Raphael lunged at Arelle. He grabbed her shoulders and dragged her to her feet. Instead of appearing afraid, she only seemed to be in a daze. She didn't struggle against his grasp.

Leonardo shook his head, fighting the sorrow that he felt over what had just happened. It didn't feel real yet. He'd never experienced the death of a loved one before. All of his past training seemed to fail him in that moment, as he stood, unable to make himself go after Raphael. Donatello was at his side now, and he removed his glasses as he bent over Splinter's body. His chest was heaving as he cried. Mikey had simply fallen to his knees by the doorway, his head in his hands. Leonardo looked back to his red-masked brother, ready to tear him away from Arelle if need be.

But, Arelle had pulled Raphael down to her. Her pale arms stood in contrast to his dark skin as they wrapped around his neck. Her eyes met with Leonardo over Raphael's shoulder.

They looked as hollow as he felt.

Knowing that he needed to take action and get his brothers away from the body, Leonardo took hold of Donatello's arm.

"Come on." He urged him gently.

"It's... all my fault." Donatello sobbed, unable to meet Leonardo's gaze. "I should have... done better... been smarter."

"Donnie," Leonardo said seriously. "This was beyond any of our control."

At his words, Raphael broke away from Arelle and stormed from the room. Mikey looked younger than normal as he watched his older brothers, searching each of their faces for what to do next.

"Go with Mikey." Leonardo told Donatello. "Make sure Raphael doesn't do anything stupid."

Donnie nodded weakly and left, Mikey trailing behind him wordlessly.

Now that his brothers were gone, Leonardo felt the pressure of having to keep a strong face on fade away. He slammed a fist down on the bedside table and it all but shattered from his strength. The items on the table's top flew everywhere. The sudden, sharp noise had made Arelle flinch, and he could see that he had truly frightened her.

He rarely let anger take hold over his spirit, but that was all he was willing to feel.

Sadness. Despair. Grief... Those emotions were too much for him to deal with. Anger was much easier, and so, for once, he let it consume him.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, seething, staring down at his father's body. His thoughts were a mess. He was aware of all the things that he needed to do: he'd need to bury the body. He'd need to clean out Splinter's room at one point. He'd need to call April and tell her the news. He'd need to fight to keep his family from falling apart.

He'd need to become everything he was afraid of becoming.

Arelle came over and placed her hand on his forearm.

"Say something." She pleaded sadly.

He could hear the guilt in her voice. He could sense it in the tentative way that her fingers were touching him. She wasn't sure if he even wanted her there with him. She wasn't sure if he blamed her for Splinter's death.

It would have been easy to put it all on her. It would have been so simple to yell at her, take his anger out on her. In that moment of losing himself to the rage that he felt in his heart, Leonardo wondered if he should do. Blame her. What would it really matter anyways? She was just a girl, a girl that he had dragged into this reality against her will. Maybe she was actually looking for a way out. Maybe by blaming her, punishing her, he would also be setting her free. She could leave the sewers and never come back. He would have someone to use as an excuse for why his father's life had to end. They could both move on.

Those thoughts went against Leonardo's very nature. They hurt him, deep inside of his core. The thoughts, the idea of pushing Arelle away just so he could have someone to blame for the tragedy, almost made him sick.

Before he could let himself fall prey to the rage anymore than he already had, he hugged Arelle. He probably squeezed her too tightly, but it felt like if he let go of her, he'd lose himself completely.

"I'm so sorry, Leonardo." She murmured against his chest.

He could hear the tears in her words.

As if a spell had been broken, the anger fell away. He felt like she had stripped him right down to the bone with her voice. The sadness, despair, and grief crashed over him. It hurt so badly that he sank down to his knees, but he didn't let her go. He pressed his head against her stomach, and she cradled him there for a long while.

Arelle knew that she had to be strong. Even though she felt a crushing sense of guilt over what had become of Splinter, it wouldn't do any of them any good if she fell apart. Donatello, Raphael, Mikey, and Leonardo needed a friend. They needed someone to help them, not drag them even deeper into their pain.

