*curtains part, your beautiful yet slightly frightening host steps out into single spotlight, cutains close* Good evening. The one-shot you are about to read may frighten you, confuse you , even TERRIFY you.

But probably not. You're a big kid now, I hope.

This is the story of Leo's fear. Inspired by the episode Fungus Humongous, I wrote a little oneshot about Leo.

Anyway, please enjoy the following story entitled Nightmare.

Nightmare

Darkness. Darkness surrounded him in all directions. Leo was alone in the smothering darkness that seemed to press in on him on all sides. He couldn't breathe. He sucked in breath after breath but no air filled his lungs. He crouched, kneeling on the ground he could not see, trying to get even the smallest bit of oxygen, but he was denied the basic necessity.

Suddenly the ground gave way beneath him and he fell down and down. He could breath again, and was using this gift to hyperventilate as he flew in free fall into a patch of white light that seemed miles away. He screamed as he felt wind rushing past his body. He braced himself for impact, instinctively shielding his head with his arms, an annoying little voice in the back of his mind singing that it didn't matter, that he would be dead when he hit the ground anyway.

The terrifying splat never came. He just... stopped. Cautiously, Leo perked around his arms and saw he was lying on the ground in an alley. Thanking various deities for his safe landing, he unsteadily got to his feet to look around.

What he saw had him on his knees once more. His brothers... NO. It couldn't be. But it was. It was his brothers bodies lying in a twisted pile in front of him. Even, parallel cuts crisscrossed their body's. Blood still poured out of the wounds onto the ground and one another.

Donnie...

Mikey...

Raphie...

My baby brothers...

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Leo howled into the night, a long painful howl filled with agony and grief and sorrow.

"No." He whispered, his voice trembling, tears flowing over his cheeks and onto his brothers as he knelt over them. He cupped their cheeks in turn, checking for pulses in each of them. But they were all dead.

"Donnie... Mikey... Raphie... No... no, no, no, not my brothers..." Leo choked on his words. He turned away and vomited on the ground behind him. "It should have been me... it should have been me..." Leo quivered.

"Yes it should have!" A familiar voice barked. Leo looked up and saw Master Splinter's eyes boring into him.

"Sensei... what - "

"What happened? You happened! You lead your brothers into a trap and got them killed! It is all your fault Leonardo!"

"No. Oh God no! Father - "

"I am not your father! You are no son of mine!" Splinter spat cruelly. He turned and walked away, disappearing into the fog that suddenly engulfed him.

"No! Sensei please! I'm sorry!" Leo screamed into the fog, but his voice was just swallowed by the fog. Then slashing noises. A quick scream. A thud and then a whoosh as something came flying out of the mist and landed on the bodies of his brothers. Splinter, now dead as well.

"No! NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!" Leo screamed as cruel, harsh laughter filled his mind and echoed all around him. It was coming from nowhere. It was coming from everywhere. The laughter swallowed him and became his past, present, and future. He could remember nor think of nothing but the cold, heartless laughter.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Leo screamed as he bolted straight up in bed. He gasped once, twice, ten times as he looked around. He was in his room. He had not gone out on a mission. It was all a dream. A nightmare. A terrifying, horrible, nightmare. None of it had happened.

"Oh God." He whispered in a shaking voice as he broke down and cried. He leaned against the wall and pulled his legs close to him and hugged himself tight and sobbed his heart out. He moaned and groaned and cried, so afraid. So scared.

His door opened. "Leo?" Raph poked his head around the door. "Are you - oh."

Leo looked up at his brother standing before him, and cried even harder. He was alive. His baby brother was alive and healthy and not bleeding. He wasn't disowned or alone. He hadn't failed his family. His father and his brother were alive.

"Leo." Raph rushed to his side and grabbed his hand. "What's wrong? Are you sick or - what's wrong?"

"Y-ya-ya-you're n-na-na-not d-de-de-dead. Y-ya-you're alive Raphie."

"What?" Raph frowned. "Of course I'm - oh." Raph stopped, getting it. "You had a nightmare."

"I w-wa-was dr-dr-drowning, th-then I f-f-f-fell, then ya-you a-and D-Donnie a-and M-M-Mikey w-w-were... A-and I - it w-was m-m-my f-fa-fault. M-M-Master Spl-Splinter ta-ta-told me and I wa-wasn't h-hi-his su-su-son a-anymore th-then h-he wa-was d-dead ta-ta-too an-and th-that- ha-ha-horrible laugh an-an-and -" Leo choked out between sobs and continued crying, still scared to death, still afraid and in sorrow. He was still afraid. So very afraid, even though the nightmare was over.

"It's okay Leo. It was a bad dream, nothing more." Raph sat down next to him and hugged him.

"B-b-bu-but - "

"No buts. Leo, it was a nightmare and it will never happen. You are a brilliant leader and you would never let that happen."

Leo buried his head in Raph's shoulder and wept. He clutched on to his little brother, reassuring himself he was there, that his family was not dead, and cried himself to sleep, leaning on Raph for support.

Raph smiled when Leo finally drifted off, and made to get that glass of water and go to bed. But when he tried to get up, he found Leo had a death grip on his shell. He tried to ease out, but Leo's grasp just got tighter.

Raph sighed, and shifted into a more comfortable position against the wall. Looked like he was spending the night. He pulled the covers up over him and Leo and settled into a niche against his brother.

"Goodnight Leo. Sweet dreams."

Yeah, scary ending. NOT. Hope you enjoyed this story and the brotherly fluff. Please tell me what you think and have a good Spring Break.