Okay, so here we are, the last chapter of "Mourning"…Been so anxious to get to this particular chapter...
Also, if you haven't read my stories "Guilt and Forgiveness", "The Cherry Blossom Tree", and "Malfunction", then please take the time to do so. Those side stories will help explain some things in "Mourning", like Raph and Mikey's spiritual connection and the "bug" in the training simulation that Donnie will mention in this chapter.
Donatello leaned back in his office chair and took a sip out of his coffee cup. "Chet?"
The computer's voice echoed in the lab, Yes, Donatello?
"Do I have any new messages?"
Checking. Yes, You Have 1 Message.
"Let me hear it."
Beep.
"Donnie? It's me, April."
Donnie's eyes widened at the sound of April's voice. How'd she get this number?
"Listen, I...I know that you're really busy..."
He heard her let out a shaky sigh. Was she crying?
"...but...but Splinter died last night. He had a heart attack."
"...What?" He nearly dropped his coffee cup in shock.
"The funeral's today. We're holding it in the lair. Karai's going to take his ashes to Japan tomorrow morning. Please try to come, Donnie. If you're on a tight schedule, then just stay for five minutes. Five minutes. That's all I'm asking. Okay? Bye."
End Of Message.
Donnie let out a sigh of disbelief and rested his forehead on his hands. He thought he'd be prepared for this day. People die, after all. Nobody lives forever. Master Splinter said it himself thirty years ago: "You cannot expect anything to last forever...even...family."
So why did it hurt so much?
"He loved you like a son."
"The 'love' he had for me or any of his sons was merely a result of the hormone Oxytocin. It's just a chemical reaction."
Yeah, that's all it ever was. A chemical reaction. Besides, even if he wanted to attend the funeral, he couldn't due to his schedule. He was a very busy Turtle, and time was money.
"I'm worried about you, Donnie. All you've been doing lately is work, work, and more work."
Donnie winced as he remembered Mi...the bug that he experienced in the training simulation.
"We have to make things right again. You guys need to go see Master Splinter and forgive him before it's too late."
The clock that was hanging on the wall continued to tick, the only sound that could be heard in the lab.
It's already too late, Donnie thought to himself. So why even bother coming?
"Thanks for coming, Shadow," Karai softly said as the teenager hung her coat on a nearby rack.
"No problem," Shadow smiled sadly at her. Her heart broke for the former kunoichi. After all, she couldn't imagine losing her own dad to a heart attack. In her hands was a bouquet of white roses, and she presented them to Karai. "These are for...for your Dad."
"Oh, thank you, sweetie," Karai said. "You can put it with the other flowers in the dojo."
As Shadow walked out of the living room, she passed by the couch and saw her parents sitting on the couch with Raphael, who was looking down at the floor in sadness. April soothing rubbed his shell but didn't say a word. Casey noticed his daughter walking by and greeted her with a half smile and a nod.
When she walked into the dojo, the first thing she saw was a porcelain cremation urn standing on a small table in front of the tree, along with several photos of Splinter and his family. On the urn was a beautiful Japanese painting of a dragon, sakura tree, and even small turtles swimming in a pond. Sympathy wreaths and bouquets surrounded the table. Shadow knelt down and placed her own bouquet next to the others.
She stood back up and looked at a photo of the late Master ninja before he mutated. He was standing next to a beautiful woman who was holding a baby, obviously Karai, in her arms. Based on what her mother told her, Hamato Yoshi was a brave, honorable man who had always placed others before himself and was not afraid to defend the helpless and weak. He also loved his family more than anything in the world, and it absolutely crushed his soul to have been forced to sacrifice one of his children.
Shadow picked up a photo of the late Michelangleo, who was posing in front of the mutant rat and had a goofy look on his face. She giggled at the way he stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes. She heard many stories about Mikey from her parents. He was the funny one of the group as well as the most optimistic, and he had this gift of seeing the good in everyone and lifting their spirits. Of the four brothers, he had the biggest heart, and it sadly stopped beating at such a young age. It saddened her to think that such a kind-hearted person had to die the way he did. In front of his family, for that matter.
No wonder this family is so screwed up, she thought to herself.
