It would seem this story doesn't want to end quite yet. Honestly, I've had this chapter written for a while, I just wasn't sure I wanted to post it (it's not my best work, I don't think). But why not?

I'll let you all be the judges.


"Where else could we take him? There aren't any parks secluded enough that we could burry him around here. And we are not burying him in the sewers." Don was adamant about that. It may be home, but it was still a sewer. Leo deserved something better…

"But the farmhouse is so far! We'd almost never see him!" Mikey's pleas reeked of despair. His pain was still too raw to even attempt to hide. "I don't want him to be so far away! He'd want to be close, to keep an eye on us…"

Don sighed when Mikey's voice broke, having a hard time distancing himself from his own heartache. He couldn't move to comfort his brother, could only watch as Splinter draped an arm around their youngest's quaking shoulders.

"Your brother will always be with us, my son. There is no distance far enough to keep his spirit from remaining here." He placed a gentle hand over Mikey's heart.

"I know…" Mikey sucked in a deep breath, trying to get his tears under control. "I just… I don't want him to be alone up there…"

Don, still unable to move, forced his way through the metal shard of grief piercing his chest to speak. "We'll still keep him close. Maybe we can put a picture up in the dojo…" The idea of even walking in there made his gut churn, but Don swallowed his emotions. "Then you can see him whenever you want."

Mikey wiped a hand across his eyes to look blearily at his brother. "He'd like that, wouldn't he."

Don could only nod, not able to break through the lump in his throat as he forced the tears in his eyes to remain where they were.

Mikey sniffled, leaning slightly into the comfort of his father's hug. "Ok… when will we move him?"

"Tonight." Don cleared his throat, pushing his glasses up and turning to head for his lab, grateful the conversation was over. "April and Casey have a truck ready. They'll be here after dark."


Don leaned on the exam table, staring down at the black patchwork of material. It was scraped together from all kinds of fabric he'd found over the years, and took him two weeks to sew. He'd been planning on using it to cart a specimen from stockman's lab back to the lair almost a decade ago, when a mutagen virus had been spreading across the city and he was getting desperate to find a cure. Never ended up needing it, so he was going to throw it out, but in their line of work, one never knew when something might be needed. Always better to be prepared, as Leo always—

Never dreamed it would cover his brother's corpse.

A mournful wine bubbled at the back of his throat, but Don coughed it away when he heard a knock at the door.

"Donnie?"

Mikey's meek voice barely registered as Don was suddenly focused on patting his emotions down. His younger sibling was in enough pain, he didn't need to see his brother break down into tears. "The door's open." Mikey crept through the door with a mug in his hand, steam wafting from the black liquid inside, and immediately froze at the sight of the black bag on the table. Don watched as his brother's eyes stared for several long minutes before finding the floor. The tall turtle walked to take the mug, blocking Mikey's view of the bag. "Coffee?"

Mikey blinked rapidly, nodding his head as he tried to reign in his pounding heart. "April made it. Though you might want some."

"They're here? Then we should—"

"They said we should wait a bit. Something about traffic still being heavy."

"Oh." Don could feel the weight of his brother's grief with every word he spoke, but had nothing to comfort him with, save keeping him from having to look at the corpse. A heavy silence stretched as both stood motionless, unable to find words and unable to move.

"I wanna see him."

The adamancy in Mikey's voice jarred Don from his thoughts. He shook his head. "Mikey, it's… it's not a good idea."

"I wanna see him. Just one last time. I wanna see Leo—"

"It's not Leo anymore, Mikey." Don furrowed his brows as he fought to tamp down the pain that was edging out in his voice. He placed the coffee on the counter as he drew in a calming breath. "It's not Leo… it's a corpse. An empty body. It's discoloured and drained of life and it's not Leo. Leo's gone…"

He peeked over at Mikey to see his shoulders hunch up and his head bow in sorrow. "I know…" It looked like he was shaking. "I just… I never got to say goodbye…"

A sigh blew past Don's lips as he fought between his protective and his compassionate instincts. Mikey was sure to have nightmares… But that wasn't reason enough to deny him closure.

"Make it quick." He finally resigned, walking over to the table. His hand hesitated over the zipper, staring his baby brother down once more. Mikey apparently knew what he was going to say.

"I know, Don. I'm ready." Or as ready as he'd ever be to see the corpse of his brother.

Don nodded, slowly peeling the zipper down and revealing the face and neck. He turned away immediately, unwilling to look at this carcass again. This emptiness that had once been his leader…

"Leo…" Mikey breathed the name in broken reverence, like it was a piece of fine china that would break if uttered too loudly. He stepped closer, repulsed by the color of his brother's skin. It was bleached and greying, almost unrecognizable. "…His mask's still on."

