Despite many one-man picket lines and stink pellets thrown into people's open windows, I do not own TMNT.

"Is this how you choose to die brother," The Super Shredder snarls throatily, the thunder falls of his footsteps rapidly approaching, "Lying on your belly like an animal?"

Splinter, wheezing wearily from the onslaught of merciless blows, reaches forward with shaking fingers to grip his staff. With the steadiness of a toddler taking its first steps, the mutant rat manages to get back to his feet with his staff at his side. He narrows his eyes, his mouth curling into a deep grimace of pain and boiling anger.

"Come, Saki," Splinter tempts the gargantuan mutant monstrosity before himself, "End this madness."

The Super Shredder roars an ear-splitting scream from deep within that forces its way from his mouth,
as if his tainted soul has unleashed a demon. Splinter's ears twitch as he crouches into a defensive stance, waiting for the opportune moment to avast the attack, and perhaps turn his enemy's speed against him. With a soft, barely imperceptible click, the end of his staff transforms into a whip, and with a crack he ravels it around the charging mutant's leg, swinging him off the edge of the roof.

Panting heavily, Splinter slowly turns to Raphael and April, quickly flitting his eyes over them for any signs of major injuries. "Yes," Raphael crows weakly, his mouth twisting into a weak smile as he leans heavily into April, "You did it, Sensei."

"My family," Splinter gasps out, relieved.

April's smile falters, and she whispers, "Oh, no," Eyes widening in horror she screams, "Splint - No!"

The only thing Splinter could hear in those few short moments, those precious few seconds, was his own heart beating steadily, in a slow tune in his own ears. The twisted blades of bone steadily approached and he could not dodge, for there was way to twist away from the swinging arc of great blades that would soon penetrate his belly. A scream sounds off in the distance and he hears fast approaching footsteps. Then there is abruptly a great rush of wind as a body lunges in front of him, barely blocking the menacing blades of bone meant to impale him. There's a spray of crimson, blinding as it splashes against his face and a pained, guttural wheeze as the breath was forced from their body. He blinks, feeling drops of blood dribble down the fur on his face, and his mouth parts ever so slightly as he's thrown to the ground.

Splinter opens his eyes, runs his trembling fingers over his face in a poor attempt to wipe away the blood. "...No," He utters, voices the lowest of croaks, as his vision begins to blur,"N-no... i-it cannot be...!"

But his red cladded son's pained, gasping moan confirms the bloodied figure in his vision,"Leonardo!"

Leonardo is collapsed against the Super Shredder, the blades of bone impaled in his abdomen and protruding from his splintering shell. The blue cladded turtle's eyes are wide in surprise, shining with unshed tears, and a flood of blood is dribbling from his gaping mouth. The mutant turtle releases another shuddering breath, his hands twitching weakly as they claw down the mutilated mass of flesh, the monster, holding him in place. A single tear trickles down his cheek as he gasps aloud, swallowing thickly against the tide of blood rising in his throat.

The Super Shredder growls lowly, lifting upwards with the claws of bone that protruded from his mutagen marred flesh. "And now, you will watch, Hamato Yoshi as I take everything you've ever loved," He lifts his great bulging arm upwards, hoisting the limp turtle into the air, "One at a time. And then, only then when you have nothing will you... die!"

Raphael's mouth went slack as a long, wailing cry of despair emitted from deep within. April screams in shock and horror, her hands raveling around the mutant turtle leaning on her, and she pulls him close as tears free fall from her cheeks. The red cladded turtle struggled futilely to escape her grasping arms, his green hues burning with the familiar heat of tears as he screams,"Leonardo!"

As Leonardo plummeted from the rooftop, air rushing in his ears he stared heavenward at the quickly fading starry night. His perception of time distorted, everything slowed down until there were nothing, only him and the night sky above, the sky that seemed to swallow him whole. The blue cladded turtle's hand reached out, kissing the sky, grasping the endless crevasse of midnight darkness. Everything was a blur, a blur that swirled out of existence. His limbs flailed about uselessly as he hurtled towards the asphalt below. Looking into his eyes was like looking through a fragile piece of sea glass, which laid in the sand glistening in the sunlight. With his final moments, that one last stuttering heartbeat that would soon come to a halt in his chest, he gazed at his brothers and he smiled. Those eyes, moist with final tears, slowly closed, as the blue cladded turtle resigned to his inevitable fate that would be met when he touched the ground.

Michelangelo flinches violently as he hears the body meet the ground with a sickening crunch, keeping his eyes clenched shut.

