Tales of Leo
Shredder stood on a rooftop in the heavy rain as lightning struck.
"My revenge is complete!"
He then took off his helmet, grinning evilly.
Alex, the Turtles and Splinter looked down from a rooftop as the water tower fell towards Shredder, crushing on top of him.
Among the remains, Shredder's two pronged gauntlet rose up, showing he wasn't defeated.
"My hated enemies thought they had destroyed me, but I am not so easily destroyed."
Shredder then put his helmet back on as Foot Ninja appeared alongside him.
"I was merely biding my time…"
A puff of smoke formed behind Leo, making him turn to see the five Elite Guard appear before him.
"...awaiting the right moment for my ninja forces to strike."
All of them moved around Leo, blocking his attacks and hitting him with their weapons all at the same time until the ones with the trident and nagamaki struck him so hard he fell in agony and his katanas flew out of his hands.
He was then thrown through one of April's windows, covered in cuts and bruises, crashing on his shell, shocking his family and April.
"LEO!" Alex yelled in horror.
Then Foot Ninjas smashed in through all the other windows.
"And they struck hard."
The Elite Guard with the battle axe swung it at Raph's head, who ducked.
Mikey got knocked onto his shell when the Guard with the double bladed sword destroyed a suit of armour Mikey hid behind.
Donnie got kicked in the plastron, getting knocked against the wall next to the open door to the stairs.
The four brothers gathered with Leo as the Elite Guard appeared next to the front door of the shop, which was kicked open by the Shredder, who then took down each of the remaining Turtles and Alex within seconds.
"They herded my enemies to me like sheep to the slaughter."
April gasped before shielding Leo with herself and then Casey crashed in through the shop window with his motorcycle.
Then everyone ran into the closet, which Mikey closed and locked.
"And even though allies foolishly came to their aid, my enemies were forced to make a cowardly retreat."
Shredder jammed a piece of metal among the door handle and a gas pipe, preventing them from escaping.
He then pressed a button on a circular device, which he threw over his shoulder, exploding a moment later, setting the whole shop on fire.
"But vengeance was mine, nonetheless."
He then sliced open the gas pipe and turned to walk away.
"At last, the Turtles and the boy are no more!"
Mikey and Raph tried forcing the door open with their weapons.
But the fire made contact with the leaking gas and the whole building exploded, knocking away police officers who were there at the scene.
THIRTY SECONDS EARLIER…
"I have risen from the ashes!" Shredder declared after slicing the gas pipe open and walked away.
In the closet, Mikey and Raph were currently pounding their weapons at the door, only to back away when some of the fire came in from under the door.
"Trapped like rats!" Mikey gulped before realising what he said and turned to Splinter, who held Leo up with Donnie. "No offence, Sensei."
Splinter nodded, telling him it was alright.
"Leo's in really bad shape. We have to get him out of here." Donnie explained.
"And quick!" Alex added, considering the fire and the gas.
"Working on it!" Raph replied, going back to pounding the door with his sais.
Then both Alex and Casey saw that April was trying to move a trunk aside.
"What are you doing?" Casey asked in bafflement.
"I remember when we first moved in…" She replied as she started moving the trunk. "...there was a hole in the wall where a cooling unit was removed." As she said, once moving the trunk away, there was indeed a hole, which was closed up by a metal panel. "There."
Alex ripped it open with his katana, seeing that the hole led directly outside into the alleyway behind the shop.
"Everyone out!" Alex shouted as April climbed through.
Next was Casey, who jumped out.
And then they slowly and carefully pulled Leo out.
Once everyone was out of there, they all ran as fast as they could to avoid the upcoming explosion.
"MOVE!" Alex roared as he was ahead of everyone.
Soon after, the building finally exploded, knocking away all the police officers that had arrived, leaving the ruined remains that were engulfed in fire.
April then started breaking down and crying, as she had just lost her home and her livelihood with the antique shop.
