"Ya know," Don said as Leo and Raph leant against him. Their favourite television show (The Justice Force) was on, but they were paying little attention to it. They were sitting on their sofa, squashed up against one another. Don looked at his fingers, his brow furrowed slightly, "I'm glad we didn' get rid of Michaelangee and all, but don' ya it's a lickle… odd?"

"Vot's odd?" Leonardo asked him, putting his finger in his mouth so he could feel the gap between his teeth. He had been the first of his brothers to lose a tooth, as he reminded them so many times with his hand gesture.

"We didn' take long to get to where daddy left Mikey," Don replied, chewing on a loose bit of skin below his mouth, "But when we was goin' home it took ages, we changed our mind and it only took a little time."

"Oh yeah…" Raph narrowed his eyes, "Maybe Master Spintah got lost on the way back and membered where our home was later?"

"Maybe…" Don shrugged, though he secretly thought that Master Splinter had done this so they would change their minds. Of course, their sensei loved all his sons, and wouldn't want to get rid of any of them. So… had Splinter done this to teach them a lesson?

"Look," Raph slipped off the sofa, "We go find the place. Then we can see how hard it was to get there. If we can find it, then Master Spintah can."

"Yeah," Don said excitedly, "I 'ill get my ruler and we can mes-eh the distants." He rushed to their toy toolbox, and got out a plastic ruler. Raph snatched it out of his hands, looking at it with a puzzled expression. Don took it back, "I hold it. I know how they work, and you don't."

"You tell me how it works and I will use it," Raph said, trying to take it off him again. He managed to get hold of one end, and the two turtles began pulling on it, like they were playing tug of war. The plastic ruler shot out of their hands and sailed through the air. Leo caught it, and put it behind his back.

"Ve are not goin' anywhere," Leo told him, a superior look on his young face, "Ve aren' allowed to, Sensei says. Ve're too small and if ve go ve'll get in trouble."

"Okay," said Raph, "We'll go without ya. And when we prove Master that we is clever, he'll be proud of us and not ya." Raph and Don winked at each other, heading towards the door that led to the sewers outside of the lair. Don grinned. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

"Vait!" Leo ran after them. He caught up with the stationary turtles, and put his arms around them, "I think I should come too. Just to make sure ya don' do anythin' stupid." Raph and Don exchanged smug smiles, and the three turtles left their home and entered the dark sewers, where their father refused to let them unsupervised.

"Hey Leo," Raph pointed to the end of the tunnel, "Bet I can get there before ya."

Leo looked to see where Raphael was pointing to. He was motioning towards a brick wall at the end of a passageway that branched off the tunnel in which they were standing in, which had various pipes sticking out of it at angles. The pipes were a grimy brown colour, and some were curved at the ends of them. The pipes stretched upwards, zigzagging up the wall for miles, and it continued for so long that the young turtles were not able to see where they finished. Raph ran up to the wall and grabbed hold of one that was at their level, and hoisted himself onto it. The pipe creaked slightly, but it didn't move noticeably. Leo and Don watched him, eying the pipes nervously.

"Are ya both gonna join me or not?" Raph asked, crossing his arms. He was perched on the end of the rusty pipe, kicking his legs gently. "Or are ya both babies?"

"Ve ain't no babies," Leonardo replied, taking hold of another pipe and pulling himself onto it. Don followed him up, gulping. This was dangerous, and judging by the look on Leo's face, he thought so too. Leo turned to Raph, "There, ve did it. Now, can ve go find that place and see-"

"I bet I can get to the top," Raph remarked, reaching towards a pipe that was slightly higher than the one he was situated on and climbing onto that one. Splinter had begun to teach them how to climb, and Raph decided that by having one lesson, he was fully able to climb up walls. Ignoring his brothers' pleas to go find the clearing, Raphael ascended upwards at a steady pace.

"Raphie! Come down!" shouted Don, wobbling slightly. He cupped one of his hands to his mouth, his other holding on tightly to the pipe he was sitting on, "Come on! What if ya fall and go splat and stuff?"

"If ya fall I'm gonna tell Sensei!" yelled Leo, "And if ya go higher I'm gonna tell him. And I'm gonna… gonna…"

"Tell Master Spintah then," growled Raph, "Go tell ya preckus daddy on me, see if I care! Ya just a… stupid doo doo head." He tossed his head back, and scrambled up the pipes at a quicker pace.

"We're gonna have ta go get him, aren' we?" Don sighed. Leo answered with a nod, and the two turtles made their way towards their red masked brother.

TMNTNMT

"DIE DIE DIE!" Michelangelo laughed, hitting his rubber duck with his Stainless Steel Steve action figure. He shook the rubber duck and said in a high pitched voice, "Ya never get me, stainee seel seve." Mikey grinned madly, throwing the duck at the wall. He sprang to his feet and began dancing. He kissed his action figure, before holding up the toy in victory, "Justy fork saves the day once agen!" He glanced at where he had left his other action figures, only to find that they were no longer there.

