NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes that I will fix later.

"And what's your name?"

"My name is None-Of-Your-Beeswax-And-You'd-Better-Scram-Or-I'll-Kick-Your-Ass."

...

"Well, I didn't ask to get made! I didn't ask to be torn apart and put back together over and over and turned into some...some little monster!"

...

"I'd be a little less scared if my bros were with me. We face every danger together, but this time I'm facing it alone."

"You're not really alone, kid. I mean, you got us. I know we ain't your family, but...you know."

...

"He didn't chase them away. Even though he yelled at them. And was always mean. And he stole batteries he didn't need."

"You're not getting rid of us that easily, dude, even though you're a grouchy, greedy trash panda."

...

"I'll, uh...I'll miss you."

...

"ROCKET!"

"YO, RACCOON DUDE!"

For the next several hours, well into the morning, Mikey and Gecko looked for the lost raccoon, searching in every alley and through every dumpster they could find. They asked some pedestrians if they had seen a raccoon with strange scars on its back, and one elderly woman confirmed that she saw one in Central Park begging for scraps under a bridge. But by the time they arrived there, he was already gone.

Mikey stood under the bridge and kicked an empty soda can in frustration. "Darn it!"

"I know, right?" Mondo picked up the can and tossed it into a recycling bin. "I hate it when people litter. Is it so hard to keep the planet clean?"

"No, Mondo," Mikey grumbled. "We lost him again."

"Oh, right," the gecko awkwardly scratched under his chin. "Well, at least you know he's still alive."

"But he's not right in the head!" the Turtle snapped. "We need to find him before someone hurts him or he hurts himself!"

"Yeah, but," Mondo yawned, "it's already half past five in the morning, and I'm getting really tired-"

"Then go home! But I'm not going back without Rocket. I'll sleep on a bench or in an alley if I have to."

Mondo looked at him surprised. "Whoa. This guy means a lot to you, huh?"

Mikey nodded, reflecting on the adventures he had with the raccoon and the other Guardians and their strong friendship. "More than you'll ever know, dude. I'll talk to you later." He started to walk away when Mondo called after him.

"Mikey!" the gecko ran to him. "Wait! I'm sorry, dude. I didn't realize how important this was to you. I-I mean..." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I'd do the same thing for the other Mutanimals." He grinned up at the Turtle. "So I won't stop until we find this raccoon dude."

Mikey smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, bro."

Suddenly both of their stomachs began to growl.

"Uh, can we at least stop for a quick bite?" Mondo asked.

"Sure," Mikey chuckled.

"EEEEK!"

"Kill it! Kill it!"

"Get it out of the kitchen!"

The door to the back of a restaurant was kicked open and the feral Rocket sprinted outside. A man with a broom chased after him with a broom until they reached a chain-link fence. The raccoon managed to climb over it and ran across the street into an alley.

"And don't let me catch you in our restaurant again!" the man angrily yelled.

Rocket rested for a bit and licked his injured paw. One of the men who worked in the restaurant accidentally stepped on him in the midst of the chaos. He then sniffed around for some scraps of food. When he couldn't find any, he stepped out of the other end of the alley and went down a sidewalk. He came across an electronics store that had the door wide open, and so he snuck inside and got past the clerk, who was reading a magazine at his desk.

There weren't any customers in the store, but his ears picked up music and he followed them to a display of TVs. They were all playing the classic music video for Electric Light Orchestra's "Mr. Blue Sky", and just as Rocket approached them, Jeff Lynn sang into the microphone.

Mr. Blue, you did it right

But soon comes Mr. Night creepin' over

Now his hand is on your shoulder

Never mind, I'll remember you this

I'll remember you this way

Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why

You had to hide away for so long (so long)

Where did we go wrong?

Hey there, Mr. Blue (sky)

We're so pleased to be with you (sky)

Look around, see what you do (blue)

Everybody smiles at you

As he listened to the song, something within the depths of his mind awakened and peeked through the darkness like a ray of sunshine, and without even realizing it, he was standing upright instead of on all fours.

As the video came to a close, a chorus sang offscreen as clouds floated away to reveal the blue sky. At that very moment, the clouds that kept his mind in the dark for two years lifted as well and the memories came flooding in all at once.

He remembered everything. Groot, Quill, Gamora, Drax, and Mikey. The daring escape from the Kyln. The fight at the bar on Knowhere. The Infinity Stone and Ronan. Groot's sacrifice. The war on Xandar. Stealing the batteries from the Sovereign. Yondu and his flying arrow. Fighting Ego. Meeting Thor. The Battle of Wakanda. The Snap.

Mikey reaching out to him in the alley.

"Rocket, it's me, Mikey."

The corners of his mouth slowly lifted into a smile and his eyes filled with tears.