He poured another shot of Karai's Japanese wine and gulped it down. He couldn't remember the last time he had a drink, but, boy, he sure needed it now. He reached up to touch the two scars across his right eye and beak. The Jones' old friend, Harold Lillja, said that though his shell would naturally heal on its own, the scars were there to stay forever. On the table next to the bottle of wine was his black mask, ripped in half from his battle with the Shredder.
Upon hearing heavy footsteps approach the kitchen, Leo turned his head to find Chompy peeking his head in and staring at him. The drunken Turtle merely scowled at him. "What are you looking at?" He threw the small glass at the giant space turtle but missed by a few feet. The glass shattered on the floor and Chompy ran off whimpering.
Raph heard the commotion and saw his pet scrambling away from the kitchen. "Oh, now what?" he mumbled.
"Leo's in there, right?" Casey asked. "How's he holding up?"
"He's doing better thanks to Harold," April somberly said. "But due to the crack in his shell, he won't be doing any more...crime fighting for a couple of months."
"That's not what I meant, honey."
"I know," April lowered her eyes. "He's taking Splinter's death very hard."
"That's not it," Raph quietly said, earning confused looks from Casey and April. "He's more upset about losing to the Shredder than he is about Father's passing."
April gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Raph, I don't think that's..."
"He's the Serpent. He's supposed to be unbeatable, yet the Shredder kicked his shell right in front of all those kids. It's the biggest slap in the face for him."
"Then you should go talk to him. He needs you right now."
His gut was telling him not to go into the kitchen and interfere with Leo's moping, but...
Leo was too wasted to even notice his brother walking into the kitchen and poured wine into another glass.
"Leo?"
Said Turtle visibly flinched at the familiar voice then closed his eyes. "Leave me alone," he bitterly said without turning to face Raph.
Raph stared at the large bandages wrapped around his shell, covering the ugly crack. "So, um," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he slowly approached his brother. "How-how are you feeling?"
Leo didn't respond and gulped down his wine before pouring another shot.
"Whoa, take it easy there, chief," Raph said. "Don't you think you've had enough drinks?"
"Don't tell me what to do, Raph," Leo snapped, glancing back at Raph coldly.
Raph held his hands out defensively. "Hey, I'm just trying to help."
"Well, you've helped quite enough, thank you."
Raph's eye widened before he narrowed it in anger. "Don't pin this on me, Leo."
Leo chuckled bitterly. "Well, it is your fault. If you weren't so insistent on sparing their lives..."
"It's wrong to kill people, even if they are the Foot."
"The Foot killed Mikey. Have you forgotten about that? Or do you even care at all?" Leo's voice was full of hurt and resentment. "'Cause it seems to me that you care more about them than you do me."
"What are you...?"
"You left me to face the Shredder alone. Just so you can save that Foot ninja's life."
Raph had had enough. He didn't care whether this was Leo talking or the alcohol. "Okay, now you're just being a big baby," he growled. "So you lost to the Shredder. Big deal, get over it. It's not the first time you..."
"I DIDN'T JUST LOSE!" Leo screamed and banged his fist on the table, startling Raph. He pointed to the scars on his face. "I WAS HUMILIATED!"
Raph said nothing and continued to stare at his brother in shock. The vigilante breathed heavily and his entire body trembled with rage. His blue eyes were now tiny shaky dots. It was completely silent in the kitchen, though they could hear murmurs in the living room and then the sound of someone running into the kitchen.
April appeared and grabbed Raph by the arm, gently pulling him away. "Uh, Raph, your friend Ronny is here," she said with a forced smile. "Why don't...why don't you introduce him to the others and show him around?"
Raph didn't take his eye off Leo as he was being pulled out of the kitchen. Leo merely tuned his shell to him and gulped down his wine.
"Hey, Raph!" Ronny waved at his reptilian friend with one hand while holding a tin foil pan full of food in the other.
"Yo, Ronny!" Raph smiled and waved back. "Thanks for coming. So what's in the pan?"
"Chicken enchiladas," Ronny lifted the lid to reveal the pans contents.
"Did you say, 'enchiladas'?" Shadow ran up to the cook and looked in the pan. "Awesome! I love enchiladas!"
"Where's your kitchen?" the Hispanic cook asked Raph. "I can set it on your table and..."
"That's okay," Karai quickly took the pan from him. "I'll take it to the kitchen, myself. You're a guest here, after all. In the meantime, what would you like to drink?"
