Hi guys! I was rewatching some of the old episodes of TMNT 2012 and realized that there were so many issues that Nickelodeon didn't touched on. Like what exactly happened to the other turtles that went out into space after the big battle with both the triceratons and Shredder in season 4 episode 14? That really got me thinking, and well, this is the result!
So this one-shot takes place somewhere after the end of season 4 and before the beginning of season 5. The story is centred around the turtles who went to space after Earth's Last Stand.
Please note! This is just my take on the turtle's lair after the demise of Splinter. The turtles are struggling, dealing with the loss of their Sensei, so it's kind of just like me when I get depressed- nothing gets cleaned up. I apologize if the beginning is a little slow.
The turtles who were with Splinter when he died will be using their full names: Michelangelo, Leonardo etc.
As always, I don't own the TMNT
The lair was quiet when the group entered their home, a home that they haven't seen in six months. It was hard to believe that that amount of time had passed since their fight with both Shredder and the Triceratons. Their journey through space with the professor had been amazing to say the least... but now they were home...
"This place is a mess!" Donnie ran his hand down his face, disbelief written all over him.
"Dude, I know we don't take good care of the den, but we're not that bad!" Mikey feigned plugging his nose, waving away air like it was foul.
Left over pizza boxes littered the den's floor, some had even made it to the middle of the room scattered over the floor in the main area.
"Ya..." Donnie took a hesitant step forward, bending down to pick up a stray pizza crust between his fingers. "And we never leave food laying around." He brought the left over pizza closer to his face in examination.
Leo thinned his lips as he tentatively stepped around the boxes and articles of stray food, making his way over to the living room. "It's really quiet too... like deathly quiet."
Mikey nodded, cuffing his hands around his mouth. "Hello? Super awesome Mikey to anyone in the lair?"
"Mikey!"
"Ow!" Mikey startled, screeching when Raph's fist thudded on top of his head.
"Quiet!" The hothead put his finger to his lips, shaking his head disapprovingly.
"That hurt!" Mikey shuffled away from his hot tempered brother all the while holding the top of his head and rubbing the sore spot.
"Guys." Leo hissed, silencing the two.
Raph rolled his eyes and jumped over the turnstiles. "It's no use standing around here- I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when our fake counterparts decide to poke their heads out of their shells." He trudged over to the den and fell onto the couch.
"Are you serious-" Leo started, head already spinning with retorts.
"Raph's right Leo. They'll probably be asleep for few hours more anyway." Donnie waved away Leo's protests, making his way into the den.
Mikey followed after him with sluggish feet shuffling against the ground. "Dude, sleep sounds so good right now..."
Leo rubbed the bridge of his nose. His eyes fluttered to the dojo in hopes that Splinter would hear their return and come out to greet them.
But the aged rat did not come.
"Ah forget it." His heart sank slowly as he gave the dojo one last fleeting glance before heading to the den.
No use staying awake anyway...
"What do you mean he's no longer here?!"
Leo groaned, rubbing at the sleep lingering in his eyes as the world slowly came into focus.
"Easy Raph..."
"Don't you dare try to calm me down Donnie!"
Leo slowly shoved himself off of the cold ground wincing slightly at the protesting muscles. He leaned against the couch, moving around it to catch a glimpse at the people in the kitchen.
"Now answer me clearly- where is Master Splinter?!"
He slowly shifted on his feet to ease the ache still lingering there, rubbing the sand out of his eyes. He then started walking towards the kitchen where he could only expect to find an angry Raph. Again.
Leo carefully stepped overtop Mikey who was still resting on the floor. Leo shook his head, giving the little turtle a fleeting smile. Mikey had somehow managed to stuff his entire thumb in his mouth, sucking it like a small child would.
"Raph..."
"Don't Raph me!"
This was so not going to end well, if the electrified air almost sizzling in Leo's ear had anything to say about it. He bit back the sigh as he shuffled towards the kitchen... and jerked to a halt at the sight before him.
Donnie stood defensively before Raph, carefully gripping both of his brothers shoulders in a futile attempt to hold back the fiery turtle. His eyes fleetingly flew to Leo in a quiet plead before back to Raph.
"Easy bro..." Came a soft and cautious voice. Behind Donnie and slightly hidden behind the lanky turtle, stood none other than Michelangelo. Or rather, the other Mikey.
"What's this about Master Splinter?" Leo cautiously probed, careful not to agitate the already terrified terrapin.
Michelangelo fiddled with his thumbs, glancing quickly across the room to where his duplicate brother's quarters were. "S-Splinter... he's..."
Leo's heart twisted as he watched Michelangelo squeeze his eyes shut, quickly shaking his head.
What was wrong with Splinter...?
He pushed past his brothers and pulled a unsuspecting Michelangelo into a hug. "It's ok Mike, please tell me what happened."
Michelangelo wiped his nose, wedging his face into the crook of Leo's shoulder. He hiccuped and his tiny body to jolted in the older turtle's arms. "Splinter he's..."
Leo's grip tightened in hopes to lessen the cold tingle crawling over his skin like tiny ants.
Why was Splinter not here with them? What happened?
A door behind him screeched open on old hinges. "Splinter is gone. He died at the hands of Shredder."
Leo's mouth went dry.
What?
He broke away from Mikey, unaware that he was turning to face the person who was speaking until he was standing right before his duplicate.
Leo blinked, swallowing the beginnings of a lump back down his throat.
"T-that's not possible." Raph whispered behind him, supporting a wobbly Donnie by his shoulders.
"We didn't want to tell you guys until you came back from space..." Leonardo carefully approached, watching Raph with weary yet guarded eyes.
"Didn't want... to tell us...?" Raph slowly repeated while his brain struggled to catch up.
Why would Leonardo want to hide something like this... like Splinter's... death?
