Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 Fanfiction
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the TMNT franchise in any way, shape, or form. No money is being made. This is just a labor of love for the series. Please don't sue me, Viacom!

A/N: Hi everyone! Whew! I wanted to have the posted before the next episode aired and I made it just by the skin of my teeth! ^^; Anyway, after watching "The Power Inside Her," I just had so many unresolved feels about it that I wanted to write something for it, but I wasn't sure if I should. I was worried that I would have nothing new to say. But, after much encouragement from my dear friend, CJtheStoryteller, I decided to go for it. Deep down I am a hopeless Apriltello fan, so I decided to write it from that perspective. I sincerely hope you enjoy it! If you do, please feel free to favorite and/or review! I would love to hear your feedback! And if by some twist of fate you haven't seen "The Power Inside Her" yet, there are plenty of spoilers below the line! Go watch it now and then come back! I'll still be here. ;)

Edit: Changed the rating from T to K+ under the advice of CJ. Thank you for your help, sweetie! I really wasn't too sure what would be a good rating for it, but I had a feeling T was too high for it! ^^;

NEWS: It took a little while to add this into my A/N because I am just THAT shocked it happened.

Faith Unwavering got nominated for three categories in the 2017 TMNT Reader's Choice Awards! Those categories are:

Best Canon Fiction
Best Portrayal of a Canon Ally - April, and
Best Romance

I am still floored to think that some of you believed my little story deserved this recognition. Thank you so very much! I wish I could hug you all! The voting period starts April 30th so make sure you head over to their Tumblr page and read all the amazing submissions while you have the chance! I know I will be doing that!

I'd give ya'll a link, but FanFiction won't let me. So, just google the competition name and it will come right up. ;)

Good luck to everyone who made the ballot! All of you deserve to be there! :D

OK...I'll stop taking up your time. Please enjoy my story and be sure to let me know what you think!

"April!"

"Foolish mortal!" With a sweep of April's hand, Za-Naron threw Donatello onto his carapace. "Stay out of my way."

He grunted and scrambled back to his feet before blatantly ignoring the alien force's demands. "April, it's me: Donatello!" he called out while placing a hand on his plastron for emphasis.

A light of recognition returned to the glowing eyes and April hesitated. "Donnie?" Growling in pain and effort, she gripped her head and turned her back on the turtle in front of her. She fell to her knees as she tried to control the immense power coursing through her.

"Listen to me," Donnie continued as he dared to come closer, trusting April with everything he was. "Give me the crystal. Just give me the crystal and everything will be OK."

The words barely had time to leave him before Za-Naron regained control. She whirled around and extended one of April's hands towards him. "NO!" she snarled, April's voice blending with hers.

Donnie had enough time to look wounded before he yelped in shock. An unseen force seized him with all the gentleness of a hyperactive child grabbing a rag doll. He cried out as it lifted him into the air. Za-Naron rose with and soon passed him so that she could hover commandingly above him. The terror in Casey and the other turtles' voices as they shouted Donnie's name was tangible. Higher and higher the alien-controlled human and trapped mutant turtle went, only stopping once they were above the antenna of the Channel 6 News building.

Donnie didn't need to look down to know that a fall from this height would kill him, so he refused to focus on his fear. Instead, he concentrated on his efforts to reach his best friend and the love of his life. "This isn't you, April!" he declared with his fists clenched in an outward sign of his determination. "That crystal is changing you! You need to break free!"

Za-Naron's arrogant smirk vanished as April managed to struggle to the surface once more. "It's too much power! I... I can't control it anymore!" She grunted with the effort of holding back the coiling energies.

"You can do it! I know you can!" he encouraged her, his absolute faith in her helping him keep the nagging voices of logic and fear at bay.

"I'm not strong enough!" April whimpered. She opened her eyes, revealing that the glowing power of Za-Naron had faded and allowed April's beautiful azure eyes to show. She looked down at him with such anguish. "Donnie…I'm sorry." Then she growled and squeezed her eyes shut as the power tried to overcome her.

