Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with me, guys! Here's the finale...

Ending Theme: "The One that Got Away" by The Civil Wars.

The next few days went on much as they had before, with the daylight hours spent cleaning and rebuilding as much as possible. Saki maintained the relative peace he'd promised April, and before a week had passed, April was satisfied he would keep to his word. She even got a smile or two out of him before long, and despite the tension still eclipsing many of his interactions with Yoshi, he did not speak a combative word.

April and Shen kept to their room at the Hamato residence, but one night, April braved the dark corridors and stealed away into Saki's room. Pausing briefly at the door to watch him sleep in his bed, she let herself breathe a soft sigh of relief. It was easy to think about the future when she looked at him this way, simple to imagine what life with him could be like.

She slipped into his bed, knowing she'd wake him no matter how hard she tried for stealth. Of course, his eyes opened before she'd even dipped into the mattress, and he wasted no time catching her around her middle and tugging her into bed. Stifling a giggle, April tucked into the covers next to him and tenderly traced a fingertip along his collarbone.

"What do you want in your life, April?" he asked her in a whisper. "When we are done rebuilding this village, where do you want to be?"

She looked to him. "I don't know," she admitted truthfully, her voice soft. Thinking that far ahead when she'd come here seemed like such a waste of time. But now... Who was to say she couldn't think that way? "Honestly, I'd... like to finish school, I think. Go to a university, like Shen. But I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I told you," she prodded him in the chest. "I'm not from here. I don't have anything."

"You have me," he said, his dark eyes serious. "And if you want to go to school, you can. I will help you." April's lips quirked at a smile.

"I don't even exist here, Saki. How can you help me, hm?"

"My family has its ways," he whispered wryly. "It is called money and power, and although they might not look it here, in this small town, we have both. And even if they did not..." he brushed his fingers over hers and pulled them to his lips, kissing the knuckles. "I would work a job digging ditches if I had to." April's smile grew and she drew herself closer, tucking her face into his neck as he continued on in his low, deep murmur.

"We can leave here if you like," his lips brushed her temple, a pleasing shiver running down her spine. "We can go back to New York together. You can rejoin your friends and your family. You can go to school or not. You can work or you can not. I do not care."

April lifted her eyes to his and saw that he was serious. Though, really. She should have known.

"I only want to be by your side," he told her.

April looked over the bits and pieces of his features visible in the shadowed room. "That's a big commitment," she pointed out, her voice small with awe.

Saki raised a brow at her. "I do not nothing by halves."

Together, they each smiled and their bodies eased close once more. "So I've noticed," April murmured, before she tilted her head up to his. "I think all of that sounds like a great idea."

"Really?" he asked, a true smile finding its way onto his serious features. It was the most brilliant expression she'd seen on his face since the battle at the temple, and when April nodded with a giggle, he kissed her forehead delightedly.

"Good night," he pressed another kiss to her lips, and though each of them were sorely tempted to take it further, they knew better. So they curled into one another and slept peacefully into the morning.

"See?" said Shen the next morning, as the sun shone down on the first newly erected building in the town market. She smiled over at April, her hands on her hips. "Things have a way of coming back around. The world, it can be hurt, just like people."

One of the other villagers adjusted the store front sign, before stepping away with a satisfied nod.

Shen continued, "But it can be healed, too."

The two friends closed hands and happily walked away.

She paused one day with Yoshi, who stood on the front porch of the Hamato's home, uncharacteristically quiet and still. When he looked to her, it was with a small smile of understanding.

"Thank you for being here, my friend," he told her, his mind somewhere else, but his eyes trained on her. April touched his arm gently.

"You've always been there for me, Yoshi. Ever since the first day I met you."

He turned to face her, his brows furrowed, but even behind the confusion there was something else. "Do you know something I do not?" he asked lightly.

April laughed and ducked her head, one hand sweeping back her hair from her face. "No, and I don't think I ever will," she said. "Just be patient with Saki, Yoshi. He'll come back to you. He loves you."

Yoshi nodded reluctantly. "And I love him. Even when he raised his blade to me." He turned, leaning against the railings, and continued to no one in particular, "I think I loved him more in that moment than I ever have in my life. Because I knew, then, what it felt like to be without him."

"He can do this," said April confidently. "I know he can."

Yoshi looked over his shoulder at her, and though he smiled, something about it did not reach his eyes.

April spent the next few days thinking through her possibilities. If Saki would really return to New York with her, what would that mean? What could she do? She should stay in Japan. That would be safest. She didn't need to risk messing something up in New York, or possible run across her real parents.