"Just a glass of water would be great," Ronny said. He heard a low growling sound behind him and nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned to see what it was. Chompy sniffed the cook's legs and looked up at him with his big purple eyes, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his tail wagging.
Raph chuckled and knelt down next to Chompy. "He likes ya."
"Yeah?" Ronny gulped as the giant space turtle affectionately nuzzled his hand. "This your dog?"
"Actually, he's a fire breathing turtle from outer space," Raph scratched the top of Chompy's head.
"Huh, I see," Ronny reached to pet Chompy but then paused and drew his hand back. "Wait, did you say that he breathes fire?"
"So this is Mikey?" Ronny pointed to the late Turtle in a family photo. "He's a cute kid."
"Well, he was known as the Cute One," Casey chuckled before taking another bite of his enchilada. The whole group, excluding Leo and Karai, sat in the living room and looked through a photo album. Raph and Ronny sat on the couch, April and Casey sat on the steps leading to T.V. area, and Shadow sat on a beanie bag. Karai remained in the dojo praying to her father, while Leo continued to mope and drink in the kitchen.
"And what did they call you?" Ronny turned to Raph.
"The Warrior," Raph said with a smug smile.
"I'll bet," Ronny laughed. He looked back down at the photo and pointed to Leo. "And this is...?"
Raph's smile turned into a frown and he looked at the picture disheartened. "That's Leo, the eldest brother."
"And he couldn't come today?"
"Actually he is here. He's in the kitchen."
"Oh, he is?" Ronny started to get off the couch. "Well, then, I'd better introduce my..."
"No!" Raph roughly grabbed him by the arm. "No, it's best if you didn't, Ronny. Just trust me."
The cook raised an eyebrow but sat back down nonetheless. "Okay? So I take it that the pretty young lady standing next to you there is Mrs. O'Neil?"
"Well, she may not be young anymore," Casey leaned over to kiss April on the cheek, "but she's still pretty. No, I take that back. She's even more beautiful than before." April blushed and looked at the floor.
"Get a room, you two," Shadow teased while eating her enchilada.
"Well, I can't say the same thing about you, Jones," Raph chuckled while pointing to the young Casey in the photo. "You were never even pretty to begin with."
Shadow, Ronny, and April laughed out loud while Casey glared at his soon-to-be-ex-best friend.
"Heh, so, um, anyway," Ronny cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the photo, "who's the Turtle with the gap toothed smile?"
"Donnie," he heard April say barely below a whisper.
"Huh? What was that? Did you say he name is...?" Ronny raised his to look at April, only to find that she was staring wide-eyed at something behind him. So was Casey. He followed their gaze and saw another mutant Turtle standing at the entrance to the lair.
Raph couldn't believe his eyes. "Donnie..." he whispered.
His brother was now some kind of cyborg Turtle. Even his eyes had been replaced with robotic ones. He recalled Mikey telling him that their brother was like a robot now, but he figured that Mikey was speaking figuratively and not literally.
Donnie stared at everyone impassively before speaking in a monotone voice, "So where's Master Splinter?"
Karai heard someone enter the dojo and turned to see who it was. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Donatello approach her.
"Oh, my gosh," Karai softly said. "Donnie? Well, this is...this is a-a pleasant surprise."
Donnie didn't even look at her and walked past her to the table. "If you don't mind, Karai," he said with his shell to her, "I'd like to spend a few minutes with Master Splinter. Alone."
"Oh, of-of course," Karai immediately left the room, giving the privacy Donnie needed.
Donnie stared at the beautiful urn which contained his father's ashes. Though he could not understand why, he felt the need to touch it with his robotic right arm. And soon as his metallic fingertips made contact with the porcelain surface, a shiver immediately traveled up his arm and then down his spine. He found himself letting out a shaky sigh.
Why was he feeling like this?
From the corner of his eye, he saw someone standing in front of the weapons rack. He turned to see the familiar Hamato symbol on the back of the person's scarlet robe. Donnie felt a lump form in his throat when Splinter turned his head to look at him and give him a warm, loving smile.
Donnie immediately closed his eyes and shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the hallucination. When he opened his eyes, 'Splinter' was gone.
What was happening to him? Had he gone insane? First, he was seeing his dead brother. Now he was seeing his dead father.
