*Im so sorry for the late publish! Please forgive me! I have sort of strayed away from the title, but I'm also very proud of what I've written! Please enjoy! I also do not own the ninja turtles. Sadly. *

Leonardo sat at the kitchen table, waiting for his brothers. He had just finished his training, and Splinter had kept Mikey, Donnie, and Raph behind to explain the changes. They were to level up now, to train harder and faster. Of course, this had been Leo's idea, and that's why he had been dismissed early.
Suddenly, Raphael entered the small kitchen section of the lair.
"Man, Splinter's gonna have us train even harder!" he griped. "He already pushes us hard as we can go!"
"That's the point, Raphael," Leo explained. "If you push yourself past what you're used to, it makes you stronger. And that's what we need."
"No, what we need is sleep," Raph countered. "And let me guess: this whole pushin' ourselves thing was yer idea, huh, Fearless?" He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
"Maybe, maybe not. No matter whose idea it was, it's a good one. If we don't keep improving, we'll only get worse," Leo said, getting up from the table.
"Whatever you say, Fearless," Raph finalized sarcastically as Donatello and Michelangelo entered the room.
"Dude, can you imagine us having to train even harder?!" Mikey was saying to Donnie.
"I must say, training harder is a good battle strategy. But there's no point in strategy when the fighter is physically exhausted. Which we are. It can cause us to lose, which would not be a good thing if we're up against the Shredder," Donnie replied.
Mikey just nodded as if he understood exactly and shared the same sentiments.
"Come on, guys," Leo said in an exaggeratedly happy tone. "This gives us a chance to improve. Just think: we may actually stand a chance against the Shredder now!"
"As I said, we stand a chance if we are physically able to stand," Donnie quipped with a smile. Leo's forced smile fell dramatically, and Raph chuckled.
"Hey," Mikey said suddenly, "when's the last time we heard from the Purple Dragons? Cause we still sorta have their computer thingy over there." He pointed to the computer tower, which the turtles had confiscated from the Purple Dragons because they had been stealing it.
"You know, now that you mention it, I meant to take a look at that and see what's on it," Donnie said, heading over to the piece of technology.
"And," Leo added, "the Purple Dragons HAVE been quiet recently. We've had that tower for over a month, and they haven't tried to steal it back yet."
"Let 'em try, and see what they get," Raph said, whipping out his sai with a mischievous grin. "A good ol' fashioned butt kickin'."

The Shredder sat in his chair, while the Purple Dragon kneeled before him.
"You are saying, Fong, that the turtles' hideout is in the sewer? And that they have a wall that hides them from the main passage?" Shredder asked.
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Master," Fong replied.
"I have given you the month you requested. I assume you have the maps and directions leading directly to the turtles' lair. AND a foolproof plan to get rid of them once and for all?" Shredder threatened.
"You'd be correct, Master Shredder. I have both. All I'll need is some time. My men can do the rest. Then, at the end of the plan, we'll be able to deliver the turtles to you. Maybe one by one, but my plan's foolproof. Don't you worry."
"You're plan had better be foolproof. Those turtles have the code to my warehouse. I have told my men to hold off on breaking in. I told them you were going to hand deliver us the turtles, and they will be out of our way. Permanently."
"Yes, Master Shredder. And the first one to go'll be the strong one."

The turtles filed out of the dojo, shoulders slumped, chests rising and falling, sweat dripping from their foreheads. Michelangelo sank lower to the ground with each step, finally collapsing face-down five feet from the couch.
"Poor Mikey. He almost made it," Donnie observed, before sitting on the floor beside his younger sibling.
"Ya know what, Leo?" Raph gasped, leaning against the wall. "If I wasn't so damn tired, I'd beat the shell off of ya."
Leonardo actually made it to the couch, laying face up. His plastron rose and fell heavily, revealing that he was more worn out than he let on.
"Come on, guys, it wasn't so bad," Leo breathed.
"I think your definition of bad and my definition of bad are a little different," Donnie said, falling from his sitting position onto his back.
