Epilogue-A Heart's Resolve

7 days later…

It was morning in the turtles' lair, and Donnie was walking towards his little brother's room carrying a tray that had two empty bowls, a box of cereal, a carton of milk, a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice on top of it, meaning that it was breakfast time. Close behind him were his two older brothers, who also wanted to go and see their baby brother, and they were carrying their own breakfasts with them.

"This isn't a picnic, guys, it's just breakfast…" Donnie said sarcastically when he noticed that his brothers had brought their breakfasts with them.

"Says da turtle who is carryin' a breakfast tray with two bowls and different drinks…" Raph countered back with a smirk and a mocking glare.

"Good point…" Donnie said sheepishly.

"Come on, you two; we've all thought of the same thing about joining Mikey for breakfast today. After all; he's been on bed-rest and has eaten breakfast on his own for the past week, so he could do with some company today," Leo pointed out to his younger brothers in a firm but soft tone.

"Yeah, ya right…" Raph said as he remembered the memories of this past week like they were yesterday.

Since their successful mission to save Mikey was completed and Mikey was put on bed-rest to recover from a high fever and exhaustion, the older turtle brothers only saw him when they needed to check on his health and progress on his recovery. After a couple of days went by, Mikey no longer needed the oxygen tank and his fever slightly dropped in temperature which made it easier for him to eat light liquid meals without the risk of throwing it back up. Three days after that, Donnie witnessed Mikey sitting himself up without any assistance when he went over to check on him, making him smile towards his baby brother and telling him and the others, who had come in to check on them both, that Mikey was one step closer to becoming 100% well again.

"Well, I know that he'll definitely feel happier once he finds out that we'll be eating breakfast together this time. Come on, we can't keep him waiting any longer!" Donnie said with a hint of excitement in his voice before he and his older brothers carried on walking towards his brother's room.

When they approached the door and opened it, Donnie and his brothers smiled when they saw what was in front of them; Mikey was awake and sitting up in his bed, reading his new comic book which he was finally able to do since he didn't get the chance to do so over a week ago after the incident happened. He then looked up from his comic after he sensed a presence enter his room and when he saw his brothers walking towards his bed, he smiled.

"Heya, bros!" Mikey said happily.

"Morning, Mikey…Got you some breakfast!" Donnie replied first with a warm smile as he walked over to the bedside table and put the tray down to prepare his and Mikey's breakfast.

"Thanks, Donnie, I was starting to feel hungry…" Mikey said as he closed his comic and put it to one side to prevent it from getting ruined during breakfast.

"Good morning, Mikey…How are you feeling?" Leo then said as he and Raph sat on the chairs next to Mikey's bed.

"I'm feeling a lot better; I don't feel as hot and achy as I was before now…" Mikey answered with a smile before he felt Donnie's hand being placed onto his forehead.

"Hmm, he's right…His fever is almost gone! Hopefully, by tonight or tomorrow, it should break altogether," Donnie confirmed his diagnosis with relief in his voice, causing his older brothers to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Well, thank shell fa dat! Now we can eat our breakfast together without anythin' ta worry about!" Raph cheered with a smirk before he started eating his breakfast.

"Really? You're going to eat your breakfast in here with me!?" Mikey questioned as he looked at his brothers with a surprised look when he heard Raph's last sentence.

"Of course we are, little brother…We've hardly spent any time together during your recovery since you were mostly asleep every day for the past week, so we thought that we should make it up to you by having breakfast together today…" Donne answered with a warm smile before he handed Mikey his bowl of cereal, and then sat on a chair to start eating his own.

"I-I…Thanks, guys…!" Mikey said gratefully with a loss for words before he made a start on eating his cereal.

"Your welcome, Mikey…" Leo replied before he too started to eat his own breakfast.

15 minutes later…

The turtles finished eating their breakfasts and placed all their cutlery, bowls and cups onto the tray to be taken back to the kitchen later. First, though, the older turtle brothers decided that they would take this chance with their time together with Mikey to talk to him about their actions on that fateful night.

"Hey, Mikey…About what happened that night several days ago, we're-" Leo began to talk but was suddenly cut off by Mikey who looked as if he knew what Leo was about to say despite the sadness in his eyes.