Must be the stress from work, he reasoned. I just need another cup of coffee.
"Leo, do you want some coffee?" Karai asked the Turtle, who didn't respond to her and had his head buried in his folded arms. The wine bottle had been completely emptied of its contents. She sighed and soothingly rubbed his shell when she heard someone walking into the kitchen.
It was Donnie.
The cyborg Turtle had a surprised look on his face when he saw the familiar carapace of his eldest brother. "Leo...?"
The former leader jerked his head up at the sound of the second youngest's voice and swiftly turned his head.
The two brothers locked eyes, not saying a word or making a single sound.
Raph slowly and quietly walked into the kitchen, watching the two simply stare at each other.
Well, it's now or never.
"So...here we all are!" Raph attempted to sound cheerful. "After thirty years of being separated from each other!" He playfully slapped Donnie on the shoulder, who didn't even flinch and kept his eyes on Leo. "Donnie, why don't you have a seat and I'll whip us up a couple of drinks. Non-alcoholic, of course." He turned to Leo and winked at him. "We've got a lot of catching up to do, guys." He grabbed Donnie's normal arm and attempted to pull him toward the table.
But Donnie wouldn't even move. Eventually, he narrowed his red robotic eyes at Leo and a scowl appeared on his face.
Raph noticed the change in Donnie's expression. Oh, no, no, no. Please, Donnie, don't...
"Know what?" Donnie said in a low, cold voice. "I'll just get coffee on the way to the work." He jerked his arm out of Raph's grasp and quickly left the kitchen.
April looked up from the photo album in time to see Donnie storm out of the lair. "Donnie, where are you going?" she called out to him.
The Turtle paid no attention to her and continued to walk away.
"DONNIE!" Raph ran out of the kitchen and followed his brother into the tunnels. "Donnie, will you just hold on for one second?!"
The cyborg Turtle immediately stopped in his tracks but didn't turn to look at his brother.
"Donnie," Raph walked up to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Please don't go. We haven't seen you for so long. I missed you, bro. So much. And I know that Leo missed you, too. So why don't you come back inside and..."
"I know what you're trying to do, Raph," Donnie glanced back at Raph and shrugged his hand off his shoulder. "And it's not going to work."
Raph looked at his brother sadly. "Come on, Donnie, don't be that way."
Donnie turned to fully face him. "Well, what did you expect, Raph? Did you really believe that things would go back to the way they were when we were kids? Those days are over. Get used to it."
"Let me ask you something, Donnie," Raph calmly said. "Can you honestly say that you're happy with your life?"
"What do you care?" Donnie asked with bitterness in his voice. "You showed me just how much you care when you left me behind in North Hampton."
Raph felt those words stab at his heart and he lowered his eye in shame. "I know, Donnie. I won't deny that I've been a horrible brother to you." He looked back up at Donnie and gave him a sad smile. "But things are going to be different from now on. I'll never leave you again, bro." He wrapped his arms around his brother in a hug. "I promise."
As Raph pulled him into a hug, Donnie began to feel a warmth that he hadn't felt in thirty years since...
He looked over Raph's shoulder and saw Mikey standing at the other end of the tunnel and smiling at him. His bright blue eyes twinkled and his bright orange mark stood out in the dark.
Before he even realized what he was doing, he reached an arm out to his younger brother. His robotic arm. He stared at the metal that was once green scaly flesh. The warmth in his heart slowly began to fade away.
He was no longer Donatello the Ninja Turtle or Donatello the Inventor. He was now Donatello the Machine.
He returned his gaze to Mikey, but his brother was no longer there. Another hallucination.
Donnie abruptly pushed Raph away, who looked both confused and hurt. "That's nice, Raph," he said with no emotion in his voice. "But what about Leo? Is he on board with this, too?"
"He's going through some things right now," Raph somberly said. "We just have to be there for him as his brothers."
"That person sitting in the kitchen is not my brother," Donnie growled. "He's not the Leonardo we knew and loved anymore. He's just a common criminal. A murderer. In fact, if we weren't having Splinter's funeral, I would have arrested him right on the spot. But next time, I won't show any mercy."
Raph felt the tears building up. "No, Donnie..."
"And if you really want to be a hero, Raph," he pointed a finger at the Ninja Turtle, "you'll turn him in to the police and make him pay for his crimes."
