HERE WE ARE; THE END OF THIS STORY. BELIEVE ME, IT'S BEEN FUN, BUT ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END. THIS IS NO DIFFERENT. HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY, AS USUAL! YOU MAY RECOGNIZE A LARGE PORTION OF THE NARRATION; THAT'S JODIE'S MUSINGS IN-GAME AFTER SHE DESTROYS THE BLACK SUN. I USED IT, JUST TWEAKING A FEW WORDS, BECAUSE IT WAS A LARGE PART OF JODIE'S DECISION ON WHO TO BE WITH, THOUGH BY NOW IT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS WHO SHE PICKS. ENJOY! AND SORRY FOR THE PoV SHIFTS. NEEDED FOR THE STORY.

GOD BLESS AND GOOD DAY!

~THE LUPINE SOJOURNER

(Jodie's Point of View)

I'd chosen life. It had been the only obvious choice. I knew I couldn't just give up; I had a promise- -lots of them- -still unfulfilled. I needed to fulfill them before I could even begin to think about death and what happens afterward.

The only hitch in that get-along was Aiden- -the lack thereof, to be specific.

Ever since the Black Sun was destroyed, my memory has been disintegrating. I spent too much time on the Other Side. Now it's eating away at my mind. Erasing what's left of it. My memories are all confused and slowly self-destructing. Like when you wake up and the dream fades. I'm losing my sense of time. I no longer know what happened Before or After. Everything's jumbled, playing in my head all at the same time, like a film on loop. A chaos of images and memories with no order, so I've been writing night and day for weeks. I'm trying to put my life down on paper, before it all fades away. If I forget everything- -and I think I will- -these pages will be my memory.

The radio tells me it's been three months, but it seems so much longer and far too short all at once.

Also, the CIA is leaving me alone for the moment. Finally. I suppose they're too busy building yet another condensor to worry about me. While I can say it isn't a pleasant thought, I know they'll never abandon their experiments, now that they know what's on the Other Side. And, honestly, I no longer give a damn about it. For now, I need to focus on reconstructing my life, the one I'd built for myself. The hardest part is that it's a life without Aiden. For as long as I can remember...I've dreamt of living without him, without his constant presence by my side, but now that it's happened...I've never been so unhappy in my whole life. It feels like a part of me has been amputated, lost forever.

I cry all day sometimes- -most times. I know it's stupid, but...frick. I miss him so much.

It took months before I could really function and live again. Months of nothing passing by. Then...it's like I woke up. And I knew it was time; time to start again. To build a new life.

It was so obvious where I would go. Out of all the options (Jay, Ryan, Zoey, Mikey, or being alone)...deep inside I always knew where I'd go, who I'd choose. All I needed was the silence around me to hear and understand what I was feeling.

"Mikey..." I whisper to myself, as if to answer someone's question. "I choose Mikey."

I told Ryan I couldn't see my future with him. We'd seen to many difficult times together. He said he understood, that he'd wait as long as it takes, but...I never plan on seeing him again. Although I'd once felt something for him, it faded away, unable to weather what we'd been through.

So, I started up the motorcycle and headed to the one place I knew I belonged; the Lair, New York City. I didn't announce my return. It was too...momentous for that, somehow. So there I was, miraculously remembering the way to the Lair through the maze of sewage tunnels toward home.

=#=#=#=#=

(Asami's Point of View)

Almost four months. That's how long my baby brother has been...broken. He simply hasn't been himself since Jodie left. We all left her absence, in some ways more potently than we had her presence. Maybe that's why he's so upset; he didn't know what he had til it was gone. And...with what I saw on the news...I wonder if she's even still alive.

It said something about condensors and a huge accident involving a very big one. Over 200 people had died. Was Jodie one of them? She'd mentioned condensors before, but...I shake myself and prod my little brother gently.

"Hey, Mikey...I made pizza." I coax. He sits in the tire swing, fingering a comic book without taking a single word in.