This wasn't about her. Her guilt, her sadness, none of it mattered. She had known - if you could even call it that - Splinter for only a few days.

The brothers had lost their father. The person who had raised them, protected them.

And so when Leonardo had finally regained some of his composure, Arelle had offered to be the one to call April. She knew it would do the turtles good to see her in their time of need, and so Arelle hurried into Leonardo's room to get his phone. It was exactly where he had said it would be, on his bedside table, and she did as he had instructed her: She pressed the number 6 and then the "call" button.

Arelle chewed on her nails as she waited for April to pick up.

What am I going to say to her?

"Hey, Leo." April's voice finally said warmly.

"Uhm... This is Arelle. Something's happened." Arelle replied, fighting the sobs that were threatening to erupt in her throat. "Splinter... passed away."

"No." April responded sadly. "No..."

Arelle then heard her burst into tears.

Leonardo gathered April up into his arms as soon as she walked through their front door. He didn't speak to her, knowing that there was nothing he could say to her in that moment that would help. He then passed her off to Mikey. He knew that April would be to Mikey what Arelle had been to him. Despite Mikey's constant flirting, Leonardo knew that he truly cared for April. She would be his pillar, the thing that would keep him grounded until he found a way to move past Splinter's death.

"Can I see him?" April whimpered.

"Of course." Leonardo told her, giving her the saddest of smiles.

"Want me to go with you?" Mikey asked April.

She nodded, and they left the room together so that she could go and say goodbye. Arelle sighed heavily from beside Leonardo.

"I'm worried about Raphael and Donatello." Leonardo pondered aloud, more to himself than to her. "Mikey has April. They don't have anyone."

"And... you?" Arelle questioned him quietly.

"I have you." Leonardo said honestly.

More tears slipped down her cheeks at his statement. He reached out and put each of his large hands on either side of her face. It wasn't the perfect moment, not by any means, but Leonardo felt the tiniest speck of something aside from sorrow at the sight of Arelle.

She hadn't been able to save Splinter, but maybe that just wasn't meant to be. Maybe Splinter had been meant to die, and instead, Arelle was meant to save him.

"April, stop!"

Leonardo's hands dropped away from Arelle's face, and he flipped around to see a very distraught April running towards him. Mikey was following closely behind her, his blue eyes wide with emotion.

"April?!" Leonardo cried in confusion, holding out a hand to slow her down.

"No." She said, pulling away from his reach fiercely. "This is all my fault. Just let me leave."

"This isn't your fault, April!" Mikey told her desperately.

"Yes it is!" She all but shrieked, her voice filled with pain. "If you hadn't met me, if I hadn't followed you to that rooftop... None of this would've happened. I was the one who led the Foot Clan to you, or have you forgotten that?"

"April, you know we don't blame you for that." Leonardo said firmly. He could see how her words were breaking Mikey's heart.

"You should." April snapped. "If I hadn't lead them here, the Shredder would have never hurt Splinter! He got hurt because of me. He got hurt because I cared more about a stupid story, my career, than anything else!"

"Please, April. Don't go." Mikey begged her, reaching out for her arm.

She yanked away from him, rushing by Leonardo and Arelle quickly. The look on Mikey's face was one unlike Leonardo had ever seen. He was devastated by April's reaction. Leonardo felt his control over the situation slip away even further. Arelle ran over to Mikey and hugged him hard.

"She's just upset." Arelle cooed gently, much like a sister would to a brother. "She'll come around. She just needs time."

"I hope so." He replied, and again, Leonardo was reminded of just how young Mikey really was. All of these emotions were too much for his kind, optimistic heart. Donatello might have been the more sensitive of the bunch, but Mikey was the most fragile. Any kind of conflict usually completely tore him apart.

What would happen to him because of all this? What would happen to Raphael, Donatello, and now April?

Sensei, what am I going to do without you?