Disclaimer: TMNT belongs to Nick/Eastman/Laird. Any Original Characters you notice (like Nia Anders) belong to me. I'm in no way making any money. Thanks.

Epilogue

Under the cover of a cloudy November night, Leonardo gripped the marginal scutes of Michelangelo's shell beneath his wool jacket. He did this to gruffly return the youngest Hamato to a spot behind a large gravestone. The blue-masked Jonin shook his head at the mild glare he received then grabbed his brother's sleeve when he began peeking around the gravestone's side again.

"Mikey, you're going to get us caught," Leo hissed behind his scarf.

"But, Leo, those are—"

"I know who they are. I've met them too. But I—"

"Don't want them to know we were involved?"

The eldest sighed then placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "We came here for our final closure. Getting involved with them would only stir things up. Besides—"

"Didn't ya say the chick named Jezebel freaked ya out?" Raphael teased. Dressed in his own fall attire, the hothead leaned against a second tall gravestone towards Leo and Mikey's left and flashed a smirk at his little brother.

"She did," answered Michelangelo, sour. "It's just …now that we know for sure they're the daughters of Ellen Summers I…"

"Want to apologize," Donatello finished beside Raph. His voice could barely be heard because of the many layers over his head, which revealed only his chocolate brown eyes.

"Yeah," the youngest added after a moment.

"Believe me, Mikey," Leonardo said, "it's better this way."

Thus the group of four fell silent in wait of their opportunity. Soon, the two females who were quietly chatting to a pair of less than impressive gravestones stood from their grassy seats and followed the path littered with dead leaves out of Montefiore Cemetery. Leonardo noticed the tinge of guilt in Michelangelo's eyes as he watched the duo leave hand-in-hand. It was the same guilt he felt inside his chest.

'No more guilt,' the Jonin thought with a thorough shake of his head. 'Today, I cleanse myself of that. We all will.'

"Donny, if you please?" he whispered.

The purple-masked Chūnin nodded then dug into the deep pockets of his jacket to produce a pair of shuriken. Without delay he sent them sailing from behind the large gravestone towards the lamppost that illuminated the hill of graves in a dingy shade of yellow. A subtle crackle followed the sound of shattering glass before darkness coated the area in a thick blanket.

Leo would admit that he felt a little uneasy about destroying public property, but his brother's absolute concealment amongst the open field of the cemetery required some sacrifices. He nodded his thanks to Don before motioning for the three brothers to follow him. And they formed a line at two rounded headstones. The engraved names were barely detectable, though Leonardo knew for sure what they said.

Here lies Ellen Summers. January 17, 1963 – July 20, 2011. Dutiful mother. Valued friend. Forever will be missed.

Here lies David Summers. May 16, 2002 – July 20, 2011. Cherished brother. Taken from us far too soon. Forever will be missed.

These very words had been engraved in Leonardo's mind for months. He knew the same was true for his brothers as well. Michelangelo used to spend many days—Fridays mostly—staring at these markers that haunted Raphael's dreams. Leo didn't wish to forget the humans. Rather, he sought to lock their memory away safely were they could no longer hurt, where they could no longer drive the Jonin mad.

"I'm sorry," whispered Leo, shaky. He could say no more.

"I like to believe you can forgive us," Don added gently. "We really did all that we could…"

"Even though it may not've seemed it," grumbled Raph, "we did."

"And we're freeing ourselves of the grueling responsibility we were never meant to take on because everyone's suffered enough," Mikey concluded in a light tone.

Leonardo bowed in a Japanese manner, a stoic expression on his face. He sensed his brothers do likewise, and after a long moment he straightened his body.

"Alright," he said. "Let's go home."

"Ew, why?" questioned Michelangelo as he jumped to wrap an arm around Raphael's broad shoulders. "So we can watch lover boy here make goo-goo eyes at my best friend like he's been doing for the last three days?"

Leo shook his head at the backslap Raph graced his younger brother with. The wrestling match that soon took place was expected, and the Jonin could only smile at the sight of Donatello mildly scolding the duo to be less rowdy.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Hamato brothers had found balance.

"All your ties were cut cleanly then?" a smooth, female voice questioned. It didn't echo off the confines of such a small office, yet it held an eerie weight all the same.

Annabelle sent an easy smirk to the severe woman seated behind a shaded desk. "Naturally. Didn't I say I was capable? It took months, but I got what you wanted. Thanks to big-mouth Murphy. And Doctor Gaertner."

Annabelle paused, her smirk failing because of vivid memories of constant work. "I swear, though, I was about to lose my mind with how adamantly Bishop pushed Patrick and I to find this one rouge member, a Marco Rizzo. Apparently he stole something important from South America. I don't get what could be so important as to require—"

"I don't care, Miss Lombardo," the prim lady snapped. She shifted her perfect posture and sighed. "What matters is that you've earned your right to enter the Black Lotus Organization. With the files stolen from Bishop, we can finally push through the infection part of our experiments. Cures will soon be around the corner." Though her face was obscured by the casted shadows of two tall, stocky bodyguards dressed in full-length cloaks, Annabelle knew her new comrade was smiling. "We'll prove how much must be scarified for the betterment of all. And our benefactors can stop returning their merchandise for repair."

"Yes," the carrot-top cooed. "The next batch of cyborgs will be perfect. I'll see to it personally."

Author's Notes: Gotta love them cliffhanger ends, eh? Don't worry, "Hollow Hearts" is out by now. Anyhow. I'd like to give out a warm shout to all who read, favorited, and reviewed. Duckie and Feather, especially. YOU 'CHICKS' ROCK!