"No," The orange cladded turtle sobs, tearing away from his purple cladded brother as the older turtle attempts to hold him back, "No, no, no! Leo! Leo, no! No, please, you can't be - You can't be...!"

"Leonardo," Donatello utters weakly, his hand shakily going over his mouth. He stumbles backward, his eyes glued to the body, "Please...please...brother...?"

The Super Shredder let's out a low, throaty chuckle as he faces Splinter, his meaty fist-raising as he taunts, "He is just the first, rat. Your eldest boy," He snarls, "Is gone, and he will not be the last. No, I will peel your eyes open to make you watch as I take all of their lives -"

Tears halting, April slowly lifts her head, her teeth grit tightly as the wind rose around her. Her flaming red hair blasted behind her back with the strength of the rising energy emitted from the human girl. She threw a hand forward, screaming in agony as the power from within burst force like a crashing wave, slamming into the mutant monstrosity. With a deep, resounding impact down below, the mutant crashes into a garbage truck below, and the entire vehicle is jolted violently as heaping trash bags fly in different directions.

Casey grips the lever, wrenching it forward. Machine gears grind as the limp disfigured, mutant monstrosity is crushed in the grave impacter. The human coldly quips, "Oops."

Michelangelo falls to his knees beside the limp form of Leonardo, quickly taking his hand into his own, holding it tightly and to his chest. His fingers run down the bruised and bloodied knuckles, gently brushing away the torn shreds of the bandages in place there. The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down the orange cladded turtle's freckled face. He bows his head, whimpering as he's overtaken by the sudden storm of flurried emotions.

Leonardo gently wraps his arms around Michelangelo, settling his chin on top of his head. The television flashes in front of them, various cartoon characters darting back and forth with the warbled, noisy dialogue resounding across the eerily empty lair. The grainy image of space flits across the screen, the animated ship blasting across the glass as both young turtles watch in awe. As the main character steps into view, posed confidently with his blaster at the ready, and a wicked monologue to spew at a moment's notice, the blue cladded turtle grinned from ear to ear.

"One day...I'm gonna be just like him. You'll see, Mikey."

Donatello is crouched beside his younger brother, one hand gripping his brother's shoulder to steady himself, while the other gently rests over Leonardo's still chest. The purple cladded turtle can feel his chin tremble like that of a small child as his vision blues with stubbornly unshed tears. He gulps heavily, looking upwards as he attempts to blink away the tears. He grits his teeth and he clenches his eyes shut as a tear trickles down the side of his cheek.

"No, please," Donatello begs pathetically.

Leonardo gently sets down the steaming mug in front of Donatello, and his free hand thumps at the back of his shell. At that moment, he can't hear what the blue cladded turtle says. He wants to, but it's only a painful ringing in his ears were words should be. Nonetheless, he watches the smile that slowly pulls across his brother's lips as he talks. This smile one of happiness growing, much as a spring flower opens. He could see how it came from deep inside to light his eyes and spread into every part of him.

Donatello feels with every fiber of his being the agonizing sadness and pain that ripped through him. He didn't want to see that smile in his head, in his eyes, for he knew he would never see that same smile again. The purple cladded turtle would never see the way light seemingly swelled from within those big blue hues and into his smile. He feels his grip falter on his little brother's shoulder, and he leans his head on top of his hand there.

Raphael roughly pushes away April and Splinter as his eyes land heavily on the body laying mere feet away. The red cladded turtle's lips part ever so slightly, and his breath leaves him in one stuttering, painful exhale like a bolt out of the blue. He staggers forward, almost in a haze as his emerald hues take in the devastating, gut-wrenching scene laid out before him. His brothers' sobs, their whispered words between one another, sound like static crackling in his ears as he lowers himself beside the body.

"Leonardo," The name chokes out of Raphael.

Leonardo gently settles a hand over Raphael's shoulder, squeezing it with a tenderness rarely shared between the two brothers. Raphael's face turned a bright, burning red in embarrassment as he noncommittally gave the hand a simple pat in return. The blue cladded turtle rolls his eyes, before slinging his other arm around his younger brother and pulling him against his chest. The red cladded turtle yelped in surprise as his older brother's arms curled around him and embraced him tightly, his musical laughter sounding in his ears. Then the red cladded turtle pulled back in a huff, planting a hurried kiss on the latter's cheek as he continued to laugh uncontrollably, clutching at his sides. The blue cladded turtle lifted his head, his laughter growing faint as he raised his hand up and clutched the cheek the latter had pressed his dry, quivering lips to. A shy smile pulls at his lips as pink tinges his cheeks and he darts his eyes away from the latter.

