Who Am I? Chapter 1

Disclaimer: TMNT isn't mine and this is just a fan fiction writing. No money is being made on this story.
(TMNT CC are AU based on 2003 version and events, the turtles are in their late 20s.)
Rated T
Drama, family comfort/hurt, and heartache...

Summary: It was to be a vacation, at time to relax and then this thief just had to dare steal from them of all turtles. Leo not pleased by this sickening display wishes to make the thief pay... In the end, he is the one paying and now they don't know who or were this thief came from...

The bonfire's flames flickered in the night casting tall shadows, as the group's chatter filled the air with laughter and spooky stories.

One turtle not amused by the current tale rolled his eyes at the storyteller.

"Like shell," Raph abruptly huffed. He crossed his arms and then narrowed his golden gaze down towards his kid brother. "That is not how the story goes," he protested letting out another grunt.

The orange mask brother grinned wildly with a playful lick on his lips, he cheekily shrugged, "Dude who is telling the spine-chilling story here? Me the greatest horror teller ever lived or you the one that thinks a lovey-dovey story is worth to be placed in the almighty category of horror?" Mikey tilted his head up dramatically in disgust, shamed by his brother's taste. Truthfully with Mikey being himself, that accusation was a little white lie in order to make fun of Raph, who in turn secretly does like romance dribble.

Raph grumbled and looked away, holding his anger at bay for the moment. To keep it there he fully ignored the insult letting it go over his head, while he rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Over how you're screwing it up, shell, I should be telling it. Man Mikey its trash, a lovey-dovey dribble would be a shell of a lot scarier than this bull shit you pulled out of your ass. Shell look at Casey and Angel, their face-sucking is terrifying to witness."

As soon as Raph finish putting his foot in his mouth, there was a male growl on the other side of the fire, also accompanied by a not so pleased woman to boot. The black hair woman raised an eyebrow at the red mask brother daring him to say that again. Raph feeling the heat not from the flames, gulp and shuddered at realizing how true to some old ancient proverb was, happy he never mentioned the woman's scorn part.

"Oh?" Mikey leaned closer with a sparkle in his eyes, "I thought you clearly provided your point that campfire horrors are just for kids earlier today, don't you remember?"

Raph hesitated, forgetting that he did say something on the line before they set up the bonfire. Unable to find some form of comeback, Raph's cheeks turn dark as he grumbled more, "Whatever!" he barked letting out another hot smokey huff.

Everyone around watching this little drama chuckled over Raph's expression on his face, more so when he dared to turn the tables on Mikey, not liking the idea the kid brother was racking up points against him.

"So what, yeah I said that doesn't mean you can turn a good story into some b rated movie crap," he tried to defend himself, regardless what he did say about this being some kids game, he wouldn't stand for this poor performance.

A roar of laughter hit the group, each knowing the turtle was trying to make a point, yet already lost the battle. This only made Raph's blood boil, he was now steaming through his ear holes and it was Leo that cut in before this continued into a brawl, "I'm going to grab more drinks any requests?"

"More marshmallows bro," Mikey piped up licking his lips.

"A bottle of water my son," his master requested next. A list grew in Leo's head as he felt he made a poor choice to offer. How was he going to remember all this, however, to his rescue Donnie stood up brushing himself off. The turtle lightly kicked his bo staff up, flipping it into the air as he caught it and skillfully placed it back in its holster.

He wasn't as fortunate as two other brothers which weapons were convenient when relaxing on the ground or even a lounge chair.

His staff was a fair size and made it difficult to chill without it digging into the ground or chair's back riding up his shell.

After a time he found it simpler to disarm himself and placing it at arm's length. With repetition, it came naturally to him before moving away from where he was sitting.

"Leo how about I give you a hand," Donnie smiled, stretching as he did so, "You only have two hands after all."

"Thanks, Don," Leo chuckled with relief, that would solve his issue of remembering what everyone wanted.

Donnie was the type that had a deep pool when it came to memorizing things and this was one of those times Leo was thankful for his brother's ability. He wanted to stop a fight, but not spend a good remainder of his night as an errand boy, going back and forth to the house since he messed up the tall orders.

Donnie gave a nod and started to walk away from the warm fire, with Leo not far behind. He was beside him not long after and they walked together, then out of nowhere the blue mask brother suddenly let out a sigh that caught Donnie's attention. He raised an eyebrow towards Leo in curiosity, wondering what was on his mind.