He had been asleep for so long, but now he was wide awake.

The clerk finally noticed the raccoon standing in front of the TVs and grabbed a broom. He snuck up behind Rocket and prepared to swing, but then the animal turned around and looked up at him.

"Oh, hey," Rocket said casually. "How you doin'?"

The man froze and stared bug-eyed at the talking raccoon. There was a momentary pause before he fainted and dropped to the floor.

Rocket looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "Huh. Okay then."

"Nothing like starting the morning with a McGriddle, right Mike?" Mondo said to Mikey as they exited a McDonald's together with a bag of food and two drinks.

"Yep," Mikey agreed. "Their breakfast sandwiches are the best."

"I can't wait to sink my teeth into mine. I've got a mondo case of the munchies, heh heh."

They sat down on a bench under a tree and took their food out of the bag. Mondo immediately began to scarf down his sandwich and gulp down his coffee and Mikey was about to take a bite out of his when he sensed a presence nearby and froze. He looked around but didn't see anyone except a young couple who was passing by.

Mondo noticed Mikey acting strangely. "Whaf's wong?" he asked with his mouth full.

Just then a leaf fluttered down from the tree and landed on top of Mikey's head. As soon as it did, he grabbed Mondo and jumped off the bench...

...right before Fishface came down and stabbed his knife into the spot where the Turtle sat.

The aquatic mutant smiled evilly at the two. "I see you haven't lost your reflexes after all these years. Good." He pulled the knife out of the wood and twirled it. "I was hoping that you'd still be a challenge."

"Fishface!" Mikey gasped.

"Aw, c'mon, dude!" Mondo groaned. "You couldn't wait until after breakfast? It's not a fair fight if our stomachs are empty!"

A deep voice spoke up from behind them. "You should've learned by now..."

They both turned around to see Tiger Claw pointing his gun at them.

"...we never fight fair."

Mikey glared at the one-eyed assassin. "I thought we had a truce, TC?" he said sternly.

"Truces aren't meant to last forever, Turtle," Claw responded. "And I'll make sure that you never interfere with my work again." He began to fire his weapon at Mikey, who quickly ditched the coat and hat so he could move quicker.

Meanwhile, Mondo was left alone with Fishface and realized that he no weapon but the cup of coffee that he was still holding. "Uh...don't make me have to use this!" he threatened as he pointed to the drink.

Fishface laughed. "Aw, is the bebé going to throw his milk at me?" Then he leapt at the gecko with the knife, preparing to cut his throat.

Mondo yelped and held up his drink in self-defense. The blade sliced through the cup and the coffee came bursting out. Fishface shrieked as he felt the scalding liquid burn his whole face and dropped to his knees.

"Tried to warn ya, dude!" Mondo said with a shrug and lopsided grin.

Claw blocked another kick from Mikey and managed to land a punch on the Turtle's plastron. Mikey let out a gasp the moment the tiger's strong paw sent him flying backwards and he skidded across the pavement on his shell a bit, which inflicted even more pain.

The tiger advanced toward the Turtle when he suddenly felt something jump onto his head.

"I got him, Mike!" Mondo yelled as he started to painfully pull on Claw's whiskers.

Claw roared as he reached up and grabbed the gecko by the neck.

"Ack-!" Mondo's eyes bulged out as Claw choked him.

"You PEST!" the tiger yelled as he tossed him aside.

Mikey watched in horror as his friend collided with a public mailbox and dropped to the ground unconscious, his Jamacian wig and busted shades lying a few inches away. He turned back to Claw enraged. "HEY!" He pulled out his nunchucks and charged at the tiger. "You're gonna pay for that!"

He swung his chucks furiously at Claw, but the big cat was quick and he dodged and blocked every blow.

"You cannot defeat me on your own, Turtle," Claw chucked darkly. "Without your brothers, you are weak. Easy prey. Helpless."

Those words felt like punches to Mikey's heart and he was starting to lose his focus. "Shut up!" he shouted. "I can take you!"

But Claw continued to taunt him. "You know I speak the truth. You are nothing without your team."

Although he wanted to deny it, Mikey knew deep down that the tiger was right. His brothers weren't around to bail him out anymore. They could accomplish anything together, but on his own, he was limited. He tried his best on his own for the first year since the Snap, and it was all so overwhelming, like a huge burden had been placed on his shoulders and he could hardly lift it.

Claw's jab at his self-esteem and insecurities worked and in a moment of weakness, he let his guard down. The tiger took the opportunity to high kick the Turtle.

Mikey painfully landed on his shell and before he could even get up, Claw brought his foot down on his chest. The assassin pointed his gun at the Turtle's head and it lit up as he prepared to fire...

