A/N: This is dedicated to those who like to watch the world burn and hurt my feelings.

I OWN NOTHING.

Hopelessness

It'd only been hours since it all happened.

It'd only been hours since the city, their home, had once again been invaded by aliens, this time by a race of dinosaur creatures that sought to destroy the Kraang.

Hours since he and his family had watched Splinter, their teacher, their father, fall limp and lifeless to the ground, impaled by Shredder's blades.

Hours since he'd held his master's limp body in his arms, tears streaming down his face as he watched his baby brother sob and cling to him helplessly.

And hours since the earth itself, and everything on it…had vanished.

Everything, and everyone they'd ever known, was gone. Murakami-san, Kirby, the Mighty Mutanimals, Splinter, Karai…they were all gone, along with billions of other helpless, innocent people. In the mere blink of an eye, they were all gone, lost forever.

And Leonardo, along with his four brothers, April and Casey, were the only ones to survive the catastrophe.

Everything had happened so fast. The Triceritons' arrival, Splinter's death by Shredder's hand, the black hole consuming the earth…it was devastating. It was horrific. It was wrong, and it just couldn't be true…

And yet, none of them knew how to feel.

There was only numbness. No sorrow, grief, anger, despair…just a hollow, numbness.

Their savior, a little robot named Professor Zayton Honeycutt – or the Fugitoid – was well aware of their predicament, and knew that their lack of reaction to what had happened was all due to shock. So he proposed that they all got some well-deserved, directing them to their sleeping quarters.

However, as Leonardo lay there on the bed, the only object in the blank, vacant room, and stared up at the ceiling, he just couldn't fathom how he was supposed to get any rest.

Honestly, he wondered if he would ever be able to sleep properly again after…after…

Squeezing his eyes shut, Leo shook his head before sitting upright, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. Trying to get some sleep was useless, pointless, a waste of time…there was too much reeling inside his pounding head, far too much, even for him to handle. So instead, he stalked over to the door, jammed his finger on the flashing blue control panel that activated the sliding white door, and walked briskly out of the room. Making his way through the narrow hallways, he soon arrived in the main area, where he and the remainder of his family had first entered the ship, but he didn't stop until he reached the window.

There, he finally stopped, shutting his eyes and letting his forehead rest against the glass. His breaths were hissing through his teeth, clenched and grinding with anger, his fists shaking at his sides with the need to hit something, anything…

With a ragged shout ripping from his throat, Leo raised his fist and slammed it against the glass. The glass was thick, so he didn't have to worry about breaking it, but it rattled every bone in his hand. But he didn't care.

No amount of bone rattling could amount to the pain he felt in his heart…

Opening his eyes, he gazed out into the vast unknown, watching the stars as they flew by, staring into the pitch blackness that surrounded them. Ever since he was little, Leonardo had always dreamed of going into space, a dream he soon shared with Donatello. The two of them had once relished in the idea of flying in their own little spaceship, soaring through galaxy after galaxy, fighting fleets of dangerous aliens that sought to eat their brains, just like Captain Ryan and his adventures aboard the Dauntless, only their ship would've been called the 'Ship of Turtle Explorers'.

Even though they'd known it would never happen, that it was beyond even Donnie's knowledge and power, it hadn't hurt to dream about it. But now, all of those dreams had been viciously reborn as a hideous nightmare made flesh in the face of…this.

They'd wanted to go to space, and they'd gotten their wish. And yet, in the process, they'd lost everything. No one would be there to welcome them home after another day of exploring the universe, or congratulate them on a successful expedition, like they'd hoped when they were children…because they were all dead.

They were all dead. Gone. Vanished. And they'd been helpless to stop it.

Slowly, Leo let his fist fall to his side limply, and he took a step backwards from the window. Tears threatened to spill down his cheeks, but he shut his eyes again, refusing to let them fall, though his shoulders began to quake from the effort of keeping them at bay.

Months ago, during the reign of the Kraang, the six of them had hope that they would return to New York, find Splinter and Karai, and save everyone. They'd had hope that things would be okay.

Where was that hope now…?

Suddenly, a presence loomed over him from behind. And before he could react, a pair of long, slender yet impossibly strong arms wrapped around him in a warm, yet desperate embrace, trapping Leo's arms to his sides. The owner then buried their face into the crook of his neck, tightening their hold around the young leader. Leo didn't move or speak for a long time, his eyes wide and staring straight ahead of him, past the glass and into the void beyond.

"…Donnie?" he probed softly, his voice weak, hesitant, and cracking at the edges as he stole a glance behind him.

Donnie didn't reply. Instead, he held Leo closer. And Leo swore he could feel something warm and wet drip from where his younger brother had hid his face against him.

Donnie was crying.

Just as the older turtle feared he was on the verge of crumbling along with him, another presence joined them, and threw their arms around Leo and Donnie both. Leo didn't even have to look down to know that it was Michelangelo, clinging onto Leo's left side like a lifeline. The youngest turtle was trembling against them, tears pouring down his face as he silently wept against Leo's chest.

Seconds later, Raphael appeared, and was clutching Donnie fiercely, hiding his face against his side so that no one could see his tears, despite the futility of it. And it wasn't long before April and Casey added their warmth, their strength laced with despair, to the group as well.

The six of them stood there together, holding one another as close and as tight as they dared to in the silence that hovered over their heads. How ironic it was that after everything, the events of the second Kraang invasion, what took place at the farmhouse, up until this very moment, they had always been together in the bitter end. Six teenagers, fighting against all odds, against the world…only this time, they were the only ones left…

"…what're we gonna do, Leo?" Donnie whimpered against his older brothers' shoulder.

It was then that Leonardo finally allowed his tears to fall, cascading down his cheeks, as he squeezed his eyes shut. Because now, there was only one answer he could provide, and he knew it would do nothing to ease their pain, their loss…and above all, it would only add to their hopelessness…

"…I don't know."