Awful dread settled into Donnie's stomach and began to fill his eyes. He reached up to her as he begged, "April? Please."

April's eyes opened again, showing that the horrific glow was back. Za-Naron roared and extended April's hand down at the mutant turtle. The corrupted Aeon's might danced all around him.

"APRIL! PLEASE!"

There wasn't a hint of hesitation as Za-Naron closed April's hand as though she were crushing something. Pain like he'd never experienced before surged through him. And then... Nothing.

Donatello jerked awake with a sharp gasp. His breathing came out in rough pants and he desperately looked all around. He blinked in confusion as he realized that he was in the lair. Just in front of him, the TV played a high-pitched tone as it showed the test pattern that came up whenever the station stopped broadcasting for the day.

Slowly, his memories filtered back into place. Za-Naron was gone. Destroyed by the very person that Donnie had been so desperate to help. And who was the reason he wasn't still scattered to the four winds.

He brought a hand up so he could stare at it as though he could scarcely believe that it was there. Then he sighed and flopped his head back to the plastron he'd been using as a pillow. His eyes drifted closed as he listened to the soothing sound of Raph's rhythmic breathing.

None of the turtles had been willing to go to bed after everything that had happened. They all seemed to share the same unreasoning fear that if they dared to sleep, their brother would be gone when they woke up. So they sat on the floor of the living room pit, watching TV and playing games in an attempt to stay awake and forget about the horrors of that night.

Eventually, exhaustion made its intentions clear. As each of Donnie's brothers dropped off to sleep, they snuggled close until they formed a protective cocoon around him. Raph sat with his carapace against the couch and pulled Donnie to him so that his little brother could settle on his side between Raph's legs. Mikey soon draped himself over Raph's right leg so that he could curl himself into Donnie's plastron. Leo followed shortly after, nestling himself against Donnie's carapace on Raph's left side and placing an arm over Donnie and Mikey so that he could hold all of his younger brothers in a tender embrace. By the time Donnie joined his brothers in slumber, the genius turtle felt safer than he had in years. Nothing would have made him more content than to stay like that forever.

And then his nightmare came along and ruined that contentment. He could still hear his and April's voices echoing in his mind. Could still feel Za-Naron's energy crackling over him just before…before…

"I need a drink," he thought in a desperate attempt to shove away the memories that threatened to drown him. Then he began the very delicate process of untangling himself from his beloved siblings without waking them. He thought he'd managed it until a firm grip on his arm pulled him to a stop. His eyes locked with Leonardo's.

Donatello swallowed hard at the expression on his eldest brother's face. It was the perfect blend of inquisitiveness, concern, and more than a trace of anxiety. Leo was trying so hard to hide the latter emotion from him, but Donnie could still see it clearly.

It didn't surprise Donnie that Leo was so worked up. His oldest brother had always done everything in his power to keep them safe, including throwing himself into danger's path without hesitation. But this time...this time the leader in blue could do nothing except watch in horror as their possessed friend strewed the purple-clad genius' atoms across New York City. The fact that Leo was managing to hold himself together as well as he was left Donnie in awe of his big brother. He knew that, if it had been him watching that happen to any of his family, he would have lost all sense of sanity.

Donnie lightly rested a hand over his brother's and allowed a small smile to ghost its way across his face. "I'm just going to get some water. I'll be right back," he reassured the other turtle. Leo made a faint sigh and nodded once. When he loosened his hold on Donnie, the tallest turtle gave Leo's hand a comforting squeeze before pulling away to head for the kitchen.

Once there, Donnie opened up the cabinet to select a glass at random. He was about halfway to the sink when he looked at which one he picked. His pace slowed and his thumb ran over the image of Crognard the Barbarian that emblazoned Mikey's favorite glass. A heavy sigh left him at the thought of his baby brother.

