AHP: Hey all. This is the first time I've ever tried a one-shot and it's probably the shortest thing I've ever written. It's an idea that was killing me. It seriously wouldn't leave me alone. I've been considering turning it into a longer multichip fic based on the same idea. Be sure to let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own any of these wonderful characters.

Warnings: This is a bit AU and is based on the 2k3 series. Contains mentions of utroms, Karai as Shredder and Tengu Shredder. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then it'll have spoilers for you. I don't know if the characters may seem OOC or not.

Rating: T (Rated for safety)

Similarities:

Leonardo POV:

It was something they all had in common. Now this could be referring to any number of characters as well as any number of similarities. In this case it is referring to all those who accept the name of Shredder. Now you begin to wonder, which similarity is being referred to? Is it the name? The ridiculous suit they all seem determined to wear? The propensity for committing evil acts? The vendetta against a certain mutant family? The energy bond they all shared? While these are all things they also share, it is not to these I refer. It started with the utrom shredder.

He offered that I should join him. I was tempted. It was like a lure I couldn't resist. It naturally came to a spectacular end after that, once I realized he was evil. There wasn't anything more to consider after that, but that wasn't the end of it. My family thought it was, but they were wrong. I kept it well hidden, and tried to push it away, but he was persistent. He always came back, trying to find that one trigger that he could use to bend me to his will. He failed. The utroms caught and sentenced him before he had the opportunity to find it. I also blamed myself that he managed to get that close.

Next came Karai. I believed she had honor, and would end up doing the right thing in the end. Instead she became exactly what I believed she never would. She professed her hatred in the presence of my family, but on those rare occasion she found me alone it was different. She would tell me of how it could be if only I would choose her. I sometimes wondered if she realized how similar her entreaties were to those of her "father". It was easier for me this time. She wasn't as darkly persuasive as he had been. She was a sore loser though, and after I left to train with the Ancient One she retaliated by attacking my family. That was when I knew it was time to push her away indefinitely. Her fear was almost tangible. I believed that to be the end of it.

Everything seemed to revert to how it had been before. We once again moved homes and for a time things seemed to get easier. It was infinitely easier to fight enemies who weren't constantly poking at your psyche to find a way to lure you to their side. I allowed myself to fall into a state of complacence. It was around that time when the Tribunal summoned us and I realized the world was out to get me. Tengu Shredder. The name sent chills down my spine, and I chalked it up to paranoia. It wouldn't be the same. That's what I told myself. I tried to rationalize it by telling myself he was completely separate from the Shredders who came before. He had never before made contact with the utrom Shredder or Karai, and as such would have no knowledge of us as anything other than disciples of the Tribunal. While this ended up being true, it didn't seem to matter. It was as if I was wearing a custom magnet designed with the express purpose of attracting Shredders to myself.

I think the final Shredder was my breaking point. My brothers wouldn't understand, but then they hadn't been there. I had been captured by the Tengu, and what happened there would be the subject of nightmares for a great deal of my continued existence. It was truly as if they all wished to leave some part of themselves in my mind. I would occasionally wonder why it had to be me. What was there about me that seemed to enthrall the most evil creatures to come into existence? I didn't think about it too often. Only on my worse days. My brothers are trying to help me, as is Splinter. I just don't think it'll make a difference anymore. For better or worse there will always be a part of each of them in my memory, reminding me of events long gone.

Yes, they all did have something in common. An obsession with the turtle named Leonardo.

OWARI

AHP: Well, there you have it. Honestly I rather like how this came out. I hadn't been planning to make it from Leonardo's perspective, but my fics don't tend to listen to what I want them to do. It just worked better this way. Please R&R. Constructive criticism will always be welcomed.