"Sensei's idea." Don replied quietly, still refusing to look at the body. "Said it was an honor for a warrior to be buried with his armor."

"Honor, huh?" Mikey touched the tail of the bandana, rubbing the fabric between his fingers. "He'd like that." A powerful thrumming began in his chest, stopping his breath as he tried to hold in his tears. "You deserve it, Leo. You're the most honorable guy I know." Placing the bandana tails down with more gentleness than he'd ever displayed, Mikey stared at the paling face of his eldest brother. "We'll miss you, bro. We… We really…" A knot had formed in his chest and travelled all the way to his throat, making it almost impossible to talk. But he had to say it. "We love you. A lot. And I… I hope you…" Tears started tracking down his cheeks as his body shook to try and relieve the pressure of emotions building in his chest.

Suddenly Don's arms were around him, pulling him close.

"He knows, Mikey. He knows."


"You think they're alright back there? Maybe we should stop for a rest and check on them."

"We've only been on the road fourty minutes, Babe. We're barely out of the city."

April turned to glance over her shoulder. "But it's cold back there. They might need—"

"They have the space heater and plenty of blankets."

"But what if they—"

"Babe," Casey's free hand went to her knee, his voice as gentle as possible. "They're riding with the body of a brother they're about to go bury. They're not okay. And stoppin' for snacks ain't gonna fix that."

April sighed, a slight tremble on her lips as grief peeked into her heart. Casey moved his hand to grip hers and she held on tight, wishing that squeezing hard enough would make the pain go away. A quiet sob escaped her lips before she was able to tamp down the rest of her sorrow. No time for tears right now. She had to be strong. For the turtles, for Splinter.

For Leo. She owed him at least that much.

Casey rubbed his thumb over her hand, comforting as best he could while he drove.

"I miss him." April whispered, her head bowed with her chin to her chest as she breathed deep. "It's only been two days and I already…"

"Me too." Casey's other hand tightened around the wheel. "Me too…"

The next two hours were spent in almost perfect silence as the group left the bustle of New York and started driving through the mountains. It was still dark out, but the sun would be in the sky by the time they made it to the farmhouse.

Stopping for gas, April futily offered the family food, knowing full well they'd all refuse. She left a bag of snacks in the back in case they changed their mind, but didn't expect to find it empty when they stopped again.

As she closed the doors to the trailer, her eyes clipped the black body bag stretching from Splinter's lap that everyone was sitting around. She quickly shut the door, taking a moment to find her breath again.

Leo…

Tears pricked her eyes once more, but she wiped them away and found her seat up front, waiting for Casey to finish filling the tank.

He hopped up to his spot, glancing at April's forlorn face as he buckled his seatbelt. "How they doin'?"

April could only shake her head as she waited for the movement of the truck to distract her from the pain in her chest.

It was miles before she was able to speak again, glancing at the trees as they faded one by one. "Has he spoken to you?"

Casey blinked, trying to find her train of thought. "Who?"

"Raph."

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. "No. Hasn't said a word to anyone, far as I know."

April took a moment to process that. "He feels responsible…"

"He's the only one who knows what happened, but he ain't talkin'." Casey breathed out his frustration.

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

There was a pause as Casey pictured the emptiness in his friend's eyes when they'd first found out. He took another calming breath, suddenly craving a wall to punch, before finally admitting, "Honestly Red, I don't know."

April folded her arms, sinking deeper into the seat.

It had all happened so fast…

"You're late. The guys are definitely gonna be home by now."

April closed the door to her apartment with her foot as Casey came to relieve her of the grocery bags in her hands. "I know, I know! I couldn't catch a taxi, and the train was down, so I had to walk all the way from China town."

"China town? What were you—" Casey answered his own question as he unloaded the groceries, pulling a tin of tea from the bag. "Ah. For Splinter?"

"Leo'd mentioned they were running low, so I thought I'd bring some over tonight."

April stripped her backpack off, happy to be rid of the heavy load, when her cell began to ring.

"If that's Mikey complainin' that we're late with the pizza, remember that it wasn't my fault."

"For once." April shot her boyfriend a cheshire grin that made him chuckle before she finally answered her phone.

"Hello? Hey Donnie, I'm sorry we're late. Casey was running errands and lost track of the time." A wadded up grocery bag was chucked at her head as she tried not to laugh. "We'll be there as soon as—"

Casey was preparing another grocery bag ball when he saw April's smile suddenly disappear. Trouble. He moved closer to see if he could hear the other end of the conversation.

