Author's Notes: Chibi proceeds to drag herself into the forum and cautiously peers around. I'm hoping you guys aren't too mad at me for taking so long to update There's No Such Thing As A Happy Ending. I was extremely busy with school, work, extracurricular activities, volunteering and life. But now that I'm out of school that means I've got free time on my hands! And by the way, special thanks go out to Goddess of Idun for making some lovely fanart for my story. I'm flattered and honored that she took the time out to draw a picture for my little old story. Thanks girl! At any rate, there are no warnings this time around and as usual italics will denote character thoughts. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT franchise or anything else associate with the TMNT franchise. This story is written sorely for entertainment/enjoyment purposes.

Chapter 3

Karai's point of view

I was walking into the lair when Raphael angrily brushed past me. I knew better than to stop him. After the doors to the lair closed, I walked to the kitchen and began putting away the groceries. As I was doing so, I heard someone come into the room.

"Let me help you with those."

"Thank you, Leonardo."

We stored the groceries away in silence. Once that task was accomplished, Leonardo took my hand in his and began walking towards Master Splinter's room. Upon arriving at his bedding chambers, Leonardo knocked softly on the door.

"Yes, Leonardo?"

"Karai and I are going out for a little bit."

"Be careful."

"Yes, sensei."

As we were preparing to leave, I noticed that there was something different about him. After Donatello's death, he had been so withdrawn, but now I saw in him a glimmer of his former self. All those years ago, I did not know how to help him, but perhaps our little outing would help to clear things up between us.

Perhaps things would finally go back to being normal but that was probably hoping for too much. After all, recovering from grave emotional and psychological wounds took time. Leonardo and his brothers had more than enough time to heal from the pain of losing their brother but they were far too stubborn to understand or realize this.

At times, it seemed as though they were very content to live their lives in misery. Nothing I did or tried to do for them mattered. I tried to talk with them so that maybe I could understand what they were going through but they would not listen to me. Spending time with them was not an option because all of them refused to leave the safety of their home or even their rooms.

I was so desperate to help them that I even resorted to making pizza for them… Never mind the fact that my first and last encounter in the kitchen was a complete and total disaster.

Forcing them to deal with their pain and suffering had done me little good. Attempting to forge a closer bond with each of them separately had also left me with unfavorable results. So in the end, I could do nothing but resign myself to wait for them to open up to me.

Inside my heart, I desperately hoped that today would be the day where Leonardo and the others would let go of their agonizing hurt once and for all.

Michelangelo's point of view

I've made it to April's with no trouble, which is to be expected, since the Shredder and Bishop are out of the picture now. Entering her shop, I soon discovered that she was nowhere to be found amongst the clutter packed into every nook and cranny of the building. I wandered through several isles, and finally noticed that someone was in the back of the store. When I got back there, I saw that it was Casey who was in the process of moving something.

I couldn't resist the temptation, so I quietly crept up behind him. When the opportunity presented itself, I grabbed his shoulder, and he dropped what he was holding and shrieked loudly. He whirled around and when he noticed that it was only me, he sighed.

"Give me a heart attack, why don't ya, Mikey!"

I laughed quietly and replied, "I couldn't help it!"

He rolled his eyes and then walked back up front. I followed after him.

"What do ya want this time?" he asked.

I could feel my mask began to crumble as I disclosed the reason behind my visit.

"Actually, I stopped by to see April. I was on my way to see Donnie and since she couldn't make it last time, I figured I'd invite her with me this time around."

"She's running an errand, but she should be back pretty soon."

I nodded and then he asked me the question I dreaded answering. "How'she doing?"

I took a deep breath and turned away, looking anywhere but at him. As I did so, I began to take notice of the items that April sold. The old antique vases sitting on the shelves, the rare and timeless framed pictures of centuries past that neatly hung on the walls, the delicate clothing from decades ago that snugly fit the models, and the modest glass showcase that contained all sorts of jewelry suddenly held my interest.

