With a yawn, Donnie sat up. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes a few times and looked at his clock.

11 in the morning?

Cursing to himself, he leapt out of bed and tied on his ninja gear. Unless she had taken more time off, Aunt Mei would already be at work by now; who was checking on April's fluid levels? They should have woken him up!

He bolted out of his room and ran to the lab. To his surprise, Raphael was sitting in front of the desk with his feet propped up on it.

"Chill out, Donnie, April's fine," Raph said, turning a page in his manga.

"Why didn't someone wake me up? And get your feet off my desk!" Donnie went over to check on April; as Raph had said, she was fine.

Raph grinned almost imperceptibly. "I'm pretty comfy here."

"Why are you even in here?"

Raph sighed and took his feet down from the desk, his whole demeanor changing. "Master Splinter has been checking on her and stuff, but I just—I didn't think she should be in here alone, you know?"

Donnie nodded. "Thanks, Raph," he said quietly.

"So, what are the chances that she'll wake up?"

"I don't know."

Raph frowned. He looked sadder than Donnie had ever seen him. Then, a sudden surge of anger went through his face and he jumped up, throwing his manga on the ground. "This is all Shredder's fault!" Raph yelled. "If he hadn't—then she wouldn't—and—he needs to go down!"

Shredder's fault. Donnie latched onto the words immediately. The same dark rage that coursed through Raphael started to infect him. "You're right. He does."

"Revenge does nothing, my sons," Splinter said, startling them both. He had entered the room without either of them realizing it. "It will not speed April's recovery."

"Revenge has nothing to do with it!" Raph snarled. "This is about justice!"

Gritting his teeth, Donnie nodded his agreement.

"And justice will be served," Splinter said, "in its proper time. Now, our focus must lie in aiding April."

Raphael groaned in frustration. "Show me a way I can help April by stabbing something, and I will!" He stormed out of the lab, leaving his manga behind him.

"He's right, Sensei," Donnie said. "Shredder has to be stopped!"

"I agree," Splinter said. "But that must wait."

"How can you say that?" Donnie shouted. "After what he's done to us? To you, Sensei! He killed your family!"

"Silence!" Terrifying rage coursed through Splinter's eyes; the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as though he were a vicious dog about to attack. "Do you think I do not know what he has done?"

Donnie stepped back in fear. He had never seen Splinter so angry. "I—I'm sorry, Sensei."

Splinter closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. After a moment, he collected himself. "There are other lives at play here, my son. Shredder still has another victim whom we must save."

"Who, Sensei?"

Splinter shook his head. "In time, you will know. But this person too will need psychological assistance. You need to finish the retro-mutagen, Donatello."

Donnie nodded. "I'll get back to it right now."

"No. I will no longer tolerate the neglect of your personal needs. You will eat breakfast first."

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Most important meal of the day," he muttered, as Splinter guided him to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, April. You have no idea how sorry."

"It's called 'April's Hope.'"

Lost in darkness, April O'Neil was swimming in a world of unchecked emotions and disembodied voices. Her whole being was laced with pain and terror. Snippets of things she didn't even know she remembered came to her.

"Don't cry, baby. Mama's got you."

"Mama isn't…she's not going to wake up, sweetie."

Occasionally, flashes of light would penetrate the darkness. Familiar voices reached her. But whether they were real or just dredged up from the past she didn't know. She drifted between nothingness and fear.

"I can't save her, okay? She's lost too much blood!"

"Tell me, April O'Neil. Are you a virgin?"

This was hell. She was in hell. She was going to be lost in this chaos for eternity. There was no time. There was nothing. Just her and her own deepest sorrows and worst fears.

The eternity continued on without reprieve.

Then, like that first word being spoken into the darkness before the world existed, she heard a voice. A strong voice. A comforting voice. A voice she knew, but could not place.

The voice sang. A gentle, soothing lullaby wrapped itself around her senses. It salved the hurts and fears that tormented her. The words were in a language she didn't understand, but their beauty wove through the darkness like strands of life-giving light.

The light grew stronger as the song continued. April reached out for the strands of music as if she could climb them up out of this hell in which she was trapped.

The music stopped; April plummeted back down into the depths.

More eternity passed. More pain. More darkness. Voices she knew but couldn't understand spoke to her. Memories and fear danced around her.

The song began again. It was like a river of water coursing through the desert of her soul.

This time, she would not let it go. She latched onto it like a life raft and rose up through the layers of night.

When she opened her eyes, the brilliant light made her eyes water. But she wouldn't even blink for fear that the darkness would come back. One by one, her senses awoke. The music became clearer than ever, but she heard other sounds too, like the humming of electronics. The smell of rubbing alcohol stung her nostrils.

Then, like being plunged into reality, she knew where she was. She was in Donnie's lab. Slowly, she turned her head to see where the music was coming from.

Splinter sat in a chair beside her, softly singing a lullaby in Japanese with his eyes closed.

"Master Splinter?" she muttered.

Splinter's eyes shot open. "April!" Relief and joy flooded his mien.

Slowly, April's memories came back to her. She remembered digging the sharp knife into her arms, drawing the blade up along the blood vessels. She remembered crawling into the tub.

"Oh, Master Splinter," April whispered, as she burst into tears.

"Hush, my child, you are safe." Splinter leaned over her and gave her a gentle embrace. His long whiskers tickled her face. "Don't move too much."

"I—I heard you singing," April said, between sobs. "It woke me up."

Splinter stood up and felt her temperature with the back of his hand. He smiled sadly. "An old habit. I used to sing that to Miwa while she slept."

April reached up to rub the tears out of her eyes. Her arms screamed with pain, and she hissed in response.

"We have all been so worried."

Guilt assaulted her. How could she have done this them? What had come over her? "I—I'm so sorry, Master Splinter. I couldn't take it anymore. It was too much!"

"Hush," Splinter said. His voice was calm and soothing.

"You must hate me," April whispered.

"Of course not, my child. I love you as much as I ever have—as much as I love my own children."

April sniffed. "I love you too, Sensei."

Splinter smiled. His eyes seemed shiny with moisture. He said nothing, but he took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

April glanced over at Donnie's empty chair. "Can I see Donnie?" Donnie. Would he forgive her as readily as Splinter had?

"Sadly, no," Splinter said. "He and his brothers are on a very important mission at the moment."

April's heart sank. "What are they doing?"

"They are doing a test run."

"A test run?"

"Yes. On retro-mutagen."

Retro-mutagen?

"Sensei…how long have I been out?"