As was the typical nightly routine, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo hopped across the rooftops of New York City. Usually, it turned into more of a contest than it was a patrol. But when the boys saw the bright pink glow of Kraang guns, they knew play time was over. They ran over two buildings down where the Kraang were holding people hostage.
Raphael immediately became aggressive and unsheathed his sai, "We gotta help those guys." He snarled at Leo.
"We will, but we can't just run right in there, we need some kind of a plan." He looked around to see that all three of his brothers had once again disobeyed him and jumped right into the fight. He rolled his eyes, "Ugh, why do I even bother anymore." He mumbled joining his brothers on the rooftop.
Mikey had managed to free the hostages and bring them down to the safety of the city streets. Terrified, the half dozen people, now free from the Kraang, ran in all different direction to reconsider their definition of truth. "You're welcome," he shouted before returning to the rooftop. He pulled out his nunchaku and started swinging at the Kraang.
They managed to send the Kraang on a cowardly retreat. As the brothers celebrated their victory, one last Kraang droid pulled the trigger, sending a bright pink laser beam right into Leo. The force pushed the blue-clad turtle off the rooftop.
"Leo!" Mikey yelled as he watched his eldest brother fall to the pavement below. He was too shocked to move. He winced as he heard the crack of Leo's shell collide with the pavement. He watched as the Kraang droid ran away and moved to chase him.
Donnie placed his hand on Mikey's carapace, "It's not worth it Mikey, we have to help Leo."
Mikey pouted, a tear falling from the corner of his eye, and pursued the alien anyway.
Donnie sighed as he jumped off the rooftop to join Raph next to Leo's motionless body.
Raph looked down at Leo, and then up at Donnie, "What do we do, Donnie?" Raph never was good under pressure.
Donnie checked Leo's vitals; he was still alive, but barely. Donnie didn't want to assume how much time he had left. "We get him back underground, maybe sensei can help him." He shed a tear, but quickly wiped it away to keep the essence of seriousness on his face.
Raph nodded, keeping his composure. He picked Leo up in his arms and carried him to the nearest manhole, "take the cover off Donnie." He instructed, holding Leo close to him. He could feel the crack in his shell and feel the blood drip from Leo's head onto his arm.
Donnie pulled off the cover and Raph jumped down, keeping his grip on Leo. Donnie looked for any sign of Mikey before he followed Raph into the sewers. He frowned and grabbed the cover, "be safe, Mikey," he whispered before covering the manhole and catching up to Raph.
"He's losing a lot of blood, Donnie. We have to stop the bleeding." Raph realized they were far from their home and would not make it in time.
Donnie untied his mask and tied it around the wound on Leo's head, "That should hold it until we get home, just keep walking." Donnie appeared to remain unaffected by his brother's impending death.
Minutes began to feel like days as they walked through the sewer on their way home. Raph had lost his composure and fell apart with Leo in his arms. The fear that Leo was not going to make it took him over as he stumbled to reach the lair.
"Keep it together Raph; Leo is going to be fine." Donnie lied, knowing the severity of the situation. Leo was his best friend and it was hard to imagine a life without him. But before Donnie allowed the coping to set in, he needed to be one hundred percent positive that Leo would die.
"You're right Donnie. Let's just hurry home." Raph calmed down slightly. The lair was in sight, and was it a sight for sore eyes. Donnie and Raph walked a much quicker pace and jumped over the turnstile.
"Sensei! Help" Raph shouted carrying Leo over to the couch.
Splinter quickly ran into the living room and saw Leo. He rushed to his son's side and looked over the damage. Slowly, he ran his hand along the crack in his shell. "What happened?" he looked at Raph and Donnie for answers.
"Leo was shot by the Kraang, off a roof." Raph could explain no more, avoiding the water works at all costs.
"Where is Michelangelo?" He looked around the room uneasily, looking for his orange clad son.
Donnie sighed, "We don't know Sensei; he chased after the Kraang that shot Leo. I told him not to, but he doesn't listen."
"He could be in trouble. Raphael, Donatello, go find him. I will watch over Leonardo." Splinter demanded, fearing for his youngest son's life.
"Hai, sensei." The two wished Leo the best before leaving, afraid he wouldn't be there when they got back.
In Leonardo's Head.
"Where am I?" Leo woke up in a white room. The room was empty, with the exception of him and another woman, sitting crisscross in the center of the room with her eyes closed. He recognized nothing. He stood up and searched for an escape.
"You're wasting your time," A woman spoke, her voice harsh, "There is no way out. I've looked already."
Leo sat in front of the woman to get a better look at her. She wore a wedding gown and a veil over her face. Her entire face was plastered with cosmetics and her auburn hair done up into a half bun to keep the hair framing her tan face. "Who are you?" he asked her.
She pulled the veil away from her face, "My name is Faith, not like it matters. You will be out of here any minute now." She opened her eyes for the first time to get a look at her present company. "You're a turtle?" she quirked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, my name is Leonardo." He quickly introduced himself, "What do you mean I'll be out of here any minute." He was clearly more interested in his current situation than he was making friends.