The smallest turtle somehow managed to keep himself together through the whole ordeal. However, the minute April passed out and Donnie stood before them in one piece again, Mikey threw himself against the taller turtle and sobbed his broken heart out. It didn't matter that it was raining, that they needed to get home and tend their wounds, or that they were out in the open for all to see. Mikey just couldn't think past how they'd almost lost their brainy brother permanently. The orange banded turtle managed to rein in his distress by the time they got home, but every so often Donnie would catch his baby brother watching him with tears glistening in those big blue eyes of his. He had a sneaky suspicion that he wasn't going to have his bed to himself any time soon.

In fact, between Michelangelo and Raphael, Donatello suspected that he wasn't going to have much in the way of private time, period. He could tell that Raph's injuries were the only reason the brawny turtle didn't join in on Mikey's hugfest. Now that the moment had passed, Donnie knew that their little sleeping pile was the most demonstrative his fellow middle brother would be. However, he had a feeling that he was going to have a bodyguard for the next few weeks.

Donnie sighed again as he finished his trek to the sink and filled Mikey's glass with water. As for himself, he knew he was going to be out of sorts for a while. How could he not be? He had died and then been resurrected. The scientific questions that raised alone were enough to give him a splitting headache. And the metaphysical ones? Well, they had him questioning whether or not he really was him! For all he knew, Donatello really was dead and what had been put back together was just some shade of the person he had been.

The purple-clad turtle squeezed his eyes shut and vigorously shook his head to stop that line of thought in its tracks. The last thing he needed rattling around in his brain was the idea that he was some kind of undead thing. April and the Aeon crystal both had powers that defied explanation. It was far healthier to chalk his resurrection up to forces that he couldn't understand than to question how it happened. At least for now.

He quickly gulped down his water before giving the glass a quick wash and placing it on the drying rack so that it would be good to go for Mikey in the morning. Once he left the kitchen, he had every intention of returning to his brothers in the living room. At least until he heard a whimpering noise. It didn't sound like one of his brothers. Too high. Besides, it seemed to be coming from the dojo, not the living room pit. He carefully climbed the stairs and peered into the dojo. His eyes widened. "April?"

The redhead was curled up in a little ball as she slept under the dojo tree. When and how did she get there? And why was she sleeping on the dojo's floor? They had perfectly good futons she could have pulled out. Even the couch was more comfortable than those prickly mats.

"No," she whimpered in her sleep. "No! Donnie, I..."

He made a soft gasp when he heard her call his name. Without hesitation, he began to approach.

"Keep away from me!"

He froze at her command, suddenly unsure of what to do.

"I can't fight her. She's too strong! I can't! Donnie, please," she sobbed, "stay away from me!"

Donnie's chest tightened in sympathy as he finally understood. She was having her side of his nightmare. "I can't imagine what it must have been like for her," he thought as he went to kneel by her side. "Trapped inside her own body. Forced to watch as 'she' attacked the people she cared about." A wave of guilt washed over him for his 'quantum smear' crack earlier in the evening.

"No. No, don't hurt him! PLEASE!"

He couldn't watch this. "April? Please-" he started as he leaned over her and soothingly smoothed his fingers through her hair.

"NO!" she shrieked, her eyes flying open as she did so.

He lurched away from her as though she'd burned him and yelped in fright. Reacting out of pure instinct, he disappeared into his shell so fast that he toppled over onto his carapace and spun around like a top.

April panted as she regained her bearings. "D-Donnie?!" she questioned and sat up, her voice rising in alarm at the sight of his headless and limbless form twirling in front of her.

It was only after he came to a stop that he dared to pull his head out enough to peer over the top of his upper scutes. Their eyes met and a brilliant blush colored his cheeks. "Um…heh. H-hi?"

She pressed a hand to her chest as she heaved an enormous sigh. "Wha… What are you doing here?" she asked him breathlessly.

"That's what I was about to ask you," he returned as he pulled completely out of his shell and sat up to face her. "I thought you said you were going home."

"I did," she started as she settled into a more comfortable position. "But with Dad out of town for work, the apartment felt too empty." She drew her knees up so she could hug them to her. "I…I couldn't stay there."

"So, you came back." She nodded quietly at his statement. If he weren't so worried about her, he would have told her how proud he was that she'd snuck in without any of them noticing. "Why didn't you let us know that you were back?"