I had begun walking around the store as I looked and sometimes stopped to admire something. It was only when I stopped and rested one hand on the glass showcase, which held a silver band with an amethyst stone in the middle of it that I managed to answer his question.

"He's gotten worse. Raph refuses to accept his death, and to be perfectly honest with you, I'm scared that he's going to do something stupid."

Glancing at him once and then turning quickly away, he must have caught sight of the tears in my eyes. How could he possibly know just how frightened and alone I felt right now? A small sob almost escaped from me, but I fought it off. At a time like this, I couldn't afford to break down.

I was just recovering from his death. I couldn't fall to pieces again.

Casey put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "I'll talk to him for ya."

Glancing over at Casey, I couldn't help grinning just a bit. Say what you will about him but when things got rough, he was definitely someone you could depend on. Physically he hadn't really changed that much over the years except for the fact that his hair was a bit shorter and he had lost some weight. He wasn't as rash and temperamental as he used to be either but there were times where he would fall back into his old ways, making April roll her eyes and declare him to be a lost cause.

"Thanks. You don't mind if I wait for April?" I whispered, fearing that if I spoke any louder my voice would betray me.

He shook head and then went to the back to his work.

As he did so, he failed to notice that I was fighting a losing battle against those anguished feelings that were trying to bubble to the surface.

Taking a few shaky breaths, I then went to the back of the store where April kept the book collection. If I was lucky, I'd be able to find something to take my mind off of everything.

Raphael's point of view

I'm at Casey's right now. It's a good thing too because I couldn't have stood another minute of listening to them. When I'm ready to go see him, then I'll go see him, and not a minute sooner. I'm sitting on top of the roof, enjoying the fresh air and freedom of being alone.

Freedom, my tail! You're just doing this so you won't have to go back home and face the others. You lashed out at them because they were trying to help you and now you're up here feeling sorry for yourself.

Shaking my head to rid myself of such thoughts, I folded my arms across my plastron. I was not sulking or feeling sorry for myself. I just wanted to be left alone, but my family didn't seem to understand that. I appreciated the fact that they were trying to help, but I needed to cope by myself. Don't know why, but I really needed to work things out on my own.

I looked towards the skies and watched as the sun began its descent behind some clouds. The clouds were taking on a purplish orange tint which reminded me of him. Almost as if to tease me, I saw a mental image of Don. He was smiling at me, and just as quickly as the picture came to me, it disappeared.

No matter what I do, he haunts me everywhere I go!

Tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I could cry until my eyes fell out and it wouldn't do me any good. As I struggled to keep the tears at bay, he began to fill every single inch within my brain. Shutting my eyes tightly, I tried to block out all of the memories that were flooding back to me.

I wasn't having much luck doing so. Childhood memories to present day images continued to assault my senses. Images of the two of us playing with race cars or trading beds when I couldn't tolerate sharing a bed with Mikey came back to me. There was also a clear picture in my mind of the time when I managed to total the Shell Cycle. Donnie hadn't been too happy with me that day.

As a matter of fact, he hadn't spoken to me for weeks after that. It was only at both Leo and Mikey's request that he had finally forgiven me for what I had done to the Shell Cycle. And then there was the moment where I last him saw… These memories were just too much for me. If these memories persisted, it would only be a matter of time before I snapped.

"Raph…"

Upon opening my eyes, I got up and looked around wildly, my eyes large, filled with fright and glazed over. I could have sworn I heard him calling my name. Then again, I had always been a little off in the head, so if I truly was hallucinating then that came as no surprise. Glancing back up at the skies, though, I did nothing to dispel the angry words that came from deep within me.

"You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? You just had to go out there that night so you could take a walk! The one time you didn't use your head and now you're nothing more than a memory! Why couldn't you have left well enough alone!"

After my harsh outburst, I received no answer. As if I was really expecting him to just pop up and tell me that the previous hellish five years were finally over. That everything was finally going to be all right, but in my heart, I knew that was not the case. He was gone, but that was not the problem. The problem was me actually accepting his death.

If I had not been successful by now, then I was probably going to die trying.