Still, despite her anxieties, she traveled back from the town market with a light, airy feeling in her heart that hadn't been there in a long time. Saki really was willing to do all of this for her. He loved her, so much so that he was willing to set aside his anger at Yoshi and Hamato Yuuta.

For her.

It was a vain thought to entertain with such glee, but April couldn't help it. It made her delirious with happiness. She very much skipped away from the market, one bag in each hand with some vegetables she and Shen were going to use to make dinner tonight. The Hamatos were always willing to feed them, of course, but they liked to cook for themselves, too. Tomorrow, they were going into Osaka, to meet with one of Shen's relatives who had offered to help rebuild the house for them.

April cut off from the market and detoured near the edge of the forest. She hadn't had much of a reason to go out this way since living at the Hamato's, and now she enjoyed stepping through the crisp air and trees. The afternoon overhead was growing late, and shifting from a bright blue sky to one of dusky orange. She enjoyed the way it speckled the ground with rays of light, and how certain areas permeated with warmth while others were cool and windy.

Stepping along the path she'd wandered before, April walked for almost ten minutes in dreamy wonder. When she stopped and realized how far she'd gone, she turned back to the market. However, a strange sense drew her attention, and she paused. Her eyes ticked over the quiet trees and the rustling leaves. She couldn't hear anything odd, but she had the sense she was being watched.

Shifting her bags in hand, she moved more quickly along the path, but the feeling only grew. Someone was definitely following her.

Pushing forward, she secretly cursed herself for going so far alone. Now she could hear someone behind her, and they were going to catch her before she reached town again. Instead of running further, April whirled around very suddenly.

"Who's there?" she exclaimed, and for a moment, she saw no one. And then she did.

Her bags slipped out of her hands and to the ground, and a few stray vegetables tumbled out.

"... Renet?"

A heart-shaped face with an apologetic smile looked down on April from where she hovered. Then she dropped to the ground with a little squeak, and despite April's horrified face, she managed a cheerful wave.

"Hi there."

"What... What are you doing here?" asked April, her arms dropping slowly to her side. Renet looked exactly the same as when she'd dropped April off here over a year and a half ago, not a hair different. Her overly large eyes still reminded April of a quirky doe, especially here in the forest.

"Uh – Well, you know. Surprise! I'm... here to take you home."

April stayed in her spot, unwilling to move any closer.

"How can I possibly go back with you?" she asked, and her voice grew increasingly heated as she continued, fear springing in her chest. "Don't you see? You've left me here for over a year, Renet! I've – I've met Yoshi, I've met Shen and Saki. I've done so much here!"

When Renet spotted her reluctance, she dipped her head and moved forward. "I know," she said gently. "I've been watching." She sighed, twisting her hands in front of her strange suit. "And now it's time for you to go. Because you've done what you were supposed to do here, April. You did what I left you to do."

April's brows furrowed. "What the hell are you talking about?" Her body felt like liquid panic. "Renet, you left me here, and I – I changed things. I can't just leave."

"You can," Renet pressed. "I know, because you've done this before. That's why I was so confused when I saw you with the turtles. Because I knew you to be a part of THIS timeline, not just theirs. Because in the timeline you and I both know, you were always here, and Hamato Yoshi was always Master Splinter, and Oroku Saki was always The Shredder."

"That is impossible," April seethed. "Because in that timeline, Saki loved Tang Shen. But he doesn't love her! He loves -"

"You," Renet said with a nod. "I know. He loved you more than anything else in the world, so much so that he was willing to give up his feud with Hamato Yoshi... so long as you are with him." April's body tensed at the careful way Renet's last words made the other wince, and horror crept into her heart, though she fought to keep it at bay.

"But Saki cannot give up his feud with Hamato Yoshi. He has to attack him. Yoshi has to become Splinter. And Splinter has to take care of four baby turtles." Renet reached for April, but the other girl pulled away sharply, hot tears pushing at the corners of her eyes, so Renet went on.

"All of those things have to happen for the turtles to exist, and the turtles do have to exist, April."

"But how could that happen here?" asked April, her shining eyes on the ground, her fists clenched.

"Because you leave," Renet told her with a frown. "You disappear, and Oroku Saki loses the most important thing in his life. The one thing that is keeping him from flying into a rage at this very moment. And then, after some time, he turns his anger to Yoshi again. And a few years after that, to the most important thing in Yoshi's life."