Casey, standing next to her, placed a hand on her shoulder, which made her curl up on his chest, Casey now hugging her to try and comfort her as best he could.
Sirens from fire trucks rang in the air as she broke down.
"Forgive me, Miss O'Neil, but we must leave the past behind for now, if we are to have a future." Splinter told her, feeling sorry for her loss. "Leonardo is badly injured and needs a safe place to heal."
"What about the lair?" Mikey suggested.
"Have you forgotten about the ninja army down in the sewers?" Alex reminded him.
"And in case you forgot, we're in no shape to fight." Donnie added, looking at Donnie, who he and Mikey held up.
"Hey, we don't run from nobody." Raph snarled, punching a fist.
"And, yet, we must." Splinter told him.
"But -"
"We have to Raph. In case you forgot, we're already worn out from all that fighting with the Foot. Any more and they'll defeat us." Alex shut Raph down, who ultimately realised he was right.
"But where?" April sniffled, making Casey look as he was thinking.
"Fellas, I know just the place." He told everyone.
The following day, Casey drove a car with April in the passenger seat, a trailer attached to the back of the car, driving through the countryside outside of the city, which was encased with snow, which was also falling.
"You're gonna love my grandma's old farmhouse. Me and my Cousin Sid used to play there all the time when we was kids." Casey told April, looking over at her, seeing that her mind was elsewhere as she folded her arms. "April?"
"How do you think Leo's holding up?" She asked him.
In the trailer were Alex, the Turtles and Splinter. Since it was the winter, Alex had to wear a dark blue cardigan, a black beanie, scarf, gloves and an overcoat. And all the Turtles had to wear blankets to keep warm, since they're cold-blooded.
Splinter kept his hand on Leo's forehead, who still hasn't woken up.
"Oh, man, it sucks being cold-blooded." Mikey shivered.
"And it still sucks for us warm-blooded folk." Alex told him, rubbing his hands together.
"Is he gonna make it, Sensei?" Donnie asked Splinter, who pulled the blanket closer to Leo's neck.
"Only time will tell." Splinter replied sadly.
Eventually, Casey drove off the main road and down a path that led to an old farmhouse and a barn next to it.
"This is it, just like I remember." Casey told April before he parked in front of the farmhouse. "Aah, isn't it great?"
April wasn't as impressed, especially when watching a wooden flap fall from an attic window.
"Great does not even begin to describe this place." She said.
Later, everyone, except for Casey and Mikey, got in the house with Alex (now only in his cardigan), Raph, Donnie and Splinter carrying Leo to a couch, covering him with a thick blanket.
Then Mikey and Casey entered, carrying firewood.
"Alright, so it needs some fixing up. The place got a little run down since grandma passed away." Casey explained.
April pulled a lever at the fireplace, which caused a pile of ash to fall down and get in the air, making her and Mikey cough.
"When was that, in the late Jurassic?" Mikey retorted.
"Dude, you live in a sewer." Casey frowned.
But then everyone heard Leo moan.
"Leo?" Donnie gasped.
Later into the night, back in New York City at Foot headquarters, Shredder, out of his armour, paced back and forth in front of Hun in his main chamber at the top of the skyscraper.
"The Foot's back in business, profits are up and both the Turtles and their human brat are history. Why are we not celebrating, Master?" Hun asked, not understanding why Shredder isn't as pleased as he is.
"Where are the bodies?" Shredder asked as he continued pacing.
"We burned that building to the ground. I think we can safely assume that -"
"We can assume nothing!" Shredder cut him off sharply, knocking over a lantern, causing a small fire. He then walked up to Hun. "My enemies assumed they had destroyed me. And it cost them dearly. I can ill afford to make the same mistake. I require evidence of their demise."
"Scientific proof perhaps?" A voice suggested.
Shredder and Hun turned to see that it came from Baxter Stockman, who was now in an advanced wheelchair, now had a neck brace and a mechanical left arm, all being punishment for his failure with the Foot Tech Ninjas.