"Why did you let Splinter die?!" Raph suddenly roared to life, a blazing fire igniting in his heart and racing through his body. He barrelled towards Leonardo, swinging his fist at Leonardo's temple.
Leonardo startled, sidestepping to the right with tingling skin where Raph's fist had just barely missed him. "Raph! Calm down!"
But this only fuelled the blaze in his heart, numbing his brain so he felt nothing. Not the ache in his heart. Not the tears, hot and wet, trickling down his cheeks. Not the wild pulse in his ears or his brother's faint cries for him to stop.
He screamed, fists blindly flying at Leonardo in a desperate attempt to hit the evading turtle. "Why?!"
The other Leo blinked again, afraid that if he did anything else the composition he had would shatter... and he'd be nothing more than a heap on flesh on the floor. "Raph..." He stretched out a hand to his brother, who was now nothing more than a haze, his vision lost in a frantic and scattered sea of thoughts.
His body was heavy, added now to the drooping of his shoulders. "Master Splinter..."
He thought he heard his counterpart screech out Raph's name, demanding him to stop and to think rationally. But Leo wasn't too sure, and right now, lost in the chaos, the leader wasn't too sure about anything...
Behind him Mikey whimpered, clinging to the empty shell of Donnie. "Papa..."
Leo's world crashed down around him and he fell. He wanted to continue falling until he died on a sea of nothingness, where he could forget about the death of his Sensei. But his falling crashed to a halt, and he slumped onto his shaky knees.
This couldn't be happening...
This wasn't real...
Leo slowly breathed in a shaky breath, suddenly feeling very, very far away. Far from the screaming Raph, the sobbing Mikey and the dazed Donnie.
"I need you Sensei..."
I need you to pick up the broken pieces...
The trees swayed slowly all around him, a quite and soothing whisper. The sun caressed his shaking shoulders, gently wrapping him in a blanket of warmth. Birds chirped in the branches above his head, singing a cheery lullaby despite the overwhelmed turtle down below.
Leo leaned his head closer to the earth so that the vibrant green grass kissed his forehead.
Splinter would've loved this place. The vibrant life and colour, the joy and happiness...
Was this why they buried his body here?
Michelangelo (the other Mikey, not his brother), had described in full detail what the funeral had been like. How they stayed all day, told wonderful memories and took comfort in each other.
Leo took a clump of grass in his hands, squeezing the small drops of life out of it.
Why didn't Leonardo tell them that their Sensei, their father, had died? Why?
"I didn't expect to see you here so early."
Leo pulled up the grass, watching the tiny clumps of dirt struggling to cling to the white roots. He bit the inside of his lip, to keep from snapping at his duplicate and to keep him from speaking lest it reveal how frail he really was.
Instead he dropped the grass, reaching out to pick up another clump.
The twin katana on Leonardo's back clinked as he kneeled next to Leo. "I won't stay long, just came by to drop off my katana." Leonardo reached behind his shell to pull out a worn katana.
"I had to finish the job of eliminating Shredder before I could retire my katana." He laid it down next to Splinter's staff jutting out of the ground, the only marker showing that this was where their Sensei slept.
Leo stared at the katana, his lips growing thin and white. "We're the same person."
Leonardo turned to stare at Leo, his hairless brows up in a questioning perk.
"Why then did you not inform us of Sensei's passing?" This time Leo couldn't hide the soft wobble in his voice. He swallowed thickly before continuing. "You would've wanted to know that your Sensei, your teacher and father was no longer with you. You would've demanded to go back to earth, no matter the cost." Leo dropped the grass in his hand, still focusing on the katana. "So why?"
Leonardo rubbed the front of his forehead to clear the small beginning of a headache. "Because spending time out in space had trained me for life without Sensei. It had taught me the importance of family and not making snap judgments just because you learned something new about a person that was not overly good. If I had contacted the Fugitoid and informed him about Splinter's passing you wouldn't have learned what I had."
Leo broke his gaze with the katana, squeezing his eyes shut to break the pressure building up behind them.
Leonardo stood. He popped his knees and stretched his back, breathing in a quiet breath that was for once not covered in sadness or grief. But rather in peace and a gentle calmness.
"Word of advice Leo? Don't dwell on the past and what you failed to change or do. It took me a while to figure that out- hopefully it won't take you as long." Leonardo fist bumped his duplicate's shoulder. "The Mikeys are making breakfast- waffles I think. If you make it back soon you should catch the tail end of the meal."
Leo heavily nodded his head but didn't reply, instead waited till Leonardo's footsteps retreated down the road before looking up at the sky.
He struggled to remember what it was like before they went up to the surface for the first time. When the struggles were just as real, but very different. So very different. They didn't have to worry about monsters or mutants, Shredder or the foot...
"I'm sorry I didn't say good bye Sensei."
They thought they'd have their rat father forever. And when Professor Honeycutt gave them a chance to explore space... they- no, he- just left. Not a word of good bye or a brief love you.
Nothing.
Leo wrapped his arms around his chest to still the ache burning in his heart.
He just took off. Him and his brothers. And now Splinter was gone. Forever.
'Don't dwell on the past and what you failed to change or do.'
Leo balled his fingers into tight fists.
There was nothing he could've done.
"Forgive me Sensei for not saying good bye." He pushed himself off his knees, ignoring the prickle of blood flowing through them once again. He reached behind his shell to grip the twin katana in his hands, pulling them out of their sheath and laying them next the Leonardo's.
"Sayonara Sensei."
Leo didn't know if he would get along with his counterparts... he could barely get along with himself. But he wouldn't know unless he tried.
For Sensei.
He gave one more glance to the grave, bowed his respects and slowly departed, a hard burden lifting off his shoulders with every step.
I hope you enjoyed the one-shot, thanks for reading!