April whispered dully, "Shen."

"Yes," Renet nodded, her features pinched with sympathy. "He comes to covet what Yoshi has. And because he doesn't have you, all of that rage, jealous and possessiveness goes to Shen. She was the closest thing to you, and the only thing Yoshi might have cared about more than his clan. Don't you see?" Renet tilted her head at April. "You had to be here for all of this to happen. For Saki to love someone. For him to find out about his heritage. For his grief and anger to boil over when you're gone."

Renet stepped forward again. "But eventually, Saki will forget all about you. The only thing he will know is his hatred for Yoshi and his obsession with Tang Shen."

"And what if I don't do what you want?" April asked, rage filling her suddenly. "What if I just said -" she waved an arm violently," - fuck you and your stupid plans! Huh?" Tears poured down her face. "What if I stay here with Saki?"

Renet sighed, both hands grasping her staff as she leaned on her, her lips quirked. "Then you would be happy... for a little while." She met April's gaze. "And then, when the Kraang came – and they always do, April, in every dimension – there will be no turtle warriors to stop them. And they will kill or enslave everyone on this planet. Including you."

April whimpered, the sound guttural and unfamiliar to her. "How could this be true? I mean – Shredder knows me in my time."

"How could he think you were the same person?" asked Renet. "It's been almost twenty years for him. And besides..." she sighed softly. "People remember what they want to remember. It's one of our only tools in dealing with things that cause us pain."

"Pain," repeated April in a choked whisper, her eyes low. And then, with a sudden yell, she pointed at Renet with a flash of her eyes, ire bursting from her chest.

"So you're telling me I've spent all of this time here – felt like I was really making a difference - just for everyone to die and suffer anyway?" she shouted, her hands reaching up to grip her hair. "I have to let Shen – get murdered -" she sobbed. "I have to watch Yoshi suffer – and I have to – to let Saki become – that thing!"

April slammed her fist against a tree. "God damn it, Renet! I can't do this! I can't – I can't do it!"

Renet set her staff aside and approached April cautiously. This time when she reached out, April flinched but did not move away. "You already have," whispered Renet with a sad smile. "And you are much more powerful than you know."

"Powerful?" April managed between clenched teeth, as she lifted her head to look at Renet. "You're telling me the Shredder does all of those terrible things – kills all of those innocent people – because of me and I'm supposed to feel powerful?"

She snapped out her arm and shoved Renet away as hard as she could. "Just let me die here! It would be the same for Saki. It would keep the timeline. Just let me go."

"No!" Renet exclaimed, her features sharpening. "The turtles still need you, April!"

"Well, I'm sick of people needing me! I'm sick of being used for others! I can't do this, Renet. I can't fight anymore, I'm tired of it." April sank to the forest floor, her tear-stained face against her dirty knees.

After a few seconds of silence, Renet moved forward and dropped to one knee next to her.

"I know you're tired," her voice floated into April's consciousness, and she suddenly sounded quite a bit older than she had before. "It's not easy being the person who saves others. It's a thankless job, and it's a lot of work. Most of the time," she sat down with a quiet huff. "People don't even realize you've done anything at all."

She beckoned around her, at the fading orange that eclipsed the forest.

"But that's kind of the point, isn't it? I'm not saying the world deserves this kind of sacrifice from you, April. It probably doesn't. But the world does need it. And sometimes our needs aren't fair or logical." She curled her fingers around April's. "Sometimes, what we've gotta do to survive is just about the most unfair thing there is."

April looked to Renet, though she remained silent for a long time. Then she pulled away and stood, her trembling hands picking up the vegetables, which she repacked with meticulous care. Then she took them both of her wrists and looked to Renet, her cheeks still wet but her tears at bay.

"I want to say good-bye to them," she said with a swallow.

Renet nodded slowly. "Okay. I can set my time to get back here at midnight tonight. We can leave then." She paused, reaching out to April and then reconsidering. April watched her unblinkingly, and Renet curtly nodded once more. "Okay. Midnight. Be ready."

The square of light opened up above her head, and she disappeared.

When she came to the house, April spotted a figure on the bridge to the west of the main home. It was a small wooden structure, set over the river that twisted narrowly throughout the grounds, growing larger and faster as it went deeper into the forest.

Night had set, but the moon was full, and by the light of it, she could see Hamato Yuuta standing there, his aged hands poised on the railing. He did not seem to be looking at anything in particular.