Raphael liked to remember the simplistic times before he and his brothers had ventured to the surface. All four of the teenage turtles had been forced to change to fit into these new roles as heroes, and they greatly matured in the span of a few months, which then turned to years. But it had been Leonardo that had truly changed with his new collection of scars, his dull, world wary blue eyes, and his stiff expressions that seemed to never truly exude the emotion he was trying to portray. So when the blue cladded turtle laughed, truly laughed in a way that wasn't dry, or sarcastic, it meant the world to the brothers. It wasn't just a sound: It was his expression, the way his face twitched, the way his blue eyes filled with joy, the tears that started coming down his flushed cheeks, how he had to gasp for air.

Raphael's knuckles go white from clenching his fists so hard, and he grinds his teeth in an effort to remain silent. His hunched form exuded a deep-rooted hurting, a pain no one could ever understand, that was like acid - burning, slicing, potent. And he knows that he's hiding the truth from himself, of how much this is really to do with sadness and the scars that just won't heal. Yet his fists clench and his teeth lock up once the sound is out. His breathing ragged, he tried to stifle the broken cry that rose from his throat, but like a cork bursting from a bottle, the yell tore from his lips. He made no attempt to conceal or wipe away the tears that cascade from his eyes.

Master Splinter crouches on his knees, resting his son's head in his lap as he gently runs his fingers down the side of his face. The dark blue mask that had been given when the young turtle could barely hold his wooden practice sword with a steady hand is soaked red with his own cold blood. It is torn and frayed beyond repair with small strings dangling from the side. The mutant rat grips the tails of the mask observes how the red seeps into the remaking blue colors at the very end.

Leonardo holds his hands out eagerly, waiting for the heavy sword to be set into his hand. As the young turtle recognizes the weight of the katana a barely imperceptible smile twitched across his lips. He bows his head in respect, graciously accepting the sword. Master Splinter gently tucks a finger under the young turtle's chin, making him look up at him with those startlingly blue eyes. The mutant rat gives him a great smile that displays warmth and proudness he rarely lets leak to the surface.

"Arigato, Sensei," Leonardo whispers in awe.

April leaned into Casey, crying uncontrollably into his shoulder as he held her in turn. Leonardo was gently raised from the ground, his arms carefully folded over his chest, with his katanas held in the arms of Master Splinter. Donatello and Raphael were at the front, holding his upper body upright and supporting his limp neck, while Michelangelo supported his legs as they slowly began their long, arduous journey back to their sewers.

———

April placed the flowers down at the base of the headstone and knelt on her knees to brush some of the dry twigs and leaves away. She sighed quietly and stared intently at the carved stone. Raphael had worked tirelessly, day and night, trying to make the headstone that resembled an outline of his brother with his signature katanas drawn and ready. Photographs, various well-wishes written and hidden away in envelopes, and other trinkets lean against the stone rising from the ground.

Hamato Leonardo.
September 29, 1997 - February 18, 2014
Beloved son and brother.
Fearless leader.

Massaging the area above her heart, April clutched both hands in front of her and bent her head. Casey steps forward and gently pulls her away, letting the other attendants of the funeral observe the gravestone. All of the mutants that they had befriended through the years, through battle and hardship, had gathered to pay their respects. Along with a few new humans and mutants that the family and friends hadn't been knowing that the eldest turtle had connections with.

There was even a small card in the pile written in purple crayon from a little girl named Chloe. It depicts a poorly drawn Leonardo with a cup of tea in his hands wearing a flower bonnet with the little girl serving him a tray of cookies. Michelangelo would later tearfully recall Leonardo telling him about a lonely human girl whom he'd befriended that he still had tea with daily. Everyone's heads were down. Maybe it was them showing respect of maybe there were too afraid to look at what was coming. Master Splinter shakily steps forward, Leonardo's sharped and cleaned katana blades resting in his hands, and slowly goes to his knees, resting them at the base of the grave. Once on his knees, the seasoned warrior struggled to get back up, wincing as two of his sons come forward to steady him.