"Leo, wait…If anyone's going to apologise about what happened that night, it's going to be me…cos if I hadn't have eavesdropped on you guys and gone into Cyberspace alone, I wouldn't have gotten myself badly injured and almost killed by the Shredder…I'll admit that I was scared and nervous when I first went into Cyberspace alone, but when I thought about dad and how much he needed me, I knew that I had to put those feelings aside and carry on with what I needed to do…because I just couldn't face the fact of letting him or you guys down again like I did many times before…Then again, you all had every right to say what you said about me being hardly there for any of you over the years so it's kinda what I deserved as punishment for being so useless…so, for that, I'm really sorry…"

By the time he finished his sentence, Mikey began to get tearful and tried but failed to stop his tears from falling, whilst his brothers looked on in shock with wide eyes after what they just heard from their baby brother.

"Oh, Mikey…" Leo spoke up first after he snapped himself out of his shock before he gently held one of his baby brother's hands to comfort him as he continued speaking. "Nobody, including you, deserves to be punished in such a horrible way…and we were the ones in the wrong because you're not useless and you have helped us out more than once before over the years…"

"B-But who else is there to blame for our past failures besides me? M-Master Splinter wouldn't be scattered in Cyberspace if I hadn't have caused us to be transported to a world with more than one Shredder in it…I-It just proved that as soon as I try to help everyone, I just make things worse!" Mikey countered back in denial.

"Dat's not true, bro! It was dat cyber freak Viral who caused all dis, not you…" Raph said firmly as he placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"That's right; I've also realised that it wasn't my fault either for what happened to father, so don't be so hard on yourself, Mikey…" Donnie said in agreement as he gently wiped a tear from Mikey's face.

Mikey sniffled and looked at his brothers for a second before he looked down again with confusion now starting to build up in his mind, so he tried to speak up again.

"I-I…I don't understand…"

"What is it, Mikey?" Leo questioned as he stroked his baby brother's hand with his thumb as he sensed a nervous and sorrowful vibe coming from him.

"I-I'm…no longer part of the team anymore…so why are you all here with me when you could be saving dad or fighting bad guys up topside by now?" Mikey answered shakily with more tears falling from his eyes.

"Hey, who says dat ya not part of the - Oh, shell…dat…" Raph said before he remembered what he, Donnie and Leo agreed on during their talk about Mikey seven days ago.

"Mikey, you are still part of the team…We realised our mistake as soon as we found out that you overheard everything that we said back then…" Donnie said firmly but softly. However, Mikey just carried on talking as if he didn't hear what his brothers said.

"I-I'm also…not your best friend or Raph's brother anymore, but that's ok cos…I would have said the same thing if I was in your position…"

Donnie and Raph's eyes widened even more; they knew what Mikey meant since they remembered exactly what they said about their feelings towards Mikey's actions and role in the team. Then, they heard Mikey sniffle and they both looked at him as he covered his eyes when they started to produce more tears, meaning that deep down he was still feeling heartbroken from hearing his own older brothers say that they didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

Donnie got up from his chair and sat onto the edge of Mikey's bed before engulfing his baby brother into a tight but gentle hug.

"Shhh…Oh, Mikey, I'm so sorry…I was so desperate to get our father back home that I let my exhaustion and frustration get the better of me on how I really felt and, instead of taking a break as you suggested, I took all those emotions as well as the blame out and onto you…We'll always be best friends, little brother…" Donnie said softly as he slowly rocked his baby brother back and forth.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry too, bro…, Ya may be annoying and a pain in da shell at times, but we still love ya and can't live without ya…" Raph said in agreement as he softly rubbed his baby brother's head after Donnie stopped rocking him.

A moment later, Mikey was released slightly from the hug by Donnie as soon as he started to calm down with only the sounds of sniffles and hiccups that could be heard, and he looked up at Donnie and Raph with watery eyes before Leo stepped forward, knelt down to Mikey's level and held his hand again as he spoke.

"I, too, want to apologise to you, Mikey…I never should have left you alone with all those negative words embedded in your mind…Even though I understood and agreed on some of the points made by Raph and Donnie about your actions and role in this family, I allowed you to enter Cyberspace and face the enemy alone in order to prove us wrong…Please, forgive me…"

Mikey looked at Leo with wide eyes for a moment before he developed a small smile and nodded slightly before he spoke.

"I-It's alright, Leo; you're our leader and you were stuck in the middle of the discussion. I shouldn't have eavesdropped on you guys and gone into Cyberspace alone in the first place, so I should be one asking for forgiveness, not you…"

"It's still no excuse for me to allow this to happen to you, Mikey, and it was wrong of us to talk about you negatively behind your back, whether you eavesdropped on us or not...We made you feel like you're nothing to us and that led you to get hurt whilst trying to prove us wrong, so don't shoulder our blame on yourself, little brother…ok?" Leo countered back firmly but softly as he stroked Mikey's hand with his thumb.

