Author's Note: Another short one-shot. This time, I put in Leo as the main character. This is based off of the SAINW universe.

Title: The Perfect Strategy

Summery: Leonardo contemplates use of a good strategy. SAINW Universe.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Turtles, despite my protests.

Rating: PG or K+

----

The chilled wind whipped his trench coat around, causing a slight flapping noise to disturb the quiet night. Even after all these years, Leonardo still loved night time the best. Perhaps it was the training, the constant need for the darkness or perhaps it was the fact that no matter what, all he could see were shadows anymore.

Their last battle with the Shredder had not only robbed them of Casey Jones, it had also deprived Leonardo of the majority of his eye's sight. Now all he only saw was the darkest of shadows, nothing even worth seeing. As a ninja, he had relied on his eyes too much and it was a harsh lesson for the former leader of the Hamato clan.

Leo remembered asking Donatello what would happen if they had lost one of their senses. His brainy brother, without even blinking, explained that most people experience a heightening of their other four senses when they lost the fifth. A blind person could end up having impeccable hearing; a deaf person could feel the smallest vibration, and so on.

The blind turtle bowed his head at the remembrance of his family. They had suffered so much for so many years, which is what their enemy had wanted.

Looking back now, Leonardo realized that the Shredder had come up with the perfect strategy to defeat his enemies and he couldn't help but feel in awe of the genius way he totally desiccated the only threat to his rain of terror. It was something that Leonardo would have done if his sense of honor had not been instilled upon him since his living memory.

Some would think that taking the leader out of the picture would be a good plan, but as the turtles themselves have realized that if one were to take out the leader, there is always someone both willing and waiting to take over in their place.

Others would think that to make an opponent weak was to take away the strength. Destroy the strongest player, and then victory. But battles weren't won by strength alone, and with determination and skill, a battle could be won by the "weakest" of warriors.

Another strategy is to take the heart away from fight, let despair and pain reign and their enemies were easy picking. But then they would have to deal with the revenge. Revenge was cold and empty, it needed no heart to act upon. Anger would drive it, and in the end, neither party would have won, but the revenge would have been met.

The same could also be said about taking out the teacher. The desolation his students would feel would cause the same anger and rage, but if the master had been any good, his lessons would have been left behind in the young minds of his apprentices and they would be able to continue on.

No, Leonardo thought, none of those strategies would have worked well. Perhaps the last two would have been close to the devastation that had been brought upon them, but the winning strategy that ensured the Shredder's victory had been more ingenious.

He learned that the best battle strategy had been to cut off their enemy's resources. Stop any information or supplies from getting into their base and wait for them to dry up their cache before attacking. This ensured utter defeat for their foes and total victory for them. It had worked for the North in the Civil War, when they cut off the Mississippi River to split the South in two. The resistance of the Confederates died out and caused their ultimate demise.

Even though he hated to admit it, it was the perfect strategy, and it had worked beautifully. With the disappearance of Donatello, their rock, everything went downhill. They used their resources to find their brother, with no way to replenish them, and were blindsided by the attacks from the Foot Clan. They lost Splinter early on, for he had given his life for his remaining sons. Raphael lost his eye in the battle following that one, and Michelangelo's arm after that. Then, ten years ago, Leonardo lost his sight and they had stopped fighting, physically.

There was no doubt that Donatello had been their source, the one who kept them both sane and healthy over the years with not only his brain but also his gentle nature. Donnie had always been the calmness in the storm, the level head that had always aided them when the situation was dire. Life without Donatello had seemed chaotic and pointless. It might have been different if they had actually known what had happened to him, whether he had died or had finally had enough of the violence and had just up and left them to fend for themselves. Even finding out if he had deflected and joined Shredder would have been better than hoping and hoping, and then . . . nothing. The gut wrenching, heavy hearted nothing that plagued their lives every day for the past twenty years.

And they had been left without their brainy son and brother. Left them thinking that they had failed not only as ninjas, but as fathers and brothers as well. Left them with hopelessness destroying them faster than any attacking force could.

It wasn't like he thought they'd been better off if a different brother had left. He knew that each being in their family, rat or turtle, brought a certain something to their clan, that with one gone, they couldn't be whole. They would slowly die out, both physically and emotionally, until there was nothing left. But if Donatello had been here, instead of Raph, Mikey, or even himself, he was positive that this war would be finished by now, or twenty years ago, he didn't know.

But he did know, at least now he did, was that they had lost this battle before they had even fought it. They had lost that day Donatello never came back.

Leo lowered himself to the ground, allowing the hard ground bite at his aging bones. Yes, it had been a smart plan. He just wished to God that he had thought of it first.

Fin.

----

AN2: Of course, reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!