"You'll die." She stood up, "Don't you understand where we are." She crossed her arms and bucked a hip out.
"Die." Leonardo repeated.
"Yeah, you're dying. That's why you're here. This is where people go when they aren't dead yet, but have no chance of returning to life." She seemed unphased by the information.
"How do you know all this." Leo asked her, still very confused.
She sat back down, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on top, "I've been here a really long time."
Leo sat next to her, "What happened to you?"
"I don't know. It's been so long, I can't remember anymore." She looked at Leo as if he knew her past, "Why am I telling you any of this, any second now, you are going to die. The big door will open and he will call your name. And after that, you will go with him and never see me again."
"I take it you done this a couple times before." Leo smiled at her.
"I've been here for years, Leonardo. I've seen millions of people in here before. I know how this works. Everyone goes through the big doors. When the big doors open, I see the bright light that shines in here and hope he will call my name, but he never does. Then the doors close and I'm alone again." She sobbed a little bit.
"I won't leave you, Faith. I promise," he put his hand on hers and smiled at her.
"You don't have a choice." She frowned at him.
Reality
Donnie and Raph had been searching for Mikey for hours, and had been unable to find him.
"We have to go back home." Raph insisted, "I want to be there when Leo dies."
"Leo's not gonna die, Raph. He will be fine. Sensei is taking care of him." Donnie continued to lie to himself.
"Open your eyes, Donnie. He got shot by the Kraang lasers and fell off the roof, landing on the sidewalk, cracking his shell and his head. He's a goner." Raph shouted.
Donnie backhanded Raph in anger, "Just shut up!" Tears streamed down Donnie's face, "Leo will be fine." He collapsed on his knees, "He's gonna be fine." He let the tears flow unable to control himself anymore. "He's gonna be fine."
Raph took Donnie into his arms and comforted him. He let some tears of his own drop down his face, unable to control them anymore. Seeing Donnie break down was just too much for him. He waited until Donnie had cried all his tears before speaking, "Mikey will be fine. Let's go back home."
Donnie and Raph rushed back to the lair. "How's Leo?" Raph asked upon entering.
"Where's Michelangelo?" Splinter noticed the lack of one son.
"He's fine, sensei. He said will come home in a little bit. He's just upset about everything." Raph lied, unwilling to go another uneventful search.
Splinter stroked his thin beard, "Very well. Leonardo is not doing well, my sons. I fear the worst will become the reality." He dropped his head, escorting them to Leo's room.
The two boys watched as their brother's chest slowly moved up and down as he struggled to breathe. Tears filled their eyes. "Sensei, is there any hope?"
"There is always hope, Donatello. We just have to believe that Leonardo is strong enough to find his way back home." Splinter put his paw on his son's shell in comfort.
Donnie walked closer to Leo and knelt beside Leo's bed, "Whatever you do, Leo. Don't go into the light." He grabbed his brothers lifeless hand and held it close to his heart.
In Leonardo's Head
"Why are you still here?" Faith asked, "You should have left a long time ago."
"I guess I'm not dead yet." Leo leaned back and smiled.
"There must be something keeping you alive. Some kind of life support of something." She insisted.
"Faith, I live in a sewer. We don't have any really fancy medicine down there." He reassured her.
She laughed a little, "How did you die?" she asked.
"I'm not dead yet." He joked.
"Whatever. How did you end up here?"
"I guess I fell off the roof. I must have hurt myself." He remembered getting shot off the roof.
"Oh." She replied as if that wasn't the answer she expected. "What's the world like now?" she looked up to the ceiling of the room.
"There isn't really much to report. I guess it's the same." He shrugged.
"Tell me about your family." She insisted, having no memory of her own.
"Well, I have a father, and three brothers. We live in the sewers of New York City. My father taught my brothers and me ninjutsu, so we fight evil during the night. During the day we just hang out like a regular family."
"Tell me about your brothers. What are they like?"
"One is named Donatello. He's really smart and he builds cool robots and stuff. Another one is Raphael. He's got a bit of an attitude, and it only gets worse when you get to know him." He laughed a little, "And then there's Michelangelo. He's the kid of the group." His smile turned to a frown. "I wonder what they are doing right now. They are probably waiting for me to wake up. What will Mikey do without me?" He stood up. "I can't die." He insisted.
"You don't make the choices, Leonardo. He does. You just have to accept it and wait until you die."
"I can't die. My brothers need me. My family needs me." He paced the perimeter of the small room. "I can't die. They need me." He repeated to himself the whole time around.
The large door opened and a bright light shone into the room, blinding Leonardo and Faith.
"Leonardo Hamato." A deep masculine voice called his name.
"Goodbye Leo. You're dead." Faith hugged him goodbye, letting a single tear fall, and pushed him in the direction of the light.