Have you guys recovered enough from last chapter? It made me cry while writing it!

I would say I'm sorry... but I'm not 😋

Let's see what happens next:

July 11, 2014

The glass fragments of the shattered crystal crunched under April while she continued rocking back and forth, wailing as she held Donnie's body. She barely registered the presence of Raph and Mona Lisa kneeling down beside her.

"April?" Raph's voice was uncharacteristically soft. Mona rubbed April's back, tying to offer comfort.

She looked up, face red and splotchy from crying. "He… he's gone…" The girl whimpered.

Raph shook his head, refusing to acknowledge the evidence before his eyes. "Nah. It's Donnie! He always finds a way outta sticky situations." He lightly punched Donnie's shoulder. "Right, Dee? You're just wiped from savin' your girl!"

The boy frowned when his brother didn't respond. He shook Donnie's shoulder. "Come on, man… stop messing around!" Still nothing. He shook the body harder. "Donnie? DONNIE?!"

April weakley shoved her brother away. "Stop it, Raph! He's gone, okay? And… t-there's n-nothing w-we can…" She broke into fresh sobs.

"It's my fault…" She barely whispered.

Raph turned to his older brother, seeking reassurance. "He…Donnie can't be gone… right. Leo?"

Leonardo stood before his family, numbly staring at his brother's broken body. It's not April's fault… He thought. I'm the leader. This falls on me…

A loud crash brough Leo out of his trance. He turned to see Mikey panting, his kusarigama chain amongst the rubble of a destroyed boulder. Did… did he throw that boulder with his chain?

"MIKEY!" Raph snapped. He'd covered a still weeping April when the boulder's debris went flying. "What the heck, man!" He growled when instead of answering him, Mikey began pacing back and forth, muttering angrily.

"What, Mikey?" Leo cautiously stepped closer. He'd never seen his brother like this before…

Mikey furiously kicked a piece of the destroyed boulder. "She should've been here!"

Leo stiffened. "Who should've been here, Mikey? Karai was injured-"

"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT KARAI!" The normally calm, laid-back turtle whirled on his brother, eyes flashing with various emotions; anger, hurt, betrayal.

Everyone shielded their eyes as a blinding blue light and massive amounts of smoke surrounded them. They stilled as a mysterious, melodic voice filled the air.

"He was talking about me." A girl decked out in blue wearing a strange headpiece and carrying a staff emerged from the smoke. She made eye contact with each turtle before her gaze settled on Mikey. She smiled warmly. "Well then, warrior. How goes the day?"

Raph twirled his sai, sliding in front of his family. He was not going to lose anyone else today!

"Who're you, 'Headdress'?" He growled. He was surprised as Mikey roughly shoved past him.

"RENET!" The youngest turtle shouted. He got right in the mysterious girl's face; she didn't flinch. "Where the heck you been?! Every time you've asked, every flippin' time you needed help, I've been there!" For the first time since Donnie's death, Mikey let the tears roll. His voice broke. "Where were you today?"

"Wait, Mikey… you know her?" Leo pressed Raph's battle ready arm down.

The boy sighed, taking a set back from Renet. He took a second to swipe at his tears. "Yeah. Remember when we took out the Technodrome and y'all thought I died?"

Raph rolled his eyes. "Not somethin' we're gonna forget in a hurry, little brother."

"Turns out," Mikey continued. "Renet's a Time Master and she came back to save me. Since then, I've occasionally helped her on missions. That's why I disappear sometimes and y'all can't find me. We've, uh…" He coughed, a blush staining his cheeks. "We've also been dating for a bit."

"...that'll take some time to process…" Raph muttered, finally putting away his weapons.

Mikey's eyes darkened again, turning to glare at his girlfriend. "I texted her about needing help with April and that freaky crystal but you NEVER SHOWED UP!" He thrust his finger at Donnie's body, still cradled in April's lap. "My brother DIED because you and your Time Master BUTT did NOTHING ABOUT IT!"

"I could not have prevented this." Renet replied calmly.

"But you could've tried!" For a moment, Michelangelo looked older than his seventeen years; there was no trace of his carefree younger self. He sniffed, eyes downcast as Renet gently pressed a gloved hand to his cheek. She wiped away the tears he didn't even know had begun flowing again.

The time traveler turned to face April. "I know you're not alright. But hold tight, April, because you will be."

Since Renet had arrived, April hadn't even looked up to register the new presence. Her head slowly turned, her eyes wide.

"What? H-how…"

Renet flicked a tassel hanging from her staff. " I couldn't come earlier because Time Masters cannot interfere with certain moments in time, such as the circumstances leading up to Donatello's death. I could have been here, but I wouldn't have been able to lift a finger. However, I can now help you rectify the situation."