"I did not send for you, Stockman!" Shredder snarled in annoyance.
"And that was your first mistake." Stockman replied, pointing a metal finger at him, which irked Hun, who got held back by Shredder.
"Your arrogance is exceeded only by your inability to learn from your punishments. What do you want?" Shredder demanded.
"A simple exchange of goods and services." Stockman told him before bringing out a scanner. "I can provide you with the most sophisticated DNA analysis of Miss O'Neil's destroyed shop." He then put the scanner away in his suit. "You'll know beyond the shadow of a doubt if the Turtles and the boy survived or not."
"And in exchange?" Shredder asked.
Stockman rolled up to the display case that housed the metal suit found in the East River.
"Full access to this fascinating artefact you fished from the East River. A brief glimpse of its technological secrets allowed me to create the Foot Tech Ninjas." He replied before turning to Shredder and Hun, placing his hands together. "Imagine what I might do were I given complete access to it, a win-win proposition, I'd say."
Shredder gave it some thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion and walked up to Stockman.
"Provide me with proof that the accursed Turtles and the boy are no more and you shall be so rewarded." He replied, going up to his face. "Fail me and your next punishment will be your final punishment."
He then walked off as Stockman grazed where his scars were from when his left eye was slashed out. Then Hun approached and smirked as he cracked his knuckles before walking after Shredder, leaving Stockman, who glared at him, clenching his metal hand.
Back at the farmhouse, as it was still snowing, everyone gathered around Leo, who was still asleep on the couch. The fireplace burning, as well.
"Arh!" Raph growled, punching the wall. "Why won't he wake up?"
"Healing takes time and Leonardo is recovering from more than just physical wounds. His spirit has also been grievously injured." Splinter explained, a hand on his son's forehead.
"You think he can hear us?" Donnie asked.
"Perhaps." Splinter said as he stepped aside for Donnie to kneel next to Leo.
"Hey, Leo, it's me, Don." Donnie said to Leo as he placed a hand on his brother. "Listen, you're gonna pull through this, I know you are. You have to. I mean, you know what kind of trouble we'd get in without you. Like, remember the time I built that remote control car?"
A young Donnie held a remote, which he used to control a toy car down a sewer tunnel. Leo was there with him, looking not so impressed.
"Check out the turning radius on this thing, Leo." Donnie said before flicking a switch on the remote, making the car do a u-turn, only to fall into the sewer water.
"Oh!" Donnie moaned as it got swept away by the current.
"Remind me never to let you behind the wheel of a real car." Leo told him.
"Hang on, I'll get it." Donnie said, handing Leo the remote before chasing after the car, which swept alongside some bits of debris, grabbing a stick.
"There was all kinds of debris clogging up the tunnel. And the sewers were overflowing from the heavy rains we just had."
Donnie stopped ahead of the car and held the stick out, stopping the car from going further down the tunnel.
"But I wasn't paying attention to that. I just wanted my car back."
Before Donnie could pull the car out of the water, a large box came at it, knocking it off the stick, also causing Donnie to yelp as he lost balance and fell into the water.
"DONNIE!" Leo cried out before running after him.
Donnie soon ended up falling down a waterfall, landing in the water below with a splash. After a moment, he rose to the surface to breathe, but he found that he couldn't move.
"LEO!" He cried out. "I'M STUCK!"
It turns out that his right foot got stuck between a rock and a large piece of wood, keeping him trapped there.
"I can't get my leg free! LEO!" He cried out for his brother again. "AHH! AHH! LEO!"
From numerous waterfalls, the water was rising, sucking Donnie under it. He tried to pull his foot out, but he wasn;t able to. He then rose his head above the water line again, only for it to rise too high for him and he was now fully submerged.
Leo, having just showed up, got onto a small pipe and then dived into the water, being able to lift the piece of wood that trapped Donnie, freeing his brother, who he carried to the water line, both gasping for air.