As April watched, Saki stepped on to the bridge, only a sliver of his face visible as he approached Yuuta and silently placed a hand on his shoulder. April stood far enough away that she was not spotted, and she gazed on in wonder for a few moments before movement in the house grabbed her attention. She turned and saw, through the window, where Yoshi and Saki were sitting down to dinner.

Confused, she looked back to where Hamato Yuuta stood on the bridge, and it was then that she noticed this young man had longer hair than Saki. He was also smaller and slighter in frame, and his posture was different. When the young man next to Yuuta turned to look at her, he met her gaze directly, as if he had sensed her the entire time.

Hamato Yuuta glanced up, though his eyes were hazy and he did not follow the movement. He saw April, and he nodded to her in greeting. Then he looked back to the night sky, unmoving as the young man crossed by him, off the bridge and down the path, where he walked directly past April with only a passing glance in her direction.

She whirled in her spot to see where he had gone, but there was no one there.

That night, April wore no sign of her distress. She wiped at her eyes, cleaned off her dirty clothes, dabbed away any spots of blood from her hands, and slowed her pounding heart. She cooked, ate, laughed and joked with Shen. She looked her in the face and drank in her presence, all the while staving off the dull ache that pushed in every cavity of her body, threatening to burst from the pores of her skin at every turn.

They crawled into bed side by side around ten, as they often did, whispering side by side even though they'd been talking all day. "Are you alright?" asked Shen, too intuitive. April nodded firmly.

"I'm great."

"If you and Saki go to New York," Shen smiled deviously. "May I come visit?"

April clasped Shen's hand and squeezed tenderly. "Any time," she whispered.

Once Shen had fallen asleep, April slipped out of the bed, resolve pressing her forward even as her mind and body screamed at her for mercy, to allow it this life, please. Instead, April found a piece of paper and wrote with a trembling hand.

Shen -

My friend came back. I'll miss you always.

- April

She left the note next to the bed, and with one last glance at Shen's sleeping form, she closed the sliding door and moved quietly down the hallway to Saki's room.

He'd worked hard that day, April thought as she slipped into bed with him, and even though he stirred, he was really only half-awake. It was rare to catch him in such a state of unawareness, and she didn't know whether she was lucky or cursed.

He curled her in his arms and sleepily secured her in the covers. Only when he felt her tears wet against her pillow did he stir and open his bleary eyes. "Mm," he pressed a large hand gently to her face. "What is the matter?"

April tried to answer, but if she opened her mouth to speak, she wasn't sure she could control herself. Grief made one want to say or do anything to make it stop.

Saki blinked rapidly in an effort to stay awake, and April almost smiled through her tears at his attempt. "Are you missing your home again?" he asked, curling his head close to hers and brushing over her tears. "Is that why you are sad?"

April reached up and grasped his hand. "Yes," she answered simply.

"You can go back soon," he promised her, his eyes closing again against his will. "Whenever you want... I will... take you there..." He pressed his face further into the pillow, blind to April's silent despair. "In New York... together."

"Yes," said April again. "In New York, together." Seconds later, he was fully asleep again, and she kissed his forehead. "But you won't be the same, Saki. And neither will I."

She watched him sleep for as long as she dared, wanting nothing more in the world than to fade off next to him, wake up in his arms, plan their future together. But the future for them was already decided.

"We thought were controlling the flow of time," said Donatello. "But in the end, we were just a ripple. And the current kept going."

When she was sure he was asleep, April rose from the bed as she had done with Tang Shen and moved in a dreamlike state to the dojo. There, she pulled down the chest containing the scrolls and the Kura Kabuto. After opening it with her key, she removed the scrolls and held them in her hands. Then she took them to the nearest fireplace and tossed them in, letting the paper burn away, along with the story they told. Saki didn't need to know that to become The Shredder. To know that he wasn't taken out of anger or spite, but because of two people who loved each other very much.

Turning back to the chest, she pulled something out of her pocket she'd taken from Shen's room – the polaroid photo of the four of them on Christmas. On the back, she wrote simply I love you, without a signature. Then she placed it in the chest next to Kura Kabuto, closed the chest and locked it with her key.

She left both the box and the key on the table next to Saki's bed for him to find.

Once she had done this, she hurried out of Saki's room before her resolve could weaken. As she moved down the hall, she bumped into someone.

"April?" asked Yoshi sleepily, rubbing at his face. "What are you doing?"

She stared up at him, and suddenly felt the urge to laugh. She did, but it hurt her chest, like a bad hiccup, and it took a moment to steady her breathing before she became hysterical. "Don't worry about it, Yoshi. I'll see you very soon."

