Chapter 9: Discoveries

A/N: And here's the next chapter. Thanks to all of those who have read and reviewed thus far. It means a lot to me. This chapter is going to be exciting for everyone and a bit shocking, too. How? Read on to find out.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. I own the plot and nay other characters you don't recognnize.

Leo really loved Madison's apartment. It was so cozy and inviting, especially for a mutant Turtle. The blue-clad Turtle had come here many times before, but he always felt the sense of being welcome each time he came.

"I've got the popcorn," Madison announced as she carried it into the living room. "I'll go get our drinks." She left and returned with two bottles of Coke.

"You're just in time," Leo said. "It's starting." He had an excited look on his face like a child ready to open presents on Christmas morning. He didn't have to look at Madison to know that she had the same look he did.

As the marathon started, Leo and Madison munched on popcorn and recited lines from their favorite episodes. Although Leo loved his brothers dearly, none of them really understood his love of Space Heroes. Mikey watched it with him sometimes, but he usually found other things to do or got confused at certain parts. Raph hated the show, and Don was usually busy in his lab. Even Splinter didn't understand his desire to be like Captain Ryan. When Leo had voiced his desire once, Splinter had said, "You must be a leader on your own, not like someone else."

When a commercial came on, Madison turned to Leo. "Leo, I want to talk to you," she began.

"What is it?" Leo asked his tone full of concern.

"Well, we've known each other for three years now," Madison replied. "I was thinking it's time we take things to a new level."

Leo looked confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked her.

"I'm talking about being more than just friends," she replied. "I really like you, Leo. You understand me more than any other guy I know. And I know you really care about me, too."

"Wait, are you saying we should be boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Madison nodded. "Yeah, I am. What do you think?"

Leo couldn't believe what Madison was proposing. He wasn't ready for anything like that. "Look, Maddie, I like you a lot," he began. "You've been a great friend to me, and I'll always be grateful that you were there for me when I needed you. But what you're asking me now is something I'm not ready for right now. I do like you, but not in that way just yet. I have to be careful about this because I'm a ninja. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Leo, I understand if you don't feel that way, but I won't get hurt because of you," Madison replied. "I always feel safe with you."

"It could still be risky," Leo said softly.

"What are you talking about?" Madison demanded.

"I'm the reason April vanished!" Leo shouted. "I wanted to walk her home, but she told me she'd be fine, so I let her go. If I had gone with her, she'd still be here."

Madison put a hand on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Leo," she said. "Even if you had gone with her, this still could have happened. You can't always predict the outcome of things."

"That's what Splinter said after it happened," Leo told her.

"So what's the point of beating yourself up over it?" Madison asked him.

Leo looked at her, and the answer hit him. "It's because I'm scared," he whispered. "I'm scared of losing my brothers and my father the way we lost April. That's why I've been training so hard. I've been trying to prevent this from happening again. And because of that, I haven't been able to keep my brothers together. I've been a horrible brother and a terrible leader."

'No, you haven't," Madison contradicted. "You've just needed to grieve, and it's been hard for you to do that because there hasn't been any closure. If you knew for sure that April was dead, you would have your time to mourn and then move on. But since you don't know, you're confused about how to deal with it, so you decided to deal with it in your own way."

Leo processed this and knew that Madison was right. There hadn't been any closure, and it had been hard for them to deal with that. "Thank you, Maddie," he whispered.

"You're welcome, Leo," she whispered back. "I'll be right back."

Leo nodded and watched her leave. He was so lucky to have someone like her in his life at the moment. Suddenly, his phone went off, and he saw that he had a text message.

Poor Leo, I hope you don't get crushed by the weight of your baggage.—A.

Leo gritted his teeth in anger. He was getting fed up with A and what A was saying to him Then again, this was another problem he was facing. He didn't know if this was April or not and it was taking a toll on him. He really wanted to know who it was as soon as possible. He closed his phone and put it away when Madison came back.

After the marathon was over, Leo said goodnight to Madison and promised to visit again soon. As he leapt over the rooftops, he decided it was time to talk to his brothers and to try and bring them back together. This had gone on for too long and needed to be stopped. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard sirens coming down the street. Most of the time, he ignored the sirens as it meant that people were in trouble and the humans could handle it, but this time, something didn't feel right. Leo followed the sounds of the sirens until they stopped at a construction site for a new office building. The blue-clad Turtle watched as the officers got out and made their way to a large hole that was supposed to be the site of the building. They began putting crime scene tape around it.

Another car pulled up, and Leo gasped as he saw Kirby O'Neil get out. He ran to the policemen, looking very worried.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked them.

"Yes, Mr. O'Neil," one of them replied. "A worker was digging when they discovered a body. We think it may be your missing daughter."

"April?" Mr. O'Neil gasped. "How can you tell?"

"We'll do DNA tests to be sure, but there is sound evidence that this is April's body," the officer responded.

Leo didn't hear the rest of the conversation. He turned and headed for home as fast as he could. He vaulted over the turnstiles and saw Mikey and Raph watching a monster movie.

"Guys, turn on the news," he ordered. "They've found April."

Mikey's blue eyes lit up. "I knew it!" he cried. "We have to go see her."

"We can't do that, Mikey," Leo replied.

"Can't do what?" Donnie asked as he came out of his lab.

"We can't go see April," Leo answered.

"Wait, April's back?" Don gasped. "Did she call you?"

"No, she didn't," Leo answered.

"Then why can't we go see her?" Raph demanded.

Leo fixed his dark blue eyes on each of his brothers. He knew it was going to be hard to tell them the truth, but he had to.

"What is going on?" Splinter inquired before he could say anything.

"Sensei, they just found April's body," Leo replied.

A/N: Whoa. How's that for a bombshell? So, now that the mystery of April's whereabouts has been solved, what's next for the Turtles? Will the texts from A stop for good? Will the Turtles finally get closure now that they know their friend's fate? Will they seek revenge on whoever did this? Stay tuned for more. In the meantime, feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.