Leo then swam to a nearby tunnel, dragging Donnie before he let go and they both lay in the water, catching their breath.
"What? You didn't get the car?" Donnie asked, making Leo turn to him with a look that said 'are you kidding me?'.
"You really came through for me that day, Leo. You always do. And I know you will again." Donnie told Leo, who was visibly breathing as his chest rose and dropped.
"Looks like you got him hanging on your every word, Don." Raph scoffed.
"You watch your tone, hothead." Alex snarled into Raph's face, shoving a finger onto his plastron.
Leo then moaned from all of the talking.
"Hey, I think he heard you guys." Casey said in shock.
"Maybe talking to him does help." April concluded.
"It is said that the voice of a loved one can guide a lost spirit back to its home." Splinter explained.
"Mind if I take a crack at it?" Mikey asked before kneeling next to Leo.
"Listen, bro, just like, concentrate on my voice." Mikey encouraged Leo. "Come on, Leo, you know how focused you get when you set your mind on something."
A young Leo was in the middle of performing his katas in the old lair. Meanwhile, Mikey walked past, jamming to some music on his music player and headphones.
"Like, remember that time you were trying to perfect your katas?"
Leo performed a move with his palm before doing a kick and then entered a pose where he lifted his left foot and stood on his right with his arms out on the sides.
Mikey turned back as he noticed this, seeing the frown on Leo's face, also noticing that Leo was as still as a statue.
He then grinned as he decided to have some fun.
"Hey, Leo, have you seen my Game-Guy anywhere?" He asked, taking his headphones off.
Leo didn't reply, making Mikey tilt his head.
"Hello, anyone home?" Mikey asked, waving his hand in front of Leo's face, still getting no reaction.
"Nothing in the world was going to break your concentration. But that wasn't gonna stop me from trying."
Mikey thought of what to do next before he stuck his tongue out, making a goofy sound, pulling his mouth further open with his hands.
All he got was Leo lowering his eyes, making him look as though he was depressed.
"Heh. You know how I hate to be ignored."
Mikey frowned before he walked off to get something.
That something was a balloon, which he blew close to Leo's face. Once it was fully blown, Mikey then popped it with a pin, and Leo didn't even flinch or move an inch, leaving Mikey annoyed as he gritted his teeth.
Leo then frowned again just before Mikey put on a pair of fake glasses with a moustache on Leo's face.
This made Mikey laugh before putting a mirror in front of Leo.
Mikey was irked as he didn't get even a chuckle from Leo, frowning at his brother as he took the glasses off.
He then grinned deviously as he now juggled two cloves of garlic before throwing them in the air, catching them in his mouth, eating them in quick succession.
He then got right up in Leo's face and burped, hoping Leo would cringe or gag, yet nothing still happened, getting on Mikey's nerves.
"So then I decided, if I couldn't make you laugh, maybe I should just make you say 'ow'."
Mikey then grinned and stepped back, spinning his nunchucks.
He then tried to whack Leo, but Leo grabbed the nunchuck, swept Mikey off his feet and onto his shell and then pounced on top of him with his nunchuck pressed into his plastron.
"Was I disturbing you?" Mikey asked innocently, like he didn't do all those things to make Leo snap out of his concentration.
"Leo, when you put your mind to something, you're unstoppable. So, how about using that famous focus of yours to come back to us?" Mikey said to Leo, truly hoping he was listening.
"Ha! If you ask me, Leo's not coming back because he's afraid!" Raph scoffed, making everyone look at him, shocked and angry in Alex's case.
"No one asked you!" Mikey snapped at him, pointing a finger.
"You know, he got his butt whooped and now he's too chicken to come back and face it!" Raph continued, now standing over Leo.
"That's enough, Raph!" Donnie told him off, placing a hand on Raph's shoulder.
"Yeah, what is wrong with you?" Alex barked at Raph, who shoved Donnie's hand off his shoulder.
"Well, I say, who needs you? It's not like we can't go on without you playing fearless leader!" Raph ranted before his eyes were welling up with tears, surprising everyone.