"But look how much we learned!" Leo continued.
"Ya wanna know what I learned?" Raph asked angrily. "I learned that five hours with no water can make a mouth very dry. And five hours a continuous work can make me very angry. Come on, just come over here, Fearless, so I can kick your shell." He pulled out a sai and waved it harmlessly in Leo's general direction, still gasping for air.
"Must... Have... Pizza..." Mikey was dragging himself across the floor toward the kitchen, his eyes trained on a pizza that was sitting on the counter. Once he reached it, he realized his arms were too short, and his hand collapsed back onto his head. "Too... Tired.. For... Pizza..."
"Did Mikey just say he's too tired for pizza?!" Raph asked, incredulous, finally giving in and sitting on the floor, his only resolve being that he was the last to remain standing.
"Look on the bright side," Donnie said, "we have to do this every day."
"Sorry, Einstein, I musta missed the bright side part," Raph replied, grumpily.
"Well, the way I figure it, by the end of the week, we'll be too sore to do anything, if we're even still alive. Just makes today look that much better."
"Yeah, cause that gave me a warm feelin' inside," Raph said sarcastically.
"That's probably a lung deflating," Donnie replied, just as sarcastic.
"Alright, guys, that's enough," Leo cut in. "At least Mikey's not arguing, right, Mikey?" Leo looked down at his youngest brother. "...Mikey?"
Everyone heard the quiet snores coming from the little orange freckled turtle.
"Great! Ya killed 'em, Leo," Raph exclaimed. "Will ya talk to Splinter already and tell him this was a bad idea?"
"Yeah, alright, fine," Leo relented. "I'll talk to him tonight."

Leo sat on the couch for an hour, worrying about talking to their Sensei. What if he thought Leo was being disrespectful? What if he didn't change his mind? Then Leo's brothers would be angry at HIM. Mikey was playing a video game. Raph was up in his room; Donnie, in his lab.
Leo knew it was time for Splinter to come out and have his nightly tea, so he took a deep breath and readied himself. Being the leader was so tough sometimes. So much was expected of him, and there was always a large margin for him to fail. And failure was something Leo couldn't handle. If he was going to be a leader, he was going to be a good and successful one.
And that meant having to talk to Splinter.
Suddenly, the humanoid rat entered the room, heading toward the kitchen section.
"Master Splinter, may I talk to you?" Leo found himself asking. He stood up and felt every muscle protest. He used the pain to steer him and give him motivation.
"Of course, my son. What is troubling you?" Splinter replied, getting the kettle ready for tea.
"Well, see, Sensei, it's that, when I came to you and told you that we were ready to level up, I didn't make that decision with the help of my brothers. They don't think they're ready yet. And I was wondering..?"
"If I would return to your old way of training, is that right, Leonardo?"
"Well, yes, Sensei. I guess we're not ready yet. I'm sorry." Leo hung his head in embarrassment.
"Of course you're not ready yet, my son. When you came to me, I knew you and your brothers were not ready."
"But then why...?"
"You had to learn several important lessons from this, Leonardo. First of all, you learned to consult your brothers when making team decisions. Being the leader means you make decisions that represent the whole team. Correct?"
"Hai, Sensei."
"And secondly, you were not physically ready for the training, but you were emotionally ready. I gave you training techniques you shouldn't have learned for another year at least. But because you were so ready and willing to learn them, you and your brothers succeeded. Don't let your body stop you from what is possible, my son."
"Hai, Sensei," Leo smiled, understanding the lessons.
Suddenly, the alarm went off. It sent high-pitched, shrieking wails into the lair.
Raph came stumbling out of his room. "This better not be a test run, Don, or you ain't gonna like me," he grumbled.
"It's not a test run," Donnie replied, coming out of his lab. "Someone's breaching our security."
"What's that mean?" Mikey asked from the couch.
"They're pushing random buttons on the security pad outside the lair, trying to get in," Donnie sounded worried.
"How'd they find it?" Raph inquired.