Leo licked his lips before looking straight up towards the jewels of the sky. A silence between them grew and wordlessly Donnie kept an eye on Leo, trying to read him. What was he thinking and what was with the heavy sigh? This continued for a few more seconds and Donnie was finding his observation fruitless with no intel on what was going on with Leo. He started to debate if he should say something or leave it be. When they were halfway to the house and out of earshot from their family Leo let out another sigh, not in annoyance but like he was releasing something deep in his soul, letting it fly.

"Leo?" Donnie finally asked, unable to resist and keep quiet to himself any longer.

"Sometimes I wish these days would last."

"Huh?" Donnie tilted his head at his brother, watching Leo's shoulders relax as if the weight of them finally faded away. It has been some time since his brothers showed any sign of peace of mind. He would admit it has been very long since any of them had an opportunity to be so. With the chaos they call a life, survival to some, there weren't many moments where they could just take a breath and enjoy what life has to offer.

Leo didn't respond to Donnie's short question, so the purple mask ninja was forced to try again a bit more thorough, "Elaborate? What are you referring to Leo?"

He had an idea, but wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth, well turtle's in this instant. Even so, Donnie doubt Leo would admit anything, he was tricky that way. He never would with the walls he has placed up over the years, not allowing anyone to enter half the time.

How come that Leo closes himself to others? There isn't any real answer, it boils down to depending on the person will depend on the reason. This is why his brothers think Leo was so sensitive to carrying on a conversation when it comes to topics about them, their lifestyle and future when it came to how he felt about it.

Raph would say it was his pride and accepted that is how Leo is. Now when it comes to Mikey's initial understanding of the mind of the turtle named Leonardo, that is a more complex debate. Donnie has heard Mikey's ideas behind why Leo does what he does, acts the way he acts, and hold back his feelings. Oddly truth be told Donnie had to admit these theories from Mikey were too realistic to ignore.

"This peace, no fighting..." Leo broke Donnie's train of thought as he was caught gawking and blinking at his older brother in surprise.

Did Leo just admit something? Before Donnie could break that shell any further and find out what connections were finally bridging in Leo's head, before he could actually witness the fearless leader admitting for once that training wasn't everything to him, his eyes, which had been warm and full of possibilities suddenly slit, showing an icy touch to them.

Leo's grey orbs scanned the area in great detail as his hand firmly pressed into Donnie's plastron ordering the brother not to advance any further.

The air around Leo thicken, and his scent was waves of a mix of alarm and determination. He was starting to go into a defensive stance and drawing one of his blades slowly as he continued to scan the yard and then towards the farmhouse.

Donnie followed suit not questioning the silent command. He too took a gander around, unsure what Leo was sensing, only feeling the cool breeze overhead. The trees were swaying gently in the distance on the yard line, there were no other sounds than his family behind him. The barn to his right was quiet showing no activity either. Donnie was about to consider this was Leo's way to cover up for his slip up, then that was when he caught in the corner of his eyes the shadow play in one of the front windows of the farmhouse.

He quickly noted the lighting around them and knew nothing was making the phenomenon, leaving one conclusion, someone was in the should be unoccupied house. The question was who? Far as either one knew their family was still behind them at the bonfire, there was no evidence from the dirt road to their left a vehicle had travelled, it since they would have heard it and the only vehicles occupying the driveway was Angel's beetle and their van.

Focusing with the bonfire area, Donnie confirmed it wasn't his family. He could hear their laughter and chatter, faint yes, but enough to determine that who was in the house wasn't either Mikey nor Raph whom could have come around and entered the kitchen's back door without being noticed.

The bo staff firmly in his hand, Donnie waited for Leo's orders and it wasn't long until they were given.

Leo took a step forward, directing Donnie to come with him to the house. It did cross Donnie's mind when following the orders why Leo didn't bother to go fetch their other two brothers, yet this was Leo's thing and this wasn't the time to judge like other turtles would do if it wasn't him there instead. Maybe Leo didn't think who was in there that much of a threat figuring they can handle it or thought it was and didn't want to risk the intruder to escape before they could catch him or her.

Just the thought someone discovering their existence here, which was deemed as a safe haven for them when they needed to get out of the city, was devastating and he too wanted to keep it a secret if he could help it.

