18 reviews! Yes! I'm am one very happy authoress right now! (wish I could answer you guys...oh well) Thanks to Dory's Human Replica, Chibi Rose Angel, Dreema Azalei Wingblade, Pi90katana, Dona Tello625, The Sacred Heart 2, Reluctant Dragon, Leo Oneal, longing for leo, Jessiy Landroz, BubblyShell22, Becca T, Lunar-ninja, taintedelusions, Digmon Girl, pacphys, Cynlee, and somellamafreak. Thank you all so much!

Disclaimer: (sighs) I have to do this again? Fine, I don't own anything but the plot. Characters belong to Mirage Studios.

Italics:Dream sequences

Slamming Doors

"Again my sons!" Splinter tapped his walking stick on the ground to emphasize his point. He was answered by three groans.

"Aww c'mon Master Splinter!" Mikey plopped down onto the cold floor.

"Can't we take a break?" Donnie leaned heavily against his bo staff.

"We've been at this all mornin'!" Raph crouched down and panted for air.

Leo lowered his katanas so their tips were mere inches from the floor. He bowed his head and stared down at the ground intensely, not saying a word.

"You were late for practice this morning and you must make up for that lost time. Now," Splinter tapped his stick on the floor once more, "again."

Mikey looked up at the old rat with pleading eyes. "C'mon sensei! Why should me and Don have to be punished because Leo and Raph were late?" Raph growled, reached over, and snapped Mikey's bandanna tails. "OW! Hey Raph! Why did…" Mikey was cut off as Splinter smacked his youngest in the back of the head with his trusty walking stick. "OWW! Sensei! What's the deal? What did I do?"

"Cease your complaining Michelangelo! You have been late for the last four practice sessions."

Raphael snickered and earned a glare from his Master, causing him to go wide eyed and gulp.

"And as for you Raphael," Splinter smacked his stick into the back of Raph's head, "do not pick on your brothers. No snapping bandanna tails."

"Owww." Raph muttered and rubbed the back of his head.

"Now," Splinter rested his paws on top of his cane, "if all of you are quite done with your complaining we will get back to practice. I wish to see the first kata I showed you this morning. Leonardo."

When Leo didn't take his place in front of his family to perform the task, Splinter turned around and looked at his son. "Leonardo?"

Leo still didn't look up; he kept his gaze fixated on the ground. Raph and Donnie looked at one another and then back at Leo with confusion written all over their faces. Mikey crept towards Leo and waved his green hand in front of his face. "Yoohooo…anyone home?"

When Mikey still didn't earn a response, he lowered himself so he could look into his brother's face. "Leo?"

What was this? Why was he here again? "These dreams are getting worse and worse." Leo recognized this place. It was the same room from the nightmare last night…well, this morning, except this time, he was walking around; he wasn't pinned down to the floor.

"What the shell is going on?" Leo kept walking around the empty room. Frustrated, he put his fists on his hips. "Ok, what's the deal? There's nothing here. Before there was fire, smoke, my brothers. Where the…" Leo was abruptly cut off.

The room seemed to go hazy and black and gray smoke filled the air. Flames burst out from nowhere, this time hotter than before. The color was more of a glowing red this time than orange. Leo quickly crouched down on the stone floor, trying to keep his head out of the fumes. All the smoke was starting to burn his lungs and, as a result, sent Leo into a violent coughing fit. His eyes burned and he could barely see. Staying low to the ground, he crawled around on the floor, trying to find a way out.

Just when he was about to give up, his hand landed in something hot and sticky. Leo sat down on his haunches for a moment and lifted his hand to his nose, not daring to open his eyes. The smell sickened him and made his stomach drop into a bottomless pit. "Please don't let it be," Leo cautiously opened his eyes and then squinted in disgust, "blood." The thick crimson sludge covered the palm of his right hand as globs dripped off and splattered on the ground. Leo sighed and looked around for the source of this mess. What he saw gave him the shock of a lifetime. He followed the pool of blood to its owner and the site made his eyes go wide as he fell back on to his rear end in shock. His throat tightened up and he shook his head in bewilderment. "Wh-wh-wha-what the SHELL!" The last word of Leo's statement echoed through the entire room four times over again.

"Leo?" What? Who was it this time?

The entire room became fuzzy and everything went black.

Leo's eyes started to re-adjust and instead of seeing a darkened room he saw Mikey's confused face literally three inches away from his.

"Yo…Leeeeoooo?" Mikey's eyes were wide. His face resembling that of a child's; full of confusion and curiosity. Mikey lifted his finger and poked Leo in his beak, while holding his other finger up towards the sky. In a cracked voice, that closely resembled Stitch's voice off of 'Disney's Lilo and Stitch,' Mikey continued his persistent exercise to get his brother to snap out of whatever trance he was in. "Leonardo…phone hoooome. Phone home Leo. Do you remember home?"