"HEY, PUSSYCAT!"

Claw's ear twitched when he heard an unfamiliar voice yell at him from behind and he turned around with a snarl. "Who would dare-?!"

Mikey lifted his head and to his surprise, Rocket stepped out of the shadows and was holding what appeared to be a portable boombox on his shoulder.

The raccoon glared at Claw. "Step away from the Turtle, and I might let you live."

"Ha ha! Rocket!" Mikey laughed as much as he could under Claw's foot, overjoyed to see his friend back to his old self.

Claw initially looked at Rocket puzzled, then he growled in annoyance and waved him off. "Go away, rodent. I have no time to play with you."

"RODENT?!" Rocket shouted furiously before he pushed a couple of buttons on the radio. The end of the device then opened up to reveal a blue spark inside that slowly grew as he turned the volume knob.

Claw's only eye widened and his ears flattened worriedly.

The raccoon punched the "PLAY" button and a large ball of blue electricity shot out of the radio. Before Claw could even react, it hit him right in the chest and he flew backwards straight into a brick wall. The tiger's eye twitched and his whole body was smoking as he slowly slipped to the ground.

Rocket smiled and nodded in satisfaction. "Worked better than I expected."

Mikey sat up and stared at the fallen Claw with a dropped jaw. "Dude! That was-!" He turned back to Rocket and saw Fishface standing behind him, his face covered in burn blisters from the coffee. With a malicious look in his yellow eyes, he raised his knife above the raccoon's head. The Turtle reached his hand out to his friend. "Rocket!"

But before Fishface could bring his knife down, Mondo appeared and pulled a large waste basket over his head. "What the-?!" He started to curse in Portuguese as he struggled to free himself and stumbled around. He soon tripped and rolled down the street, making everyone else laugh hysterically.

"Like I said earlier," Mondo wiped a tear from his eye, "garbage belongs in the trash can and not on the streets."

"Got that right, Mondo," Mikey chuckled as he stood up. He approached Rocket and smiled down at him. "I can't believe you made a weapon out of a boombox, dude."

Rocket shrugged. "Eh, it wasn't too hard, and it only took about fifteen minutes." He raised an eyebrow and grinned at the Turtle. "But are you really that surprised?"

Mikey shook his head, still smiling. "Nope."

The grin on Rocket's face dropped and he lowered his head in shame. "Listen, uh...I'm sorry that I, uh, you know...disappeared on ya."

Mikey frowned as well and knelt down in front of Rocket. "I was so worried about you, bro. Why'd you run off like that?"

The raccoon's chest rose as he took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "I dunno." He lifted his head and looked up at the pink morning sky. "Out there I was someboby important. I had a purpose. But down here, well...I guess I felt like a nobody without the Guardians."

The Turtle looked at him sadly and knew exactly how he felt.

"And after the way this city treated me," Rocket continued, "the way they all looked at me like I was some worthless rodent, I figured, 'Why should I be anything else if that's all they'll ever see?' So yeah, I went crazy and forgot who I was." He chuckled weakly as he scratched his head. "Yeah, I know, it's stupid."

"No," Mikey softly said. "It's not stupid. Rocket, I'm lost without my brothers. I'm not as strong as you think. And after you left...well, I kinda lost it, too."

"'Kinda'?" Mondo snorted. "Mike, you made Wilsons out of every item in the lair. You didn't just go crazy; you went Tom Hanks crazy."

Mikey looked at the gecko unamused. "Gee, thanks, Mondo." He turned back to Rocket and gave him a sad smile. "Rocket, I don't stand a chance on my own, and the same goes for you. But if we stick together, we just might make it."

Rocket smiled warmly at Mikey and gently touched his arm. "Not 'might'. We will make it. Thanks for not giving up on me, kid."

The Turtle nodded and picked up the raccoon in a hug. But after smelling the smaller animal's filthy fur, he quickly put him back down. "Aw, dude!" he groaned as he covered his beak. "You reek! You smell worse than my socks!"

"Huh?" Mondo looked at Mikey confused. "Socks? You don't even wear shoes...do you?"

"Well, what did you expect?!" Rocket snapped. "I haven't had a bath in two years! What, you thought I would smell like flowers?" He then spotted the McDonald's bag on the bench. "Oh, sweet, McDonald's. I'm starving." He jumped onto the bench and looked inside the bag. "Ooh, is that a McGriddle?" He looked over at Mikey. "You wouldn't mind if I...?"

"Knock yourself out, dude," Mikey said with a grin. Then he realized something. "Wait...you know what a McGriddle is?"

"Mike, I've been living off garbage," Rocket said as he took the sandwich out of the bag. "I know all the things that you Terrans eat. And let me tell you, some of it is really disgusting, and people call me an animal."