Here's another one-shot. I haven't had any inspiration yet for a chapter story but hopefully these are fun to read.

Enjoy x

The Great Leonardo Mystery

It was midnight in New York City. Four brothers had been stuck, cooped up at home for the past month. At first it was strange to be unable to head topside whenever they wanted but eventually, they all just got used to it, they found ways to occupy themselves. The odd argument would occur, especially between the two eldest, but would soon fizzle out to nothing.

Tonight however, things were different.

Now, Donatello wasn't sure how things escalated so quickly. He's not entirely sure who started it or when it became a full-fledged argument but what he did know was he was getting a headache from the incessant yelling and it certainly didn't look like it was ending anytime soon.

He and Michelangelo were watching the two eldest, luckily no weapons were nearby but they were waiting for fists to fly. This situation had been becoming rarer and rarer but obviously the whole month of doing nothing but staring at one another had gotten to them.

Mikey lay his head on Donnie's shoulder, they couldn't see passed the brothers in the pit to watch the cartoon on tv. He felt his only little brother breathe a deep sigh, deflating as the voices continued.

"How long has it been?" The usually happy turtle asked quietly, Donnie glanced down at him.

"I don't know… feels like years." He responded before frowning, "You wanna do something? We should leave them to it."

"Nah… too risky, they might hurt each other." Mikey lifts his head and looks into Donnie's eyes. "Isn't there something we could do?"

Donatello thinks carefully, he wasn't entirely sure what the two brothers were arguing about but they were slowly getting more and more personal. It would only take one comment that hit too close to home for things to get really ugly.

Or so he thought.

"At least I'm not afraid of tiny bugs! What kind of ninja is afraid of a harmless little cockroach!?" Leonardo spat angrily. Donnie and Mikey watched as Raphael fought with himself, they could see he was about to say something he may regret.

"AT LEAST I'M NOT STILL CRYING OVER OUR FATHER! HE DIED FOUR YEARS AGO! LET IT GO!"

Silence covered the four brothers at long last.

Donnie felt like all his breath had left his body, he could see Mikey's jaw was practically in his lap.

His eyes darted between the two eldest, Raphael looked like he was about to throw up after what he had said but Leonardo…

The eldest, now guardian, of the brothers was frowning down at his feet, his body deflated. The fight had left him and now he just looked…

Donnie wasn't sure there was a strong enough word that existed to describe the way his brother looked.

They all finally saw how exhausted their eldest had been feeling, how heavy his secret had been weighing him down.

Donatello flinched when he felt Mikey's hand grip his arm.

"Raphie!" The youngest scolded gently. "you shouldn't…"

He swallowed thickly.

"I'm sorry Leo..." Raphael reached out to Leonardo but hesitated, like he didn't quite know what to do.

Leo looked up at Raph and there must have been something in his eyes that the two youngest couldn't see.

"It's been four years," Raph repeated his earlier words. "We waited… We deserve to know what happened to our father… What happened to you."

Leo's frown softened, he nodded.

"I wanted to tell you guys from the start but… I just…" He shook his head, "I didn't know how, I didn't think Father would want you guys to know the truth. I-"

Raph steps forward and puts a hand on Leo's shoulder.

"I-… I understand but… bro, you were in such a state when we found you… we still haven't found our father and I think you know why that is." Raph sighs,

Donnie knew he'd have a bruise on his arm when Mikey eventually released him, his little brother was gripping him so hard but he couldn't blame him. He was still afraid to breathe too loudly in case it ruined everything. They all remembered what Leo had been like that night and after.

The storm had been raging since the afternoon of the day before. It was 2 AM in the morning Raphael had been awoken by his cell ringing, he answered it.

"Leo? The hell are you calling-"

"Raph! Get Donnie and Mikey! Father's down and Shredder's got some new mutants, I can hold them off for now but I need backup!"

"You're fighting Shredder? I thought you two had gone out for training!?"

"We were training until Shredder showed up!" Leo yelped and the line went dead.

Raphael leapt out of bed and ran yelling for his baby brothers to get up.

The three had spent 3 hours looking for their father and brother only to find Leo's T-phone broken on a rooftop, they had no way of finding them.

After a further 3 hours of searching they finally found Leonardo.

He was alone in an abandoned warehouse near the docks. He was kneeling, hunched over a huge blood stain on the floor. The three brothers rushed to his side, calling his name and asking questions but the leader had stayed eerily silent. He just stared at the redness in front of him, tears pouring down his bloody face.