"...Maybe later." He mumbles, kicking lightly against the side of the pool to start swinging again. I sit down and sigh as I prop myself up with my hands behind me. He'd talk when he was ready. I'd wait as long as it takes. "...Four months, Asami." He mumbles. "Four months and not one word. She's just...gone." He has tears in his eyes and it pains me to see him this way. Nothing I've tried (the others, as well) has helped. For the first month, he was confused. After two, he was angry. Three, all but mute and prone to mood swings. But this...lethargic depression...was more than I could bear. He was normally so happy and carefree, facing life with upturned head and a winning cheeky grin. I hated this new subdued version of the turtle I once knew. "Was it me? Did...did I do something wrong?" He asks, tears now flowing freely. He doesn't resist when I gently pull him into an embrace.

"Oh, Mikey. If Jodie thinks you did something worthy of running away like that...she doesn't deserve your affection." He squeezes me.

"She was just visiting her mom! There and back! A week, that's what it should have taken, right?" He asks in a voice barely above a whimper. I shush and gently rock him like I did when he had nightmares. But this was much worse; this was heartbreak, pure and simple. In the distance, I thought I heard someone approach. April would be around sometime soon with groceries.

"I know." Is all I can say.

"Then what's taking so long?!" He all but screams, sobbing and soaking more tears into my catsuit. I grimace; how did one deal with this...this heartbreak?

"That...is a very complicated story." Jodie's voice replies hesitantly from the doorway, forcing her way through the turnstiles even as we whirl and face her. She has a backpack and leans now against the ticket booth. I can only stand there in shock. Mikey, on the other hand, starts laughing hysterically.

"Guys! Guy, guys, guys!" He screams, running forward to hug Jodie tightly to him, suddenly back to his old self, and maybe even happier. "Jodie's back!" He adds and they come running. I start laughing, as well. How was this possible? I guess Jodie hadn't been a victim of the condensor tragedy, like I'd feared. Then, to everyone's shock, the couple are suddenly kissing?! What in the world?!

"Wait...you two are...what?!" Lupa squeaks. She's laughing, though, so I know she's okay with it.

"Hey! What the heck?! You can't just...do that!" Raph adds, stomping forward as Leo shakes his head.

"Who would've thought it?" Is all he says. Mikey and Jodie break apart as Lupa and Don hold Raph back.

"Deal with it, Raph." Mikey retorts cheekily, arm around Jodie's waist.

"A human and a turtle...who knew?" Donnie muses wryly, shaking his head.

"I did." Jodie replies, sticking her tongue at us. I laugh, crossing my arms, becoming serious all of a sudden.

"Well, alright then. Now that that's out of the way, let's grab pizza and you can tell us why in the Jigoku (hell) it took so long for you to get back here." She sighs.

"Yeah...I definitely owe you all an explanation." I nod.

"Darn straight you do." I reply, suddenly quite testy with the newly returned friend.

=#=#=#=#=

Turns out...she hadn't just been twiddling her thumbs. The CIA caught up to her and forced her to help them with their condensor, which I found out is a gateway to the Infraworld. And this one was the world's largest condensor. How on Earth they thought it was a good idea after what Jodie told me about the first one...I have no idea.

We're all human, after all (more or less) and everyone makes mistakes, but still...that was an insane idea! Throughout the whole narrative, Mikey had been silent and watching Jodie's every move like it was her last.

"I heard about some tragedy involving a condensor, but...I never guess how or even that you were involved." I tell her. Now that all of my questions had been answered...I found I couldn't quite stay mad at her.

I'd thought all along that Jodie had used her real mother as an excuse to get away from us, and that had made me madder than I'd ever been for a while, before succumbing to the sense of hopelessness at facing a depressed Mikey everyday. But now that I knew what she'd been through, I know the truth; she'd always meant to return. It was not her fault that she was waylaid getting back to us. She had just meant to be away a few days before coming back and starting her new life with us. I can't help but feel sad for her. I even empathize with her situation; if it hadn't been for that Kraang bumping into dad all those years ago...who knew how my life would have gone. I would probably be feeding my four pet turtles and petting my wolf-huskey. They wouldn't be the amazing family I'd gained because of that one fateful night.

And no matter how crazy my life had gotten, I would never trade it for the world.