The two turtle brother sneaked up towards one of the open windows that didn't have a screen on it, Leo slipped in first and Donnie next minding his staff. Once in, the gloom loomed over them and there was nothing in the living room they could tell. For a moment Donnie considered before it could just have been a trick of his eyes, that was until they both could hear light scuffling coming from the kitchen area.

Leo exchanged looks with Donnie and he pointed to the one side of the arch then advance forward. They came to the entrance way and pressed their shells against the wall. Leo first in line peaked around silently blinking into the darkness, the lone window other than the one on the door at the far side of the room had the silver moon shining through. Dust played in the dim light and there was a dark figure hunch over going through the cupboard.

It was a heavy person by the looks of the size of him. The intruder was a bit shorter than him he could guess, probably the same height as Raph if he wanted to compare, or almost as tall as Mikey. It wasn't easy to tell, the figure was wearing some ragged clothes that covered his body and a hood over his head.

The intruder was unarmed and with a makeshift bag in his right-hand open and waiting for the goods. It wasn't really a bag since it looked like the guy took clothes and fix it up to hold items. Such items as cans from their cupboards.

Leo narrowed his eyes, not fond of thievery or anyone thinking they could just trespass into their home away from home and assume they could do what they pleased.

Slipping into the room Leo nodded to Donnie to do the same and head towards the back door to trap this person from escaping. In normal circumstances he wouldn't dare to reveal his face, however, the idea of this person sicken him and they deserved the fright!

No fear of this going public, he was determined to stop this disgraceful act and would make sure they would never tell the tale after he was done with them. Leo managing to come up behind the guy without detection, he made one quick glance towards Donnie was to see if he was in position before acting. Donnie stood near the door with bo in hand hastily gawking at Leo.

He didn't like this plan that was forming, they should go and grabbed the human friends that were still at the fire instead, not this foolish act that wasn't Leo's style to approached some stranger that will now know they reside here.

Even if Leo had a 'plan' to keep the human quiet, Donnie feared what methods Leo would use. In past experiences, if his leader feels threatened, especially if his family was, Donnie had witnessed some disturbing and heartless to say the least methods Leo wasn't shy in performing to keep them all protected. Donnie wasn't that type of person that supported such acts, yet he never judged his brother, in the end, he normally would give a blind eye when such occasions arose.

Was this going to turn into such events? Where he twists the moments to fool himself that they never happened to keep his sanity?

Leo now standing behind the figure in question, lowered his one blade not bothering with the other, he wasn't planning to kill the person if he could help it. Instead with his free hand, he extended it ready to grab the thief and pull him away from his disgusting deed, and then confront the human face to face. Not even a second his skin felt the filthy material of the sweater, Leo didn't have a moment to react when the figure abruptly turned around sharply and slammed something into the side of his head.

The pain shattered his train of thought, as he lost his balance altogether collapsing towards the ground. The sound of metal against wood caused by his sword falling out of his hand was heard before the echoes of his shell coming down hard onto the floor. He was spread out with limbs not responding to him, while the room danced wildly around him. It was so violent he felt groggy and was unable to make out a thing or what was happening around him. The sounds that were almost drowned by the loud drumming in his ears, he could make out scraping, then an object sliding across the ground with a large thud that came after. He swore he heard Donnie yelp and the back door open moments after with it slamming.

Leo's hands shook and his head throbbed when he attempted to stand. In the corner of his eye, he saw the weapon that was used on him, the cast iron frying pan that he actually forgot Mikey stored in that very cupboard. How could he be so reckless and overconfident that he would dare to put his guard down? The self-pity overtaking him, he squinted his eyes to focus them and figure out what were the sounds he had heard. The fridge wasn't in its place against the wall beside the counter, instead of on the other side of the room where he last saw Donnie. The scratch marks showed it was pushed or pulled with much force. Whoever this human was, had the same raw strength that both Donnie and Raph possessed, even then it was rare to see those two showing it off. As the thought surfaced he realized something amiss, wasn't Donnie standing...

"Shell Donnie!" Leo collected his scattered thoughts. He felt nauseous as he managed to move forward, lifting himself from the ground and dragging his weak legs across the room. When he made it to the fridge, as he expected he found Donnie on the other side pinned between the white good and the wall. With unstable hands, Leo pulled the fridge from the shock brother, who gasped for air moments after his freedom.

"Are you okay Don?" Leo asked with a hiss. His head was hurting more, yet stubborn as ever, he pushed it away. Donnie nodded to his question, then looked at him worriedly.

