Everything Has Fallen to Pieces

Leonardo

Leonardo's always been well aware of his brothers.

Despite his father's best efforts, Leo's the only turtle that he'd been able to save. He knows that losing the others on the journey to the surface had been complete accidents and his dad shouldn't beat himself up over it. Still, he's grown up barely shielded from the lingering guilt that Splinter's felt after all these years.

When he was old enough to understand, his father told him about the three other turtles that had been mutated with them that day. Although Lou Jitsu had only spent a few minutes with the turtles before Draxum mutated them, he needed to save the boys, even as the lab was falling apart. So he picked them all up and rushed out of the lab as he ignored the pain in his body from his own mutation.

It wasn't until he'd reached the outskirts of the Hidden City that he realized he'd lost the softshell. He couldn't go back and save him, as much as he wanted to, so he kept going.

On his way out of the city, Jitsu lost two more turtles; the box turtle by Big Mama's hotel—he'd dropped him in a scuffle and noticed too late, and he knew he couldn't risk getting caught by her lackeys—and the alligator snapping turtle in one of the side streets during a rocky pursuit by some shopkeeper.

By the time he arrived on the surface, Leonardo was the only turtle that made it out of the Hidden City.

Splinter would tell Leo about the others and what he would have named them. About the colors he would have assigned to them, and the things they could have all done as a family. Sometimes he'll get a distant look in his eyes and Leo can tell that he's thinking about what he could have done differently that fateful day.

That's not to say that he went unloved or uncared for by his father—quite the opposite, actually.

Having been the only turtle that Splinter had saved, Leo's needs were tended to right as they happened. He never had to worry about going hungry or being cold even in harsh New York winters. And whenever he was sad or upset, his dad was there to listen and wipe his tears and make everything better. Splinter never lets Leo feel like he's a burden or not good enough. It's enough to make the memories of living in a makeshift cardboard shack fond ones for the turtle.

From there, their lives get a little better. When Leonardo is three years old he makes a new friend: a five year old April O'Neil.

After hours of playing in the Hamato's cardboard shelter, her parents came looking for her, and they found her with a couple of mutants. And once they stopped screaming, the two realized they couldn't leave the mutants in a dank alley forever. So the O'Neil's took in Leonardo and Splinter.

It took Leo some time to adjust to living in an apartment; it was just so different! The apartment was so big and always warm, and they actually have beds instead of scraps of fabric pushed into a pile! April's parents didn't have to go hunt for food multiple times a day, and he could play with April whenever he wanted. The change was good for Splinter, too; being able to have help raising his son felt like a massive relief.

The domesticity didn't last forever. When Leo turned five, Splinter sat him and the O'Neil's down and explained the history of their ancestors.

For centuries, the Hamato Clan has been tasked with defeating its greatest enemy, the Foot Clan, and prevent them from assembling the Kuroi Yuroi: the armor of the Foot Clan's leader, the Shredder.

In front of the children, Splinter spared the gory details, but he made sure they knew how much of a monster he was.

Ever since the Shredder's defeat, the Hamato Clan had stolen pieces of the Kuroi Yuroi and kept them hidden from the Foot, so they could never reassemble their master. Splinter collected a piece of the armor himself: his creepy teapot. He was somehow able to keep ahold of it despite all the chaos of... his whole situation.