"Back in the day, I always figured I was gonna be top brother. I was strongest, bravest." Raph said, barely able to keep his voice steady.
A young Raph walked up to a boarded up tunnel in the sewers.
"Remember the time I brought you to that closed off section of the sewer? We were playing Follow the Leader."
Raph started pulling boards off as Leo joined up with him.
"Raph, you can't go in there!" Leo warned him.
"Hey, it's my turn, you're supposed to follow my lead!" Raph told him off as he continued pulling some more boards off.
"But Splinter says -"
"Splinter says, Splinter says." Raph shut him down. "When are you gonna think for yourself? That's what a real leader does." He then ran through a gap in the boards into the tunnel. "Now, catch me if you can!"
Leo sighed before he kicked some boards apart and chased after Raph, who jumped onto a piece of wood that drifted down the tunnel in the water.
"Wahoo!" He cheered as Leo jumped onto a piece of wood as well, still chasing after Raph.
Eventually, Raph got off the piece of wood when a tiny waterfall and saw that he wasn't where he planned on.
"Huh? Dead end?" He questioned, scratching his head. "Must've taken a wrong turn."
But then he heard bubbles rising next to him, making him nervous.
"Uh… Leo?" He asked.
In response, a large albino alligator burst out of the water, making Raph trip as he screamed before he ran away from it as it started chasing him.
Eventually, Leo jumped in from the side, shoving Raph away from the gator's jaws, which clamped down where he was previously and then it hit its head on the ceiling.
"Come on, let's jet!" Leo told Raph, jumping over the gator's tail to get out of there.
"No way! This walking handbag's intruding on our turf!" Raph said stubbornly, facing the gator.
"You're the intruder, shell-for-brains! Now let's get out of here!" Leo corrected him.
"Hey, I'm the Leader this turn, remember?" Raph reminded him as he punched his fist and then leapt onto the gator.
"Fine, handle it your way." Leo said, now just so fed up with Raph's stubborn hotheadedness.
Raph grabbed the gator's jaws, closing them shut as it flailed about before diving into the water.
Moments later, they emerged out of the water, Raph still holding onto its jaws, yelling as it was trying to shake him off.
"Can I offer a strategy tip?" Leo suggested.
"No!" Raph replied before the gator dunked its head in the water and rose up again. "I got him on the ropes! He's right where I want him!"
Leo started backing away and then ran off when the gator slammed Raph into a wall, which made him let go and fall into the water, groaning as he held his head.
He then gasped when the gator growled at him, ready to have him for a snack.
"Right, that's it!" Leo said, having had enough.
He leapt onto the gator's head, poking the side of its jaw where the bones are connected, making it moan and fall asleep.
"What'd you do? What'd you do?" Raph asked, wanting an answer as Leo jumped off the gator with a grin.
"Pressure points." Leo replied, rubbing his hands before pulling Raph up on his feet.
"Alligator pressure points?" Raph questioned.
"Little trick Master Splinter taught me." Leo explained. "Come on, he won't sleep forever." He then walked off before entering a run. "How about another round of Follow the Leader, as in, back home?"
"Lead the way." Raph grinned as he followed after his brother.
"I don't even know why I told you that story." Raph said, sounding confused and unsure of himself. "I - I guess you just - I mean, what I'm trying to say is -"
Leo moaned and moved slightly while Raph closed his eyes and held his head and Splinter placed a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Your brother hears you, Raphael. He understands." He told Raph, whose eyes were welling up again before he walked over to a window, not wanting the others to know just how scared he is that Leo may not get better.
Alex sighed before he stepped forward and knelt next to Leo, knowing it was his turn now.
"Hey, Leo, it's Alex." He said softly, stroking Leo's head, hoping physical contact would help him be able to hear him better. "You have to wake up. I don't know what I'd do without you being there for me. Just like that time you and I were exploring the sewers on our own."