They had to carry him home due to his unresponsiveness. Donatello informed them he was in deep shock and they didn't know why, or where their father was. Leonardo had many injuries; both legs, collar bone and four out of six fingers were broken, one shoulder dislocated, a brutal stab wound in his side and one hell of a concussion. He also had many cuts which needed to be stitched and eventually faded to scars and most of his body was bruised.

He had remained unresponsive for a few days before he eventually snapped out of it but then came the panic attacks and nightmares, flinching at every movement and sound.

They asked about their father and searched for him but Leonardo couldn't say a word about that night, the one time he tried resulted in him throwing up. They knew they couldn't ask him when it was all so fresh.

They figured they may not want to know.

"He's right Leo." Donnie began gently, he flinched when Mikey looked at him, "We have the right to know, we gave you a lot of time to heal but we've been stuck somewhere between mourning and waiting because we don't truly know where our father is."

"Donnie," Mikey hushed, "Don't. Please."

"Don't you want to know?" Don asked his little brother gently, "he could be dead or alive, he could be waiting for us to rescue him."

"No." Mikey shakes his head, his eyes wide with fear, "I don't wanna know and I don't want Leo to be back in that horrible place he was when we found him! I-…"

Mikey stares into Donnie's eyes and the genius finally understands. His little brother was terrified of the truth and the pain it could bring, Mikey had made his peace with the situation long ago and didn't want to feel the grief of the inevitable.

Donnie knew his father was dead. He was sure they all did but there was always that glimmer in his heart, hope that maybe his father was still alive. That hope stems from them not having found a corpse.

"You should want to know!" Raph growls suddenly, "Why the hell are you happy living without knowing what happened to our father? What if he's alive somewhere? Bein' tortured!"

"Cos it's obvious!" Mikey scowls but his voice is soft and sad, "I know he's dead, there's no way he isn't and I've already mourned him once… I don't want to hear how or by who… I don't want any details. He's dead and that's it."

The brothers look at the youngest in surprise. They had never expected him to have such an outlook in this situation but they also understood, he had put the clues together himself and dealt with it quietly on his own while his older brothers took care of the eldest.

"Leo would've insisted we go look for him if he were alive." Mikey adds, his eyes darting between the brothers and the floor.

Donatello felt his heart break. That little sliver of hope was now gone with the realisation his little brother was right. If Splinter was alive they would've gone after him a long time ago.

"Leo?" Donnie looked to his eldest. Leo's head is bowed.

Raphael comes and sits beside Donnie, he places a hand on his immediate younger brother's shoulder.

"I kinda hoped he was alive too." Raph soothes, "It was dumb, we both know that but…"

"No body… no proof." Donnie was trying hard not to cry. He was aware everyone had already made peace with the death of their father.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it obvious." Leonardo watches Donnie, he comes forward and crouches before them, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you all and give you the knowledge to grieve."

Donnie shakes his head.

"Not your fault." He shrugs and looks up at his brother with wet eyes, "You had your own problems and I was too focused on getting you healed up to even think of what happened to Sensei."

Leo nods in understanding.

"I'll tell you what happened..." He says softly, "I just hope you won't think any differently of me, I swear I tried my hardest."

Raph and Donnie nod but Mikey looks scared.

"No!" He insists, "I said I don't wanna hear it!"

"You need to-" Leo tries but Michelangelo leaps to his feet.

"No I don't! I don't wanna know!" He yells before high tailing it to Donnie's lab and slamming the steel door shut. He knew that room would be the best for blocking out the conversation.

"I'll get him." Raph sighs but Leo raises a hand to stop him.

"No, if he doesn't want to know then it's our responsibility to respect that." Leo sighs, "It's probably best he doesn't hear it… he's…he's Mikey y'know?"

The two brothers understood wanting to protect their youngest from the horrifying details sure to come.

"You can leave too if ya want Donnie." Raph looks at his younger brother.

"You know me," Donnie sighs, "I like having all the information. I-… I want to know."

The realisation that he would now finally have to relive the horrific events seemed to have dawned upon the leader. Raphael and Donatello reached for Leo in alarm as he paled considerably and his knees trembled. They dragged him out of his crouched position to sit on the bench between them fearing he'd fall otherwise.

Nobody said anything as Leo shut his eyes and breathed deeply, they were so close to knowing.

But Donatello could never watch anyone in distress.

"I know it was traumatic." Donnie soothed ignoring Raphael's gaze, "We see you struggling every day, sharing the burden might help... It won't cure you completely but-"

"Sorry." Leo wheezed, "I'm just-... I don't want-... I-It was my fault."