"You all seemed to be having fun. I didn't want to interrupt."

He shook his head. "You wouldn't have been interrupting," he assured. Then he let out a short laugh. "Besides, it was less about fun and more about trying to put the whole evening behind us."

"Then it's a good thing I didn't join you," she whispered as she rested her cheek on top of her knees. His eye ridges pulled together in confusion. "I would have just been a reminder of what you guys were trying to forget."

Donnie's eyes softened sadly. "April," he breathed before moving to rest a hand on her shoulder. "We're not the only ones that need to move past what happened."

She jerked away from his touch and fixed him with an incredulous stare. "'Move past what happened?'" The tears she'd been fighting all night started to show in her trembling voice. "How can I?!" She emphatically thumped her fingers against her chest. "I killed you, Donnie!" she choked out. "Oh, I can try and sugarcoat it by calling it 'molecularly scattered.' But the truth is I grabbed you with my power and ripped you apart!"

"No!" Donnie immediately insisted in a voice that was somehow both stern and tender as he clasped her face in his hands to stop her from hiding from his gaze. "Za-Naron is the one that did that. Not you. I know you would never do anything like that. None of what happened is your fault."

"But it is! Don't you see? All of it is my fault! If I had just listened-"

"A powerful alien force was supplanting your mind! It's not like you were given a…a choice about what was happening."

"But I did have a choice!" she whimpered, guilt saturating her words. "And I chose the crystal."

"Did Za-Naron tell you that?" he asked as he released her face to rest his hands on her shoulders. The redhead swallowed hard and lowered her eyes from his, but didn't answer him; she didn't need to. "April," he murmured. "You were her greatest threat. She would have said anything to keep you off balance. To make sure she stayed in control." He craned his neck in an attempt to coax her into looking at him again. "And addiction is never a choice. If you had realized what was going to happen...that you were going to become dependent on that crystal...I know you never would have started using it."

She chewed on her lip for a moment before barely managing to breathe out, "How can you be so sure?" Her watery eyes lifted to him and searched his face for any signs that he was lying just to make her feel better.

"How can I not be? You are the most exquisitely maddening independent person I've ever known!" Donatello laughed, making her lower her eyes bashfully as a faint blush crossed her face. He rested his forefinger under her chin and persuaded her to meet his eyes once more. His tone lowered into something more affectionate, devoted even. "But also...I believe in you. Even when you don't believe in yourself." He tenderly touched his forehead to hers. "Nothing can or ever will change that."

The redheaded teen's face creased in grief as her tears finally began to trickle free at the conviction in his eyes and words. To think that he still had so much faith in her after everything that had happened. After everything she had put him through. She stretched up to hug Donnie around the neck for the second time that night. When she felt him loop his arms around her, she buried her face into his neck. What had she done to deserve such fierce loyalty? He felt her tremble against him as the dam holding back her anguish finally broke in earnest. With a soft sigh, he lightly rested his cheek against the side of her head, assuming the role of a silent, comforting presence to help her weather the storm.

Several minutes of unrelenting sobs passed before April felt in control of herself again. When she pulled away, Donnie traced his fingers along one of the trails her tears had made. Confusion wrinkled her brow when he started looking around for something. Then a smile spread across his face. He reached behind his head to untie his mask. A light pink dusted April's cheeks as he used it to carefully wipe away as much of the evidence of her breakdown as he could. After he had finished, he placed his mask in her hands. "So you can blow your nose if you need to," he explained at her questioning expression.

"EW!" she half squawked, half laughed. "I'm not gonna do that to your mask!"

Donnie blinked in surprise at her reaction before shrugging his shoulders. "Why not? It's just a piece of cloth."

"It's more than that," she told him while running her fingers down the purple material's length to smooth and untwist it. "It's a piece of you," she continued as she reached up to put it back where it belonged. Once she'd tied it in place, she pulled the mask's tails forward so that they draped perfectly over his shoulder. "And you deserve to be treated better than that." Then, she cupped his face in her hands and placed a delicate kiss on the end his nose. She felt his entire face heat up with the intensity of his blush. It brought a shy smile to her lips as she whispered, "Thank you, Donnie."