Both a young Alex and Leo ran their way down a tunnel in the sewers. There was some light nearby as they continued on, Alex looking back at the light longingly. He then looked ahead, seeing nothing but pitch black ahead of them.
"Hey, Alex, what's the hold up?" Leo asked, noticing that his human brother was slowing down. Eventually, the pair stopped.
"I just don't know about this, Leo. I feel like we've explored far enough. Let's just head back home." Alex said nervously.
"But why? We haven't been to this part of the sewers before. And we both agreed we'd go explore together." Leo said, starting to sound concerned about Alex, realising what was really going on. "Is it because of your fear of the dark?"
"What gave you that idea?" Alex replied, sounding frantic and avoiding eye contact.
"I was just too scared to go into the dark. It was just too much for me. I thought something would pop out and take me away."
"Alex, I know you're scared of the dark. Why else would you leave a torch on when we go to sleep?" Leo questioned, making Alex look ashamed of himself.
"I know you think it's stupid, having a fear of the dark, given that we're being trained to be ninjas, but I can't help it!" Alex said, his eyes welling up. "I just worry that some monster will come out and grab me, taking me away from you guys!"
Leo, watching his brother start to curl up and cry from the pressure of his fear, knelt down and hugged him.
"Don't worry, bro. I'm here with you. Remember what Master Splinter told us. The only way to overcome fear is by not giving it power to take over our minds." Leo told him.
Alex sniffled before he looked into his brother's face.
"Yeah, yeah, I remember." He said. "But does it really work?"
"Only one way to find out." Leo said, standing up and helping his brother up. He then held his hand and led him into the pitch black darkness, which made Alex get antsy and tense.
"It seemed so overwhelming to enter that darkness. But because I knew you were there, and remembering what Sensei said, I pushed through."
Alex repeated what Leo told him in his head as he clenched Leo's hand tighter. He started taking deep breaths as he was engulfed in the dark.
It worked as he was starting to no longer feel tense, the sweat that was forming stopped and he didn't hold Leo's hand as tight.
Eventually, he took the next step and let go of Leo's hand, still walking forward.
"That's it, bro. Remember, there's nothing in the darkness. It's just your imagination. You're perfectly safe." Leo encouraged him.
Those words made Alex finally calm down and started walking normally after Leo.
Eventually, they came across some light and jogged ahead when they found themselves in a more familiar part of the sewers.
"I did it. I DID IT! I OVERCAME MY FEAR! LEO, YOU'RE THE BEST!" Alex cheered, embracing Leo in a bear hug.
"No problem, Alex, I just gave you the steps to face your fear head on, and you beat it. It will never overcome you ever again." Leo grinned as Alex let him go. "Now, let's go home. Pizza's arriving soon and we don't want to be the last ones back!"
"Yeah, Mikey takes all the remaining slices! And it better not be mushroom pizza!" Alex replied as they started running their way back home to the lair.
"You helped me face my fear and beat it." Alex told Leo, his eyes welling up as Leo moved in response to Alex stroking his head. "I need you to face your pain and come back to us. Please."
Alex stopped stroking Leo's head and sniffled before he went outside and sat on the porch, watching the snow fall.
Back in the city, Stockman was searching through the remains of Aprils' shop and apartment, using his Mousers as well.
He wheeled his way around, using his scanner, which found nothing.
"Nothing." He said bitterly, pressing buttons on the scanner. "I've run every search pattern, every type of analysis, but there's no conclusive evidence that anyone, human or turtle, perished in this blaze." He then started getting anxious and worried. "But I - I can't go back to Shredder with nothing, I -"
He was interrupted by one of his Mousers wagging its behind, grabbing his attention, seeing that it had a torn piece of a red curtain in its dentures.
"Huh?" He muttered before grabbing it.
"Hmm." He muttered as an idea came to him, making him chuckle.
"If I can't find any evidence…" He then said, grabbing one end of the torn piece with his teeth, stretching it as he then punctured two holes into it with his metal fingers, making it resemble Raph's headband. "...then I'll just have to make some evidence."