Leo's eyes squinted into slits as he raised his hand and thumped Mikey in his nose. "Does that answer your question lamebrain?"

"AHH!" Mikey fell back onto his rear end. "Dude," he squeaked while rubbing his beak, "give a turtle some warning bro. You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Leo smiled lightheartedly and extended a helpful hand to Mikey to help him up. After Mikey was back on his feet, Splinter stepped forward. "Leonardo, what is the meaning of this?" Splinter's tail swished back and forth along the floor, the old rat looking less than amused.

Leo's eyes saddened. "I'm sorry, sensei…but I…"

"No excuses Leonardo." Splinter held up his paw and reprimanded his son. "You have been late for practice the past two mornings and today you have obviously proven that you have not been focused. I am very disappointed. This is extremely unlike you Leonardo. Getting up tardy, not paying attention, not putting your heart and soul into your practice…" Splinter suddenly stopped his scolding and looked at his son.

Leo's head was bent down in shame, and out of respect, he had not even attempted to defend himself. Splinter's hard glare softened and he looked sympathetically towards his son. It was true that Splinter had been very agitated lately, why he was, he was not certain. He had a feeling gnawing away in his stomach that something was wrong; that his family was in danger, yet Splinter could not discover why or how.

Splinter walked over to Leo and rested both paws on the turtle's shoulder. "My son, what has been troubling you?" The old Master could feel his son tense at the very mention of the fact something had been bothering him. "Leonardo, please forgive my harsh tongue. I am sorry for speaking to you in such a manner."

Leo kept his head down low and bowed down to his sensei. "No sensei. I deserved it. It is I who am sorry. I'll do better. Forgive me for my inappropriate behavior today Master Splinter."

Splinter sighed, out of all his sons, Leonardo was always the quickest to place the blame on someone, and that someone always turned out to be himself. Guilt immediately welled up in Splinter's stomach. "Perhaps that is enough training for now. We will resume tonight in a sparring session." Splinter released his eldest and looked at him sorrowfully one last time before retreating to his room.

Leo straightened himself up and sheathed his katanas.

Raph smirked and crossed his arms, speaking in a gruff but mocking tone. "Well, well, well. Splinter Jr. finally messed up. Who'da thunk it? Mr. Perfect actually managed to do somethin' wrong and tick Master Splinter off. Welcome ta reality bro."

Leo shot Raph a menacing glare and made his way back into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Raph uncrossed his arms and shrugged, startled by the events, eyes showing confusion.

Don crossed his arms and looked at Raph sternly. "Way to go."

Raph looked offended. "What?"

"You know what." Don glowered at his red-clad brother.

"Uhhh…no I don't. What'd I do!"

Mikey rubbed his chin and looked deep in thought as he stared at the ceiling. "Number one, you shouldn't have called him Splinter Jr. Number two, you definitely shouldn't have called him Mr. Perfect, and number three…" Mikey hesitated and looked dumbstruck. He bent over to Donnie, lifted his hand to cover his mouth as if he were telling top secret information, and whispered, "What's number three?"

Donnie's gaze on Raphael hardened. "Number three is you shouldn't have provoked him. He feels like he has enough expectations to live up to without you hounding him all the time about some mistake he's made or how he's such a suck up. Just lay off for once." Donnie stormed off to his room and slammed the door.

Raph looked after Donnie bewildered. "Geez. I didn't know he'd have a hissy fit. It ain't like I meant ta tick Leo off! I was just jokin'!"

Mikey stared at his brother, not angry, but a bit sad. "That's the thing Raph. You weren't joking, but you tried to play it off like you were."

Raph huffed and crossed his arms offensively. "Ain't my fault Leo thinks he's so dang perfect."

Mikey's eyes angered. "He doesn't think he's perfect. He thinks he's anything but perfect. Geez Raph, why do you have to be such a hot head!" Mikey ran into his room and slammed the door…opened it and re-slammed it…opened it again and re-slammed it.

After a few seconds went by of nothing but the sound of a continuously slamming door, Raph finally held the door in place and asked, rather annoyed, "What the heck are you doin'?"

Mikey looked at Raph innocently. "Well, everyone else was slamming their doors."

Raph shook his head. "But ya ain't mad."

"Not really, even though I do think you should lay off Leo."

Raph huffed loudly. "Shell fer brains."

Mikey glared. "At least I'm not an ignorant hothead."

"Ha! Mikey used a big word. Ahhh scary." Raph jokingly held his hands out in front of him.

Mikey's face hardened. "Now I'm mad. I'm not an idiot you know." Once again, Mikey slammed the door, this time, right in Raph's face, which earned Raph a slight punch in the nose from the door.

Raph rubbed his nose and growled. As Raph passed Leo's door, he threw his arms up in the air and yelled. "Thank you Leonardo! Once again everyone is on your side! The world has been put right again!" Raph jogged over to his room and, not surprisingly, slammed the door behind him.

(TBC)

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