Leo's steps felt heavy as he walked away from the burning building. It was finally over; Shredder was dead, and he'd avenged his father. Yet he couldn't shake this feeling that he was making his way towards something worse. Shouldn't he be feeling relief, some sense of satisfaction, or even some sense of emptiness like the vengeance he got wasn't enough? He was no stranger to anxiety, but why did he keep feeling like something had gone terribly wrong?

He slowly made his way towards the edge of the cliff the Shredder's mansion sat on, hoping that he'd see what was left of his family and friends. Seeing them, knowing they were alive would be enough for him after the hellish war they've been fighting the past few years. He looked at the now horribly deformed kuro kabuto he gripped in one hand, the proof of Shredder finally being gone, something he wanted to show the others so they knew they wouldn't have to worry anymore.

The first thing he noticed was Casey holding April close as the young girl appeared to be...sobbing? Yes, he could hear her loud wails over the crackling fire behind him now, and she looked like she was leaning heavily against Casey, as if she'd fall over if he wasn't there.

Then Casey noticed him, shaking April a bit as he pointed to Leo. "Leo! Dude, you're alive!" He called out, his voice an odd mix of both relief and disbelief. He almost sounded like he was a bit choked up too, but Leo couldn't make out his expression from so high up to see if he was crying like April was.

April looked up at him. "Leo!" She called out, reaching out one hand up to him. "I'm sorry! I'm so..." The rest of her words were too quiet to reach up the cliff and were quickly replaced by more sobbing.

Leo was confused and worried, sorry for what?

Then he looked at the figure that was lying on the ground a few feet away from April and Casey. It was Donnie, but even from so far away Leo could tell something was wrong with him.

One thing Leo's mind processed quickly was the fact that Donnie's face had seemingly been replaced by a large red hole, and many other places on his body were red like he was bleeding from more wounds that Leo couldn't make out from up here.

Leo dropped the kuro kabuto as he realized just what he was looking at. Donnie was dead, one of his brothers was dead.

But where were Raph and Mikey? They weren't down there with April, Casey and Donnie...Donnie's body. They couldn't be dead too, right?

He shifted focus from below the cliff to the rest of the area around the building. He quickly noticed Mikey, who was laying on the ground near the building. Leo quickly ran to where his brother was, ignoring his friends' calling out his name and the feeling of despair threatening to overtake his mind. Mikey couldn't be gone too...not his little brother, please no. Please let him just be hurt and needing help.

His stomach dropped as he got close enough to see the state of Mikey's body more clearly. His brother was laying on his stomach, yet his face was looking at the sky, eyes lifeless and unseeing. His limbs looked just...wrong, broken and bending in ways they weren't meant to.

Leo kneeled next to Mikey, tears threatening to leave his eyes "No no no...This can't be happening, you can't be gone." he said, his voice weak as he tried to repress the sobs threatening to come out instead. He attempted to pick up his little brother, he wasn't sure if it was because he was still in denial of what he was seeing or he was just trying to keep his body from being eaten by the flames slowly growing closer. He almost shrieked when he saw Mikey's organs were starting to fall out as he lifted him a couple inches, which caused Leo to drop him.

Now he knew why April and Casey hadn't taken Mikey's body with them like they had with Donnie's. He wanted to throw up.

He found himself staring at Mikey's face, struggling to process his loss. His baby brother was always so full of life, so seeing him like this was something Leo couldn't have ever imagined outside of his worst nightmares. Now he'd never get to see him smile again, hear him laugh or chatter on about whatever random thing was on his mind.

He was supposed to protect all of them, if any of them died today it was supposed to be him. How could he have failed them so badly that he didn't even notice when his youngest brothers had died? What kind of leader, what kind of big brother was he?

It took everything in him to not break down and cry, he still didn't know where Raph was. He couldn't give up until he knew where his last brother could be.

He forced himself onto his feet and quickly scanned the area, trying to catch any sign of another body while also trying to remember what had happened in the fight. When had he last seen...oh god no.

Leo looked turned his attention to the mansion that was now consumed by flames. The last time he'd seen Raph during the fight was when Shredder had thrown him into one of the doors and back inside the building. He'd seen it, why hadn't he done anything to make sure Raph was okay? Had he been hurt worse than Leo assumed, and he wasn't able to get out?

Had his brother really gone out that painfully without Leo realizing it until it was far too late, his body now being consumed by the fire which would eventually turn him into nothing but ashes?

"Raph!" He cried out desperately, some part of him still hoping for a response, some sign his brother wasn't in that fire. There was nothing, so he found himself running back to the mansion.

"Leo, dude, wait!" Casey's voice called out from behind him, had they made their way back up here to try and get him? It didn't matter, Leo just kept going.

Then April's voice cried out desperately, "The building's already falling apart, the fire's too high! You won't survive if you go back in there!" he kept going. "Leo!? LEO!"

He didn't care. He's the one who led them here seeking vengeance, he's the one that failed to protect his brothers. He's the one that got them killed.

So he might as well join them.