Back at the farmhouse, sweat was now coming off of Leo's forehead as he remained still, his family, Casey and April still gathered around him.
Splinter now knelt next to his son.
"Leonardo, my son, you must gather all your strength and confront your fear." He told Leo, placing a hand on his forehead. "Just as you did many years ago."
"What are you talking about?" Alex asked Splinter in confusion, having got back inside the farmhouse a minute ago.
"Yeah, Sensei, Leo's never been afraid of nothing in his life." Raph said, just as confused.
"Not true, my sons." Splinter revealed before turning his attention back to Leo. "Do you recall, Leonardo, our early days?
Splinter and a young Leo were in a sewer tunnel, the former dragging a large sack full of objects he gathered from the streaming water and the latter still grabbing some items from the stream to put in a sack.
"We were scavenging for food and supplies."
Leo grabbed a box out of the water and put it in the sack.
"Come, my son. There are more useful items to be found on the upper levels." Splinter informed his son, who joined him as he carried the sack over the shoulder.
They approached a ladder, which Splinter climbed up.
Leo, however, looked at the ladder nervously before he started climbing up after his father.
"These tunnels stretch for miles in all directions." Splinter explained, stopping for a moment to look down at his son before climbing up the ladder again. "To avoid losing your way, you must observe your surroundings carefully."
This made Leo look around until he looked down, which made him start to panic.
"Come along, Leonardo, we are nearly at the top." Splinter told Leo as he started physically shaking.
"I can't." He told Splinter, starting to freak out.
"Leonardo, you must." Splinter pressed him on.
And so Leo tried climbing higher, but he slipped and dropped the sack, though he did manage to hang on.
"NO! NO!" He freaked out, closing his eyes out of fright.
This made Splinter grab him by the shell and put him on his back as he started climbing.
"It was then that I realised you had an irrational and paralysing fear of heights."
At a later day, Splinter had Leo perform his katas on some small bamboo poles.
"In the weeks that followed, I worked closely to help you overcome your fear."
He then performed his katas on slightly taller bamboo poles, but now blindfolded.
"Focusing on the way of balance."
Then Leo performed his katas on much taller bamboo poles, though without knowing how tall.
"Gradually building your confidence."
Soon, Leo stopped and stood on a couple of poles.
"Now, my son, remove your blindfold." Splinter told Leo.
He did as he was told, finding that he was high up with a hammock set up below if he ever fell. Of course, seeing how high up he was made him panic.
Leo started freaking out, making him lose balance until he screamed as he fell, landing on the hammock.
"I was beginning to wonder if you would ever conquer the dark imaginings of your mind."
Splinter shook his head, concerned about his son.
"But I was unwilling to give up."
Later, he and Leo were crawling their way along a tunnel until they reached the end, finding themselves at a large area with pipes all over the large room above a walkway and gushing water below.
Splinter grabbed onto a nearby pipe to start climbing.
"We must continue on, Leonardo." He told his son before he began climbing.
"You - you go ahead, Master Splinter, I'll go around the long way." Leo replied nervously.
"That could take hours, my son." Splinter said, unaware that the pipe he was climbing on started creaking and bending from his weight.
"That's okay, I could use the exercise." Leo replied, leaning against the tunnel wall.
But then the pipe Splinter was climbing started bending as he reached the top, bending so much that it tipped over the walkway and the water, making him yelp.
"MASTER SPLINTER!" Leo cried out, seeing that his father was now hanging on just his kimono as it clung onto the pipe and started ripping, meaning he didn't have much time before falling below.
"Oh, no! Master Splinter!" Leo gasped, knowing he had to do something.
And so, without thinking, he jumped onto the pipe, pulling himself up. He then looked down below him, making him gasp and close his eyes.
"Don't look down. Don't look down." He told himself as he crawled along the pipe to Splinter.
