A/N: I'm back with another drabble! This was request by Bubblyshell and the prompt given was Leo with the phrase "No one is ever truly fearless." This drabble is very 'morbid' to say the least. You have been warned! Thanks to Ravenshell for her awesome beta skills!

No One is Ever Truly Fearless

The young turtle sniffled into his father's robe, embarrassed of his mistake. With a solemn look and a single hand gesture, the other three turtles understood practice was over and scurried out of the dojo while occasionally looking back at their father and brother.

"I'm sorry I failed, Sensei." The young turtle pulled away from his father, staring at his feet as he clenched and unclenched his toes. With a sigh, Splinter looked over the dojo. There were two stacks of cinderblocks approximately twelve feet apart from each other. There was a fifteen-foot piece of plywood on top of each both stacks serving as a 'bridge' from one to the other. However, the plywood was now on the floor. It fell after a shaky misstep of a terrified little turtle. He did not realize his son's phobia until the turtle was halfway across the wooden board and began to hyperventilate after looking down. Splinter caught him before he could tumble to the mat below. It took several minutes to calm down the bundle of turtle in his arms.

Perhaps a height of five feet was a bit too ambitious for their balancing exercise. Splinter considered it a moment more, but decided five feet was not excessively difficult to master. With extra practice he had no doubt his son could accomplish this small feat.

He rubbed the top of the eight-year-old's smooth green head as he turned to leave the dojo. "It is alright, Leonardo. We will try again tomorrow."

"But I can't!" The panic returned to Leonardo's eyes.

"Why can't you, my son?" he questioned his son calmly as he turned around in time to see his face begin to pale.

"Because…. because…." Splinter waited patiently as Leo struggled with his admission. "I'm scared, Sensei." The shame and self-disappointment in the turtle's face was far worse than any thought Splinter had concerning the poor boy.

"All the more reason to practice again tomorrow."

"But I can't practice if I'm scared! Raphie says I have to be fearless to be a leader; if I'm not fearless then… then… I'm a baby like Mikey and if I'm a baby, I can't be brave and be my brothers' keeper." His small face held the utmost seriousness, though it was still round with babyish features.

Splinter smiled at his son. He often told Leonardo, as the oldest, he was his brothers' keeper. It warmed his heart to see him take his responsibility so seriously at such a young age. Kneeling on one knee to be eye-level with his eldest child, he placed his pawed hand over the turtle's thin shoulder. "No one is truly fearless, Leonardo. Your brothers are afraid of things as well. Raphael is afraid of insects, Donatello is afraid of thunderstorms, and you know Michelangelo is fearful of the dark. You are not alone in your fears."

"What are you afraid of?" His innocent question took Splinter by surprise, but nevertheless he answered it honestly.

"Being without my sons."

The confused look on his face was almost comical. "But we aren't going anywhere, Master Splinter."

A deep chuckle tickled his throat as he squeezed his son's shoulder. "Yes, I know Leonardo, not for a long time. We will continue a private practice tomorrow."

"But what if I'm not fearless by tomorrow? Can we practice next week instead? I can practice being fearless now, and then I'll be ready."

His logic was faulty, but his good intentions and determination were in the right place. "Leonardo, being fearless does not mean you are without fear, it means doing what is important in spite of fear. Do you understand?"

The disappointment in having to practice the balance beam tomorrow was evident on the young turtle's face. Although he did not fully understand the wisdom laced in his father's words, he nodded anyway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Leonardo was still afraid of heights. For eight years, Master Splinter worked diligently with him to overcome his fears. Mediation was a huge help. He also learned his own little tricks to subdue his fears of heights. Always focus on the building top in front of you when leaping across rooftops; never ever look down; and if you must look down, move fast, because the faster you move, the less time you have to be afraid. He followed these rules like commandments written in stone. He had to. Being afraid was not an option, especially not tonight. They were on their usual patrol when the team spotted Bebop and Rocksteady on one of the rooftops, looking particularly suspicious.

It wasn't long before a fight broke out when Donatello figured out the satellite they were fumbling with had the potential to elicit mind-control radio waves. The pig and rhino were not easy adversaries, especially with backup Footbots creeping in from the shadows of the rooftop like roaches, but the turtles were holding their own. That is, until Raphael's roar pierced the night air like a needle through a balloon. Leonardo sliced a Footbot out of the way just in time to see another Footbot rip a katana from his brother's side. Blood splattered the rooftop from the backward swing of the blade. Bebop pulled out a gun shooting spider-legged suction cups onto Raphael's plastron. The electric current flowing from the wires to his chest were enough to render the red-banded mutant speechless as his body constricted in pain like an exorcism gone horribly wrong. The gadget contracted back into the taser gun leaving Raph swaying dangerously near the edge of the building.

"No…" Leo whispered, picking up his pace as he sliced through Footbots to reach his brother. A hoggish snort and a forceful huff from Bebop were all it took for Raphael fall like a sack of bricks over the edge. "NO!" Leo screamed. Donatello saw the look in Leonardo's eyes before Michelangelo did and called out to him with a cry of panic and fear, realizing what his eldest brother was getting ready to do. Without thought or pause, Leonardo dived over the edge of the 20-storey building.

Tucking his arms and legs together to gain speed, he fell faster toward his brother. When he was close enough, he grabbed Raphael's belt and yanked him upward. A quick aerial turn placed his carapace in direct line with the fast-approaching pavement below, with intent of protecting his unconscious brother from further injury. There was a sudden calming silence as everything moved in slow motion. Clutching his brother tightly against his plastron, he felt the small rise and fall of his chest. Still alive…. thank God he was still breathing.

He hoped his body would be enough to protect his wounded brother from the fall until Donatello found them and was able to patch up Raphael. Time returned to its normal speed. With his shell facing the imminent ground, Leo was engulfed in tunnel vision as the building above grew smaller and smaller.

Being fearless does not mean you are without fear, it means doing what is important in spite of fear.

Leonardo wasn't afraid of heights anymore.

FIN

A/N: *hides* Don't kill me Bubblyshell! Okay, I'm trying to write the drabbles in the order in which I receive them. An Anonymous review request a drabble for the prompt phrase "Because I said so", so that will be the next one posted here. Thanks for reading and please leave a review, a request, or both! :)