"Where did he go?" Leo asked next not allowing Donnie to press the issue, he was just hit in the head with a frying pan of all objects. At the moment he couldn't see the difference between his broken pride and the pain he was experiencing.

"He escaped through the back door with his prize," Donnie told him, shuddering a breath.

Leo nodded, recalling the sound of the door opening and closing afterwards. Taking a step back then turning towards the exit, he could hear Donnie's protests, "Leo wait you shouldn't leave you might have a..."

"Later," Leo barked exiting the house with much regret. He should have listened to his brother, yet this situation was troubling more than for one reason. Not just that this individual knows their existence with no fair warning to never usher it, it was another disturbing key fact, the person didn't flinch at their appearance. In the pitch black the intruder should have been able to tell they were not human, and then there was that strength. It wasn't the norm and Leo feared who it was and what threat they truly pose to his family. All he knew this could have been a set up to search them out.

The wood's silence in the still night gave him a rush of eeriness and urgency. He would think a cricket or two would be present yet none were singing. Was this a sign and was it wise of him running off alone?

The trees flashed by and it took all he could not to have it drag him down and puke over the ground. His body was starting to fail him and the pain was making it hard to think straight. One thing that was on his side was the clear trail he was able to follow, breadcrumbs if you will, some cans that were dropped and forgotten. It wasn't long until he could see the dark figure grasping a nearby tree for dear life. Was he hurt? Out winded even? This time not taking his chances Leo drew his sword and curse under his breath that he had not taken the moment to retrieve the other. With a sigh he walked cautiously up to the figure, he could do this stealthier, however unfortunate for him, his mind was swimming hindering his thought process making something so natural to him too complex to perform. His target in range he put all his cards on the table lashing forward to attack.

The figure now the one caught off guard let out a yelp when Leo grabbed him from behind, twisting him around and then slamming him into the tree. There was a large bang from the contact of the man's back to the tree that did make Leo question, it didn't sound like flesh against wood, but something harder, something similar to a shell?

The human shuddered under Leo's shadow, as the heavy scent of fear entered Leo's nostrils turning his stomach more. He blinked at the thief in confusion. He knew that scent, though it wasn't something he had consumed on many occasions, yet he recognized it all the same. With his hand that still held his sword, Leo snatched the hood and thrust it back in shock. The turtle became startled at who he was staring at and let go of the intruder, stumbling back bewildered.

"Shell... -?"

"LEO!" Raph called out, muttering under his breath. He dashed through the trees trying to find any sign of which way his brother went. To think his family deemed him the ill rational brother, what would they call Leo's current actions? First confronting a thief here of all places, that was to be a secure location for them to escape to and then run off chasing the phantom alone with a head injury to boot.

"Shell for brains," Raph snarled, stopping in his tracks. He knelt down to analyze two sets of footprints, one was from boots that had no visible markings, it looked like someone had worn them out and the other set he recognized, belonging to Leo. They were still fresh and easy for him to tell where they were heading.

Standing up he pulled out his shell cell and texted Donnie on the news that he found a trail and come to his location. The shell brain too wasn't carrying his own shell cell, making it impossible to track him down by normal means.

Raph being the expert on tracking went after the stupid leader while Mikey and Donnie stayed at the house just in case he came back. With the trail at hand Raph followed suit, in a mad dash. Training kicking in told him he should be more cautious than this, but it been ten minutes since Leo left the safety of the farm he couldn't afford to drag this out any longer. Leo could be in trouble or worse in his condition be caught by humans.

These areas, unfortunately, the locals are a bit crazy when the idea of aliens walking around. Of course, they weren't aliens, being from this earth, it was the fact anyone dimwitted and not open of the idea that humans are not the only sentient beings roaming this world, stereotype them as extraterrestrial beings. One good reason he really hates Syfy, since he is no fucken alien!

The trail ending suddenly, Raph circled around viewing his surroundings in more detail. How did they just stop at this tree? Feeling a rising sickness in the pit of his stomach Raph made a thorough search then gasp seeing Leo laying face down in the dirt. Leo's head was wrapped in cloth which didn't belong to him, was soaked by a crimson red substance.

"Ah shell!"

He was in darkness, feeling nothing, then as the veil started to lift, was replaced by the sensation of warmth patting his head. The hand soft and gentle and by Leo's experience neither brother had such talent, a smile bloom on his lips, happy she was the one taking care of him other than say Raph.