"Ok…" Mikey said with a sigh before he continued speaking. "Erm…I-If it's ok with you guys, I want to promise something to you…"

"What?" "A promise?" "To us?" His brothers said at the same time with confused looks on their faces.

"Y-Yeah, I…" Mikey started before he paused and took a deep breath and resumed talking. "I promise you that…I will try my best to be there for you all when you need me the most, and I'll try to be less immature and more proper as a ninja during training and missions…I don't want to make any more stupid mistakes that could potentially put our lives at risk or cause our plans to go downhill…so I'm going to work harder to make sure that it won't happen again…!"

Leo, Raph and Donnie were left gobsmacked after hearing Mikey's promise to them; their own baby brother was preparing to sacrifice his fun-loving spirit and comical nature in order to benefit their needs as a team, which instantly caused the feelings of guilt and regret to build in their hearts and minds since it was their fault for making such a selfish wish just to suit themselves.

The three older brothers looked at each other before they turned to look at Mikey again, with Leo speaking first in a serious but soft tone.

"Mikey, do you really believe that making a promise like that to us will make things better for all of us?"

This caused Mikey to gasp quietly and look at his blue-banded brother with wide eyes before he looked down slightly in thought. "W-Well, I…erm…"

"Listen, little brother, I know you mean well when you told us your promise, but you can't make a promise that will only benefit me, Leo and Raph…It's just not how it works…" Donnie pointed out as he placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"Yeah, it's like ya willing ta change who ya really are in order ta make us happy…dat ain't gonna happen, bro!" Raph said firmly but softly in agreement with his purple-banded brother.

Mikey looked up at his brothers in disbelief before he spoke. "B-But it's for the good of the team if I were more serious and mature like you guys, cos it'll help get Master Splinter back home faster…"

Leo shook his head slowly with a sad smile before he spoke. "Mikey, there's really nothing wrong with who you are now. It's natural to make mistakes because it's a part of learning how to improve yourself in life, and I'm sure that Master Splinter wouldn't want you to change into someone you're not just because you don't take things as seriously as we do. Besides, if you changed because of what we said days ago, we would lose the light of our family…"

"W-What…?" Mikey said with confusion showing on his face.

"Leo's right, Mikey; you're the ninja and brother who would try to make everyone laugh with your jokes and comical moves, as well as making them feel positive when things get tough. Also, you always make sure that we are all eating well by cooking amazing meals for us and spending time together as a family by dragging us away from our busy lifestyles to watch movies and play video games. If we lost your fun-loving and carefree spirit, Mikey, we would be moving around in the darkness and be driven insane due to the lack of fun in the lair. In fact, you said yourself back in Cyberspace that a light-filled heart is essential for making a good team…" Donnie pointed out in agreement with his blue-banded brother's words.

"R-Really?" Mikey questioned whilst in shock after what he just heard from his purple-banded brother.

"Yeah, so instead of you makin' us a promise like dat, we want you ta promise somethin' for us!" Raph said with Leo and Donnie nodding in support of Raph's words.

"O-Ok, what is it?" Mikey asked shakily as he wiped any stray tears from his face.

"Promise us that you will never ever go into Cyberspace to tackle a mission on your own without us again, and to come and talk to us whenever you're feeling down because we're your older brothers and we will always be there to listen to you, little brother…ok?" Leo said in a serious but caring tone.

Mikey looked down for a moment to allow what Leo had just said to fully process into his mind before he lifted his head back up to look at his brothers with a small smile.

"Yeah, I promise…" He said softly before he was engulfed in a brotherly hug by his older brothers.

"We love you, Mikey…" They said before they felt Mikey snuggle closer into the hug and said,

"I love you too, bros…Let's save dad together!"

"Yeah!" His brothers cheered as they broke away from the hug and gave Mikey a noogie on the head and a pat on the shoulders.

Now that he was on the mend and his older brothers showed a better appreciation for their baby brother, Mikey can now breathe easy knowing that, no matter what is being thrown at them, their team and family will always remain strong and will succeed in saving their father and sensei from Cyberspace a lot sooner than they think, now that their heart of light is whole again and shining brighter than ever.

The End.