"Grab on!" He told his father, reaching a hand out for him.
Splinter was able to reach and pulled himself up onto the pipe. They started climbing their way off, but the pipe was starting to teeter over, about to fall into the gushing water.
"We'll never make it back in time!" Leo told Splinter worriedly.
"Then we must forge ahead, my son." Splinter replied confidently, pulling out a rope with a grappling hook and threw it up at a grate. Once he was sure it was secure, he put Leo onto his back and swung to a pipe that led into a tunnel.
Once they reached there, Leo got off his father's back and Splinter pulled the grappling hook out, rolling it up before putting it around his shoulder.
"But, you could've saved yourself at any time." Leo said, confused why Splinter didn't use the grappling hook.
"And you would still be consumed by your fear." Splinter pointed out, making Leo realise the whole point of what happened as they started walking down the tunnel. "By focusing on the task at hand, you were able to clear your mind of all distractions."
"Do so again. Ignore the fear, my son. Let your spirit heal. Find your way home. Return to us." Splinter told Leo softly.
Leo started moaning softly, making everyone look at him anxiously.
"Is he…?" Mikey asked his brothers, fearing the worst. Alex's breath was shaky, fearing the worst as well.
But then….
"No… fear…." Leo said, making his brothers' eyes widen before he finally opened his eyes and turned to everyone.
His brothers all cheered, Donnie and Mikey hugging and Alex falling to his knees as his eyes welled up with joy.
Splinter also shed a tear, which he wiped away.
And both Casey and April hugged each other, before backing away from each other, feeling a bit awkward.
"Uh, sorry." Casey apologised as they let go.
"Right." April blushed.
"We thought you were gone, bro." Raph told Leo.
"We were worried beyond belief." Alex added as he stood back up, wiping his eyes.
"I - I was. But you brought me back. All of you." Leo assured everyone with a weak voice.
"You fought your way back, my son. You have done well." Splinter said proudly.
"Thank you, Sensei." Leo thanked before he fell back asleep.
"The danger is past. Now we must let him rest." Splinter told everyone before walking off, everyone following him.
But both Alex and Raph stopped to turn to Leo.
"Hey, Leo, if you need anything, we'll be right outside." Raph assured Leo.
"Yeah, we'll be there for you, bro." Alex nodded before the pair continued on following the others while Leo continued sleeping, having heard what they told him.
Back at Foot headquarters, Stockman gave Shredder the fake red headband as the proof of the demise of Alex and the Turtles.
"This is your conclusive proof?" Shredder questioned.
"That is merely a souvenir of your victory. Consider it a gift." Stockman replied before pulling out his scanner that showed more fake proof. "This is my conclusive proof. Telltale traces of both human and mutated DNA, order chelonia, family emydidae, or in layman's terms -"
"Turtle." Shredder concluded.
"Someone's been doing his homework. No doubt, one as intelligent as you would recognise that the sheer amount of DNA evidence recovered can only lead to one conclusion." Stockman explained.
"The Turtles and the boy perished in the blaze." Shredder concluded again, falling for the fake evidence as Stockman put away the scanner.
"So that's what you look like when you're pleased. I've always wondered." Stockman confessed before wheeling over to the suit in the display case. "Now, about my reward?"
"I will have a team of Foot Technicians deliver it to your lab in the morning." Shredder replied before turning to leave. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have other pressing matters to attend to."
"Of course, Master." Stockman replied as Shredder walked off.
Once he was out of earshot, Stockman turned his wheelchair and grinned with delight.
"Fool. You let your guard down the moment you believed your enemies vanquished." He said to himself before facing the metal suit. "Soon, the technological secrets locked within this artefact will give me power beyond reckoning. And that's when Baxter Stockman stops taking punishment and starts dishing it out."
He then started cackling to himself as he wheeled around in front of the metal suit, now ready to prepare his plans of revenge on Shredder and really anyone that had a hand in his misfortune.
What Alex told Leo, it has a connection with his current fear.