Owari Alternate Ending

Part 2

Raph watched in horror as the flames devoured the building. "I can't believe this." Casey said in shock. "Leo!" April cried out. Raph grit his teeth. "I'm going back up there!" He yelled as he took off running. "Raph no!" Donnie shouted as he caught his red brother. Donnie wrapped his arms tightly around the red turtle's waist. "Ugh let me go!" Raph said, struggling against Donnie's grasp. "No Raph, if you go through all that fire you'll only get yourself killed!" Donnie said sternly. "Leo's still up there! We can't just leave him!" Raph cried, his voice beginning to crack. "Raph..." Donnie sighed. He was desperate not to have to be the one to say the obvious. "We can't just abandon him! Leo's fine, he's just stuck up there! He's fine! He has to be. H-he has to be..." Raph ranted. His voice was strained. "Raph..." Donnie said again as he pulled his brother tighter. Raph finally collapsed in his brother's arms. He let out an agonized scream as Donnie lowered them to the ground. Mikey raced over to his brothers. "Leo has to be ok! This is just like all those other times he's scared us! Just wait!" Mikey said trying to stay optimistic. He pointed up to the cliff in front of them. "Any moment now he'll pop up and say some one liner or a joke or something! You'll see! You're getting all sad for nothing!" Mikey said with a struggling smile. April put her hand on the orange turtle's shoulder. She gave him a somber look as she shook her head. Mikey dove into her waiting arms. "But Leo's always fine." He tried to reason as he began to sob. "I know Mikey, I know." April said, rubbing the back of Mikey's head lovingly. Casey stared up at the burning building. He slipped his mask off revealing his own tear stained face. "But even if he is gone, we can't just leave him there!" Casey said determined. "I know." Donnie sighed, his arms still holding his brother. "What do we do?" Raph asked uncertainly. "I guess we wait for the fire to die down." Donnie tried. The fire raged for hours. Raph and Casey tried to break away early but April and Donnie refused to let them. They refused to lose another family member, especially to something like smoke inhalation or burning alive. Eventually the house was reduced to a smoldering mess. "I'm not waiting anymore!" Raph yelled and took off running. No one had the energy to stop him. Raph kicked in the charred doors. "Leo?!" Raph yelled still holding on to a small bit of hope. He coughed as smoke entered his lungs. He covered his mouth as he pushed through the blackened rubble. After a bit of careful maneuvering he made it to the roof. It was hard to tell what anything was anymore. Everything had been burnt to a crisp. "Leo?!" Raph called out again. When he didn't receive an answer Raph began digging through all the smoldering debris. "Raph you're gonna burn your hands!" Donnie said as the rest of the group reached the top. "I don't care! I'm gonna find our brother! You can help or not!" Raph said, not looking up from his digging. Mikey immediately joined his older brother and dug around a different spot. The others joined after a moment. Mikey grunted as he moved a large chunk of wood. He gasped at what he uncovered. "Uh guys?" He began to say. "What, did you find Leo?" Raph asked eagerly. "No, but I think found someone else." Mikey said, his voice shaking slightly. Donnie gave him a quizzical look as he walked over. "Woah!" Donnie gasped as he saw what was at Mikey's feet. It was Shredder's head but there was no body attached. "Leo cut his head off." Raph said feeling pride in his brother swelling in his chest. "So we found Shredder, but where's Leo?" April said bringing the focus back. "He has to be close!" Raph said pushing away a chunk of rock. Raph sifted through the bits of rock and wood until his hand finally hit something soft. "Leo!" Raph gasped. He cleared away the last of the debris to uncover his missing brother. "Oh Leo..." Raph sighed as he finally looked at the body. Leo's emerald skin had lost most of it's once beautiful color. His body was charred and covered in dried blood. A large hole in his stomach still dripped out fresh blood. Raph's brothers and friends dropped to their knees beside him. Mikey broke out into sobs. He couldn't bear to look as his fallen brother as he buried himself in April's arms again. She shoved her face into the crook of his neck. Donnie checked for a pulse though he already knew he'd find nothing. "He sacrificed himself for us." Donnie said sadly. "He always does." Raph said with a watery laugh. Silence fell over the group for a few somber moments. "We need to go home." Raph stated finally. The day after, they had their second funeral within a week. Leo was buried next to Splinter. Donnie had made the effort to clean his brother's body beforehand. He cleaned the ash from his skin and sewed up his wounds. They gave Leo his favorite blue mask as well as his belt and pads and wraps. It only felt right that way. Karai was lucky enough to be released from the hospital in time to attend. She felt comforted that she could at least attend her brother's funeral since she was unable to attend her father's. Leo was given a headstone much like Splinter's. Donnie had meticulously carved Leo's name and the Hamato clan flower symbol into the stone. He'd also taken another smaller stone and carved out a turtle. It was messy but he knew in his heart Leo would've loved it. The turtles looked over the two graves in front of them. The graves of two people they never thought would leave. Raph walked over to Leo's stone, he held two katanas in his hands. He stabbed them into the ground on either side of the rock. Donnie walked over next, he clutched one of Leo's blue masks. They'd all always had a few in case they got dirty or damaged or lost. Donnie tied the blue fabric to the hilt of one of the swords. Finally it was Mikey's turn. He carried a bouquet of blue roses and white lilies. With a sad sigh he set the flowers on the dirt in front of the stone. The three brothers turned around to see the people gathered before them. April and Casey along with the mighty mutanimals and Karai and Shinigami. "Thank you all for being here." Donnie said quietly. Everyone nodded softly in return. "Leo was the only one who was able to end the Shredder, he was a hero. But it cost him his life." Raph said sadly. "He sacrificed himself for us as he always did. Leo always put others needs before his own." Donnie continued. "None of us will ever forget Leo and what he did for us. All of us will continue fight for justice and we will honor Leo's legacy and memory." Mikey finished. The three were given soft claps after their words. After some time the others had left but the three turtles remained. "I still can't believe they're both gone..." Donnie said sorrowfully. "At least Leo's with papa." Mikey said trying to keep his optimism. Raph rubbed his baby brother's head fondly. "Yeah at least they're together." Raph confirmed. "So what are we supposed to do now?" Donnie asked. "We do exactly what we said we would. We keep their memory alive and we carry on. Together." Raph said pulling his brothers into a hug. "Yeah! Together!" Mikey repeated returning the hug. "Together." Donnie said softly as he melted into the embrace. Unbeknownst to them, two figures watched over them from afar. "Your brothers are strong Leonardo, they will be just fine" Splinter said certainly. Leo wiped a tear from his eye. "I know father, they'll be ok in time." Leo said surely. Splinter rested his furry hand on his eldest son's ghostly shoulder. "I'm so proud of you, my son." Splinter said, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. A quiet breathy cry escaped Leo's lips. He leaned into a hug from his father. "Thank you." Leo said as the two faded away into the breeze.