"Donnie, what's wrong." April could feel the turtle's brokenness through the phone as potently as if she'd been smacked across the face with it. "We're leaving right now. Donnie, what happened? Is everyone alright?" She paused, listening to her friend on the other end with worry etching itself into her bones. "Ok. We'll be there soon."

Casey came beside her, touching her shoulder as she gripped the phone with all her might. "Red?"

"Something's wrong."

"What is it?"

"He wouldn't tell me. Said it's better to hear it in person."

Casey could feel the light tremble beginning in April's body and held both her shoulders for support. "We don't know anything yet. No use worrying until we get the whole picture."

"You didn't hear him. Casey, I've never heard Don sound so broken. Never." She looked him in the eyes, her own shimmering with sudden dread. "Something is very wrong."

Casey was struck by her earnest fear. His brow furrowed and he grabbed his coat, his clubs, and his mask. "Let's go."

They made it to the lair in record time, concern adding speed to their journey. As they stepped through the turnstile entrance, April's feet suddenly froze. She gripped Casey's hand as a shiver ran down her spine.

The whole room felt… heavy. Thick. With what, April couldn't tell, but whatever it was pressed against her chest, making it hard to breathe.

"Guys?" Casey called, tugging April along with him as he stepped further into the lair. "What's going on? You got us all worked up over here."

A minute passed that felt like an hour before Don finally stepped out from the med bay.

"Don, where's every—?" The question ended the minute Casey took in his friend's face. April was wrong… broken just wasn't a strong enough word for what Don looked like. His eyes were red, his cheeks stained with tears, and his whole body looked like it wanted to collapse into itself and die. "…Don?" Casey immediately clenched his hands into fists, anger rising at whatever or whoever dared to hurt his family this way.

April stepped forward to touch the tall turtle's shoulders. "Donnie… Donnie, what happened? Is everyone OK?" She asked as gently as her panicking emotions would allow. But when he didn't answer, her fear got the best of her. She shook him slightly. "Donnie! Where are the others? What hap—?" Her mind reeled when he finally looked her in the eyes. So much pain… he'd never looked like this before. Dread consumed her as he opened his mouth to speak. All it took was one word. A name.

"Leo…" It barely made it past his lips before Don's sobs could no longer be contained. He bit his lower lip to get a hold of himself, but April wasn't paying attention anymore. Nor was Casey.

Practically tripping over themselves as they rushed to the med bay doors, dread settled like an avalanche, cold and unyielding as they came upon the rest of the family: Mikey was crying with his face buried in Leo's arm as Splinter caressed his shell, his face a wash of barely contained emotions.

And on the table, motionless, pale, and covered in blood, lay Leonardo.

"Leo…" April couldn't move. Her every nerve screamed to go to the body, find a pulse, and prove this was all a nightmare. But she couldn't feel her legs. Everything was going completely numb as her brain tried frantically to grasp what was going on.

Casey cursed under his breath, eyes wide as he moved slowly to the table. This was impossible. Leo was the smartest fighter he knew, there's no way some thug or soldier was able to bring him down. No way…

He touched Leo's forearm and pulled back in surprise; his skin was freezing! It… It couldn't be… His eyes found their way to the hole in Leo's stomach, glaring in sudden understanding. Some coward with a gun had killed Leo from afar. Shot him. Skulked in a corner and waited for his chance to attack.

The coward. Didn't even have the decency to face Leo head on.

"Bastard." Casey cursed again, his hands curling back into fists at his side as his body trembled with rage.

Behind him, a gasp erupted from April's lips as the shock finally began to wear off. Her legs turned to jelly, sinking her to her knees as she covered her mouth. "No… No!"

Casey shouted, overturning a tray of tools and revelling in the loud clatter as they scattered across the floor. His shoulders heaved up and down as his lungs dragged in fist-fulls of air, rage seeping from every pore. Casey closed his eyes, hands tightening ever more. "AAAAAAH!" He shouted again, trying to shut out the pain.

April felt tears spring from her eyes as she sat on her knees, fixated on the cold body that had once been her friend. Her brother.

"Leonardo…"

April curled her arms tighter around herself, trying to rid her body of the fear seeping from the memory.

How could this have happened?

Why? Why this family? Why now?

Why Leo?

She turned to stare out the window of the truck, watching the trees passing by as rainclouds set in overhead. Several droplets rolled down her cheeks.

Why…?


Gosh, it seems like forever since I've posted anything. It's certainly been a while since I've written anything new.

Ah the trials of a creative mind with a full time job…

End of Line.

-TRAaP