"I don't know. It could be someone we know... Or..." Don looked at the computer tower. "They want that back."
"Did you ever find anything on the tower, Donnie?" Leo asked.
"Nothing they could've traced here. Just a long series of random numbers, a code of some sort. Didn't have time to figure out what it meant," the purple turtle replied. "Nothing serious."
Suddenly, there were clangs on the wall, as if someone were trying to break in.
Donnie flipped over to his computer screens and accessed the camera outside the lair. The black and white image was blurry, but the tattoos were still visible.
"Guys," Don called. "I think we'd better get our weapons ready. It's the Purple Dragons."
"This day just keeps gettin' better and better," Raph said pulling out his sai. "Let's rumble."
"Should we open the door and let them in the lair?" Leo asked. "Can they beat their way through and break in?"
"They shouldn't be able to. I designed that door with opposition attacks in mind, and made it nearly indestructible," Donnie replied, sitting in his chair backwards.
To everyone, him sitting in his chair backwards was so eerily calm compared to his terror, which he was trying very hard to disguise. It caused everyone to become unsettled.
"Just let 'em in!" Raph yelled, bounding over the rail to the second story and landing next to Mikey. "I don't know how they found this joint, but I'm kickin' some butt, anyway. Let's go, Don, open the door so we can get on with our lives!"
Donnie looked at Leo for acceptance of this strategy.
"We need to make this decision as a team," Leo said, looking toward Splinter, who was behind the counter, teapot still in hand. "Do you guys want to let them in and fight?"
"Yep," Raph said.
"I guess we don't really have another option. If we fight, we may win and get our lair back. If we let them leave, they'll just come back and we'll HAVE to fight," Donnie answered.
"That means yeah in Einstein," Raph growled. "Can we hurry this up? They're gettin' impatient out there." The clangs grew louder and louder outside.
"What do you think, Mikey?" Leo asked, hurriedly.
"Might as well. They're already here anyway," Mikey replied, whipping out his nun chucks with a grin. "How did they find us, though?"
"No idea," Leo said, sliding his katanas out of the sheath and positioning himself alongside his brothers. Donnie remained at the computer, bo staff in one hand. "Master Splinter, I think it would be best for you to hide in the safe house Donnie made," Leo referred to the secret room in the back of the shelter. They all watched as Splinter walked upstairs.
"Good luck, my sons." Then he was gone. Usually, if Splinter was present for a fight, he would stay; but this was no normal fight.
Leo turned back to the computers.
"Alright, Don. Let them in."
Donatello pushed the release button and the wall slowly rose, revealing a clan of Purple Dragon. The wall disappeared into the ceiling with a clatter.
For a second, the turtles and the gang members just stared at each other. Then the leader of the Dragons yelled, "Chaaaaaaa-" the rest was drowned out by the war screams of his followers.
Everyone sprang into action. Donnie bounded from his computers, spinning his Bo staff to keep the Purple Dragons coming at him at a safe distance.
Leo used the butt of his katana to knock the enemy unconscious, wiping the sweat from his brow with his other hand.
Mikey swung his nun chucks, going at the group full-throttle, screaming the whole while.
Raph took his sai and spin-jumped, his foot taking out a whole circle of Purple Dragons.
Leonardo kicked, hitting one upside the head, knocking him out. That's when he noticed the leader of the gang.
The man was just standing there, talking to another member. He was waving his hands furiously. Leo crept closer to hear what they were talking about.
"- the strong one, the red one! He's the one we gotta snag first-"
They were planning on taking Raph with them? Whatever the idea, he had to stop them. Leo ran over and jumped, tackling the leader. He rolled over his shoulder and stood back up, his katana pointed at the mans neck.
"Tell me your plan. What's in the computer tower that's so special?" Leo demanded.
The gang leader opened his mouth as if to reply, but then looked up behind Leo's shoulder and smiled.
Alarmed, the blue turtle turned around, his swords at the ready. But a blow to the side of his head caused him to stagger. Blackness swirled at the edges of his vision, finally taking over.
Leo fell.