He stared her, brows furrowed, but April only sidestepped him and moved down the hallway. She raced out of the house and into the forest, with only the moonlight to guide her. But it wouldn't matter. None of it mattered.

Renet was there, as promised, staff in hand. April stood rigidly in front of her, fighting the urge to at least look over her shoulder, as if such a simple glance could satisfy the desire threatening to gain control of her at this very moment.

"Are you ready?" asked Renet tentatively.

April swallowed tightly. "Could I have done it?" Renet looked to her curiously, and April turned to face her. "Could I kept Saki from becoming the Shredder? Could I have made him a good man?"

Renet lowered her large eyes, before they flickered back to April's steely face. "Do you really want to know the answer to that?"

April finally looked back in the direction of the house, but she couldn't see anything. Not anymore.

"No," she said at last. The portal opened above them.

Instead of simply taking her to the future, the blinding light enveloped them and everything around April shattered and reassembled right in front of her eyes. The sudden change of scenery jarred her, and it took her a moment to realize Renet was right beside her as everything flashed and swirled around them.

Suddenly, she saw Saki in front of her, as if he were taking part in a play going on all around her. He did not see her or hear her, but she was in his room and everything was edged in haze. The scenery was too bright to be real and too faded in the corners to go any further than what she could see right in front of her, but she couldn't have looked away if she tried, as she watched him discover her note and search for her in vain. Then he pulled out the shining helmet and held it in his hands.

April's body seized with grief as she watched Saki fly into a despairing rage, and the scene faded just as Shen and Yoshi came into the room to calm him. But there was nothing to be done. The image faded away.

The world around April pieced itself together once more, but this time it was the village and the seasons had changed. Now, she saw Saki in the center of town, his expression dark as he watched Yoshi, and Shen nearby talking to him. Yoshi and Shen laughed together in one another's arms, and Saki absorbed it all from where he stood in the shadows.

The images disappeared in a mist.

One scene faded into another. Yoshi and Shen arguing, with Yoshi waving an arm in the direction of his family's home while Shen stubbornly folded her arms. They parted badly, and the next thing April saw was Saki talking to Shen, quiet and understanding. She couldn't make out their words, but there was no mistaking his intent as Saki touched Shen's arm and ducked his head gently to speak with her, tenderness in his every motion, the same he had used with April.

When Saki and Shen kissed, April had to turn her head away, and she feared she wouldn't be able to remain standing during the rest.

Yoshi was watching nearby.

April watched as Shen and Yoshi reconciled. Shen and Saki still spoke, and sometimes she would let him embrace her, but in the end, she was always with Yoshi.

Shen and Yoshi spent a night together, and a few months later, Shen discovered she was pregnant. April watched as she fell to her knees and cried, and Yoshi stood by, guilt causing him to turn away from Shen as he realized he had done what he had never wanted to do. He had trapped her.

The baby was born, and they named her Miwa. She was a happy infant, and so too were the parents, for a time. Saki did not see the baby until it was a few months old, but when he did, he held her for a very long time, simply gazing at her face.

The tension escalated. The fighting grew. And without April at his side, Saki grew more and more belligerent with each passing day. Without her soothing attention, without her loving reassurance, his insecurity and bitterness mounted.

Shen's desire to leave the village battled with her feelings for Yoshi, and Saki was there to remind her of his willingness to leave. Of his desire to care for her child. Of his devotion.

April sobbed as she watched Shen rush into the burning building where Yoshi and Saki fought to the death, and then Saki pulled out his blades and cut her dearest friend across the chest and neck, the fit of fury leaving her dead at his feet. He grieved, and so did Yoshi, and all the while April could do nothing more in her transparent state than sink to her knees as she watched Tang Shen die in front of her, seemingly just a hands length away.

The sound of Yoshi's screams were almost as difficult to hear as her own.

"Please," cried April to Renet. "Make it stop."

"It gets better," soothed Renet tearfully. "I promise."

It didn't get better. Not for April. Not even when Yoshi left Japan and found the turtles. Not when she watched the turtles grow and train and learn to love. Because all she could see was a scarred Saki, staggering from the burning building with the blood of someone they both loved on his hands, forever changed.

A crying baby in his arms.

"It's almost over," Renet told her quietly.

"Don't TAKE her!" shrieked Donatello.

