They came back sooner than expected. That was the first sign. Their footsteps echoed through the long, winding sewer tunnels.
"Hey guys!" April called.
Silence.
That alone was a red flag.
"Leo?"
The turtle in question looked up at her, his bright blue eyes shimmered with falling tears. His usual confident smile was replaced instead by a solemn look and a trembling lip. It was only then that she noticed the gash in his upper left arm. It trickled down the limb, as dark and vibrant a red as his older brothers mask.
"Are you okay!? What happened?" she gasped. He swallowed and blinked away some of his tears, opening his mouth to say something, failing to get out more than a choked sob before he collapsed onto her, a sobbing mess. SHe hugged him tightly, before helping him to the floor, and turning to Raph, who was attempting to comfort Mikey.
If she had thought Leo was a mess, then Mikey was a disaster. His eyes were swollen and red from crying, the tears so thick and heavy that he had to take of his orange mask because it was soaked. He was crying openly and loudly. She winced before looking back to Raphael.
The Red-clad snapping turtle looked calm, but that was only to help Michelangelo, and she could see the tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he bit his lip to keep them back. He was covered in cuts and scrapes, including a black eye. Mikey, now that she had thought about it, was covered in bruises as well.
"Mikey? R-raph, what happened? Was there a fight?" she mentally slapped herself. Of Course there was a fight! Wait.. "Where's D?" she asked, worried. She of course had full confidence in her best friends ability to defend himself, but if they had gotten into a fight this bad… she had a right to worry, didn't she?
Raph looked up at her, unable to stop the tears now. Time seemed to slow as he stood up.
As he walked towards her with a look on his face that told her more than she wanted to know.
"Oh, no. Oh my gosh no. Please don't tell me he-" Raphael cut her off, placing his hands on her shoulders, looking her dead in the eyes, sorrow shone in his, fear in hers. Acid green orbs met dark leaf-colored.
"He- he's gone."
Two words. Two little words. Not even three syllables, and her entire world came crashing down. "No. No, no, no ,nonono…" she sobbed , the word becoming her mantra. "No! No! NO!" she cried, her whispers becoming yells, before settling as wrecked sobs as she choked on the sound. She fell into him, shaking as they cried together. Together, but so, so alone.