Mikey, I…" Mikey looked up to see Leo searching for words. His whole body looked like it had been crushed under the weight of Mikey's confession.

"Look, just forget it." Mikey started to turn away but Leo stopped him with an hand on his shoulder.

"Mikey…" The little turtle looked up at his older brother, teary eyed. "I'm sorry." Before mIke could respond, Leo wrapped him in a big hug, completely surrounding him in an embrace. And that was it. Mikey just broke down. He couldn't shoulder it any longer. It hurt to know his brothers might not always be there. He felt Leo stroking his shell. "We may… mess up sometimes. I might mess up sometime but that doesn't mean we won't stop trying to find you. Ever. You're our brother. We'd stop at nothing to get you back. That is a promise. I swear." Mikey cracked a small smile between his tears.

"Pinky swear?"

"Pinky swear." Maybe he'd have to accept his brothers weren't all powerful super finding machines but he believed Leo when he said they'd never leave him behind. And for now, that was enough.