Disclaimer: I still don't own the TMNT franchise or anything else TMNT related.

Michelangelo's point of view

As April began driving away from the complex, I turned around just in time to see it explode. As the flames greedily engulfed the building, I knew that the few people inside the building had probably managed to escape. That didn't matter to me right now, though. I turned back around and saw Donnie lying in the back of the Battle Shell.

It was finally over. After five years of playing a deadly game of cat and mouse, the Shredder was finally gone.

I don't know when I started to cry again, but I sobbed until it hurt to breathe. My lungs were practically begging for oxygen, my head was throbbing and pounding like the much-used drum set of a rock and roll band…

I just felt so empty, so hollow and utterly incomplete, but I couldn't help it. I'd just lost my best friend and no matter what I did or said, he wasn't coming back. Ever.

I know crying won't help me or make me feel any better, but I've gone over the same question ever since we found him: Why did it have to be Donnie? If any of us were going to bite the big one first, then I always thought it was going to be Raph or Leo. Not that I ever wanted me or my bros to die before our time, but realistically speaking Raph and Leo were the obvious candidates.

Raph because he was just Raph and Leo because he still held onto the preconceived notion that we needed to be protected at all times. All justifications and reasoning aside, this wasn't fair. Why did life have to be so unforgiving for the four of us? Couldn't we have gotten one last chance to avoid death's twisted, bony hands? Or had we used up all of our chances already, thus forcing us to confront the grave reality of Donnie's abrupt and sudden death whether we wanted to or not…

Leonardo's point of view

The moment Mikey began crying, my heart shattered into pieces for the second time tonight. I got up and embraced him as his sobs became more desperate, and I began to cry as well. I hated to see my family suffering or hurting in any way. It especially pained me to see Mikey in such a forlorn state. He could never handle death too well. When we were young, he cried for days after we saw Bambi.

Disney movies aside, I knew his grief would be ten times worse because unlike in the movies where the good guys always won, this was real life. There was no such thing as clear-cut winners and losers; instead there was only life and death. From the very beginning, we all knew that we walked on a dangerously thin tightrope, which never guaranteed our safety. It just felt so surreal to know that the wire had finally broke and took one of us with it.

Glancing over at Raph, I noticed that he wasn't crying anymore. His eyes were closed with his arms crossed over his plastron as he leaned against the back of the wall.

I didn't know what to do for him. All of us had lost someone, but I think his wounds ran deeper still. None of us had been there when Donnie took his last breath.

As I continued looking at him, he opened his eyes. Within his eyes, I saw everything he'd held back from saying over the past twenty years.

"Raph…"

"Drop it, Leo. Just drop it, okay?"

He sounded so frail and vulnerable, almost as if someone had completely drained him of his energy. The Raph I knew was cocky, arrogant, bold and fearless… he never let his emotions show so honestly. But before I could say anything else, he turned his back on me, and I helplessly let the silence fall. As Mikey and I continued to mourn the loss of Donnie, I didn't realize that the decision to remain quiet would haunt me for years to come.

April's point of view

I feel so empty and numb. One of my best friends is gone and now we have to go back to New York and tell his father that his son is dead…

How in the hell are we supposed to tell Master Splinter that Donnie is… that he's…dead? I wanted to shout, scream and swear about this whole situation. He was so kind, gentle and caring. And he was always willing to do what he could for others even if it meant that he'd be getting hurt in the process…

Keeping my eyes on the road, I didn't notice the tears rolling down my cheeks. As the tears continued their descent, I heard Casey telling someone something. If he had called to tell Karai and Master Splinter the bad news, then he was far braver than I was. After he hung up, he placed the shell cell back into the glove compartment. I couldn't look over at him, but I knew he was extremely upset like the rest of us.

My suspicions were confirmed when I heard his rugged breathing. Over all the years I'd known Casey, he prided himself on being tough. He never wanted to be viewed as weak or emotional. At the rate we were going, though, there wouldn't be a dry eye left by the time we arrived home.

Leatherhead's point of view

As the events of tonight came to a close, I couldn't help but feel sorry for my friends. They had been through so much and yet lost so much as well. It was my sincerest and deepest wish that Donatello would come back to us alive, but a small part of me knew that the Shredder wasn't going to let us have him back so easily.

Leonardo, Michelangelo, Mr. Jones and Ms. O'Neil are grieving in their own ways, but what worries me the most is Raphael. Everyone else's wounds will eventually heal in time, but if I know Raphael, he will not be so quick to recover. Glancing over in his direction, I noticed that his back was still turned to Leonardo. Not even an hour had passed, and he had already begun shutting everyone out.

Master Splinter's point of view

I almost dropped the phone when Mr. Jones informed me of what happened. My son, my precious and wonderful son, would not be returning home to me alive. After hanging up the phone, I retreated to the confines of my room. Once in the comfort of my chambers, I sunk to my knees and cried, as I attempted to indulge in the happier memories of my lost son, Donatello.

Karai's point of view

When Master Splinter went to his room, I knew that things had not gone according to plan. Had Donatello been injured or worse, killed? Deep down inside my heart, I did not want to know the answer to that question. To get my mind off of the situation at hand, I went to the dojo.

I sat down on one of the unoccupied mats and began my meditation exercises. If the unimaginable had truly occurred, then I needed to be in the right state of mind when everyone arrived home.

Raphael's point of view

I barely remember the ride back home. I don't even remember the ride out to the farmhouse. All I remember is the grief-stricken faces of my friends and family as we cleaned his body and then buried him. It was around midnight when everyone retreated back inside the farmhouse. As I stood over his unmarked grave, his last words came back to me.

I love you, Raphael.

Despite the tears in my eyes, I blinked them back. Now was not the time to cry! It wouldn't ease the pain or the suffering, would it? And it sure as hell wouldn't bring him back to me, would it? No matter what I did or anyone else did, Donnie was dead, gone, never coming back, finished, caput…

I sunk to my knees and wrapped my arms around myself as I gave in to the powerful and overwhelming feelings of remorse, despair, bitterness and anger.

Suddenly, the words just tumbled out of my mouth as hot, fat tears rolled down my cheeks. "You selfish, inconsiderate and thoughtless bastard! Why'd you have to go and die? Couldn't you have hung on for just a little longer? The others didn't even get to say goodbye or anything! You stupid jerk…I should've told you every single day just how important you were to me. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye or I love you…"

I would have continued my little rant had it not been for someone gently resting a hand upon my shoulder. I didn't care who it was, but as I turned around, I hugged them fiercely and wept for all I was worth. Once I calmed down a little, I was shocked to see that it was Leo I'd grabbed onto.

Mikey was standing a few feet away, but when I looked at him, the tears came back again. He closed the gap between us and as we embraced one another, I knew that life would never be the same for us again.

Author's Notes: C'est fini! In case anyone is curious, I do have a completed follow up story to this called "There's No Such Thing As A Happy Ending". And I am planing to do a side story to ML called "Death Is Not An Option." In DINAO, it's going to be Sakura's story and they'll have loads more of Donnie in it. This particular story will be a kind of behind the scenes look at what else happened while Donnie was stuck working for the Shredder. Thanks for reading and until next time!