"Huh?" he yelped, rubbing his eyes. He had left them there- he was sure he had! Mikey ran out of his room, in case he had left them in the living room. But, to his dismay, they weren't in sight. Mikey toddled over to the toy box, and began throwing its contents out. "'Oey Lassie? Dotter Doomer?" He stopped, realizing they weren't in there. That meant only one thing to Mikey- one of his brothers had stolen his awesome toys because they were jealous. Mikey rested his hand on his chin, trying to figure out who had done it. Leonardo had given him the Doctor Dome toy last year, and Mikey knew Leo wouldn't take his toys without asking. Donatello had his own Metal Head action figure, and Mikey knew that Don would ask him first. That left-

"Raph!" Mikey screamed, "Raph! Gimme back ma toys!" Master Splinter was in his room, talking to his crystal ball. Their sensei had said that he was talking to his Sensei, and that they weren't to disturb him unless it was important. Mikey went towards Splinter's door, having concluded that this was an emergency, when he saw that the door leading outside of the lair had been left ajar. Mikey walked over to it, confused. Had his family gone somewhere without him?

"Guys?" Mikey asked, poking his head out of the lair. Not getting an answer, he decided to go find them. He didn't like being alone, and he wanted some company.

TMNTNMT

"Raph?" Leo wobbled as he held on tightly to a pipe that was rocking up and down, "Come on, let go back down. Sensei vill be scared and he vill vonder vair ve are."

"I'mma gonna reach the top," Raph called down to him, "I'm the bravest and the bestest."

"Leo," whined Don, who was situated a few metres below Leonardo, "I wanna go home. 'What Monkeys Do Best' is startin' soon."

"RAPH!" screamed Leo, "YA GET YA BUTT DOWN HERE RIGH' NOW!"

"Make me," Raphael snapped. Leo growled, reaching for another pipe. It was out of his reach, so he leant forwards so he could grab hold of it. The pipe beneath Leo's feet suddenly dropped downwards, and Leonardo stumbled forwards and began to fall.

"Leo!!!" shrieked Don, the colour draining from his face. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sound of a turtle smashing into little pieces. When it didn't occur, he forced himself to look and see what had happened.

Leonardo was hanging from the end of a pipe, which had sharp metal splinters sticking out of it. His knee pad had got caught in it, and the turtle was swaying side to side as he was suspended upside down. Leo wasn't making any sound, but Don could see he was awake because his eyes were wide open. Donatello, who was lying on his stomach on a pipe, crawled forwards a few centimetres to see how far his brother had dropped, and how high they were. Donnie gulped, noticing that the ground was a fuzzy sandy colour in the distance. Leo was dangling beneath Don, but he was still a fair distance from the floor.

"Leo," Raph's face peeked from above him, pale, "Are… are ya okay?"

Leo didn't answer, paralyzed with fear. The pipe that was stopping him from falling to his death creaked forwards, and Don could see that it wouldn't be able to support his weight for much longer. The pipe was old and falling to pieces, and Don and Raph could only watch helplessly as they waited for their brother to plummet downwards.

TMNTNMT

"Michelangelo!" Splinter left his room and approached his orange masked child. He had been talking to his late Master Yoshi when he had realized that it was time for his sons to have their mid-afternoon snack. "You know you are not allowed out by yourself."

"But… Lee and Don and Raph are not here and I thinked that they were outsigh, and I was gonna go find them," Mikey explained, "I think Raph stealed ma toys and-"

"Your brothers left the lair?" Splinter exclaimed, a chill running down his spine. Mikey nodded, which made Splinter feel slightly dizzy. His sons could be anywhere… He groaned, wondering how he could have left them unsupervised. The pair quickly departed from the area, and tried to decide which way to go. Splinter suspected that they had gone to where he had found them as babies, and thought that they should go check out that place first. He started towards it, but Mikey was running in another direction.

"Michelangelo?" Splinter chased after him, confused. Mikey had heard a soft whimpering sound, and was heading towards the source of the noise. He tilted his head upwards, before screaming.

"WHERE IS MY DOTTER DOOMER TOY?!" he bawled, pointing up at the small figures who were a considerably high distance up the wall. "Ya has it, Raph, and I wanna back!"

Splinter caught up with the young turtle, and followed his gaze. He immediately saw what had happened and began leaping from pipe to pipe, reaching his sons in a matter of seconds. He wondered how they had gotten so high by themselves, but he quickly brought his attention back to the present and reached for his dangling son. As soon as he did so the pipe snapped, and Master Splinter just managed to catch him. Leo clung onto Splinter's arm tightly, trembling. Their master took hold of his two other sons, and jumped downwards and reached the ground quickly, landing next to a wide eyed Michelangelo.

"You must never, ever leave the lair without me again, understand?" Splinter scolded them.

"We won't," Raph and Don said in unison. They turned to Leonardo.

"I-I-I…" Leo mumbled, "Fall… fall… No…"

"I think Leonardo promises as well," Splinter said, before walking towards the lair. On arrival, he gave Don and Raph a cup of hot chocolate and settled them in front of the TV. Master Splinter put Leonardo to bed, who was still shaking and unable to form a proper sentence. Exhausted, Splinter seated himself on an armchair, Mikey positioned on his laps.

"Dadda…" Mikey looked up at his father with wide eyes, "I was scared."

"I was as well," Splinter agreed. He smiled at his son, his eyes twinkling, "I am very glad that you told me where your brothers were, and I am so very very thankful that you led me to them. If I had been there one second later… Well! I don't know what I would do. I am so proud of you, my son. And to think, your brothers wanted to get rid of you this morning."

"What that, dadda?"

"Err…" Splinter patted his son's head fondly, "I will tell you another time."


And now we know why Leo was afraid of heights for a while (my version, of course xD). So yeah, this had meant to be a one-shot, but I forgot to put it in complete mode and it was alerted. :) So yeah, extra chapter ftw. But now it's finished.