"With this shit again." Raph grumbled, Donnie sent him a stern look but it was lost as Leo sat up straight. He had a wild look in his eyes.

"No honestly it was!" Leo pushed, "I know I always take responsibility but you weren't there that night, if you had been... I wouldn't have been allowed to come home."

The brothers tense, they didn't dare say anything.

"Ok... I'll tell you" Leo sighed, "Just... I understand if you don't want me around after... everything..."

With one more deep, grounding breath Leonardo began his tale. None of the brothers noticed the lab door creak open just slightly.

Leonardo and Master Splinter had been training for about 2 hours in the storm, progress was being made and the leader was gaining confidence.

"You have grown much stronger over the last year or two my son." Splinter nodded proudly, "You will soon be ready to take over as Sensei."

"I'm not there yet," Leo chuckled, "Besides we have a Sensei."

"True... but I am getting old my son and one day I will not be able to teach as I do now. I am already slowing down." Splinter explained gently, "I will always be your father but in the next couple of years, I will have to step down as your teacher and you must take my place."

Leo looked at his father in shock, he had never thought of his father as old before but now as he truly studied him... He was right, the brown hairs were turning grey, he no longer stood as tall and proud as he did before and he seemed to lean on his jade staff when he stood.

"I've never really thought about it." Leo admitted softly, "I guess... I didn't want to."

"Aging is not something to be afraid of or to ignore." Splinter stepped closer, "It is a part of life, one day you boys will also become too old for fighting."

Leo smirked humourlessly.

"If we survive that long."

"You will." Splinter nodded,

"I will do my best to be ready to take over when you decide to step down." Leo agreed, "But I can't promise I'll do as good a job as you... or that my brothers will accept the change."

Splinter nodded and looked like he was about to say more when suddenly he snapped his jaw shut, his ears twisted in various directions as he listened carefully.

"Sensei?" Leo frowned.

"Shredder. He's not alone." Was all the rat got to say before a shuriken whizzed passed their faces, they turned to face Shredder only to discover he was backed up but four huge mutants.

Leo thought they looked like something out of a nightmare. They were huge, muscular and grossly disfigured. They looked like they had mashed together the DNA of too many animals and now they didn't resemble any of them, They were just faintly grey with a sickly pink tinge. These poor creatures had once been human.

"This is your chance to prove yourselves," Shredder commanded, "Kill them both!"

Leo still to this day could not describe the noise these creatures made, he could still hear it at night when he started to drift off to sleep.

One thing was for sure, these creatures were tough! Tougher than any opponent he had ever encountered. His katana couldn't seem to penetrate their thick skin, their hits were forceful and deadly accurate. The two Leo was dealing with had sharp claws climbing up their forearms, every time they caught him he could feel his skin rip.

He and his father had to mostly dodge, their attacks seemed useless.

"I should call the others!" Leo yelled to his father.

"No!" Splinter sounded fearful, "You can't! You must retreat, I'll hold them off so you get home!"

"What!? No!" Leo refused to abandon him, "You'll be killed!"

This conversation left the turtle vulnerable for just a moment, long enough for one mutant to hit him brutally in the head and the other to grab his left arm and launch him into the air.

Leo couldn't see anything but a dizzying array of colours until he smacked down into the cold cement.

"LEONARDO!" His father yelled as he hurried to protect his son.

Leo forced himself to sit up, his head ached and he found his left arm couldn't move. He glanced at his shoulder and shuddered when he saw it was dislocated.

He struggled to his feet just as his father was thrown across the roof, he didn't get back up.

Leo decided enough was enough.

He called Raphael.

"Leo? The hell are you calling-" Leo was quick to interrupt his angry brother.

"Raph! Get Donnie and Mikey! Father's down and Shredder's got some new mutants, I can hold them off for now but I need backup!"

This was a lie.

"You're fighting Shredder? I thought you two had gone out for training!?" The leader rolled his eyes, as if their plans didn't go wrong 90% of the time.

"We were training until Shredder showed up!" A shuriken hit the cell, Leo yelped and dropped the now broken cell.

He knew he had no chance of running home with his father, he also knew if he tried to fight back he'd be killed.

So he decided to grab Splinter and head to the docks where there was an array of abandoned warehouses with plenty of places to hide.

He grabbed his father with his good arm and slung him over his shell, thankful to feel his chest rising and falling. The leader took off as fast as he could, the mutants and Shredder were hot on his tail.