"Take me?" squealed April, as a strange vortex began to pull at the edges of her body. "What the -"

"Sorry guys!" Renet called out. The flash of light engulfed them both and they were gone.

Donnie stared at the empty space where April and Renet had been, before suddenly rounding on Mikey. "Great, Mikey! Way to go, your stupid girlfriend kidnapped April!"

"Hey," Mikey prodded Donnie's shoulder. "She does what she wants, okay? I'm not her keeper, bro."

"Just great," Raphael huffed. "Now what're we supposed to -"

Whoosh.

Fwish.

Thud.

Renet and April reappeared in a flash of light, and the turtles immediately fell silent. Even when April lifted her head, lips parted and her face flush with tears, they could only stare. Slowly, April took in everything around her.

The lair. The turtles. She looked up and spotted Raphael's punching bag, Leo's Space Heroes game. The turtles looked her up and down, and it was Mikey who stepped forward first.

"Whoa... April, what happened to you?"

"Yeah, your... hair is longer," said Donnie, brow bridges raised. "And your clothes are different."

April looked slowly to Renet, who suddenly jumped high in the air with a triumphant yelp. "Yes! We did it, April! Everything is exactly like it should be! We did it, we totally -" She looked then to April's stricken face, and her own fell as she recoiled in her excitement. Instead of answering any of the turtles' questions, April straightened slowly, her entire body shaking.

"Where is he?"

Renet frowned slowly, before answering. "You know where he is," she said quietly.

A sharp cry fought its way into April's throat but she stifled it, instead looking to the dojo door of the lair. Without a word to the turtles, she moved past them and up the steps, suddenly frantic. She threw open the door and saw, sitting in front of her, Master Splinter in a meditative pose.

He opened his eyes when she entered, and though a moment of confusion passed over his rat face, comprehension was next there. He took in her clothes, her expression, and as he stood, April crossed the room and threw herself into his arms with a sob.

"Oh, my friend..." he said quietly, reaching up a clawed hand to her hair.

"Did you know all this time?" April choked out through her tears. "Did you know me?"

Master Splinter sighed, and the expansion of his chest brought warmth to April's chilled body. "When I met you first, I did not think it was possible." April remembered Renet's words – How could he think you were the same person?

"But," Master Splinter continued. "When your powers began to emerge, and with the arrival of Renet... I knew you must be one and the same. But I could not say anything to you. It was not time."

She turned her face into his robe and inhaled sharply in an effort to gain control of her body, but the images were too fresh, to hard for her to wrap her mind around. Her body refused.

"I'm so sorry," she cried. "I'm so sorry I let that happen. That I let Tang Shen die. Oh, god... I miss her so much." His arms tightened around her at that, and the words spilled out of her mouth. "I miss her, Yoshi. And I – I miss him. God, I miss him so much."

He did not speak for a long time, his face over her head and looking behind her, in the direction of his shelf. "As do I, my friend. As do I."

"Master Splinter?" asked Donnie with a frown. "Will... April be alright?"

"Yes, my son," the old rat touched the turtle's shoulder. "She is stronger than you know."

Alone in her room, April opened a box with a lock. Inside, she placed a black and red tessen, which she sealed away with a final click. Because some things were better left locked away, she realized.

The past was no place for anyone to linger.

Another battle in the great war. Leonardo stood front and center, blades drawn. At the head of the macabre church, his back to them, the leader of the Foot clan waited.

"This is it, Shredder," growled Leonardo. "Your madness ends tonight."

Mikey glanced at April at the corner of his eye, weapons tight in his hands. "April?" he whispered. "You good?"

The others looked to April, but she was already crouched, black and white tessen in hand, eyes hard. And as soon as Oroku Saki turned, his armor glinting, Kura Kabuto firmly in place on his head, April's fan opened with a clink.

The tears were still there, but they felt like a white hot fuel against her skin. Oroku Saki's mismatched gaze scanned the turtles and then, ultimately, came to rest on hers.

"April?" Leo questioned once more, but April only had eyes for The Shredder.

So she leaped first.

"YAH!"

The war didn't end that day, but when it did many years later, it was by Leonardo's hand, as it was always destined to be.

The floor was sticky with blood, but he still saw it, fallen from the Shredder's lifeless body. Stained crimson, faded with age. A polaroid photo with four smiling faces on the front, and a note on the back.

I love you.

Ending Theme: "The One that Got Away" by The Civil Wars.

Edit: For those of who you'd like to read a few words about the ending, check out my tumblr blog - petthekat89. Thanks for reading!