Raph firmly shook his head. "You know I can't do that, Donnie."
Donnie narrowed his eyes and turned away with a scoff. "Well, then if he kills someone again in the near future, the blood will be on your hands." And with that he continued down the tunnel, ignoring his brother's calls and disappearing into the darkness.
Raph walked back into the lair with a tired expression and a heavy heart. The others were still sitting in the T.V. area and talking amongst themselves, though April looked in his direction and asked him with her eyes if Donnie was coming back. Raph shook his head in response and the reporter let out a heavy sigh.
Everything is so messed up, Raph sadly thought to himself. Donnie's right. Things can't go back to the way they were before. And I can't protect Leo from the police forever. Maybe it would be best if I...
He suddenly felt someone painfully grab him by the arm and jerk him away from the living room and into the kitchen. He soon found himself nearly nose to nose with Leo, who was looking at him with white eyes filled with indescribable rage.
"I know what you're really after," he said with venom in his voice. "You're trying to prove to everyone that you're better than me. Ever since we were little, you've been fighting for Splinter's attention, but you just couldn't accept that he favored me over you."
Raph could smell the alcohol in Leo's breath. He's drunk, he thought. Better calm him down before he hurts someone. He gently put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Leo, that's not it..." he started to softly say, but Leo angrily slapped his hand off his shoulder.
"Who are you kidding?" he hissed. "I've spent the last thirty years cleaning up New York while you wasted them playing Tarzan in North Hampton. Not to mention that you completely abandoned Donnie instead of being there for him. And now look what's happened to him."
He briefly closed his eyes and bit his lower lip. When he opened his eyes, the midnight blue irises were back, and tears were building up. "And last time I checked, it wasn't my fault Mikey was killed."
Raph visibly flinched at that remark, and he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Leo narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't act so innocent. You and I both know that Mikey would still be with us...if you had just kept your F***ING MOUTH SHUT!"
As soon as he screamed those words, Leo swung his empty wine bottle at Raph's face. The glass shattered and Raph fell to the floor, groaning in pain and holding his hand to his bleeding left cheek.
Leo showed no remorse and continued to scream at his injured brother. "STILL THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?! HUH?! DO YOU?!" He took a step toward Raph with the broken bottle still in his hand.
"LEO!" Karai ran up to them and stood protectively in front of Raph. In her hands was a sheathed katana, and she gripped the handle, warning Leo not to take another step.
"Oh, my god! Raph!" April ran to the Ninja Turtle and knelt down to check him over. "Are you okay?!"
"Leo! The heck were you thinking, man?!" Casey stood next to his wife, glaring at the drunken vigilante.
Shadow peeked behind the couch, feeling very frightened about the current situation. She didn't even notice Chompy hiding next to her.
Ronny had just walked into the living room after using the bathroom and was shocked to find Raph on the floor, surrounded by shards of glass and bleeding.
Leo said nothing for a while, staring at the people whom he once called his "friends". They were now looking at him as though he were the enemy. He suddenly realized that he was still holding the broken wine bottle and immediately dropped it. His rage had completely evaporated and was replaced with remorse. "Oh, my god," he whispered, his eyes wide with shock. "I'm so sorr-" He looked down at Raph, who continued to hold his cheek. "Raph? Wh-what have I...? I'm so...I'm so sorry, bro." He was about to check on his younger brother, but then Karai abruptly shoved him away.
"I think you should leave, Leo," she said in a low threatening voice. "Now."
Leo held his hands up, trying to show that he had no intention of harming Raph any further. "Karai, please. I hurt him. I need to see if he's okay."
"Well, right now, you're a danger to everyone here," Karai continued to glare at him. "And what's worse is that you decided to pull this kind of crap at my father's funeral. I want you to leave my home, Leo."
The vigilante could see that there was no changing her mind and sighed in defeat. "Okay, Karai. I'll leave. I apologize for my inappropriate behavior." He bowed to her and turned to leave, but he stopped briefly to look back at Raph. His eyes brimmed with tears as he whispered, "I'm so sorry, Raph."
Even though he was in great pain, Raph managed to open his eye and watch Leo walk out of the lair, his vision blurred with tears of his own.