He arrived at the docks but he didn't have the chance to hide, the mutants were faster than they looked. A huge arm slammed into his side, breaking some ribs. Leo and Splinter smashed through a window and fell to the ground in one of the warehouses.

Leo stumbled to his feet and placed himself between his father and the mutants. He would die tonight but hopefully his death would provide enough of a distraction that his father would wake up and be able to get away.

He fought as hard as he could but in a matter of seconds one of his katanas were broken and a brick wall of a mutant was charging him. He closed his eyes and thrust his remaining katana forward to stab into the mutant.

If his eyes had just been open he would have seen his father fly between them to protect his son.

Leo's eyes shot open at his father's cry and he nearly vomited at the sight, he stared at his father's back where the katana had pierced through. The ninja master wasn't moving, he was completely limp. Leo knew he was dead.

A second later the mutant hit into the both of them.

Leo opened his eyes as he lay on the ground staring ahead as his father's blood stained the floor in front of him. He cried out as he felt something sharp stab him in the side and pull back out, he glanced up weakly to see Shredder looming over him with a bloody gauntlet.

"Foolish creature." The man chuckled cruelly, "Did your Master never teach you to never close your eyes in a fight? Someone could get hurt."

Leo closed his eyes at the mocking laughter and faded into the dark.

When he next awoke the warehouse was silent, he sat up and knelt before the bloodstain. His father's bloodstain...

He had killed his own father.

His mind shut down, he could no longer feel any of his injuries all he could see was red and hear the same mantra in his head.

"This is your fault. You killed your father. What will your brothers think?"

He never noticed the sun rising or his brothers arriving and rushing to his side, he never felt their touches or heard their questions.

Leo kept his head bowed and his eyes closed as he waited for his brothers' reactions.

Raphael and Donatello had tears streaming down their cheeks, they were warring with their emotions as their brother's tale played over and over in their heads.

Michelangelo sobbed silently from inside the lab, this explained so much!

They had been hiding from those mutants because Leo didn't want to lose anyone else and still didn't believe those mutants could be killed. He hadn't spoken a word about what happened in fear his brothers would view him as a murderer.

Mikey cried for the trauma his brother had endured.

Slowly and silently he struggled to his feet, he had fallen to his knees somewhere during the tale. He padded out of the lab and towards his older brothers, he slowly lowered himself to the floor in front of Leo.

Either his eldest brother hadn't noticed him or he couldn't bear to look at him. He knew Raph and Donnie were too busy grappling with what they had been told to notice him.

Mikey glanced at the three through his tears, he needed to do something, bring some sort of comfort to his hurting family.

He gently placed a hand on Leo's knee, he blinked at the chill but focused his gaze on his brother's creased face.

Mikey could see the pain even from his limited view.

"Leo-" He jumped as his three brothers startled, his voice had been soft but had sounded much louder in the thick silence.

The brothers didn't speak, just stared at their youngest.

Mikey licked his lips, he needed to tread carefully.

"I- I'm so sorry you had to go through all that alone." Mikey croaked, "It's not fair... but... Bro, it wasn't your fault."

Now, Mikey didn't know if it was the words he said or the firm tone he used but it seemed to do the trick. All the stiffness seemed to leave Leo's body as the tears flowed, his oldest brother had never looked so old or as relieved as he did in that moment.

The leader opened and closed his mouth but couldn't seem to find any words.

Mikey looked up into his eyes to try and make his point as clear as possible.

"None of us blame you." He emphasised, he glanced at the other two brothers, "Right guys?"

Donatello finally seemed to snap out of his stupor.

"Wh-? No! No, of course we don't blame you!" Donnie was quick to reassure, he placed a hand on Leo's shoulder and hesitated as he felt trembling beneath his fingers.

He sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry, it's a lot to take in but... there's no outcome where both of you came home alive, I keep thinking about all the paths you guys could've taken and... you were lucky if anything." Donnie frowned.

Mikey cringed, lucky was not a word he would use.

"Lucky?" Leo repeated quietly. This then seemed to rile something up in Raph.

"What the hell, Donnie!?" He snapped causing the other three to jump at the volume, "He was not lucky!"

"Raph-" Leo tried weakly but Donnie tried to explain himself.

"W-Well no not lucky maybe that's too positive a word for what he went through but he came home alive when the odds were stacked against him!" The genius spluttered but Mikey could tell Raph wasn't really listening.

"He didn't mean it like that Raphie." Mikey tried.

"I thought you didn't want to hear?" Donnie suddenly seemed to realise.