The sun shone brilliantly and the harvest colors of the fall day under its glare were offensively bright and cheerful. It was as if they conspired to show Master Splinter how the world would go on without Leonardo. But the mutant rat didn't want it to. The world should be as grey and foggy as his dull emotions, for he had shed every tear he possibly could. He believed that the world should be cold and damp with silent air, to echo that hollowness inside of his chest that could never be filled again. Every part of him, every fiber of his living being, wants to take his son's place in the grave before him, or find a way to bring his eldest back. But he cannot do either, not with the ones he'll leave behind. No, he has to stay, even if it is just for a little while longer.

Three Months Later

As Leonardo's shot open and a great, surging breath enters his lungs, his world was etched in charcoal, the once vibrant hues of the morning sky and earth below were no more than a vivid dream. The blue cladded turtle begins to panic when he can't move more than a centimeter on either side of his wide, muscular shoulders. His arms are folded over his plastron, and curiously his fingers wiggle, prodding over his platted chest as he consciously slowed his own erratic breathing. He lifted his arms from the elbow and his knuckles slammed against the lid of whatever he was in. He gasped in pain, coughing lightly as he brought his knuckles back down to rest against his platted chest.

"H-H...H...H-H-He-Help..." Leonardo wheezes, his voice extremely hoarse, the equivalent of a small mouse scratching on the wall.

Leonardo tries to recall just how he'd gotten himself into this trap, and distantly wonders if any of his brothers are in a similar predicament. That familiar panic grips at his chest at the thought of his brothers finding themselves in a familiar danger.

The blue cladded turtle coughs, blinking frantically to try and get the grit from his eyes as he wheezes, "R-Raph...R...D-Donn-Don...Mi-Mikey...."

Frowning to himself, Leonardo began to internally sort out the possibilities of where he could be, or who was responsible for his capture. He closes his eyes, exhaling slowly,  clearing his mind of all the fear, anger, confusion, to try and sort out his scrambled memories. His blue eyes widen in awestruck horror but couldn't see anything because of the darkness surrounding him.

"No," The blue cladded turtle utters in denial.

He's falling. The world rushes by in a blur and the mutant turtle knows that all too soon he'll stop falling. It goes by fast, yet slow, almost suspended. The air pushed against his face, he closed his watering blue eyes, waiting for the inevitable. The impact. But as he falls, for what seems like years, the last thing he sees is the mutilated flesh, the oozing veins of mutagen, and the lipless smile of the Super Shredder.

Leonardo's heart sank underneath his plastron at the startlingly realization of where he was. He was in a coffin, underground, buried alive. He clenched his eyes shut to keep from panicking and wriggled his hips around, his fingers frantically patting around the contents of the enclosed space. Long dead flowers that have crumpled into crushed remains that crinkle beneath his fingers, a long, winding piece of old, crusty cloth that he finds off to the side of his face. He runs his fingers down it, feels the tears and holes in the fabric, the crusty layer of grime and dust. His fist clenches around it, and he grits his teeth — his mask. His blue mask that had run red. Screaming throatily, the blue cladded turtle manically pounds his fists on the wood above his head; dirt rains down on his face. He continues to pound, wedging his fingers in between the splintering sections of wood and forcing it upwards. Dry, crushing dirt rains down on him, spilling his mouth and pelting into his eyes. He hoists himself upwards with a pained gasp of air and begins trying to wiggle his way through the dirt.

In the middle of a grassy field, an intricate, carven gravestone is planted with fresh flowers at the base and a pair of twin katana. Leonardo's three-fingered hand bursts out of the dirt, followed by another. Digging his fingers into the hard surface of the undisturbed ground, he hoists himself upwards and he crawls his way out of the ground, groaning and gasping. He lies on his back, panting, and blinks his eyes open, quickly slapping his hand over his eyes and peaking between his fingers to look around in the glaring sunlight. Around the headstone are a perfect circle of bare trees and a golden carpet of leaves that crunch noisily underneath the weight of his body. There's a quiver in the chilling gusts of wind.

"R-Raph..." Leonardo croaks weakly as darkness begins to creep in from the corners of his vision, "H-Help...h...help...."

His breath seemed to stutter in his lungs before he let it go, feeling the tension drain from his body. His surroundings became fuzzy; then he saw nothing at all as it all faded to black. His consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a thick static. Throughout the inky space, his heartbeats pounded loudly, echoing in his ears as his final attempt at a cry for help dies from his lips.

———

"Raph."

Raphael bolted upright in his mattress and fell to the ground as he got tangled up in his mass of sheets and blankets. He rubbed his eyes blearily and sat upon his cold floor. He frowned.

"Leonardo," The red cladded turtle utters blearily.