Eric Davis woke up at the sound of the sliding window being opened. He turned his head to see a dark figure with red glowing eyes stepping into the hospital room.
"Who-who's there?" he asked fearfully.
"It is I," the figure said in a deep mechanical voice.
"M-Master Shredder?"
"Yes, child," the Shredder walked over to young man's bed and loomed over him. "I see that the Serpent has bitten you with his 'fangs'." He pointed to the stub that used to Eric's arm.
Eric swallowed nervously and his forehead started to sweat. "M-Master Shredder, I-I-I didn't mean to-to betray you. Please forgive me."
"There is no need to apologize," the Shredder gently put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"But..."
"I have finally put the Serpent in his place. And I have you to thank for that, Davis. You have served me well."
Hearing those words come out of his master's mouth made Eric feel more relaxed, proud even.
The Shredder leaned over and placed his fist under Eric's chin. "And so I repay you with a quick death."
Eric's eyes widen and he was getting ready to scream, but the Shredder was too quick and slit his throat with his blades. The villainous ninja simply wiped the blood off with the blanket of the bed.
"Forgive me, Davis," the Shredder said with no emotion or remorse. "But we can't have anyone revealing the secrets of the Foot Clan to the outside world. You must take those secrets with you in death." He turned away and stepped out the window. "Again, I thank you for your services."
"I'm sorry, Mikey, but I can't do this anymore."
Raph knelt in front of Mikey's altar in the dojo. Karai had already left the lair to catch the next flight to Japan, so it was just him and Chompy for now. The Ninja Turtle had spent the last two hours meditating, but for some reason, he could not connect with his youngest brother's spirit.
"I tried. I really did," he reached up to touch the Band-Aid on his cheek. "But they just won't listen to me. They can't forgive me for running away. It's looking pretty hopeless right now." He looked up at Mikey's picture and carefully picked it up. "You said you believe in me, and I really don't want to let you down. But I just don't know what to do anymore. I need your help, Little Brother."
The Mikey in the photo only continued to stare back at him. Raph knew full well that pictures couldn't talk, but he was hoping for some kind of connection with Mikey. Anything but the silence that continued to hang over the room.
Letting out a shaky sigh, Raph closed his eye and touched the glass with his forehead. "Please talk to me, Mikey. Tell me what to do. Give me a sign. Anything. Please...!"
"Um, excuse me?"
Raph broke out of his trance and jerked his head toward the source of the voice. Standing at the entrance to the dojo was Shadow.
"Shadow...?" Raph cleared his throat and turned to face her. "What are you doing here, kid? Shouldn't you be in school?"
"It's Saturday," Shadow said. "I don't have school."
"Oh, right."
"Look, I'm-I'm sorry to disturb you, but...well, I need to have a word with you."
"Okay, sure," Raph patted the spot next to him. "Have a seat."
The teenager walked into the dojo and sat down on the floor next to the Ninja Turtle. She looked at the photo of Michelangelo that was in his hands. "You really miss him, huh?" she softly asked.
Raph looked down at the photo with a saddened expression. "Every day. Usually, I'm able to communicate with him spiritually. But for some reason, today, I just can't...I dunno. I guess I'm a little stressed out. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"
"Well," Shadow awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, "you said you would help me with my anger management issues."
"Oh, yeah, that's right," Raph gently smiled at her. "So when would you like to begin? Monday?"
"Oh, um, whenever you're ready, I guess. But I actually came to talk to you about something else."
Raph raised an invisible eyebrow. "Oh?"
"You volunteered to help me, so I want to help you in return."
"Help?"
"Yeah. You need to take this Shredder guy down, right? But none of your brothers will help you, and you're pretty much on your own. So, what I'm trying to say is..."
She took a deep breath, and her expression became serious.
"I'm willing to train under you as a kunoichi."
End of "Mourning"
Coming soon is the sequel, "Akari", which is Japanese for "light"! Will Raph succeed in bringing everyone back together? Or is it too late...?
I'd like to thank everyone who has read, followed, and reviewed "Mourning". You guys are the reason I was able to finish this fanfic. I love you all :)
A special thanks to BrightLotusMoon, BubblyShell22, Celeste38, Ninjas Say Hi, PopcornWolf10, RaphCallen2016, Rhodesincolumbus, StitcherBell, and Raigon.
See you next time!