His eyes fluttered and he wanted to move, yet she wouldn't let him do so, shushing him to be still. He didn't complain only relaxed his body, reflecting back to what was going on. He knew he was injured due to the pain in his head, yet he couldn't remember why.

Finally, after some effort, he was able to see her, blurry at first yet her long jet black hair with purple highlights came to him as a comfort.

"Angel?" Leo asked, hinting the joke in her name. She chuckled wiping his face with a cloth that was wet, which was cool to the touch.

"Far from it Leo," she answered, then wiped his cheeks.

"True," he admitted with a smirk, then it fell serious, "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Angel asked warily placing the cloth down.

Leo tried to shake his head, hissed to the pain and instead shuddered the answer, "No..."

"Leo it is for the best that you don't move too quickly or get up until Donny-boy looks you over. You might have a concussion," she warned him.

"How did I get that?" Leo's head was filled with fragments of events and feelings he tried to piece together to reveal the story. He felt like something important wasn't coming forward and it made him fearful over how he was coming up empty-handed.

"You were hit in the head twice, once with a cast iron frying pan and the other we are not sure. We were hoping you would shed some light."

Leo fell silent and it was moments later Donnie came into the room. The purple mask brother gave him one look then at Angel before letting out a sigh.

"He doesn't remember does he?"

"No, and I was about to ask him what he does," Angel answered.

"What's your name," Donnie interrupted, not meaning to be rude to her, but was fearful of how bad Leo's condition really was.

"Leonardo," Leo gave his worried brother, who loosen up hearing the answer.

"Age?"

"Twenty-six," Leo answered, seeing Donnie raise an eyebrow.

"Fine... Twenty-nine," Leo bitterly muttered under his breath.

He hated to admit his real age ever since he found out he was actually three years older than his brothers, as it turned out the other three were all the same age, leaving him out of the loop now.

How that came to be he wasn't sure or why he of all of them was that much older, but it explained why he grew up faster than them, for he was actually the oldest.

Of course, he didn't know this little fact, until a few years back when Donnie wanted to determine their real ages, then from the age starting at mutation that they were basing it on.

To everyone's surprise, they were a bit older than they originally thought and Leo was even more so.

Him denying his real age was more to keep himself on the same page as his brothers, and it just felt right to be the same, with of course different birthdays.

That too wasn't correct, but each ignored it since they picked their dates, a year after mutation.

A day they thought was special to them, and from there Splinter made that very day their birthday to give each one a day they could call their own. This was a way to give them each the opportunity to be the center of attention and to avoid one thinking they were less loved than the other. Splinter wanted to avoid favouritism if he could help it and this was one way he did so, then celebrate their birthday on one date only.

"Gender?"

"Seriously?" Leo grumbled.

"Yes," Donnie mused.

"Female," Leo rolled his eyes in a mocking tone, receiving a laugh from Angel.

"Wow Leo you're so well built for a girl," she had to add in.

"Funny, funny," Donnie sighed.

"What do you expect Donnie for asking me that question," Leo shrugged, still not sure why it was a question, he was obviously a male, no bump on the head would make him think otherwise.

"Well Angel it is worse than we feared, this is impossible he has a sense of humour... The hit on the head has made him forgotten how cold and dull he really is," Donnie sighed sympathetically.

Leo's face went blank as he huffed, he wasn't dull and cold, "Funny, funny," he mocked Donnie.

"I thought so," Donnie grinned, then he became serious, "Leo, the date."

"July twenty-fourth, two thousand and nineteen," Leo answered, knowing it had to be asked, hoping it was correct.

Donnie nodded, "Good, now what was the last thing you remember before waking up here at this moment?"

Leo bit his lip hard enough, it turned red, then the silence rose as if he was trying to figure it out.

The dwelling feeling something was forgotten, something important was taunting him.

"Leo?" Donnie came up placing his hand on Leo's shoulder being supportive.

"The fire, the stories and everyone having a good time, then..." Leo's face distorted as he forced himself to move past that part.

"Leo don't strain yourself," Donnie warned, seeing how his brother was in pain and the frustration growing because of it.

"I... I don't remember," Leo finally drew a breath of defeat.

Donnie rubbed his shoulder, "It's okay to take your time Leo, it will return. However, why don't I fill you in what you're missing by both Raph and my perspective, it might jog your memory."

Leo nodded, with a heavy heart, the feeling swelling within was horrible and he felt weak because of it.

TBC...