Choose

By: Demi4yah

Author's Note: So, there was an episode I recently watched. For the life of me, I can't remember which one. Anyway, Leo had to choose between Mikey and Master Splinter. That got me to wondering what would happen if Leo had to choose between his brothers… I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think I might write a companion piece to this.

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT just the plot!

Leonardo was shoved forcefully to his knees. He was stripped of his katana blades, and his hands were tied with a rather spectacular knot, behind his back. The rope was so tight; it was cutting off the circulation to his hands, if the numbness was anything to by. The bruises left behind would definitely take days to fade. Struggling was useless at this point. He couldn't think. His mind was buzzing with the need to know what happened to his brothers.

If only they hadn't been so cocky. If only they'd been more aware.

They'd heard the fight on routine patrol and dove in without thinking. They rumble between some purple dragons, however, had all been a set up. They were recruited as decoys to lure he and his brothers in. And, it worked.

The foot swarmed from out of the shadows. He remembered Raph going down first. Then, Mikey shouted about a dart when Donnie crouched to check on their fallen brother. Leo blacked out immediately after that, and woke up alone, behind bars.

"Turtle!" Bandana tails were roughly yanked back and he yelped in surprise. Storm blue eyes met those of The Shredder, who peered down at him. His mouth was twisted into such a sinister smirk that Leo felt his heart plummet to his stomach. "Take a moment to say hello to your brothers."

Leo's head snapped to attention as the hold on his bandana tails was released. He followed Shredder's gesturing hand towards the other side of the room. Much like Master Splinter had been, all those weeks ago, each one of his younger brothers were chained up in their own individual cell, locked in by a complicated looking key pad. They seemed unharmed for the most part.

"Leo!" Raph shouted with such pure relief in his voice that Leo nearly smiled.

"Pick one." Shredder demanded suddenly.

"What?" Leo's voice was sharp.

"Choose the brother that is most expendable to you." He explained, "That one will stay. The others are free to go home, with you."

Leo blinked, his eyes wide in shock and suddenly he seemed years younger. To pick a brother. To purposefully leave one behind. That went against honor. That went against all that he stood for. That went against his own personal vow.

"No," he snapped, his face contorted in weird expression of rage and shock. "I will not choose."

It seemed as if Shredder had expected an answer exactly like that. "Fine," he turned to Tigerclaw. "Kill all three of them. Show no mercy."

This time the "No" Leo shouted was full of desperation and anguish.

Shredder raised a hand and Tigerclaw halted his steps. "See things my way, have you?" he taunted almost joyously. "Choose."

"Myself." And Leo could hear Raph's snarling obscenities at his answer.

"Ah, how noble of you," Shredder drawled out, "But, it doesn't work that way. You are exempt out of the pool of turtles. This is something I'm rather eager to see, I must say. Which one is the weakest link? Which one can you afford to leave behind?"

Leo felt himself bristle. "Why are you doing this?!"

"I've recently had the pleasure to meet a scientist, who would be more than happy with the delivery of a mutant turtle freak, in exchange for a large sum of cash."

Leo's mind reeled at the thought of what the whack job would do. Experimentation, indefinitely. Dissection, of course. Exposure, possibly. He wanted more than anything to break of these ropes right now and dish out all that he had.

Leo felt his heart clench, and his eyes instantly met piercing green from across the room. They were hard with resolve, while his shouts, now hoarse and heavy with fury, spat promises of violent threats. Raph was never one to keep his mouth shut in a haze of anger. Donnie gave off a silent placidity, his warm eyes projecting determination as he took in their situation. He met Leo's gaze head on, unveiling his forgiveness like he'd already had it figured all out. And, knowing his brainy brother, he probably did. The next set of eyes were wide with empathy, and Leo could practically feel the attempts at comfort in those bright blue orbs. Mikey surged him with a renewed sense optimism and courage in a way he could only do as the baby of the family.

"Pick. Now." Shredder's voice left no room for any more delays, "Or you say goodbye to all three."

He had gone through every trait, weakness and strength of each brother like a filing box; again, again and again. Each time, his choice was the same.

And, the decision was made rather quickly.

"Interesting." Shredder murmured.

He bowed his head as Tigerclaw neared the cells. It was all he could when he heard the surprised exclamation of one brother and a few moments later, the refusing yells of another. Leo avoided the penetrating gaze of the remaining one, the one he'd chosen to be left behind. He could practically feel in one wave after one, not only the understanding, but also the harsh betrayal and overwhelming hurt of what he'd done.

Their relationship wouldn't be the same after this.

The world around him was muffled. He barely noticed when one little brother was pushed beside him and the other struggling against his escorts so hard, he thought he might be having a seizure. Leo's bindings were cut and he felt blood rush back into his hands again as he unconsciously rubbed at his wrists as if on autopilot.

Then, suddenly he was flat on shell. His cheek throbbed painfully and he could taste the tangy metal of what was most definitely blood from his stinging lips. When he opened his eyes, green glowered down at him and a flash of purple pulled the offender off of him. Leo spat blood at the ground before he was hauled up by foot ninja.

"How dare you?!" Raph was snarling at him something vicious. "You were supposed to pick me! You were supposed to pick me!" he was pulling against Don's hold.

Behind his angry brother, Shredder stood smirking, watching the scene between them unfold. And Leo was struck with dire need to wipe that expression of his face. He briefly met Donnie's eyes, nodding his head just a fraction before he spun around and delivered a crouching sweep that knocked down the enemies behind him.

Raph remained surprised at the turn of events, but ducked when Leo leapt over his head to take out the ones restraining him. They shared a quick glance. Raph's condemning and Leo's self-loathing before they turned as one to face off against the oncoming onslaught of Shredder's strike.

Donnie had cleared out his enemies and made his way towards the cell blocks to their youngest member. He gripped the bars and said with such conviction, "Don't worry, little brother. We're not going anywhere without you. We'll die first."

He was met with a sniffle and watery eyes. "Get me out of here, D." Mikey sounded all of five years old again, and it made Donnie's heart hurt. He began to mess around with the computerized keypad.

"I'm right here." He reassured gently, and the lock bleeped and opened with a moan.

They were a unit, a team and most importantly, a family. And not one got left behind.

There ya have it! My first Leo fic. This plot bunny would not leave me alone! I hope I wrote Shredder okay, it's been awhile.

Review if you wish!

That's Demi4yah! :)

EDIT: I read all my reviews. Most of them are Guests, but I can't reply to them. So, I'm disabling them - join the site instead of hiding. Apparently, there is relation to my fic from another one. Someone was kind enough to tell me and I read it for the first time. There a a lot of similarities, like very scary close similarities, so I can understand the outcry. I condone plagiarism, but I'm getting nasty PM's - very explicit ones... And, I feel like I need to defend myself, so I'm going to make this clear- I did not copy from anyone. This came from my own brain. This fic is not coming down anytime soon. I'm sorry, but I'll be disabling PMs for now. If you really need to get in touch with me, let me know in a review because that's the only way right now. Anyway, look out for my companion piece. There might even be 3rd one.