It took him few moments to find his voice and even after he did, he only managed to get out one word, "A-a-any-anytime."

April smiled a little more before making a quiet sigh. She knew how late it was and that she should be heading home. But she really didn't want to be alone right now. "Do…do you think it would be alright if I stayed here tonight?"

Her question snapped Donnie more to his senses. "Of course! Why wouldn't it be?" he asked curiously while tilting his head to the side. When she gripped herself in a self-conscious hug instead of answering, his eyes lit up with understanding. He got to his feet and offered her a hand up. "Come on." She was a little unsure of what he was up to, but accepted his hand and allowed him to lead her out of the dojo.

Leo looked up the moment they entered the living room. "I was just about to check on you," he chided Donnie before blinking in astonishment. "April! When did you-"

"Long story," Donnie interrupted as he and April stepped into the pit. "Tell you about it later. Right now, I need to ask you something."

"OK. What?"

The purple-clad turtle guided April to stand in front of him and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Would be alright if April stayed here tonight?" he asked his eldest brother what she'd just asked him.

Leo arched an eye ridge. "Um, of course," he answered slowly as though he were stating the obvious. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Donnie beamed when Leo gave him the exact same answer he'd given April. "See?" he asked cheerfully as he peered at April from over her shoulder. His smile plummeted at the sight of a tear sliding down her cheek. "I didn't mean to make her cry again!" he thought as he entered panic mode, "What kind of jerk am I!?"

He scurried her over to the couch and sat her down before hastily grabbing the ends of his mask to dry her eyes once more. "Y-y-you make yourself comfortable! I'll get you a-a blanket!" He yelped as he tripped over his own feet in his rush to get what he promised.

Leo blinked stupidly while he watched Donnie make a total fool out of himself before racing out of the room. Then he dragged a hand down his face and sighed as though what he'd just witnessed literally hurt. He was worried about how his little brother would deal with this evening's events, but, after that little display, he wasn't so sure he needed to be.

A sniffling sound pulled his attention back to April and Leo's eyes widened. The redhead wiped at her eyes as though she were trying to stop herself from crying. From what he could see, she'd already lost that battle once. "No wonder Donnie's so flustered," he thought. He didn't want to think about how idiotic he would act if he had to deal with a tearful Karai. Not that he ever expected to be in that kind of situation.

"Are you going to be OK?" Leo asked while resting a hand on April's knee.

"Yeah," she said even as she made one final sniffle. "I…I just didn't think…you guys would want me around after what happened."

Leo smiled at this and nodded in understanding. He'd felt the same way after Donnie had gotten hurt in the chemical factory explosion. His eye ridges briefly wrinkled together as it occurred to him that this was the second time in entirely too short a period that they'd come uncomfortably close to losing their purple-clad genius. He would have to give the other turtle a talking to about putting himself in harm's way. His eyes rolled at the thought of that conversation. No doubt Donnie would be quick to point out the hypocrisy of it.

April made a quick sweep of the room as she pulled her legs to her. "Where's Casey?"

"He went home. Said he needed to give his little sister a hug." Leo let out a shaky sigh. "Can't say I blame him." April offered him a sad, sympathetic smile.

The sounds of Donnie dashing back to the living room pit tugged Raph into wakefulness. The red-clad turtle shot his geeky brother an annoyed scowl as he watched the other turtle wrap April in one of their coziest comforters. Even though Raph was curious about when April got back to the lair, he cared more about the fact that he'd just been woken up. And that his fellow middle brother wasn't where he was supposed to be.

Raphael allowed Donatello a 'generous' three minutes to fuss over April before his patience ran out. He stretched over Leonardo, grabbed their scrawny brother by his mask tails, and pulled with all the strength his wounded body could give him. "Get over here, you dork!" Donnie made a shrill squeak as he was yanked away from April, dragged across Leo, and unceremoniously dumped against Raph's plastron. The genius rolled onto his side and propped himself up on an elbow so he could give his hot-headed brother an icy glare. He was just about to demand an explanation when Raph wrapped an arm around his shoulders so he could hug him close. "She's never gonna get to sleep if you don't stop being such a mother hen," the brawny turtle grumbled.