"'Rectify the situation'?" Leo repeated quietly. The leader slowly moved towards Mikey and Renet, tugging his youngest brother behind him, ignoring his protests. Leo leveled his katana at the girl. "Like Mikey said - our brother is dead. We grieve his loss. His girlfriend - our sister - will have to live with seeing her loved one being tortured at her hand while she was trapped within her own mind. How would you 'rectify the situation'?" He asked, his voice dangerously low.

Renet fearlessly strode past Leo to kneel next to April and Mona Lisa. The Salamandrian curled her upper lip, a threat as to what would happen if the Time Master did anything to harm or upset her friend. Renet placed her hand under April's chin so she could meet her understanding gaze.

"All is not lost, Hamato April. You can bring Donatello back."

For the first time, April felt a spark of hope. "I-I can?"

"Yes, but not within this timeline." Renet let her hand drop. "The Aeon was correct in one instance - your psychic energy and the magic of the Aeon crystal combined can defy many laws of nature; including the laws of time. Now, collect the pieces of the crystal and reassemble it." She gave a reassuring smile at the girl's hesitancy. "Fear not, April. The creature within the crystal has been defeated. It will simply act as a conduit."

April took a deep breath before closing her eyes. She waved her hands about, pulling even the tiniest fragment to regain its original form. It wasn't long before the crystal was assembled. A quick psychic once over proved Renet right; there was no familiar energy emanating from the crystal.

Renet tapped the tip of the crystal. "Concentrate on the moment in time when you and the crystal first crossed paths. Your mind will be transported to that exact moment in time. From there, it's up to you."

"What is?"

The Time Master shrugged. "What happens next. If you can convince your past self to resist the call of the crystal and the Aeon within it, then this timeline will cease to exist and Donatello will live. If not, we will continue this time loop where he will always die."

"But 'Net…" The girls turned to see Mikey stepping closer. "W-what about us? What about Raph and Mona and all the awesome stuff that's happened with the mutant/ human relations?"

Renet stood, taking the boy's shaking hands within her own. "If those things are meant to be, then they will still happen regardless of whether or not April has the crystal. But rest assured, my noble warrior," She cupped his face with both of her hands. "I will always be there to have you on the day of your sacrifice." She kissed him, gently bumping her forehead to his. Mikey let out a shuddering breath.

After another moment, April gently moved Donnie's body off her lap and onto the ground. She caressed his cheek, looking over his face. It wasn't very often that he removed his mask; April thought he was gorgeous, with or without it. She shakily pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"I'll see you soon." She whispered.

The girl took the hand that was offered to her by Mona Lisa. She gasped slightly when the Salamandrian pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you for being such a great friend, April." Mona sniffed.

April returned the embrace. "Thank you for caring so much about my brother." She pulled back slightly, wiping away her tears. "I don't know what I'll remember, but I'll try to make sure you two still end up together."

Mona Lisa barked out her classic Salamandrian laugh. She nudged her human friend towards the turtles. "Go on. They are waiting for you."

The red-head all but ran into her brothers' embrace. They squeezed each other so hard, hardly anyone could breathe. Eventually, they loosened their grip to where everyone's arms were looped around each other's shoulders and all of their heads rested together in the middle of their group hug.

"Guys… I…" April barely got out two words before she started crying again.

Raph chuckled wetly, wiping her tears away while his own dampened his mask. "What're ya cryin' for, Red? You're 'bout to fix everything!"

"When April goes back…" Understanding flooded Leo's mind. "This timeline will end here. This version of us… ends here."

April swallowed thickly. "I can't even begin to apologize for everything I've done…"

Mikey gently tugged on a stray lock of hair to distract her from that line of thinking. "It's okay, April. That was the crystal twisting you up something fierce. That wasn't you; not really."

"B-but Donnie…"

"Wouldn't want you to blame yourself." Leo interrupted her. A glance at Renet confirmed his gut feeling. "Looks like our time's up, gang." He squeezed everyone closer. "I couldn't ask for a better family. I love you guys." Everyone else murmured their 'I love yous', no one immune from the onslaught of tears.

The girl reluctantly stepped back from her family, clutching the crystal to her chest.

"One more thing!" Raph sniffed. "If… WHEN you see Donnie… give the dork a hug from us?"

"I will." April agreed.

The boys gathered around their fallen brother, pulling him into their laps. Mona knelt next to Raph, her hand tightly entwined with his. Renet moved to stand behind Mikey. April looked to her now for instruction.

"So… I just hold the crystal and think about the day I got it?"

"Exactly." Renet bowed her head. "I hope to meet you under better circumstances next time. Farewell for now, Hamato April."

With one last look at her family, April closed her eyes and thought back to that fateful day in the Hidden City: October 13, 2012.

People always say

Life is full of choices

No one ever mentions fear

Or how the world can seem so vast

On a journey to the past

"Journey to the Past" lyrics belong to 20th Century Fox