"No! Don't change the subject asshole." Raph growled but Leonardo stood up gaining everyone's attention.

"Raph. Stop." Leo's voice was quiet. The brothers couldn't speak if they wanted to hear what he had to say. "Donnie's right. I am lucky that you guys found me... I'm lucky I didn't end up the same way."

Raph glanced at Donnie and felt a pang of shame when said brother flinched away.

"You guys know the truth now... Which means I'm also lucky I haven't been thrown out yet." He continued sadly.

"It was an accident!" Donnie stood up hurriedly, "Even if your eyes had been open the same result would have occurred, you had already committed to the motion when Splinter jumped in. At most you might have been able to stop it from going all the way through but with how hurt you were and how long it took us to get to you he likely would've still bled out before he could get any help."

Leo seemed to study Donnie's face for a moment.

"R-Really?" He asked, sounding more like a child needing reassurance than their damaged leader.

"Yes." Donnie nodded firmly. "Honestly... I don't think Father could have survived that night."

The brothers stay quiet as that sinks in. None of them knew medicine and injuries to the extent Donnie did, there was no-one's logic they trusted more than their brainy brother's.

Donnie crept closer and slowly hugged his eldest brother, Leo hugged him back.

"I'm glad you're here." Don murmured, the eldest clutched him tighter.

Mikey slipped into the hug, shortly followed by Raph.

"If it helps," Donnie added timidly, "F-from what you say... it would've been quick. He wouldn't have even known what happened."

The brothers sink to their knees as Leo's buckle, that bit of information meant more to him than anyone could have known.

They remain in their hug as each takes comfort that the others are still here.

They eventually separate and smile wetly at each other.

"There's one question that still hasn't been answered," Raph frowned, "You said you woke up and the body was gone?"

"Yeah?" Leo cocked his head.

"So... where's the body?" The hot head asked, the brothers look at one another.

"I don't know." Leo's eyes widen, "I guess Shredder took it with him?"

"Why would he do that?" Donnie asked sceptically,

"Maybe that's what the mutants eat?" Mikey grimaced, he didn't want to think about it but that was the only answer he could think of. He had definitely read something similar in his comic books.

The brothers grimace with him, maybe it was best not to know.

Leo looked at his little brothers and could see how exhausted they were, he pushed his grief aside.

"Ok... you guys got your answers, we can discuss this more in the morning." Leo stood up but none of the others followed.

"Technically it's already morning." Donnie pointed out tiredly, Leo glanced at the clock to see it was in fact 3 in the morning.

"Ok, we can discuss this later once you guys have had some sleep." He corrected.

"I don't think I can sleep." Mikey shrugged but a yawn betrayed him.

"Go to bed you three." He repeated, the brothers finally forced themselves to their feet and headed off to bed.

Leonardo busied himself turning off the lights around the lair and switching off the TV, he quickly tidied the living area and checked Don's lab to ensure he hadn't slipped passed him.

Once all done he readied himself for bed, he walked over to the sleeping area and glanced at the four doors before him.

He crept over to the furthest one on the left, he pushed the door open and soon spotted his youngest brother cuddled up in bed. The youngest looked over at him.

Leo slowly walked in and sat on the edge of the bed, he picked up the teddy on the floor and tucked it in beside the youngest.

"Goodnight Mikey." He whispered.

"G'Night Leo." Mikey yawned as his eyes slipped shut. Leo left the room, closing the door.

He checked on Donnie next, the genius was sitting up with his bedside lamp on. He was writing something in a notebook.

"No." Leo scolded lightly, "Lights off and go to sleep"

"But-" The genius tried as Leo plucked the book from his hand.

"No, whatever idea you have can wait 'til the morning." He chuckled.

"But I need to figure out how to beat those mutants." Donnie insisted.

"Not tonight you don't." Leo pushed his brother into the pillows and pulled the covers over him. "You need sleep and then tomorrow we'll figure it out together as a team"

"Fine." Donnie huffed, "Night Leo."

"Goodnight." Leo switched the lamp off and left the room, he waited one second to see if the light would come back on but it didn't. Satisfied he headed to the next room, he glanced in and smirked as Raphael lay on his shell staring at the ceiling.

"The two idiots asleep yet?" he asked.

"Yup." Leo chuckled.

"Good, get some sleep bro." Raph nodded, "Goodnight fearless."

"Night Raph." Leo smiled and left the room shutting the door behind him.

He then cuddled up in his own bed and for the first time since the incident he fell into a deep slumber.

Thanks for reading! x