Donnie's eyes widened; then his whole demeanor turned embarrassed. "Right. O-of course," he stammered. "Sorry about that, April."

The redhead smiled and shook her head. "It's OK. You weren't bothering me," she assured him. "Quite the opposite, in fact," she thought as she watched the three turtles get settled. Her small smile became fond when Leo snuggled up behind Donnie and rested his head against Raph's arm so he could use it as a pillow. Suddenly, the couch was the last place April wanted to be. She left the couch and blanket behind so she could kneel in front of her four best friends. "Would you guys mind if I joined you?" she asked almost timidly. She nearly fell into giggles when Donnie's eyes grew to a size she'd yet to see in the entire time she'd known him and his face turned an endearing shade of red.

"I...you...w-we..." he stuttered. Truth be told? Just the idea of having a chance to cuddle with the girl he loved made him deliriously happy. And that made him not trust himself to make the right choice. So he looked over his shoulder helplessly. "Leo?"

The blue-clad turtle looked startled and turned rather nice shade of red himself. "Uh…I…um," he awkwardly started. "I-I'm not sure how happy Splinter would be about the idea."

Raph rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. He was too tired to deal with Donnie's shyness and Leo's uptightness right now. Luckily, he knew just how to settle this. Red-clad turtle lifted his free hand to tap the back of his youngest brother's head until he snorted awake. "You're cool with April joining us, right Mikey?"

The orange-banded turtle blinked sleepily as he processed the question. It only took ten seconds after his eyes focused on the girl in front of them for his face split into a smile. "Of course, bro!" he told Raph. "After all..." He grabbed April's arm and pulled her into the dead center of their group so that she was between him and Donnie. "...she's family."

"Mikey," April whispered, her eyes widening in surprise. Then a small, grateful smile stretched across her face even as her vision became hazy with unshed tears. "Thank you."

He gave her that enormous grin of his and wrapped her up in a tight hug while Raph slipped his free arm around his shoulders. "No problemo!"

She laughed at his enthusiasm and returned the hug. Without another moment's hesitation, April rolled towards Donnie. She snuggled as close to him as she possibly could, making him gasp softly, and closed her eyes. Meanwhile, the purple-clad turtle held perfectly still. His mouth went dry when she rested a hand on his plastron. What, exactly, was he supposed to do now? It wasn't like he had any experience with this kind of situation.

Donnie resisted the urge to let out a frustrated huff. This was stupid, him getting all worked up like this. "You're the one that wanted the chance to cuddle her…so cuddle her!" his mind snapped at him. He made a hard swallow before dredging up the courage to slide an arm under her so that he could carefully encircle her waist. April made a quiet, comfortable-sounding sigh at this and promptly tucked her head under his chin while settling her body into the crook of his arm.

An overjoyed grin spread over his face as he made a short, breathless laugh and looked Mikey. His little brother returned his grin with a delighted one of his own, though Mikey's almost had an 'I told you so' aura to it. Then the shorter turtle moved closer to both his 'sister' and brother so that he could slide his arm across April and rest his hand on the side rim of Donnie's shell. The genius' smile became one of brotherly affection. He brought his free hand up to curl it behind his baby brother's head. After a few moments, he felt Leo's arm draped over him, April, Raph, and Mikey so that the eldest turtle held all of them in a protective embrace once more.

Suddenly, the sense of contentment from before returned and Donatello sighed as he let it guide him to sleep. Yes, this whole ordeal had done quite a number on all of them. However, despite everything that had happened, Donnie knew that they would make it through this. As long as they had each other, they could get through anything.

A/N: Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read my story! I really do appreciate it. If you like what you've read, please let me know by favoriting my little story and/or leaving me a review! As I said before, I would love hearing from you! It helps make me feel like all my hard work has been worthwhile and keeps me going! :D