Their reunion with April, now the leader of the resistance, had been joyful. But all too soon, harsh reality set in.
"I can't believe Casey's gone…" Raph said. He would never admit it, but the loss hit him hard. Even if this Casey was from another dimension.
"He fought until the very end," April whispered, unshed tears brimming her eyes.
"We're here to make sure that no one else has to die," Donnie said with conviction.
Stepping forward, he placed the modified blaster on the table.
April's eyes lit up.
"Donnie, is that what I think it is?"
"Yes April," Don said. "This nightmare ends here."
…..
As Donnie and the two Mikey's went to gather the two older versions of Raphael and Leonardo, Splinter watched as the younger Raphael huddled in a corner, knees pulled to his chest.
The loss of the lair, Mikey's arm and Casey was too much for him to process. Why didn't the Raph in this dimension do something? How could he have let this happen?
Raph buried his head in his arms. Why wasn't he strong enough?
As Splinter rose to his feet to comfort his hurting son, he was surprised to find that Leo was already moving towards his grieving brother. With a satisfied nod, he sat back down and went back to his meditation.
Leo looked down at his brother.
"Raph," Leo said hesitantly. "You ok?"
"I'm fine Fearless," Raph muttered from under his arm. "Jus' leave me alone."
Rather than say anything, Leo slowly lowered himself down beside Raphael. Casually, Leo placed a comforting hand on the emerald green head beside him. Neither said a word as Raph quietly cried.
…
Donnie walked close to his older brothers. The meeting had happened almost exactly like the first time he had come to this dimension. Both Leo and Raph had started to fight when he came miraculously out of the shadows. His presence cleared their minds and with the addition of the younger Mikey, put them in good spirits.
The blue masked turtle put his arm around Don.
"Thank you for coming back Donnie," the older Leo murmured. "We needed you more than you know."
"And what am I – chopped liver?" the young Mikey asked with a pout.
"Ya knucklehead," the older Raph said as he grabbed Mikey's head for a noogie. "I can't believe what a doofus ya are!"
"And I can't believe how fat you got Raph," Mikey said waggling his eye ridges at the old turtle.
"Why you little - !"
Donnie and the other older turtles laughed as Raph clamped down on the younger Mikey's head.